(EP-25) Angmar #5

025 – Peaceful Angmar #5

“Kalira Skull. That’s your name, right? You’re doing this to earn money for your brother’s medicine, who is suffering from a rare incurable disease.”

“…….”

Kalira was very upset. So much so that she lost her usual relaxed expression and fell into silence.

How did he know her identity even after she had erased all traces of her past through the Thieves’ Guild?

It was absolutely impossible!

Then, in Kalira’s head, the nickname of her guest came to mind. The rumors of him being a clairvoyant…

‘Is he really a Demon Monk…? No, I don’t believe it….’

There was no such thing as divination in the world.

Else, there wouldn’t have been so much chaos and mysteries.

That fact remained unchanged to this day.

This couldn’t be a grandiose ability like foresight. It was definitely a dirty trick. And, wasn’t the man in front of her the infamous con artist that managed to deceive the Queen?

The problem was that this very person, known for all kinds of dirty deeds, knew about her identity and her brother.

What did that mean?

Death Stalker—Kalira’s eyes flashed as her brows furrowed, showing hostility.

“Everyone who knew this information is dead. Did you come here to die?”

Kalira would kill anyone if it meant that she could protect her only brother and the honor of her fallen family.

Would killing this man solve the problem?

No, this bas†ard wouldn’t have come into this place alone without any preparation. There was a very high probability that her brother was being held hostage…

Just when her throat became dry as the desert, Theo Gospel made a harmless, innocent remark.

“No, no. I’m just saying I can be on your side. You can even say that I want to sponsor you.”

“Sponsor me?”

“That’s right. I’m speaking with pure goodwill. It hurts my heart to see Baron Skull’s family, which was the Jewel of the South, get buried in the mud like this.”

A fallen family’s Baroness, an ill younger brother and not a single supporter around.

Since birth, Kalira never had to change clothes with her own hands. Yet, one day, her entire life fell into ruin.

After overcoming all sorts of challenges, she gained the ability to see through people’s lies and sincerity to some extent.

However, it was difficult to ascertain this man’s intention.

Wanting to become her sponsor? Out of pure goodwill? Maybe he actually meant it…

Nope. Never. There was no such thing as pure goodness in this world.

If such a thing really existed, she wouldn’t have fallen into this state.

Regaining her composure, Kalira asked.

“What do you want from me?”

“As I said before, I want an antidote. If you don’t want to work with me long-term, then you can just take this request.”

An antidote.

Did he mention that it was a treatment for Pallagas Jeoksangari?

This poison hadn’t been used for a very long time.

It was powdered poison made by mixing special ores that could only be obtained in the Pallagas region with Jeoksangari, which was deadly to the human body.

With such a combination, things that were normally not harmful to humans became a super effective lethal weapon.

“Can you make it right now?”

“It is possible, though I will need some time. Research on Pallagas Jeoksangari ended more than half a century ago. That poison is no longer in use now that the method of detoxification is widely known….”

Having said that, Kalira quickly got to work. Beakers got piled up everywhere. Amidst the ingredients, there were various medicinal herbs and even some sparkling water brought from the bedrock of Monarch City.

While mixing them to make the antidote, Kalira began asking questions while observing her customer’s behavior.

“Do you know what the effect of Pallagas Jeoksangari is?”

“No, I do not.”

“It burns the victim’s entire mana circuit, rendering them unable to use magic. Who the hell gave you that poison?”

While Kalira’s hands were diligently working, her eyes peeked at Theo. However, the man in question was silent, seemingly deep in thought.

After thinking for a while, he shook his head.

“I honestly have no idea. Do you need to know that?”

“No, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, it’s done.”

“Already?”

Theo was surprised. Seeing this, Kalira skillfully replied.

“Didn’t you already know about me? The Skull Family specializes in making potions. It’s easy to make an antidote to a poison that’s already known.”

“So this is the antidote? It’s fluorescent…”

“But you have to be careful. It may not be pleasant when the burnt magic circuit comes back to life.”

In fact, it would feel like your body was broken by a huge hammer and then reassembled.

But without going into detail, Kalira just offered the antidote to the man in front of her.

“Well, here’s your antidote. However, if you don’t believe me, you don’t have to take it. After all, I’m not certain that someone like you would be ready to hold a scorpion~”

Kalira became half sarcastic. Once upon a time, the Skull Family was famous for making miraculous potions that could help others.

But now, she only made poison to kill.

Also, seeing people not readily accepting her tea or potion, as if discrediting Kalira’s family name, further roused her hatred for them.

Earlier, this man hadn’t even taken a sip of tea.

Now, would he choose not to drink this as well?

While she was deep in thought, the man lightly grabbed the glass beaker holding the antidote from her hand.

“Thanks for the drink!”

He then proceeded to gulp it all down…

Kalira’s hair stood on end upon seeing such a sight. Perhaps, her customer was not as docile as she thought…

* * *

The first thing I felt was intense pain, as if my entire body was being hit by a heavy blunt weapon. Was this the feeling of getting hammered from fingers to toes?

Thanks to this, my body naturally fell forward.

Drools, tears and snots started leaking from my body, but there was no time to worry about such things.

Fųck, this hurt!

I couldn’t even scream. All the air in my lungs had long since faded.

“Heuo- Heueueu….”

The only sound I could make was a loud squeak, similar to that of a carp out of the water.

I tried to figure out the situation.

Was it poison?

Death Stalker… Did Kalira Skull poison me? Did she plan to kill me?

No, why would she do something so troublesome?

If Kalira really wanted to kill me, it would have been much simpler to just twist my neck.

Was she doing a flashy ‘finisher’ by using poison?

No, she must hate the act of killing people with the Baron’s craft, right?

““━─. ━━─!”

I could not understand a word that Kalira had been saying because of the buzz.

Udeuk, eudeudeuk.

Instead, the sound of my bones and joints twisting around was particularly vivid. At the same time, a great pain shook my head, making me unable to think about anything else.

Something then came to my mind.

With a trembling hand, which was similar to the tail of a frightened Imp, I pulled out a candy in my pocket.

It wasn’t Bashkir Honey Candy though. It was just a plain candy made by combining honey and sugar.

I then put it in my mouth and started chewing it.

At that moment, my body felt like it was floating. The pain also seemed to have disappeared at the same time.

Chuuuk.

With this, my body dropped on the floor like a rubber band that lost its tension.

Now, only the sweet feeling of happiness engulfed my body. It was like lying on a cloud…

How funny. I actually had that kind of thought at a time like this.

Maybe Nymphs had more developed taste buds for sweets than other races? Otherwise, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Anyway, I survived, all thanks to some candy.

“Are you okay?”

Only then did I manage to hear the assassin’s voice. Lifting my eyelids with difficulty, I saw the woman’s red eyes looking at my face.

I then opened my mouth.

“What do you think?”

“I see. So, what did you eat?”

“… Candy.”

“Candy?”

Kalira gave me an incomprehensible look. I was just as baffled, so I didn’t add any other explanation.

Supposedly, it was like eating sweets after taking some bitter medicine.

“If you feel weak, drink this.”

Kalira took out another beaker.

“What is that…?”

I, who was very wary of the torment that I had just experienced, asked in fear. Seeing this, she merely chuckled.

“Just a tonic to give you some strength. It’s important to take good care of your body from now on.”

“Ah.”

I took the tonic and drank it. The taste was somewhat sour and tangy, which reminded me of a vitamin drink.

“Oh!”

But what was even more surprising was the effect rather than the taste. My hands and toes started to tingle, and then an itchy feeling began to spread through the veins of my body.

“Are you feeling ticklish? It’s because your magic circuit is being healed. You seem to have a body that fits well with potions.”

It was being healed!?

If so, wouldn’t that mean that I could finally achieve my purpose for coming here?

Like an excited kid opening his Christmas present, I called out a phrase.

“Status Window!”

Name: Theo Gospel Angmar lv. 15

Job: Half-Fairy lv. 2

Casanova lv. 3

Actor lv. 7

Tutor lv. 2

Mage lv. 1

Talents: 《Farsight》《Calm Thinking》

Inclination: Chaotic-Neutral

You are the sole survivor of a fallen family.

You must revive the family while avoiding those who want to destroy it.

Fortunately, you are motivated to rebuild your family.

“This is not the twist I want!”

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」