Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 161

The mana consumption from activating the domain was extreme, but as a result, the exploration team’s forces were dealt with all at once, so it was a good outcome.

Also, I was able to confirm that I could borrow and use Davi’s hacking and calculation abilities within the domain.

“…..Half.”

“I know.”

A narrow alleyway led out of the dense forest where the villa was located.

Five black sedans were blocking the road, waiting for someone.

Considering what had happened here so far, there was no need to guess who it was.

The door of the sedan at the very back opened, and an old man slowly stepped out.

“I’ve been waiting.”

He scanned the faces of the three people with sharp eyes, then chuckled with a friendly expression.

“The fact that you three have come out first means that things have been roughly settled, wouldn’t you say?”

The old man in the photo that was confirmed during the briefing with Sebastian. The old gentleman who had won the Archangel’s Compassion at the auction house.

Vincent Mayblack had arrived a step late.

Plan (1)

“Old man, the game’s over, so go on your way.”

When Dylan waved his hand dismissively, burly men jumped out of the sedans surrounding Vincent.

The atmosphere became tense in an instant, but the expressions of Lenok and Vincent, who were facing each other, remained calm.

Vincent didn’t know, but Lenok roughly guessed what it meant for him to show up at this point.

As Mila reached for the shotgun on her back, Vincent spoke again.

“Well, it seems like you young folks aren’t in a good mood, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

“……..”

“Considering the circumstances, you must have been in the VIP seats at the Teina auction house, so you probably know. The fact that I was the one who won the Archangel’s Compassion at the end.”

“So?”

Was he going to claim ownership of the relic now?

Just as Dylan and Mila, annoyed, were about to raise their mana.

Vincent, who had been maintaining a polite expression, smiled and said.

“I would like to formally transfer the ownership, and in return, I would like to sponsor you. What do you say?”

“This shameless old man, now… wait, what?”

Mila, who was about to shout, belatedly understood the meaning of his words and widened her eyes.

“You want to sponsor Half?”

“Of course. Miss, did you think I would covet that precious relic now?”

Vincent chuckled as he answered.

“I know roughly what kind of person that friend over there is. If things are left as they are, it wouldn’t be strange if I were swept up in the flames one day under the pretext of eliminating future threats.”

He said that, then calmly crossed his arms and nodded.

“I came here to prevent all of that from happening.”

Even after hearing Vincent Mayblack’s true intentions, Lenok was not surprised at all.

If Vincent had really intended to help Irina wholeheartedly, he should have intervened during the battle with the exploration team.

The fact that he was showing up late now meant that he had been betting against the exploration team’s chances from the start.

Rather, by offering Lenok a sponsorship, he was reaching out first to eliminate future threats and settle any potential grudges.

His attitude of quickly taking action to liquidate his position after watching the progress of the battle was nothing short of impeccable.

Lenok chuckled and shook his head.

“It would be better to talk about the details with Jenny. She’s a much better negotiator than I am.”

“……..”

“Well, I understand what you want to say. From today on, let’s cleanly forget what happened with the exploration team.”

What did it matter when Irina and the Arashak exploration team were annihilated?

What Lenok was saying was essentially a declaration that he had no intention of touching even the sponsors who were funding her, and Vincent immediately understood that.

“I’m glad you understand so quickly. I’ll be happy to see you off.”

With Vincent’s words, the men in suits politely opened a path out of the forest.

The three of them passed the old gentleman and headed towards the street.

The moment Lenok was about to pass him, Vincent said in a very low voice.

“Meyer asked me to give you his regards. He said he’s looking forward to the day you meet again.”

“……..”

Meyer, huh.

It had been quite a while since he had heard that name, but Lenok had not forgotten it.

A connection he had made when he was involved in the pharmaceutical company’s affairs.

Wasn’t there an old man who had started as a council member and had once even secured a position on the city government’s inspection committee, overflowing with greed?

His greed was so impressive that he had remembered him, and it seemed that he had not forgotten Lenok either.

He never thought he would hear his name in a place like this.

Would they meet again someday?

No, he must have been thinking about that when he asked the old gentleman to give him his regards.

As always, he was a very unique person.

Lenok didn’t reply and immediately walked past him. Vincent didn’t bother to stop him.

Only the faint smell of blood emanating from the collapsed forest signaled the end of the short but intense encounter with the exploration team.

#

“Okay, raise your posture a little higher. Lift your legs higher!”

“Hh, ughh..!!”

“Still not enough. More, more!!”

“Ughh..!!”

Watching the sweat droplets falling onto the smooth floor, Lenok was lost in thought.

Could he endure any more here? Or should he just give up and go home?

Even as he pondered, the scolding from above never stopped.

“Just one more set!!”

“Ughh!!”

Even when risking his life and exchanging blows with powerful enemies, he had never been this mentally cornered.

But his opponent didn’t care about Lenok’s situation and continued to push him relentlessly.

A busy downtown area in the middle of the day. The street visible through the well-polished glass windows was still bustling with people.

Lenok was now on an upper floor of a building in the center of that busy area, sweating profusely.

“Done! 10 minutes break.”

“Haaah…..”

He slammed his burning head onto the floor and lay down.

Beyond his upward gaze, a large sign on the building’s exterior caught his eye.

Pilates.

Lenok was now facing a new challenge to somehow improve his ailing body.

“No lying down to rest. Get up quickly.”

“……..”

It was only the first day, could he really do this?

Lenok sat up with a serious sense of doubt and breathed heavily.

Even if his body was exhausted and weakened, he had no intention of just giving up.

Considering the impact of exercise on health, it was almost a little late.

It was awkward to be doing this when he had to finish the conflict with the exploration team and rob the drug lord’s vault, but Lenok wasn’t just wasting time without a thought.

Jenny was taking a little longer than expected to get the drug lord’s data, and since there was no set deadline, it was ambiguous to just take on other requests.

Lenok, who had unintentionally received an awkward vacation, decided to start exercising, which he had been putting off due to his recent busy schedule.

And less than 30 minutes after arriving at this Pilates studio, he was already regretting it.

‘I made the wrong choice from the start…’

It was absurd to do strength training with this body, so he had completely excluded weight training and chose this option, but it was a mistake.

If it were a gym, Lenok could have adjusted his workout volume and gotten into shape without being disturbed by others.

On the other hand, during the one-on-one sessions with the Pilates instructor, there was no room to look away.

The hard training, where his body was wrung out like a rag, was repeated, relying solely on the instructor’s skills.

He never knew Pilates was such a difficult exercise. Or was Pilates in this world particularly like this?

At least, looking at the martial arts uniform the instructor was wearing, that thought didn’t seem too far off.

The instructor, who had been looking down at Lenok with a dazed expression, chuckled and plopped down next to him.

“It’s very hard, isn’t it?”

She was a woman with an impressive appearance, her abundant white hair tied up in a single ponytail.

Considering her rather stern impression, the stable mana emanating from her whole body, and her trained aura, she must have been a martial artist.

She introduced herself as Rancia and handed Lenok a water bottle.

Lenok slightly bowed his head and accepted the water bottle.

Rancia, who had been staring intently at him as he drank, said.

“It’s normal for beginners to have a hard time like this. It’s basically an exercise used for rehabilitation and correction, so the fatigue from using muscles you don’t normally use is considerable.”

“I see.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like that’s your problem.”

“……..”

Lenok turned his head at Rancia’s words, which bluntly and unhesitatingly hit the nail on the head with a nonchalant expression.

“Your overall body balance is severely disrupted. Even though you look quite healthy, I can tell that you have a constitution that doesn’t absorb nutrients well.”

Did she notice even that while guiding Lenok?

While he was lost in thought, Rancia continued.

“It’s not just a matter of strength, but also flexibility, agility, and the amount of sweat you produce compared to the amount of exercise… It’s not something that can be easily fixed overnight.”

That was a perspective that was easy to see from the standpoint of someone who had learned martial arts, rather than just an instructor.

She certainly didn’t seem like someone who had only studied Pilates.

She dusted off her knees and stood up, reaching out her hand to Lenok.

“But if you trust me and follow me, I guarantee you’ll get much better than you are now.”

A confident boast. But it was by no means an unpleasant arrogance.

Lenok chuckled and took her hand, pulling himself up.

“Judging by your sales skills, I can guess how well this studio is doing.”

Unlike his nonchalant way of speaking, she had a good eye and a friendly attitude that was felt without him realizing it.

If Lenok, who was basically wary of people, felt this way, he could guess how others would treat her.

“Well, I make enough to live on.”

She replied with a calm face and immediately started stretching, saying.

“Next time you come, I’ll show you exercises using equipment. I like doing it with just a mat, but using equipment is also good for correcting posture and strengthening core muscles.”

“……..”

“I can give you a free service for one day. It’s a secret from the other customers.”

Lenok was dumbfounded and laughed.

“Is it okay to do business like that? Or is that the secret to your business?”

“I can roughly tell by looking at the customers who come here.”

Rancia said with a nonchalant expression.

“Looking at the state of your muscles, I can tell that you’re managing your diet to some extent. At least, I like that you’re not a customer who came to me without any effort.”

“……..”

“I like people who are serious when they exercise.”

“…..Let’s continue.”

Lenok answered and slowly loosened his stiff body.

“Please, only to the point where I don’t get muscle pain.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. Now, follow me.”

“……..”

That day, Lenok was finally able to go home only after throwing up once.

#

“It took some time, but I finally did it.”

Jenny, with dark circles under her eyes, stared intently at her laptop.

She had been tirelessly searching the deep web while doing her main job as a broker, so her fatigue must have been no joke.

However, the area of the deep web was more conveniently open to brokers like her, so it couldn’t be helped.