Wizard of the Abyss - Chapter 27

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 27 - Growth (2)

"More precisely, I’d like to take her as my disciple.”

I quickly added these words after noticing Aletus’ expression.

"...Disciple?"

"Yes. Your daughter possesses incredible talent. I absolutely want to nurture it.”

For my own sake.

Aletus, looking quite bewildered, patted Elisia’s head, asking me another question.

"What do you mean? You must have certainly heard that my daughter has no talent for magic. Despite having had so many tutors—”

"You didn’t tell him?”

"...No. I didn’t have the time yet.”

"??"

I removed some of my bandages and made them float using wind magic before Aletus, who seemed even more confused.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly admiring my magic.

"...It’s elemental magic, but with quite the level of mastery. It seems like you put forth quite some effort.”

Well, I’d have to circulate this through my lungs after all.

"Elisia. Could you come here for a moment?”

"Yes!"

Pushing away Aletus’ hand, Elisia ran up to me.

He seemed a bit wounded by her actions, but that expression soon faded when he saw my wind magic wavering. The bandages fluttered back and forth before slipping off my hand and falling to the floor.

"...!"

Aletus frowned at that sight.

"What...? What was that just now?”

"...Do you think I intentionally unravelled my wind magic?”

I expected that I would have to demonstrate this a few more times, but it seemed like he immediately understood what was going on.

Aletus shook his head.

"No, the flow of mana didn’t change. It wasn’t you.”

"Flow?”

I never heard that term before.

"It’s the next stage after elemental magic, so it’s natural that you wouldn’t know what that is. Anyway, can you explain to me what just happened?”

"Yes. I believe that your daughter has been born with a natural talent that interferes with the magic around her.”

Aletus’ eyes widened, his expression showing deepening confusion.

Was I too blunt? It took quite some time until he regained enough composure to continue his questions.

"But until now there hadn’t been any signs of that. I always thought my daughter was just an ordinary person…”

"I suspect her interference only works against elemental magic, including her own, and only when it's used by students of similar skill levels. That is probably the reason that the other tutors and teachers didn’t notice. They’d all have been highly ranked wizards. Her interference wouldn’t have worked against them, so she probably appeared like nothing more than an ordinary person who can’t use magic to them.”

"I see… It certainly makes sense if that is the case.”

Aletus slowly nodded his head and thanked me once more.

"It seems that you have given me yet another thing to be grateful for. But as for making my daughter your disciple. You are quite clever, so you must know that I have no other choice but to decline that request, right?”

"Of course."

I refuted my own absurd request.

"From your perspective, Lord Aletus, who can easily call upon the greatest masters of magic with but a word, entrusting your daughter to a lowly person such as I would be beyond absurd.”

"Ahem, I wouldn’t go that far."

"However, I believe a remarkable person such as you, Lord Aletus, must understand the dangers of that talent.”

"...What do you mean to say?”

I met Aletus’ slightly shadowed eyes as I answered.

"Isn't it quite obvious? What does the world call those unable to use ordinary magic and yet can affect her surroundings without the use of mana?”

"..."

My words were followed by an awkward silence.

—Isn't it obvious? Elisia has fallen.

That was what people would say.

After some contemplation, Aletus shook his head as if trying to deny reality.

"...That can’t be. The reason she can’t use magic is simply because she doesn’t have control over her own ability, which suppresses her mana.”

"That is my opinion as well. But what matters here isn’t the truth, but public perception.”

Aletus seemed frustrated, but what I said was the truth.

"What are you trying to say?”

"The same as before. Please entrust your daughter’s talent to me.”

"As I have said, I cannot. If it’s a matter of keeping you silent, there are ways. As for developing and nurturing her talent, there are plenty of capable people to do so.”

"And again, I agree, yes. I really do.”

I lifted up the bandages yet again.

But this time no stars appeared in my eyes.

No flow of mana should be felt as well.

"I can’t nurture her talent.”

"...!"

Aletus blinked in confusion, then he slowly started to realize what was unfolding before him.

"But what I can do is ensure that she won’t end up like me. And that is something no one else will be able to offer. No wizard you could hire at least.”

“You..."

Aletus looked at me in disbelief, then shook his head as if something had clicked.

"O-of course! The purpose of the kidnapping and the torture…you must have fallen during that incident!”

...Not really.

Well, explaining everything to him would be a bit bothersome, so I just let him think whatever he wanted. It was easier that way.

"You are able to see many things when you’re in my state. And right now, Elisia isn’t in a good state. If she keeps forcing herself to study magic or keeps tormenting herself, thinking that she’s useless, then chances are that she might end up in a similar situation as mine, even if it might not happen today.”

"..."

"Even if she will never be able to learn magic properly, shouldn’t we at least prevent that?”

"...Elisia."

After pondering for a long moment, Aletus finally turned to his daughter and asked her.

"What do you think?”

"I want to learn!”

Aletus couldn’t help but pinch his brow at her innocent answer that didn’t even take a tenth of a second to shoot out of her.

"A-are you serious?”

"Yes, I can trust Jern! He risked his life to save us!”

It seemed she trusted me more than I thought.

"...I just want her to grow up healthy, even if she never learns magic.”

"It is quite hard for a child to live as a normal person in noble society without being a wizard."

"Fine, but all lessons must be held here. I will treat you as her tutor.”

"Thank you."

"So—is this really all you want?”

Aletus looked at me with a rather drained expression.

"Is being my daughter’s tutor all you want? I’ve been avoiding saying this, but if you’re a Fallen, that means you won’t have much longer to live…”

"J-Jern’s going to die?!”

"No. I won’t die that easily.”

I reassured Elisia. I mean, I’ve been doing all this exactly because I want to survive.

"...Regardless, are you really giving up on money and fame that could change your whole life just to teach my daughter?”

"There is one more thing."

I shook my head.

"What is it?"

"Please change the order of events.”

"?"

"Say that I had always been Elisia’s tutor, but that I couldn’t reveal it due to my status as a commoner. And then make it public.”

"Hmm, there’s no harm in that, but…Why?”

"I need status.”

A clear identity and address as a noble family’s tutor.

Until now, I was nothing more than a janitor from an orphanage and was forced to sneak around, but now I would be able to move a lot more freely.

Well, I’d still be treated as a commoner and looked down upon, though.

That didn’t really matter.

Money, family. I could obtain all that after I found a way to survive.

"And..."

I looked out the window, recalling my goal, and let a bright smile spread over my face.

"There’s someone who needs to hear this news.”

I might be able to make news about me reach the ears of that arrogant elf, sitting in the library, faster than I expected.

As I was smiling to myself, Aletus suddenly said something rather strange.

"Haah, very well… Let us first go to the storehouse.”

"...The storehouse?”

Now it was my turn to look bewildered.

Aletus simply shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you planning on teaching my daughter empty-handed?”

"That’s not what I meant."

I actually was, though. What else did I need?

Aletus explained a bit more.

"Of course, you’ll need grimoires as teaching aids and elixirs for her to consume. You’re also my daughter’s benefactor, so let’s see…”

Aletus looked me over for a moment, thought about something, and added casually.

"Well, just take as much as you can carry.”

I had almost forgotten.

Nobles were beings far more extravagant than I could ever imagine.

* * *

Late at night.

A coronation was taking place inside a small palace.

"..."

Clap, clap, clap, clap—the sound of some feeble applause echoed through the hall.

Countless retainers, their wives, and even children barely a few years old gathered to celebrate the birth of the new ruler.

The king stepped down from his throne and placed the crown he had been wearing up until now on the new sovereign’s head.

In this suffocatingly silent coordination, the only living beings were the king and the ‘mass’ grinning idiotically beside him.

"How does it feel to become a queen?”

"Like nothing. The crown doesn’t fit my head.”

A girl with black hair and black eyes, barely half the king’s height, tossed aside the crown, wearing a sulky expression.

The applause immediately stopped.

It wasn’t because they were angered by her sacrilegious act but simply because it was her will.

"Now, go back to your posts~”

At those words, the corpses dragged their feet to go back to their stations.

They were the ones defending the palace and turning intruders into the same wretched beings they were.

The fate they suffered was a terrible one, even being denied the eternal rest of death.

Whenever a corpse passed by, a thick, black trail of rotting blood was left behind. The fleshy lump laughed uproariously at the sight.

"Wahaha, Nightfall. Can’t you do something about that? They’re so disgusting. They smear this stuff all over the place wherever they go.”

"It’s rather funny, hearing you say that. Even my vilest of creations would look like a peerless beauty compared to you.”

"It’s not like I want to look like this, you know? If you shaved off all the excessive stuff, I’d be the most handsome man in the world.”

"You dare speak of ‘burdens’ in front of me?”

Nightfall glared at the lump fiercely, her voice filled with anger. To her that monster—nothing more than a sagging mass of human fat, reminiscent of moving slabs of raw meat—dared to mock her children was simply unacceptable.

These exchanges, however, occurred every time they were in each other’s vicinity, so the lump was rather adept in just brushing off her remarks.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I’m much better off since I can still die if I want, unlike you lot. Keheheh…”

"...Forget it. Where is Great Void?"

"Hmm, he just got here. Should I bring him out?”

"Yes."

At those words, the writing lump of flesh froze where it was—

And began to contract.

Crunch… Craaaack…… After having to listen to the sickening noises created by bone and meat grinding against each other, something with human form began to emerge.

Standing there was a man so strikingly handsome that one couldn’t believe that he had come out of that lump.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around before frowning in disgust.

"That place is truly vile.”

"Indeed. I wouldn’t want to make use of it, even if I die.”

"I respect your choice. I should have done so as well…”

Nightfall had no desire to live inside that disgusting lump of meat.

Grumbling, Great Void stripped a blood-soaked piece of garment from a nearby corpse and put it on before giving his report.

"The bloodspawn failed.”

"Is that so? A pity. I lent him quite a few of my children.”

"It was an expected outcome. For one, only on the level of the Realm of Self to successfully abduct all those children was already quite surprising. It seems like he made a mistake at the very end, which led him to lose everything.”

"I received the report this morning. Those nobles are trying to hunt us down. It seems like they are quite furious.”

"They’ll soon realize that their anger won’t accomplish anything.”

Great Void wiped away the last bits of mucus from his face and asked,

"How is our project progressing?”

"It’s better if you see for yourself.”

"So not that well, it seems."

Sighing wearily, Great Void followed Nightfall down into the palace’s basement.

There—hell itself was waiting for them.

Dozens, if not hundreds—no, more like mountains of corpses swollen with water—were piled up.

Regardless of age, gender, race, or status, every single one of them wore expressions twisted in agony.

Great Void took in their stench before letting out another sigh.

"Not a single one was made?”

"Yes."

"Don’t blame yourself too much. It’s a difficult task after all.”

"...Honestly, I don’t know anymore.”

Nightfall frowned.

"What do you mean?”

"Do you really think we can create one of the Three Calamities this way? Even the one time we did succeed was only of the level of the Common Realm, limited to drowning.”

"You really don’t understand anything.”

Great Void blinked.

"...Huh?"

In the next moment, all the corpses there vanished all at once.

Even the nauseating stench that had permeated this space—and the dampness that had seeped into the stone.

Nightfall couldn’t even follow what might have happened. She just stood there bewildered while Great Void placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This was how mine was opened as well.”

"..."

"Prepare again. In two days, I’ll send you about thirty natural-born.”

"Ah, understood.”

"And remember this.”

Great Void’s gaze rested on Nightfall.