Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 726

The Magic Tower and the Mage (4)

Jenny’s bar, located in Sector 49.

A wide lobby bustling with customers at all hours.

As always, people with drinks in hand are chatting over the crowded tables.

A neutral zone where one can relatively quickly access all sorts of messy news happening in the shadows of the megacity.

But today, the rumors circulating among the people were not about requests or incidents.

“Did you hear the news?”

“About the Antares Mercenary Group? They’ve all become fishermen.”

“Camilla, you know, that crazy woman with the shotgun.”

A man, glancing around, spoke quietly.

“They say she’s stopped taking requests altogether these days and is focusing on tuna fishing. It must be quite lucrative, huh?”

“…Really?”

“I heard the owner of this bar is doing it as a side job, maybe we should check the unit price-”

At that moment, a subdued voice came from behind the two men.

“It’s not about the money.”

“H-Huh…!!”

The man, startled, turned around and his face turned pale upon seeing the owner of the voice.

The voice, not caring about the reaction, muttered.

“There’s something much more important than that. Don’t interfere.”

“A-Alright. Damn it, of all the people to badmouth, it had to be her…”

With awkward expressions, the customers quickly paid their bills and left.

The voice ignored them and quietly stared at someone at the end of the bar.

“…”

Glancing over, then turning away as if nothing happened.

“…”

She was quietly watching Lenox, who was sitting near the counter, from behind a pillar.

Staring intently with a tense look, then acting as if nothing happened again.

A blue strand of hair swaying like a tail from behind the pillar. Even in the midst of all this, she couldn’t let go of her drink, sipping it.

Knowing who the gaze belonged to, Lenox focused on tasting the new cocktail Jenny had devised.

Rather, his colleagues around Lenox were the ones who felt awkward about the situation.

“I’m really curious, so I’m asking.”

Jenny, who was standing in front of Lenox shaking a shaker, couldn’t help but ask.

“Did you lend Mila some money or something?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Then why is that maniac acting like she’s suddenly gone crazy?”

Thud.

As Jenny asked, a glass full of whiskey suddenly slid under her arm.

Mila, who had approached unnoticed, had quietly handed Lenox a glass full of cocktail.

“…Ahem. I’m a bit full.”

Turning her gaze, she pretended not to notice, looking away.

Her intentions were so obvious and clumsy that it almost seemed like a joke.

Dylan and Felix, who were sitting on either side of Lenox and discussing the cost-effectiveness of small tactical vehicles, stared with their mouths open.

“Huh…”

“What am I seeing right now?”

Dylan clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t believe it.

“For her to give up her own drink, is she going to die tomorrow or something?”

“If Antares had foreseen this future, they would have come back to watch.”

Mila seemed to bristle at their teasing, but she held back and turned away.

Her figure, quietly watching Lenox again from behind the pillar.

Everyone’s faces turned pale at her unusual reaction and attitude.

“…That’s not Mila. It seems like she’s possessed by a very strong ghost.”

“Her patience is extraordinary. Should we go find a famous shaman?”

Lenox shook his head, watching the mercenaries who had begun to seriously worry about Mila.

“She’s not possessed. I dealt with a similar ability user not too long ago.”

“Then what is it?”

“Well…”

Lenox chuckled.

“I think I’ll have to hear it directly from her.”

After that, Mila began to follow Lenox like a ghost, subtly showing him favors.

“Hey, weren’t you off today?”

“…I suddenly felt like working.”

She worked harder than usual at the bar, chasing away rowdy drunks.

“Can I wipe here too? Like this?”

“Ah, you have to be careful when cleaning that window…!!”

Clang!

She participated in office cleaning, something she had never done before, and became a sparring partner in the security team’s training.

“Hey, Wei An. Watch this. This is how you clean a shotgun magazine.”

“For someone who knows so much, Mila’s shotgun seems very dirty.”

“…”

She used her extensive knowledge of firearms to inspect the company’s internal equipment and attended the office’s morning meetings without complaint.

Even the mercenaries who had initially been suspicious of Mila were pleased with her change.

“I’d rather it be a disease than this.”

“It might really be a ghost, so if a shaman comes to the bar, just chase them away.”

“I agree.”

“…It’s not that.”

Mila, who had endured even the mercenaries’ jokes that were half-teasing, silently polished the guardian spirit’s egg.

[Munch munch.]

The guardian spirit made a satisfied sound as she wiped the eggshell with a potion-soaked towel.

Her colleagues stared in bewilderment as the egg rolled around the bar lobby floor.

“It has it good. So when is that thing supposed to hatch?”

“Considering it has intelligence, maybe there’s another reason why it’s not breaking out of the egg.”

“Maybe its consciousness formed first, and then it’s forming its body inside the egg.”

“For something like that, it has a very strong appetite.”

Mila, who had been diligently polishing the egg, now fed it tuna with familiar movements.

The guardian spirit shook its eggshell and quickly ate the tuna.

Even in the midst of all this, it was quick enough to barely show its form.

“It’s in its growth period.”

“…”

But the part that Mila really put effort into was consistently showing sincerity to Lenox.

She would suddenly buy expensive parts or accessories for the firearms Lenox used, or give him expensive whiskey sold at the bar every day.

She would hand over rare liquor she had stored at home with trembling hands, or throw herself into helping the workers at the magic tower construction site.

Mila, arguing with Chen, who was directing the construction site, while diligently carrying materials.

Jenny, sitting on the terrace of a newly built cafe in the downtown area, muttered as she looked down at the scene.

The egg, wearing large sunglasses and drinking coffee, looked quite natural.

“She’s so transparent with her intentions that it’s not even suspicious.”

“She’s an honest person. To herself and to others.”

Lenox sat across from her and smiled.

“She can’t hide her feelings, and she doesn’t try to. She may not be serious, but she’s not shallow.”

That’s why, even though Lenox knew why Mila was acting like this, he didn’t feel particularly annoyed.

After all, she was doing it to look good to Lenox, and also for someone other than herself.

“So there’s no need to worry.”

“…”

But Jenny, hearing those words, looked at Lenox as if she was dumbfounded, then slowly shook her head.

“Right. Who would worry about whom? So how long do we have to watch this?”

“Just wait a little longer.”

Lenox took a sip of his coffee and looked at Mila over the terrace.

“I think there’s probably another reason why she’s working so hard.”

Thus, Mila, who had been building up her efforts step by step without rushing, finally made her move.

Early in the morning, after the bar’s daily schedule was over.

In the brief moment when the customers’ footsteps had become sparse and the bar lobby was temporarily closed under the pretext of maintenance.

Just as the Antares mercenaries and Jenny’s company employees were gathered around the scattered tables, chatting.

Click!

Mila, with a determined expression, walked towards Lenox holding a small box.

She took a slow deep breath, then carefully held out the box towards Lenox.

Lenox, who was leaning against the table drinking, stopped his hand upon seeing the box.

“…”

The other mercenaries and Jenny also watched her with interest.

“Has she finally made up her mind?”

“Is that crazy act finally over? It took her long enough.”

“You should say it’s a shame, Dylan.”

“Ah, shut up!!”

Mila, annoyed, chased the other colleagues out of the bar.

The people, pretending to be unable to win, quietly left the bar.

Meanwhile, Lenox, who had opened the box, stroked his chin with an intrigued look.

“This is…”

A monocle, or a single-lens eyeglass, emitting a subtle glow.

It was an artifact that had an extraordinary ability at first glance.

Mila, standing in front of Lenox with a tense expression after putting down the glasses.

In the lobby where only Jenny, Jordan, and Lenox remained, Mila sighed and barely parted her lips.

“T-There’s something I want to ask… one thing…”

“I figured.”

Jenny replied nonchalantly.

“If you had gone to all this trouble and had nothing to say, I would have thought you were really crazy.”

“…”

Jenny, who had been watching from the side, had also noticed that Mila desperately wanted something from Lenox.

“What exactly do you want to do that made you hesitate so much?”

“…There’s not much I can do for you, Ban.”

Mila answered with a bitter smile.

“What would a mage like you, who is as solid as a rock, want from me? So I wanted to show you my sincerity, even like this.”

“…”

“I have a younger sibling.”

Mila took a deep breath and spoke slowly to Lenox, who was silent.

“They’re a mage. They’ve mastered the water-based system and want to work in the field.”

“If it’s your sibling, they’re from Lavatenon, right?”

Jenny tilted her head.

“I know that the mages there aren’t bad at their jobs, but most of them are in research positions. They’re not the type to work in the field.”

It seemed that Jenny also knew about Mila’s family situation to some extent.

Perhaps they had picked up bits and pieces of each other’s personal information during casual conversations over drinks.

Judging by her talking about mages from Lavatenon University, it seemed that she hadn’t anticipated this situation itself.

“It’s because of me.”

Mila, frowning at Jenny’s question, muttered.

“They know how I work, so they want to work somewhere close by.”

“So, you want to ask me to let your sibling work at the magic tower?”

Only then did Jenny realize what Mila’s request was and asked.

Mila calmly replied.

“I’m not asking you to accept them without question. Of course, they’ll have to pass the qualifications test and an interview. But… could you give them a chance?”

“…”

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t think you’d be very interested in research mages.”

Only then did Lenox understand why Mila had put in so much time and effort.

The Ban that Mila knew was a monster who had climbed up from the shadows of Vulcan on his own.

Not just a mage who could work in the field, but a freelancer who had gone through more real combat than any other superhuman in the shadows.

That’s why she thought Lenox wouldn’t even give a chance to those from research positions.

Rather than getting Priscilla into the magic tower, Mila was working this hard just to give her sibling a chance.

“If you could reconsider your thoughts on that a little-”

Mila’s words were cut off as she looked at Lenox’s expressionless face.

She looked up at the ceiling of the bar without a word, and after a long silence, she spoke.

“No, no… that’s not it. I want to ask you to accept them, but I shouldn’t… Ah, really. I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

Mila smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“They’re my only family. I want them to live safely and comfortably. But if they really want to work in the field…”

“If they want to?”

“…I want them to be next to the most reliable mage I know. That’s all. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Mila must have worried a lot about what she could do to help Lenox.

And yet, if she had put in this much time and effort just to ask Lenox for a favor.

Instead of answering immediately, Lenox picked up the monocle that Mila had put down.

“It’s an artifact that uses a different projection rate of magic power to see beyond the visible light spectrum.”

Lenox said, looking at the glasses that emitted a subtle glow.

“It must have been expensive because it’s difficult to make. It would have taken some time even if you saved up the incentives from taking requests.”

Was Mila working hard next to Lenox to earn time for this?

“The efficiency is poor and the visibility isn’t great. To be honest, it’s a bit heavy too. But…”

Lenox, without a word, put the monocle to his right eye and looked at Mila, then chuckled.

“It’s a good item.”

“…”

“Isn’t it because there are research mages that we can make artifacts like this?”

“T-Then…!!”

“If they’re from Lavatenon, their basics should be sufficient. Take them to Tatiana for an interview.”

Seeing Mila’s face light up, Jordan, who was wiping glasses, smiled contentedly.

Jenny also just chuckled with her arms crossed, without any particular objection.

Even among the veteran mercenaries, they probably thought that Mila’s sibling, who was so perceptive, wouldn’t be too lacking in ability.

While an excited Mila was calling Priscilla and ordering several strong whiskeys from Jenny, Lenox approached Jordan.

“Jordan. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.”

Jordan immediately wiped his hands and nodded.

“Is it something we should leave for?”

“…Perhaps.”

Mila, who had been persistently following Lenox for the past few days, had disappeared, so it would be okay to make an excuse and leave.

Jordan immediately led Lenox to a small warehouse located behind the bar.

“It’s a place that even Jenny doesn’t know about. It would take some time to find it.”

“It seems you come here often.”

“Everyone needs some time alone sometimes.”

Lenox offered Jordan a cigarette, but Jordan refused.

“Dylan and the other mercenaries will be back soon, so let’s make it short. What do you want to say?”

“Ethan Bajur is alive.”

“…”

Lenox quietly said, looking at Jordan, who had turned to stone.

“If you worked with Kaise, you must know about this name.”

Jordan was a colleague who had worked with Kaise in his lifetime, and the only person still remaining by Jenny’s side.

But if Jordan was still alive even after being involved in the project, there must be a reason.

Lenox had guessed it, so he had never directly asked Jordan about it, but now the situation was different.

Ethan Bajur. Kaise’s son and Jenny’s father.

It was impossible that Jordan, who had watched them from the side, didn’t know about their family relationship.

Jordan, as if sensing that Lenox was asking about it, remained silent with an expressionless face.

Jordan, who couldn’t speak, finally opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I’m sorry for changing my mind. Can I have a light?”

Jordan, who had received a cigarette from Lenox, put it in his mouth and took out a lighter from his pocket.

Jordan, who had lit the cigarette very skillfully despite not usually preferring it, took a deep breath of the smoke.

“As you might have guessed, I was Kaise’s personal physician.”

Jordan said quietly, turning his gaze to Lenox.

“I had to watch that cursed fate right next to him and treat him every time. To prevent him from breaking down. To help him endure until the end of the project.”

According to Jenny, Jordan had learned medicine while traveling through battlefields since he was young.

He had met Kaise and started working with him after he was well over forty, so he must have already been a veteran with decades of experience.

“Does Jenny know?”

“…I don’t know.”

Jordan, who was smoking, replied.

“But she must have tried to find out.”

The old man’s eyes, looking at the darkness beyond the warehouse, sank.

“That child was very bright since she was young. She knew how to find what she wanted without being told…”

Jenny was a more capable and experienced broker than Lenox when it came to the ways of the underworld and business.

Rather than her being ignorant about the project, it was more reasonable to think that she had stopped investigating on her own at some point.

Lenox also recognized that fact and had decided to ask Jordan first, rather than directly asking Jenny about it.

“Ethan Bajur was that special of a person.”

“He was similar to Kaise, but completely different in crucial aspects…”

Jordan smiled bitterly.

“Despite having innate intelligence and charm, he tended to hide his true feelings in the end.”

“…”

“Perhaps he even tried to hide his own death, and reshape it into another form.”

Was he saying that he wasn’t sure himself, but he thought that might be the case?

“Kaise suffered from the curse he had his whole life, but he still loved his talent and fate.”

Jordan said, as if guessing Lenox’s question.

“But I couldn’t treat Ethan like that.”

“…”

“That’s all I can say. I couldn’t prevent Ethan’s death in the end.”

Jordan said painfully.

“Maybe, maybe… when everything around Jenny turned harsh, I thought that might be the case… but I…”

Even after Ethan’s death, he thought he might be alive, but he couldn’t be sure?

If Jordan was Kaise’s personal physician, he must have also treated his son, Ethan.

That’s why Jordan believed he was responsible for Ethan’s death and didn’t delve deeply into the matter.

“I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was young. But after being dragged to the battlefield, I had to fix humans instead of animals.”

Jordan muttered, fiddling with his cigarette.

“Sewing, attaching, cutting… it felt like repairing living parts, not people. I learned there that there are lives worse than death.”

Jordan said blankly.

“It’s not that I’m afraid of death now, Ban. But…”

Jordan, who had slowly finished his cigarette, turned his gaze.

“I’m afraid that the decision I made might betray Kaise’s will.”

“…”

“I thought that quietly waiting for the end in this bar and wishing for Jenny’s happiness was the last thing given to me…”

Jordan, with a complicated expression, turned to leave, but then took something out of his pocket and handed it to Lenox.

“I gave this to you once before. Do you remember?”

“This is…”

The necklace that Jordan had given Lenox before he headed to the Hanghasa Labyrinth in the Northern Continent, saying it might be helpful.

Jordan was handing back the necklace that he had returned without finding any particular use for it.

“I couldn’t tell you at that time…”

Jordan said as if he had made up his mind.

“Among Kaise’s belongings, it was the only thing Ethan wanted.”