C167 - Risky Transaction (4)
Amy walked up to them. She covered the corner of her mouth, probably thinking the same thing as Shirone, and couldn't help but mock Canis.
“Hohoho! Did you guys really get eliminated? Well, figures."
Shirone might not have held a grudge since he won the battle, but Amy had a lot to settle with these two.
In keeping with the mindset of returning what she had received, she took this opportunity to land a good blow.
But Canis didn't take the bait.
"Hmph, aren't you two in the same boat? Now that I see it, being a senior student isn't much after all."
“You're funny! How would you know if I failed?"
"Knowing that I failed implies you also took the test. If you had succeeded, you wouldn’t be wandering here, would you? Are you an idiot?"
"You little brat! How dare you talk like that to your senior!"
"And who was it that got dragged around helplessly by such a junior? Besides, shouldn’t you be thankful? If I hadn't stopped Lucas, you might have died."
A murderous intent flashed in Amy's eyes. Recalling how she almost faced dire consequences when exposed to the Abyss Nova and singled out by Lucas, her anger surged.
“This bastard…!”
Before Shirone could intervene, Amy raised her fist towards Canis.
Just as she was about to strike with the power of Schema, a shadow behind Canis surged up, and a dark hand reached over his shoulder.
Amy reflexively backed away. Harvest, enveloping Canis protectively, grinned wickedly.
"Kekeke! Long time no see, sister. Still the same old temperament."
"Aaah! What is that!"
Tourists screamed and ran away upon seeing Harvest. From Shirone’s perspective, it was completely understandable reaction.
While the nobility might not be strangers to magical effects, seeing a human-shaped shadow suddenly appear was a completely different level of bizarreness.
Even Tess was taken aback upon seeing Harvest.
"Goodness. The shadow is talking, right? Rian, have you ever seen anything like this?"
Broad shoulders contrasting his small face, and a waist as thin as a leopard. Although it had a human shape, its arms were twice as thin and long as those of a human. His palms were as large as shields, and his nails sharp like swords.
"No, this is new to me too. But it seems Shirone is familiar with him."
Harvest was protecting most of Canis' torso with his palms wide open. Amy had no choice but to be cautious in front of Harvest, which specialized in shock absorption.
"Keke, let's both be careful about approaching each other. I'd rather not spill blood in such a place."
"That thing..."
Just as Amy was about to charge again, Shirone lifted his finger. A red photon was compressed from the tip of his finger and shook, showing an afterimage as if it could shoot out at any moment.
This time Harvest remained silent. It was Laser that had once exploded him.
"Apologize to Amy. It’s not nice to dig up someone's wounds.”
"Wounds? Calling that a wound? Besides, I'm the one who saved her. Nobility and their way of thinking."
“That is up to the person who was hurt to decide. Apologizing for reminding someone of their painful memory is the least you can do. When will you stop viewing the world so cynically?"
"Hmph! I don't want to hear that from a sheltered flower like you.”
Following Canis' provocation, Harvest inflated his upper body to a gigantic size and threatened everyone. At the same time, Shirone's Laser glowed even intensely.
Arin transformed the Spirit Zone into a tentacle shape and slowly sent it towards Shirone. She thought it was dangerous to continue like this, so she planned to release the Laser through mental interference.
But before her Spirit Zone could reach him, Amy blocked the path to Shirone. Arin frowned in frustration; her psychic magic was ineffective against Amy's Red Eyes.
With magical beings, Lasers, Psychic Magic, and Self-Image Memory all clashing, the situation was tense, and everyone was wary.
Magic with different tendencies were biting and rotating like a belt. No one could move hastily, and each was looking at the situation.
Feeling nervous as if something was going to happen at any moment, Tess held onto Ryan's arm and pretended to cry.
"What's with them? So scary."
Rian's thoughts were different from Tess'. People often describe mages as bizarre, implying that deviating from the norm strengthens a mage's identity.
Rian was pleased to see that Shirone had become such an extraordinary and unconventional person.
"You're doing well, Shirone."
“W- What is it?”
Tess asked incredulously, looking at him as if he were a pervert.
But Rian, without responding, walked towards the mages. He then drew the straight sword from his back and exclaimed,
“Hey, I don’t know who you are, but….!”
Tess, who had run from a distance, climbed onto Rian's back and covered his mouth with her palm, pleading,
"Please, have some sense. What will we do if you join in too?"
"Ugh! Let go! Shirone! Ugh!"
Shirone, Amy, Canis, and Tess watched the scuffle between Rian and Tess in bewilderment.
Thanks to this, the tension of the battle was further alleviated, and Harvest also shrunk his inflated upper body.
As Laser light dimmed, Arin's Spirit Zone dissipated. Amy's red eyes returned to normal.
In truth, there was no need for a heated fight. If Amy had scraped at Canis's pride, Canis had simply added one more layer to his counter-attack.
"Let's end this pointless skirmish. We didn't come here to fight with you.”
Canis said, absorbing Harvest back into his shadow.
When the other party proposed ceasefire first, Amy also softened her fighting spirit and regained her composure.
Once the tension was resolved, Canis asked the question he had been curious about since he first saw Shirone here.
“Anyway, what do you think? Staying here despite failing means you've found a way into the Kerugo Autonomous Zone, right?"
Shirone tried to say something, but before his voice could come out, Amy interjected.
"Why should we teach you that?"
This time, she wasn't just picking a fight. In a way, it was information they had risked their lives for, so it wasn't something to be carelessly shared to someone someone who could not be trusted.
"You don't need to be so cautious. We already know how to get into the autonomous zone. You're probably thinking of using loop smuggling route, right?"
Although she didn't show it, Amy was very surprised. Canis seemed to know about the Freeman Organization's loop trade channel. Why then had they bothered to enter the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice and take the test?
Canis, who was looking at Amy who was lost in thought, raised the corners of his mouth and said.
"I can hear your brain whirring from here. If you’re so, want me to tell you?"
"Hmph! Who's curious? I already know enough!"
“Aha, really? What about you, Arin?"
Canis turned his head and asked. Arin, who was momentarily lost in thought, quickly came to her senses and answered.
"Eh? Oh, she's lying. She's really curious. Like, really jumping around curious."
"Eeek...!"
Amy clenched her teeth in frustration. She might not understand what 'jumping around' meant, but hiding emotions from Arin, who had the ability Initial State (초경(初境)), was impossible.
At that moment, a growling sound came from Arin's stomach.
Shirone's group's attention was focused on Arin. Her face turned red with embarrassment and lowered her head.
Canis asked, looking at Arin with a worried expression that he had never shown to anyone before.
"Are you okay, Arin?"
"I'm fine. It's nothing. I've been through worse before."
Canis bit his teeth. Since they left magic school, they has been traveling for a long time, and before he knew it, they had run out of travel expenses and had not eaten anything for three days.
He could starve as much as he wanted, but not Arin. The instinct to protect her, honed over ten years in Radum, was still strong in him.
Canis swallow his pride and spoke to Shirone.
"Do you guys… have anything to eat? Arin hasn't eaten. I'm okay, what can’t I do?"
Only then did Shirone take a look at Canis' appearance. He had been traveling for such a long time that his clothes were shabby and he had traces of dirt as if he had slept in the mountains.
‘It was said that all of Arcane’s legacy was taken away….'
Since the mental pulse test, Canis hadn't returned to school. It made sense that finding food was their biggest problem, given they had no ties and no means of support.
It is difficult for mages with sufficient skills but without certification to find work. Clients tended to avoid them. Of course, there are those who want it, but the majority are involved in crime.
But Canis no longer wanted to live in the dark. He realized he couldn't rise high by fighting society.
Amy said with a sigh.
"First, we need to eat something. There's a bar we went to before. They have good noodles."
"No! I'm really okay!"
Arin protested, waving her hands. In fact, she was starving to death, but considering Canis' pride, she couldn't bear to follow them.
Amy grabbed Arin's wrist and forcefully dragged her along.
"What do you mean, okay? Your stomach's thundering. You need energy to fight or whatever. Canis, come too."
"I'm fine. Just take Arin."
"Quiet and come along. It's only right for a senior to buy a meal for hungry juniors."
Shirone said, pushing Canis' back.
"Come on, Canis. Let's go. Anyway, I have something to talk to you about."
Canis followed, unable to resist, and Amy took them to the bar where they met the mercenaries.
Once the six of them were seated, Shirone introduced Canis and Arin to Rian. Rian was a little surprised to hear that they were an archmage's disciple, but he felt relieved inwardly after Amy's friendly explanation that they had lost to Shirone.
Filling their stomachs was the first priority. Canis and Arin, evidently very hungry, quickly devoured two bowls of noodles each.
Shirone's group, who had eaten Yuna's lunchbox a little while ago, felt their stomachs fill just by watching them eat.
Seeing them slurp up even the soup, Shirone couldn't help but smile. He thought that no matter where they were born or what their personalities were, they were all the same human beings.
As the two filled their stomachs and savored their food as if they were finally going to live, Shirone brought up a conversation.
“We and you may have complicated thoughts, but let's try to share a bit. Why did you come here?"
"Canis has always been interested in ruins, so we are exploring them."
"Ah, was Canis' dream to be an archaeologist?"
“Tsk, cut the nonsense.”
Canis, who hated telling his story to others, grumbled bluntly. However, he didn't stop Arin from speaking.
Arin was also not a woman who was easy enough to answer anything just by being asked, despite her poor social skills. She was the best when it come to reveal the facts while concealing the necessary information.
In fact, the two people came to the island for a special reason other than to explore ruins. And they definitely needed Shirone to get what they wanted.
"Let's ask you then. Why did you come here?"
Canis pointed at Amy as he asked. He didn't want to show too much interest in what Shirone might want, despite Shirone likely being the leader of his group.
However, Amy was also good at psychological games. She knew how to hide the truth while dodging Arin's Initial State.
"Huhu, obviously to go to Kerugo Autonomous Region, just like you guys."
“Hm, do you even know what’s in there?”
"Hmm, so you think you know something about it?"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."
Amy had a fake smile in her eyes. But she was so frustrated that she was on the verge of going crazy.
'He knows something. This bastard definitely know something.'
Canis chose the test route, not the loop trade route, implying he must have a strong reason for choosing that path.
'It's tricky. How do we extract information from them?'
Canis and Arin were different from the mercenaries they had met before. Moreover, since Arin had Initial State, she was matchless in psychological warfare.
Shirone, who had only been listening until now, decided to ask in a straight forward manner.
"Canis, can you tell us what you know? We don't really know much."
Amy knew what Shirone was thinking, but they were clearly at a disadvantage. It was better to be honest and hope for a reciprocal response.
Contrary to expectations, Canis accepted it calmly. Shirone's group should never have noticed, but in fact, Canis and Arin were in a situation where Shirone's help was absolutely necessary.
"Okay. But first, I need to confirm something."
"Ask anything. If I know, I'll tell you."
“The reason you want to go to the autonomous region. Is that because you want to know about Miro of Space and Time?”
Shirone's eyes widened. widened was something only her close friends and the principal knew.
"How did you know that? Do you know about Miro? No, how much do you know about the Kerugo ruins?"
When Shirone asked urgently, Canis rather relaxed and rested his chin.
"Well, at least I know more than you guys."
Shirone pondered with a serious expression. Where on earth did they get the information? And that in less than a month.
Then suddenly he realized: The shadow cast at Canis's feet. And the existence of the magic creature staying there said it all.
“It is the knowledge of Arcane.”
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)