✶✶✶
Ifrit landed just above the rocky mountains near Roguebert, the same landing spot used when Lofus had returned from Stelia. Ifrit was surrounded by a powerful barrier of invisibility and mana jamming that prevented spotting it from the ground. Its speed and invisibility ensured the swift getaways of the Scarlet Wind, allowing them to tour across the kingdom without issue. The Roguebert citizens certainly couldn’t see this ship docked in the air.
Lofus stood out on the deck and gazed down, unsurprised to see a lone wyvern. One of its wings had been dyed black—this beast was undeniably Warm’s. It raised its head toward the sky and cried incessantly, begging for attention like it was trying to call out to someone.
“Wow! A wyvern!” Lilka shouted eagerly as she leaned out from the deck.
Hawk grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. “Hey! Watch out!”
“Why’s a wyvern here?” Sigil wondered. “Is that beast why you came here?”
Lofus nodded. “Well done. I’ll get off now.”
“Huh? But what about us?”
“Go off wherever you like.”
Sigil clenched his fist victoriously. Lofus narrowed his eyes and glared at this gauche display of triumph. When he saw that the rest of the Scarlet Wind members were a good distance away, he parted his lips once more.
“A word of warning,” Lofus said.
“Huh?! Y-Yessir?” Sigil asked.
“That expensive miracle cure you lot were talking about...”
The man braced himself, perhaps wary of some sort of threat, but Lofus didn’t care.
“I took a look at the symptoms of your subleader, Iz,” the boy said. “There shouldn’t be any medicine effective against it. At the very least, it doesn’t currently exist.”
“Huh?” Sigil gasped. He cocked his head to one side, almost bewildered by these words. “O-Oh, come on, Sir Lofus! You’re not a doctor, are you?”
“Then have you gone to a doctor to check her? Did they tell you that there’s a miracle cure for her ailment?”
Sigil fell silent. Indeed, when Iz was seen by a doctor, she was told that nothing could be done, and there was no medicine to aid her, exactly as Lofus had claimed. But of course, the Scarlet Wind refused to give up and abandon their precious family; they did whatever they could to gain more intel about the endemic that Iz was afflicted by, eventually catching the attention of a major merchant. The merchant had claimed that there was in fact a miracle cure for Iz’s ailment, though it fetched a pretty price. They went on to claim that there was indeed no cure in the kingdom, but the empire was leaps and bounds ahead of them not just in technology but in medicine as well.
The merchant insisted that, with their connections to the empire, they could get their hands on this medicine, but it would be very costly, even more expensive than an elixir. Still, this seemed like a worthy price to pay if it could cure Iz of her illness. No longer would she be stuck in bed, writhing with agony—she would be able to adventure with her comrades as she’d done before. Blinded by this dream, Sigil and the other members risked their lives to challenge difficult dungeons to make some cash.
Sigil cracked a wry smile of denial. “Ha ha! Please, Sir Lofus, don’t joke around with me. The cure does exist. It just hasn’t been made in the kingdom yet—the empire’s got it. I think that—”
“The empire?” Lofus asked. “That seems like a contradiction. This illness is caused by manatoms building up within one’s body. The empire is indeed more technologically advanced than the kingdom, but they know nothing when it comes to mana and manatoms, as is their culture. There’s no way they’d create a drug to combat illnesses related to mana.”
“Cut it out!”
Sigil, no longer able to contain his emotions, grabbed Lofus by the collar. The noble glared icily at the man as the others stared with confusion at the sudden outburst.
“Release me,” Lofus ordered.
“You just keep spouting bullshit!” Sigil roared. “What does a brat like you know—”
“Who was it? Who gave you such balderdash so you could cling onto false hope?”
“You still won’t shut up, huh?! You—”
“Gaaaaah!” Hawk bellowed as he ran full speed ahead and grabbed Sigil, restraining the man.
Yet, Sigil refused to release Lofus from his grip, and Kay and Dan joined the kerfuffle, slowly prying Sigil away from the noble.
“Sigil, you damn birdbrain!” Hawk shouted. “Who d’you think you’re touching, you goddamn moron?! Don’t lay your greasy fingers on this noble!”
It was unusual to see the normally calm Hawk lose his cool, and even Kay and Dan looked taken aback by this harsh scolding. Lilka rushed over to Lofus worriedly.
“A-Are you all right?” she asked. “What happened?”
The noble ignored her as he smoothed out his outfit. He glared at Sigil, still restrained by three men.
“You think I’m lying? Just toying with you?” Lofus asked. “Well, whether you believe me or not is up to you.”
His coat fluttered behind him as he turned around and grabbed the railing. Lilka reached out to grab Lofus’s sleeve.
“Where are you going?” she asked. “You aren’t going to jump off, are you? Don’t do that. You’ll get hurt from this height.”
“Who do you think I am? A simple jump won’t hurt me,” Lofus snapped. “And you lot better not visit the Lightless fief ever again. There won’t be a next time.”
He tried to jump out, but Lilka refused to let go of him. Annoyed, he whirled around to glare at her.
“Let go of me,” he snarled.
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave?” she asked. “Did you fight with Siggy? We’ll be sure to scold him, okay?”
“That won’t change my decision. I meant to get off here anyway.”
Lilka practically held back tears as she clung onto him. “I don’t want to part ways with you here. Why don’t you stay with us for a bit longer? We can take you home, and we can help you go wherever you want.”
“Stop pestering me.”
He cast a magic barrier around him, repelling Lilka’s hand.
“Mr. Lofus!” she cried.
He jumped past the railing onto the edge of the deck, then whirled around to glance at Sigil and Hawk.
“Hmph, I suppose I was a touch too nosy,” he said. “I’ll forgive your insolence for grabbing onto my collar, peon.”
As the final word left his lips, he jumped down toward the ground.
“Wait! Mr Lofus!” Lilka shouted, trying to chase after him.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Kay cried.
He rushed away from Sigil’s side to hold Lilka back. As she was held back, she craned her neck and peered at the ground below—Lofus had used a massive hand of darkness to slowly descend down.
“Whoa... He can even fly?” Kay gasped.
Lilka gritted her teeth as she stepped back toward safety.
“What’s up, Lilka?” Kay teased. “Did you actually fall for that noble?”
She puffed out her cheeks angrily. “No, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Yeah? But your reaction makes it seem like—”
“I said that you’re wrong!”
As Lilka frowned from Kay’s taunting, Hawk sighed with relief, releasing Sigil from his grip. The leader had calmed down considerably.
“You good, chief?” Hawk asked. “Your tantrum almost wiped out the Scarlet Wind. I hope you know that.”
Sigil scowled and turned away, violently scratching his spiky hair.