Chapter 328

Chapter 328

Listening quietly, Hiti finally could not hold back and spat out a curse.

No, even if he knew, he should only know a reasonable amount.

If he rattled them off as if he had actually watched him make it, what was Hiti supposed to do!

‘D-Did he really see it?’

With such suspicion, Hiti glanced back at Lucia.

Shake, shake—

Lucia shook her head.

Roan had definitely been focusing on talking to her while Hiti was inside.

Moreover, Hiti had also heard all of that conversation.

‘Unless he created a clone…’

But then how on earth could this be explained?

“Just what is your identity, you rascal?”

Hiti asked with trembling eyes.

“You said earlier that you only put in ingredients that taste terrible. That was a big clue.”

Naturally, they were not ingredients that could be deduced from such a thing.

In the first place, there would be far more people who did not even know that such things existed in the world.

“By the way, wouldn’t whale clam shell have a better medicinal effect than curved horn shell? Ah, it would also have been nice to add cliff bear’s bile together.”

Roan went even further and threw the conversation topic to a far-off place.

Rumble—!

At that moment, Hiti felt as if lightning had struck inside his head.

Clearly, this young boy was suspicious.

He was far too suspicious.

However, rather than resolving that suspicion.

The content of that advice daringly added to his own medicine.

And the joy of finally meeting someone he could converse with in the world of medicine, which he had studied almost entirely alone all his life.

These things came to Hiti too greatly right now.

With a serious expression, Hiti shook his head.

“No, whale clam has excessively strong Yang energy. The same goes for cliff bear’s bile. If you combine the two, the body won’t be able to handle it.”

“So that was indeed why.”

“Ha, well. You…”

Even though he explained it vaguely, Roan seemed to understand, causing Hiti to chuckle.

Meanwhile, Lucia was staring blankly down at her and Roan’s food.

‘Such things… went in here?’

To be honest, she did not even recognize all the ingredients Roan mentioned.

This was true even though Lucia was a black mage who was reasonably well-versed in experimentation.

However, the feel of each name was not ordinary.

The ones she knew were things that could only be harvested on a single day in a year, or grew with difficulty in remote areas untouched by humans.

How rare and tricky must the ingredients she did not know be?

At the very least, they were not of a level to be casually served as food—if it could even be called that—at a restaurant that did not even look like a restaurant.

‘Just what is Lord Roan… and how on earth does that person know such things?’

Lucia thought of ‘that person’ who had specially dealt with the figure named Roan Darc, and shivered without anyone noticing.

As far as she knew, that person had never even met Roan directly.

And yet they knew of such overwhelming knowledge and potential?

However, Roan’s words did not end there.

“It is said that extreme Yang can be effectively managed when met with lesser Yin. If you also add swamp chrysanthemum and horseweed of a neutral property to assist the Yin energy, it seems that with my lacking knowledge, I could barely bind them together. What do you think?”

“Swamp chrysanthemum?”

Hiti twitched his eyebrows.

Swamp chrysanthemum and horseweed were not ingredients that were hard to find like the ones he had put in.

No, rather, they were common herbs that were ordinary enough to be used occasionally for a light cold.

To bind the energy of spiritual medicines with such things?

‘Just what on earth is going on…’

Hiti fell into thought as he stared intently at the bowl meant for Lucia.

Swamp chrysanthemum and horseweed.

Swamp chrysanthemum and horseweed.

Swamp chrysanthemum and horseweed…

“Yes! That’s it!”

Hiti suddenly shouted like this.

Snatched—!

“?!”

He practically snatched Lucia’s bowl and ran back into the kitchen.

“Lord Roan?”

Lucia had no way of knowing how the situation was turning out.

She also knew those two ingredients well, but what effect could they possibly produce?

Roan nodded.

“Everything has Yin and Yang.”

“Yin and Yang… cough!”

“Yes. And not only is there simply Yin and Yang, but within them exists endless circulation and compatibility. Occasionally, when manufacturing black magic reagents, doesn’t something entirely different pop out even though you put in similar ingredients? …Of course, I am just saying this as a guess.”

“Ah, yes. You are right.”

“It is that kind of law where the result changes greatly even if you change a very minute rule. Destruction and creation, which cannot but be called the will of the gods and whose causes humans dare not know, arise from such minor changes.”

“…”

Lucia stared blankly at Roan with her mouth slightly open.

Even that was a small amusement that could be seen because the lower part of the mask was gone.

Destruction and creation whose causes humans dare not know.

‘But how does Lord Roan know?’

Lucia wanted to ask that, but the words could not bring themselves to leave her mouth.

Roan quietly observed Lucia’s mouth.

‘Not making a sound doesn’t mean you aren’t speaking…’

Lucia, who was clumsy at controlling her expression, was unconsciously mouthing the question she wanted to ask.

Indeed, knowing so much about medicine was a bit suspicious, so Roan decided to roughly explain the reason.

“Hiloa said that before being a god, they were a human. It means to develop one’s own strength rather than only hoping for the help of the gods. I believe medicine is also a powerful human strength.”

“Ah… cough! Cough!”

Lucia coughed violently before she could say anything.

Dark red blood filled her thin palm.

“So… Sorry.”

Thinking she had shown an unsightly appearance, Lucia did not know what to do and first disposed of the blood on her hand.

Her blood was cleanly separated, and after purifying the contaminated dark mana, it was sucked into her small reagent bottle.

Roan frowned slightly at the sight of Lucia using mid-tier black magic so casually out of fluster.

No matter how thickly dark mana was mixed in, preventing it from being cleaned up by ordinary methods, wasn’t that still a bit too much?

‘No matter how much I think about it, she really isn’t a named character that should appear at this point…’

How long has it been since the start, and they are already sending out a boss character who uses mid-tier black magic as easily as breathing?

At this rate, even the power inflation was subject to criticism.

Therefore, now was the time to accelerate the process of winning Lucia over.

To the point where even if everyone in the world said he was a black mage, she would believe Roan was not!

Roan took out Harden’s Handkerchief, which he had obtained last night, and gave it to Lucia.

“This is…”

“It is fine for black mages to use, so rest assured. You haven’t wiped your mouth yet.”

Lucia hesitated, but soon took the handkerchief and wiped her mouth.

Whoosh—

The holy relic-grade handkerchief wiped away even the traces of blood that had not been erased, cleanly and without a trace.

As if she had not expected it to have such an effect, Lucia let out a soft “Ah…” and quietly looked down at the handkerchief.

“Lucia.”

“Ah, yes. Cough! Lord Roan.”

“Although my family was destroyed by black mages, I believe that those black mages are also creations of Lord Hiloa, just like me.”

“…”

“However, healing holy magic is no different from poison to black mages. Therefore, wouldn’t medicine be human strength, which is to say… going further, the true will of Lord Hiloa that applies to absolutely everyone?”

“!!!!!”

At Roan’s calm explanation, Lucia fell into a crucible of emotion.

Although he spoke a bit indirectly, didn’t it ultimately mean that he had learned medicine to a degree that even Hiti was shocked by, all for the sake of marginalized people like black mages?

Drip—

“Lord Roan…”

Beneath the half-remaining mask, two streams of tears flowed down Lucia’s face.

The tears also had a purplish tint from being mixed with dark mana.

‘To think he is this wonderful!’

After learning of Roan’s grand dream(?), her past self, who had arrested black mages mercilessly under the guise of coexistence with the Empire, felt incredibly shameful and pathetic.

When in the end, everyone was a creation of Hiloa.

Meanwhile, Roan, who was watching Lucia, nodded with satisfaction.

‘With this, can I truly rest easy now?’

Hum—

I-I don’t think it’s to that extent…

The false divinity vibrated, trailing off as if asking how he could say that.

To put it simply, Lucia looked like she would stamp her thumbprint without hesitation even if Roan asked her to act as a guarantor for a loan.

Of course, thinking it was too vulgar an expression for this situation, he did not say it out loud.

“Here… cough.”

“Okay.”

Lucia returned the tightly held handkerchief to Roan and hung her head low.

After a little time passed, Hiti came out again.

Just how much had he focused? Sweat bubbled on his wrinkled skin.

“Now, forget the garbage from earlier. A real medicine… no, food has finally come out.”

Then, he tilted his head looking at Lucia, who was in a strange atmosphere.

“Why, did that Darc kid say he would arrest you? I knew he would.”

“…No.”

Roan glared at Hiti with an expression that said, ‘How can such a trashy person exist?’

To throw cold water when the atmosphere was going so well!

‘Does it make sense for a black mage to catch a black mage?’

Thump—

Master, you aren’t saying that sincerely, are you? Just looking at what I’ve seen so far…

In Roan’s eyes, Ludiac and Hiti were pretty much the same.

I-I am similar to an old fogey like that?!?!!!?!

‘…Isn’t Lord Ludiac much older?’

Age is but a number!

Well, that matter was decided to be let go.

Lucia stared at the bowl that had returned in front of her for a moment.

Slurp— slurp— slurp—

She began to move her spoon at a completely different speed than before.

“Hooh?”

Hiti admired in surprise.

“As expected, when you think of it as your last meal before dying, everything tastes good. It must be far more tasteless than earlier.”

“…I told you it’s not like that.”

“Hahaha! Anyway, eat up. Make sure to tell me when you leave!”

Hiti laughed heartily and then stepped aside.

“Lucia, eat slowly.”

“Slurp, no. How could I… It is reasonably delicious.”

Lucia shook her head and even picked up the bowl to eat.

Watching this, Roan said.

“…At least straighten your expression while eating.”

“Ah…”

Only then realizing that she was making a grimace, Lucia felt extremely embarrassed.

“Well, I don’t mind.”

Roan ate a spoonful of his restorative food and said with a chuckle.

“By the way, you aren’t coughing anymore.”

“?!”

Hearing Roan’s words, Lucia waited quietly for a moment, wondering if it could be.

But just as Roan said, the coughing that had burst out as easily as breathing did not come out at all.

“What is this…”

Lucia murmured in an unbelieving voice.

Now, rather, not coughing was more awkward.

Even the encroachment of dark mana, which felt like thousands of bugs gnawing at her every moment, had subsided a lot.

Did this terribly bitter food really have an effect?

‘No, to call it an effect is not enough.’

Even no black magic was to this degree.

At that time, Roan said something incomprehensible.

“Originally, what doesn’t work with Western medicine has to be treated with herbal medicine.”

“Yes? Western medicine? Herbal medicine?”

Lucia tilted her head at the words she was hearing for the first time.

Roan waved his hand as if it was nothing.

“Don’t worry about it. It just means that when solving a problem is difficult, you must use a different method.”

“Ah… Yes, I see.”

Even as she spoke, Lucia found this moment where she was not coughing so fascinating.