Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 31

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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 31
‘My memory isn’t terrible, all things considered. Though not as sharp as my sister’s, of course.’
[……I see. And yet you claimed it was mere chance, and somehow the most efficient spell simply appeared in that desperate moment? Moreover, it was only the briefest instant—hardly long enough for a mouse to sneeze—and even with my help, you managed to pull off the magic, however clumsily?]
‘I was just lucky, I guess…… But what’s with that tone? It’s making me uncomfortable.’
[Good. Excellent. It seems I haven’t chosen my contractor poorly this time after all.]
Liriope showed her displeasure, but Ode, the voice’s owner, seemed entirely unconcerned.
[Liriope, you’ve likely sensed this already, but know this: my gift of the Time Reversal miracle was no act of selfless charity. In return for fulfilling your wish, there is a price you must pay me.]
And with those words, Ode’s voice grew heavy and grave.
[Now that you’ve adapted somewhat to your current circumstances, I can speak of this.]
In truth, this was perhaps the matter most crucial to him of all.
‘Yes. What do you want from me?’
Liriope waited for his next words, a thread of tension running through her.
[Don’t worry overmuch. It’s nothing as unreasonable as demanding you surrender your soul, as you’ve likely imagined.]
And so at last, Ode’s words spilled forth—words that departed from Liriope’s expectations in an entirely different way.
[I, Ode’s contractor. Ascend to the summit of Babel, which stands above all Mage Towers, and carve my name upon the Astronomical Chart as my Disciple.]
Whoooosh.
In that moment, a wind from nowhere swept across Liriope’s rigid spine, brushing past her like ice.
Almost at once, goosebumps erupted across her entire body, and she gasped sharply for breath.
The summit of Babel, which stands above all Mage Towers.
In these lands, there existed three Mage Towers where mages made their home, and yet apart from them stood one more tower—empty, the highest point in the world.
That was Babel.
Only those who had climbed to the apex among the great mages of the three towers, reaching the ultimate pinnacle, could earn the right to carve their names upon the Astronomical Chart on the ceiling—a monument almost like a living myth, the supreme tower.
As it happened, the last person to inscribe their name in Babel was the Eastern Mage Tower Master, a sage of his age—and that had been some hundred and fifty years ago.
And now, here and now, what was she being asked to do?
‘Are you serious? You’re asking me to ascend to Babel? How am I supposed to carve my name there?’
Her voice pitched higher involuntarily, shocked and trembling.
Naturally—he’d asked for something impossible, something no amount of dying and returning could accomplish.
She found herself thinking that perhaps it would be better if he demanded her soul instead.
[No. You must do this.]
But Ode, either unaware that he was making an absurd demand or simply indifferent to it, declared to Liriope with absolute certainty in his unwavering voice.
[If you fail to pay the price, the contract will be voided and all of this timeline will become null and void.]
‘What? That’s completely unreasonable……!’
[Your deadline is the autumn of your twenty-third year. Precisely, up until the moment we met in the Black Forest and the contract was sealed.]
What must it feel like to be hurled naked into ice-cold water?
Her entire being felt frozen to the marrow, and her vision swam with vertigo.
Before long, Liriope was covered in cold sweat, her clothes clinging to her, just as Jed had been moments before.
‘Ode, you…… Do you really believe that’s possible?’
[You’ll make it possible. You still have ten years.]
‘This is a fraudulent contract…….’
[So? Would you have refused if you’d known beforehand?]
Of course not.
Liriope squeezed her eyes shut.
‘……Why do you want me to carve your name on Babel’s Astronomical Chart? Is becoming the master of a mage who’s achieved great deeds your lifelong wish?’
[Of course, whoever reaches the summit of Babel may with reverence carve their master’s name upon the Astronomical Chart as well, so that alone would be honor enough.]
Yet that was not what Ode truly desired.
[But to speak more precisely, my wish does not point to Babel’s Astronomical Chart itself. What I want, as the master of Babel, is for you to open for me a certain room on the topmost floor.]
‘And why there? What on earth is in that room on Babel’s highest floor that makes you want it so badly?’
[That…… you need not know. In any case, I won’t ask anything more of you beyond this. To use your authority to open the room on Babel’s summit that I’ve mentioned—that is all you need do.]
Ode closed the matter with such finality that no further questions would be tolerated.
Liriope, too, needed time to gather herself.
No amount of deep breathing could steady the tempestuous emotions churning through her chest.
Feeling heat pool behind her eyes, she reached up and rubbed her eye sockets roughly.
“28! Why are you spaced out like that?”
Thwack!
Something hard flew toward her and struck Liriope’s head squarely, then fell.
“That’s your share. Today’s the last day, so drink it if you need to.”
Liriope opened her eyes and glanced at Cassel with a cool gaze, then picked up the water skin that had fallen.
But when she opened it and checked inside, there was barely any water left.
“Hmph, do you know how much our pace has slowed because of you and your sister? You two don’t deserve food or water!”
Though the enslaved children received at least small rations of food, Cassel singled out Liriope and Kaliona for overt mistreatment.
It seemed his resentment had taken root after Liriope bit his hand.
“Cassel, th-that’s still too harsh. Surely giving them nothing to eat……”
This time too, tender-hearted Milena reached out to help Liriope.
“Here, take this. Let’s share it a little.”
What she offered was a berry-like fruit—Milena had tested its safety long ago and carried seeds with her, producing more of them a moment before.
But Liriope declined her kindness.
“My sister and I will find our own food. Don’t worry.”
“B-but……”
“Milena, don’t stick your nose in! I said I’d figure it out myself, so just leave it!”
Cassel roughly dragged away Milena, who couldn’t let go of her concern.
Alone once more, Liriope stood still for a moment, then looked slowly around with unfocused eyes.
With sluggish movements, she drifted a short distance to the side, then collapsed limply to the ground.
Shred, tear.
[H-hey, contractor…… Or, Disciple?]
Shred, shred.
[Are you all right? You’re not losing your mind, are you?]
There was no logic to Liriope’s actions as she began tearing at the grass before her.
Ode called out to her with worried words, but Liriope’s mind felt oddly vacant.
This plant held plenty of moisture; if she removed the outer layer and held it in her mouth, it would help with thirst.
She should prepare it quickly and give one to Kaliona as well.
If she grew hungry, her strength would fail. She’d need to look for something else to eat nearby…….
Jed’s group, anticipating the escape from the Manor, had begun rationing food, but Liriope, with her greater experience, could easily distinguish non-poisonous plants.
Besides, now that they’d left the Realm of Um and entered an environment where plants and animals thrived, gathering food individually shouldn’t prove too difficult.
It would be nice if her sister opened her eyes soon, today or tomorrow.
What had become of Cassel and Dino by now, parted from them at the cave entrance?
In a way, it was a pathetic form of escapism.
As she moved her hands absently in that daze, letting shapeless thoughts flow freely, someone suddenly spoke to her from the side.
“What are you doing here alone?”

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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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