NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21
The blue and yellow gold coin of Sererassie shook.
The commoners’ eyes were indifferent, even when they earned money that they would never save in their lifetime from a round of card games.
As I refilled my empty glass, I muttered.
“The drugs have crossed the line.”
“What do you mean drugs? What are you talking about?”
A ripple stirred in her monotone voice, which felt dead.
“I hear a lot of drugs have been flowing from the red-light district toward the slums these days. Isn’t that something you made, sister?”
I asked in the same tone as asking if she had eaten.
“No. There’s no workshop, so I can’t say I made it ‘myself’, can I?”
“Valenciaunos.”
“If you go down south for about ten minutes, there’s a building with a seahorse statue in its garden. It’s a level of entertainment venue that’s too common to be in this expensive red-light district, right? But that building has a basement, and the owner of that building was an alchemist who was excommunicated by his master when he was young.”
Sererassie tightened her grip on the wine glass.
The swaying liquor seemed ready to spill out at any moment.
“I don’t think I’ve heard that you learned magic from the Optical School, the Geomancy School, or the Mentalism School.”
“The owner with good craftsmanship is making high-grade drugs and selling them to various people in this street. Casinos, upscale restaurants, and high-class brothels as well.”
“That’s enough.”
“But recently, too many drugs have been circulating. The entire red-light district received a hefty fine. They must have sought out more products and customers to make up for it, right? They started to make the drugs, which were once a service, into a product, and began reaching out to the slums, where they used to pay no attention.”
“…….”
“However, the owner, who was already earning enough, likely didn’t want to take on bigger risks. They probably said they wouldn’t make the drugs anymore.”
Sererassie bit her lip.
“You can’t accept it, can you? I understand.”
An acclaimed genius mage losing her wand overnight and being unable to practice magic would drive anyone mad.
“Gambling and drinking become dull quickly.”
“I can’t tell if that’s telepathy or experience.”
Of course, it’s experience.
I’ve done it all and know it.
At least I lost in gambling and tasted bitterness.
So, I became addicted to the sweetness of winning.
I could forget about the death of my precious person and my helplessness.
But the genius lightning mage and astrologer couldn’t afford to lose.
“You’ve mastered astrology, so your soul’s standing is different from regular mages. Even if you want to lose, you probably can’t. If you try to artificially lose, the table leg might break suddenly and overturn the game, right?”
“Did you read my memories? I couldn’t feel the flow of mana.”
Sererassie shivered.
“So that’s why you became addicted? A drug made by a skilled owner, without side effects. But that guy decided to quit the job. What did you do?”
She, who had been listening quietly, laughed lightly.
A sadistic smile appeared on her lips as she regained her composure.
It seemed like she was recalling good memories.
“A mage of my caliber could take down at least one person without a wand. It also taught me how to mass-produce.”
“Mass production leads to lower quality.”
“Half of that is true, and half is false. To maintain quality, prices go up. The organizations in the red-light district didn’t even think about the quality of what they sell to the slums.”
“You were able to get drugs again, right?”
“You know everything. Have you been following me?”
Sererassie pointed to the cupboard with a mischievous smile.
Inside a large glass jar were ice shards no bigger than a fingernail.
“I must have played gambling to pass the time. I must have used drugs to alleviate my boredom. That’s how I’ve lived this past year.”
That wasn’t someone else’s story.
I lived the same way before my return.
Much longer than a year.
“You. You’re long-winded.”
Sererassie, having regained her confidence, interrupted me.
“Let’s wrap it up. You, the bandit who kicked Sir Bonnel’s shins.”
“Has the rumor spread this far?”
“Are you curious? How did you not get your head chopped off even after defeating a knight? Some people get captured just because it’s known they learned magic.”
“You’re alive, aren’t you?”
She smiled bitterly.
“Is this living?”
“…….”
“You know it too. Just eating bread and breathing doesn’t mean you’re alive. But it seems like His Majesty has no intention of keeping relatives who might pose a threat during his reign, so what else can I do? Where can I find joy in life?”
I took a light breath and said.
“Loyalty.”
Sererassie let out a sardonic laugh.
“What loyalty—what nonsense loyalty.”
“If I’m going to be employed anyway, Jeilliris would be the best employer, don’t you think?”
“That’s nonsense.”
“A drug-distributing mage who’s on the run and wanted by the royal family and the church can’t reveal her identity. An unranked mage means unstable employment.”
“Ah.”
“I cannot even cover the costs of reagents and consumables with my salary, given that they expect me to work like a grand mage. An old, lecherous employer tries to pull me into bed, and I’m suspected by the jealous wife of my employer.”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t it better than that life under His Majesty? You were on Jeilliris’s side during the succession war if we really break it down.”
“That’s the side of despair for mages. How do you know so much in detail?”
Sererassie looked incredulous.
Because she’s lived twenty years like that.
Receiving ill-treatment in a place that doesn’t suit her.
Then meeting the traitorous prince Justianus, becoming his lightning bolt, and ultimately dying fighting the royal court mage.
And that mage was someone who ignored her during her Ivory Tower days.
The gap in skills that had occurred during that time, as well as the differences in wands and reagents, were immense.
A series of words rose to my tongue and then disappeared.
“Quit the drugs and come back.”
“What’s waiting if I go back?”
“Drink and rehabilitation.”
“How is that rehabilitation?”
“That is rehabilitation.”
“What will you do if I don’t come back? I’m already living like a king here.”
Sererassie said provocatively.
I noticed the piles of chip bags strewn about.
“How long do you think you can keep that up?”
I shot back without blinking.
“You’re not going to say you’ll drag me away, are you?”
“I don’t need to reveal a trump card in advance. And wielding a sword against a lightning mage? Even if this is the street, the compatibility is too poor.”
I lowered my hand to the sword at my waist and lifted it onto the table.
“You do know something.”
She also placed her hands on the table.
Blue flames flickered between her fingers.
“Huh?”
My voice slipped out in surprise.
I knew she was a genius, but I didn’t realize she could use lightning magic with unchanted spells at this age.
She must be only twenty at most?
“Valenciaunos. I can’t pledge loyalty, at least not in that regard.”
The blue flame flared.
I raised one hand and said.
“Just hear me out one more time.”
With the calmness that only a returner could have, in a young voice.
“Sure. But screams come first.”
However, Sererassie laughed eerily with her two differently colored eyes gleaming.
—
“You’re late.”
The manager of the casino “Future” muttered.
“He might have already collapsed. After all, it’s that ‘nightmare’, isn’t it?”
The manager of the casino “Sky” muttered.
“What can you do? Is it uncommon for unfortunate accidents to happen in the red-light district?”
The manager of the casino “Serpent” said playfully, shaking his head as if he was displeased with the manager of “Future.”
“They would never have looked at you if it was before.”
“Why are you being so stiff when you called me?”
“…….”
The manager of “Serpent” chuckled before continuing.
“This is the first time I’ve seen His Majesty treating relatives this way, neglecting and oppressing them. How shocked I was when they first appeared on this street.”
“But now it’s not too difficult to see one or two at any store.”
“In the end, they’re all the same kind of person. They want to find meaning in life, and if they can’t, they perish—just regular folks.”
“Can you bury them if necessary?”
The manager of “Future” lifted his head.
The manager of “Serpent” nodded.
“Have you finally made up your mind?”
“I figured out how to make the drug ages ago.”
“And also the secret of mass production.”
“That chip tied to her accounts for 70% of my cash.”
The executives of the casinos who had gathered at the invitation of the manager of “Future” added.
“You must be anxious too. Mine is 50%.”
“I’m at 60%.”
“I’m already at the point where I have to declare bankruptcy.”
They exchanged glances.
With some having reigned over this red-light district for a decade or over thirty years, they had become adept at dealing and pushing muscle.
“I can’t wait to starve to death being kept on a leash.”
—
The manager of “Future” murmured monotonously.
He then addressed the man standing behind him like a shadow.
“Gather the kids.”
Other managers and owners added their own comments.
“Doesn’t really matter how we die.”
“Let’s see what we can do.”
“You’ve made a good decision. We’ve already called our kids.”
“I’ll call them now. They’re on standby.”
“Haven’t they said ‘Hope’ wouldn’t come?”
“I’ve heard rumors that Madame Laviecia has been marked by the royal family, and she will exercise caution for a while.”
“Hmph. They won’t come to their senses until ‘Golden Nightmare’ barges into their establishment. I’m not doing this just to save myself.”
“I should ask her to buy me a drink later.”
The manager of “Future” resolutely said as he checked the blade of his dagger.
“I’ll pay if everything wraps up well.”
Thirty burly men with scars on their cheeks, wielding steel clubs and daggers, gathered around.
“We’re going to temporarily close today! Please leave!”
“Wait! I was winning just now, how can you do this?”
“…….”
“Now! I was just about to leave!”
The patrons who had gathered since morning or had stayed until dawn sensed the atmosphere and fled “Future”.
The moment they opened the front door of “Future,” they had to witness the swarm of prayers that arrived en masse.
The prayers, summoned by the significant figures of the red-light district, numbered over three hundred.
The wide hall of the “Future” casino was bursting at the seams, with some needing to wait outside.
Most of them were former members of well-known mercenary bands, and their skills and loyalty were on a different level compared to groups from the slums.
Several were sword users who could feel and use mana.
“I believe you. Do well.”
The manager of “Future” said to the stocky leader of the actions.
He arrogantly replied, shouldering a flail with four triangular pyramids.
“They’re just kids who aren’t even twenty yet.”
Another action leader brought by a different manager wore a gray uniform with a sleek appearance.
He fiddled with two daggers as he nodded.
“Do you understand that this world, where the privileged who grew up in affluence kill each other?”
The action leader, holding a spear, whistled.
“Magic or aura—none of that matters. If we rush together and stab them in the gut, they’ll panic and go ‘Huh?’ and then it’s game over.”
There were four staircases leading to the guest rooms: one in the center and one on each side, plus a fire escape.
The prayers first herded the guests into rooms.
“Uh-oh?”
“Is there something wrong?”
“It’s dangerous; please don’t come out!”
After that, they took control of all four passages and headed to the sixth floor toward the ‘Golden Nightmare’ that would strip the place bare.
The action leader in the gray uniform stroked a scar running from his forehead down to his cheek.
After much deliberation, he opened his mouth.
“You.”
“Yes, brother.”
“The kids blocking the third alley are also ours. Go that way and head to ‘Hope’. Tell them to leave a secret passage by the underground water route open. If you say it was me, even the younger Miss will pretend to listen.”
“Yes?”
The prayer looked at the action leader, bewildered.
“We have to leave at least one hole to escape through, right? Especially since it’s not just anyone but that ‘Nightmare’.”
“Brother, are you feeling nervous?”
One prayer cautiously asked.
The action leader had been a knight candidate and had shown only bold moves suited to his sleek appearance until now.
“You don’t know who is with that nightmare right now?”
“Yes.”
“About a month ago, ‘Hope’ was cleaned out, right? Then alone, she knocked all the prayers out of there. While she didn’t tell us, she must surely be of royal blood.”
Doubt began to show in the prayers’ eyes.
“We’ve fought pretty safely so far. Our numbers have been similar, and our weapons have barely been daggers. We’ve only fought among people who can communicate, not heterogeneous races like Orcs.”
The action leader paused momentarily on the stairs, looking down at his subordinates.
He intensified the chill in the atmosphere further as he spoke.
“Other kids underestimate them for their youth, but don’t you. They’ll attack us as if we’re nothing but bugs, not people.”
Sounds of sparks could be heard from above.
“Aaah!”
The dreadful scream followed.