Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 599

[Honestly, I was a bit surprised.]

Click!

Madam placed a small teacup in front of Renok and leaned back leisurely in her chair.

The dark red liquid sloshed inside the cup.

Renok briefly pondered what the red liquid offered by the vampire might be, then cautiously brought it to his lips.

Realizing it tasted similar to black tea, Renok took a few more sips and asked,

“Why?”

[I didn’t think that you, of all people, would bring up this story.]

Madam chuckled, hiding her mouth behind her veil, and replied.

[Not many among the vampires know about it. This city is too treacherous to trust and rely on each other just because we are of the same race.]

“That’s not wrong.”

Renok already knew that the bond between different races wasn’t that strong in this world.

In a world where even humans were busy backstabbing each other, it was difficult to trust someone just because they were of the same race.

It wasn’t strange that Madam would filter out vampires who knew about this fact in the process.

[It’s Virgil, isn’t it?]

Madam asked without waiting for Renok’s answer.

[The only vampire who has a connection with you and would know about that fact is him.]

“……”

[It seems you owe him a great debt. It’s something deeply related to my master, so he would never open his mouth about it under normal circumstances……]

Madam smiled.

[That’s why I didn’t think the secret would be leaked.]

“Are you saying that Oliviera and Kaise Bajur were working together on the same project?”

Madam closed her mouth at Renok’s direct question.

She unhesitatingly drank the remaining liquid in the teacup.

He didn’t think there was any poison or harmful substance mixed in it. Such petty tricks couldn’t harm Renok.

Rather, if Madam had tampered with the teacup, he could use it as leverage to gain an advantageous position in this deal.

“You said you were one of the oldest brokers in this field.”

Renok put down the empty cup and, with his fingers interlocked, stared at Madam.

“Kaise’s body. I respect the fact that you’ve hidden his death for decades.”

[……]

“I want to end this with a clean deal. If you want something in return, you can tell me now.”

Renok’s eyes, slightly lowered, gleamed coldly.

“I won’t accept a refusal.”

From the beginning, he had no intention of proposing a fair deal with Madam.

A broker who had lived for a long time and had many secrets to hide.

It would be foolish for Renok not to use the status and reputation he had built up against such an existence.

It didn’t matter what he offered as a price in the deal, but he couldn’t allow Madam to refuse the deal itself.

She was aware of that, which was why she had willingly called Renok to her residence.

[Hoo……]

Renok didn’t know the extent of the pressure a mage beyond the hierarchy exerted when facing someone head-on.

Or rather, to be precise, he didn’t know how strongly other people felt that pressure.

How much weight Renok’s expressed will carried, and to what extent that power reached.

And Madam seemed to be somewhat aware that Renok had already surpassed the hierarchy once.

Madam, with slightly pale fingertips, reached for the teacup and, with a small sigh, spoke.

[Do you know why I haven’t been able to answer your calls for the past few days?]

“……”

[With the lifting of the quarantine in District 25, the civil engineering and construction businesses that were dying in the shadows have become active. Among them, there are quite a few companies in which I hold shares.]

“So?”

[I’m not asking for much.]

Madam made eye contact with Renok, her red eyes visible through the veil.

[The right to participate in the development project in District 25. If you officially grant permission to this side, I will give you information about Kaise.]

“……”

Renok was also slightly surprised by Madam’s calm answer.

The information that Renok had participated in the closed area operation had not yet been officially released.

Nevertheless, Madam knew that Renok had participated in the closed area operation, as well as the fact that he had obtained the land and business rights in District 25.

The thought didn’t last long.

Renok took out a business card from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“This is the contact information for Keegan Grimes, the first-class administrator who controlled the Kurvas Dam.”

Renok said as he watched Madam silently take the business card and read it carefully.

“He is officially scheduled to step down from his position as administrator, but that man still holds most of the administrative authority around District 25, including the Kurvas Dam.”

[Hmm, a first-class administrator……]

“Use my name and tell him the business area you need. He will tell you which area development permit he will grant.”

If it were about money or land, it would have been enough to call Jenny and have the brokers talk, but

What Madam wanted was for the companies she held shares in to get a piece of the action in the District 25 business.

Perhaps she wasn’t aiming for the land in District 25 itself, but rather for an arrangement to expand her influence as a broker.

If the lifting of the quarantine in the closed area doesn’t end with this one time, there is a high possibility that opportunities will continue to go to the businesses that received the first contracts.

Madam was looking ahead to that point at the time the quarantine in District 25 was lifted, and was looking for a way to expand her influence in the megacity in the long term.

[……Okay. I think this is enough. I didn’t expect you to introduce me to a first-class administrator.]

Madam, with a satisfied look, said with a sly smile.

[It’s not easy to say that you can use your name, have you gotten used to using your status in the meantime?]

“Enough with the useless talk, let’s move on to the story about Kaise.”

Renok interrupted Madam and retorted.

“I know that you are not managing Kaise’s body now. If you were, you wouldn’t be continuing your work as a broker.”

[Hmm.]

“What I want to know is where Kaise’s body is currently stored, and who is managing it.”

Blue light flowed from Renok’s eyes as he looked at Madam.

“Even if you’ve stepped down from that job, you know who your successor was, right?”

[……]

Even with Renok’s magic pressing in on her quietly, Madam was not flustered.

Instead, she simply gestured lightly outside, bringing in a new teacup and placing it between the two of them.

She lightly stirred the teacup with a small spoon and slowly opened her mouth.

[After Kaise Bajur died with the failure of the project, the reason why the vampires kept his body was not for any other reason.]

“……”

[Only those who knew best about the hardening of human flesh could keep the body in a perfect state. That’s why I was there, but it’s been a long time since I gave up all my authority.]

The vampires were needed to keep Kaise’s body in the best condition when he first died,

As time passed, did the project officials who found a way to store Kaise’s body take it back?

Before Renok could get lost in thought, Madam suddenly spoke.

[Kaise Bajur’s grave is in District 19.]

“District 19……”

Along with District 25, it was a dangerous area that was first designated as a closed area in the Balkans.

And unlike District 25, it was a secret land where information and the environment inside were not leaked to the outside at all.

None of the megacity officials Renok knew had ever been there.

[But as far as I know, Kaise’s body is not stored in that area.]

Madam shook her head.

[The last two places I heard about were Kundara, an outer city where long-lived species with true blood reside, and Yorta, a military city that observes and curses all the flows of spirits in the world.]

She took out an old notebook and lightly pushed it in front of Renok.

[This is the only thing the person in charge left behind. They said they would leave a way to contact them in case of the worst-case scenario.]

As she watched Renok pick up the notebook, Madam stood up without delay, as if she had nothing more to say.

[That’s all I know. Oh, and one last thing.]

Madam’s voice, as she put her veil back on, had a faint hint of laughter in it.

[If you ever get in touch with that side, could you tell them that it’s not my fault that things turned out this way?]

* * *

A deserted old downtown area where not a single person was to be seen.

Renok, sitting on a dusty, dilapidated bus stop where smoke and wind were constantly blowing, looked at his cell phone and pondered.

“A small to medium-sized city where long-lived species reside and has been going on for hundreds of years……”

The two cities where Kaise’s body was suspected to be stored, the outer city of Kundara and the military city of Yorta.

Unlike the military city of Yorta, Renok didn’t have much information about the outer city.

[It’s located in the eastern continent, but it’s surrounded by such rough terrain that it’s not easy to access.]

Davie explained to Renok the information she had gathered by going through the city government’s central network and the deep web like it was her own home.

[Most of the information that is known is also at the level that was released decades ago. All official activities stopped 20 years ago, and even before that, there was virtually no external activity.]

Davie, who was sitting on Renok’s lap and licking her tongue, raised her head slightly as if she had found something.

[Ah, but after looking through the data, there is one unique message in the last few years.]

“What is it?”

[On the day that the Heavenly Eye Madrea Falsier died, she sent a message to the Philemon Autonomous Territory.]

“……”

Davie sent and showed Renok the message sent by the outer city on his cell phone.

The message’s topic was written in an old-fashioned cursive script that was so breathtaking it was as if it had been scribbled.

=To the pioneer who has wandered, looking further than what is seen.

=It is the duty of those who remain to give meaning to the life that has yearned for a value beyond the time of living.

“……Is that it?”

[Yep.]

“……”

Renok, stroking Davie who was perking up her ears, pondered for a while and soon came to a conclusion.

“The outer city seems to have found its own way to avoid the coming destruction.”

[Huh?]

“Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent such a message as a sign of mourning. The ones who remain to give meaning until the end. This is literally a reference to the writer himself.”

A letter of mourning with the minimum formality, which mourned the Heavenly Eye Madrea Falsier and revealed who the senders of the message were at the end.

That’s why Renok could easily guess that the outer city was a city created to avoid destruction in the first place.

Even the meaning of the outer city was a very intuitive name that meant it was outside the shackles.

Did the long-lived species gather and find a way to avoid the coming destruction?

If so, that method must be related to their vast lifespan.

It was clearly a topic that Renok could not ignore.

“I think I’ll need to visit Kundara someday……”

The problem was that unless he knew where Kaise’s body was in the military city or the outer city, he didn’t have the time to visit both cities.

Even at this moment, the central front, the Eyes of Azure, the Demon Realm, and the power of the Guido Order were changing rapidly.

Unless there was a very clear purpose or reason, it was difficult for Renok to leave his position rashly.

‘Considering the issues related to the Incarnation, it might be better to visit the military city first.’

While working with the Eyes of Azure observers, Renok had vaguely realized how to handle his own Incarnation,

In the end, in order to properly handle that power, he needed to visit the military city, which observes all the spirits of this world, at least once.

Having learned the basics of the super fusion technique from the twin observers, Gio and Pio, he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he fused with his own Incarnation.

Renok pondered for a while with a troubled look, then looked at Davie and asked.

“Davie, how much time is left for the transport to Machina?”

[About 15 minutes until arrival. Master came out too early.]

The reason why he was sitting in a deserted, dilapidated bus stop, lost in thought.

At this point, when his appointment with Madam was over, Renok also decided that there was no reason to delay his trip to the machine city.

After making an excuse to Jenny that he would be taking a few weeks off, he obtained an unauthorized city-crossing transport to Machina with Davie’s help.

While looking through the information about the outer city, Renok was waiting for the road to Machina.

“I see. Then it’s better to try it here.”

[What?]

“The notebook Madam gave me. I think I know how to use it.”

Renok said that and took out the notebook he had obtained through his deal with Madam and opened it wide.

There were no letters or pictures written inside the yellowish, faded paper, but Renok didn’t hesitate and took out a pen from his pocket.

“Since it’s a means of communication, I guess it’s something like this?”

He took the pen and scribbled some letters on the first page of the notebook.

[I have something to say about the transfer of Kaise’s body.]

The ink disappeared as if it was seeping into the paper at the same time as the sentence was written in the notebook.

Renok waited patiently, but no answer came back.

Davie stared blankly at the notebook and slightly raised her magic power.

[Should I try feeding it some electricity as a test?]

“Are you going to keep saying nonsense?”

Renok grabbed Davie’s cheeks and stretched them out.

“It’s just a simple means of communication, so if you interrogate it, you’ll just look ridiculous.”

[They say that if you read and ignore it on the deep web, you have to give it an electric massage!]

“If you learn something weird from there one more time, I’m really going to install an app that limits your internet usage time.”

[Hing……]

Renok, leaving Davie with her five tails drooping, pondered for a while and picked up the pen again.

But this time, the tip of the pen didn’t touch the old paper surface of the notebook.

Thump!

Renok lightly drew blood by poking his hand with the pen tip and brought it to the paper of the notebook.

The blood-stained letters wrote the same sentence in the notebook as before.

[I have something to say about the transfer of Kaise’s body.]

But this time, the letters didn’t disappear into the notebook right away.

The letters slowly disappeared beyond the paper of the notebook, as if savoring the blood that Renok had written directly.

Immediately after that, completely different letters began to rise in the place where Renok had written the sentence.

[I smell a very old time and soul.]

Renok was about to say something to the answer that was suddenly talking nonsense.

Renok stopped his hand at another sentence right below the notebook.

[I greet the transcender who is qualified to challenge the great mission.]

“……”

At the notebook’s very polite answer, Renok stopped his pen with a dumbfounded expression.

Davie tilted her head with a puzzled look.

[What is this piece of paper saying?]

“Well. Judging by what it’s saying now, it probably thinks I’m……”

[Ascended one. What are you curious about?]

“……It seems to be mistaking me for an Ascended one.”