Chapter 72 - It's a Delusion

An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

Ferda was pressing and rubbing his forehead with his index finger.

'I understand.'

It's natural to badmouth someone.

If you single someone out and talk behind their back, it gives you a sense of belonging to that group.

You can do it, but getting caught is a different issue.

Especially if it's talking behind the back of my beloved fiancée.

However, Ferda did not get indignant or anything.

Rather, he grew calmer.

Was it because he had gotten too pissed off from the incident with Erdes, or was it simply because he had no intention of making an issue out of something in the past?

For now, he decided to ask what he was curious about.

"I have a question."

"... Go ahead."

"Do the other dragons also think of my fiancée this way?"

"... Please just consider that dragons don't have good relationships with one another."

"No, I just need the objective facts. If you're going to help me, please tell me without any sugarcoating."

Ferda spoke seriously.

Erica had no way of knowing if that serious look was from anger or curiosity.

However, she gave him the answer he wanted.

"Yes. Looking at her track record, one can't help but say such things."

"..."

"Even right now. Taking a human as a partner and wanting to get married. It's so absurd it doesn't even qualify as a joke."

An Aspect of Power, yet an Aspect who cannot use her power.

Hearing that contradiction, it really was absurd.

Valdrova is an existence where everything is contradictory.

"Leaving emotional matters aside."

Getting caught up in the past wasn't good, so he decided to talk about the present.

"What is the advantage of forming an alliance with Iorga?"

"We can lend our strength to the far east subjugation you will undertake, Regent Ferda."

"With you people?"

"We have been conducting research on the far east for a long time."

Pride could be felt in Erica's tone.

And the arrogance unique to dragon spawns as well.

"The reason the far east cannot be subjugated is because demonic energy exists there."

It was something Ferda knew as well.

The junk mana rising from the Land of Demons collapses both the mind and body.

"To step foot into the far east, the blessings of all gods and magic were necessary. Because of that, only a very small number of elites could make up the hero's party entering the far east."

The 12 heroes.

The high priests who served each god and all the dragons protected them by chanting spells of blessing.

Among that 12-member expedition were the dragon spawn Erica Iorga and Erdes Roton.

"As we have been researching Project Hestia, we only recently achieved a meaningful result."

A meaningful result.

At those words, Ferda felt slightly excited.

"What is it?"

"It's something called anti-magic power."

Anti-magic power.

Not a bad name.

Seeing as this word wasn't in Ferda's head, he figured this might be something like a strategic weapon hidden away by Iorga.

"Can it cure it?"

"No. It is not a solution that will solve the fundamental problem of being eroded by demonic energy."

"Didn't you say it was a meaningful result while researching a cure?"

"That's how research is. Discoveries in unintended directions also count as results."

'Are you kidding me right now?'

When he glared at her with that kind of look, Erica glossed over it with an "Anyway."

"To put what we found simply, it's about the difference between prevention and a cure."

Prevention is preparing for what is to come, while a cure is resolving what has already happened.

"Then how is the cure coming along?"

"That... still has no progress. Because it's research that has to start from scratch, the direction of the results is uncertain."

Erica let out a deep sigh through her nose.

"So the point of this conversation is that if you have the intention to approach the Land of Demons, we will research the anti-magic agent a bit more, rather than the cure."

"What are you going to do by researching an anti-magic agent? Have the Valdrova Grand Duchy's territory take on the risk?"

"No. I plan to draw in the adventurer's guild a bit more."

"The adventurer's guild?"

"We've already drawn in the adventurer's guild, but up until now, we've only been throwing them requests that amount to mere errands. After only throwing stopgap measures at them, it's finally time to put them to use."

Adventurers take on various jobs. From mail delivery and trivial errands to exterminating monsters and Guardians, the local protectors.

The cost of a request varies greatly depending on skill and difficulty.

"Will they voluntarily go to the Land of Demons?"

"If this works out, there's no reason they couldn't."

Erica made a circle with her index finger and thumb to show him.

"What if, rather than just investigation requests, they could bring back the mysteries of the East from before it was eroded by demonic energy? Even trash would generate heat at the auction house."

Mysterious records about the East were items enough to fascinate not only mages but knights as well.

Even Ferda had thought he might make great progress if he learned that magic of the East.

'Though it didn't work out because of the demonic energy.'

Unable to overcome the massive barrier that was demonic energy, they were often dismissed as mere legends.

If they could touch big money, jumping into a pit of fire was the job of adventurers.

It was a genuinely good idea.

They had only observed the current ecology of the Land of Demons, but who had ever stepped foot there themselves?

Grasping the terrain and figuring out what was inside would be helpful for attempting a subjugation later on.

Based on her proposal, he endlessly painted a picture of the future.

What Ferda lacked was being filled, and what he hadn't imagined was becoming more and more abundant.

Even so, Ferda couldn't let go of one doubt.

'Can I really trust this woman?'

The feelings he had felt at the Grand Council were still vivid in his mind.

"You must be wondering if it's okay to trust me, right?"

"Yes."

"You're straightforward, as expected."

Lifting her teacup, she closed her eyes gently as if she were casually savoring the tea.

Then she opened her eyes as if having made up her mind, and spoke.

"The words you said kept coming to my mind. You asked what I would do in the end, didn't you?"

That was something Ferda had blurted out in the heat of the moment.

"My conclusion is that I won't think about that end at all."

Hearing that, he was immediately left dumbfounded.

Was wanting to escape the future something a leader should say?

But he soon realized that wasn't the case.

What lingered in her eyes was the sense of responsibility as a leader.

"I want to do my absolute best with what I can do right now."

Looking at those eyes, Ferda could be certain as well.

He could trust this woman.

"Alright. Let's form an alliance."

Joy spread across her face.

But like a skilled leader, she replied with a calm face.

"I hope we can develop a good relationship."

"Now that we've formed an alliance, may I ask a favor?"

Erica, who had been about to wrap things up, was slightly flustered by Ferda's request.

"I didn't expect you to need help so soon."

"The timing is coincidental."

Ferda had Luri bring over the items he had looted from Director Linne and showed them to her.

"What is this?"

"These are items taken from the Demons' research facility. The Director's journal and some samples."

"Demons!"

Erica was more than a little surprised.

Ferda gave a brief outline of what had happened at the research facility.

As the explanation continued, Erica grew even more shaken.

"My god... Are you saying the Demons created a drug that instantly makes a Knight-class?"

"It's still a prototype, but a Bouncer-class fought against two of our knights."

"There's a difference in skill, of course, but if it was a real Bouncer, they wouldn't have struggled that much. Since it's a prototype, the drug's effects must be weaker, or there are side effects..."

Erica peered at the liquid inside the bottle.

Her eyes, which had manifested multiple layers of mana and magic circles, attempted to analyze its components.

But the only thing she returned was a frustrated expression.

"More than anything, you're saying this is something that mimics Godwin's power. My god. To only be finding out about an item like this now—Erica, you stupid bitch. What have you been doing all this time?"

Wide, round eyes and a body bouncing up and down.

She couldn't contain her excitement.

Then she made eye contact with Ferda and gasped, "Oops!"

"I'm sorry. I showed you something unseemly. Being a researcher before I am a leader, I get too excited when I see something like this..."

"I'm used to it."

He already had a guy who ran out screaming stark naked and a crazy woman who absorbed components by sniffing hair, so that level of excitement was cute in comparison.

She examined the journal next.

Seeing the characters in the journal, she frowned.

"This... is the language of High Elves."

Unlike Ferda, she recognized it right away.

'Perhaps she can decipher it?'

"Can you decipher it?"

"Unfortunately, I only know enough to recognize it as High Elf writing. The language of the World Tree guardians exists for the sake of secrecy, after all."

"Does that mean it's impossible?"

"It's not completely impossible, either. No matter how secret it is, it's a principle that the minds of elves must always be connected. Those closest to the rooted origin handle everything."

Ferda also knew what that origin meant.

"The Grand Chief, then."

"Yes, they should be able to decipher it. We would have to go deep into the west, but that shouldn't be a huge problem..."

He had found a way to break through, but it wasn't as good as he'd hoped.

High Elves were the highest class among elves and a closed-off group.

There was no way the Grand Chief would be lax.

"If we persuade the Grand Chief, we might be able to work something out..."

"There's no need to persuade them. We just have to blackmail them."

"Pardon?"

"If we threaten to expose the fact that a High Elf became a dark elf to the whole world, they'll come running out barefoot."

"That's... well..."

It was a peculiar matter.

Whether to call it a good idea, or crazy talk.

"For now, we'll talk about it later. The High Elves are currently in the middle of their Autumn Festival and will be preparing for their Winter Festival as well."

They pray to commemorate the abundance of autumn and the desolation of winter, and it doesn't stop until the time the spring sprouts begin to bud.

They would have to wait well over a quarter of a year at the very least.

But he still found meaning in the fact that a sliver of possibility had opened up.

"I'll return the journal to you, and I will take these samples. Maybe I can find a clue for a cure from them."

Her excited face made him think she might be able to pull it off.

Was it because of that?

"There is one more thing left."

"What else is left?"

Erica's eyes sparkled like a child receiving a birthday present.

"My mana."

"... Pardon?"

She looked as disappointed as a child who had received a present fit for their grandmother's taste.

"Mana? What do you mean by that?"

"I can relieve Grand Duchess Valdrova's bloodlust with my mana."

At those words, her eyes went wide.

Her vertically slit pupils shrank like a cat's in the middle of the day.

"Does that mean you cured her?"

"No. I merely relieve the bloodlust that surfaces in those situations."

Erica put on a bewildered expression rather than an intrigued one.

Because it was such an unprecedented claim that it was hard to believe at face value.

The mages of Blue Eye are elites.

All of them had racked their brains researching it, but they couldn't even create a way to suppress or relieve it.

Yet a mere human possessed such bizarre mana?

And a human affecting a dragon at that?

"I knew that the mana of the Red Circle possessed unusual properties because it's formed from emotions. But for it to be a power that can suppress or relieve Godwin's chaos..."

She thought, thought, and thought some more.

And yet, she could not understand it.

Iorga, the Aspect of Water and Magic.

For Erica, who served as the leader beneath her, to not understand this was far too damaging to her pride.

In the end, Erica cast aside that pride.

"Alright."

She said.

"Let's give it a try."

"Give what a try?"

"Your mana. I need to figure out what kind of mana you have, so shouldn't I feel it for myself?"

Erica took off her glove and held her hand out to Ferda.

"It probably won't have much of an effect. It only works on Grand Duchess Valdrova."

"Are you certain? One hundred percent?"

It had an effect on Valdrova.

However, it had no effect on Luri, a spawn of Silverwind.

So it would either have no effect or be negligible on Erica, who was a spawn all the same.

"I'm fairly certain."

"'Fairly' and 'certain' are words that cannot coexist. Let's just feel it for myself. It probably won't mean much anyway."

Right, what special meaning could there be in passing over some mana?

Thinking that, Ferda grabbed Erica's hand.

"I expect your magic power isn't anything special. You likely used magic unconsciously like shamans born with it in their blood, or in a similar form to—HIIYAAANG!?"

A sharp scream burst from her mouth the instant she received the injection of mana.

It was the cry of a noble lady startled out of her wits by a cold breeze blowing up her skirt.

Erica's legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Slumped on the floor, Erica looked up at Ferda.

Flustered by the completely unexpected situation, Ferda quickly let go of her hand.

A flush of burning shame and trembling pupils took over the face of the normally cold leader, Erica.

"??"

"??"

Ferda and Erica stared at each other's faces.

"?????"

"?????"

Even if they stared at each other, there was no one who could solve this mystery.

* * *

"Womanizer."

Luri condemned him with an icy glare.

She simply hadn't spoken up, but she had been holding her breath and watching everything.

Ferda was quite shaken.

"What's this nonsense about me being a womanizer?"

"Didn't you just cheat with that arrogant girl?"

"We only held hands, and the leader let out a scream."

"A scream? Anyone could hear that it was a sensual moan."

Even Ferda had to admit that.

"I only flowed mana into her, and it was what the Iorga leader wanted."

"You've brought out the exact repertoire of a cheater."

'This is driving me crazy.'

"You've felt it before too."

"And did I wail like that arrogant girl?"

"No."

"There was nothing special about it. It was just mana. But what you're saying is that there's something different when you do it to the Iorga leader. Could it be..."

Luri narrowed her eyes and asked.

"Do you like that bitch?"

"Are you crazy?"

He instinctively put on a straight face and cursed.

"It was just mana."

"Then why was I the only one who was fine?"

"Is that important?"

"It's important."

Luri irritably pulled off her glove.

"Try it. If I feel even a little something, I'll scream a sensual moan at the top of my lungs just like that bitch."

With Luri acting like that, regardless of the truth, he had no desire to hold her hand.

Ferda decided to respond firmly as well.

"Why are you overreacting so much?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I didn't care that much about your interrogations before. But today, you're being extremely persistent."

"... Isn't it because someone with a fiancée is acting like that?"

"To me, it looks like an overreaction beyond that. Did I whisper words of love, or drag her into a bedroom? It was merely a novel reaction born out of ignorance, so why are you making me out to be some damned bastard?"

Ferda remained calm while showing his anger.

Hearing those words, Luri showed signs of being shaken beneath her expressionless face.

After listening to Ferda's words and thinking it over, she bowed her head.

"I'm sorry. You're right, I am merely Grand Duchess Valdrova's servant, so..."

Seeing her muttering like a dejected puppy, Ferda remembered what had happened today.

Luri had gone through a tough day today, no less than Ferda.

The pressure of a potential war and the glares of Goz Silverwind.

She had had to endure all of that.

'Right, today was a hard day.'

That must be why she was overreacting and making such a fuss.

She had been trying to stay strong as usual.

It wasn't something to scold her for, but something to praise her for.

Looking down at Luri, whose head was bowed in front of him, Ferda spoke.

"You went through a lot today."

And placing his hand on her head, he lightly stroked her hair.

"..."

Luri neither lifted her head nor reacted.

The moment he placed his hand on her head, she froze solid.

After placing his hand on her head, Ferda thought to himself.

'What is this crazy behavior?'

'I unconsciously did as my body told me to, but why did I do this?'

Ferda realized why that action gave him a sense of déjà vu.

Didn't someone say that patting a child's head is effective when an adult man praises them?

That was why Mori had asked him to do that when praising her.

That was it.

Ferda had just treated Luri like a child.

And she was someone who already got annoyed when treated like a child.

'She's definitely going to get mad.'

"Ngh..."

While he was thinking that, it wasn't quite what happened.

'Don't treat me like a child, I am a dragon spawn and you are a human.'

Contrary to his expectation that she would say something like that, Luri remained silent.

With her head bowed, she was feeling Ferda's touch.

'Why?'

'I don't know.'

They say beasts feel a sense of comfort when grabbed by the scruff of the neck.

Was it because they felt their mother's love, or because of a habit?

Or he thought that maybe she was so overwhelmed with anger that she would kill him the moment he took his hand off, like a detonator button.

While all sorts of thoughts filled his head, she opened her mouth.

"P-Please leave right away. I have to clean."

"Right, got it."

Only then did Ferda take his hand away, and Luri moved as well.

She immediately turned her back and started sweeping the floor.

For just a brief moment, her skin not covered by her hair was visible.

Her face was burning bright red.

* * *

Luri thought to herself.

All humans change.

The heart cannot defy the flow of time.

It was such a fickle thing like a reed that consistency was treated as a highly respected virtue.

Ferda was the same.

Now she had no idea what that man was thinking.

To think a person could change that much in less than a year.

Even with Grand Duchess Valdrova around, now he continued pulling womanizing stunts like holding another woman's hand.

He just kept doing hateful things.

'...'

No, Luri knew the truth.

That man hadn't changed at all.

And that he had no particular thoughts when holding their hands, either.

That he had no intention of cheating, too.

It was just something he used when he needed an excuse to tease her.

But now a feeling of frustration surged up inside her.

Right.

The one who had changed was Luri herself.

Luri had also subconsciously realized it.

Whenever she grew anxious, instead of thinking that she could handle it, Ferda's name naturally began to come to mind.

And when Goz arrived at this castle, she had even unconsciously grabbed his collar.

That change had started after Ferda killed Abel, ever since she bawled her eyes out in his arms.

'Lord Silverwind.'

Ferda had felt like the Silverwind of the past.

'Why...'

She couldn't understand why she had made such an absurd delusion.

Silverwind and Ferda were different.

Unlike the rough men of the north, his personality was mild and intelligent.

The strictness that valued discipline was created by the harsh north and his second-in-command, Goz.

'They don't even look alike at all.'

While Silverwind was a middle-aged man with a long beard when he used Polymorph, Ferda was a greenhorn young man.

If there was a similarity, it was their hair color at best, and even that was only true if one forced the comparison.

She carefully thought back.

Luri realized one thing.

'The scent.'

The scent she had smelled when leaning against Ferda and crying.

The refreshing scent of peppermint and chamomile mixed together, spreading with an intense yet subtle fragrance.

And the devastating scent of ash.

Why had she smelled that scent on Ferda?

'It's a delusion.'

An absurd delusion.

She had been so overwhelmed by emotion that it caused confusion in her memories.

Luri thought to herself.

She had to.

Confusing him with her father, Silverwind, was sacrilege.

'I really do need to scrub all the dead skin off him.'

She would fill the bathwater with lavender and steep him in it completely to wash it all away.

Whatever the case, Ferda was the bad one.