Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 47

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

Episode 47
Caliorna felt it too—that same peculiar sensation—and jerked her hand away from Liriope with a startled breath.
But before she could even voice her confusion, Caliorna’s voice wavered as she began stumbling through a disjointed flood of words.
“Liriope, does it—does it hurt a lot? There’s barely any medicine here, so I couldn’t do anything for you.”
She was clearly trying to hold back her tears, yet her pale face was already glistening with moisture that threatened to spill over.
“I thought if I just washed the wound with water and stopped the bleeding it would be fine…… but the fever kept climbing and climbing, and I got so scared…… I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Liriope. You must be in so much pain, and I’m useless…… Ugh……”
While Liriope had been unconscious, Caliorna had been holding back a torrent of worry, guilt, and remorse over her sister—and now it all came pouring out at once.
Clear tears fell in drops, dampening the floor and her clothes.
“Don’t cry, sister…… I’m fine.”
Of course, Liriope was perhaps the one person most vulnerable to Caliorna’s tears, and she scrambled to comfort her older sister however she could.
“But are you okay? You don’t look well at all.”
Even as cold sweat continued to bead on her own forehead, Liriope tried her best to lift her head and study her sister’s face.
Caliorna gently kept her from moving and offered a bitter smile.
“You’re being foolish…… Even in a situation like this, you want to worry about me too? I’m fine, so don’t concern yourself.”
Yet the truth was that Caliorna looked just as unwell as Liriope.
Could the lingering effects of the Ceremonial Rite still be with her?
Her pallid face was so ashen and drained that it was terrifying to imagine she might collapse with just a slight push.
From what Caliorna had said, it seemed Liriope had been unconscious for about a full day.
When Liriope learned that Cassel and Dino were the ones who had managed her and Caliorna while they were both out, and had gotten them safely away from the Blue Flower Cluster, she felt genuinely grateful to them.
“Now that I think about it, there seemed to be another boy here with us…… but for some reason I can’t remember clearly. Did I imagine it?”
“Huh? Yeah, now that you mention it, I also have this weird feeling that someone came with us all the way to the Cave……”
“Wh-what’s this about? Did we all see a ghost or something?!”
The three of them did seem momentarily confused as they were explaining, but Liriope didn’t think much of it.
She assumed it was because of Belkiurs’s Recognition-Disruption Magic that had come to the Cave—the reason they were muddled. And Od hadn’t said anything contrary to this theory.
Caliorna said she’d already heard nearly everything about what had happened at the Outer Residence from Cassel.
“Hey, how much longer are you going to keep crying anyway? Instead of wasting precious water, why don’t you change the cloth on your sister?”
At that moment, Cassel cut in abruptly, as if to say the idle chatter had gone on long enough.
When he poked Caliorna and spoke tersely, she thankfully stifled her sobs with a sniff.
“What was I thinking? Liriope, you must be in a lot of pain with those injuries, right? But at least the bleeding’s stopped now. From what I can see, it doesn’t look like it’s gotten infected either.”
Caliorna wiped away her tears roughly with her hand and forced a reassuring smile at Liriope.
“Just try not to move your right shoulder too much for now, and once we get out of here, we’ll get proper treatment. Then you’ll heal cleanly.”
After that, she produced a Wooden Water Jug from somewhere and soaked a clean piece of Cloth in it.
Looking closely, Liriope’s wound was already wrapped with a Bandage.
It seemed they’d been lucky enough to find a Supply Box while making their way out of the Blue Flower Cluster and getting here.
And just as Caliorna was using the fresh wet cloth to cool the heat around Liriope’s wound—when she accidentally brushed against the Bandage—
“Ah.”
“Sorry, are you okay?”
A sharp sting suddenly spread through the injured area.
Hearing the involuntary whimper that escaped Liriope, Caliorna felt a pang of remorse and bit her lip hard, hanging her head again.
Liriope, worried that Caliorna might start crying again, gritted her teeth against the pain and quickly changed the subject.
“But sister, don’t waste water on me—let’s conserve it. We probably don’t have much to drink.”
“It’s fine, we still have a decent amount.”
“Really?”
Maybe the Supply Box had contained a large amount of water?
Liriope thought it was that simple, but the reality was quite different.
“The Supply Box had already been picked clean by someone? All that’s left is scraps of Cloth, some Bandages, and an empty Wooden Water Jug?”
Sitting up with Caliorna’s support, Liriope heard something utterly unexpected.
Cassel’s explanation followed as she stared in surprise.
“Yeah, looks like those disgusting creatures from that flower field managed to escape without dying. Anyway, those filthy bastards grabbed every scrap of food and anything useful, leaving nothing but trash in the box.”
“Then where did this water come from?”
“What, you didn’t know either? Man, your sister is seriously no joke. We nearly had our minds blown, didn’t we?”
This time, Dino jumped in enthusiastically.
His eyes were shining brightly as if electrified by something.
“It’s magic, right? Creating water and fire just out of thin air! I saw it happen when we were following you alongside the commander—that blue grass-like thing kept shooting fireballs, yeah? But seeing magic this close up for the first time… I was absolutely floored!”
Dino was still riding the high of it, chattering away excitedly.
Wait—sister created water and fire?
“Sister, you used magic?”
Meeting Liriope’s wide eyes, Caliorna hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“It’s not anything that impressive…… Actually, I found something like this in the Supply Box and just tried copying it once.”
She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from between her clothes.
On it was drawn a basic Water Magic Circle.
“Anyway, Liriope, are you hungry? Would you want to eat this for now?”
Caliorna also produced a Bread Fragment that looked like someone had started eating it and left off halfway.
Cassel’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.
“What? You’ve had food this whole time?”
“I happened to find it just now under some fallen leaves. It’s for Liriope.”
“That’s cold! You found something to eat but kept mum about it this whole time? The commander’s been saying his stomach’s been pressed against his backbone since before, and you just…!”
“It’s for Liriope.”
Even Dino chided Caliorna’s stinginess, but she remained unmoved.
Cassel, soft-hearted as he was, gave up quickly.
It seemed he didn’t have it in him to steal the meal of someone as badly injured and suffering as Liriope. Instead, he held out an almost-empty water vessel to Caliorna.
“Fine, then at least fill up this jug with water like you did before, so we can quench our thirst.”
“I can’t do it now. This time, you try.”
“How?”
“What do you mean how? It’s magic, so you have to use Mana. Use your Mana to draw this Magic Circle the same way.”
“But how do I move the Mana?”
“Why do you keep asking how? Just do it. I managed it, so you can too, right?”
Both Caliorna and Cassel wore equally frustrated expressions at their mutual lack of understanding.
Dino, who seemed to have taken quite an interest in magic, was also groaning as he peered at the note, but he sensed no movement of Mana whatsoever.
In truth, it was quite remarkable that someone could reproduce actual magic after seeing a Magic Circle just once.
Meanwhile, Liriope felt clearly reassured upon hearing Caliorna’s words. She’d suspected as much, but this confirmed it—Od’s claim was wrong.
Someone who wielded magic as naturally and effortlessly as breathing, an Innate Mana Core Anomaly?
Look at her—didn’t her brilliant talent shine luminously even in a situation like this?
[Indeed. Her sense of handling Mana is passable, at least. Though a cracked vessel is still a cracked vessel.]
Yet Od showed no sign of retracting his words this time either; if anything, his response grew even more coldly sardonic.

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