Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 126

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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 126
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“Liriope!”
“Hey, are you two all right?”
Liriope and Caliona lay crumpled in the darkened corridor.
As Milena rushed toward Liriope, the thread of magical power that had been pulling the two of them from the Illusory Space vanished.
Cassel, who had been straining with every ounce of strength to pry open the narrow gap in the Illusory Space, gasped for breath as exhaustion overtook him.
Liriope had no time to catch her breath—she immediately turned her attention to Caliona’s condition.
“Ugh…….”
But after seeing Caliona’s face, still twisted in pain as she remained hunched over, Liriope had no choice but to quickly drape her cloak back around her shoulders.
“C-Caliona, what’s wrong? Did you get hurt somewhere?”
Milena peered forward with worry, but Liriope only pulled Caliona’s head more firmly against her chest.
“I’m fine……. My sister just used too much mana.”
“L-Liriope, you don’t look well either. Your face is awfully pale…….”
“I’m fine too.”
Yet contrary to her words, a deep tremor rippled through Liriope’s chest.
The tips of her fingers grew cold with alarming speed, and her heart beat with heavy, labored thumps.
Dark marks like writhing snakes crawled across Caliona’s neck and face.
Liriope recalled the sight she had witnessed in the Illusory Space moments before.
When she thought back to how the woman writhing in agony under Shadow Magic had ultimately met her end, nausea twisted through her stomach unbearably.
‘Definitely…… her body warped, and then she became like a shadow.’
Fortunately, Caliona’s condition was not as severe as that, but Liriope could not let the two people before her see her like this.
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? Explain what happened. What about Samuel? Weren’t you supposed to go meet that guy?”
At Cassel’s interrogation, Liriope suddenly remembered Samuel, whom she had forgotten and left behind in the Illusory Space.
But with so many other confusing things weighing on her mind, Liriope found it difficult to sort through her reeling thoughts.
Just before escaping the Illusory Space, it had looked as though the shadows were fighting each other.
More precisely, it seemed as though a second shadow was attacking the first shadow, which had been trying to pursue Liriope.
But why?
Originally, Liriope had intended to hurry and inform the Magic Tower Master, Belkiers, or someone else about what she had just witnessed. But suddenly, a sharp suspicion cut across her chest.
Because of it, she could not easily open her mouth, even to Cassel and Milena.
“For now, you two……. Just pretend you didn’t see any of this.”
“What? How am I supposed to pretend I didn’t see something I already saw? Just explain what happened, even if you have to rough it out. I’m going crazy here.”
And just as Cassel muttered in exasperation, losing his patience—
“Then why don’t you just drop dead?”
A sharp, cutting voice suddenly pierced her ear.
A chill fell like ice water poured over her head.
As she spun around reflexively, long legs entered her vision first.
Then came the glint of spectacles perched above the collarbone, eyes of crimson red that carried contempt for others as their baseline, and silver hair that held the same cold sheen as its owner’s disposition.
The man who had appeared without a sound directly behind Liriope was none other than Evangellin.
He twisted his lips into his characteristic sneering expression, regarding Liriope’s group as one might regard insects.
“You’ve caused trouble after all. I suspected it might come to this.”
Liriope stiffened, feeling her spine go cold each time Evangellin’s gaze swept past someone.
Whether it was an illusion or not, his eyes lingered a moment longer on Caliona, who rested her head against Liriope’s chest beneath her cloak.
“I don’t understand why there are so many people in this world who overestimate themselves and run their mouths.”
But soon Evangellin fixed his piercing gaze directly on Liriope, as if boring through her.
“When you don’t even have the qualifications.”
“…….”
“Today you’ve seen far too much that you shouldn’t have.”
Liriope’s hand, draped around Caliona’s shoulders, tightened involuntarily. Cold sweat born of nervous tension beaded and rolled down her stiffened spine.
“The other dogs who cause pointless trouble from time to time are just as irritating, but still—the cleanup on this end comes first.”
In that moment, sensing something ominous, Liriope pressed her lips together. She surreptitiously slid a button she had torn free backward with a flick of her wrist.
“Pity.”
Evangellin said no more.
His mana—sharp as a needle, a perfect reflection of his nature—engulfed Liriope in an instant.
Immediately after, her vision went black.
* * *
“Liri, are you very tired?”
When Liriope opened her eyes again, she was standing in the corridor before the bustling Banquet Hall.
The banquet seemed to have already concluded, with people trickling away through the corridor in small clusters.
‘What?’
For a moment, Liriope felt profound confusion—where was she now, and why was she here?
“Liri, can’t you hear me? If you’re tired, should we just head back to your room?”
Then Liriope suddenly became aware that someone at her side was speaking to her again.
Startled, she lifted her head, and there was Caliona’s face looking down at her with concern.
Liriope asked, still somewhat dazed.
“Sister, your face is back to normal? How did you manage that?”
Caliona laughed as if Liriope had said something absurd.
“What do you mean? Back to normal? What was wrong with my face?”
Liriope had no answer to that question. She herself couldn’t remember why she had said such a thing.
Eventually, a moment later, she rubbed her eyes and stammered weakly.
“Oh, um. Like you said, I guess I’m just tired. By the way, how long has it been since we left the banquet hall?”
“I’m not sure… maybe about ten minutes?”
Liriope’s memory was somehow hazy.
She remembered starting the banquet and greeting people, then moving with her sister to a quiet corner to rest for a moment…….
But what happened after that when we went outside? Who did I meet?
Then Caliona, who had been gazing down at Liriope, spoke again.
“Liri, were you startled when I suddenly brought up Gawain earlier? You’ve looked spaced out ever since then.”
Only after hearing those words did Liriope understand why her state was so strange.
Ah…… was that it?
It was true that she had been shocked when Caliona suddenly declared she would become Gawain’s disciple.
“Anyway, let’s go back to the room and talk more. This isn’t the place for a detailed conversation.”
Caliona gently pulled on Liriope’s hand.
“And don’t bother asking Zakaël about the Magical Power Enhancement Potion. I waited here for ten minutes only to be stood up—such a person isn’t worth wasting another second on.”
But Liriope had taken only a few steps after Caliona before stopping again.
“Zakaël?”
“Yeah. I think that potion is probably not much, despite its grand name.”
Now that she thought about it, she had indeed planned to get information about the Magical Power Enhancement Potion today.
But what was this strange sense of discord?
Zakaël…… was that really the name of the boy Liriope had promised to meet?
“Liriope!”
Liriope’s confusion deepened when Zakaël appeared directly before her eyes.
A boy with an angular face and a long nose, giving an impression of sturdy competence, came rushing over and bowed his head hurriedly.
“Oh my, sorry. I must have lost my mind—I fell asleep on the banquet hall balcony. I think I’ve really lost it. I’m so sorry!”
“Zakaël, if you’re sorry, that’s not enough. You called Liri out and made her wait in the first place.”
When Caliona expressed her displeasure on Liriope’s behalf, Zakaël apologized repeatedly. Then he noticed Liriope staring intently at his face and felt awkward.
“What? Is something on my face?”
“No……. It’s just that your face looks somehow unfamiliar.”
“Huh? Me? Really?”
Was the boy who often smiled shyly at Liriope really the one with such a face?
“Oh, right! About that Magical Power Enhancement Potion I said I’d tell you about…… I’m sorry! Actually, I exaggerated a bit to get your attention.”
Zakaël, looking even more chagrined, pulled a small glass vial from his pocket and handed it to Liriope.
“It’s just a potion that gives the body a bit of vitality…….”
From the yellow liquid in the vial came the distinct trace of Vitality Magic.
In that moment, Liriope’s face hardened.

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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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