episode_0050

“Do you even know who my parents are?”

“Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

“Then I’ll start with this case.”

There was a group of dark mages in this area.

A group that kidnapped people from villages, bought and dragged in slaves, and even used bandits—whom they rounded up under the pretense of extermination—as sacrificial offerings.

At first, gathering sacrifices was easy.

But.

As time passed, it became harder.

People grew wary after hearing about the kidnappings,

and slaves and bandits became scarce.

So they thought:

If kidnapping people is difficult, why not just raise them ourselves to use as sacrifices?

And so they tried.

They abducted young women,

impregnated them with male dark mages,

and began running what could only be described as a human farm.

But it was far less efficient than they’d imagined.

Using babies as sacrifices?

Their HP was too low—hardly worth the effort.

Raising them to adulthood first?

Waiting 15–20 years for a single sacrifice took too long.

So they decided to dispose of them all.

But.

An unexpected situation arose.

The women abducted for breeding and the dark mages had genuinely fallen in love.

Abducted, forcibly impregnated—

how in the world did they end up loving each other?… It was baffling.

But they had fallen in love,

and the moment they heard of the disposal plan, they fled.

However.

Escape wasn’t easy.

The other dark mages gave chase,

and Sophia’s father fought desperately to buy time for his wife and daughter.

In the end,

after hours of fighting, Sophia’s father died.

Thanks to him, Sophia’s mother managed to flee quite far,

but she had been struck by a poisoned arrow from a zombie soldier.

The venom spread relentlessly,

and by the time she reached the holy nation of Celios’s infirmary, it was already too late.

And so,

Sophia’s mother died in that infirmary.

Only the infant Sophia survived,

grew up in Celios’s orphanage,

and later awakened as a saintess.

…That was the story I told her.

“I see.”

Sophia accepted it with eerie calm.

“You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

“I had a feeling, to some extent.”

“Most of the children who ended up in the orphanage had… well… not-so-good parents.”

She wasn’t wrong.

In the world of Prophecy RPG, wars between humans were rare.

War orphans were practically unheard of.

Sure, there were cases where entire villages were slaughtered by monsters or bandits,

but a child surviving alone in such a scenario?

That was exceptionally rare.

Most died alongside their village,

and even if they survived, they’d starve or be devoured by monsters or wild beasts before reaching another settlement.

So.

Orphanhood due to parental death was extremely uncommon.

Plenty of fathers died fighting monsters,

but the mothers usually lived—

so they weren’t orphans.

Then?

How did orphans come to be in Prophecy RPG?

‘They were abandoned.’

Discarded because they were deemed unnecessary.

This was a world with a birth-rank system, after all.

Low rank? You were thrown away.

A-rank, B-rank, C-rank? You were kept.

D-rank, E-rank, F-rank? You were discarded.

‘Especially among nobles.’

They’d have many children,

raise only the talented ones,

and abandon the rest to orphanages.

…Sophia knew this all too well.

“If anything, I think my parents were among the better ones.”

“They loved each other and had the courage to sacrifice themselves for those they loved.”

Rather than focusing on her father being a dark mage,

she placed more weight on the fact that he was a brave man who gave his life for his wife and daughter.

“That’s why I want to ask.”

“What were my mother and father’s names?”

“That…”

The incident site could be investigated through magic.

But.

Their identities remained unknown.

Neither her dark mage father’s background

nor her abducted mother’s origins could be clearly determined.

No names,

no way to trace where they came from or who they were.

‘Sophia’s hardcore fans tried everything to dig up information, but…’

Even they couldn’t find anything.

So I didn’t know either.

…That’s what I told her.

“I see…”

Sophia’s expression darkened briefly,

but that was all.

She quickly brightened again and said:

“My love.”

“Thank you for telling me that my parents didn’t abandon me—that they truly loved each other.”

Now then.

It was Serena’s turn.

“Serena.”

“What do you think about Sophia being the daughter of a dark mage?”

This was crucial.

If she said that even as a saintess,

the daughter of a dark mage was unacceptable, my entire plan would collapse.

But.

Serena wouldn’t do that.

“I’d never judge my saintess poorly over something so trivial, so don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“I dislike dark mages because they threaten humanity, like demons.”

“If they help people, there’s no reason to hate them.”

“So Sophia passes?”

“She passes.”

“A saintess who sacrifices herself to save others? That’s the ideal.”

“Hear that?”

“Lady Serena thinks so highly of me… I’m touched…”

“She’s my loyal saintess, after all.”

“I can overlook something as minor as her parents being dark mages.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know what crimes her dark mage father committed, but…”

“That’s not Sophia’s sin.”

“What about her using dark magic?”

“Dark magic?”

“The spell that converts life force into divine energy was derived from dark magic.”

“I’m not sure if that counts as dark magic, but…”

“A spell that sacrifices oneself to save others can’t be called evil.”

“So it’s fine?”

“That much is fine.”

“Not all dark magic is bad, then?”

“W-Well… I guess not, but…”

“Wait, this feels like you’re leading me somewhere…”

“Well…”

“There’s something else.”

“Huh?”

“I’m thinking of becoming a dark mage.”

“I need to clarify perceptions about dark magic.”

“W-Wait!”

“You’re going to become a dark mage?! Why?!”

“Because there’s a lot of good dark magic.”

“Good dark magic? I… I don’t think that’s a thing?”

“No.”

“There’s plenty.”

“Like what?”

“For example…”

“It can cure an incurable disease where the body swells and explodes every time healing magic is cast.”

“Y-You can cure that?!”

Sophia gasped in shock at the mention of curing an incurable disease.

Demon Bomb Sickness

A curse-induced illness where bombs grow inside the body.

Every time healing magic is used

or mana is expended, the bombs grow larger.

In modern terms?

It’s cancer.

Yes.

Just cancer cells.

But in a fantasy world where healing magic fixes everything,

nothing is as dangerous as cancer.

Cast healing magic,

and the cancer cells regenerate and multiply even faster.

The result?

Ultra-rapid progression to terminal-stage cancer and death.

…That was the truth.

So how do you cure it?

‘The answer is simple.’

Sacrifice the cancer cells using dark magic.

…When I explained this,

Sophia gasped and exclaimed:

“That’s how you treat it?!”

“If the problem is bombs inside the body,”

“just sacrifice them to remove them.”

“Dark magic can cure incurable diseases?…”

“Essentially, yes.”

And it could treat many other illnesses.

Most diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites, after all.

Sacrifice the pathogens inside the body—

problem solved.

See?

Simple, right?

“W-Wow…”

“I had no idea such treatments existed…”

Sophia grabbed my hands and said:

“My love.”

“How did you think of this?”

“I was in the medical field.”

Not a doctor,

but I studied medicine to some extent in university.

‘To be precise, I dabbled in medicine, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and more.’

So I had a lot of miscellaneous knowledge,

enough to devise a dark magic-based cancer treatment.

…When I explained this,

Sophia’s eyes sparkled even brighter.

“So you were someone who healed people too…”

“I respect you even more now!”

“R-Really?…”

“Yes!”

(After graduating, I worked at a small cosmetics company and spent my free time gaming—but no need to mention that.)

I exercised my right to remain silent.

“Ahem!”

“So, what do you think about training dark mages?”

“The Celestial Realm tried everything to cure Demon Bomb Sickness, but… not a single person succeeded…”

“If dark magic can cure it, it’d be revolutionary…”

After some thought, Serena answered:

“Fine.”

“If you can prove dark magic can cure it, I’ll endorse dark mage training in the name of the Goddess of Light, Serena.”

Perfect!

Game over!

The perception that dark mages are evil?

If the Goddess of Light herself trains dark mages to heal patients, that perception will vanish in no time.

So.

The idea that dark magic is inherently evil is as good as dead.

‘This is for after defeating the Demon King and restoring Celestial communications, but…’

Mission accomplished.

Now then.

Time to raid the dark mage stronghold.

Clang! Clang!

Alice struck the massive door blocking the cave entrance.

But.

It didn’t even scratch.

“Wow…”

“This thing is really tough.”

“It’s an ultra-durable door reinforced with dark magic—it can withstand most attacks.”

Made of a special alloy,

it’d take 10–20 minutes of pounding to break through.

But by then,

the ones inside would notice and escape.

So.

I used a faster method.

“Lia’s Siege Ram!”

Crash!

I smashed the door open with Lia’s head.

And then.

Got punished by Serena.

“What the hell did you do to my daughter?!!”

“GYAAAAAH!!”

Got bitten by a dog.