WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Wizard of the Abyss
[Translator – Aren]
Chapter 58 - Tempering (4)
"The Imperial Palace?”
"Yeah…”
"What’s your name?”
Was she, like, the third imperial princess or something? Of course not.
The girl lowered her head, her face looking daunted.
"R-Ren."
"Ren?”
"It’s the last part of my mom’s name. I wasn’t really given a name, so I just use that.”
"...?"
What did she mean by that?
"Greg and I… We’re illegitimate. Our mom was a maid who got involved with some noble… I don’t really know the details.”
"Why don’t you know? She’s your mother, right?”
"We grew up in an orphanage. But unlike the other kids, every month a woman would come by to give us food and clothes. Then one day, big brother overheard her talking to the director.”
"So that woman was your mom.”
"Yeah, he even found out her name… But when big brother confronted her the next time she came, she looked shocked and left. She never came back after that.”
So these kids weren’t natural-borns created by Scarlet Abyss, but half-mages, born from a noble and a maid.
I knew that if a wizard married another wizard, they were 100% guaranteed to give birth to another mage.
However, it had been said that the number of nobles who are wizards gradually increased by normal nobles marrying wizards. So if a wizard has a kid with a normal human, the chances of the child being a wizard were still pretty high.
"Are you twins?”
"...Uh, yeah. That’s right. How did you know?”
If they were twins, it made sense how they somehow overcame the odds and both were born as wizards.
Why would their mother throw them away? If it were me, I’d be trying to turn my life around using them.
Well, she probably wouldn’t have known that they were both mages until they reached the age of 10. So maybe she just didn’t recognize their value. While I was running every possible scenario through my head, Ren slowly lifted her head.
"My brother—after that, he told me to forget about our mom. He said that she was a bad person who abandoned us. But I couldn’t forget. She’s our mom after all. So I named myself after her. On my own.”
"You want to see her. That’s your goal, right?”
"Yeah. I want to see her one last time and ask her why she came back to look after us like that even though she had abandoned us.”
"I see. Hmm…”
That was much easier compared to her asking me to save her life.
I’d have to somehow figure out how to get into the Imperial Palace, though, but helping a Fallen stay alive was far harder.
"Alright. Come with me.”
Brushing off my thoughts, I pulled her into a nearby inn.
Inside, I slipped into an empty restroom, opened the cleaning storage closet, and carefully checked to make sure that it was sealed completely. Ren tilted her head in confusion.
"What…are you doing?”
"Do you know what a mage’s workshop is?”
"No…”
"Well, you will now.”
Clack. I turned my key and opened the cleaning closet door again.
"W-wow…”
Even with how shabby my workshop was, Ren seemed quite startled. More accurately, she seemed shocked by the mere existence of the workshop.
She glanced around with an awestruck expression on her face, muttering,
"I mean, I knew, but you seriously are a noble, huh…?”
"No. I was an orphan like you.”
"...What?"
"Some things happened. I got lucky.”
I took out some medicine from the shelves, like ointments that would help with burns, painkillers, and some of those pearl pills I kept here.
"Take all of these and apply this; you’ll feel a bit better. Don’t die, and try to endure.”
"Er, okay…”
"Also, let me ask you something. What’s your inner world?”
"By inner world… Do you mean the place I see?”
"Yeah."
Ren carefully scanned the air around her as if something was there.
And there probably was something there. I just couldn’t see it.
"It’s hot. Everything around me is burning. If I touch anything, it just bursts into flames…”
"But it doesn’t actually happen in the real world?”
"...? Y-yeah.”
So it wasn’t a Great Realm. But it still was pretty serious.
Just looking at her face filled with burn scars and blisters—
I could tell that Ren didn’t have much time left. I didn’t tell her, though.
"I first realized it when I was washing my face in the bathroom. The water should have been cold, but it felt boiling hot, and I ended up burning my face… Ugh.”
"If talking hurts, you can stop.”
"Ah, no, I’m fine.”
"Did something serious happen that could have caused you to fall after you had your Soul Fever or when you were younger? Something that emotionally triggered you?”
"...I don’t know. But whenever I thought about my mom abandoning me, my chest would feel really hot.”
So the trigger of her fall—was unknown.
First of all, I doubt that she somehow experienced swimming through molten lava or being boiled alive, so there had to be a different reason.
But she seemed to have some difficulty talking, even if she denied it, so I simply changed the subject.
"What does your mom look like?”
"Brown hair, short, pretty. Her eyes were also really beautiful.”
"Anything more definitive?”
"Hmm… She always kind of limped on her left leg.”
"That should be enough.”
A limp on her left leg. That was something easy enough to spot if I released Tide Sense in a crowd.
Committing all the information I gained to memory, I laid her down on the bed and stood up, giving her a quick warning.
"When we reach the palace, I’ll get you out of here. Until then, you can’t leave. If you have any questions, now’s the time to ask them.”
"..."
Ren blinked, then asked, seemingly unsure about it herself.
"W-why are you helping me this much…?”
"What?"
"I can’t do anything for you…”
What a ridiculous question. I stared at her with cold, flat eyes.
"You asked me for help, didn’t you?”
"Y-yeah, but normal people don’t usually just help criminals.”
"Are you a criminal? Have you killed anyone?”
"No… But I ran away from the Knights. And if you help me, you’ll be in danger too…”
"If I actually thought it was dangerous, I wouldn’t have helped you.”
I was Dercia’s disciple, Elisia’s tutor, and an apprentice at the Dark Magic Tower.
Even a Knight of Heavenly Retribution wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me without the resolve to face the consequences.
So, I had to slip into the palace and find a maid whose name included Ren.
That was more than enough. Way better than just standing by while a tragedy unfolded before me.
"You. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have unleashed your Abyssal magic right in the marketplace, right?”
"...Yeah."
Ren lowered her head when she heard my slightly irritated voice.
"I don’t agree with the Empire’s plan to isolate those like us forever in some far-off prison. I don’t want to be exiled until death takes me either. But attacking innocent people isn’t right. What would be the difference between us and Scarlet Abyss if we did that?”
"I-I don’t want to hurt anyone either. But losing my brother and thinking that I might never be able to see Mom again made me so scared…”
"Then consider this my reason to help you. I hate Scarlet Abyss. I don’t want more monsters like them running around. So if helping you meet your mom prevents a terrible disaster, then that’s a cheap price to pay.”
"...Thank you.”
"No need to thank me. Instead, think about what you want to do after you see your mom. Run away, accept being confined to some remote place and be content with it, or fight like hell, like me.”
"..."
As I calmly brought up all her possibilities, Ren, who had been blankly staring at me for a while, finally let out a small chuckle.
"Sorry. I don’t think I could ever be like you. Not in a million years.”
"...Ah. I see.”
It seemed like the medicine was kicking in.
She looked a bit better.
* * *
I closed my workshop and stepped out of the inn, checking the big clock standing in the square.
It was almost 3. I headed toward where the carriage was and waited for Brimdal. There I found a dwarf holding a massive greatsword, which he definitely didn’t have when we arrived here, leaning against a lamp post, grumbling.
The moment he saw me coming, Brimdal snapped at me.
"Why are you so late?”
"I’m perfectly on time though?”
"Well, you shouldn’t be arriving at the exact time. This is why wizards are…”
Grumbling on about some nonsense, he climbed onto the carriage. I followed him, shaking my head.
"I have something to take care of, so you can go ahead if you want to.”
"...What? What are you talking about?”
"Well…”
I hesitated for a moment, then just blurted everything out.
"I found a potential terrorist. If I leave her, she’ll either get captured by the Knights or abducted by Scarlet Abyss and turned into a monster. Since I saw all that happening, I found it quite difficult to just ignore her.”
Brimdal scratched his head and asked,
"Did you see yourself in that helpless little Fallen?”
"Huh? No.”
"Then why bother helping?”
"I don’t want to come up with justifications just to save a kid.”
"You little brat… You look no older than twelve, so what are you talking about? You’re just a kid.”
"I’m eleven."
"Tsk. If you’re not back within two days, I’ll assume you died. Do whatever you want, Hyah!”
Brimdal didn’t offer a single word of help and just put the carriage in motion.
However, that very act of not interfering with my actions was help enough. I was currently under his tutelage, so anything I did could blow back on him. Telling me to do whatever I want was basically like he gave me permission.
Even though he had a foul mouth, beat up kids, and crushed their dreams for a living, his nature was surprisingly decent. What a weird guy.
I had a plan. While heading toward the palace, I saw several Knights sprinting down the main street.
"Find her! She couldn’t have gotten far!”
"You there, have you seen a child with severe burn marks?!”
Of course—
They were already out there asking for eyewitness accounts.
They were still at the outskirts, but if this went on, they would reach the fruit vendor in under 30 minutes.
Then, the following sequence of events would take place.
1. I saw a young apprentice of the Dark Magic Tower taking her away, claiming he was her brother!
2. What? That’s pretty rare… Could you mean Jern? Dercia’s disciple?
3. The one who was abducted by Scarlet Abyss… Right? So he is one of them!
It might take them an hour to get to that conclusion. If they decide to do an intensive inspection following that, I would have no way to escape. I’d be forced to give up everything and flee the Empire forever.
Time was like a noose slowly tightening around my neck.
Before reaching the Imperial Palace, I slipped into a narrow alley.
"Form: Burn."
-Ssssssk!
"Kgh…”
Luckily, Dercia did train me using fire as well.
I clenched my teeth so hard I felt like they were about to crack, feeling vivid red patches forming on my face and body.
The agony of having my skin scorched by fire was indescribably horrific. Far worse than suffocating.
Ren was suffering far too much for her age, no matter what world’s common sense one used.
"Haah."
After regaining my composure, I headed toward the front gates of the Imperial Palace.
As befitting of an Imperial Palace, it had gigantic walls several meters high and hundreds of armored guards patrolling along them.
The moment I got even a little closer, a deafening roar rang out.
"Halt! Identify yourself!”
"I am Jern Aspandil, apprentice of the Dark Magic Tower and adopted son of Dercia Aspandil."
I had held up my key to the guard captain, but he only stepped closer with his spear lowered, voice tinged with suspicion.
"I haven’t heard of an apprentice this young belonging to the Dark Magic Tower.”
"My talent is exceptional. You can come and verify it if you like.”
I adopted a somewhat smug tone.
"Wait here.”
Still keeping his guard up, the guard captain rushed inside. It seemed like they had a way to directly contact the Dark Magic Tower.
I was a bit worried that the Tower’s council members might pretend like they don’t know anything about this and wash their hands of me.
"...What business does the Dark Magic Tower have with the Imperial Palace? If you seek to enter, please follow proper procedures.”
I guess I worried too much.
A short while later, the confirmation came, clearly showing the name Jern Aspandil. He lowered his spear, but the suspicion didn’t leave his eyes.
Well, it seemed like the Tower wasn’t that well liked by the Imperial family. I pulled back my hood to show the burn marks on my face and explained calmly,
"I just fought a Fallen in the middle of the capital.”
"...What are you talking about??”
The guard captain’s expression immediately shifted.
"She used magic without the use of mana. She was too close to civilians, so I lured her into an alley to somehow calm her down and reason with her, but then she attacked me. I barely managed to escape after the battle. And there are some things the palace should hear.”
"Please wait a moment.”
His expression instantly became urgent before he hurried back inside the walls.
This time, he came out a bit faster than the first time, panting, and then barked some orders to the other guards.
"It’s true. This is to remain confidential; no one should speak of this. Return to your regular duties!”
"Yes!”
"Sir Jern, you have done us a great service. A doctor is on his way to treat you. We’ll call for the Knights shortly, so if you could just report the details—”
His tone had undergone a drastic change. He seemed much more friendly, which showed that the situation was a lot more serious than I had thought.
I slowly shook my head.
"Could we maybe hold off on that a bit?”
"...?"
"There’s a reason why I came to the palace rather than to the Knights. I’m only a 1-star wizard, and yet I could properly fight against a Fallen. There’s no way a skilled Knight would fail to capture such a weak kid, right? So, my guess is that perhaps someone among the Knights secretly helped the Fallen escape.”
"Huh?"
The guard captain let out a confused sound, wearing an incredulous expression.
No matter how I looked at it, that expression seemed to scream, “What nonsense is this?”
"That seems…highly unlikely.”
Well, it was nonsense after all.
-Unless it involved Scarlet Abyss.
I rubbed my chin with a puzzled look.
"...True, never mind then. Even I think that it doesn’t make much sense. For something like that to happen, a Scarlet Abyss infiltrator had to be ‘disguised’ as one of the Knights. That’s impossible, though.”
"...!"
The guard captain’s eyes went wide when he heard those words.
His expression turned into one of serious contemplation. Cases like that had already happened, and since I, who shouldn’t know anything about them as a mere apprentice, pointed out this possibility so clearly, it made it quite hard to ignore this option.
"I’ll wait for the Knights, then. The pain is still bearable for now.”
"...W-well, how about we go inside and have you explain this matter more thoroughly?”
"Inside the palace? Wouldn’t that be a bit too discourteous?”
"Not at all. There’s an infirmary inside as well, so please, head in for now.”
"Thank you for your kindness.”
Smiling softly, I entered the palace, escorted by the captain of the guards.
After entering what stretched out before me…
was an entirely different world.
"...This is incredible."
"Hm? Ah, is this your first time inside the palace?”
"Yes."
Outside it was winter, yet inside the palace it seemed to be spring.
Songbirds of every color perched atop cherry blossom trees in full bloom, creating a gentle harmony. The pond, far from being frozen over, turned into clear streams flowing right through the palace grounds. Sometimes a cool breeze would blow through the area; otherwise, it was pleasantly warm—perfect.
I couldn’t find a single drab corner in this place no matter how hard I looked. It was like someone had taken every beautiful landscape in the world, cut them out, and stitched them together in a way that each piece harmonized perfectly with each other, highlighting their beauty even more.
Gazing at a butterfly brushing past my shoulder, I couldn’t help envying the Imperial family. The infirmary we arrived at was bigger than most large hospitals outside.
"Ah, captain. What brings you here?”
"We have a burn victim. Are there any doctors available?”
"I’m sorry. All of them are currently upstairs…”
"What? Why?”
"Well… Something urgent has come up.”
"Even though there are this many doctors here? Tsk, fine. Can you at least provide some emergency treatment?”
"Yes!"
“Then clear the treatment room. Sir Jern, my apologies.”
"No, it’s fine. I’ll gladly take even basic treatment.”
More than ten nurses were assigned to me, so the treatment was done in no time. But that didn’t mean that they were sloppy or something.
After disinfecting, they applied a salve to me and bandaged my wounds expertly. Once they left me to my devices for a moment, I spread out my Tide Sense.
"...Hmm."
Seems like I had no other choice.
They definitely used some sort of spatial expansion magic here. From the outside, it certainly looked large, but I thought I would be able to scan this whole place easily, considering the wide range of my Tide Sense—
Yet going by my calculations, it would take me at least 20 minutes to sweep the whole place.
And it would be pretty hard to justify wandering around the palace grounds for 20 minutes.
"Please wait here. We’ll call for the Imperial Knights.”
"...Yes."
And the nurses were still hovering around me, which made it hard for me to move around without raising suspicion.
After hesitating for a bit, I raised my hand.
It was time for me to use the oldest trick known to mankind.
"Excuse me, I need to use the—”
"Yes, please wait just a moment.”
"?"
What did that mean? While I was unable to understand what was happening, a nurse returned with a glass bottle, its purpose quite obvious.
Before she could reach for my pants, I held up a hand, my expression serious.
"I—suddenly feel completely fine. Really.”
"Yes, I understand.”
So this was what the palace was like, huh?
I couldn’t find a single excuse to slip away.
I guess I’d just have to wait for the Knights to arrive and hope they escort me somewhere else. I sighed as I lay back.
"Didn’t I explicitly tell you that all I need is medicine?!”
"But Your Highness, if your insomnia continues, your mind and body could suffer greatly. And sleeping pills aren’t good for your health either…”
"Silence. Tsk, I’ll go find it myself.”
"Ah, Your Highness, that room has a patient—”
-Bang!
The door flew open, and a girl with unforgettable fiery red hair shot an irritated glare back at the door she had just slammed shut.
A familiar face. I hurriedly tried to hide under the blanket, but she turned to face me before I could.
"All that nagging is just so…”
"Ah."
"?"
Our eyes met.
For a moment, neither of us said a word.
This silence was quite dangerous, so I spoke first.
"Good day to you, Your Highness Princess Lumia.”
My tone was as flat as it possibly could be.
But apparently, my greeting wasn’t enough to satisfy the princess.
"...Kgh."
"Huh?"
"Th-this isn’t a nightmare, right…? W-why are you here…?”
Watching the sheer terror filling the princess’ eyes, I realized one thing.
Karma definitely existed in this world.
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