Chapter 126
Arriving at the research Lab, Franz pushed aside the fingernail resting on the desk.
And in its place, he set down the small glass bottle containing the bug.
'It doesn’t look that strange on the outside…'
Its only notable feature was its small size, less than half the size of a fingernail.
And it looked ordinarily gross, meaning it looked like something that wouldn’t feel out of place no matter where it popped out from.
However, approaching it magically was a slightly different story.
“This guy sucks up mana, huh.”
Franz slowly sent a bit of mana toward it.
Then, the creature clung to the glass on the side closest to Franz and absorbed the inflowing mana.
That was the reason the mage had been suffering from a lingering illness.
With this thing hiding inside his body and steadily sucking away his mana, it was no wonder he had no energy.
'But that’s the questionable part…'
Any mage with a certain level of proficiency couldn’t possibly be unaware of mana draining from their body.
It was like the feeling of some sort of liquid draining from their body. It couldn’t be explained exactly, but it gave off a bizarre and unpleasant sensation.
Yet, for whatever reason, he had been completely unaware that the bug was absorbing his mana, even though he was a sufficiently skilled mage.
“Does it perhaps cause something like paralysis or confusion…?”
It was a highly plausible hypothesis. No, it couldn’t be explained otherwise.
But to prove it directly, wouldn’t the bug have to enter a body?
So he decided to just look through the records first. There might have been a similar case in the past, after all.
If it wasn’t in the records either, he could just ask that mage about his symptoms, so there was no reason to rush into things.
Just as Franz made that decision and was about to move to the Archives,
The door opened, and Arian walked in.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to drop by the Archives for a bit.”
“Then let’s go together. I have something to talk about on the way, too.”
“Alright.”
He accepted since there was no particular reason to refuse. She also said she had something to say.
But it still weighed on his mind, so to speak. It bothered him that she hadn’t gone home even though it was already past quitting time.
Franz spoke as he walked down the long corridor with her.
“Are you really not going home?”
“Ah, really… Just how many times are you going to ask?”
Arian stuck out her lips and put on a sullen expression. It seemed she had absolutely no desire to go home.
He had certainly asked the same question several times, so her reacting this way was natural in a sense.
In truth, Franz didn’t want to ask over and over again either.
It was just that he was needlessly worrying, thinking that perhaps she couldn’t go home because she was walking on eggshells around him.
“If you keep doing that, I’ll just up and leave, you know?! I’ll leave without looking back, and just go by myself, completely ignoring whether the Magic Tower master works overtime or not?!”
Arian took it a step further, narrowing her brow and grumbling.
'It wouldn’t really matter if you did go…'
Even if she stayed, all she would do was wait around, bored or handle miscellaneous chores for him. So it would be better for her to rest comfortably at home rather than waste her time.
But he didn’t voice those thoughts. The outcome was as plain as day.
“No. Stay and help me.”
“How nice would it have been if you said that from the start.”
Arian let out a hmph, blowing air through her nose, and quickened her pace.
Was it just his imagination that her expression looked strangely bright?
Perhaps Arian had been looking forward to working overtime for the first time in a while.
…Though he couldn’t understand it.
Well, there was a saying, wasn’t there? Don’t try to understand what you can’t understand.
So he decided to just accept it. With so many people in the world, it wouldn’t be that strange for there to be at least one person who liked working overtime.
Thinking that, Franz followed behind Arian.
It wasn’t long before the two arrived at the Archives.
There were rows of bookshelves and densely packed books. This place, which looked boring just to look at, was the Magic Tower Archives.
The Magic Tower Archives were truly the history of magic itself, so a monetary value could not be placed on them.
They were protected by several layers of magic, but if they were to be lost for some reason, the damage would truly be indescribable.
Arian naturally took a step forward and said.
“You’re looking for information on that small bug from earlier, right?”
“Yeah, I think we’ll find it if we look in the magic-related creatures section…”
“Then it’s this way.”
Franz and Arian headed in the same direction.
When the two used magic, books poured out from the bookshelves in droves.
Those books didn’t fall to the floor but floated gently into the air and opened up in front of them.
It went without saying that Franz was an outstanding mage, but Arian was actually closer to having innate talent as well.
The magic the two of them displayed in the Archives was practically on the level of an art form.
Arian rapidly skimmed through the information contained in the books and said.
“Come to think of it. The two of us used to come to the Archives a lot in the old days. Do you happen to remember?”
“Of course I remember.”
Back when they had just entered the Magic Tower and were rookies, Franz and Arian often met in the Archives.
In the Magic Tower, which was full of absurdities, the youngest were in charge of miscellaneous chores. Researching materials in the Archives was also one of those chores.
Was that all? Polishing magic tools, filling out dispatch documents on behalf of superiors, cleaning the department, and so on. If they counted the things they had done, they couldn’t count them all on their fingers.
Well, that didn’t mean there were only bad memories.
For example…
“Do you remember when you got caught eating cookies in here?”
“Y-you still remember that?! And the Magic Tower master ate them with me, you know?!”
“Did I?”
“But in the end, the Magic Tower master took all the blame…”
To think such a thing had happened.
It seemed he had forgotten because subjugating the Demon Lord had been too exhausting.
Then again, it was something that happened over 10 years ago, so it would be strange to remember it perfectly.
Anyway, that was how it was. It wasn’t a very long time because he was dragged into the Hero’s Party, but the time he spent with Arian was enjoyable in its own way.
“Ah, come to think of it, there was also a time you dozed off while organizing books and knocked them all over.”
“I-if you have time to recall things like that, hurry up and work…!”
He was already working, as a matter of fact. Even while his mouth was conversing with Arian, his eyes were continuously scanning the books.
By the way, the Arian of those days had a bit of a clumsy feel to her, so how did she end up becoming so perfect now?
Work efficiency aside, he missed the Arian of those days a little. Watching her make mistakes had been quite fun, after all.
Just then, a book was held out in front of Franz.
On one page of the opened book, a creature very similar to the one in the research Lab was drawn.
“Doesn’t this look similar to that guy from earlier?”
“It does, but that one had a complex pattern on its back.”
“Is that so? Then I guess this isn’t it.”
Arian spoke with a hint of disappointment and took the book back.
How much time had passed since they started their research like that?
They searched through the last of the materials, but regrettably, an entity like that creature was nowhere to be seen.
There were quite a few that were similar in appearance alone, but none possessed the characteristic of absorbing mana.
Whoosh-.
As Franz gestured with his hand, the materials piled on the floor returned to their rightful places.
It was a shame, but it seemed he had no choice but to ask the sickly mage for details tomorrow.
Arian spoke with a narrowed brow.
“Just what is that thing?”
“Well, there must be creatures in the world that haven’t been discovered yet. It’s probably that sort of thing.”
“It would be a relief if that were the case. But I feel inexplicably anxious. The plague and all that, too.”
Franz was of the same mind. The unpleasant magic power emanating from the bug, and the fact that it was discovered in the south where a plague was spreading. He couldn’t erase the ominous feeling after all.
But just wringing their hands in anxiety wouldn’t solve the problem.
Franz stretched his stiff body, reaching his arms upward, and said.
“There’s nothing more we can do today, right? Let’s not worry about it for nothing.”
“Even so…”
“That’s enough, just decide what you want to eat for dinner. I’ll buy it for you.”
For work, choice and focus were important. It meant there was no point in stubbornly wrestling with something that wasn’t working out.
Did she understand that meaning? Fortunately, Arian’s expression brightened a little.
“I’m going to eat something incredibly expensive, you know?”
“Eat whatever you want.”
The two left the Archives while conversing like that.
Time flowed on, and before they knew it, it was the next day.
Franz was waiting for someone at the Magic Tower Entrance.
That someone was, of course, the sickly mage who had been the bug’s host.
Calling him a host gave off a somewhat unpleasant feeling, but since it wasn’t biologically incorrect, he decided to let it slide.
Not long after he waited like that, the man appeared.
Judging by his complexion and gait, his condition seemed to have improved compared to yesterday.
Franz approached him and said.
“Please, spare me a moment of your time.”