Chapter 173

But if— He shut the thought away as quickly as it had come. Any more than that would be an affront to the wife he loved. The wife who’d given birth to and raised their daughter in poverty, alone. “I’m back,” Malraux said, and quietly closed the door to his home behind himself. 07 “I realized something,” Mariela muttered after Sieg had left to rescue Caroline. “What’s that?” Freyja asked, more quietly than usual. “Hmm. A lot of things. But I guess the biggest thing is about Drops of Life,” Mariela said, and headed to her atelier on the second floor of Sunlight’s Canopy with her master. She picked out dried lunamagia. Then curique, mandragora, and ogre dates; the usual materials she was familiar with. “Form Transmutation Vessel, Water, Drops of Life.” Without saying anything, Mariela expanded a Transmutation Vessel and dissolved Drops of Life into magically created water. At the same time, she expanded another Transmutation Vessel and joined the two with a thin tube. The shape resembled the ordinary vessels she’d used many times to make high-grade potions. “Nozzles are easy, so that’s good.” Up to now, Mariela had ordered a great number of nozzles to make high-grade potions. The simplest type that sprayed only water had a small hole at the end of the tube, and the hole had a distinct shape. When they got a little more complicated, the path of the water zigzagged and the water pooled right before the nozzle, or there were several pathways for the water that created whirlpools through different water speeds. For the types that sprayed water and air together, a water tube ran through the very center and an air tube ran along the vessel’s circumference. Mariela had reproduced nozzles with Transmutation Vessels, but quickly discovered the water was being stirred up by water and air from other channels and scattering near the nozzle’s outlet. So if the young alchemist changed the current of the water and air and scrambled the nozzle’s outlet, she could probably create a finer spray. However, that method used too many controls, and Mariela felt like it wasn’t the correct way to go about it. That day, she made a straightforward and familiar nozzle in the Transmutation Vessel that simply sent water and air in the proper way. As she sent the water in a free fall, she blasted it with air. With this, she could freeze the water droplets while easily mixing it with finely powdered lunamagia. However, the water droplets were too big and created a diluted extract. “There was…no need to approach it from only the outside,” Mariela muttered and put magic energy into the Drops of Life dissolved in the water. Drawing up Drops of Life used magical power. There was no reason she shouldn’t be able to work on it after the Drops had been drawn up. Mariela wondered to herself why she hadn’t noticed something like that earlier. With a popping sound, the water droplets spraying from the nozzle burst open and scattered, finer than mist. Since they were very small drops, their bursting wasn’t very loud. But Mariela’s attention was fixed on each and every little liquid bead. To her, the little sounds of bursting water were as lively as bells. Pop, pop, pop. Tinkle, tinkle, ring-ring. The mist shrouded the interior of the Transmutation Vessel that Mariela had created in the blink of an eye. She cooled and stirred it, turning it into something like fine powder moving in a high-viscosity liquid. It was as if the mist was gathering together with a mind of its own. Then the now pure white mist touched the lunamagia powder, turned slightly yellow, and then collected at the bottom of the vessel like light rain. “…I did it. It was so easy.” Although Mariela would have neither thought of it, nor had the skill to make it possible until now, she had finished the lunamagia extraction with so little effort it seemed absurd that she hadn’t been able to do it before. “Mariela. Don’t stop until you’re completely done.” “Okay, Master.” The obstacle in making the high-grade potion had been the lunamagia extraction. Having accomplished that, the rest was easy. Carrying out multiple processes at the same time, Mariela completed a high-grade potion using only alchemical skills. The Library opened. To an alchemist, the feeling was like noticing a door that had always been closed was now suddenly open. Some had also regarded it as abruptly being able to see color in a world of only black and white. In a world without blue, after all, you wouldn’t be able to read words written in ink of such a color. Mariela followed the newly opened knowledge and was about to search for the one potion she wanted. “Don’t be impatient, Mariela. Start with the basics first: a normal special-grade potion,” Freyja reminded her pupil, who had immediately started searching for a potion to heal eyes. “…Okay.” Mariela knew how to make special-grade potions, though that knowledge had come to her only recently. But although she vaguely understood how to make a special-grade specialized potion for the eyes, the instructions became blurry and nebulous as soon as she tried to read them. As her master had said, the ability to make basic special-grade potions was her first priority. “Oh, Master, the materials.” “Yeah, we’ll have the Labyrinth Suppression Forces prepare them tomorrow. There’s no one who’s been using them anyhow. They probably have about a hundred years’ worth stockpiled. Mariela, you did great today. You learned something else, too, right? It’s something very important. You can start working on special-grade potions tomorrow. In any case, you won’t be able to make them right away. Today you should just take it easy.” At Freyja’s unusually tender demeanor, Mariela finally realized her master had sensed her intentions. Her teacher really was an incredible person. 08 Several days after the attack on the Aguinas estate, Sieg officially became a free man. It was in recognition of his exemplary deeds as an adventurer and his service in rescuing Caroline. Sieg was happily released from the bonds of slavery and became recognized as an A-Rank adventurer at the same time. Since his master was the alchemist, several conditions were added to the terms of his release, including continuing to serve as Mariela’s escort. However, they were all what Sieg wanted anyway, so the formalities were carried out without issue. The day of the contract annulment ceremony that would free Sieg, Mariela ran around like a chicken with its head cut off starting first thing in the morning. Although they were just going to the slave trader Reymond’s company, she showered Sieg with different clothing. He was forced to change every five minutes as Mariela changed her mind about what he should wear. She polished his shoes and armor until they sparkled, wondered if he’d forgotten anything, and pulled snacks from her bag to pack for him until he stopped her and told her she didn’t need them. Then Mariela stuffed Sieg’s bag with every kind of high-grade potion imaginable for any worst-case scenario until he turned them down. “There won’t be any danger,” he reassured her. Naturally, it wasn’t a day Mariela could spend making potions, so today was a break for her in that regard. She wasn’t able to make normal special-grade potions yet, let alone a special-grade specialized potion for eyes, and Mariela apologized to Sieg countless times, saying, “I wasn’t in time, I’m sorry.” Despite Mariela’s restlessness as she awaited Sieg’s release, the slave liberation ceremony was surprisingly simple. “Ahh, it’s just about undone. Contract Annulment. There, we’re finished.” “Huh? That’s it?” “…I don’t feel any different, but…” Mariela had assumed it would be similar to when they’d formed the contract and Reymond would make fire dance, wind swirl, earth heave, and water drip from a cup while shouting things like “Your blood is now your own!” However, Reymond merely touched the slave brand on Sieg’s chest over his shirt like a button and then—yup, all done. There weren’t any spectators. Sieg and the one he escorted, Mariela, passed through a room that seemed to be a reception office, and after they signed a document, Sieg was released as easily as pressing a stamp on paper. One might’ve suspected Reymond of being unwilling, but that wasn’t the case. The man looked back and forth at Mariela and Sieg with a happy smile the likes of which the two had never seen before. “The fact you felt no different was most likely because the Contract of Servitude was almost gone. I could feel very little of Mariela’s magical power in Siegmund’s slave brand. I wonder, did you refrain from giving him many Orders?” “Um, yeah.” Come to think of it, Mariela had only given one Order to Sieg way back in the beginning: “Don’t tell anyone I’m an alchemist.” Mariela and Sieg’s daily life had never needed things like Orders. That was a matter of course for Mariela, but to Reymond, and most others, it was a rare thing. “Ohh. That’s wonderful. A mark of subordination is artificially conferred. It’s not natural. Therefore, if the master’s magical power isn’t periodically transferred into it, its effect will dilute and weaken. If you make holes in your ears to put earrings in but then don’t wear earrings, the holes will eventually close, right? It’s the same as that.” Was it really okay for a Contract of Servitude to be that simple? If you didn’t give Orders and it weakened, couldn’t the slave liberate themselves or run away and cause practical issues? Reymond continued as if to answer Mariela’s unspoken question. “The binding forces in a Contract of Servitude doesn’t only function when the master consciously puts magical power into Orders. The everyday words you speak have magical power in them, too, albeit just a little. Words released to make the other person obey or make them listen to what you say pass through the mark of subordination and bind the slave’s words and actions. The more out of character the words are for the slave, the more powerful they are. And the Contract of Servitude becomes more deeply rooted.” Reymond paused for a moment. He wore a look that seemed to suggest he was staring at something off in the distance, then returned his gaze to Mariela and Sieg and continued. “This is my theory: Orders don’t just bind words and actions. I think they distort the slave’s will itself, aligning their heart to their master’s to change their actions. Little by little, it distorts who they are.” Reymond’s tone was calm, but Mariela felt the powerful feeling behind it. Perhaps they, too, were infused with magical power. When Mariela happened to glance at Sieg sitting next to her, she saw that he was listening intently to Reymond’s words. Likely Sieg had his own thoughts on all this. “But there’s nothing of that in Siegmund. With all due respect, when I enacted the Contract of Servitude, I could feel considerable distortion from the influence of his previous master, but I can no longer sense that. Probably because the relationship between the two of you is filled with mutual affection. If you’re joined by a far stronger bond than a Contract of Servitude, the likes of that magical bind has no meaning whatsoever.” Although a slaver by profession, Reymond perhaps had some good in him. He seemed extremely happy to see Mariela and Sieg formed a connection stronger than the Contract of Servitude. Mariela was somehow very embarrassed at being told it was filled with affection, but when Sieg answered, “Yes. I will continue to protect Mariela from here on out,” she went bright red all the way to her ears and looked down at her feet. After casting a gentle look at Mariela, Reymond said, “By the way…,” and his expression stiffened as he faced Sieg. “Here. This is a copy of the record of charges against Siegmund’s previous master, the merchant.” Siegmund took the document offered to him and quickly began to scan over it. The merchant father and son, Sieg’s previous masters, had attacked the Aguinas family atelier in the Labyrinth City and were arrested. That alone was a serious crime. Moreover, due to the condition of the debt laborers they’d brought with them, many other infractions had come to light after an investigation of the abuse of the merchant father and son’s slaves. Other offenses were discovered as well. Specified among the other crimes was a false claim brought against the slave who’d rescued the merchant’s son. The fraudulent accusation asserted that the slave was responsible for the failed merchant caravan plan to travel through the Fell Forest as well as for putting the merchant’s son in danger. The plan of going through the Fell Forest without potions had resulted in the death of a large number of debt laborers. Despite their positions, they still had rights as people. The botched attempt had jeopardized the merchant’s position. “One of our slaves tricked us. We’re victims, too. Because of that slave, even my son suffered serious injury.” A large sum of money helped grease the right palms for their laughable excuse to pass. Most would have raised an eyebrow at conveniently pinning the crime on a dead slave, but fortunately for the merchants, one had survived. To improve matters for them, the slave was stricken with a high fever and dim consciousness. That slave had been Siegmund. “The charge against you has been verified as false. Reparations were going to be paid from the merchants’ own funds, but their cash flow seems to have deteriorated significantly ever since the failed merchant caravan plan, and even their visit to the Labyrinth City was meant as a get-rich-quick scheme. Since there were many other victims, such as the slaves who were almost forced to die in the recent assault, I wouldn’t expect much in the way of satisfactory payment.” The news about the charges was likely more important to Reymond than the money. A-Rank adventurers earned good money, but honor and reputation couldn’t be so easily bought back. “Don’t worry about my reparations. Please divide them among the slaves who were almost killed. It’s enough that my innocence was proven,” Sieg replied calmly. “Is that so? By the way, that father-son merchant pair became penal laborers and are here at my business as we speak. Would you buy them? Take your revenge? You can return all your sufferings onto them. The humiliation, terror, and the unmanageable resentment.” Reymond’s words sounded like a test. The fact the record of charges against the merchant father and son was prepared here; that Reymond offered to sell Sieg’s former owners to him; that the merchants’ other crimes were investigated; and that Sieg’s name had been cleared may have all been planned by Weishardt. Rewards for Sieg saving Caroline, no doubt. However, Sieg’s reply was decisive. “No, thank you. I’ve wasted too much of my time on them already. I don’t want to give them another thought.” “Is that so? I apologize if I overstepped my bounds suggesting it. If you ever require manpower, by all means, make a request here.” The slave trader courteously bowed his head. Sieg was no longer a slave. He was an A-Rank adventurer, which was more than sufficient to be a customer at Reymond’s establishment. “Let’s go home, Mariela.” “Okay!” Free at last, Sieg said the same sort of thing he always did to Mariela, and the young alchemist happily gave her reply. “Ah, but there’s somewhere I want to drop by first.” Mariela cast a few quick glances at Sieg. Her attempts at feigning nonchalance were distinctly unnatural. “The Yagu Drawbridge Pavilion?” “Y-yeah. That’s right, but…?” Mariela mumbled as she made a terrible attempt at being sneaky. Sieg had found out she was planning a surprise party for him at the Yagu Drawbridge Pavilion to celebrate his release. What had cemented it was when Freyja, who always stuck close to Mariela, left with a cheery expression while saying, “I’m going on ahead, so hurry up!” It was so obvious that there would’ve been something wrong with him if he hadn’t noticed. Reymond saw the two off with a “We’ll be awaiting your next visit” as he warmly watched the pair return home. The two still had the same distance between them as when they’d arrived. Sieg spoke to Mariela on the way to the Yagu Drawbridge Pavilion. The sun had started setting since they’d left to join the surprise party, and the pair’s shadows stretched along the road. “Mariela… You know, Lynx…” “Mm…” Mariela gazed at the long shadows as the pair slowly walked side by side. It was just like when she’d first come to the Labyrinth City and she and Lynx walked together. “Lynx loved you, Mariela.” “Mm…” Lynx had said that when he became an A-Ranker, he would tell Mariela how he felt. So as the one left behind, and an A-Rank adventurer himself now, Sieg felt the time was right to tell her. Mariela stared fixedly at the shadows at her feet. He couldn’t tell what her reaction was. “Mariela. I…also love you.” Sieg laid out his own feelings as well. Surely, he had to tell her now. “Sieg…um. You know, the day I followed the Drops of Life to find Lady Carol…” In response to his confession, Mariela hesitantly strung her own words together, bit by bit. “After I looked and looked for Lady Carol, and found her somehow, you know, I…sank into the ground with the raindrops.” Since she’d achieved her goal of finding Carol, she hadn’t needed to keep returning to the air anymore. Mariela had fallen with the pouring rain and soaked into the earth, like Drops of Life returning to the ley line. “Right then, I thought something. I wondered if I could meet Lynx if I went to the ley line.” Sieg quietly gasped in hushed reply. “…Did you meet him?” Mariela had so wanted to see him again—someone precious to her, someone she’d lost. It was a beautiful sentiment. “No. I didn’t. But, when I thought maybe I could, I kept sinking down, down, down toward the ley line.” Mariela had spread her existence thin, and both her memories and emotions had grown extremely hazy in that state. Distinct intentions and thoughts, such as not being able to return if she had continued like that, or that she had to save Carol, were far from her mind as she’d plummeted deep into the earth. They had been left behind with her body, and she’d hardly felt aware of them anymore. The only thing filling Mariela enough for her to sink deep down was a floating calmness like being on the verge of waking from a nap. “But you know, then…I heard you.” Sieg’s voice had reached her in that deep place. “I thought, ‘I want to go home.’” That was probably the best answer Mariela could muster right now. For some reason she felt extremely embarrassed for having said “meat” back then, but… Mariela had realized how she felt in that moment. However, she didn’t know what she wanted to do about it yet. Sieg thought Mariela was still looking down at the shadows, but the alchemist had turned to look at him. The evening sun illuminated her embarrassed, smiling face. “Really?” “Yeah.” Perhaps Sieg was satisfied, even with that answer. The two of them resumed their walk to the Yagu Drawbridge Pavilion. They could see the door in the distance, and it was wide open. Freyja, Haage, and Captain Dick drunkenly staggered out and waved with bottles of alcohol in their hands. Even though the man of the hour hadn’t arrived yet, they had apparently been unable to wait to start drinking. It was a predictable outcome. “Whoa, they already started! Sieg, let’s hurry! The food’s gonna run out,” Mariela said, and the two of them broke into a run. The setting sun shone warmly on the pair. 09 A little while later. A piece of information was brought to Sieg, who was still happily enjoying the same life in Sunlight’s Canopy. Seemingly, there were meddlesome people in this city who were concerned about him. It was a report about the merchant father and son who had attacked the Aguinas family’s atelier. Detailed within was an account of how a man who used to be their slave had bought the father and son who were now slaves themselves. The man, who had been ordered to attack the Aguinases’ atelier, had been kept in slavery longer than his original term thanks to the merchants’ wicked designs. He was said to have been freed thanks to the crimes of the merchants being exposed. “There’s nothing left for me anymore,” the man had said as he departed from the slave trading company. No one knew what on earth had happened to him for him to say such a thing. People said the man took the merchant father and son he’d bought into the Labyrinth. Thereafter, not a single person saw any of them ever again.