Chapter – 07
Late at night when everyone was asleep, a solitary figure moved about in the dormitory.
Drip.
A pale violet liquid droplet fell through the cloth used as a filter. The droplet collected in a round glass bottle.
Mikhail dragged his dry hand down his face and let out a heavy breath. As the pale violet liquid filled the glass bottle, a faint smile appeared on his exhausted face.
“Finally done…”
The wind mushroom potion in his hand glowed softly.
The next day.
Morning sunlight scattered over the port city.
Mikhail walked along the road leading to the square with the wind mushroom potion tucked away. He suddenly stopped in front of the broken fountain.
Magic tools for repairs were piled up nearby.
[Under repair. Do not approach.]
Mikhail glanced at the sign before shifting his gaze to the corner.
Several mana batteries that seemed to have been used as power sources for the repair magic tools were rolling on the ground.
Mikhail picked up one of them and began moving again.
The shops near the square gradually drew closer.
The shop owners were all exchanging stories.
“Those things piled up in the square. They’re combat magic tools, right? No matter how you look at it, they’re not something to sell at a tavern.”
“Come to think of it, they said there’s some kind of demonstration today, didn’t they? I’m curious. Should I go take a look?”
Mikhail passed by the conversing people and stopped near the square. A booming shout stabbed at his ears.
“Move faster! You slugs! That purple box up thereāhandle it carefully! If even one scratch appears, you’re all dead!”
Kobi’s subordinates were carrying boxes to the tavern, Fioned’s Early Autumn.
Behind them, he could see Kobi urging them on, Denver fidgeting restlessly, and Bitron examining the items with a grave expression.
‘As expected.’
Mikhail turned his head to the right. Among the row of trees lining the street, a familiar back of a head caught his eye.
Mikhail approached Lloyd, who was watching the square.
“Oh, you’re here?”
When Lloyd turned around at the presence, Mikhail nodded and stood beside him. Lloyd asked.
“I came like you said, but what am I supposed to see here? It’s just a normal… actually, more like a busy shopping district, isn’t it?”
“Follow me. We need to wait a bit.”
Mikhail approached a bench with the best view of the square and sat down.
Lloyd also sauntered over and sat in the seat next to him.
“…So what do we do now?”
“Watch. Just watch.”
Lloyd seemed like he wanted to ask more questions, but when Mikhail closed his mouth, he didn’t press further.
No more words were exchanged.
The two watched the continuing commotion.
“Put the practice dummy and one item in the square, and put the purple box in the shop last! Don’t let it get damaged! Hurry!”
Kobi raised his voice, pointing at the piled-up boxes.
“Yes, sir!”
The subordinates moved with rigid postures.
Scrape, scra-ape.
The sound of dragging boxes echoed several times.
A large practice dummy and a box were placed in the center of the square.
Nearby merchants gathered, murmuring, and passing pedestrians also approached one by one.
“…Hmph, you must be curious. You’ve all probably been handling nothing but shabby items.”
Kobi’s lips curled as he gestured with his chin at the guard behind him and shouted.
“Open that thing first!”
The guard followed Kobi’s instructions. An armor-type magic tool appeared from inside the box.
Though somewhat crude, the mana condensers attached to the shoulders and chest were exceptionally bright. Kobi shouted toward Bitron.
“Bitron! Watch carefully! I’ll give you a demonstration or whatever!”
Kobi’s guard put on the armor and rolled his shoulders. He stood in front of the practice dummy set up in the center of the square.
Watching the scene, Mikhail slowly turned his head toward Lloyd.
“Lloyd.”
“Mm?”
Their gazes met. Mikhail rummaged in his clothes and pulled out the pale violet potion, shaking it.
“What’s that… A potion?”
“Windbell mushrooms dried under sunlight and cold wind. Two rounds of smoking, one round of compression. That’s how I made it.”
“Huh?”
Leaving Lloyd asking back in surprise, Mikhail looked up at the sky.
Cottony clouds drifted leisurely across the dazzlingly blue sky.
“…”
And then.
Fzzzt!
A faint spark flew through the air.
The signal for the incident. Mikhail, having confirmed the omen, tucked the potion back into his clothes and looked straight ahead.
“Hrrryaaa!”
The guard’s fist swung toward the practice dummy.
Boom!
The practice dummy split in half instantly and rolled on the ground, and the guard pulled back his fist with a triumphant expression.
He then raised his arm overhead as if showing off his strength.
The surrounding people opened their mouths and murmured. Someone clapped softly.
“Ahem, this is less than half the power.”
Just as Kobi was triumphantly stroking his goatee, Bitron urgently approached and grabbed Kobi’s sleeve.
“Wait, Mr. Kobi. The power is too much compared to expectations…”
“Shut up! Don’t you see everything except the practice dummy is fine? The performance and safety are solid! And.”
Kobi looked at a few among the people gathered around the square who were particularly gleaming-eyed and gloated.
“There are already people showing interest in the product.”
“…”
Kobi roughly shook off Bitron’s hand gripping his sleeve and shouted at the workers and guards.
“Fire off one more at maximum output! For the customers to see!”
“Yes!”
When the workers set up a practice dummy about twice the size of the previous one, the guard stood in front of it as if he’d been waiting.
“Whew.”
The guard rolled his shoulders and glared.
In an instant, the mana condensers attached to the armor flashed irregularly.
“Haaah!”
A much fiercer fist swung out.
Boom!
The practice dummy broke with the fierce wind pressure. The following vibration traveled through the ground, leaving a lingering echo.
“Whoa…”
While many were horrified, a few bold onlookers clenched their fists with flushed faces. A whistle burst out.
“What the hell is that.”
Meanwhile, Lloyd was equally shocked.
Lloyd sprang up from his seat with a stiff face. His wide sky-blue eyes trembled faintly.
‘That kind of powerful item is circulating openly? Are they in their right minds? Those idiots they don’t know moderation…!’
Lloyd bit his lip and stepped forward boldly.
That’s when it happened.
“Dangerous.”
A seemingly languid voice grabbed Lloyd’s ankle.
Lloyd slowly turned toward the source.
Mikhail sat there with an expression not much different from before.
“What?”
“It’s dangerous, so stay here for now.”
Mikhail’s action of calmly patting the seat next to him was completely incomprehensible.
Lloyd was about to open his mouth with furrowed brows when it happened.
“Kugh!”
A rough breath suddenly burst out from the front. It was a sound that amplified anxiety combined with the unsettled situation.
Lloyd couldn’t continue speaking and whipped his body toward the center of the square.
“Ggguuu…urgh!”
The guard was foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back.
His large body began twisting in strange directions. An alien red energy wrapped around his entire body.
At the same time, the mana condenser flashed brightly once.
Fzzzt!
“…Wh-what? Why’s he acting like that?”
Murmuring voices burst out from all around.
Kobi staggered back, and the surrounding people froze in place, faces pale.
Over the atmosphere that had frozen cold in an instant.
‘…It’s a mana rampage phenomenon. He’ll soon try to destroy objects infused with mana.’
In the midst of it all, only Mikhail alone understood the progression that would follow.
Clunk.
Breaking the silence, the guard moved.
The guard picked up the broken practice dummy and rushed toward a streetlamp ahead, swinging it.
A mana luminescent stone was embedded at the top.
Cra-ack!
The streetlamp broke with a bursting sound. The luminescent stone that had been emitting light from the top fell and rolled on the ground.
The guard screamed and slammed his fist down on the luminescent stone.
Crash!
The luminescent stone shattered into pieces.
The guard gasped for breath and slowly raised his fist.
Sharp fragments were embedded in the fist that had smashed the luminescent stone in one blow. Blood dripped steadily.
However, the guard, as if unconcerned with the injury, moved his blood-soaked fist and picked up a log.
The gruesome scene unfolding before their eyes.
The gathered people began to stagger backward.
“R-run! Run before you get caught up!”
With someone’s shout as the start, people screamed and scattered in all directions.
The sound of running feet was as noisy as summer hail.
“Aaah!”
“It’s a monster! A monster!”
“…Dammit!”
Meanwhile, Lloyd also cursed as if spitting and turned around. He had to stop it before the situation became more serious.
Then, what entered Lloyd’s view was Mikhail sitting calmly.
Lloyd said urgently toward Mikhail.
“Mikhail, let’s go call the guards first. Before it turns into bigger damage…”
“To properly subdue that, we’d need to bring even the outer guards, right? That would turn this place into a total mess.”
Swish.
Mikhail replied languidly and slowly stood up from his seat. He passed Lloyd and headed toward the center of the square.
Step, step.
It was an incomprehensible situation.
Lloyd just blinked blankly, but soon snapped to his senses and strode forward. And…
“Mikhail!”
Shouting sharply, he grabbed the wrist of the person walking ahead.
Mikhail looked back with an indifferent gaze.
“Have you lost your mind? Where are you going right now?”
“I’m in my right mind. And I’m going to the right place.”
It was an answer that didn’t consider the chaos unfolding before them at all. Lloyd felt dizzy.
‘What the hell is he trying to do?’
…Mikhail Senit.
He was called peculiar, but Lloyd hadn’t thought he’d be so unpredictable even in matters involving his own safety.
Wasn’t he just reacting to whatever interested him? Should he see this as childishness? Or like a moth to a flame?
Lloyd put strength into his gripping hand and steeled his churning insides.
“Yeah, whatever. For now, let’s avoid it. Okay? If you get caught up in that commotion, you might get seriously hurt…”
“Come to think of it.”
A dry voice cut off Lloyd’s words.
Under the momentary silence that descended, Mikhail met Lloyd’s confused gaze and smiled.
“Didn’t I say I’d show you how to use the weapon?”
“…”
“Watch carefully. See what happens from now on.”
While Lloyd stood frozen, having forgotten what to say, Mikhail lightly pulled his wrist free and moved again.
There was no hesitation in his steps forward.
Boom!
“You useless bastards! Subdue that monster right now! Throw stones, shoot arrows, beat him with clubs! Do something!”
“B-but, Sir Kobi… We don’t have proper equipment to respond with. We’re no match for him.”
Crash!
Several subordinates who rushed in to stop the guard were swept away like fallen leaves with one swing of the guard’s hand.
Cra-ack!
“Damn it! What do I care about that! That’s already the fifth streetlamp! Move before the repair costs pile up!”
Behind Kobi, who was hiding behind a large building pillar and barking at his subordinates.
“…”
Mikhail looked down at Kobi’s exposed back of the head with a pathetic gaze, then stepped to the side and greeted him.
“Hello.”
“Huh?”
Kobi’s bloodshot eyes flew to Mikhail and fixed on him, and his sharp voice rang out.
“What, kid? Get lost right now!”
Mikhail smiled slyly.
“I’m disappointed you’re treating me this way. I brought a method to solve that problem.”
“What?”
When Kobi looked at Mikhail in shock as if struck by lightning, his subordinates also turned their heads back.
Bitron, who’d been standing nearby, also widened his eyes.
“…”
Gazes mixed with expectation and relief, disbelief and suspicion.
Mikhail, standing in the middle of the chaos, smiled leisurely.
“But unfortunately, due to circumstances, I can’t help you for free. …Let’s make a deal. With solving the problem at stake.”
