Elijah, who had no more strength left to walk, hid himself deep in a secluded alley, avoiding crowded places as much as possible. Abandoned junk and piles of garbage concealed the two boys from people’s sight.
Elijah clumsily attempted healing magic, which he had only learned the basics of. However, it was of no help whatsoever to Rose’s wounds. The cloak he had wrapped around Rose was already soaked through with blood and couldn’t serve its purpose. The skin that had melted bright red from the burns was heartbreaking just to look at.
He couldn’t find Master, and his peers had left first without a word. It was simply astonishing how they could do that when Elijah and Rose hadn’t even arrived yet.
In the end, Elijah burst into tears.
“I’m sorry……”
“What do you have to be sorry for.”
Rose rubbed the corners of his eyes. The blood that had been on his hands also stained Elijah’s face. Elijah’s tears streaked over it. Rose, who forced the corners of his mouth up to create something resembling a smile, continued to wipe away his tears and soothed him.
“Don’t cry. Master will come looking for us soon.”
Rose’s face, which was usually pale to begin with, had completely lost all color and looked deathly pale. Whether he had bumped into something, his lips were split and there was a purple bruise under his eye. Elijah was scared that he might really end up seriously hurt like this.
“It’s okay, I won’t die from this much.”
He had already bled too much to take his words at face value. Rose suddenly grimaced. The smile he had been struggling to maintain was pitifully distorted.
“My shoulder is too hot, Elijah. ……I can’t tell if it’s hot or if it hurts.”
Elijah couldn’t attempt anything rashly, afraid that using magic carelessly might hurt Rose even more. At most, he could weakly cast a spell to dull the senses and reduce the pain a little—that was all he could do.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could handle healing magic well like Master……”
“Master doesn’t use healing magic anyway.”
“……Then?”
“I don’t really know either…… He just gives injections.”
“Does that stop the bleeding?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
Elijah briefly considered whether he should take Rose to a physician. However, in the outside world, you basically needed money to do anything, and they were penniless.
There’s absolutely no such thing as free in this world. It’s a world where they’ll cut off your nose even when you have both eyes wide open, so you must never trust people—Master had always said so.
But in a situation like this, what exactly were they supposed to do? He tried to stop the bleeding on Rose’s shoulder with what little knowledge he had learned, but Rose was in pain even if he just touched his skin.
The day gradually grew darker. The cold winter chill intensified along with the darkness. As time passed, Rose trembled all over as if he had chills.
Elijah, who held him in his arms, floated a lantern made of magic power high up. It was because he thought Master wouldn’t be able to find them if they stayed hidden in a place like this.
“Still, it’s good because I’m with you.”
Rose, who had been silent for a while, said something childish again. Elijah pulled him closer into his arms and replied.
“……We’re always together at the monastery anyway.”
“Not at the monastery, like this……, outside, I mean.”
Rose, who had rested his head on Elijah’s shoulder, continued speaking. It seemed like an effort to not lose consciousness.
“We won’t stay only at the monastery forever. When I become an adult……, with you……, I want to travel. There are many pretty places in the world……”
However, his voice was faint, as if he would fall asleep at any moment. Elijah suddenly recalled what Igrit had said.
Could Rose really become an adult? Until then, would Rose be able to live?
If he could become an adult together with him, it seemed like it would be fine even if he spent his whole life confined in the monastery. He didn’t need to become a great magician or anything. As long as Rose was by his side…….
“Yeah, Rose. Let’s definitely do that when we become adults.”
Elijah made a promise he couldn’t guarantee. Becoming adults was still a distant story for them. Rose lifted his head slightly.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
“……I wish I could do that too.”
“You can just follow me too.”
“If you decide to hide……, I probably won’t be able to find you.”
How can I beat a magician…… Muttering a half-serious joke, Rose laughed weakly.
“I won’t hide. I won’t go anywhere and will only stay by your side.”
“Keep your promise……, Elijah. You must only be with me.”
“Yeah.”
A trembling hand grabbed onto Elijah. At that moment, the sound of hoofbeats approached from the end of the alley. Elijah, who curled up behind the garbage pile while holding Rose, listened to the presence approaching them.
Soon the shadow of a lamp flickered over their heads. Elijah, who had been terrified, finally let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the silhouette standing before him.
“Master……”
As if facing something he had expected, Master’s face was merely calm.
“You did well.”
An aged hand was extended before him. Supporting Rose’s body firmly, Elijah grabbed that hand and stood up.
“Elijah, put Rose on here.”
A thin back was extended before Elijah. As he entrusted Rose to Master’s back, only then could Elijah fully relax his tension.
More than anything else, the relief that he could now save Rose safely consumed him.
* * *
Elijah didn’t know exactly what had happened between Igrit and Rose that day, but he was certain that Igrit had deliberately put Rose in danger.
Even upon seeing that Rose had returned, Igrit showed no particular reaction. Elijah wasn’t particularly surprised by his shameless attitude with neither excuses nor apologies.
It was the first time in his life he’d had thoughts of wanting to kill someone. But unfortunately or fortunately, because Master had immediately confined Igrit upon returning to the monastery, he didn’t even get a chance to vent his anger at him.
Classes were suspended. Only several days later did Elijah learn that Master had taken Rose down to the basement. It seemed the treatment would take a long time. Since he had been sick for ten straight days just from being shallowly bitten by a young wolf, this time it might take several times longer.
Elijah shuddered as he recalled Rose’s horribly mangled shoulder. Could healing magic completely remove even those scars? It would have to. Otherwise, he felt he wouldn’t be able to bear the heartache every time he saw Rose’s scars.
‘Master doesn’t use healing magic anyway.’
He suddenly recalled what Rose had said. Why hadn’t Master used healing magic on Rose all this time?
No matter how good the medicine used, it couldn’t compare to healing magic. He had heard that depending on the caster’s medical knowledge and proficiency, precise treatments such as suturing torn flesh without scars or perfectly restoring broken bones were possible.
If it was Master, he could surely perform even the most difficult magic, so he couldn’t understand why he would choose such treatment methods instead of using a sure method.
But at least this time, he wouldn’t be able to manage without using healing magic. The wounds were that critical.
Please, let those burns disappear without a trace…… Elijah prayed and prayed again. He didn’t even want to imagine such terrible scars remaining on Rose, who had been like smooth porcelain without a single flaw.
“Elijah.”
Iris approached his side. Elijah, who had been sitting alone curled up on a bench placed in one corner of the monastery’s back garden, moved over and made room for her.
“Is Rose doing a bit better?”
“……I don’t know either. I haven’t seen him.”
“You haven’t seen him either. Everyone doesn’t know. Master hasn’t been around much either……”
Silence flowed between them for a while. Snow piled on bare branches melted and dripped onto the ground.
“……Back then.”
Iris suddenly opened her mouth.
“Back then, Leo Artes broke my golden word spell.”
“……”
“Do you remember what that person said?”
‘I know Jade’s magic well, I was that guy’s classmate!’
‘Tell Jade. To stop doing useless things and come back……! If you come back even now, I’ll overlook all the crimes you committed! Even without magic power, you’re still……’
Elijah also remembered Leo Artes’s desperate voice. However, he didn’t bother to answer.
“There’s no way ‘having no magic power’ was said about our Master, right?”
When he remained silent, Iris asked.
“Right, Elijah? I keep thinking about those words. Who has no magic power and who committed crimes…… He spoke as if it was definitely Master.”
“Why should we care about what bad guys say?”
Elijah was starting to get irritated. His head was already a mess with worries about Rose, and he didn’t understand why a few words those criminals spouted were so important.
“Master repeatedly told us. That’s why the golden word spell is most important. If you let them open their mouths, they’ll appease and confuse their opponents with all sorts of absurd words.”
“Then that too……, does that mean it was all lies to appease us?”
“Yeah.”
In truth, Elijah didn’t know exactly either. But how credible could the words of bad guys be in the first place? They were heinous bastards who dared to steal the Magic Tower’s Holy Relic and fatten their pockets by handing it over to black magic groups.
“Then……, Elijah. Let me ask one more thing.”
“……”
“Have you ever, even once, seen Master use magic?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course……”
Of course……, I haven’t.
