Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 62

The office looked exactly as it had before. However, Lennox noticed that the small screen in the corner was now cleverly obscured by an angled view. Without a word, he sat on the sofa. Panoa poured him a cup of coffee, placing it down before sitting opposite him with a calm demeanor.

“……..”

She was carefully choosing her words. Panoa knew that if she couldn’t hold onto Lennox now, everything would fall apart. The first thing she had to do was be clear.

“I’m sorry.”

Slowly, she lowered her head.

“I made a grand, empty promise to the Anti-Mage and was slow to rectify it. It’s all my fault.”

“……..”

“All the inconveniences during this operation were due to headquarters’ mistakes, and we will compensate you accordingly. I also promise to delegate the success bonuses of other personnel who failed in their missions during this process to you.”

A sincere apology without any excuses, delivered in a calm, unwavering tone. It was clear what kind of mindset she had adopted for this meeting after experiencing such a bitter failure. However, this alone was far from enough to secure Lennox’s continued cooperation, at least if they intended to continue with their initial plan without wavering.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, then slowly began to speak.

“I think you’ve noticed what’s been happening within our company for about a week now.”

“……..”

Lennox’s gaze shifted slightly at the unexpected remark. To bring up Dyke’s internal affairs, which he considered their weakest point, right from the start. It seemed Panoa had no intention of trying to get away with a paltry sum.

“Let’s be honest. Unlike the capital being invested in this project, the high-level personnel we can mobilize within headquarters are extremely limited. Even those who are helping me now won’t be able to stay with the company after this plan fails.”

“Get to the point.”

Panoa flinched at Lennox’s cold words, then bit her lip. The tables had turned between them in less than a month, and it must have felt unfair. However, instead of getting caught up in such trivial emotions, she had prepared a much more rational approach.

“…No matter what, I want to borrow the mage’s power. This is an expression of my will.”

With those words, she took out a black security bag from behind the sofa. She unlocked the tightly secured lock and entered the password, and the bag popped open. A pair of small rings could be seen, along with the intense scent of magic emanating from within.

“These are the Rings of Pryais, the artifact we offered to the Shadowmancer who worked with us on the last operation, with the goal of ensuring the plan’s complete success.”

“……..”

“It’s not as valuable as the compensation we promised you, but it’s a high-value artifact equipped with a shock resistance spell that can protect the wearer’s body.”

Panoa’s eyes were burning fiercely. Even if she presented it casually, this ring was a valuable item, especially considering it was offered to ensure the plan’s success. Just by looking at the magic contained within, it was clear that it wasn’t a low-grade item, but Lennox answered without changing his expression.

“You should know what I want.”

The minimum conditions that Jenny and Lennox had agreed upon. No matter how insufficient it was, their common thought was that they had to receive the artifact’s delivery date as soon as possible. If Panoa was trying to get away with just a pair of artifacts, the deal was off. As if she had noticed Lennox’s feelings, she quickly continued. The main point was from now on.

“The bidding for the item you wanted at the VIP auction has ended, and it’s currently in the delivery preparation stage. I promise that you will have the artifact in your hands by the end of the next request, not just after five requests.”

Every word she spoke was filled with sincerity. The fact that she even presented Lennox with a certificate proving that she had purchased the item at the auction clearly showed the determination she had brought to this meeting to persuade him.

“……..”

As Lennox didn’t respond, her words gradually became more urgent.

“We will establish a command system that prioritizes the Anti-Mage’s judgment in all future operations, and we will also delegate the selection of team members who will participate in the plan. If that’s not enough…!!”

Panoa’s increasingly aggressive words stopped abruptly when Lennox picked up the pair of rings. Lennox stared at the flow of magic emanating from the artifact for a long time, then nodded and got up from his seat.

“Mage…?”

Considering the internal affairs of Dyke that Sebastian had told him about, the compensation she had just offered was the upper limit of what she could bet on Lennox. Since he had received confirmation with the purchase certificate, there was no need to listen to any more unnecessary words.

“Put everything you just said into a document and send it to Jenny. We’ll talk about the detailed schedule after that.”

Panoa’s face brightened slightly as she understood the meaning of those words, but it hardened again as Lennox turned back around. Lennox looked down at Panoa with a cold gaze and said,

“I’ll let this one slide, but there shouldn’t be any more mistakes like this. You’re not the only ones taking risks.”

“……..”

“I’ve proven my abilities, and I think I deserve to be treated accordingly.”

“…I know that.”

“The reason we’re working together is because our interests align to some extent, not because we’re giving and receiving unilateral help, right?”

Lennox, who had grabbed the doorknob of the office, muttered casually.

“You need to maintain a good balance. There are plenty of things that can’t be solved with just money.”

It was an ironic statement. The words that Lennox had thrown at Panoa were more suitable for Lennox himself than anyone else. However, even such a delusion was a luxury in this situation.

Clack!

“……..”

Panoa, left alone in the silent office, lowered her head without a word. Her face looked full of an unknown fatigue. Lennox, who had confirmed her appearance as if he could see through the door, turned his back without a word and immediately left the building.

Proposal

‘This confirms it.’ Lennox thought as he left the building, receiving polite send-offs from Dyke’s employees. ‘She’s bold, but her experience is too lacking.’ Panoa seemed to be a rational and bold decision-maker at first glance, but she was completely different from Jenny, who actually handled things in that way. The decision to hand over a rare artifact and delegate the command system in this plan at the same time wasn’t bad, but she couldn’t easily shake off her attachment to the losses that had occurred in the process. That’s why she couldn’t easily trust Lennox’s decision and showed signs of trying to raise the stakes in return. This was because Panoa didn’t trust Lennox as a person in the first place.

“……..”

He could understand. It was difficult to feel comfortable entrusting a crucial task to someone you had never met before. However, in this world, once you’ve given and received payment, you shouldn’t complain. In that sense, Panoa was not a suitable talent for this world.

‘I should just do as much as I’m paid for and get out. It won’t be easy considering the value of the artifact, but…’

Lennox thought as he glanced inside his coat. He didn’t need to hear how much effort Panoa had put into getting the Rings of Pryais to know. Artifacts. For Lennox, who understood how difficult it was to imbue magic into an object, it was a treasure worth a fortune. He didn’t have Enakfil’s five fingers in his hands right now, but the fact that he had obtained an artifact with imbued magic was a tangible achievement. Even if he couldn’t make great progress right away, the opportunity to see with his own eyes how magic was imbued and how it worked was not a common occurrence.

‘It would be good if I could produce tangible results soon… but I need to be patient.’ For Lennox, who freely manipulated shield magic, the protective magic built into the ring was significant. Unlike shield magic, which simply mitigated external shocks, unique protective magic was capable of protecting the user in a variety of ways. Of course, he would have to analyze the ring’s effectiveness properly to know for sure, but it was likely a magic that could deflect shocks to the internal organs and skeleton itself, or block various harmful substances that could not be solved with a simple shield. That was definitely not a bad thing for Lennox, who had been extremely reliant on the single magic of shield for defense. After all, wasn’t it Lennox’s abnormal obsession with safety that had led him to develop the shield magic, which was severely inflexible in terms of performance, to this point? In that sense, the protective magic built into the ring would be a great insurance for Lennox. Slowly calming his slightly excited mood, Lennox took out his phone. Lennox, who quickly made a call to a stored contact, disappeared into the crowd in an instant. Unbeknownst to him, someone’s complicated gaze, watching him from the top of the building, had nowhere to go.

#

“I’ve been thinking lately,” Aris, who had been quietly looking at a book, suddenly spoke, as if throwing out a question. The warm sunlight poured into the library. Her clear voice echoed in the clean space filled with the scent of paper.

“Aren’t you terribly lacking in concentration?”

“Excuse me?”

For Lennox, who could be called the embodiment of a mage if judged solely on talent, to be told that he lacked concentration. It was quite an unfamiliar statement for him, who could control magic down to the particle level even in situations where blades were flying before his eyes. At least, Lennox had never failed to control his own concentration since he had opened his eyes in this world. However, unlike Lennox’s feelings, Aris seemed to have a lot to say about this issue. She deliberately put her book down on the glass table and glared at Lennox slightly.

“That’s right, isn’t it? Am I wrong?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Every time you come to the library, I take the time to explain the theories directly, but your mind keeps wandering elsewhere. And that’s the third time already! Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“……..”

That’s right. The meetings with Aris, which had been continuing every two weeks, had already reached their third session. It was not surprising. A considerable amount of time had passed since he had made an appointment with her after their reunion in the library. The time Lennox spent in the library was not short, as he took considerable breaks after each request. Lennox slammed the book he was holding shut and retorted.

“Professor, you’re making a ridiculous misunderstanding. Where’s the proof that I’m not concentrating?”

“It’s usually the guilty one who looks for proof first.”

“But I’ve never gotten a single question wrong in the Q&A you give me.”

“……..”

Aris closed her mouth with a displeased expression. Lennox bit his lip slightly to hold back a laugh as he looked at her face. In fact, there was nothing wrong with her words. The theories that Aris was teaching Lennox were aimed at those who had not yet properly learned magic, so they were mostly basic, and it was also true that Lennox was not concentrating on those explanations. However, the questions she asked after the lessons were relatively too simple, so he could guess the answers without listening to the lessons. Still, it seemed that she had gradually noticed that Lennox was thinking about other things during the lessons after seeing his face a few times… but Lennox’s acting was too excellent to be caught. Lennox stared at Aris, who was pouting and picking up her book.

“……..”

‘Is it time?’ Even if Lennox was listening to her questions with one ear and letting them out the other, there was no reason to deliberately upset Aris. Especially considering that Lennox was planning to ask for her help. In fact, even when they first met at the library, Lennox had only intended to be satisfied with listening to her lessons as he was now. Revealing himself was bound to be accompanied by a certain amount of risk, and Lennox was not strong enough to bear that burden. But now it was different. His meeting with the Ascendant had forced Lennox to want more. Wasn’t his decision to take the risk and join hands with Dyke to increase his influence in the underworld part of that? And if he had taken a step forward in the shadows, what was there that he couldn’t do in the light? The person named Aris Richelene, whom Lennox had experienced through three meetings, was clearly more trustworthy than the nameless mercenaries of the underworld. Lennox took a light breath before speaking. He was planning to say the words he had been thinking about since before this meeting today. He recalled the words he had to say and slowly opened his mouth.

“Actually, you’re right, Professor.”

“…What did you say?”