Dark Fantasy Normalized

45 – High-Class? Workforce (3)

“Good lord! You turned a wolf into a person!!!”

“…”

Rishir was dumbfounded.

Does she think I’m some kind of magician?

Instead of correcting Kella’s misunderstanding, Rishir tried to speak to the wolf cub, no, the beastkin woman.

“Ah-“

In that instant, the woman’s body went limp, and she passed out.

Her body returned to its wolf form.

“Sh-she failed, didn’t she!?”

What do you mean, failed?

Rishir ignored Kella and checked on the wolf’s condition.

‘Not that I’d know anything just by checking… huh?’

Unexpectedly, he could actually tell something.

‘What is this?’

If the wolf’s body were made of flesh and blood, Rishir wouldn’t have felt a thing.

He was neither a vet nor a doctor, after all.

But the wolf’s body was composed of mana.

It was like mana as the kernel with a shell of a body attached to it?

Thanks to that, Rishir could get a sense of the wolf’s condition.

‘Clean, but weakened at the same time…’

Rishir placed his hand on the wolf’s body.

-…

And then, the wolf’s expression clearly improved.

The wolf’s body twitched. It was as if craving Rishir’s touch.

To meet the wolf’s needs, Rishir recalled his memories of petting a puppy.

He scratched its neck and head, rubbed its belly, and patted its rear.

-Heeung…

The wolf made a pleased sound.

“Oh.”

In that moment, Lysir felt the wolf’s energy grow stronger than before.

‘I don’t know how, but it seems my energy is beneficial to the wolf.’

After a moment’s hesitation, he scooped up the wolf and held it in his arms.

-Heeuhung…

The wolf squirmed in his embrace, searching for the optimal position.

That optimal position, when finally achieved, was ‘belly up.’

The blue wolf, its white belly exposed, fell into a peaceful sleep.

Lysir, feeling the wolf in his arms more closely, thought.

‘A spirit…?’

The word suddenly came to mind, out of the blue.

He had never seen or experienced a spirit firsthand, but he wondered if this is what it would feel like.

“H-how did you do that to the wolf!?”

Kella asked beside him, her face alight with curiosity.

From her untrained perspective, the events she had just witnessed looked like a mage turning a wolf into a human, then back into a wolf – it was absolute chaos.

“I don’t really know – but I think I’ve put out the immediate fire. Maybe it’s some kind of spirit?”

“Oh…! A spirit!!!”

“Of course, I’m not sure. It’s not my area of expertise. Perhaps, Kella, do you know anything about it?”

“I- I’m sorry…! I’ve never subjugated a spirit!!!”

“Oh, is that how we’re taking it.”

“Yes! I’m sorry that I can’t help you after you asked!”

“There’s no need to apologize…”

Lysir, overwhelmed by Kella’s glittering eyes, looked away.

Though Lysir didn’t understand, Kella’s reaction was natural.

Most mages treated adventurers like ignorant fools who couldn’t even read and openly disregarded them.

If there was a species more arrogant and rude than nobles in this world – it would be, without a doubt, mages.

In fact, Kella had been constantly ignored by mages up until now.

All of them, a bunch of nobodies who couldn’t even hold a candle to Lysir, too.

-It’s over.

– “What happened?”

– “Would you even understand if I told you?”

– …

If it were the wizards Kella knew, they would have carried on the conversation that way in this situation.

But Rishir, this genius wizard, not only kindly explained things to Kella but even asked for her opinion.

Kella felt a pointless sense of impatience.

How wonderful it would have been if she could have given a fitting answer to his question.

How wonderful it would have been if she could have shown a demeanor worthy of this genius wizard’s respect!

Kella, with the expectation that perhaps another chance (?) would come, focused all her senses and then focused on Rishir.

Then, a memory suddenly arose.

– “I was trying to see if there were any requests I could take.”

– “Dude. In my opinion, you aren’t cut out for this business.”

Kella was lost in thought, remembering her first meeting with Rishir.

“I, I’m sorry, Lord Rishir!”

“Suddenly?”

“At first…! I made some remarks that seemed to ignore you, Lord Rishir, I’m so- deeply ashamed!”

“Huh? Oh. It’s okay. Weren’t you just saying that out of concern for me?”

Kella was now feeling a sense of fear.

‘What is this? How can he be so un-wizardlike?’

It was as if he hadn’t lived as a genius wizard for all those years, but had rather become a wizard one day against his will.

Kella forced herself to calm her startled heart and said.

“First, let’s head to the guild!”

***

He was the owner of a sharp glint in his eyes that made the absence of the one eye hidden by an eyepatch seem insignificant.

The second-in-command of the Drafon Guild.

Deputy Master DuPont, unraveled the neatly braided navy blue hair, then tied it up again for no particular reason.

She felt like she needed to do even this to sort out her troubled mind.

She murmured inwardly.

‘Shit.’

A low-level adventurer affiliated with the guild had dragged in unconscious thugs and a wizard.

Heard tell, these thugs attacked a mage and him, so he subdued and dragged them here.

That much was fine.

No. More than fine, it was good.

The Adventurer’s Guild shares some of the city’s law enforcement duties with the City Council.

Catching hoodlums in suspicious attire, roaming the back alleys and assaulting passersby in broad daylight?

Clear points in the guild’s favor.

If the story ended there, Dupona would’ve given the junior adventurer a “well done” pat and a candy.

But sadly, the report went further.

Dupona prayed fervently.

Hoping she’d misheard or the mage had misspoken.

“Are you certain? That these men might be linked to a black mage?”

“Yes. They possessed an item imbued with black magic.”

“…”

A black mage was a threat beyond comparison to common thugs or thieves.

If they were to capture a black mage and report to the City Council, they’d be showered with praise.

And not only that, the guild’s fame and prestige would soar.

Subduing a black mage was undeniably a huge advantage for the guild.

Yet, Dupona couldn’t be all that pleased.

The immense rewards for black mage subjugation aren’t given for nothing.

They were more difficult to handle than any beast or criminal.

Even the mages of the mage tower didn’t know much about black magic.

So, how much would adventurers know?

Any sensible adventurer wouldn’t get involved with anything to do with a black mage.

But what?

The game’s already begun, and all you need me to do is stamp the document?

Dupona glared at Kella, who stood next to her like a convict.

“I-I’m sorry… I had no idea it was connected to black magic…!”

Dupona stuck a cigarette in her mouth and lit it.

Only after taking a deep drag and exhaling the smoke did her twitching facial muscles calm down.

“Are you certain? That these men might be linked to a black mage?”

“Wasn’t that the question you just asked?”

“Look, let’s say you’re saving a life and tell me again. It’s possible they just stumbled upon the thing by chance.”

“The possibility is faint.”

“How can you say that for certain?”

“They knew exactly the power contained within this object and its purpose. That requires knowledge of dark magic. But there were no other signs of dark magic on them besides the ring. Therefore, my opinion is this. A third party gave them the object along with specific instructions.”

“…”

Dupona, greatly flustered, stared at the obsidian ring on the desk.

‘Just from that one thing, he gleaned that much information?’

The only information Dupona could glean from observing the ring was ‘It’s ominous.’

But the mage before her pulled all sorts of information from just that one ring. As he said, it was something only possible with knowledge of dark magic.

It was a type and depth of knowledge not even expected from the mages of the Magic Tower.

That’s why Dupona couldn’t easily believe Rishir’s words.

‘It won’t be too late to compare after getting his consultation.’

Dupona suspended her judgment on Rishir’s opinion.

Soon after, a new visitor arrived at her office.

“I heard you called for me.”

Her name was Kedegan.

A formal mage of the Colorless Magic Tower, and one of the mages the Draphon Guild occasionally sought consultation from regarding magic.

As far as Dupona knew, there were only one or two Masters above her in the Grey Tower who had a deeper understanding of dark magic.

In the current situation, there was no one more reliable.

However.

Dupona suppressed a sigh.

The mages of the Magic Tower, with their absolute pride in their own abilities and knowledge, didn’t offer help for free.

Given the circumstances, she’d inevitably had to summon her, but just thinking about the price she might demand later was already giving her a headache.

Dupona reluctantly opened her mouth and explained the whole situation to Kedegan.

“Where is this ring with the power of dark magic?”

Kedegan picked up the obsidian ring from the desk and observed it intently.

“You panicked this much over just this thing and called me?”

“Would you mind explaining in more detail why you say ‘just this thing’?”

“I should be the one asking that. Why are you so wary of this unidentifiable ring?”

Kedgan snorted, a dry laugh escaping him.

Yeah. That’s it.

Now I finally feel like I’m talking to a mage.

Dupont, feeling a raw unpleasantness she hadn’t with Lysir, continued.

“Another mage warned me. To be wary of the power within that thing, and the one who may be its true owner.”

“It’s a power too ambiguous to even define as black magic. This power doesn’t affect humans at all. To warn about that, that mage is either one of two things. A fraud trying to deceive you, or an ignorant fool deceived by their own knowledge.”

Dupont glanced at Lysir, wary of the harsh criticism.

“Huh?”

Then, Kedgan’s gaze naturally shifted to Lysir.

Dupont inwardly cursed.

A similar situation had occurred before.

-My god, is that really what you call a proper argument?

-What school are you from? Or who is your master?

-Why can’t you say?

-No way?

-Oh, dear.

-I’ll ask politely. Could you please refrain from talking about ‘magic’ in front of me?

-Because I can’t stand it if people treat me as the same kind of ‘mage’ as you.

The Draphon Guild had invited several mages for consultation, only for Kedgan to glare and slaughter the wandering mages with his words.

Among mages, the weight the name “Mage Tower” carried was absolute.

To engage in an equal debate with a mage as arrogant as Kedgan, you had to be affiliated with a specific Mage Tower.

In fact, Kedgan had only ever had a substantial conversation with a mage once, and that was none other than a mage from the Blue Tower.

Of course, even then, he tore his opponent to shreds with aggressive logic and tone.

“Is it you? The ‘mage’ Miss Dupont was talking about.”

“That’s correct.”

“I am Kedgan of the Sarolad family. A formal mage of the Gray Tower, and I built my foundation in the Teldrane school. My master’s name is Kaldrain. And you?”

“I am Lysir.”

Dupont sighed inwardly.

His introduction was far too short.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

The sheer predictability of the situation sent a wave of unwarranted guilt crashing over me.

It was as clear as day.

Inevitably, Kedegan, inspired by Lysir’s brief introduction, would latch onto any excuse to nitpick –

“Lysir? Lysir… Where have I heard that name before… Ah! I remember now! It was you! Tulan, the one who uncovered the identity of that harlot—”

“…?”

Dupona was lost in confusion.

It was a tone she had never heard from Kedegan before.

Did Kedegan even possess such an affable voice?

Kedegan’s next words were even more shocking.

She let out a self-conscious giggle.

“Dupona, what a mischievous— You tried to get Lysir’s consultation and then compare it with my opinion.”

“…?”

“Regardless, it seems I have only one piece of advice to offer about this matter. Entirely, follow Lysir’s opinion.”

“…”

Kedegan, perhaps remembering how she’d just criticized Lysir’s opinion to his face, praised him to the heavens as much as possible, her face flushed a bit as she hastily left the scene.

“…Is that really Kedegan?”

Kella asked, completely dumbfounded.

***

“Where…”

It wasn’t long after Kedegan left her seat.

The bound thugs began to regain consciousness, one by one.

“…!”

They were first shocked at the sight of Lysir’s face, and then again at the sight of Dupona’s.

“W-wait a minute! We don’t know anything! We were just following orders!”

Shrinking back, they volunteered to talk before the interrogation even started.

“Following orders, you say?”

“Yeah! A few days ago some guy came to our guild and gave us a bunch of these obsidian rings—”

Just as they were about to spill everything.

“Cough!”

Their words were cut off along with their breath.

Duporna jolted upright.

“Solitude, is it!”

It was a method often employed by the Mynes when dealing with inferiors.

By implanting toxins that react to specific states in their subordinates, they effectively blocked any possibility of betrayal.

Thankfully, the method and antidote for most solitude toxins were known, thanks to the work of alchemists.

Duporna, anticipating such a situation, started listing the antidotes she had prepared beforehand.

And she was about to observe her symptoms closely to choose the correct one—

‘Damn it. What is this!? I’ve never even heard of a toxin like this—’

Next to the flustered Duporna, Rishir spoke softly.

“It isn’t a toxin. That, it seems to be a type of black magic. Fortunate, that is.”

“Black magic? This is a mess— No, wait? What? Fortunate?”

Black magic, and *fortunate*?

Duporna’s mind struggled relentlessly but failed to connect the two concepts.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

Regardless, the thugs’ breath returned in unison.

“Fortunate…”

Duporna’s single eye shook, losing focus.

***

The time when Gadena, swallowing his Elven pride, headed to the Magic Tower for aid.

Another Elf was lowering their pride, seeking help from a human.

Draphon, the leader of the Draphon Guild, was failing to completely hide his shock.

A letter requesting a clandestine meeting.

The moment he arrived at the place written in the letter, an unimaginable figure greeted him.

“You are…”

A massive figure stood behind the woman, watching Draphon.

Draphon immediately bowed his head at the overwhelming aura.

“I see a branch of the World Tree.”

One of the greatest ten families, a lineage of Royeh, rulers of the great forest, the Elves’ sanctuary.

The princess of the great forest looked down at her.

“Draphon. I would like to ask you to guide a spirit that is wandering in Bondales. It will be a difficult task. The child is very shy.”

The greatest adventurer of Bondales had a gut feeling.

This quest wasn’t going to be easy, not by a long shot.

***

Meanwhile, on a chair, a baby wolf lay twitching, its body trembling.

Lishir gently stroked the wolf’s fur.

-Heeeeng…

The wolf let out a happy sound and flipped onto its back, exposing its belly.