Chapter 327

Chapter 327

However, Hiti was also an old man who had been through all kinds of hardships.

He possessed the wisdom to accept the flow of time, just as the water in front is pushed away by the water following behind.

“It is truly a mystery. Fine, you rascal.”

Hiti grumbled and left his seat, heading into the back of the restaurant.

“It takes quite a while for the food to come out here. Let’s wait a bit. It won’t be a meal where waiting is a waste of time.”

“Ah, yes… cough. More than that, Lord Roan.”

Lucia opened her mouth as if it was fortunate that she had some time now.

Her reason for coming to Acherandir.

She wanted to hear in more detail about the circumstances of arresting the Oslo gang.

And…

However, Roan, who could not possibly be ignorant of her intentions, beat her to the punch.

“Honestly, I was a bit surprised earlier. You seem to know quite a lot about the Borrowed Name Holy Art.”

“Cough! Yes?”

Lucia pulled her upper body back slightly as if Roan’s words were quite unexpected.

She had never expected him to suddenly praise her, a black mage.

‘I shouldn’t get swept into Lucia’s pace.’

Roan had no intention of handing the initiative of the conversation over to Lucia.

Even though she was still young, she was highly experienced in interrogation.

However, because she was still young, her weakness in conversation was also clear.

Compounded by her special circumstances, she, who had always done nothing but interrogation, was not accustomed to friendly conversations with peers.

He had to make good use of the fact that she was not used to praise.

“Did you study under Professor Beleck? Well, he is your father, and Professor Beleck’s theories are excellent.”

“Cough, no, I have lived apart from my father for a long time…”

Especially, rather than praise for herself, if he praised her father, Beleck, she would quickly reveal a gap.

“Is that so? Then how do you know the professor’s theories so well? Even for me, they were a bit difficult.”

“Ah, that’s because my father sent me a copy every time he wrote a paper… cough! But Lord Roan, you seem to know them better than I do…?”

“Oho, if so, then the Borrowed Name Holy Art according to the attributes of the gods…”

“That too…”

Although there was almost a brief crisis(?), it passed safely.

Lucia, briefly forgetting the purpose of the conversation, gradually shared stories about her father and herself.

‘Unlike my first impression, he is a truly kind person!’

From Lucia’s increasingly comfortable tone, he could feel her perception of Roan changing as well.

Roan then naturally shifted the topic slightly.

“Do you like the school?”

“Yes, thanks to your consideration.”

“Is your body feeling alright?”

“Cough, yes?”

Lucia asked back as if wondering what that meant.

Didn’t she look unwell at a glance?

Roan added an explanation.

“Since this is a holy land. Is there any particularly bad effect on you?”

“Ah, inevitably… cough, cough, it seems my condition is getting worse. But since I originally lived in a place of holy land caliber, I am used to it.”

Indeed, the frequency of her coughing had increased compared to what Roan remembered.

‘I was fine, though.’

Roan had a thought that would have annoyed Lucia quite a bit if she had heard it.

Hum—

Do you know who that is all thanks to?

The false divinity boasted like that.

Roan lightly ignored it.

“No doubt it’s a difficult environment for a black mage to live in. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes, inevitably.”

“It would also be impossible for someone to sneak in secretly.”

“Unless they are dragged in, that would be the case.”

No matter how smart Lucia was, it was impossible for her to deduce Roan’s absurd situation.

“Unless they are truly a powerhouse on the level of Professor Beleck, it seems that would be the case.”

“Yes, you are right.”

Lucia nodded as if she agreed as well.

In fact, Beleck’s skill was proven just by the fact that he worked in Acherandir long-term.

Indeed, looking at Beleck’s portrait from when he was newly appointed, his complexion was much better and he had more flesh on him.

“But why do you ask that?”

When Lucia asked, Roan replied immediately.

“As you saw earlier, one of my fri… ends particularly likes black magic.”

He sold Demona out without the slightest hesitation.

Lucia smiled faintly and said.

“Cough, cough! She was an interesting person. I heard she is a descendant of the Wicronon family.”

“Yes, it might be interesting once or twice.”

“…Cough.”

At any rate, Roan could be sure of this.

At the very least, Lucia had not come in with intelligence that he was a black mage!

Although he could not know why she was trying to approach him like this, it did not seem to be a dangerous intention.

He could take a bit more time.

If he pried too inquisitively, it would only invite unnecessary misunderstanding.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Just then, Hiti walked over to them carrying two bowls containing food.

“…!”

But the smell was unusual.

Just what and how did he cook it? A terrible stench that strongly stimulated the tip of the nose was already creeping out.

Thud— Thud—

And the large bowls were filled with something like a suspicious porridge that was a bit darker than red bean porridge.

The solid ingredients of unrecognizable shape were a bonus.

Lucia stared blankly at the food before she knew it.

‘Is this edible?’

It was an obvious expression, so Hiti flew into a rage.

“Do you think I gave you something inedible? Have you even tried it?”

“No, I haven’t… cough.”

Where on earth would she have eaten something like this?

“Then try it first before talking!”

The polite Lucia could not bring herself to say that if she ate it and died, she wouldn’t even be able to talk.

Slide— Click—

Lucia brought her hand to the middle of her mask and detached the lower jaw part.

Due to her circumstances, it was difficult to take off the mask entirely, so she took measures like this when eating.

The large beak of the crow was detached, and beneath it, a face so pale that one might mistake it for a corpse was revealed.

And purple veins rising here and there allowed one to guess her physical condition.

““…””

Roan and Hiti fell silent for a moment as they examined her face.

‘It’s much worse than I thought.’

This was Hiti’s thought.

‘Looking at that, she still has a long way to go before she dies.’

…This was Roan’s thought.

She would easily live for another year or two.

Roan was not very pleased with a healthy(?) Lucia!

Lucia glanced at the two of them and then carefully took a spoonful of food.

However, the corners of her mouth were drooped down like a child facing food they really did not want to eat, and she was extremely tense.

Another weakness of Lucia.

Because she was so used to the mask, she paid no attention to controlling her expression beneath it.

Of course, since she usually wore the mask, it was not a big deal.

“What, do you not want to eat it?”

Hiti asked in an uncharacteristically soft, grandfather-like voice.

As Lucia looked up at him in surprise.

“Eat it anyway! Do you think you are in a position to choose between tasty and tasteless food right now?!”

As expected, Hiti gave a thundering scolding.

Lucia also honestly revealed her concern.

“It’s not that… cough, cough! Since it’s healthy food, I was just wondering if it might contain holy power.”

Since in this world, ‘medicine = holy magic’, it was not a strange thought.

“You…!”

Hiti glared.

Watching this, Roan stepped forward and took a bite before Hiti could lose his temper.

Then, he said calmly.

“See? It is fine.”

At that, Lucia and Hiti turned to Roan at the same time.

“Of course it is. You are a priest, aren’t you?”

His tone seemed to ask why he was stepping in.

“…Ah.”

Roan nodded as if he had momentarily forgotten.

“It means medicine and holy power have nothing to do with each other. You can eat it with peace of mind.”

“…Yes.”

Since Roan went so far as to say that, Lucia brought the spoon to her mouth as if she had no choice.

In her heart, she had hoped just a little bit that he would say, ‘Ah, there is holy power, so a black mage cannot eat it.’

Sip—

The moment she carefully put a little in my mouth.

‘Is it… surprisingly okay?’

Contrary to the unexpectedly ordinary first taste.

“!!!!!! Cough! Cough!”

Lucia could not help but cover her mouth and cough.

‘What on earth is this taste?!’

Bitter, astringent, spicy, salty.

It felt like tastes that could not possibly coexist were mixed in abundance and wreaking havoc in her mouth.

“Bwahaha!”

At that, Hiti, who was watching from the side with a fierce expression, laughed heartily.

“It tastes bad, right? Of course it does. I deliberately put in only things that taste terrible!”

“…”

It was a reaction as if she had fallen perfectly into a carefully prepared penalty game.

As Lucia stared blankly up at him, Hiti wiped a tear that had slipped out and said.

“Still, child, good medicine tastes bitter. Moreover, your body is particularly unwell, so you have an instinctive rejection to the efficacy rather than the taste.”

From Hiti, who spoke like that, radiated the dignity and trust that truly made him worthy of the nickname ‘Medical Sage’.

Hiti gently patted Lucia’s head and pointed to Roan on the other side.

“Look at him, he eats well…”

Slurp— gulp— slurp—!

“…Why does he eat so well?”

At first, Hiti had thought, ‘The young fellow is doing quite well,’ but Roan, who had moved his spoon once or twice, was now practically pouring it down.

Even Hiti was speechless at the sight, which was a first since he opened the restaurant, or rather, since he learned medicine.

Of course, since it was a restorative food, it would be better than Lucia’s, but it still should not be a taste a young boy would gulp down so easily.

It was natural.

‘As you get older, you weirdly crave this kind of thing.’

Because Roan was not a young boy!

Thinking that it was a restorative medicine that he could not eat back on Earth because he didn’t have it, he did not feel any particular aversion.

About a third of it vanished in an instant.

To Roan, who had paused his spoon for a moment, Hiti asked dubiously.

“Are you by any chance paralyzed in your sense of taste?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Roan frowned slightly, feeling a bit displeased.

Even black mages ate delicious food.

Hiti backed away slightly and said.

“Straighten your expression. Before I report you.”

“Aren’t they all things good for the body? One must eat well.”

Hiti snorted.

The proud Hiti, who twisted even flattering words!

“Hmph, how do you even know what went in there?”

“Deer antler, five-color shell, Mansan balloon flower, Hwang-gwi ginseng, purple softshell turtle, and black-boned chicken.”

“?!?!?!?!!!”

However, seeing Roan rattle off the six ingredients in an instant, Hiti could not help but be astonished.

“W-What? How did you…?”

“These are representative ingredients that fit a Geon-mu constitution well. It’s common sense.”

“Geez, you rascal! If that’s common sense, I wouldn’t even be able to work as a village teacher!”

“Cough, cough, my thoughts exactly…”

Lucia also cautiously chipped in.

With his wrinkled eyes wide open, Hiti seemed to be the most surprised he had ever been in his life.

Aside from medicine being a neglected discipline, there probably wouldn’t even be much material to study in the first place, so where did he pick this up and talk about common sense!

“Alright, if that’s common sense, then try guessing what went into this child’s as well.”

“Hmm…”

Roan stared at Lucia’s bowl for a moment.

Hiti resolved in his mind.

‘He won’t know this one. Just let him say he doesn’t know. I’ll give him a good scolding for pretending to know…’

But thinking about it, something was strange.

‘Isn’t it amazing enough that he guessed his own?’

…It seemed he would not be able to scold him to his heart’s content after all.

Gulp—

It was a tense moment, enough for the watching Lucia to swallow her saliva!

Finally, Roan began to guess(?) the ingredients.

“You boiled Cloud Dream Herb, red-crowned swiftlet nest, curved horn shell, jade conch, and six-step viper skin in Yanghwan liquor.”

“Is this guy crazy?!”