Chapter 11
So, in the end, it had been a meaningless question.
No, maybe he had just been bragging that he had already taken in a disciple. Maybe he was trying to tease me by saying that, unlike me—who had been abandoned by Count Volks—his grandfather was different.
The important thing was that Phillion had never cared about my answer at all.
And yet, a few days later, he finally gave me his answer. I wondered how ridiculous I must have looked.
The day I first met Erion. I had pretended to be calm, but after returning to my room, I had regretted it more than I could say.
After teasing me like that back then.
‘The truth is… you actually liked me?’
Then why did you do that back then? When did you start liking me? My thoughts became tangled.
Of course, Erion was a wonderful person, and I was glad to have met someone like her. But that didn’t erase the fact that Phillion had deceived me in the past.
‘Should I just abandon him and leave?’
Even if he went back to the Mage Tower, he probably wouldn’t die immediately. Phillion was the only one who knew the whereabouts of the forbidden book. Even if they tortured him until he was on the verge of death, Phillion would probably somehow…
“What?”
Somehow…
“Why did you stop talking? It’s not like there were no good memories. What comes next?”
Would he endure it?
‘He might just kill me for being rude.’
I took a breath and raised my head again.
“I will never harm you.”
Then I added quietly.
“Unless you attack me first.”
“……”
“I heard you came to the Western Continent because you needed money.”
“That’s right. I need a lot of money. But it’s not like I have absolutely no way out. Bridin brought me a pretty decent request.”
It was easy, wouldn’t take long, and yet paid a lot.
“And it’s not that urgent either. The friends I borrowed money from are trustworthy, so the repayment date is fairly generous. Even if I wake Bridin up, work, take on one more job, and then return, it won’t be too late. More importantly…”
“……”
“Even if I sold you and became rich, I don’t think I’d be able to sleep comfortably with both legs stretched out.”
It would feel terrible.
That I could live well because of Phillion.
“If you still can’t believe me… just watch.”
“……”
“You have nothing to lose, do you? If it works out, that’s good. If it doesn’t, you can just run away. Magic isn’t some all-powerful thing. Ah, have you never dealt with a mage before?”
Even if he had no experience, he would know the methods. He had traveled with Dale, who was a mage, for a long time. There was no way someone as perceptive as him hadn’t already thought of countermeasures.
“I’ll do what I can. So you should think carefully too. For your sake and Dale’s sake, what is the best thing you can do right now?”
“……”
“……I’ll come again tomorrow.”
I turned around and headed outside the entrance.
That was enough. I had said everything I needed to say. I had talked so much my throat hurt.
‘If he still refuses after this… there’s nothing I can do.’
I would just take care of Bridin and leave. Phillion? He would have to deal with it himself. It would bother me if he died, but what else could I do?
He didn’t want help.
For some reason, every scenario I imagined ended with him rejecting me.
Seriously, we really didn’t match at all.
I grumbled to myself as I returned to the inn.
And then, the next day.
“Philli… no, Black Dog? Are you inside?”
Had he already gone to find another mage?
While I was wondering, the door creaked open.
The Phillion I met again was exactly the same as yesterday.
The only difference was his clothes. It was as if yesterday’s version of him had been cut away and today’s had been pasted in its place. His expression was still indifferent. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.
But I could see the movement of his pale violet eyes.
He slowly began examining my face.
He looked over every corner of it carefully, and then a small sigh escaped him.
“Come in.”
The front door opened wide.
It was permission.
Rex did not immediately enter the house.
He stared at him as if he couldn’t believe it, then shifted his gaze toward the inside of the house.
Then he looked back at the Black Dog and spoke.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
“If you don’t want to come in, you can stop.”
“No, no! I have to go in! Good grief, I actually managed to convince Phillion.”
She whispered quietly to herself.
Could this count as one win? One win?
The Black Dog wondered, but she didn’t answer and only shook her head.
“Wait here. I’ll go prepare some things.”
Rex appeared about an hour later with a large bag.
Thick books, writing materials, papers, and various herbs were placed one after another on the table.
The Black Dog stepped back and sat on the sofa, watching her.
Even while organizing the items, her expression remained serious. It seemed she was already conducting research inside her head.
She didn’t carefully inspect the house.
She didn’t even sneak glances at him.
But the Black Dog couldn’t shake off his uneasiness.
Last night, he hadn’t simply stayed locked inside the house.
He went to a back alley where secret conversations took place and visited an information broker who had known Dale for a long time.
Then he asked:
What level of mage would be required to undo petrification?
The information broker laughed.
—You and Dale couldn’t beat one even if you died and came back to life.
—……What about escaping?
—Go try. I’m curious what happens too.
The Black Dog had gritted his teeth and returned home.
He thought he had been tricked by that woman again.
So he planned to refuse.
He knew he was the one who needed help, but he didn’t want to let someone suspicious into his house.
He had opened the door intending to reject her…
But strangely, the moment he saw Rex’s face, his tongue froze.
He couldn’t bring himself to say no.
—Come in.
Never before had this happened.
Even now, the same was true.
His mind knew he could throw her out immediately, but his mouth simply wouldn’t move.
And so here he was.
She watched over the stone statue.
He watched over Rex.
After about two hours passed—
Rex suddenly stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“An alchemy shop. I’m going to order the essential herbs first. I also need to buy glass bottles, new books related to curses, and…”
The Black Dog also stood up.
“I’ll come with you.”
Rex turned around with surprised eyes.
“You’re carrying my luggage?”
I’m keeping an eye on you.
“Phillion offering to be my servant…”
She looked at him as if she had discovered some rare beast.
But she didn’t refuse, and the two of them headed toward the city.
The outing was much less uncomfortable than he had expected.
He thought she would talk excessively in an attempt to become close to him, but Rex didn’t say anything unnecessary.
Where they were going.
Why they were going there.
That was all.
However, whenever the Black Dog showed interest in some item, Rex noticed immediately and explained it.
Receiving this kind of consideration made it difficult for him to pretend not to notice.
So he carried the bags.
Rex didn’t refuse either.
By the time they returned home, the sun had already begun setting.
“I’ll come again tomorrow.”
Rex finished organizing the items and put on her coat.
The Black Dog did the same.
“I’ll walk you back.”
“You’re even going to escort me home?!”
I wanted to find out where you lived in case you tried to attack me first.
“Are you sick or something? Did you hit your head badly yesterday?”
“……Was Phillion Elfert trash?”
“Ah, no, well… not exactly trash…”
Her expression said it was something close.
And her explanation afterward was similar.
“The Phillion I knew would never help a stranger. You were basically uninterested in other people. If someone asked you for help, you would do it, but until then, it was like you didn’t even realize there was anyone beside you.”
“Even with you?”
“No, I did get your help a few times… But thinking about it now, maybe that was all part of your plan too…”
Again, another incomprehensible statement.
But the Black Dog realized one thing.
‘So our relationship wasn’t completely bad.’
And that guess became certainty when she walked him all the way to the inn.
A woman wouldn’t normally reveal where she stayed to an unfamiliar man.
But that inn was…
“The Rusty Key? You’re staying here?”
“You know it?”
“This place can hardly even be called an inn. The main customers are drunkards who drown themselves in alcohol. The rooms are just there to fill the space.”
“It does have that kind of atmosphere. It’s fine. As long as I put up a proper barrier, there won’t be any problems.”
“They probably don’t even clean properly…”
The Black Dog frowned.
“How did you manage your money?”
“Why are you suddenly picking a fight? And even if I had money, I couldn’t use it. Making potions already takes everything I have.”
Rex stretched out her hand as if asking for her bag back.
The Black Dog sighed.
“……Where is your room?”
The room at the very end of the second floor was exactly as infamous as the Rusty Key.
Small.
Old.
There was only a single bed and a small bedside table, yet the room was already cramped.
“Looking at this place, I’m starting to think the reason you convinced me was because you had nowhere to put the stone statue.”
“I-It wasn’t only because of that!”
So there was a reason like that too.
“Would you like some water…? Ah, you won’t drink, right? Then I’ll just drink myself.”
Rex skillfully created water with magic and filled a glass sitting on the bedside table.
The Black Dog watched her.
He still didn’t understand.
So he decided to keep watching.
To keep observing her.
And if even one thing she said didn’t match up…
“What?”
While he was lost in thought, their eyes met.
After swallowing a sip of water, Rex smiled slightly.
“You grew up spoiled, so this kind of place should disgust you. I’m surprised you actually followed me here.”
It was just something I said. Don’t worry about it.
She turned her head away.
It wasn’t wrong.
Honestly, he wanted to leave immediately.
But there was no way his expression had revealed that.
‘Rex Emil.’
The name still felt unfamiliar on his tongue.
He had been staring at her face whenever he got the chance, but nothing came to mind.
However, the Black Dog could no longer deny that she knew something about the person he had been before losing his memory.
Then what kind of relationship did they have?
She had approached him first after he lost his memories.
She had visibly panicked when he didn’t recognize her.
She cared about being slapped.
She stopped him from stepping forward because it was dangerous.
She asked him to trust her.
She knew wounds hidden deep inside.
Yet she herself had said they were practically enemies.
But she had also said there were good memories.
Putting all of this together…
“Were we married and divorced?”
“Pfft!”
