chapter 160
Caddie’s room had the same structure as the rest, but her’s was neat and in order. Her belongings sat in one corner. Nothing seemed to be scattered around.
「I knew it.」
A girl was sleeping on the bed, mana exuding from her. Hikaru drew closer and checked her Soul Board.
【Soul Board】Caddie Fullblood
Age:15 Rank: 50
37
【Magical Power】
..【Mana】15
【Willpower】
..【Faith】
….【Evil】5
……【Accursed Magic】5
Incredible mana capacity and she has Accursed Magic. If I recall correctly…
Accursed magic applied status effects on the target, like sleep and confusion. Unlike healing magic that belonged to the holy attribute, accursed magic was considered black magic, and as such, not a lot of users existed. If made public, its users were persecuted, so many went into hiding.
Hence, it was unknown what kind of power a high-level accursed magic user held.
But this is not it either…
From a normal adventurer’s perspective, Caddie’s mana was in a whole different league. But even Selica, a rank B adventurer, had 19 points and Lavia had 15. Since Lavia also had two points on Magic Principle, she used less mana, so she could probably even use more spells than Caddie.
Now this girl can’t make it public that she can use accursed magic, and she can’t even use spirit magic. She has 15 points on mana, but is that enough to get her to rank A? Does she have some sort of powerful job class?
No. And he was sure of it. Because the massive overflowing mana didn’t come from her specifically.
The stick… No, the staff she held in her arms was the mana’s source. About a meter long, an orb attached to its tip released so much mana that Hikaru couldn’t look at it directly with his Mana Detection.
Caddie used magic or perhaps sorcery with this staff, powerful enough to “destroy the walls”. She could probably kill most monsters with ease, even the subspecies of Earth Dragon that Hikaru fought.
So there are some ridiculous weapons in this world, huh…
The same could be said of Hikaru’s Soul Board, however. If the staff was Rising Falls’ secret weapon, their strength should be greatly reduced if he stole it. After that, he just had to tell Princess Kudyastoria to stay holed up inside the castle. Perhaps then, Pond wouldn’t turn into hell, and her forces would have the advantage in the war. Austrin, however, might be wary of Sweet Pleasure’s trap and stay away from Pond.
It’s not my place to meddle into their affairs after that.
If he wanted to, Hikaru could assassinate Austrin in an hour. Einbeast would most likely retreat, effectively stopping the war. But he didn’t want to get involved. It wasn’t as if he owed the princess. His goal was to simply prevent Pond from being dragged into chaos.
I’ll return the staff once the heat dies down.
Hikaru inched closer to Caddie’s bed.
「…meet…Big Brother…then Leather Elka……Einbeast to the dungeon……You’ll pay……for ogling those…girls…」
She was muttering something rapidly. Hikaru froze on the spot. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing regularly. It looked like she was just fast asleep.
Is she awake? Nah. Sleep-talking, then?
During the day, she wore a robe with a hood that covered her eyes, so Hikaru couldn’t see her face clearly. She took it off when sleeping, of course. Just like her brother, she had curly, blonde hair. Long, it looked like seaweeds that drifted ashore. Her skin was white, and freckles dotted her face around the eyes.
Hikaru stood motionless for a few minutes. The interval between Caddie’s mumblings grew longer until finally, only her lips moved, no sound coming out of her mouth. This went on for five more minutes.
What do you even call someone who sleeps like this?
Thinking she was fast asleep, Hikaru carefully removed her blanket.
What the…
Caddie was wearing a pink, see-through nightgown. Hikaru could see her slim—no, incredibly thin body. It seemed as though an intense workout could break her arms with how thin she was.
What looked like an electric spark ran constantly inside the translucent, orange orb. A certified, unique item not even in Roland’s memories.
It looks the same.
It looked awfully similar to the Holy Mana Ball they found in the underground dungeon. Unlike that square-shaped item, this one was an actual sphere.
I’ll study it later.
Even with the blanket removed, Caddie remained still. As Hikaru climbed the bed, it creaked. His Stealth could block the sound, but not the shaking. Carefully, he inched closer to Caddie.
All he had to do was remove her delicate fingers from the staff, and he could easily take it. First, Hikaru touched her right hand. It felt as cold as ice. Gently, he removed it. He succeeded without a problem.
Phew.
Stealth could hide him from sight, but it would be useless once he touched the target. It was understandable, then, that he’d get nervous.
Next was her left hand, which was a bit difficult. Her index finger grasped at the staff, but he managed to pull it away. We’re cool. All he had to do now was remove her left hand as well.
Someone grabbed his wrist, and Hikaru almost let out a sound. Caddie stared at him with eyes wide open.
「Big Brother, Big Brother, Big Brother, you’ve finally crept into my bed, you’re here to eat me up unlike those sluts I’m pure I reserved my virginity for you you can come anytime I don’t mind as long as it’s you Big Brother—」
Hikaru grabbed the staff, and shook free from Caddie’s grasp. He quickly jumped down the bed.
「You’re not… my brother.」
Caddie rose from her bed and gazed at the boy wearing a silver mask, his black hair clearly not from her brothers’. Her clear, blue eyes were beautiful. But it gradually turned red, and she screamed.
「Big Brotheeeeeeeeeeer! Big Brotheeeeeeeeeeeeeer!」
She howled like a wounded beast, tears flooding down her face.
What the hell? What’s wrong with her?
Hikaru was perplexed. Her loud cries would surely draw attention.
They’re moving.
Igloo aside, Batros and Ryver woke up. The latter, in particular, was fast, running quickly.
I have to go.
Hikaru immediately made his decision and turned his heels. Then, his eyes met Caddie’s gaze. Stealth didn’t work on her as she was already aware of his presence. A chill ran down his spine. She was all skin and bones, but her eyes burned bright.
「You can run anywhere you want, but the Drakon Ball Staff will come back to me.」
Hikaru opened the door and stepped out of the bedroom, just as Ryver made it to the guest room. It was dark, and with Hikaru’s Stealth on, the man didn’t notice him.
Hikaru crossed the guest room, passing by Ryver. After watching Ryver enter Caddie’s room, he stepped out onto the hallway.
All he had to do now was escape. But the girl’s words clawed at his mind. What did she mean by that?
Hikaru would soon find out.