Chapter 235

After making our decision, Varen and I stared silently at the Drunkard. Separate from what we had chosen, whether Morpha could actually be saved depended entirely on him.

After all, there was only one high-ranking mage here who could imitate death magic, however imperfectly.

Under the full weight of both our gazes, the Drunkard raised his hands. Then he quietly took one step back.

“All right, I understand. I know this is the only way to save a dragon. But the magic you’re talking about isn’t merely difficult. It’s extraordinarily complex and delicate.”

At his attitude, as though this had nothing to do with him, my expression immediately twisted.

He was trying to sneak out of this.

Not a chance.

“Horace did it.”

I cut in before the Drunkard could finish.

At the sudden name, I felt him flinch.

I didn’t know exactly what history there was between the two mages, but I did know one thing: Horace’s name was a provocation to the Drunkard.

So I emphasized the name one more time.

“Horace handled this magic freely.”

“......”

“Oh, come on. Surely you’re not saying there’s something Horace can do that you can’t? Horace could probably do this with his eyes closed.”

The Drunkard took the bait the moment I threw out that blatant provocation. His reaction was exactly what I expected.

He suddenly clenched both hands into fists and thrust them toward the ceiling.

“If Horace can do it... then so can I! Of course I can!”

“Wow. Amazing.”

“He did it with his eyes closed? Then I can do it even if I’m blind!”

“As expected of the Drunkard. The greatest mage alive.”

I encouraged the Drunkard’s burning enthusiasm with a flat voice and halfhearted applause.

At any rate, I had successfully started up the one mage whose skill I could trust. From this point on, all we could do was charge straight ahead.

I gripped Varen’s remaining hand tightly and lowered my voice.

“Varen, promise me one thing. Don’t do anything that puts you in danger.”

“......”

“Morpha wouldn’t want that either. You know that, right?”

I pressed him to promise me quickly, but Varen pretended not to hear.

His response made me nervous for no reason, so I grabbed his hand again and shook it.

“......”

Only then did Varen turn his head toward me and give a small nod.

Even if it killed him, he still wouldn’t actually say, “I promise.”

I was narrowing my eyes and preparing to nag him when the Drunkard grabbed both my shoulders and pulled me away.

“Now then, the human should leave. This is going to be extremely rough magic. If a human gets caught in it, your vitality will be sucked dry until you’re a living corpse.”

“Uh, wait. Wait a second!”

How did a white-haired old man have this much strength?

I barely managed to grab the Drunkard’s wrist as he shoved me mercilessly out of the tent. Then I pointed toward the bed in the corner.

“Him. He’s human too. You said this is dangerous for humans.”

“Ah, so he is. Take him with you.”

The Drunkard waved a hand toward Berius, who still had not regained consciousness.

The scrawny boy floated into the air, then flew toward me like a limp stuffed doll.

Berius dropped into my arms with a thud, and I barely managed to catch him. I had to put all my strength into my waist to keep from toppling backward.

I wanted to yell at him and ask whether it would kill him to send someone flying a little more gently, but I couldn’t get angry at the person currently holding Varen and Morpha’s lifelines in his hands.

I adjusted my hold on the sagging Berius, then spoke to the Drunkard almost pleadingly.

“Sir, please save Morpha. And please make sure Varen doesn’t end up in danger...”

“Dragons aren’t what you need to worry about. Those two will simply sleep deeply for a while and wake up.”

But what came out of the Drunkard’s mouth was something else entirely.

Even with his eyes covered by cloth, he looked over the scenery outside the tent.

Then he lowered his phlegm-heavy voice even further.

“While I’m casting magic on the dragons, the boundary protecting this base will grow thin. I’ll have to focus all my magical power on the spell.”

I understood his warning without him needing to say the rest.

Until now, the rebel base had remained safe entirely thanks to the Drunkard’s concealment magic.

Without the access coins he handed out, no one could even locate the base, and even if someone somehow found it by luck, they couldn’t enter.

But if the concealment magic weakened, the base would be exposed completely. On top of that, dozens of people suddenly appearing in the middle of the forest would be more than enough to draw attention.

That alone was dangerous, but an even worse problem overlapped with it.

The rebels’ entire fighting force was absent.

All the combatants had left to infiltrate the regional army, and Noance, the rebel leader who could command the group, wasn’t here either.

As for the two dragons, the strongest firepower we had—powerful enough for either one of them to defend this place alone and still have strength left over—they were about to enter a brief hibernation.

Which meant...

“Am I... the only one left to protect the base?”

“Not just the base. There are plenty of people here who need protecting too. Work hard.”

“...I’ll do what I can. Don’t worry.”

“Tch. Looking at your face is making me worry even more.”

I tried to put on what I thought was a fairly reliable expression, but the Drunkard clicked his tongue as though he didn’t trust me at all. Then he turned away without a trace of lingering attachment.

Standing in front of the tent flap that closed right in my face, I clenched my teeth.

I had told him not to worry, but the worry circuits in my head were already running at full power.

What ability did I even have that made him think I could protect this place?

I exhaled tensely and looked around the rebel base.

“Do dragons even eat mushrooms? Shouldn’t we add lots of meat?”

“They don’t eat land meat, apparently. Only raw fish.”

“Oh, heavens. Where are we supposed to catch fish?”

Middle-aged women were working hard to cook porridge for the companions who had returned as patients.

“Why is everyone sweating so much? The smell is awful.”

“That might not be sweat. Don’t sniff it for no reason.”

“Aaagh! My nose!”

Boys and girls washed the mountains of laundry that piled up every day without ever falling behind.

“Is this all the wood we have? We’ll need firewood at least.”

“Like you said, we don’t even have wood to use as firewood. Go outside and gather branches or something.”

“Damn it. Guess I’ll be combing through the forest all day again.”

Even the elderly people had been producing arrows for days without rest.

They belonged to this group under the name of rebels, but they were people far removed from battle.

And in my arms was an eighteen-year-old boy who made me suspect he was Berry’s reincarnation.

Behind me were a companion I desperately wanted to save, and the mate dragon more precious to me than my own life.

“Huu... All right. Let’s do this.”

Varen, Morpha. This time, I’ll protect you.

I shut off the worry circuits in my head and clenched my fists hard.

***

After laying Berius down in the tent Varen and I used, I hurried around the base.

Since the sun was gradually setting, the first thing I did was block every source of light that might stand out from a distance. I smothered the campfires with sand so they wouldn’t even leave smoke, and covered the daylight stones with thick cloth.

Behind me, Margon—today’s only attacker—followed reliably. After hearing my explanation, he kept one hand on the hilt of his sword and stayed on guard.

“Ceryl! Hah, hah. I installed... all of it!”

“Good job. You didn’t see anyone suspicious?”

“Not yet. Haah... but I don’t know if it’ll work properly. I’m nervous because it’s my first time using it.”

Theo kept wiping his tense face.

I had forgotten for a while—no, for quite a long time—but Theo’s profession was alchemist.

Although he didn’t have the ability to turn stone into gold, his specialty was manufacturing unusual drugs.

I patted his shoulder after all his hard work.

“Don’t worry. Unless they fly here from far away, they’ll have to step on it.”

“What? What if they fly?”

“...That’ll be difficult without a dragon.”

Theo had instantly created a drug that emitted luminous light when physically stimulated. With help from the rebels, he had scattered it in a ring around the base at a radius of three kilometers.

If anyone approached the base and stepped on the drug, the luminous glow would leave traces along their footprints.

I tried to soothe him and tell him not to worry about useless things, but Theo still asked anxiously.

“But didn’t we scatter it too far away? It’ll glow, sure, but I don’t think we’ll be able to see it from here.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Because I can see it.

I swallowed the rest inwardly.

There was no need to reveal my ability.

Ever since Ceryl’s ability awakened, having sharp hearing and vision had only felt exhausting.

I’d wondered what sort of ability this was supposed to be, but it had finally found a use.

With Margon’s help, I climbed onto the roof of the tallest tent in the exact center of the base.

I was fairly high up, but after sunset, the forest was dark no matter where I looked.

However, when I narrowed my eyes and focused my vision, it looked as bright as midday to me.

It used a considerable amount of mental strength, but I sharpened every sense I had.

“Tch. So I can’t see through things that physically block my view.”

But even this ability had limits.

The forest was densely packed with towering broad-leaved trees, and I couldn’t see into the narrow spaces between their thick trunks. Even with my ability, seeing through objects was impossible.

Unless I climbed much higher and looked down from above, I would still have blind spots in every direction despite these eyes.

I lifted my head and looked up at a nearby tree.

That height seemed about right. Could I climb it on my own?

“Caaaw.”

“Oh, Kkami.”

At that moment, a crow with wings like sharp blades instead of feathers settled on my shoulder.

It was Kkami, the magical creature who had become the base’s troublemaker as the main culprit behind the food-storage raids.

Even in the dark night, the magical creature’s jewel-black eyes gleamed.