Chapter 170

Kwaa-jik—!

Wrapped in a fiercely shining aura, Luke struck down with a single blow.

That one strike caused a large crack to form in the gem on Suiroti’s forehead.

And soon after, it shattered into pieces and scattered across the floor.

“Kuaaaaargh!”

The black Evil Dragon screamed as if in pain and began thrashing violently.

It was a violent struggle that made the entire temple tremble.

It was as if he were squeezing out every last bit of strength just to survive.

Because of that thrashing, Luke, who had been standing on Suiroti’s head, fell straight to the ground…

“Urgh?!”

The chains Kara had been using to restrain Suiroti shattered instantly.

Freed from his binds, Suiroti quickly flew out of the temple.

He soared through the open air and headed straight for the enormous exit of the plaza.

I immediately chased after him outside the temple, but the Evil Dragon had already flown far away.

Suiroti, who reached the great exit, landed for a brief moment, turned his head, and looked back at me.

“You and your ancestors… all alike in your insolence toward me. Descendant of the Pure-White Mainac. Soon enough, I shall come to destroy you, just as I did your forebears.”

With those words, the Evil Dragon spread his wings once more and took off into the sky.

Flying unsteadily, Suiroti gradually grew smaller in the distance until he finally vanished from sight.

“…Pure-White Mainac?”

Suiroti had just called me a descendant of the Pure-White Mainac.

Was Mainac a name?

I didn’t know exactly, but it was a name I was hearing for the first time in my life.

‘Could that be one of my family’s ancestors? But… I’ve never once heard the name Mainac before.’

At least not back when I played the game.

And I had pored over the lorebook and every bit of the story, achieving countless feats.

Still, it wasn’t bad—I’d managed to gain a bit of information.

That aside…

“…What a waste.”

I looked toward the direction where Suiroti had flown off.

I should have slain that Evil Dragon while I had the chance.

But what was done was done—regret served no purpose now.

Instead of wasting time regretting it, it was better to assess the situation and plan my next move.

But before that, I figured it’d be wise to take a moment to recover.

“Instructor Luke, are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not like I fell from that high up.”

“That’s a relief. Do you think the others are all right too?”

I glanced around at the rest of our group.

At least outwardly, everyone seemed fine.

“Ugh, my head still feels foggy. Gideon, I was under that mind-controlling spell, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It was quite a strange—no, unpleasant—experience. It felt like my mind and body had split apart. My mind was calm, like I was dreaming something pleasant, but my body… it was moving on its own.”

Jason scratched his head and sheathed his saber.

Then he came closer to me and whispered quietly.

“…I didn’t catch everything earlier, but that Evil Dragon… didn’t it call you some kind of ‘descendant of the Pure-White’?”

“He said I was a descendant of the Pure-White Mainac. Do you happen to know anything about that?”

“Nope. Mainac’s a name I’ve never heard before either.”

“I see. Then for now… there doesn’t seem to be any way to find out.”

Well, a shame’s a shame—but at least everyone seemed free from that Dragon Tongue Magic now.

“Ugh… but why does my body ache so much? Hey, my student. You didn’t… hit me a few times earlier, did you?”

“Well… yes. When I was fighting you earlier, I did throw a few punches.”

“So I really did attack you, huh? I don’t even remember it… Ugh, maybe I should study Dragon Tongue Magic sometime, if I get the chance.”

Perhaps exhausted from restraining Suiroti, Kara sat down heavily on the ground.

And looking around now, it wasn’t just Kara—everyone seemed worn out.

Myself included.

‘Handling five people at once wasn’t easy. Even if they couldn’t use their full strength.’

I sheathed the Mistcatcher and stretched my arms.

We all needed a short break.

“Let’s take a moment to catch our breath. We can plan our next move after some rest.”

Everyone nodded at my words.

They did look completely drained.

So I decided to rest somewhere nearby as well when—

“Gideon.”

“Hm? Noona, what is it?”

“Um… you’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

“Nope, not at all. You know me—I don’t get hurt that easily.”

“…Right. There aren’t many who could break through your defense.”

Lisa gave a faint smile as she looked at me.

Then, after silently gazing at me for a moment, she suddenly hugged me.

“Huh? Noona?”

“I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you… but I swung my sword at you. And with killing intent, no less…”

“It’s okay, Noona. Don’t worry about it. It couldn’t be helped.”

“Still… I can’t help but feel bad. Even though I didn’t want to, my body kept attacking you… It was horrible—something I never want to go through again.”

Lisa hugged me tighter.

I gave a small chuckle and patted her head gently.

“Yeah. I don’t ever want to experience that again either. But you know, Noona, it’s thanks to you that I managed to escape that situation.”

“Thanks to me? Ah, you mean when I threw my sword earlier?”

“Yeah. That gave me the opening I needed. Do you remember it?”

“No… not really. The only thing I remember is my body attacking you while I desperately tried to stop myself… and then, suddenly, I heard your voice.”

Lisa slowly nodded as she recalled the scene.

“I think hearing your voice helped me regain some of my senses. But I couldn’t fully take control of my body, so… I just did what little I could.”

“And that was throwing your sword?”

“Yeah, I just hurled it at Suiroti without thinking. Looking back now, it was the right thing to do.”

Lisa smiled faintly in my arms.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she asked,

“But I can’t quite remember… what did you say to me back then?”

“You don’t remember that either?”

“Hmm… no, not clearly. It felt like something that snapped me back to my senses…”

I smiled softly and brushed her hair aside.

“I said the words you always wanted to hear from me.”

“Something you’ve always wanted to hear from me, huh…”

Lisa thought for a moment before speaking again.

“‘I love you’?”

“Well, that’s not wrong… but that’s not it either. It was something more straightforward.”

“Hmm, then… ah.”

Lisa looked at me with a knowing look in her eyes.

“You said you’d let me drink your blood?”

“Yeah. Whenever I say that, you get really happy, don’t you?”

“…I didn’t realize I liked it that much.”

Lisa nodded slowly, then looked up at me again.

But this time, her gaze felt quite different from before.

“Speaking of which… it feels like it’s been a while since I last drank your blood.”

“…You mean you want to drink some now?”

“You said you’d let me, didn’t you?”

“Well, that’s… uh…”

I glanced over at the others.

They all seemed too busy recovering from their fatigue to pay any attention to us.

The only one close enough to overhear was Luke, who then said—

“There’s a big gold-covered table over there.”

He pointed toward a corner piled high with gold and treasures.

I let out a helpless chuckle.

“…Don’t drink too much, Noona. All right?”

“Got it.”

Lisa nodded, her eyes sparkling brightly.

“Gideon, you look a bit thinner than before.”

“I suppose I did lose a little weight.”

I gave a small smile at Jason’s remark while wrapping a bandage slowly around my neck.

“And Lisa Noona… your skin’s glowing.”

“Well, she’s feeling better thanks to me, so I’m satisfied.”

After finishing the bandage, I called the group together.

“Now that everyone’s had a breather, let’s move again. For now, we can’t accurately track where Suiroti went. So let’s put that Evil Dragon aside for the moment and focus on other tasks first.”

“You’re right. There are plenty of things we need to deal with before chasing after that runaway dragon.”

Luke nodded in agreement and continued.

“First thing we should do is contact Lord Andrew. We need to report the current situation with the Isrinbloom Family and the nomads’ interference. We should relay everything quickly and get the Hawkbat Family to move.”

“I agree. The sooner we inform them, the better for us. But Instructor, I noticed earlier that communication crystal spheres don’t seem to work here, right?”

“Yeah, for some reason, the crystal spheres don’t function in this underground plaza. We’ll have to go back up to the surface to make contact.”

“Understood.”

After responding to Luke, I turned to Kara.

“Instructor, could you teleport all of us back to the surface? The spot where we all first met should be fine.”

“You’ve been using me as your personal transport all day, you know that? Do you even realize how exhausting teleportation magic is?”

“I do. That’s why I’m asking you, Instructor. It’s a request only one of the Empire’s most talented magicians could handle.”

“…You really know how to flatter someone when you need something.”

Kara looked at me, exasperated, while I smiled back and met her gaze.

“So, can you?”

“With compliments like that, how could I say no? Fine, I’ll do it. Satisfied?”

“Thank you, Instructor. Oh, and one more thing.”

I glanced outside the temple.

Oslo was still tied to a statue nearby, unconscious.

“Instructor, you haven’t finished analyzing that mind-control Dragon Tongue Magic yet, have you?”

“Nope. Still in progress.”

“Then please bring Lord Oslo up with us. I’d like you to continue your analysis once we’re there.”

“You mean you want me to find a way to break that spell, right?”

“Yes. If we can just figure out how to undo it, we can completely turn the situation to our favor.”

Kara nodded, seemingly in agreement.

“All right, I’ll give it a try. But don’t expect too much. It’s an ancient spell I’ve never seen before—even for me, it won’t be easy.”

“Just attempting it is more than enough, Instructor. Thank you.”

“Yeah, don’t take that gratitude back later. Anyway… hey, Roy. You’re helping me again later, got it? I can’t do this alone.”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Roy flinched slightly at being called out so suddenly but answered right away.

Kara chuckled softly at the sight.

“What an amusing kid. Anyway… Roy, once this is all over, how about coming to work under me? You seem far more skilled than I thought—talented, even. Geniuses like you are always welcome.”

“But I…”

“I know. You’re interested in Ancient Studies, right? Well, I’m really into other races. Maybe we’d get along better than you think.”

Kara eagerly tried to recruit Roy, who looked quite flustered by the sudden offer.

Well, those two could sort it out themselves…

“Sir Jason, you said you’re heading back to the Isrinbloom Family’s mansion?”

“Yeah. There’s still a bit left for me to investigate. I’m going to leave contacting my father to Luke. Oh, right—when I see him, I’ll hand over the Hawkbat Family’s exclusive crystal sphere. It’ll be much faster for communication.”

Jason rummaged through his coat and pulled out a different crystal sphere than the one he usually used.

“That’s not a bad idea. Anyway, Sir Jason, if you’re heading to that mansion, would it be all right if I come along?”

“There’s no reason you can’t… but why? Got something you want to investigate there too?”

“Yes, I do.”

Indeed, there was something I absolutely had to investigate in the Isrinbloom Family’s mansion.

Something that had been there for a very long time—

Ever since I first transmigrated into this world.

“I need to go to that mansion’s basement.”

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