Volume 2 Chapter 100 Quest： Sun Fantasy, Part II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
It seemed only Christy and Maribel remained in the room without light.
Maribel was asleep in Christy’s arms, taking shallow breaths repeatedly.
”Your Excellency?”
Approaching the two girls, who were sitting on the floor embracing each other, Christy’s tear-filled eyes met his in the darkness.
She sniffed…
Maribel just remained asleep, breathing with pain.
She wouldn’t look at him.
Rather, she didn’t seem to have the energy to.
Beads of sweat, like pearls, dotted her forehead, visible from the parting in her golden hair.
”Christy, Your Excellency is…?”
”O-Owl was a monster. Owl’s claws got her… It seems the source of a highly poisonous disease was living in its claws, and Manon immediately started suffering…”
The black-haired witch’s usual sassy attitude was gone. She was completely distraught.
She cried out.
”I broke down the poison with magic, and gave her herbs, but her fever wouldn’t break… I, a specialist in herbalism, couldn’t do anything… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Don’t die, Manon. Please…”
(‘Glasses’, Can you tell her condition?)
Kneeling beside the crying Christy, he took out ‘glasses’ from his pocket.
’Glasses’ spoke in a somewhat strained voice.
’It seems she was torn on the shoulder by the monster’s claws’
(Under that bandage?)
Maribel’s shoulder was bound with a blood-stained bandage.
A strong magic power aura could be felt from there, but it didn’t seem to be directly related to Maribel’s fever.
Her weakness felt like a normal bodily reaction.
’It seems the claws had a highly venomous disease. However, it has been decomposed and disinfected with proper treatment. It seems they have also given her a fever reducer, and if left alone, she will recover. All that can be done is to put energy (ki) into her body to boost her resistance.’
”Kian, if Manon dies, I…”
”It’s okay.”
To calm the half-crazed Christy, he took her small chin and turned her to face him.
He stared at her with strong eyes and conveyed his thoughts in clear pronunciation.
”Your handling was perfect. Your Excellency will survive and soon start to recover.”
”R-Really?”
”Yes, you did well, Christy.”
He thought Christy knew more about Maribel’s condition, but right now, all she needed was calmness.
As he stroked her hair and hugged her, she let out a sigh of relief.
Natra, who had been exploring the room, manifested nearby.
”Sir Kian. This mansion is full of Bloodsucking Kinds.”
”What?”
”It’s those Knights of Lord Owl. I saw them moving around without their visors, looking like distorted monsters that were once human. Their eyes glowed red, and sharp fangs peeked out of their mouths.”
”──────”
(Earlier, Christy said Owl was a monster. She also mentioned Maribel had been seriously injured by his claws.)
Did Owl betray them?
No, if that were true, Christy would have been dead long ago.
”Christy. It must be hard, but can you tell me what happened? You were surrounded by a foreign armed group. What happened to put you in this state?”
”──────”
The black-haired witch only whimpered silently.
It seemed her thoughts weren’t processing normally.
Natra raised an eyebrow and reached for Christy’s dress collar, but Kian stopped her with his hand.
She had done well.
Despite her half-crazed state, she managed to treat Maribel.
It would be fine to give her another 2 or 3 minutes to calm down.
”Natra, please use magic to make some warm tea.”
”…Huh?”
”──Master, I’m sorry, I’m late.”
He turned to the balcony while still holding Christy.
Only Rufna entered.
She let out a “huft” as she lightly landed indoors from the railing.
”And what happened to Seren, Rufna?”
”She couldn’t get past the barrier surrounding the Main Castle. She’s stuck right in the middle of the water moat.”
The dark elf shrugged.
Kian frowned, but then suddenly realized.
”I see, I can turn into mist, and you all transformed into spirit form to slip through the cracks in the wall, but…”
”Ah, that girl couldn’t squeeze through such a small gap. There’s no way we could just make a hole in the magic wall, so I left her with consent. By now, she’s probably waiting in vain on the platform I made with earth magic.”
”I see. I really did something bad…”
”It was her choice. Besides, considering the current situation, it would be more fortunate for her to be waiting outside.”
”Maybe. But I’ll apologize later.”
”Did you drop anything when you materialized from mist?”
Rufna walked over with a clattering sound and asked.
Kian shook his head.
”I think it’s fine. I was mist for just a few seconds.”
When one turns into mist, it feels like letting go of consciousness, so it can’t be sustained much longer.
Also, once the inertia from jumping off the ground is gone, one can’t move forward in mist form, so it’s said that materializing regularly is necessary due to physical constraints.
Setting that aside.
Kian looked down at the witch who was sobbing in his arms.
”Christy, here’s some warm tea. Natra is as good at making herbal tea as you are. I hope it helps you calm down.”
”……”
Natra took Christy’s hand and placed the wooden cup on top.
The girl with the kitsune mask looked a bit hesitant, then awkwardly smiled.
”Drink. The herbs brewed will help you settle your heart.”
”Thank you very much…”
”Rufna, please check on Her Excellency. It looks like she’s running a high fever from being scratched by the monster’s claws.”
”Got it.”
”Oh, Manon.”
”It’s okay, Christy.”
Kian held Christy back, who was trying to stop the dazed young princess.
Christy slowly released the strength from her arm after looking into Kian’s eyes.
”Um, Kian? …Really, are you here, Kian? Am I going crazy…?”
”You’re fine. You’re just…a bit confused. I’m the real Kian. I’m not an illusion.”
”…Kian…?”
”Christy. It might be painful, but I’m asking you again. After you were surrounded by the foreign armed forces, what happened to you all? Why are you in this situation? Can you explain it to me slowly, from the beginning?”
”…Yeah…”
Christy looked down at the herbal tea and began to relate the events so far in a soft, measured tone.
How they were surrounded by McCutchen’s troops and were on the brink of annihilation.
How they decided to summon Oswald’s Knight from the ‘Knights of the Sun’ fortress to drive them away.
How they shifted the position of the starting point of the barrier at the Outer Wall──the ‘Stone of the Steel Dragon’.
How Maribel broke the magic contract that bound Oswald and his army.
Then, how Oswald’s army, which had avalanched into the castle, included not just the hundred waiting at the ‘Knights of the Sun’ fortress, but also a thousand Knights Oswald had brought from his homeland.
How Oswald’s troops quickly scattered McCutchen’s army but did not follow the retreat order and instead surrounded the Main Castle──.
”After that, Manon and I were to maintain the barrier in place of the disappeared Head magicians. In the barrier’s Hall, when Manon ordered Owl to ‘reveal your true form, defeat Oswald’, Owl’s body…turned into a monster.”
”A monster?”
”A creature with reddish-purple skin, resembling a giant bat, with red eyes and a mouth full of fangs. I think…that was probably a vampire, said to have gone extinct long ago.”
”────”
”Owl slashed Manon’s shoulder and formed an ancient magic contract. The wound was initially healed by Owl, but as Manon collapsed… it reopened and the tainted blood was sucked out, detoxifying and disinfecting her. Since the fever was severe, I mixed antipyretics from the herbs I had on hand.”
”The princess will be fine. Your treatment was perfect, Head magician.”
Rufna, who had been examining Maribel’s condition, looked up and said this.
She wiped the sweat from Maribel’s face with a wet cloth and placed her hand on her neck.
”Once the fever goes down, she should return to normal. For a while, she’ll need to eat easily digestible food.”
Natra’s gaze sharpened, her eyes narrowing as she studied Maribel’s shoulder. A faint, intricate marking pulsed there, radiating an undeniable surge of magic.
”What is that contract on her shoulder? The energy it holds is… powerful.”
She hesitated, then reached out cautiously.
(‘Glasses, do you understand?’)
’It ensures the prey cannot escape – something like marking. As a specific day approaches, it robs her of reason, turning her into little more than a blood bag, a form of mental pollution. Foolish princess. She opened her heart to a monster and paid the price of too much trust.’
(Did Owl cast this? Wasn’t he Maribel’s knight?)
’Monsters never obey humans for free. That princess must have sacrificed her body and future in exchange for Tobal Cain’s service. Perhaps she didn’t think of it that way, but the monster was one-sidedly aware of such a contract.’
(How do you break it?)
’There are several ways. You could overwrite it with a stronger contract, kill the drawn monster, or make the monster itself break the contract. Well, it’s highly likely that you’ll need to kill Tobal Cain.’
(…are you talking about Tobal Cain, the one you mentioned just now – is it Owl?)
’Indeed. He is the last survivor of the Night Clan. To be precise, he was turned into a Blood Servant by the Night Clan, and then became a vampire by feeding on a parent vampire.’
Why does she know this?
Why has she kept silent until now?
Kian felt like interrogating her slowly, but he had to focus on what to do next.
Christy and Maribel needed to escape this castle somehow, but outside, Oswald’s knights had them surrounded.
They might be able to use teleportation to escape, but what would happen after that?
If Maribel vanished, Oswald would surely find another relative to elevate to Margrave.
If King Franz recognized that, Maribel wouldn’t just lose her place, but she’d be targeted for her life by Oswald.
It seemed she had also been made to contract her soul to Owl, and to say the least, she was in a precarious situation.
”Hey, Kian. Why did you come to a place like this?”
As Christy said this in her arms, he was thinking about contacting Owl, who was somewhere in the castle, to hear what he had to say.
”Because you called. You used the ‘promise’ scroll, didn’t you?”
”Yeah. But it’s fine now. Lady Natasha and the others all betrayed us, and we can’t escape anymore. I think Oswald intends to kill everyone but Manon… Fringilla, who went to plead for our lives, came back with just her head.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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