“…Elijah-ssi?”
Elijah’s face turned deathly pale. Once he began to recognize the magical power coming from his body, his mind became anxious, making it harder to control. It was because his body was excessively tense due to the many watching eyes and many people around.
How does one retract magical power? Like someone who suddenly forgot where to put their tongue that had always been in their mouth, Elijah absolutely could not control his magical power.
Elijah’s fear-stricken gaze touched the crowd that had gathered upon hearing the commotion. Between the people who had rushed to the doorway, he saw a ghost-like snow-white face.
‘I’ll never leave.’
It was Rose. Rose was here.
Just a few steps away, Rose was looking at him.
Pomegranate-red lips drew a smooth arc and opened, containing a clear message.
‘Wherever Elijah is, I’ll definitely come find you.’
Hic…, ngh… He now couldn’t even breathe properly and trembled at the voice touching his ears.
“Elijah-ssi! Don’t move!”
Kalian hurriedly removed his cloak. The cloaks issued only to mages belonging to the royal palace have a function to control magical power, protecting the owner’s body and sometimes preventing external damage.
The area around Elijah’s body rippled as if engulfed in hot heat. Kalian hurriedly approached him and wrapped the cloak around him.
“Huk…”
The navy blue cloak that had been clean without a speck of dust instantly blazed up and became mere ash. As if severely frightened by that phenomenon, Elijah flinched in surprise and curled up his body.
At the same time, fortunately, the magical power seeping from his body stopped.
“…”
The three people watching him couldn’t close their mouths at the scene unfolding before their eyes.
“I, I…”
Elijah shook his head with a pale face. Although Kalian’s cloak had turned to ash, the clothes he had originally been wearing and his hair were perfectly fine without being singed at all.
Kalian was astonished, forgetting even the sense of loss that the precious cloak he had inherited from his predecessor mage while having his name carved in the Royal Palace Holy Hall had burned.
The cloaks worn by mages belonging to the Holy Hall are created by layers upon layers of magical power from successive mages, each one being a high-level magical artifact equivalent to a holy relic.
Yet now that magical artifact had ridiculously burned like mere cotton fabric without any restriction. Moreover, while keeping the clothes he originally wore and his own body perfectly intact, he had selectively burned only the cloak that interfered with magical power emission, so it couldn’t even be called an accidental mistake.
“I… di-didn’t do… anything…”
Yet wasn’t Elijah truly terrified as if he didn’t know what was going on? When it would be difficult to do that on purpose, the person himself was trembling in shock at the phenomenon before his eyes.
“L-look at that! I told you that fellow is a heinous mage! If we were just a little later, he would have burned down this entire inn!”
“Be quiet, Adam.”
Kalian glanced at the people gathered at the doorway. It seemed dealing with this commotion should be the priority for now. The spot where Elijah had been standing was charred black.
It was already obvious that the inn owner would regard them as unwelcome guests.
* * *
Elijah became very dejected. Escaping from Rose aside, now he was about to become a wanted person.
“Elijah-ssi, please eat first. Didn’t you say you’ve been starving all day?”
That is, if he ran away from these people before him. According to what he heard from Bailey, that cloak was something that absolutely couldn’t be bought even for a fortune.
Having meaninglessly burned such a precious thing, if he carelessly ran away now, all the mages of the royal palace might really light fires in their eyes to find him.
Although appetizing food was abundantly set on the table, to Elijah it was no different from poison. He had already incurred a huge debt just from breaking the door at the previous inn, and now he had turned a precious cloak to ash and even burned the floor of the newly moved inn completely.
Unless one was crazy, there would be no one whose appetite would survive after committing such acts.
“…I’m truly sorry.”
Elijah knew he was in a position where he had nothing to say even if Kalian used this incident as leverage to make him a slave for life.
“No. Thanks to having the cloak, we could prevent a bigger incident, so it’s rather fortunate. That’s exactly what the cloak is there for.”
Of course, it wasn’t disposable but… Kalian didn’t bother with the rest of the words. Elijah forcibly swallowed the stew that wouldn’t go down, recalling the situation that had already passed.
He didn’t understand why he had to see Rose’s apparition at that very moment. No, perhaps Rose really had been watching him. Even knowing it couldn’t be, he had such unrealistic thoughts.
It felt like being in a dead-end alley. Rose was chasing from behind, and royal palace mages were blocking the way ahead.
“Pl-please tell me if there’s any way I can compensate somehow.”
“No compensation is needed. However, when we return to the royal palace, I need to explain the circumstances of losing the cloak, so Elijah-ssi’s accompaniment has become absolutely necessary.”
Kalian rather thought it turned out well. If he took Elijah to the royal palace and showed him to the Grand Mage, that person would be truly surprised too. Leaving such talent alone is a loss for the nation, and on the other hand, a disaster. He possessed tremendous magical power yet couldn’t control it himself.
“Isn’t there any other way besides that…?”
“There isn’t. Still, don’t worry. It’s not to take Elijah-ssi and have you punished. I’ll take all the responsibility.”
“…”
Elijah shuddered imperceptibly at the other’s heinously kind treatment. At this point, he even suspected whether that fellow had deliberately dropped him into a trap.
As expected, Master’s words are always right. He said to always be wary of those who show kindness for no reason… Just being desperate to leave the village, the sin of accompanying strangers without fear was great.
Ironically, he missed Rose.
If he hadn’t run away like that, he would still be in the cabin now. Of course, he would have had to live tied with shackles in anxiety not knowing when Rose’s eyes would roll back, but still, at least his body would have been comfortable.
However, he could no longer go back now, and from here on he had no choice but to accompany these strange people. He didn’t know what kind of place the royal palace was, but Elijah had absolutely no expectations that it would be better than his cabin.
“So Elijah-ssi, could you now explain the definite circumstances to us?”
“…Pardon?”
“That man who was chasing Elijah-ssi… Rose, was it? Who exactly is that person, and where exactly is Elijah-ssi from…”
Clang—the spoon Elijah had been holding fell, making a loud noise. Elijah, who hurriedly picked up the dropped spoon, opened his mouth urgently.
“That man is indeed a debt collector. I borrowed a large sum from that man, but couldn’t repay it…”
Strength entered the hand gripping the spoon tightly. The people before him weren’t of ordinary status but were actually royal palace mages. It meant they wouldn’t leave it alone if they learned Rose’s identity.
Elijah felt the need to divert their attention elsewhere.
“And, I am… Elijah Ilisian.”
Instead of adding more words about Rose, he ultimately revealed his identity. Since his Master was a great mage, even if much time had passed, royal palace mages would have heard that name at least once.
Elijah thought it was at least a more interesting topic than an unidentified debt collector.
“As a disciple of Jade Ilisian, I inherited his surname.”
At that moment, Kalian’s eyebrows twitched.
“Jade Ilisian? …That, the Jade Ilisian we know?”
“That’s right.”
Elijah nodded.
“My Master was a great mage…”
“Jade Ilisian, that unprecedented demon?”
At the same time, Kalian covered his words. Silence descended on the table for a few seconds. Seeing Elijah’s eyes widened round in surprise, flustered Kalian added words to clarify the meaning.
“He was a person infamous for being cunning and cruel. I don’t know history that well, but his name still has strong influence even now in pseudo-black magic groups…”
Kalian trailed off seeing his pale complexion. So this person, not a genius mage but someone obsessed with black magic?
In this country, black magic belongs to grave sins.
“Elijah-ssi, by any chance…”
“My Master is not such a person.”
“…Pardon?”
“He took me in when I was about to starve to death in the slums, and personally taught magic to ignorant me. Not only me, but there are many peers who received his grace. He is not… someone who deserves to be criticized as an unprecedented demon!”
Elijah, who had unconsciously lost his reason and poured out words at the speech insulting his Master, finally flinched and lowered his eyes. However, he couldn’t stand those green younger generations who dared run their mouths about someone they didn’t even know.
If he passed over without correcting Master’s disgrace in order to cling to their help, there would be nothing more shameful as a disciple who inherited the Ilisian surname.
