Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 15

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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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Episode 15
“Hey, what’s going on? You were supposed to find the guys who went out with Zed to get Supplies, so why’d you bring back girls we’ve never seen before?”
Just then, Liriope heard Zed’s Group making noise from nearby.
Liriope ignored Milena, who was still chattering beside her, and focused her attention on them.
“No idea, we’re baffled too. We searched everywhere around where the Marker appeared, but there’s not a single hair to be found. The trail just vanishes.”
“That doesn’t make sense. It hasn’t been that long.”
“But when we asked that blonde girl we just caught, she said something suspicious…….”
Since they were in the same Cave, even at a distance Liriope’s ears caught every word they spoke.
Truthfully, it was because they were talking as though it didn’t matter whether Liriope heard them or not.
“What? She heard sounds of fighting?”
“So maybe she ran into another Group that came after seeing the Supplies Marker and they fought?”
“That’s the thing. Didn’t we say one of the guys we’ve run into a couple times has been holed up here for three years? I thought it was just bluster until now, but there’s a chance he awakened late like Zed and learned some incredible Magic. That would explain the huge pit too.”
The tracker children who’d been devoured by Um earlier seemed unaware of what had taken them. So the other children here would be the same.
In that situation, Liriope had given a careless testimony, so it made sense they’d misinterpret the cause of their comrade’s disappearance.
“More importantly, is it true? The two we just caught—they’ve received the Sacrament Ceremony today?”
“Then we can finally get out of here, right?”
“Damn, we’ve waited so long!”
“The time limit will be thirty days again, right? No matter what happens, we have to pass the Trial within that time.”
As the conversation shifted slightly to the side, the mood among the gathered boys and girls changed a little.
Liriope felt a certain desperate longing in their eyes as they glanced at her.
Just then, Zed walked into the Cave. The murmuring children fell silent at once.
The three children standing beside Liriope froze like mice before a cat.
Zed walked past their attention with arrogance and settled onto a chair made in the center using a flat-topped stone and a blanket.
What unfolded before her eyes next was even more appalling.
“Zed, you’re here! Thirsty? Have some water.”
“Here’s fresh fruit we just picked—want some?”
“Your legs sore? Should I massage them for you?”
“I’ll fan you! You always get hot after using Fire Magic, Zed! How’s this—nice and cool?”
As though they’d been waiting for it, the children rushed forward all at once and began waiting on Zed.
“Hey, the breeze is too weak. Is that seriously the best you can do?”
“No, I’ll do it harder!”
“And don’t you have any tact? Try massaging the shoulders instead of the legs.”
“Sorry for being tactless! Let me give you a nice shoulder massage!”
Both the ones serving and the one being served moved with a naturalness and ease as though they’d been doing it for years.
Liriope felt nausea rising in her throat.
‘Ten years later, and I’m watching this again…….’
The voice in her head questioned her with a tone of disgust and astonishment.
[Contractor, didn’t you say before that you and your sister once belonged to this Group? So don’t tell me you used to do things like that too……?]
‘No. Stop talking nonsense and be quiet.’
Liriope cut off the words before they could continue, sharp as a blade, before she had to hear any more of that irritating voice.
“Oi, everyone quiet down! Pay attention here for a second.”
After lounging around like a king for a while, apparently satisfied with how much he’d enjoyed the situation, Zed raised his hand to silence the children.
Thereupon they lined up before him like well-trained dogs, ready to listen to his every word.
“You’ve all heard the news from those who came before, I’m sure?”
Zed spoke while surveying the area around him with arrogant eyes.
“At last, the new recruits who received this year’s Sacrament Ceremony have arrived at the Outer Residence. That means we’ve been given one more chance to escape this godforsaken place.”
His words served as final confirmation, and the excitement that had been subtly simmering in the crowd suddenly began to intensify.
“We’ve waited long, and all our preparations are already complete. If you all follow me to the end with faith, I promise that without a single person falling behind, every one of us will escape this hell and reach paradise.”
Zed declared this with a voice full of conviction, then rose from his seat and bellowed loudly.
“We will absolutely succeed!”
“Woooooooaaaa!”
A roaring cheer struck against her eardrums.
In the boys and girls chanting Zed’s name, Liriope sensed something like collective madness.
[What a sight. Anyone watching this would think he’s a cult leader and these are his fanatics.]
As the voice in her head muttered in disgust, Liriope quietly observed the activity outside.
‘If Um hasn’t appeared despite all this noise, this must be outside the Territory.’
Still, judging by the time and distance, it seemed like they’d barely stepped outside the Territory at best.
“Quiet, quiet!”
Zed’s incitement was not yet finished.
“Before a major undertaking, we need to reinforce our foundation first, right? The road ahead is long, and if the plan goes wrong, it’ll be troublesome. So go get Number 27 right now.”
At Zed’s command, the children immediately rushed outside and dragged someone back in.
The child wrapped entirely in Bandages was impossible to discern by gender or age, and at first glance, their condition was utterly horrific.
Through hastily applied Bandages, the exposed wounds all seemed to be severe burn scars. But from wounds that appeared to have worsened from lack of proper treatment, pus was seeping and a stench emanated.
Probably for that reason, Zed’s Group had tied this child up separately outside.
Zed looked at the child lying limp without even opening their eyes, his expression turning displeased.
“What’s this? No sound of breathing—is this kid already dead?”
“No, still alive. We’ve been watching carefully since it’s Zed’s orders!”
“So, any signs of improvement?”
“It doesn’t seem like there’s any hope…….”
“That’s what I thought too. Just lay them down there.”
Once the subordinate obeyed, Zed approached the child who looked nearly dead and stomped on their head.
As he did, he spoke in a damp voice.
“As you all know, this Number 27 joined the Group last month after receiving special kindness from us. Yet despite receiving everyone’s careful attention, they attempted to escape several times! And this is what they’ve become.”
His words seemed to trigger fear, and the three children sitting near Liriope trembled with a flinch.
“My Magic was meant to protect you, and unfortunately I ended up harming a comrade—I’m not at ease with it myself. But if we deal with traitors early, we won’t have future complications for all of us, right?”
Zed’s Group enthusiastically endorsed his words and called for the traitor’s execution.
Zed nodded, his face contorted into a look of affected sorrow.
“Still, if Number 27 had faithfully done their part, I would have been merciful and taken them to the Outer Residence. Unfortunately, this wretch became useless garbage, just breathing. So I’ve decided that whatever debt they couldn’t repay will be forgiven through death today.”
He gestured to the side.
“Well then, it’s your turn next, isn’t it? Natalie, come forward.”
“Thank you, Zed!”
Then a girl with long hair tied back in a single knot came forward with an ecstatic expression.
[What are they trying to do now? Wait, could it be……!]
A weapon like a spear, made by binding a broken blade to a long wooden staff, glinted ominously in her hand.

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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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