Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 9

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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 9
3. The Demon and Vermin of the Outside World
“Ugh……. Cough, cough…….”
Sporadic moans of pain rang out from various directions, piercing Liriope’s eardrums like needles.
Liriope tightened her grip on the arm holding Caliona and scanned her surroundings cautiously.
The place where they had just fallen after the Consecration Ceremony was a labyrinthine Underground Space.
A place of absolute darkness, untouched by even a trace of sunlight.
Her vision was obscured in patches by rocks, earthen walls, and piles of unidentifiable plants.
Yet scattered throughout were insects that glowed like fireflies, so her sight wasn’t completely blind beyond an arm’s length.
Liriope knew this space sprawled endlessly in width and depth.
“Sister……. Wake up, please wake up.”
She continued scanning while shaking Caliona in her arms. But the sister bleeding and unconscious gave no sign of awareness.
The image of her sister as a cold corpse discovered in the Black Forest flashed involuntarily across Liriope’s vision.
‘Sister, sister won’t wake up. What if she’s in real danger?’
[Listen, child. Compose yourself.]
‘The bleeding’s stopped……. She’s breathing. But why won’t she open her eyes?’
[Your sister will not die. So stop your needless worrying and focus.]
Though the irritated voice echoed once more in her mind, the swelling anxiety didn’t fade easily.
“Damn it……. What is this……. What in the world is this?!”
What doused her mounting emotions was an anguished cry that burst from the Red-haired Boy.
When she turned her head, she saw the boy sitting helplessly with a ghastly pale face.
With a trembling voice, he spat out curse after curse heavy with sorrow and rage, then clenched his teeth and reached his hand to the side.
“Hey, Dino, Pin. Hey……. Wake up.”
“…….”
“Can’t you hear me? Get up, now……!”
He struggled to rouse the children sprawled on the ground. But the two boys he’d called his subordinates didn’t stir.
To Liriope’s eyes, they already appeared dead.
The Red-haired Boy lowered his head, retching or sobbing—barely able to contain himself—before staggering to his feet.
“Ugh, cough…….”
Just then, a small sound came from beside him.
The boy’s body jerked, and he rushed over.
“Dino? Is that you? Are you awake?”
“Ugh, groan…….”
Though the boy hadn’t fully regained consciousness, one of the two he’d thought dead still had breath in him.
At that alone, the Red-haired Boy exhaled with relief.
But it was too early to relax.
“Over there……! There’s a Supply Package marker!”
“So close—what luck!”
“Before the others steal it and Zed beats us, run!”
Suddenly, urgent footsteps accompanied by noise rang out not far away.
Liriope’s head snapped up as if she’d grasped something.
And indeed, a massive Magical Marker glinted clearly above their heads.
‘Why now……. No, more people will swarm here soon. I have to move, quickly!’
Liriope sprang into action at once.
The Red-haired Boy seemed not to grasp the situation immediately, but catching sight of Liriope, he swiftly hoisted his subordinate onto his back.
Unlike the relatively nimble boys, Liriope struggled forward, bearing Caliona—nearly her own size—on her back.
Suddenly, she recalled that she had returned to the past and undergone the Consecration Ceremony at the Northern Mage Tower.
Could she not use light Transport Magic right now?
Liriope felt an odd tension as she moved the magical power through her newly formed Core.
“Ugh……!”
But the attempt fell through as a lightning-strike pain stabbed through her heart.
[Good grief, do you not know you cannot cast magic immediately after Magical Power Inheritance?]
‘I didn’t know……. I’d never tried casting this soon in the past.’
[It’s basic knowledge every mage should know. Tsk, I cannot fathom how Belegoat raises its disciples.]
She’d lost count of how many times that tongue-clicking echoed in her head.
[Really, just watching how Belegoat thoughtlessly abandons children into the wild without proper guidance after Magical Power Inheritance speaks volumes about their ignorance.]
The disparaging tone kindled annoyance, but she could do nothing about it.
Since Belegoat was the entirety of the magical world Liriope knew, her lack of common magical knowledge was undeniable.
[A Core freshly formed through the Consecration Ceremony is merely a vessel still taking shape. If you strain it before it properly solidifies, pain follows—and the soft vessel may sustain damage. Be cautious for a time. Understand?]
‘How long is “a time”?’
[At minimum ten to fifteen days. Still, for an ignorant thing like you, I shall teach you Core-strengthening methods later. Count yourself fortunate.]
Liriope largely ignored the voice that spoke of her like a reckless fool, moving her legs with effort.
The moment Liriope and the Red-haired Boy left with their precious charges, a group of children appeared.
“It’s here! We really did arrive first!”
“Wait, what? That’s not a Supply Package box, is it?”
“What……. Those rags look strangely familiar. Are they ones who went through the Consecration Ceremony? No, has a year already passed?”
Four young teenagers looked bewildered, moving about in panic.
But it was short-lived—their eyes blazing red, they rushed toward the fallen children.
Their hands rifling through the defenseless children’s pockets were greedy and frantic.
The sweets, bread scraps, and other small items that starved orphans had secretly pilfered from the Dining Hall before the Consecration Ceremony, as well as personal belongings they’d carried, were rapidly stripped.
Among those sprawled on the ground were corpses in a gruesome state, yet none of the looters seemed to notice.
Instead, the plunderers stripped even clothes and shoes stained with blood and flesh.
[But where do you intend to go? You won’t get far lugging dead weight—find a place to hide for now.]
‘I was already planning to.’
Liriope’s legs nearly buckled several times. But gasping for air, she gritted her teeth and forced her steps as quickly as possible.
‘And sister is not dead weight. Don’t ever say that again.’
Fortunately, before her stamina gave out completely, she found a place to hide.
But just as she reached her destination, the Red-haired Boy shoved Liriope aside and seized a small hollow in the Rock Crevice first.
“I got here first. You get lost!”
He rapidly pushed his subordinate deep into the hole, then planted himself in front and glared threateningly at Liriope.
[What a shameless brat. Contractor, kill this one and take the cave!]
The voice in her head raged, but Liriope met the boy’s gaze quietly.
As her young eyes fixed on him, the Red-haired Boy’s pupils flickered ever so slightly.
Liriope gauged his stance and opened her mouth.
“I found this place first……. So where do my sister and I hide?”
“How should I know? Find your own shelter!”
Though he answered roughly, the Red-haired Boy’s expression remained uncomfortable.
Liriope pretended to be intimidated by his bluster.
“Then…… could you at least let my sister hide here with you? I don’t need to come in. Just hide my sister, and I’ll go somewhere else.”
“No. No room.”
The repeated refusal felt cruel.
Yet even as he said it, the boy couldn’t meet Liriope’s eyes directly—his gaze wavered away.
Moreover, the boy wasn’t being deliberately heartless; the cramped space between the rocks genuinely wasn’t roomy enough for three people.
As she’d felt in the Dining Hall, he seemed softhearted beneath the surface.
He could have struck her down and immediately driven her off, or knocked her unconscious to dump her elsewhere—yet he didn’t.
“Hey, you two keep gathering what you need. I’m going to look around here a bit before we head back!”
“Got it, be careful!”
Then, among the group of children, a conversation too significant to overlook drifted her way.
The Red-haired Boy, catching the distant voices, urged Liriope anxiously.
“Damn it, don’t just stand there—move! You want us all to die here?”
Liriope had just reached a decision.
Like a flipped coin, where softness had been feigned in her eyes meeting the boy, coldness now settled.
“I’m not going.”
“What?”

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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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