At Cravat’s words, Gariel’s face brightened.
“Really?!”
“Yes. Seeing this child’s condition, I think I know why you came looking for me. Indeed, as she is now, ordinary recovery would be impossible.”
Cravat had seen straight through Rine’s condition at a glance.
Anyone else would not have even known why she was asleep, but Cravat was different.
“From the start—are you sure this girl is really a mage?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Ludger asked back, having sensed something unusual in Cravat’s question.
“The force rampaging inside her body is strange. It looks like you temporarily doused the fire with outside help, but that’s just a stopgap measure. The force boiling inside her will eventually destroy its owner.”
“That’s why we called you here.”
“Right. If you hadn’t gone to some famous priest or looked for healing potions, but instead came to me, who deals with ancient curses, then you must have already guessed what kind of state she’s in.”
The only one not understanding the conversation between Ludger and Cravat was Gariel.
Gariel pressed Cravat for an answer.
“No, so what exactly happened to Rine? Why are you asking if she’s even a mage?”
“Because the force rampaging inside this child’s body is divine power.”
“...What?”
For a moment, Gariel thought he’d misheard.
The claim that the source of the force destroying Rine’s body was divine power sounded almost fictional.
“Divine power? But I don’t feel anything like that from Rine at all.”
“Of course not. This isn’t the kind of power that ordinary paladins or priests use. It’s far purer and cleaner than that. To the point where an ordinary mage wouldn’t even be able to distinguish it from mana.”
“W-would that mean some high priest or saint is involved?”
“That much I don’t know. I’ve never seen or heard about what kind of past this girl had. But I get the feeling that even the power of those people wouldn’t be enough to explain it.”
Cravat stroked his chin with a finger.
Gariel still looked unconvinced.
“But divine power is a good thing, isn’t it? Why would it destroy her body?”
“Just because something is ‘good’ doesn’t mean it’s good for the body. A person might need nutrients, but too much of them becomes poison. That’s the way it works.”
“How can that be...?”
“The purer the power, the more blurred the line becomes between good and bad.”
Cravat’s eyes turned toward Rine’s sleeping face.
Judging by her body’s condition, it wouldn’t be strange if she was experiencing the pain of her entire body being torn into shreds in real time.
At such a young age, to be in this state—it was enough to make one think she had been abandoned by fate.
“Strong power is the most primal, without distinction of good or evil. Poison can be medicine, and good medicine can turn into deadly poison.”
“Then Rine’s condition now...”
“The powerful divine power is colliding with her mana, eating away at it.”
Inside Rine’s body, it was like water and oil clashing together.
No—calling it water and oil wasn’t enough. Those two simply refuse to mix, but they don’t gnaw at each other and ruin everything around them.
The forces inside Rine’s body, however...
“On top of that, this girl’s mana looks very special. If I’m not mistaken, it’s something I’ve never seen before.”
“You can tell even that?”
At Ludger’s question, Cravat furrowed his brows, as if insulted.
“What do you take me for? I may look like this, but I have professional medical knowledge and qualifications as a magic researcher.”
“Unusual for a black mage.”
“Ha. What do you think a curse is? To lay a curse on someone, you have to prepare accordingly. You need to consider what kind of person they are, their constitution, the nature of their mana—only then can you use the optimal curse.”
“T-that much?”
Cravat shot Gariel a cold glare.
“Do you think curses are a joke? Huh? A joke? Typical mages never understand the profundity and complexity of curses.”
“No, it’s just—I’m hopeless with any magic besides my own.”
“You can at least use basic magic!”
“I can’t.”
The one who answered was Ludger.
“What?”
“The kind of magic he learned is... of that sort.”
Despite his youthful appearance and attitude, Cravat instantly caught the meaning behind Ludger’s words.
“So that’s why his magic seemed so peculiar. He sacrificed all his magical talent and potential for just one kind of magic? If that’s the case, even that shallow knowledge makes sense.”
“Thanks for understanding, but still, calling it shallow knowledge is a bit...”
“Hmph. Still, what an odd combination. One is a user of some unknown, peculiar branch of magic, and the other is a great mage I’ve never seen before on this island.”
“You don’t know me?”
Ludger asked, surprised. His name and face should have been somewhat known, but judging by Cravat’s words, he had no idea.
“Why should I? I lock myself in this island and study only curses.”
“Well, it’s not a problem if you don’t know. Then—looking at Rine’s condition, can you cure her?”
“Anyway, continuing from earlier—her mana being special is part of the problem.”
Though his examination of Rine had only been brief, Cravat had already discerned her mana wasn’t ordinary.
“Normally, mana would’ve been completely extinguished by divine power this strong. But her mana is resisting. Fiercely resisting that primal, destructive force.”
“Resisting?”
“One side presses down, the other side rebels violently. With the two forces raging inside, how could a fragile human body endure?”
“D-divine power! Then can’t she just learn to handle it?”
“How? Are you telling someone who fainted from not being able to control it to now master it? This is power she didn’t even know she had—how can she suddenly wield it?”
“Th-that’s...”
“Besides, this divine power doesn’t even belong to her. Didn’t I say? It’s too strong—it’s a blessing so strong it’s become a curse. Like being branded directly by God Himself.”
At those words, Ludger shuddered.
But neither Gariel nor Cravat noticed his subtle reaction.
“When she was little, before her mana had fully bloomed, it would’ve been suppressed by the divine power without issue. But as she grew, as her mana grew with her and as she studied magic, the two clashed more and more—until it came to this.”
“That can’t be...”
Gariel’s face clouded.
He had sealed Rine’s memories, taught her magic, supported her when she wanted to go to Seorn Academy.
What he thought was kindness, affection for the daughter of the woman he once loved—turned out to have led to this.
“If I hadn’t taught Rine magic, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Looking at sleeping Rine, he recalled the day they first met.
—Who are you, Grandpa?
When Rine, whose memories had been sealed, opened her eyes, what she saw was Gariel in disguise as an old man.
He had attached a fake beard and even used an artifact to disguise himself, so Rine had firmly believed he was an old man.
—I am your teacher.
So Gariel became her guardian and teacher.
In learning time magic, Gariel had lost all talent for other branches of magic. But the theory remained in his mind. He used that knowledge to teach Rine.
In truth, he hadn’t needed to teach her. It had been his stubbornness.
The world was harsh, and Rine had lost her only family—her mother.
For a commoner girl to survive, she needed at least enough strength to protect herself. Gariel decided that strength should be magic.
A commoner who knew magic would be respected anywhere.
If she had no talent, nothing could be done. But if she did, it was only natural to teach her.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Rine had talent.
She couldn’t control her mana properly, but her insight into theory and her comprehension were sharper than most children.
Teaching her, Gariel had felt proud as a teacher.
When she went off to a boarding school, when she said she wanted to go to Seorn, he worried but supported her.
But in the end—
That very guidance had driven her condition.
The truth stabbed Gariel like a dagger.
In the end—
Had he once again failed to protect someone precious to him?
“All of this is because of me...”
Like this, he would have no face to show Rine’s dead mother.
As Gariel was about to sink into self-loathing, Ludger’s sharp voice snapped him back.
“Why are you whining like a child?”
“...You heartless bastard. Even in this situation, you only say things like that? Don’t you have any consideration?”
“That’s my line. You think Rine ended up like this because of you? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Ludger curled his lips in a sneer.
“I’m the one who taught Rine magic. I’m the one who made her /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ summon a familiar. All of it was under my instruction. She’s like this because of me, not because of the likes of you.”
It was unspoken, but Gariel felt Ludger had said: It’s all my responsibility.
“Some tangled relationship you two must have.”
Cravat clicked his tongue at the sight of the two.
One claimed to be her master. The other, her teacher.
To have such unusual mages as masters... what kind of life has this child lived?
Cravat’s gaze softened on Rine.
Even just in her sleep, she looked delicate and beautiful, like a princess from somewhere.
Her power was unique, and her plight was not something seen every day.
She seemed like the very embodiment of the world’s favor, gathered into one.
Perhaps meeting these two and being called here was also some kind of fate.
Well—that wasn’t the point.
He had agreed, so he would do his best to purge the divine power gnawing at Rine’s body.
“There’s only one way. I must remove the divine power raging in her body.”
The problem was, this wasn’t ordinary divine power.
“This degree of purity... tsk. I haven’t lived that long, but I’ve never seen anything like this. How pure must it be to feel indistinguishable from mana?”
If it hadn’t clashed with Rine’s mana, Cravat might never have noticed.
“To suppress divine power this strong, I’ll need a special-grade curse.”
“Special-grade?”
“A curse unreachable by modern magic. A primordial curse. One that rots away even conceptual parts, not just the material. To heal her, that level is required.”
“Do you know how to use it?”
“Would I bring it up if I didn’t? But even I can’t be fully certain. Even if I attempt it, the success rate isn’t 100%.”
“What’s the success rate?”
“Exactly fifty-fifty. And that’s assuming I have all the catalysts and materials, and I’m in peak condition.”
“W-wait. A curse with only fifty percent chance? What kind of special-grade curse is that?”
“The curse itself will activate without fail. The reason the odds drop is because what dwells in her body is divine power.”
Divine power and curses were polar opposites.
Just as curses could strike at divine power, divine power could erase curses.
If Cravat used the curse, the divine power would immediately move to wipe it out.
“From now on it’s a complete race against time. All the materials must be gathered.”
“If it’s a special-grade curse, the ingredients won’t be ordinary.”
“Right. Not just one or two things. There are many, and some are extremely rare.”
Gariel asked grimly, “Where will we find such rare ingredients in such a short time?”
At that, Cravat smiled.
“Why? They’re very close by.”
“Close by?”
Cravat raised a finger and pointed out the window.
Beyond the glass, past the white steam filling the streets, loomed a towering spire.
“Most of what we need will be there.”
“W-wait, you mean...”
Gariel asked, as if trying to deny the thought forming in his mind.
“...You mean rob the Mage Tower?”