Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 952

Whoosh…!!

In the quiet forest, a chilling wind blew.

A dry, cool air, devoid of any hint of moisture, filled the woods.

Brushing aside the falling leaves with his staff, Lenok walked alone through the vast forest.

[Master.]

Davy, peeking out from inside his coat, grumbled.

[No matter how I think about it, I don’t see why we need to bring an organism that uses a magic eye as a guide.]

“Are you talking about Oliviera?”

[That organism is not trustworthy at all. And her attitude…]

Davy grumbled.

[I don’t like how she acts all high and mighty just because she’s lived a little longer.]

“It’s true that she has a very strong pride. You’re right.”

Lenok smiled.

“But to get through to Kundara, it’ll be easiest to get Oliviera herself to move.”

[……]

“Just like in our last deal, she’s the type to try and take the lead by using my interest in the Outer City. It’s better to drag her directly to Kundara, so things don’t drag on unnecessarily.”

If Oliviera hadn’t wanted the Anathema’s causality so badly in the first place, she wouldn’t have even attempted such a request.

Lenok was aware of this fact, which is why he was trying to borrow her abilities by directly influencing her movements.

“The magic eye of the Seven-Colored Treasure is one of the very few innate abilities that can interfere with causality. It will definitely be useful in the city of the long-lived.”

Lenok, pulling on Davy’s bulging cheek, said,

“She said she needs time, so it’s not an immediate problem. Let’s take care of what we need to do first.”

[I’ve already finished the search.]

Davy whispered softly.

[It’s right here, just ahead. Can you hear it?]

“……Yes.”

The sound of the wind brushing past his ears. The rustling of leaves, the noise of the forest.

But Lenok knew that a faint mechanical sound was mixed in with the sounds of nature.

Beneath the seemingly ordinary tree stump, gears were turning, and a quiet engine sound echoed from under the rocks.

In the middle of the dry forest, the traces of advanced machinery blended in seamlessly.

Chiiik!!

With one hand, he peeled away the noise barrier that was blocking his view like a spider web.

The empty forest scenery distorted, and a massive fortress wall made of carved ore appeared.

Large ore, the size of boulders, was carved from the raw material and used as the foundation stones of the fortress, creating a beautiful scene.

Hot air and magical light were regularly emitted from the fortress’s ceiling, windows, and vents.

A unique workshop scene, breathing and constantly emitting steam like a giant jewel furnace.

In front of the jewel workshop, a dozen people stood with guns in their hands.

“……”

Clack!

Musket rifles with a smooth shape, as if carved from jewels.

The people, with their gun barrels pointed towards the sky, blocked the way with stiff expressions.

They couldn’t bring themselves to aim the magic-infused rifles at Lenok, and instead blocked the entrance to the workshop.

Among the people who were trying to avoid eye contact with Lenok, a middle-aged man with a handsome face walked out.

“The Meister [Master Craftsman] of the Arcane Workshop should be focused on honing their skills, away from the mundane world.”

The man, with his hair and beard neatly combed back, spoke calmly.

“However, this Elbato Duris is not so blind as to not recognize the great mage of Balkan.”

“……”

“Such profound power that you broke through the barrier of the Huddersfield Forest with your bare body. It’s the first time I’ve seen your face, but I’m sure it’s you.”

Elbato Duris, the Meister of the Duris Workshop, asked Lenok with a tense expression.

“May I ask what brings the Slayer of Apostles, who punished the Anathema’s betrayal, to our workshop?”

Although he doesn’t show his face, the actions and nature of the Steadfast are too well known.

A black coat and a silver staff.

The unhesitating hand that tore through the forest’s great barrier like wet paper.

If they didn’t notice the explosive, flashing magical energy, that would be stranger.

That’s why Elbato Duris had no choice but to step forward himself, even though he knew he was no match for him.

Even with the help of the workshop’s guards and guests, he couldn’t be sure if they could handle that one mage.

If he wanted something, he would have to give it to him and send him away, and if he tried to kill them, he would have to take as much as he could and run away.

But Lenok didn’t answer Elbato’s words.

He simply stood leaning on his staff, staring intently at Elbato’s bearded face.

“You look alike.”

“……What are you talking about?”

Ignoring Elbato’s words, Lenok lightly raised his hand.

Startled by the gesture, the guards flinched and tried to pull the trigger, but froze.

A demonic giant with black chains was floating above their heads.

Goooh…!!!

A menacing appearance, as if forged from a mass of pitch-black darkness.

With black chains in his claw-like hands, he spread his arms wide.

“Ugh, ugh……”

“Kuh… Ugh…”

The guards, sensing death at the appearance of the demonic giant in the middle of the forest, let out whimpering groans.

All sorts of security equipment and automatic firing artifacts surrounded the entire workshop.

Even with the heavy machine guns made by the Meister, they couldn’t see a future where they would survive here.

Elbato’s face also turned pale as soon as he saw the demonic giant.

“This can’t be. The Gabi’s……”

“You know about Myung.”

Lenok’s eyes gleamed.

“Has he ever visited your workshop?”

“……Information about customers who have used the workshop is a taboo that a Meister must never speak of.”

Elbato stammered, struggling to speak under the eerie pressure of the demonic giant.

“Especially in an Arcane Workshop that makes artifacts, it is absolutely-”

“I don’t want to hear about that kind of craftsmanship.”

Lenok said with a bored expression.

“What kind of artifact did Myung try to make at your workshop?”

The Duris Workshop is an Arcane Workshop that makes artifacts with built-in magic or spells.

It is natural for the Meister to be a skilled mage and a high-ranking superhuman, but it is not the Meister who decides what abilities to embed in the artifact.

If it was a powerful black mage like Myung, he would have chosen and specified what spells or abilities to put in the artifact himself.

“……”

But Elbato didn’t answer Lenok’s question and kept his mouth shut.

Was he determined to say nothing rather than lie?

Lenok, noticing his intention, chuckled and nodded.

“You have a good spirit.”

Kugugung…!!

The demonic giant slowly extended one arm in front of Elbato and clenched his fist.

The moment Elbato closed his eyes tightly at the black magic that was boiling in the air.

Thud!!

A heavy sound of something falling in front of Elbato’s eyes echoed.

“…….?”

What Elbato saw when he opened his eyes slightly was a black coffin, tightly bound by black chains.

The demonic giant was holding one end of the chain attached to the coffin, looking down at Elbato as if he was amused.

“What is this……?”

“I retrieved it and kept it after the meeting.”

Lenok nodded.

“There is something I need to confirm with you about his death.”

“……If you mean the meeting.”

“Check it.”

Perhaps he had an idea of what it was as soon as he heard Lenok’s words.

Elbato, with a pale face, approached the coffin and slowly checked inside.

“Ah, Father…!!”

He collapsed on the spot as if his strength had given out.

“Master Elbato!!”

“Meister, pull yourself together!!”

The guards were startled and dropped their guns, rushing to support Elbato.

“Meister Oshto Duris died in the attack by the Order at the meeting in Etanok.”

Lenok nodded, watching the commotion.

“You are his son and the owner of the Duris Workshop, right?”

* * *

Tap!

Warm heat rose from beyond the fireplace.

Lenok, who was sitting in an armchair with a simple table between them, turned to look at Elbato, who was pacing back and forth without sitting down.

“Is that so……”

Elbato, who had been listening to Lenok’s words, muttered with a pale expression.

“Father, made a deal with the Order for me……”

The process and reason for Oshto’s death to Elbato.

That he had sought out the Order to cure his son’s illness, that the priestess had granted his request, and that a new priestess had paid the price decades later.

“Oshto Duris had various forces as his clients during his lifetime. Perhaps because of that, he was acquainted with the priestess of the Order.”

Lenok, who had briefly explained what had happened, took out a cigarette and gestured towards the ashtray on the table.

“May I smoke?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

Perhaps the question itself felt awkward.

Lenok, leaving Elbato who nodded awkwardly, lit his cigarette and said,

“He traded his own life and the lives of others to cure your illness, and he paid the price belatedly.”

“……”

“However, there are some things I need to confirm about the way he died, so…”

Lenok, exhaling smoke, nodded.

“I just thought I should give you his remains.”

Even if Oshto Duris’s death was his own doing.

There were facts that could not be known without directly investigating what kind of deal he had made with the Order.

“……I was often sick since I was a child. If I played outside for a little while, I would get a fever and a rash, and I would be bedridden for days.”

Elbato, sitting in the chair opposite him, said quietly with his head bowed.

“After I turned ten, those symptoms improved greatly, and I thought it was just natural that they got better as I got older… It was something my father did.”

“……”

“Father always said that he wouldn’t be able to die peacefully.”

Elbato smiled sadly.

“I knew that wasn’t a joke as I got older, but I never thought it would be like this… I didn’t know.”

“……”

After staring at the fire in the fireplace with his eyes downcast for a while, Elbato slapped his cheeks and raised his gaze.

“I will personally track down the other patients who were sacrificed because of my father’s mistakes and atone for it for the rest of my life. I am truly sorry.”

“I think you’re mistaken.”

Lenok, tilting his head back as he smoked, retorted.

“I didn’t come here to blame you or point out your mistakes. Do whatever you want about atoning for that or taking responsibility.”

The human sacrifice that Oshto Duris committed was the result of sacrificing patients who had the same illness in order to cure his son’s illness.

But it was impossible to answer what Elbato Duris, who had benefited from it, could take responsibility for and atone for.

In the end, it was something that the person himself had to think about and decide.

In the first place, Lenok had not come to the Duris Workshop to determine the rights and wrongs of what had happened at the time.

“What I want to know is what Oshto Duris traded with the Order at the time to be able to enjoy the privilege of meeting the priestess of that era directly.”

Lenok asked.

“If you inherited the workshop as it was, there must be a list of artifacts and customers that Oshto Duris made at the time, right?”

“……That is.”

Oshto Duris not only enjoyed great privileges within the Order to the point of meeting Izel Naidri directly.

He was also treated so well that the priestess granted his wish even though he was making an unreasonable request to save his son.

Of course, he eventually paid the price, but the fact that Oshto, who was not even a member of the Order, had lived for more than decades was nothing short of a miracle.

Then, wouldn’t it be because the artifact that Oshto Duris had made for the Order at the time was so important to the Order?

Lenok had come to the Duris Workshop to confirm his guess after thinking that far.

“Are you still going to say that you can’t sell customer information?”

“……”

Elbato, who had been hesitating, closed his eyes tightly and stood up from his seat.

“There is a ledger that my father left behind in the basement of the workshop.”

“……”

“If we check the ledger, we will know what my father traded with the Order.”

Elbato opened the door of the room and turned to look at Lenok.

“Please follow me. I will guide you.”

* * *

A quiet basement where darkness had fallen.

Lenok and Elbato were walking down the jewel staircase that shimmered faintly even in the darkness.

Elbato, holding a small lamp in one hand, led the way, and Lenok followed behind with a cigarette in his mouth.

“The workshop’s facilities are incredibly luxurious. How much money do you have?”

“……When making artifacts, we mainly handle various magic stones and raw stones.”

Elbato replied with an awkward expression.

“After the processing is finished, we collect the remaining parts and decorate them, and it has become a symbol of the workshop.”

“……”

“I’ve heard a lot of criticism for being greedy for money, but once the rumors spread, the orders actually doubled……”

Workshops that make artifacts inevitably use expensive materials and catalysts, and the workshops themselves become wealthy in return.

That is to say, it is the same as saying that wealthy workshops inevitably produce good artifacts.

Lenok, who had suddenly thought that far, took out a small emblem from his coat.

“Come to think of it, I heard that this item was made at the Duris Workshop.”

“Ah, that’s Nix’s emblem.”

Elbato’s eyes sparkled as he naturally received the emblem.

“Let’s see… Looking at the finish of the decoration, it’s something that was made 18 years ago. At that time, it was fashionable to give artifacts the names of famous spirits.”

“……”

“The client was a dignified royal who looked to be in his thirties. He needed something that would perfectly conceal the user’s presence, so I made it to distort the presence by adding a prism technique to the dark stone……”

“Yes, your memory is quite good.”

Lenok asked, listening to Elbato’s words that flowed out like an answering machine.

“But didn’t you say earlier that you would never reveal customer information to me?”

“……It’s not often that I get to see an artifact that I made in the past, so I got a little carried away.”

Even Elbato himself seemed a little embarrassed by what he had said, and he quickened his pace.

“But I am proud that it is a very well-made artifact even now. The design is a bit trendy, but as emblems usually are, it fits well even in official settings. A craftsman who makes artifacts must not only consider the ability of the artifact, but also carefully meet the needs of the customer, taking into account their affiliation and position……”

“But when I got this emblem, the owner wasn’t the royal you mentioned.”

“Huh?”

“It was a relic that Irina Pesfield, the leader of a relic exploration team, had obtained in collusion with the Order.”

“……”

“The intention was good, but not all artifacts can stay in the hands of their original owners.”

Lenok chuckled as he took back the emblem.

“Still, I see that you remember the relics you made in detail. As a customer, I would trust you.”

If he could rattle off information about it just by looking at the emblem for a moment, it was easy to guess what kind of attitude Elbato usually had when making artifacts.

Elbato Duris’s talent was guaranteed by his father, Oshto himself, so there would be no particular flaws in his skills.

It was no wonder that the Duris Workshop had a backlog of orders for almost three years.

“Ahem, this is the warehouse where we keep the old ledgers.”

Elbato, clearing his throat, came down to the end of the stairs and opened the side door located right behind him.

A dark hallway where a faint lamp shone. The quiet room was filled with the smell of old paper.

Elbato walked a few steps ahead of Lenok and began to rummage through the storage boxes on both sides of the hallway.

“The front of the storage room is where I keep the ledgers I used, and the back is probably the ledgers my father left behind.”

“You haven’t looked through them yourself?”

“I sometimes look through the ledgers when my father’s customers come, but there are so many that I haven’t checked them all myself.”

As he rustled and walked towards the back of the hallway, old dust scattered everywhere.

But Elbato, without showing any sign of dislike, began to rummage through the ledgers, almost buried in the dust.

Elbato, who had stacked dozens of thick books and was quickly checking the dates.

“Let’s see. You said it was around the time I was ten years old, so it should be around this time……”

“The amount of transactions at the Duris Workshop at that time must have been enormous.”

“I don’t know much about it, but I heard that when he opened the workshop, he received orders from every customer at least once.”

Elbato, who had answered Lenok’s words, suddenly made a sad expression.

“That’s why he was able to make a deal with the Order.”

“……”

“Ah, I found it.”

Thump!

Elbato, who had been checking the table of contents at the front of the ledger with the dates, took out a navy blue book from below.

An old ledger that had been compiled into a book by binding old transaction records together.

Elbato, who had been pointing at the table of contents of the ledger with the loose string, nodded and opened the page.

“Page 55. The Valley of Grief. The entrance to the main headquarters of the Guido Order was here, right?”

“……”

“This ledger will contain what kind of artifact my father made and handed over to the Order.”

“What kind of information is recorded in the transaction record?”

“It’s not much different from other ledgers. It shows the parts and materials used in the production, the recipient, the date, and the location.”

Elbato explained as he quickly flipped through the pages of the ledger.

“However, the blueprints used in the production are kept strictly in a safe that only the Meister can enter, so I think I will have to go to the safe later.”

“Let’s check the transaction record first and think about it.”

Lenok asked, looking at Elbato who had taken out the transaction record.

“Can we find out who was the one who arranged the deal between Oshto Duris and the Order?”

“I understand. The name of the client who ordered the equipment is clearly-”

At that moment, Elbato’s expression changed strangely.

“……It says Kaise Bajur.”