Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 179 (Part 1)

Rodin had stepped back at an appropriate moment to show that he was not the one meant to resolve the incident. It was, in effect, an acknowledgment that the Knights held the authority over the investigation.

“If we ever catch those bastards, I’ll kill them.”

“You think you’re the only one who feels that way? Look over there. The other mercenaries are all raring to go too.”

Silver Badge mercenary Foby’s comment was answered by Gold Badge mercenary Scott. Having confirmed the truth of the incident, he was visibly furious.

“I really hope they show up in front of me.”

“Alright, alright. Enough pointless talk—stay focused on the perimeter.”

“Don’t worry. Everyone’s already in position.”

While having dinner, people chatted here and there. The topic of conversation tonight was the vicious criminals they had heard about during the day.

Larry and Bianca were no exception to the topic.

“Brother, do you think those guys will come this way?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“You think so too, right?”

The reason they had been able to massacre the village was that there hadn’t been any real security force present. Even if the village militia had still been around, such a catastrophe wouldn’t have happened.

Though weak, the militia could have at least held them back by grabbing onto their legs. If just a few villagers had escaped during that time, the attackers wouldn’t have been able to catch all of them with their skill alone.

But this place was fundamentally a gathering of mercenaries—not as easy to deal with as village guards.

“Big Brother Rodin, isn’t there a way to catch those bad people?”

“If we’re lucky, we’ll run into them.”

The quiet evening passed by. As night fell, everyone except those on night watch went to sleep.

*

A few days passed without incident. Rodin stayed inside the carriage, designing the artifacts for Larry and Bianca and producing detoxification potions for Queen Regina’s party.

“Almost done.”

The detoxification potion was about 90% complete. At the earliest, it would be ready by tomorrow evening—at the latest, by the morning after.

“Big Brother Rodin, once this is done, will Her Majesty and the prince be cured?”

“They’ll be detoxified. After that, they’ll need some time to recover.”

“Ah, I see.”

“We’ll be camping here for the night.”

Scott’s voice declared the night camp from outside. The carriage naturally came to a stop and rolled off the road into a nearby clearing.

“I’ll step out for a bit.”

“Going to see Her Majesty?”

“Yeah.”

Every time they camped, Rodin would visit Queen Regina’s group.

In order to prevent the poison from eating away at the body, periodic healing magic had to be administered.

Queen Regina, whose condition had advanced significantly, was certainly a concern, but Prince Arian—still young and physically weak—was especially vulnerable to the poison. Even a brief lapse in attention could result in his condition rapidly deteriorating.

Knock knock.

“This is Rodin.”

“Ah! Mage-nim, please come in.”

Rodin entered the carriage. Queen Regina was seated, reading a book aloud to Prince Arian. He caught a glimpse—it was a history book on the Luvain Kingdom.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better these days. All thanks to Mage Rodin.”

Azahasar Pallite¹ was virtually incurable unless one had a detoxification potion formulated specifically for it. Even a 7th Circle spell like Absolute Healing could only suppress the poison for two or three days at most.

“That’s a relief. Please, everyone, gather around.”

“Come this way.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Prince Arian, his bright eyes wide with curiosity, stared intently at Rodin. As if trying to peek under Rodin’s hooded face, he even lowered his head to look up at him.

“I’ll begin.”

Rodin chanted runes and cast the 7th Circle spell Absolute Healing. A pure white light flowed from his fingertips and seeped into Queen Regina’s body.

“Ah! This magic really is something else. It feels like all my fatigue just melted away.”

“Next is Prince Arian.”

“Thank you.”

Rodin applied Absolute Healing to Prince Arian as well, and finally cast healing magic on the maid’s body, too.

“Thank you, as always, Mage Rodin.”

“It’s my duty. Were you reading a book?”

“Yes, it’s a book about the founding king of the Luvain Kingdom. More folk tale than official record.”

Folk history refers to stories based on rumors or oral tradition rather than formal historical records. As a result, they often contain distorted facts or absurd tales.

Stories such as a person being born from an egg, or receiving a blessing from a dragon.

Though they may sound ridiculous, there were hardly any nations without their own folk histories. In fact, there were even kingdoms on the Central Continent that taught yasas formally.

“May I take a look?”

“Of course. You may borrow it—please read it at your leisure.”

“Thank you. I’ll be heading out now.”

Rodin accepted the book of folk history from Queen Regina.

He had assumed it would be a children’s storybook to read to Prince Arian, but it wasn’t. The book was quite thick, and the text inside was very small.

“Thank you, truly.”

“My task is to protect my client and ensure their survival. There’s no need for excessive gratitude—it’s only what I’ve been hired to do. Now then.”

Rodin turned without a word and exited the lavishly decorated carriage. As he stepped outside, Bianca ran up to him.

“What is it?”

“How’s the prince doing?”

“He’s fine.”

“And Her Majesty?”

“Same.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. Earlier today, Her Majesty coughed up blood. I was so shocked.”

Around midday, Queen Regina had indeed coughed up blood. It had been a moment of chaos—people suspected an assassination attempt.

But after examining her, Rodin determined that it had occurred because the energy of the 7th Circle Healing spell clashed with the lingering poison. Her body had already been pushed to its limits and could no longer endure solely with healing magic.

“She’ll hold out for a few more days. By then, the detoxification potion will be finished.”

“I really hope so.”

“Hm? Looks like it’s going to rain.”

This time, Undine was the one to inform him of the coming rain. Whenever the mid-grade water spirit mentioned rain, it was never wrong.

“Again?”

Hyung_Otaku2

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