ERTHMB Chapter 97

Transaction

 

“Three ales here!”

 

It was when Dion was trying to forcibly pull away the third glass that Eugene had been drinking without pause. Three men had just taken seats at the table directly behind them.

 

Dion’s attention momentarily shifted in that direction. Eugene swiftly snatched the glass from his weakened grip and downed it again.

 

The men chatted among themselves while their drinks and appetizers were being prepared.

 

“Those newcomers from Gelda still haven’t been found, have they?”

 

“It’s quite pitiful. They’re trying so hard… Realistically, it’s only a matter of time before they’re found as corpses.”

 

Too much information could sometimes be poison. Eugene unhesitatingly shut his ears. He intended to just move his hands mechanically. But then information that tugged at his eardrums continued.

 

“Ah, if only our village had a mage too.”

 

“Even if we did, anyone capable of tracking magic would go to the magic tower. Why would they stay in a rural corner like this?”

 

Tracking magic. Mage.

 

His drooping eyelids slowly rose as realization dawned. Eugene immediately grabbed Dion.

 

“There’s a mage in your group, isn’t there?”

 

“…Do you know Eden?”

 

Dion responded with an ambiguous expression. Setting aside the fact that he knew Eden, the eyes that had become sharp in an instant were unfamiliar. A golden light more vivid than the amber-colored liquor reflected under the tavern’s lighting.

 

“Is he here now, in Dairon?”

 

Dion answered as if captivated by that golden light, unable to look away.

 

“He is, but… there probably won’t be anything he can help with. We’ve already done what we could-“

 

Eugene tugged at Dion’s sleeve, cutting off his words. Eugene urgently pulled him from the stool while standing up himself.

 

“Lead the way.”

 

****

 

“Can’t you use healing magic?”

 

Eugene’s gaze as he asked this was fixed on Eden’s forehead. It was where the wound he had inflicted during their last meeting faintly remained.

 

Understanding his gaze, Eden responded with a textbook answer.

 

“Magic also has different fields. Cadet officers delve into specific areas according to their aptitudes. Even that is so vast it’s difficult to keep up with.”

 

He had a rather calm face for someone facing his assailant again.

 

“Unfortunately, my interest lies more in inflicting pain rather than eliminating it. It’s been quite painful all this time. If I had known this would happen, I should have learned recovery magic as well.”

 

Though he said this, his tone was flat without any rise or fall. It was proof that he wasn’t holding onto past grievances. It was an infinitely benevolent attitude.

 

It was so eerily calm that Eugene couldn’t tell whether he should consider it an advantage or an obstacle.

 

But there was one thing he was certain about. Since the other was willing to simply let bygones be bygones, there was no need for him to create knots.

 

Eugene skipped the preamble and went straight to the point.

 

“Then can you use tracking magic?”

 

“It’s possible.”

 

The answer came readily. Then Dion, who had been watching from behind, suddenly interjected.

 

“What? You said it was difficult before.”

 

“That’s because none of us had her stored in our minds.”

 

Eden briefly looked at Dion, then turned his gaze back to Eugene as he spoke.

 

“The target’s appearance, voice, habits, every part of their body. The more precisely someone knows them, the higher the accuracy of the tracking route becomes.”

 

“Then we just need to find the captain first- mmph!”

 

As Eden drew his finger through the air, Dion’s mouth shut. Ignoring Dion, who was tapping his lips in protest, Eden began conversing with Eugene.

 

“It seems you want to make a deal.”

 

“What exactly do you mean by ‘it’s possible’?”

 

When Samte quietly appeared from the shadows and dragged Dion away, the space became completely quiet. In the abandoned factory that had stopped operating, Eden removed his dust-covered glasses.

 

“Actually, magic isn’t omnipotent as the public perceives it. Rather, it’s a form of entropy exchange cast according to strict causality. Like how there’s a back side if there’s a front side to a coin, smoke rises when you light a fire, and punishment follows crime.”

 

Eden occasionally breathed on his lenses while explaining. When the dust still wouldn’t come off, he folded the temples and placed the glasses on the book cover he was holding.

 

“However, spells must occur simultaneously while maintaining causality. The burden is even greater when performed directly on a person rather than a tool.”

 

After hearing that much, Eugene cleared his throat.

 

“Speak so I can understand.”

 

Eden raised his head and met his eyes directly.

 

“Well, to put it simply, a certain ‘price’ is required.”

 

His gray eyes without the thick glass lenses weren’t as cloudy as expected. Rather, they had a clarity that made one think he wore glasses to hide that keen light.

 

Eden looked directly at Eugene and quietly stretched his lips.

 

“Will you be able to handle it?”

 

****

 

Ian woke up with a strangely refreshed feeling.

 

His body felt light despite having used the damp, hard stone floor as a bed. When he sat up with just his upper body, flickering flames were burning before his eyes. It was a campfire that should have gone out during the night.

 

‘Did Helena wake up in the middle of the night?’

 

Only then did he notice that the space beside him felt empty. His drowsy, dazed mind instantly became alert.

 

“Helena?”

 

Ian bolted upright. At the same time, something fell from his abdomen with a rustling sound. A throbbing pain sharply stabbed around his waist area. Ian quickly scanned the floor and surroundings.

 

The wound on his abdomen, the herbs that had been attached, what was missing were his sword and water bottle.

 

As soon as he grasped the situation, he immediately headed outside the cave. She seemed to have gone toward the river, so he should be able to meet her right away if he hurried.

 

Ian forced himself to blink to get used to the suddenly pouring light source. Having been in a dark place for a long time, his optic nerves stung.

 

‘That’s why I’m seeing such illusions.’

 

However, no matter how much he blinked, the scene before his eyes didn’t change. Hair scattered on the ground was red like spilled blood. The stench of corpses that stung his nose was particularly strong.

 

Could that crouched mass be a person? Could it really be her? A distant sense of despair rose instead of tangled thoughts.

 

“Helena!”

 

Ian ran to Helena’s side like a madman. Terror that would burst his lungs dominated his entire body.

 

Though his grip had no strength, he barely managed to touch her nape. His own heartbeat was so loud he couldn’t distinguish which was her pulse.

 

After chewing and spitting out several curses, Ian placed his hand on the artery again. He felt a faint throb.

 

“Ha…!”

 

The breath he had held back finally released. The ground that had shattered and fallen in an instant supported his body again.

 

Ian slipped his arm under Helena’s shoulder and lifted her up. Her head fell back as she had completely lost consciousness. Then the opposite side of her neck, hidden by her hair, was revealed. It was purple.

 

Ian urgently turned his head following the smell of the corpse. The dead monster was a Cerberus. A monster with a spiky tail that contained poison.

 

‘It’s poisoning.’

 

There was a reason why he could barely feel her pulse. It was partly due to his own panic, but also because Helena’s life was fading away.

 

Without hesitation, Ian buried his head in her nape. He took the area pierced by the spike into his mouth and sucked out the poison.

 

Due to emotions too overwhelming to handle, he couldn’t control his strength well. The nape that had been purple gradually turned red with his bite marks.

 

Suck in, spit out. Suck in again, spit out.

 

‘Then and now. You saved me.’

 

The more he repeated the motion, the more strangely he felt like crying. In front of her, he had become such an easily vulnerable man.

 

He easily crumbled, easily fell, easily fell in love. In a life where nothing had been easy, it was the only easy thing.

 

That’s why it couldn’t help but be precious. They say it’s crazy to make a person your salvation, but not going crazy was the crazier thing.

 

‘If you’d believe me when I say that loving you is moderately crazy.’

 

Life was gradually returning to Helena’s pale cheeks. Ian gently wiped her face, stained with blood, with his thumb, then lowered his head.

 

Suppressing the overflowing desire regardless of the situation, he left a light kiss on her forehead.

 

It was the crazy thing he barely managed to do after holding back and holding back.

 

****

 

Life had never gone her way even once. Helena was realizing this again amidst the pain piercing through her entire body.

 

When she wanted to die so badly, they stubbornly kept her alive, but now that she wanted to live, life-threatening situations came calling.

 

‘Still, I have the leisure to think like this. I guess my life is tenacious.’

 

The humid stone smell of the cave, the sharp scent of herbal juice, the crackling sound of the campfire. Since she remembered her last location, there seemed to be no paralysis or major injuries.

 

Moreover, what she felt wasn’t only pain. There was a strange sensation weaving through it.

 

It was ticklish as if an invisible thin thread had tied her ankle. Someone was pulling on it from somewhere. It wasn’t tension trying to drag her away, but rather a tension hoping she would pull it toward her.

 

Following that, Helena slowly opened her eyes. The tension grew taut, then snapped.

 

And it was pitch black before her eyes. Could there be a problem with her vision? She was startled with fear, but soon realized that someone was holding her tightly.

 

Helena wiggled her hands gathered at her chest area and poked the solid flesh.

 

“……”

 

Getting no response from it, she poked her finger in once more.

 

“……”

 

“I know you’re awake.”

 

Only then did the muscle mass holding her stir.

 

“Let me sleep just a little more. You’re being too harsh to your life’s savior.”

 

“A Cerberus attacked while you were sleeping. Let’s call it even with that.”

 

“No. I’m one point ahead.”

 

Ian loosened his arm around Helena’s waist and pulled back his body. He met her drowsy eyes and tapped his own neck.

 

“I sucked out the poison while you were sleeping.”

 

Helena also followed him and placed her hand on her nape. She felt a slightly swollen lump like a mound. When she frowned from the stinging pain, Ian took her hand and pulled it away.

 

“The swelling hasn’t gone down yet, so don’t touch it too much.”

 

Ian embraced Helena again. Though she should have gotten used to his body temperature and embrace by now, being pressed together so closely without any barriers was a first, making her feel shy.

 

He was wearing a torn shirt, while she only had a chemise she had torn herself as her upper garment.

 

Normally, it would have been shameful to show her skin to an outside man. But since he wasn’t an outside man, she felt a strange relief that it was okay.