Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 222

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 222

“The guards will be here soon, won’t they? We need to escape quickly.”
“Yes!”
Silvi and I stepped outside the iron bars.
But the slaves simply stared at the open door, making no move to leave.
“The door….”
“What’s happening?”
If I were them, I would’ve run the moment I saw an opening.
“Who opened it? Did it open on its own? Is it a trap?”
Their bodies had grown weak from meager rations. On top of that came the guards’ relentless cruelty.
A learned helplessness had set in—the conviction that no matter what they did, they could never escape slavery—and now it froze them in place even as freedom stood before them.
Yes, being robbed of everything becomes a habit.
“I opened it. I’m escaping, but none of you are leaving?”
Confused, they couldn’t bring themselves to move. Only a handful scrambled to their feet.
“What are you all doing?! This is your chance! Run! Hurry, get up!”
They stood frozen, eyes darting nervously from face to face.
These infuriating people.
I’m offering them salvation—the least they could do is grab my hand.
But I understood. They’d been trained to obedience for so long, or perhaps….
“What if we escape but get caught again?”
“Then we’ll suffer even worse than this, won’t we?”
Fear—the fear that taking a chance might make everything worse than it already was—kept them rooted.
Salvation could only be received by those ready to accept it.
‘Hmm. I don’t have much time.’
The guards would notice the disturbance soon. I’d used Magic, after all. There was no time to waste on this argument.
“Then we’ll leave those who don’t want to come. You and I will go.”

Shocked, they stared at me. So they hated being abandoned, did they?
“If you don’t like that, then follow me.”
The only people I had promised to save were Silvi and the children. Those were the only ones I needed to secure.
“Is it all right to just leave them?”
“They’re adults. They have to take responsibility for their own lives. Overcoming fear and seizing opportunity when it comes—that’s a skill too. Every opportunity arrives with danger.”
Truth be told, what I was doing now was rather foolish.
If I wanted to be safe, I could just take Silvi and escape, then use my spare money to buy them all at the Auction afterward.
“But for some reason, I can’t stand the idea of giving these criminals even a single coin. I want to feed them disappointment instead. You understand, don’t you, Silvi?”
“Y-yes, I, I do.”
Silvi nodded, though she clearly understood nothing.
Even now, it’s not too late.
If I were clever enough, I could use these people to cause a riot, slip away in the chaos, steal the Artifacts, and escape. No one would hold it against me.
But why would I?
It’s not as though I lack the ability.
“Is everyone who wants to leave gathered?”
This wasn’t sacrifice. It wasn’t devotion.
I was simply doing what I could.
“But how do we escape?”
“Like this. Ether, take form.”
Ether, who’d been resisting all this while, finally surrendered and manifested in the shape of a car.
“Gasp! A car…!”
A new symbol of wealth in this changed age.
The slaves caught their breath at the sudden appearance of the vehicle.
“Come on, get in. There’s Expansion Magic inside, so there’s plenty of room—don’t worry about space. Oh, and don’t touch the driver’s seat. He hates backseat drivers.”
I planned to load everyone in and send them away. That way, no one would be caught trying to escape.
Vroooom—!
Ether, unhappy about being separated from me, complained nonstop.
Even as a Grand Mage’s prize student, I had no idea what he was so worried about.
Once I’d confirmed everyone was aboard, I was about to flee myself when a small hand grabbed my sleeve.
A young child who’d been scheduled to be sold into slavery today looked up at me with clear eyes.
“Sister, aren’t you coming?”
“I have something left to finish.”
Time to be a righteous rogue.
The child pointed in a direction.
“In there.”
“In there?”
“Inside. My friend.”
“You have a friend in there?”
Odd. My Detection Magic hadn’t picked up anyone.
“I’ll go rescue them. Now hurry and escape.”
When the child released my sleeve, Silvi rolled down the window and hesitantly called out.
“Should I not go with you…?”
“Helping me means getting to safety yourself, Silvi.”
Silvi nodded, understanding.
“Be careful.”
“You too.”
“I’ll repay this debt forever.”
“If we both survive, I’ll see you at the Sperom Hotel.”
The window sealed shut completely.
Vroooom—!
Ether declared he’d deliver them and be right back, then accelerated forward, smashing through everything in his path.
Crash—!
That one’s no ordinary Artifact, that’s for sure.

* * *

Despite the shocking materialization of a car from thin air, some slaves still refused to leave their cells.
“How can we trust it? We’ll probably just become slaves somewhere else.”
“That’s right. Maybe it’s better to find a good master right here from the start.”
It was then that a guard, alerted by the disturbance in the Barrier, rushed back to find the cells empty and cursed.
“Where the hell did they all run off to!”
At least a few slaves had remained. Without them, every one of us would be dead meat.
“Good work. Something good will come your way.”
The slaves’ faces brightened at the guard’s empty promise, offered like scraps of meat.
“See? We did the right thing not running.”
The guards, dismissing the remaining slaves’ murmurs, scattered urgently to search for the escapees.
Crash—!
A massive explosion echoed from somewhere distant—the sound of something shattering.
The guards lost their footing on the trembling ground and tumbled. Most of those still in the Underground thought the whole place was collapsing.
“Find out what’s happening!”
Had the guard captain not barked that order, chaos would have consumed them all.
“Damn it.”
A guard was rummaging through the destroyed Underground like it was his own home, grinding his teeth, ready to seize anyone he could—slave or not.
Click.
An unfamiliar sensation shot through the sole of his foot.
“—!”
By the time the guard realized it was a trap, it was too late.

* * *

Bang—!
At the sound from behind, I grimaced involuntarily. Someone had triggered one of my Trap Magic devices.
“Ouch. That’s going to hurt.”
Should’ve been more nimble.
“Quick question: if I ‘trigger’ a Magic spell I set up elsewhere, does that count against my Daily Magic Count?”
The answer is ‘no’!
Since my daily Magic usage was limited, I’d prepared quite thoroughly.
“Looks like this way, though.”
An illusory maze in the Underground? So the Black Market really did have a Mage on staff, just as Silvi had said.
And not just any Mage Tower-level mage, but a Star-rank Mage at that.
‘Who in the world is that?’
I made a note to ask about it on my next visit to the Sky Tower, and pressed forward lightly.
All the guards had stationed themselves near the slaves, so the valuables must be protected by Magic instead.
‘Probably this way.’
I followed the distinctive aura that the Artifacts gave off.
I froze when I sensed an unfamiliar presence, and my counterpart froze as well. Our eyes met.
“?”
“?”
Wait.
I’d changed my hair and eye color with Magic, and I’d even cast Facial Recognition Obstruction Magic, but my eyes couldn’t be fooled.
“Harun?”
What are you doing here?

* * *

Harun blinked.
“…?”
A tone that suggested familiarity, and somehow a voice he recognized.
“Arelin?”
“Yes.”
So that was it.
Bang—!
Harun had been distracted by the distant explosions. He’d also sensed someone approaching in this direction.
Now that he’d found Arelin, he knew he couldn’t leave her behind.
“What are you doing here?”
“A mission.”
“I see.”
He’d been tracking the source of a suspicious magical drug circulating among civilians and somehow ended up here.
But why was Arelin here?
“They have an Artifact I need. It’s over there. Let’s go!”
The Auction was already underway, so the warehouse was half-empty, but it was packed with items reported stolen, treasures of unknown origin, Precious Metals, Ancient Books, Artifacts, and Relics.
“If I take all of this, I could really stick it to them.”
Arelin, now holding the Artifact she’d come for, licked her lips. That was when Harun felt a belated confusion.
Didn’t Arelin die?
How was she alive?
Could this be an impostor? No, if it were fake, they wouldn’t be able to read her expression like that.
As Harun stared at her in bewilderment, Arelin’s expression suddenly hardened.
“Harun, look at this.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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