Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 65

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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 65: Effort and Harvest
“Am I doing well?”
Bartimir smiled bitterly and drained the rest of his coffee in one gulp.
“I’ve never heard such words before. Everyone always says I’ve lost my mind to the harsh reality whenever they see me.”
“They’re just the idle gossip of those who understand nothing.”
“I know. That’s why I don’t mind it.”
《Truthfully, I think the other mages made valid points. Collecting curses and diseases? And that’s supposed to be admirable?? You and the demon-kin both are out of your minds!》
I waved my hand to dismiss the pointless text and opened my mouth again.
“I, at least, can understand completely. Given the constitution created through the Black Mage Guild’s experiments, there’s no way around it, is there?”
“…You knew about that too?”
“Of course.”
Characteristics are not merely a game-mechanical allowance, but a system that exists in reality.
Constitution.
In the explorer industry, this ability—sometimes called a “quality of the soul”—is something everyone possesses in at least one form.
Most are trivial, like Hasty Legs, which merely quickens one’s pace slightly, so people usually pay them little mind.
But a great power like the Milky Way conducts inspections beforehand when selecting talent.
“The Black Mage Guild inscribed two constitutions upon you.”
Like me, he had two characteristics.
“The first is Pure Soul. While the influence of elements that govern mind and body diminishes, you suffer longer than others instead.”
A characteristic that reduces the effect of status ailments to half or less, but substantially increases their duration.
“The second is Foolish Desire. The more elements that govern your mind and body accumulate, the greater your Black Magic’s power becomes—but you can only learn Secret Arts of Black Magic.”
A characteristic where the more negative status ailments you accumulate, the higher your Black Magic’s power rises, yet you can only learn Secret Arts belonging to the Black Mage class.
I had handpicked both myself.
In truth, Pure Soul is rarely preferred since status ailments can simply be cured, and Foolish Desire fails to capitalize on the mage’s unique advantage of learning Secret Arts from other schools. But I adopted them boldly regardless, and they proved far more useful than expected.
They proved even more versatile than anticipated.
“When the two constitutions combine, you can accumulate curses and diseases in your body indefinitely while maintaining sufficient health. Though you must endure the side effects and symptoms longer than others, the danger is greatly reduced. There’s even the added effect of your Black Magic’s power steadily increasing.”
“Right….”
“Furthermore, demon-kin are a race that feeds on the negative emotions radiated by living beings. By continuously consuming the unease and fear induced by curses and diseases, they gain the additional benefit of becoming physically and mentally robust and resilient.”
The Calamity Collector build created a delicate synergy between characteristic, racial trait, and class.
There was the disadvantage of needing to carefully manage the side effects of curses and the symptoms of diseases, but that posed no problem so long as one remained meticulous in monitoring.
“Exactly!”
Bartimir sprang to his feet and seized my arm, shaking it back and forth.
A bright, beaming smile hung at the corners of his mouth.
“You actually know something! Ever since I came to Tomes Tower, everyone’s been muttering behind my back that I went mad from my time at the Black Mage Guild, and it’s been frustrating as hell!”
“Even if the constitution was forcibly created, honestly—once you accept curses and diseases, you can grow far more smoothly. There’s no reason to refuse that, is there?”
“That’s right!”
Having finally met someone who understood him, he was so delighted that he shook my body with such force I began to grow dizzy.
“You also used ‘garbage sprout’ as a stepping stone for growth, didn’t you?”
“You observed correctly.”
“Ah, I’m jealous…. I want to be cursed by a deity too! Can’t you ask your evil god to lay a curse on me?”
《The Wise One covers their face with a hand and sighs….》
Chirr-chirr-chirr….
Both Evil Deities transmitted a revelation simultaneously, as though utterly astounded.
“That would be rather difficult. You’re already lacking in Faith—how could a direct curse be laid? Such miracles are only possible for those like Meterd, who possess many believers.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
The Silent One suddenly conveyed through the snake tattoo, shaking his head urgently, that if you became a solitary believer of Silence, he would grant you an extraordinarily marvelous curse in the distant future—a plea conveyed with great urgency.
Though my heart wished to help, it was a request I could not fulfill.
“That’s impossible. Because of the curse Atheist’s Mockery, Bartimir cannot harbor faith.”
A curse that fixes the ‘Faith’ stat at zero.
While it completely severs one source of Secret Arts—divinity—it doesn’t touch the ability stats involved in combat, which is fortunate.
Droop.
The snake avatar, its head hung low, slipped gradually beneath my sleeve.
Soon after, Bartimir, who had been grasping me and nearly dancing with excitement, finally composed himself and sat back on the floor, folding his arms.
“I’m thinking now that joining the Exploration Party was the right choice.”
“Don’t be satisfied yet. I haven’t even told you which curses and diseases you need to accumulate. The order is especially critical, so please concentrate.”
If the sequence in which curses or diseases were acquired changed, growth could stall catastrophically.
Like wild beasts, they were difficult to tame, so they required the devoted care of a keeper raising a juvenile Komodo dragon.
“First contract Flow Coagulation Disease. Then contract the curse Scattered Bankruptcy, and you can easily mitigate the side effects. Remember—the order is paramount.”
I shared every detail and secret about the Calamity Collector build, holding nothing back.
The demon-kin, who had listened with a skeptical posture at first, grew progressively more respectful as the conversation lengthened, eventually kneeling outright.
“Please, sit comfortably. Shall I move?”
I tried to stand from the chair, but he hooked his leg around mine and forced me back down.
“Stay still. This is how I show my respect.”
The respect in his heart came through to me clearly enough—conveyed in those star-bright eyes alone.
Perhaps because he was a demon with exceptional intellect, he’d grasped my entire build from mere words and seemed already resolved to follow it faithfully.
“Now I’ll explain about Secret Arts and Artifacts.”
“Right!”
Nod, nod, nod.
The ragged ends of the bandages wrapped around his face fluttered with each rough gesture.
“The Calamity Collector Black Mage relies less on Secret Arts and Artifacts than other mages, but they’re still essential—and you’ve chosen that Artifact particularly well.”
Those bandages wound tightly around Bartimir’s upper body, including his face.
There was a reason for every layer.
《Artifact – Devotee》
《When wrapped around the body, it guards against the wavering of reason caused by illness.》
This Hidden Piece reward was obtained from the Earth Elf’s Tomb.
An Artifact perfectly suited to Bartimir, but he was using it wrong.
“Its effects are stronger when worn directly against bare skin, not over clothing.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“Then why do you wear it that way?”
“It’s bothersome to unwrap it every time I bathe, and it feels too suffocating against bare skin. Besides, there’s one more reason—and it’s the most important.”
The demon glanced down at his own body, then straightened his shoulders with obvious pride.
“It looks cooler this way, doesn’t it?”
……
There was no arguing with that.
“I stand corrected. You’re right.”
Aesthetic appeal was a profound truth written into the genes of every creature.
Bartimir grinned.
“So you don’t know all the world’s truths, after all?”
“Only Lidni knows everything.”
The valuable, tailored instruction continued without pause.
After offering advice on combat techniques to move more efficiently, I noticed the sun was already sinking toward the horizon.
I’d talked for nearly two hours straight, it seemed.
“That concludes the lesson. Any questions?”
“I got it all.”
“Good. I’m so exhausted I wasn’t planning to explain it twice.”
“But I’ll keep asking questions.”
Bartimir’s lips curled into a slight smile as he tilted his head to gaze up at the sky.
“You know…”
He stared blankly at the sunset-tinted heavens for a moment, then spoke abruptly.
“I was sold to the Black Mage Guild when I was a kid. For just fifty silver. A bargain price.”
“At least it didn’t drop to copper—that’s something to be grateful for.”
“…I suppose.”
I gazed in the same direction as Bartimir, then leaned back against the chair.
“I was abandoned as a child, along with my younger sibling. I was only five years old.”
……
The demon fell silent for a moment, then asked carefully.
“Your sibling didn’t…?”
“Yes.”
I nodded quietly.
“Became a star in the night sky.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. My sibling visits me in dreams sometimes and blames me, but even so, I’m grateful I can meet them that way.”
Now that I could see them with a certain probability when my mental strength was fully depleted, the breadth of our reunion had widened considerably.
“What was your experience like in the Black Mage Guild?”
“At first, I was furious. My constitution was forcibly etched in such a way that I could only learn Black Magic Secret Arts—nothing else. Back then, I hated it so much I wept.”
Unlike other Classes, Mages could use Secret Arts from different schools as a Secondary Specialization.
In theory, they could use every type of Secret Art without risk—it was absurdly overpowered.
‘It takes time, certainly…’
Mage Secret Arts were slowest to acquire, and Secret Arts from other schools took even longer—even a single 1st Rank Secret Art required nearly a month of study.
But that advantage far outweighed the cost, and Bartimir could only learn Black Magic because of his Characteristic—Foolish Desire—so those early days must have been suffocating.
“After all my hard work to keep others from mocking me, I eventually came up with a growth method that draws curses and diseases to myself.”
“How admirable of you.”
“After that, life didn’t feel difficult at all. The endless trial and error itself was entertaining.”
This is the difference between the Sage Council and Bartimir.
This demon Black Mage doesn’t fear hardship and adversity.
Rather, he embraces them, charging forward toward his goal.
Much like I do.
“I worked hard too, so children who mocked me for being abandoned by my parents wouldn’t break my spirit. Quite physically, in fact.”
“Don’t tell me you killed them!?”
“No. They weren’t worth hating enough to kill. Still, their faces will surface in my mind from time to time.”
“But your effort did bear fruit, didn’t it….”
Bartimir fingered the empty cup and burst into quiet laughter.
“I believe that if I work sincerely, I’ll eventually be able to win. One day I’ll find the parents who sold me and make them regret it.”
A mindset uncharacteristic of the Le clan.
It must be the influence of his Characteristic—Pure Soul.
This is precisely why I singled out Bartimir as my only recruitment target.
The other siblings, like Emir who departed for that infernal realm, would pursue rationality in selfish ways.
“I’ve been searching all this time for someone who communicates like you do.”
Bartimir, who had been gazing up at the sky, suddenly turned his head toward me.
I nodded immediately.
“I’ve been looking for someone like you too.”
We could each supply what the other demanded.
With personalities and dispositions that meshed so well, there was no reason not to grow close.
“What should I call you from now on? Should I call you Commander, like Blackie does?”
“Call me whatever you wish. ‘Commander’ or ‘mongrel’ works fine. If you don’t care about appearances, even ‘Mother’ is acceptable.”
Bartimir didn’t hesitate to settle on a name.
“Mother!”
“Yes, daughter.”
《The Wise One chuckles, saying that similar-looking things get along beautifully.》
The first harmony of the Le clan had succeeded.
“But how can you even contract Flow Coagulation Disease? I heard the Harmony Church’s sustained efforts have made it rare to find anyone afflicted these days.”
“Actually, it’s quite simple.”
I rose from my seat and gazed toward where the Harmony Church’s Artea Monastery stood.
“You just have to face the Harmony Church’s past.”

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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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