I stared blankly at the passage, where only a bloodstain remained, before slamming my head onto the damp floor. At the same time, the tension left me, and something rose up from my stomach.
"Cough, hack..."
What I spat out was thick blood. From what I remembered, coughing up blood meant you had an internal injury and wouldn't live long. I could only hope that information was wrong.
To get out of this damned place, I tried to put strength into my right foot, but it trembled so badly that I stopped. Even that small movement drained all my remaining energy. It would be better to just wait for rescue than to try moving and shatter my body.
"... Son of a bitch."
I sighed, looking up at the empty space where Pars had been. Red Lotus, was it? From now on, I felt I had to avoid them no matter what.
The reason was simple. 'What the hell are the Three Calamities...' In other words, retracing Pars's words— To the heretics who committed the unprecedented act of kidnapping all those noble children at once, I seemed to be a rare prize that would make their lives blossom the moment they caught me.
"Lady Dersia! Please, lend us your strength!"
In the capital’s central library. Dersia looked down at the knights with their heads bowed to the floor and let out a shallow sigh. A troublesome matter that made her head ache had found its way to her.
First, she winked one eye at the knights and brought a finger to her lips, signaling them to be quiet.
"It is proper etiquette to be quiet in a library."
"Ah, yes..."
Knights did not bow their heads so easily, not even to nobles. It was because of their pride as knights. Though it was a forgotten tale from the past, knights were beings created to kill mages.
But before Dersia. None of that mattered. Nothing was permitted but to bow their heads and beg like mice before a cat.
Swoosh.
As Dersia placed the book she was reading on the table, it vanished as if it had never been there. It was an extremely high-level magic that belonged to the realm of the incomprehensible. The knights watching this broke out in a cold sweat. '...
Does a magic that ancient monster can't use even exist in this world….' An elf who delves into magic. It was a destructive combination that seemed to come straight out of an old novel.
Dersia, the master of all magic, crossed her legs and looked down at the knights, murmuring.
"So, what is the matter?"
"The children of noble families have been kidnapped."
"Who exactly are you referring to?"
"... Their numbers exceed forty, so I cannot list them all!"
"Hmm."
It was an event that would have shocked any other noble, but Dersia simply accepted it as fact and hummed.
"I will at least hear what you desire of me."
"We are currently conducting a search, but we have run into difficulties. They have deployed some kind of perception-disrupting magic, which is preventing us from finding their location..."
"I understand. Let's go."
Dersia obediently rose from her seat and headed for the main entrance. The knight watched her, then asked with a slightly stunned expression.
"... Yes, pardon?"
"You don't seem to be in much of a hurry, seeing as you have time to ask again."
"Ah, no! Not at all, yes, thank you very much!"
This was Dersia. The completely mad mage who, even when the Black Magic Tower she belonged to was under attack, had ignored it because she couldn't be bothered to leave her room... He hadn't known he could get her permission so easily.
The knights hurriedly got up and prepared to leave before she could change her mind.
"We will be sure to reward you for lending us your strength!"
"That won't be necessary."
Dersia thought to herself, dismissively brushing off the knights' words. She couldn't care less what happened to the Elders of the Black Magic Tower, but the children were worth her time. Not out of goodwill, but... she wanted to see for herself.
'Just how different is he, I wonder.' She thought of Jern. She wanted to know just how great the difference was between ordinary mage children and Jern.
However, that wish was not to be granted.
"S-Sir Knight Commander!"
"What is it? We were just about to receive help..."
A messenger who had run frantically to the front of the library spoke, panting.
"The noble children have all been rescued!"
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"... That's good to hear. It seems my work has disappeared, so I shall be on my way."
"W-Wait a moment. Is that really true?"
"Yes! Out of the 29 who were kidnapped, we've rescued 30!"
A strange report reached the ears of Dersia, who was turning back toward the library, hiding a slight sense of disappointment. The Knight Commander also narrowed his brow and asked again.
"What do you mean? Thirty out of twenty-nine?"
"Well, in a corner of the underground prison where the children were being held, we found one young master who had not escaped and is now under our protection. However, we have not been able to confirm which family he belongs to."
"Then isn't he just another kidnapped child?"
"No. The other children who were imprisoned with him testified that he is undoubtedly a noble and that he saved them. The clothes he is wearing also suggest so, and there was mention of him using magic. Right now, at the earnest request of one of the children..."
"May I ask one thing?"
Dersia interjected while the messenger was speaking. Her mage's intuition felt a sense of unease that was halfway to certainty.
"By any chance, does that child have black hair and black eyes?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
"Hmm..."
Dersia smiled faintly. ...
He's fast.
Much faster than she had thought. Watching her smile, the Knight Commander covered his mouth as if he'd realized something.
"... Uses magic... helped so easily... Ah! I see! Lady Dersia!"
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"I never imagined you had a child!"
"Hahaha, so elves can reproduce with humans! My knowledge was too shallow, I didn't know. Ah, I have a daughter myself..."
The other knights, realizing their commander was courting a swift death, slowly backed away. ... Dersia spent a good thirty minutes suppressing the murderous intent boiling up inside her.
It was an unfamiliar ceiling. Though there was a familiar person on top of my stomach.
"Ah, my lady. That will slow down his recovery."
"It's fine! I'm not pressing on his stomach."
That was true. Kneeling on either side of my stomach, Elysia was examining my face from side to side, as if there was anything to see. I slowly opened my eyes and met Elysia's gaze.
"Aah...!"
Thump.
Elysia fell backward, startled, and scurried behind a nearby maid. The bed was soft. I sat up and checked the bandages wrapped around my body.
"It seems I fainted."
"Y-Yeah."
Elysia replied, peeking her head out from behind the maid.
"They wouldn't let us see, but they said your injuries were really bad. But they treated you well, so you should be okay now."
I moved my arms and legs. There was still a slight pain, but it didn't feel like there would be any lasting effects.
"Thank you. You've helped me."
"T-Thank me!"
Elysia cried out and grabbed both of my hands. They were soft.
"We're more thankful. My father said that if it wasn't for you, we would have been in real trouble. It's all thanks to you."
"To say I didn't do much would be a bit too modest."
There's a line even for humility. I had, in fact, saved almost all of the noble kids by myself. Elysia hugged me with tears welling in her eyes.
"That's right. Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't asked for your help..."
As I held my hands up, unsure of what to do in this situation...
"Ahem!"
A clearing of a throat came from the doorway. A middle-aged man with a stern impression was trying his best to get our attention as he looked at Elysia hugging me.
"Ah, Lord..."
"Father!"
The maid bowed her head deeply, and Elysia ran over with a bright expression. I, too, immediately bowed my head, regardless of the pain. That was what one must do when someone was called the family head.
Even if one was at death's door.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord. I am Jern."
"You can call me Aletus. I heard the details from my daughter. A commoner, a janitor, you say?"
"Yes. And an orphan."
Having nothing to hide, I met Aletus's blue eyes head-on. I had no intention of hiding it. Nor could I. "Thank you, truly."
But— Aletus approached and bowed his head deeply at a ninety-degree angle to me. I was flustered by the completely unexpected situation. For the head of a family to bow to me, a commoner, a janitor, an orphan.
"I understand your sentiment, but this is burdensome. Please raise your head."
However, Aletus did not raise his head for a long time.
"I cannot thank you enough. You saved my only daughter..."
"... Well, um. I'd like to hear about the aftermath. Is everyone else safe?"
"Yes. Thanks to your sacrifice, they are."
I hastily changed the subject. At this rate, I felt like a hole would burn through my stomach.
"When we found you, you were a complete wreck in the underground prison. What happened?"
"The ones who kidnapped me and the noble children were an organization called Red Lotus, and among them was a man called Pars. To be precise, he seemed more like an employee than a part of Red Lotus..."
I chose my words for a moment.
"When I told him I had let everyone escape, he took his anger out on me and fled. It seems he was quite furious that things had gone wrong."
Even if I said I had defeated that monster one-on-one, they would either think I was bluffing or become suspicious. This was the right way. Aletus's expression softened even more.
"Is that so... You truly did a great thing. I am glad, more than anything, that you survived."
"Have you by any chance found out any other information about them?"
"... Yes. As you were involved, you have the right to know."
Aletus began his explanation, his expression growing quite serious.
"They are a group of madmen."
"I am well aware of that."
"Did you also know that they are a group that's thousands of years old?"
"... No." "It's the stuff of fairy tales now, but... back when all mages were natural bodies, they spouted some ridiculous logic that one must first fall in order to reach the Heavenly Realm. They were a bunch of fiends who repeatedly tortured and murdered all mages to increase their numbers. Naturally, they were annihilated and forgotten..."
Aletus sighed in a tone of disbelief.
"And yet, they've suddenly made a name for themselves in the underworld recently and have now committed an act like this. I don't know if they are truly the same group, or just another bunch of madmen borrowing the name..."
"But they possess power."
"They do."
That mummy, and Pars himself. They were strong. If not for an irregular like me, most of the children would have truly been tortured.
On top of that, they were looking for pitiful people like me. If I were found out, it wouldn't end with a simple 'oh, I see'. Surviving in the Deep Sea was already tough enough, but what was this...
A sigh escaped me on its own. Well, at least I had someone to rely on.
"You're not going to let them be, are you?"
"Of course not."
Aletus declared, gritting his teeth.
"Every noble is using all their power to find those bastards. No matter where they hide in this world, we will find their leader within a month and execute him in the most painful way imaginable...!"
That's right, angry nobles. I didn't know what kind of group Red Lotus was, but they couldn't get away with kidnapping a large number of noble children. In my opinion, it wouldn't even take a month.
I just had to stay hidden until then. After fuming for a moment, Aletus's gaze turned warm again as he knelt to meet my eyes.
"So Jern, I must give you a fitting reward."
"A reward, you say?"
"That's right. For saving my daughter, and the other children... If we end this with just words, the whole world will laugh at us. I can provide you with a carriage full of gold, or find parents to adopt and raise you. Ah, you said you eavesdropped on magic."
I glared at Elysia. You told him that too?
"Haha, don't worry too much. If you wish, I can arrange for you to attend any classes at the academy you want. No, if you wish, I can give you all of these things. The other nobles don't know your identity yet, so if we hide it well—" I fell into thought as I looked at Aletus, who seemed ready to give me absolutely anything.
First—a pass for free academy lectures. That was a bit tempting. But it wouldn't be a huge advantage if I became Dersia's disciple.
Money, also not that appealing. Being able to buy as many magic books as I wanted was nice, but that too would come naturally if I became Dersia's disciple. It was better to not have parents.
"Hmm..."
After a moment of thought, I finally realized what, among all the things I could get from Aletus, was the most valuable to me.
"There is one thing I want... would it be all right to speak honestly?"
"Is that so? Tell me. I will give you anything you desire."
I raised a finger in front of the beaming Aletus and pointed in one direction. There stood Elysia with a dazed expression.
"Then, please give me your daughter."
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