I made a sort of pact with Suirak. A pact that if he didn't kill me and just left, I wouldn't tell Dersia that he had come. Of course, I had no intention of keeping a pact with a murderer.
"-So that's why he left this bracelet and this chest."
"I see."
After talking for about 20 minutes, I had told her 95% of what Suirak had said. Dersia carefully examined the pearls in the chest, then rubbed the end of one.
"It looks like a pearl, but it's not. It feels like some kind of medicine..."
"Medicine?"
"Yes."
After saying that, Dersia picked up one of the pearls and swallowed it. ? I stared at her blankly for a moment, then, horrified, I rushed toward her.
"What, have you lost your mind? Spit it out!"
I was about to grab her shoulder, but hesitated to touch the body of my Master, who was like the heavens to me, so I just used my words. Dersia looked down at me with a pathetic expression and rolled the pearl around in her mouth.
"Why are you making such a fuss?"
"Why... did you eat it? How do you know what kind of medicine it is!"
"Because you have to take medicine to know its effects."
"Can't you identify the raw ingredients by crushing, soaking, or drying it? That's safer."
"I could, but it's difficult and time-consuming. Eating it is faster. Besides, my body is immune to all poison. Have you ever seen an elf die from being poisoned?"
"... I've never seen an elf other than you, Master."
No, I just learned for the first time that elves were immune to all poison. Is it because they're always eating things like poisonous mushrooms? Anyway, since she said she was fine, there was nothing more I could say.
As I watched Dersia with an anxious expression, she swallowed with a gulp, tapped her chin, and nodded.
"So this is its effect, hmmm..."
"What is it?"
"Other emotions fade, and my mood improves slightly. The feeling of lethargy lessens, and the world appears a little fainter. For now, that's about it. Most importantly, it's certain there are no side effects."
"You can know all that from eating it just once?"
"It's not a difficult task. I think you, a heart-realm mage, should probably try one."
"... Are you sure it's okay?"
"I assure you. Even if it is a poison, if you're poisoned in front of me, I can cure you."
With a doubtful expression, I swallowed the pearl. The taste was like a slightly bitter candy? At some point, it instantly dissolved and turned into powder.
After I swallowed it and some time passed, I began to feel dizzy.
Dreamy, perhaps?
Though there was no major issue with my movements. I moved my body around a bit and shrugged.
"I don't think it has much of an effect."
"I don't think that's the case."
"Huh?"
Dersia strode over and poked me on the forehead.
"Ouch."
Thump.
I fell to the floor, landing on my bottom. It didn't hurt much, since there was a thick carpet on the floor. I rubbed my lower back as I stood up.
"What was that for all of a sudden?"
"You fell."
"Yes, because you pushed me, of course—huh?"
Only then did I realize. Normally, I don't fall. I can't fall fast enough to feel pain.
I stood up and swung my arms. It wasn't a huge difference, but I could definitely feel the resistance had lessened.
"... The burden has been reduced."
This easily?
Those Red Lotus bastards, just how much research did they do... I looked at the chest, feeling a sense of awe. But Dersia stared at me intently and then said something else.
"Try using the magic of the heart-realm."
"Yes."
I tried to lift the chest with my currents, but I failed. The chest merely rattled.
"Eh?"
I added more power. It took enough force to send a boulder flying just to barely lift the chest in an unstable manner.
"It's... not working well?"
"-Hah, Red Lotus has created something incredible."
Dersia looked at the chest, her expression slightly changed.
"This isn't a medicine that reduces the burden of the heart-realm. It's closer to an artifact in the form of medicine, one that touches upon something more fundamental."
"Can you explain it in a way that's easier to understand?"
"It's a medicine that lowers your perception of the world."
"I see. I understand perfectly."
As I nodded with a confident expression, Dersia sighed and explained it more simply.
"It means it interferes with your perception of the world of the Deep Sea."
"This is probably the only way to lower the burden for a certain period of time without side effects."
"I can't even imagine how many hundreds of years they must have spent developing this."
"Even from my perspective as an elf, they must have researched for a long time."
"So it was difficult to make. Then... is it almost over if I have this?"
"Of course not. There's the issue of tolerance, and it seems to only reduce the burden by about a third or a fourth."
"For another world, it might be different, but for the Deep Sea, even if you took this for the rest of your life, it would only delay the inevitable by a little."
"And this is likely not a lifetime supply either."
"Still, wouldn't it be useful in a Deep Fusion state?"
"It would be. However, it's best to avoid such a state from the beginning. It would only be used for a last-ditch effort."
Dersia gave it a harsher evaluation than I expected and fiddled with the necklace.
"And this—it's definitely an artifact that sends the wearer's location to a specific place the moment it's worn. I'll dispose of it."
"Oh. Wait a moment."
I reached out my hand without thinking. Dersia tilted her head ever so slightly and asked back.
"Is there a problem?"
"Well... um..."
I'd told her 95%, but 5% was left. After hesitating for a moment, I just asked directly. Worrying about it wouldn't change anything anyway.
"Master, by any chance, do you not want me to survive?"
"Of course not. Did Suirak say something like that?"
An immediate answer. Dersia said it without any change in her expression. I couldn't see any lies.
I nodded and offered an apology.
"I thought so. I'm sorry. When you're working so hard for me—" "It doesn't matter if he spouts nonsense. But if the Jern I know judged it to be trustworthy, there must be a reason. I want to hear it."
"It's really nothing, he just said that if you wanted to save me, you would have made me something other than human."
"..."
"It's nonsense, right? I should have just ignored it... but."
Dersia's silence was long. Wondering if I'd provoked her for no reason, I carefully studied her face and saw an emotion I had never seen on her before. It was unmistakably bewilderment.
"Jern."
"Yes."
"That... doesn't seem to be completely baseless."
"Huh?"
"I'm not sure why I didn't think of such a possibility. Why... for what reason...?"
Deep in thought, she muttered something, then suddenly sat down and began to furiously scribble something. The lines soon became an unrecognizable language that adorned the paper. I stood there awkwardly for over 20 minutes, but Dersia seemed to have forgotten my existence, focusing only on her writing.
"Um, Master?" ...
There was no reply. Dersia had her nose practically buried in the paper. Wondering if I should be louder, I rang a nearby bell.
But still, there was no movement. This time, it was my turn to be bewildered. What is this?
"Oh dear... she's escaped again."
Just then, a gentle voice came from my side. I hastily stepped back and looked to see a beautiful woman in a maid's uniform, sighing as she looked down at Dersia. Lately, I had only been at Dersia's house and hadn't seen anyone else.
I raised my guard and backed away.
"Who are you."
Red Lotus?
If so, this is the worst-case scenario. At a time when Dersia has suddenly lost her mind— But the maid gently held her skirt, bowed her head, and greeted me, a young child.
"Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am Ciel, a maid and the head maid of this mansion."
"... I haven't seen you once until now."
"That is because my master, Lady Sia, ordered me not to show myself."
"Hmm, is that so?"
"Or did you perhaps think Lady Dersia was the kind of elf who would cook, clean, and do laundry herself?"
Absolutely not.
True, the hallways were clean. As I lowered my guard a little, Ciel looked down at Dersia, who was writing like a madwoman, and sighed.
"But, to be like this... my, tsk tsk..."
From the way she spoke, she had to be a maid. She clicked her tongue, looking at Dersia almost as if she were some high-maintenance shut-in.
"Even if you stay here, Lady Sia won't be coming back for a while. Let's go to my room for now. I have a lot to ask you."
I was still a little suspicious, but I had no other choice. I followed Ciel, who was holding a lamp, into the room right next door. ... Wait, she's been right next door this whole time?
It was even more spacious and tidier than Dersia's room. It was to the point where it was hard to tell who was the master and who was the maid. As I sat down on a chair made of clean wood, Ciel almost simultaneously placed a teacup and poured tea.
I took a sip. Hmm, it might be rude to say this, but... the flavor was much richer than the tea the Director made. It was a level one could not reach unless they had invested a large part of their life in the art of tea.
I spoke with admiration.
"You really must be a maid."
"Did you think I was something like an assassin?"
"Um, yes."
"You're honest. Just as I'd heard."
Ciel took a sip of her tea and showed the smile of a veteran.
"As you'd heard?"
"Yes, Lady Sia often spoke of her troublesome disciple."
"Ah, right. Why is my Master acting like that?"
"That's her... escaped state. Unfortunately, it seems it will take quite some time for Lady Dersia to come to her senses."
"Will she be like that for about a week?"
"You should be prepared for at least a few months. It could even take years."
"What?!"
Thump.
I slammed the desk and stood up without realizing it. Knowing it was rude, I immediately sat back down.
"No, what kind of state is that for it to take so long?"
"Don't worry too much. She gets like that sometimes when she's refuted by her own logic."
"What... does that mean?"
"When something she established and worked on turns out to be irrational in her view—she throws everything aside and clings only to that problem."
"She does create a masterpiece each time she's done, but well, in my opinion, it seems she still hasn't shed her childhood habits. I wonder if she'll fall if she can't solve it one of these days."
Ciel sipped her tea as if it were nothing. But I wasn't in a situation to be so calm. If Dersia didn't help, many things would come to a halt.
I sighed and rubbed my head.
"I don't know what's happening all of a sudden..."
"Huhu. I know, right."
Even I, her disciple, am worried. Yet Ciel just smiled. As I was slightly on edge, I couldn't let it go easily.
"It may seem like nothing to you, Ms. Ciel, but to me, it's a very big deal."
"My apologies. It's just that it feels like I'm watching Lady Sia's childhood."
"... Are you an elf?"
"No, I don't mean her actual childhood, but Lady Dersia when she first came here."
It was an interesting story. Ciel spoke as she gazed into the air, as if reminiscing about the past.
"Lady Sia, who came out of the Black Magic Tower on her own, reading and searching for books in the capital and scribbling strange things in alleyways, was closer to a beast than a person."
Is she dissing her in a roundabout way? It didn't seem so, as Ciel's expression was closer to one recalling a happy memory.
"Isn't it interesting? An elf who is closer to a beast than a human."
"Did you take her in, Ms. Ciel?"
"If I used that expression in front of Lady Sia, I'd get hit, but, yes. You could say that."
I roughly understood the situation. Dersia doesn't value her own body very much, so she would have needed someone like Ciel to look after her. And also, since Dersia wouldn't want that, the person looking after her would have had to volunteer to do so themselves.
Finally, a maid who would volunteer to look after an eccentric individual like Dersia would, with high probability, not be in her right mind. As I slowly came to this rational conclusion, Ciel's smile widened.
"The way you reach a conclusion in your head and then act on it is also very similar. I'd believe you if you told me you were her son."
"... If that's a compliment, thank you."
"It is a compliment. I'm actually grateful to you, Jern."
"I haven't really done anything."
"Just by existing, you've changed Lady Sia a lot. She talks with nobles, she's severed her ties with the Black Magic Tower..."
"She's changing from an unidentifiable monster to an eccentric mage with a disciple. I think this is a really good change."
Ciel looked at me, beaming, as if something was incredibly pleasing.
"So, I would appreciate it if you didn't misunderstand. Lady Dersia truly cherishes you and is doing her best for your survival."
"You were listening."
"My apologies. Since it's the room next door, I can't help but hear, even if I don't want to." ...
It was embarrassing to hear from someone else's mouth. I cleared my throat and stood up.
"I'm sorry for saying something unnecessary. Until Lady Dersia comes to her senses, I'll have to find something to do on my own."
It was a shocking revelation, but when I thought about it, nothing had changed. The process of struggling to survive was something I was doing even before Dersia was around. Rather, a direction has been presented.
If Red Lotus gave proper advice, then the suggestion to find a knight might not be completely wrong. As I got up from my seat, Ciel handed me some papers, as if she'd just remembered something.
"Ah, Jern."
"Yes?"
"This is a book Lady Sia worked hard to put together to show you. It might be helpful for your training."
"Oh, thank you."
I opened the magic book. ...? But there wasn't any particular advice written in it. What was there were just ordinary intermediate magic spells.
Spells that one could attempt from at least 4-Star, and spells that a 1-Star could never use even if they died trying. In other words, it was a magic book filled with truly difficult magic. Naturally, limited to 1-Star, I could never learn them.
I tilted my head and asked.
"Um, did my Master say anything else while writing this book?"
"Anything else?"
"My Master said my limit was 3-Star, but the spells in here can only be used by those above that level."
"What?"
Ciel tilted her head as if she didn't know what I was talking about.
"She said she was going to teach you all of it." ..?