Episode 409 New Deal (2)
Where Rudger is currently working.
Seorn Magic Academy.
“Come to think of it, there was Ceorn!”
There was a strong perception that Seorn was basically an academy for educating mages, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.
It periodically produces special talents, and thesis or theory related to magic comes out to the extent that it is not inferior to other magic towers.
It was not easy to see the majesty of Seorn as the first place where wizards who would become important talents of the country would pass through first.
So every year, countless companies financed Seorn, sponsored, collaborated, and received various benefits.
“If it’s about the kingdom of Utah, maybe it’ll be welcomed there too.”
Contracting directly with a place that holds natural resources greatly reduces the capital needed to obtain the materials and reagents needed for magical research.
Of course, for that, this side also had to spare no support to help the Utah Kingdom mine resources.
It’s hard to see a big profit right now, but from a long-term perspective, it was definitely not a bad deal.
“Of course, it will be the president who makes the evaluation, so I am not sure yet. Know this.”
“That’s it, I know! Thank you so much though!”
Ekaterina was overjoyed and lifted up to give Ludger a hug.
Rudger was frightened and pushed Ekaterina’s head away with his hand.
“Didn’t I tell you to fix this habit so that you can keep up?”
Ekaterina, who had been pushed out, replied with a sullen expression.
“Because you don’t do that to anyone in the first place?”
“I remember you saying you shouldn’t treat anyone like that.”
“That is my heart. I am a queen now.”
“If anyone sees you, you’ll think you became a queen to do whatever you want.”
“Anyway, thanks for the advice. I hope to hear from you soon in Seorn.”
“…Please watch your mouth there and hope you don’t get into an accident.”
At Ludger’s worry-filled words, Ekaterina lit her twin wicks.
“I also know how to exercise self-control in public settings now, right?”
“….okay.”
Thinking of what I saw at the front desk of the Land River Hotel, I was worried for nothing.
Rudger nodded in agreement.
“It’s a busy time with cleaning up, so we won’t be able to chat for a long time.”
“….Yes. Because both you and I are standing in different positions than back then.”
Ekaterina regretted the fact that there was no more time to talk comfortably.
I even thought that I missed the days when I ran away during the old civil war.
At that time, she was definitely in a series of crises every moment, but not to the extent of now.
Why?
On the contrary, now that I became a queen, it is much more frustrating than then.
Wearing clothes that didn’t fit the body and wearing a mask was too hard.
That may have been the case.
What makes you feel comfortable with someone who shares your past and treats you as you are, regardless of your status.
Of course I have to regret it.
“…If I visit Ceorn, will you treat me as a guest?”
Like a child who expects his parents to buy him a toy, Ekaterina looked at Rudger with nervous eyes.
Rudgar laughed at that figure and nodded his head.
“okay. I’ll give you directions.”
Ekaterina’s expression brightened at that answer.
“Oh ho ho! Are you sure you got that answer right? You promised?!”
“okay.”
Fearing that he would really cry if he said that he never made a promise here, Rudger decided to let her go.
Ekaterina left, saying that she would take care of the wounded.
Rudger watched Ekaterina’s back as she ran away, and then headed towards the barracks.
I didn’t forget to remove the sound barrier that was scattered around.
As he turned the corner of the half-burnt tent, Rudger was confronted by a man.
“Mr. Roina?”
“Ah, that…”
Roina looked at Rudger and reacted incredulously.
Rudger’s gaze narrowed.
Judging from that reaction, it seems that this side stole the secret meeting between the two of them with Ekaterina.
“What is your relationship with Princess Ekaterina?”
Roina asked directly if the stealing was real.
If the way she didn’t hide the fact that she saw it was really like her, it was like her.
“I just wanted to say thank you for helping me sort this out.”
Apparently, it was impossible to talk about the true identity of this side, so Rudger evaded it moderately.
Because of the sound barrier, Roina did not know what the two of them were talking about.
So I just have to catch it.
“How about hugging each other?”
“….that.”
Rudger remembered how Ekaterina hadn’t kept her head a moment ago and felt sorry for her.
Even if you couldn’t hear the conversation, there was plenty of room for misunderstanding just by looking at what Ekaterina did.
Rudger pondered over how to excuse this.
Yekaterina is the king of a country even if she looks like this.
I tried to come up with the best excuse so as not to damage her reputation, but I couldn’t come up with anything.
Then Roina reached out and patted Ludger on the shoulder.
“…?”
Rudger stared at Roina with the gaze of what kind of action this was.
Roina nodded her head to Rudger as if she knew everything and understood.
“Go for it. I will support you as a friend.”
Roina raised her thumb at Rudger with her other hand.
Rudger, who did not realize what that meant at first, realized later what Roina had been mistaken about.
As Ludger’s expression turned grim in an instant, Roina noticed it like a ghost and ran away from the seat.
“That’s real.”
Rudger gritted his teeth slightly, but remembered that he had sold Roina’s name and couldn’t say anything.
Rather, wouldn’t Roina, who learned the truth later, come to visit her like a deukdal?
Back then, he didn’t know if Rudger would have to avoid his seat like he does now.
* * *
Returning to the barracks, Rudger sat down on the sofa.
Although Ludger never felt tired at all, he had never been as desperate to close his eyes as he is now.
‘But it shouldn’t be like that.’
It is an individual’s time that has come a long way.
Although both body and mind were exhausted, Rudger did not forget what he had to do.
Rudger pulled out a book from the shadows.
This book, written in only ancient language without any title, was one of the things Ludger had been looking for for a long time.
A book containing knowledge related to non-attribute magic.
‘If this is it.’
Rudger opened the book and read the contents inside.
There was no Arpa, so only the sound of turning the pages of a book echoed in the quiet tent.
how much time has passed like that
With a clicking sound, Rudger turned the last page and closed the book.
Putting the book on a close shelf, Rudger got up from the sofa and went to lie down on the bed.
Rudger’s head chewed over the contents of the book he had just read in the midst of the overwhelming fatigue.
‘Compared to the volume of the book, there was only a small fraction of usable information.’
Most of it was similar to the book of non-attribute magic that Line’s mother left behind.
But that didn’t mean there was no income.
‘Non-attribute magic. An unresolved curse that gradually eats away at the user’s life beyond the lack of proper attributes.’
It was characteristic of non-attribute magic.
Non-attribute magic gradually becomes stronger as time passes, even without appropriate training.
However, holders of non-attribute magic do not know how to use the mana that builds up inside their bodies.
Even if you suppress your mana, even if you scrape it all the way to the floor and spit it out.
The unknown remnants left inside the body eat away at the body.
A life with a limited time that begins from the moment you become aware of your magic power.
It would have been better if they could have gone comfortably, but the end of the owners of non-attribute magical powers was usually not good.
A body that is destroyed from the inside gives immense pain to the person concerned.
No matter how strong a person is, he can’t stand it and commits suicide.
Why?
Why does such magic exist and why do people have to die?
The reason for the question was written, albeit abstractly, in this book.
[All of this is because of a curse from God.]
A curse from God.
Other people would not have listened to him saying that he was passing on responsibility like an ancient man, but Ludger was different.
damn it
In fact, there is no word more accurate than this.
If so, I had to know the reason why it became a curse.
[It is said that in the distant past, the magic power of the chosen ones was much more diverse and numerous than it is now. It’s hard to even remember the genealogy now, but we saw that the source of this curse of futility was there.]
Even the ancients mentioned that it was a very long time ago.
If so, when is the enemy era?
But Rudger took some sort of clue from those words.
‘In the very distant past, before the current magic system consisting of 10 elements, there was more magic for unknown properties that had not yet been revealed.’
Modern mages would have a hard time believing that.
Their thinking is basically confined to and framed by modern knowledge.
However, even in this world, there are magicians who use unknown magical powers.
Indeed, Rudgar knew one such mage.
‘Then, did the genealogy of knowledge about non-attribute magic completely get cut off by the curse of God?’
Rudger had no choice but to guess.
Because the book didn’t say anything about it.
‘God.’
Most people will feel helpless here.
Who the hell is the god the ancients refer to?
Perhaps it is something fatalistic called a god, and it may be that he has evaluated an unknown thing that humans cannot dare to resist as a god.
But at least Rudger, who had a deep knowledge of ancient languages, knew that it was not such a complex meaning.
The god the ancients spoke of was a literal god.
And there is only one god in the world to whom they will refer.
Lumensis given.
The Church of Lumensis they serve.
It was clear that they knew something.
‘Are they those guys again?’
It was disgusting, but not too surprising.
Rather, I just thought it was better.
Because all the directions he had to face were pointing to only one place.
However, more important than realizing the truth is how to solve the side effects of this non-attribute magic.
‘Non-attribute magical power is, after all, magical power. If you properly realize what kind of attribute you are and know how to deal with it, it will no longer be a curse. It’s a dangerous thing in a situation without any knowledge.’
But nowhere in this book does anyone deal with it.
That’s natural.
If there was a solution, there would be no way people who had died because of non-attribute magic would have appeared after that.
‘But at least there is some mention of a way to suppress it.’
It was valuable information that could not be obtained even with billions of dollars.
However, the person who wrote the content did not like that method very much.
Rather, it was considered taboo and even reluctant.
That’s natural.
It is neither a priest’s blessing nor a mage’s knowledge of magical powers that somehow delays the curse of the gods.
“It is the curse of black magic.”
Lying on the bed, Ludger’s eyes toward the ceiling sank deeply.
* * *
The sun was bright.
The Kassar Basin, which has regained its mysterious phenomenon again, was not felt because it always maintained the same contrast, but the watch was honest.
Rudger straightened up frowning.
Today is the day when the entrance to the Kassar Basin is opened.
In other words, it was the day I had to leave this place.
Belcat died and the collapse of the Cassar Basin was prevented.
In addition, in the process, I packed items that were close to elixirs and gathered all the necessary information.
It was hard work, but the rewards were overflowing.
“leader. I’m done packing my stuff.”
“okay. i get it.”
Arfa took the luggage bag.
The two came out of the tent. I could see people everywhere in the barracks moving around, ready to leave.
They looked at Rudger and greeted them lightly.
There was no one who did not know Rudger’s performance in this case.
Of course, the biggest role was left to Roina by Ludger, but even taking that into account, Ludger’s role was huge.
Naturally, people treated Ludger favorably and wanted to become friends with him.
Except for the old magic tower.
Rudger lightly greeted those people.
The road to leave became a long procession.
Even if their lives were spared, those who had suffered a major measles outbreak did not want to remain here any longer.
They moved swiftly toward the misty veil, through which a large passage was pierced.
Getting out doesn’t mean everything is solved.
What happened inside and what to do with the dead.
It was an issue that still had to be dealt with outside.
‘I’m sure other people will take care of it anyway.’
Of course, that wasn’t Ludger’s role.
I would report to the Duke of Hayback and the chancellor, but I didn’t have to clean up after myself.
With that thought in mind, Ludger, who was traveling with Arfa, had no choice but to stop.
Arfa was about to ask why, but found what Rudger was looking at as well.
“Are you a child?”
child
It was quite far from the exit, so others couldn’t see it, but Rudger and Arfa, who had extraordinary eyesight, certainly saw it.
A young boy with gray hair stared tirelessly through the misty veil.
It looked like it was waiting for someone.
“Who are you waiting for?”
“They will be friends.”
“A friend? The soul here has to be confined inside all the time. Then can’t we wait outside?”
“I will still wait.”
“why?”
“Because that’s what friends are.”
Rudger left the child behind and moved on.
