WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 26 - Growth (1)

"..."

I blankly stared at the passageway drenched in blood, then dropped my head onto the damp floor.

At the same time, my body finally released its tension, allowing something to well up from inside me.

"Ugh, cough…”

What I spat out was thick blood. I remember hearing somewhere that spitting out blood meant that your organs were damaged and that you wouldn’t last much longer.

I sure hoped that this particular piece of information was incorrect.

I tried to push myself out of this place using my right foot, but it trembled so intensely that I had to stop.

Even the tiniest movement was enough to drain all the strength I still had left. It would probably do me better to just stay here and wait to be rescued than to force myself to move at the risk of breaking my body further.

"...Damn bastard."

I let out a sigh as I looked at the empty space where Faris had once stood.

He said that group was called ‘Scarlet Abyss’?

I had a feeling that I should absolutely avoid that group no matter what.

The reason was pretty simple.

'Just what are the Three Calamities supposed to be…?’

So to think back to Faris’ words—

To those heretics who had just carried out the biggest act of terrorism in a century by kidnapping all those noble children at once, I seemed like a rare monster drop that would change their whole lives once they caught me.

* * *

"Lady Dercia! Please, lend us your strength!”

"..."

At the Imperial Capital’s central library.

Dercia looked down at the Knights banging their heads against the floor, letting out a shallow sigh. Another headache had found its way to her.

First, she placed one of her fingers on her lips with one eye closed, implicitly ordering them to be silent.

"Speaking quietly, if at all, is the proper etiquette in a library."

"Ah, yes…”

Usually Knights didn’t bow their heads so easily, even before nobles.

It is because of the pride they carry within themselves along with their status as Knight. While it is something that has been long forgotten, originally, Knights had been created to kill wizards.

But before Dercia, that pride meant nothing.

Like mice before a cat, all they could do was bow their heads and desperately beg.

-Thud. Dercia set the book she had been reading on the table. Not long after, it vanished as if it had never existed.

That was extremely high-level magic that went beyond comprehension. The Knights could only break out in a cold sweat as they witnessed this feat.

'…Is there actually any sort of magic in this world that this ancient monster can’t wield…?'

An elf dedicated to the study of magic. That truly was a terrifying combination, straight out of old legends.

Dercia, the master of all magic, crossed her legs and looked down at the Knights as she murmured.

"So, what is it you want?”

"The children of noble houses have been abducted."

"And from which houses specifically?”

"…There are over forty at the very least, so we are unable to name all of them!”

"Hmm."

It was a report that would have even shocked a high noble, but Dercia merely accepted his words as fact and let out a faint hum.

"I’ll at least hear what you expect of me.”

"We are currently conducting a search, but we have run into difficulties. It seems like some sort of perception-disrupting magic has been cast, making it impossible for us to make out the children’s location…”

"Understood. Let us go.”

Dercia easily rose from her seat and headed toward the main door.

The Knight, caught slightly off guard, looked towards her.

"...P-pardon?”

"I suppose it’s not as urgent as you stated if you have enough time to question me.”

"N-no! My apologies. Thank you very much!”

This was Dercia after all.

The same person who had completely ignored an attack on her Dark Magic Tower because she didn’t feel like leaving her chambers…

They had never even imagined in their wildest dreams that this notorious magic maniac would agree to their request so readily. The Knights hurriedly stood up, finishing their preparations before she could change her mind.

"We’ll be sure to compensate you for your help!”

"No need."

Dercia brushed off the Knights’ words, falling into deep thought.

She couldn’t care less about the Dark Magic Tower’s council, and yet she deemed it worth spending time on those children.

This, however, wasn’t out of altruism… but because she wanted to check something.

'Just how different is he from others?'

She thought of Jern.

What she wanted to know is just how different Jern was from ordinary mages his age.

However, the world didn’t fulfill her wish.

"C-commander!”

"What is it? I was just about to…”

The panting messenger, who had rushed in from outside the library, cut him off.

"All of the noble children have been rescued!”

"?"

"...How fortunate. It seems my job here is done then. I shall take my leave.”

"P-please wait just a second. Is that true?”

"Yes! Of the 29 abducted, we have been able to recover 30!”

As Dercia was about to head back to the library, trying to hide her slight disappointment, something strange reached her ears.

Hearing those words, the Knight Commander furrowed his brows and asked the messenger once more.

"What do you mean? 30 out of 29?”

"Indeed. We found another child who didn’t manage to escape in the corner of the underground prison where they had been held. We have him in our custody now. However, we weren’t able to confirm yet to which house he belongs.”

"Then he wasn’t one of the abducted children?”

"No. The other noble heirs that were being held with him all testified that he was undoubtedly a noble and that he had been the one to save them. His attire seems to match that status, and there were claims that he had been using magic. At the earnest request of one of the heirs, he’s currently…”

"-May I ask you something?”

Dercia cut off the messenger’s words mid-report.

The wizard’s intuition in her had already half-formed a certain theory out of the unease she was feeling.

"Does the child have black hair and eyes?”

"Yes! How did you know?”

"Hmm…”

A faint smile appeared on Dercia’s lips.

...How quick. A lot quicker than she had expected.

The Knight Commander, who had just noticed that smile, covered his mouth with his hand as if he had just realized something.

"...He can use magic… and easily helped… Ah, I see! Lady Dercia!”

"?"

"I didn’t know that you had a child!”

"......"

"Wahaha, so elves are capable of breeding with humans after all! Please forgive my ignorance. Ah, I have a daughter myself and…”

The Knights around them, realizing that their Commander seemed to have decided to court death, quietly took a good few steps back.

... And Dercia spent the next 30 minutes trying to suppress the murderous intent boiling within her.

* * *

An unfamiliar ceiling.

In contrast, there was someone familiar sitting above me.

"M-my Lady. That will only slow his recovery.”

"It’s okay! It’s not like I’m pressing on his stomach or anything.”

"..."

Well, that was technically true.

Elisia, each of her knees on either side of my waist, was curiously examining my face from all sides.

I slowly opened my eyes and met hers.

"Gyah...!"

Thud! Elisia tumbled backwards, startled, scrambling to hide behind the nearby maid.

The bed I was lying in was soft. Carefully sitting up, I examined my bandage-covered body.

"Seems like I fainted."

"Y-yeah.”

Elisia peeked out from behind the maid to answer me.

"They didn’t let us see, but they said your wounds were really bad. Still, they treated you the best they could, so you’ll be fine now.”

I tried to slightly move my arms and legs. There was still some pain, but I didn’t think that there’d be any lingering effects.

"Thank you. You’ve saved me.”

"Tha-thank you!”

Elisia shrieked before suddenly grabbing both of my hands. They were pretty soft.

"We’re the ones who should be grateful. Dad said that if it weren’t for you, we would’ve all been doomed. It’s all thanks to you.”

"I didn’t really do anything—well, that would be a bit too modest, huh?”

There was a clear limit to humility. The truth of the matter was that I practically saved all those noble brats by myself.

Elisia drew me into a hug, tears in her eyes.

"That’s right. Thank you so very much. If I hadn’t asked for your help, who knows what would have happened…”

"..."

My arms were hovering in the air, not sure what I should do in a situation like this.

"Ahem!"

I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat coming from the door.

A middle-aged man with a cold, dignified atmosphere around him stood there, clearing his throat, obviously trying to draw attention to himself after seeing Elisia embracing me like that.

"Ah, my Lord…”

"Dad!”

The maid deeply bowed her head, and Elisia jumped over towards him with a bright expression on her face.

I, too, immediately lowered my head, regardless of the pain and exhaustion I felt.

If this was the head of a noble house, that was only to be expected. Even if I were in the process of dying.

"It is an honor to meet you, My Lord. My name is Jern.”

"I am Aletus. I’ve heard the details from my daughter. A commoner and janitor?”

"Yes. And an orphan.”

"..."

I had nothing to cower for, so I met Aletus’ blue eyes directly.

I had no intentions of hiding anything. Nor could I.

"...Truly, thank you.”

But then—Aletus approached me and bowed his head to me at a 90-degree angle.

My mind froze, faced with this completely unexpected turn of events. To think that the head of a noble family would bow to me, a commoner, janitor, and orphan.

"I understand your feelings, but this is too much. Please raise your head.”

But Aletus didn’t raise his head even after some time had passed.

"I can’t thank you enough. You saved my one and only daughter…”

"...Erm, hmm. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to hear about the aftermath. Were all the others safe?”

"Indeed. Thanks to your sacrifice.”

I quickly changed the subject. If this kept on, I felt like my stomach was about to burst from all that pressure.

"When we found you, you were in a truly precarious state. What exactly happened?”

"I found out that the ones who ordered the kidnapping of the children were an organization called Scarlet Abyss, and among them there was a man called Faris. Although he seemed to be more like a hired hand than a direct member of Scarlet Abyss…”

I carefully considered my next words.

"When I told him that I had helped everyone escape, he lashed out at me before escaping. He seemed quite angered by his failure.”

If I told him that I had defeated that monster one-on-one, I was sure that he’d think I was just bragging unnecessarily or lying.

This was the better option. Hearing my words, Aletus' face softened even further.

"I see… You truly did something great. I’m so glad you survived.”

"Do you have any other information about them?”

"...Indeed. You’re involved in this, so you deserve to know.”

Aletus' expression became somewhat solemn as he started his explanation.

"They are a group of lunatics.”

"I thought as much.”

"Do you also know that they trace back thousands of years?”

"...No."

"This might sound like something straight out of a storybook, but… Back when wizards were only natural-born, they were a group that spread the deranged belief that one could only reach the Heavenly Realm by falling into the Abyss Realm first. They tortured and killed countless wizards to increase their numbers. Of course, they ended up getting annihilated and forgotten…”

Aletus let out a sigh, clearly feeling exasperated.

"But they seem to have suddenly resurfaced in the underworld recently and even went so far as to commit such a deed. We can’t be sure whether they really are the same group or just another band of lunatics borrowing their name…”

"They do have real power, though."

"That much is confirmed."

The mummies, and Faris himself.

They were strong. If it weren’t for an irregular like me, most of those children would have been tortured severely.

They were even searching for someone as unfortunate as me. If they were to somehow get their hands on me, I felt like it wouldn’t just end with a “Oh, so that’s what you are~.”

Surviving the Abyssal Sea was already hard enough, and now this… I couldn’t help but sigh.

Well, there was at least one thing I could count on now.

"You won’t just let them go, right?”

"Of course, we won’t."

Aletus clenched his teeth and declared,

"Every noble house is doing their utmost to hunt them down. Wherever they are hiding in this world, we will most certainly find their leader and execute him in the most agonizing manner possible within a month…!”

The fury of nobles, indeed.

I didn’t really know much about that Scarlet Abyss or whatever, but they couldn’t just kidnap a ton of noble children and expect to get away with it.

It probably wouldn’t even take the nobles a month to smoke them out. As long as I kept myself hidden until then, I should probably be fine.

After Aletus’ burning rage subsided a bit, his gaze grew warm again. He bent down on one knee to match my eye level.

"So—Jern, you deserve a fitting reward for your deeds.”

"A reward?”

"Yes. For saving my daughter, and the other children as well… If I ended it with just mere words, the whole world would laugh at us. I can fill a carriage with gold or find you parents who will adopt and raise you. Ah, my daughter also told me that you were eagerly eavesdropping on the Academy classes, right?”

"..."

I shot Elisia a sharp look. She told him that as well?

"Haha, don’t worry. If you want to attend the Academy, you can do so if you wish. In fact, as long as you wish for it, I can grant you anything you want. The other nobles don’t yet know your true identity, so as long as you keep it hidden—”

I intently looked at Aletus’, who really seemed willing to give me anything I wanted.

First off—free admission to the Academy.

That was quite tempting. But if I became Dercia’s pupil, there wouldn’t be much need for that.

Money wasn’t that compelling either. I might be able to buy any grimoire easily with it, but this too would become meaningless if I became Dercia’s pupil.

Parents. Well, I’d rather not have any.

"Hmm..."

After thinking it over thoroughly, I finally realized what the most valuable thing I could gain from Aletus was.

"There is one thing I want… May I speak honestly?”

"Is that so? Go ahead. I’m ready to give you whatever it is.”

I pointed my finger in a certain direction with a bright smile on my lips.

At the end of my finger stood Elisia, her expression completely blank.

"Then, please give me your daughter."

"?"

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