Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 268

“……”

Faced with the chilling aura of the glaive, Lenok silently reached into his coat.

The woman, closely observing his actions, pressed her foot down harder.

[Wait, wait, wait!! At least my head shouldn’t be completely destroyed…]

Thud!

The glaive’s foot crashed heavily onto the ground, passing right through Manson’s head. However, the glaive wielder, noticing that no metal fragments remained, slightly shifted her gaze.

“It’s fortunate it wasn’t a living thing.”

“……!!”

Lenok, saying this, lightly shook Manson’s head in his hand.

“But it’s quite… heavy.”

Thud!!

[Handle me gently…]

The glaive wielder, realizing that Manson’s head had moved from under her foot to Lenok’s hand, faintly frowned.

“Space manipulation… is it teleportation?”

“You’re not wrong.”

The relic he obtained from the battle with the Arashark Expedition, the Archangel’s Compassion [a magical artifact].

It allowed him to teleport inanimate objects within a limited range, which is how he managed to retrieve Manson’s head.

This was possible because Manson’s head was made entirely of metal.

“We didn’t come here to fight you. If you were watching, you would have noticed?”

Lenok, using magic to reattach Manson’s head to his body, spoke to the glaive wielder.

“I have business with the head of the Five Wheels Family. Guide me.”

The glaive wielder reacted to the direct mention of the family head.

She turned to Lenok with slightly narrowed eyes and silently brushed off her shoulder.

Her tightly closed lips parted slightly.

“…Coming here as a proxy for the Six Spirits, you sure have a lot to say.”

Clank!

She raised her glaive, aiming it at Lenok, and took a stance again.

“Even if there are two of you, it doesn’t matter. I’ll take you on anytime.”

“…There’s no reasoning with her.”

Not only was bringing Manson an issue, but her recognizing him as the Six Spirits’ proxy was also a problem.

Just as Lenok shook his head and was about to take out the ticket from his coat, the glaive wielder, mistaking his action as drawing a weapon, lunged forward like an arrow.

Whoosh!!

Immediately after, Manson, having regained his head, quickly stepped in front of Lenok.

[This woman really doesn’t recognize a guest…]

As Manson drew his sword from his waist, the two superhumans began to clash properly.

Manson and the glaive wielder twisted their upper bodies in opposite directions, and then sparks flew in the air a dozen times as the sounds of their clashes echoed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each time the two blades were swung, they drew diverse trajectories, spinning and bending.

Each trajectory split more than five times, attacking from all directions, but they aimed to secure space rather than directly targeting vital points.

Rather than aiming for a decisive blow in a short battle, they focused on gaining control of the fight.

Manson was the first to move.

[Huuuuh…!!]

With a heavy breath, Manson lowered his stance, dodging the horizontally swung glaive, and readjusted his grip on his sword.

The blade, which had been sheathed at his waist, flowed out like a waterfall, drawing a blurry and soft sword arc.

The sword arc, flowing along the trajectory of the glaive, penetrated inward and then sharply cut through the glaive wielder’s close range.

In response, the glaive wielder rotated the glaive in her hand counterclockwise.

Whoooosh…!!

As a faint magical glow mixed with the sword and glaive, they collided.

Boom!!

With an impact like an exploding bomb, the chaotic courtyard turned into a mess.

In the brief moment that the two were pushed back by the recoil, a giant ice mirror appeared in the air and crashed down between them.

Thud!!

“……!!”

“That’s enough.”

As the two warriors, who were suddenly facing their own reflections instead of each other, flinched, Lenok stepped forward.

“I’ll say it again, I don’t want to fight. Rather, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”

“…I’ve said several times that there will be no selection of a proxy.”

The glaive wielder said something unexpected.

“How much longer are you going to manipulate our family? The Five Wheels’ will has already been made clear. Stop with the nonsense and leave.”

“…What?”

It seemed that the glaive wielder of the Five Wheels was mistaken, having experienced similar situations before.

Just as Lenok was about to respond, someone came running out from the shattered door.

“Sister!! What’s going on!”

The young man who rushed out and stood beside the glaive wielder stared at Lenok with wide eyes.

Lenok’s expression also turned strange as he recognized the young man’s face.

“Wait, you are….”

“Ban?”

“…Was it Chen?”

A freelancer he had worked with when he took on a request from the Agent to deal with a black magician and a terrorist organization.

He was quick-witted, and he had been helpful in the final operation in the factory district, so Lenok remembered his face and name.

He even remembered him complaining about taking the job to earn start-up funds. He never expected to see him again in a place like this.

“……”

Seeing the two of them looking like they knew each other, the glaive wielder, who had been holding her glaive with a chilling aura, subtly lowered her weapon.

Realizing there had been a misunderstanding, she coughed awkwardly and muttered.

“Ahem, ahem… If… if you are my brother’s acquaintance… then, I made a mistake…”

As Lenok stared at her, the glaive wielder quietly lowered her head.

“…I apologize.”

* * *

“I was really surprised. I never imagined you would visit the citadel.”

Chen, who had brought coffee for Manson and Lenok, who were sitting on the smooth wooden floor, smiled awkwardly.

Lenok also chuckled at his face.

Come to think of it, Chen knew that Lenok was an exceptionally skilled magician, but he never revered or feared him.

He had simply done his best in the operations with the attitude of treating a capable colleague.

He didn’t particularly promote himself, but he was someone who reliably did more than his share of work.

In every way, he was undoubtedly a capable person.

“We’ve all been busy, so it can’t be helped.”

He naturally placed the coffee in front of them and took a seat next to the glaive wielder.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. But I think we kept in touch a bit after the job was done.”

“Did we?”

Chen laughed without paying attention.

“Time really flies. Just two years ago, we were both freelancers, and now you’ve become an untouchable noble.”

“I don’t know. Isn’t it you who’s become more impressive since I last saw you?”

“What are you talking about? A magician who fought the Three-Headed Dragon head-on and won deserves a much more impressive title than that.”

“……”

The woman, who had been quietly listening to the conversation next to Chen, twitched her shoulder and looked at Lenok with a slightly surprised gaze.

“So, you’re the rising star of the 49th District who recently joined the Cartel’s leadership.”

“Hmm…”

“I believe you’re known as ‘the Immovable’ in the world…”

Lenok slightly lowered his gaze as he looked at the woman.

He thought that the citadel’s insiders were indifferent to outside news, but this woman knew more about the outside rumors than he had expected.

That was probably because she was either a high-ranking official who could be interested in outside news, or she was an outsider herself.

And judging by Chen’s reaction to her, the answer was probably the former.

“How did the start-up go?”

At Lenok’s sudden question, Chen avoided his gaze.

Lenok continued without surprise.

“The Five Wheels is your family, isn’t it? Did you return after putting aside your outside work because of a problem in your family?”

“It’s my fault.”

The woman, who had been listening to the story with a gloomy expression, said.

“We’ve been driven to the point where we can’t maintain the family without the help of my brother who left… It’s truly a pathetic situation.”

“It’s not your fault, sister.”

Chen calmly retorted.

“It’s the karma of our father, who wasted so much time satisfying his own greed until the family head changed.”

There was even a hint of contempt in his voice.

The glaive wielder, called sister, quietly shook her head.

“…Don’t say that. Even so, I should have taken care of those who rely on this family. I couldn’t even do something that simple.”

[This atmosphere is more serious than I thought.]

Manson leaned slightly towards Lenok and whispered.

But since it was a mechanical voice, the two people sitting across from them could hear it.

Chen was about to say something more to his words, but he gave up and smiled bitterly.

He got up and gestured towards the outside.

“Shall we go outside and talk for a bit?”

Leaving the glaive wielder, who was holding her coffee cup and bowing her head, the three of them went up to the roof of the mansion.

Although the mansion was damaged and dirty in many places, it was still a very elegant mansion with a certain atmosphere.

Its beauty was clearly evident compared to other houses and buildings inside the citadel.

The night view of the citadel seen from the balcony between the roof tiles was quite beautiful, even to Lenok.

Instead of streetlights and fluorescent lights, soft lanterns illuminated the streets, and fireflies flew in the sky.

The faint sound of stringed instruments from the streets, the unmistakable scent of wood.

It was definitely a scene that could not be easily seen in the Balkan [a region or city].

Chen leaned against one of the railings, staring blankly at the night view, and then chuckled.

“I used to hate this street so much when I was young… I never thought I’d come back here at this age.”

“……”

“Well, as you can see, I can’t help with anything in this situation. I don’t know why you came to the citadel, Ban… but if you need the power of the eight families, you’d better look somewhere else.”

“It seems there was trouble in your family.”

The Chen that Lenok remembered was someone who was quite clear about what he wanted and didn’t want.

Even after dealing with the black magician and the terrorist organization with him, he had cleanly disappeared to pursue his own business.

If a man with such a character had returned to a ruined family to clean up the mess, there must have been a good reason.

“My sister and I have different mothers.”

“……”

“As the son of a concubine, I was sick of this family and ran away… but until then, my sister took care of me a lot.”

Chen stopped there, sighed, and shook his head.

“…I’m talking nonsense. What’s the point of saying this?”

[……]

Manson glanced at Lenok at that low sigh.

Lenok understood Manson’s thoughts from that gesture, but he cleanly ignored it and asked Chen.

“What do you want to do?”

“What?”

Chen hadn’t told him much, but Lenok could easily guess what had happened to the Five Wheels Family.

After the sudden death of the family head, the Five Wheels Family, which had failed to ride the wave in the power struggle between the eight families, had fallen, and the family head had died.

The reason was probably some kind of mistake due to the family head’s greedy nature.

The only successor who took over after him was in a difficult situation, having lost power and unable to use it.

Chen, having heard the situation, had visited the citadel to help his half-sister, but he was unable to provide any real help.

The state of the mansion, which could not even hide the damage of the political strife, clearly proved it.

“You said you were gathering people and preparing a business. If it’s you, you would have created some kind of result.”

“……”

“Did you decide to throw away everything you’ve built up and help your family?”

“You’re right.”

Chen replied.

“I don’t have much time. The number of employees who trust and follow me is quite large. Actually, I was originally going to help my sister with my friends who help me with my business.”

“But?”

“Immediately after entering the citadel, everyone except me was forcibly expelled.”

“……”

“It’s probably to prevent a family that’s destined to lose from putting up unnecessary resistance.”

He muttered, clenching his fist.

“If only I had the right to appoint a proxy…”

Lenok could guess why Chen had given up on bringing his friends.

It was realistically difficult to engage in an all-out war with the five families of the citadel on the spot.

Not only was it impossible to guarantee victory, but they would suffer enormous damage regardless of the outcome.

He didn’t want to endanger the safety of his friends who had helped him with his business because of his situation.

“So, are you going to let it all go like this?”

Lenok asked.

“While watching your own flesh and blood slowly wither away?”

It was a provocative statement.

There was no need to say how much Chen, who had temporarily put aside his business to find his family, cherished her.

He had remained in the ruined Five Wheels mansion because he valued her life more than the survival of the family he had abandoned.

Even Lenok couldn’t stand those words, and Chen’s lips twisted faintly.

“Then, are you going to help, Ban?”

“……”

“No, right? Then, I’m sorry, but I’d like you to shut your mouth.”

Chen said with a painful smile.

“I haven’t worked with you for long, but I know what kind of person you are. You check, judge, and find answers based on your own standards. You don’t move unless you have a clear judgment.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t hesitate once you’ve made a decision, but the judgment itself is very careful and heavy. I don’t dislike you, but I don’t think someone like you can help us.”

A person who can be trusted as a colleague, but not someone who is easy to become a colleague with.

That was probably a summary of the impression that Chen, who had watched Lenok from the side while working together, had formed.

Even though he thought it was a judgment based on somewhat extreme and conclusive grounds, Lenok thought that his words were not wrong.

It was probably because he had his own insight, as someone who directly met people and did business.

Chen, who had quickly poured out his words, was self-deprecating.

“…Damn it, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m sorry.”

“No, you saw it right.”

Lenok said, closing the distance to Chen.

Seeing Chen’s flinching face, Lenok silently took out the ticket from his coat.

“As you said, I like to see and judge for myself. That’s why I was able to make a decision.”

“Wait, this thing is…”

Lenok chuckled as he saw Chen’s eyes widen at the words written on the ticket.