kscans

Chapter 80 - A Clue to Magic Defense and Hope for Kyle

The story returns once more to the two in the tower. This takes place after they made the Night Vision Lenses from the Moonshadow Wolf eyes.

Mireille and Leonhard were back on the second floor. Sipping the coffee Leonhard had brewed for her, Mireille began to sort through the box of alchemy recipes. The warm aroma seemed to slowly soothe the tightness deep behind her eyes.

"Phew..." Just as she was massaging the bridge of her nose, Leonhard suddenly spoke up.

"Mireille, the cut on your forehead... it’s gone."

"Eh?" The wound she had gotten from the magic stone that morning had vanished without a trace.

"I wonder if Potions can close up wounds now?" Mireille tilted her head.

—

Darius’s request was for something with defensive or mana control effects, rather than offensive ones.

She had figured out that carapace-type materials would likely be useful for defending against pinpoint magic attacks, so that seemed promising. All that was left was something that could control magic overall....

And one more thing. A medicine for Kyle’s childhood friend.

There were almost no recipes for treating human illnesses. If any remained, they would be in this box. With Leonhard helping her search, the two of them silently flipped through the bundles of paper. The sheer number of documents was enormous, with everything from scribbled notes to discarded drafts mixed in.

"...Hey. If Helkaarn pelts are used for insulation in the Magic Furnace, then couldn’t the even rarer Moonshadow Wolf pelts... be used for something like magic suppression?"

At Leonhard’s casual remark, Mireille blinked her eyes.

"Now that you mention it...!"

The blueprints for the Magic Furnace. There might be a hint for an application there. It seemed like such a waste to just let the pelts sit there unused. The thought bubbled up inside her.

—

"...Is this it? It says ‘Panacea,’ but it’s crossed out with an X."

"Does that mean it’s a failed recipe?"

She checked the ingredients, and among them was the very material she had just acquired, listed as "Wings of Light?"

"Either it failed even with Wings of Light... or it can be completed if they are obtained."

"The other ingredients are medicinal herbs and a light-attribute magic stone.... These are herbs that would work for a common cold or sickness. The difficult part is the light-attribute magic stone."

Light attribute, like that fairy from before?

"Light attributes come from fairies and spirit beasts. Fairies aren't monsters, you see. Their magic cores are incredibly rare."

"Well... they certainly didn’t give off an ‘I should be subjugated’ vibe," he said. Thinking back on that warm, protective presence, the idea of hunting them was unthinkable.

"In the end, I guess we have no choice but to try and extract the light from the Moonshadow Wolf’s light and dark attributes."

"...Which is what caused the bloody forehead incident," he added.

A complex feeling stirred in her chest.

Darius and Mireille were both too kind. At the same time, she thought, maybe it was time to forgive Kyle.

The pain of betrayal was significant, but it wasn't Kyle who had actually tried to kill her. If Mireille were sick, and she could get medicine just by giving the king some information that wasn't even a secret, she might have made the same choice.

And so, she felt she could forgive him.

—

"Hey, after we make the magic defense and control tools... when we test them, why don’t we try to extract just the light attribute?"

"...!" Mireille’s face lit up.

"That’s a great idea! Then Kyle-san can go into battle with some hope."

An innocent smile. That expression made him realize with great force just how loved she had been growing up, how cherished she had been by Darius and the former captain.