Chapter 162

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Chapter 162: Han Siah (3)

“Mom.”

“Oh my, my baby. Why are you so thin? You’ve been busy lately, haven’t you? Are you feeling better?”

“…Yes. Are you doing well, Mom?”

“Of course. I’m doing well. Thinking of our Siah.”

Kim Haeun replied with a gentle smile.

Her mother, always smiling at her.

She was still the same.

Seeing this, Han Siah felt inwardly relieved.

‘Doesn’t she love me?’

She scoffed inwardly, recalling Kim Minwoo’s words.

That could never be true.

That was a smile she could only show to her real family.

Her mother loved her.

There was no room for doubt.

However.

Curiosity was something she couldn’t control.

‘I’m just going to check once.’

That wouldn’t hurt, right?

She loves me anyway.

It was better to be sure and feel at ease than to be unsettled.

It was just a process.

It was so that she doesn’t doubt Kim Haeun.

With that in mind, she looked at Kim Haeun.

“Have you eaten dinner? Do you want to eat? How about dakgalbi?”

“I’m not hungry yet. Maybe later. But you know… I’m a little scared.”

“Of what?”

At that moment, the magic Merhen had cast activated.

Her senses became hyper-acute.

As if she had transcended.

Perhaps it was the price to pay.

A headache surged in.

Shaking her head, she said.

“…Going back to the family. I’m not feeling well right now… What if they lied? I’m worried that something might go wrong.”

That’s when it happened.

Kim Haeun’s hand trembled slightly.

Her breathing became ragged.

Han Siah could see her pupils dilating. Normally, she wouldn’t have noticed at all.

It was just a very subtle difference.

But now it was different.

Her heightened senses picked up the anomaly.

She couldn’t help but instinctively realize what it meant.

Han Siah’s eyes trembled.

As she hurriedly lowered her head.

Kim Haeun, with a gentle smile, stroked her hair and said.

“That won’t happen. Mom checked everything. Siah, you’re going to be free. There won’t be any more surveillance.”

“…Really?”

“Of course, it’s real. I gave them everything, didn’t I? If they’re human, they should just leave us alone now.”

Her hand, which was on her head, felt like a drum against her skull.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Her heart rate, which had quickened considerably, pounded in her head like thunder.

Han Siah stared blankly at her mother.

She wanted to doubt her ears.

No, she wished this was all just a terrible nightmare.

‘N-no…’

Han Siah shook her head.

Maybe this was a misunderstanding. Or maybe Kim Minwoo had intentionally set a trap.

It must be so.

Merhen was a great mage, wasn’t she? It would be nothing for her to deceive someone like her, whose talent had been completely drained.

Even though she thought so.

Doubts kept creeping in.

Could it be real?

Was Kim Haeun really trying to send her to her death even though she knew she would die?

After a moment of hesitation, she calmed her heart and grabbed Kim Haeun’s hand.

“M-Mom.”

“Yes?”

“A-are you… happy these days?”

“Me? Well, I’m just… alright.”

A very calm answer came, unlike before.

Her pulse was the same.

Lies and truth.

The two reactions were too contrasting. Han Siah asked a few more questions.

What kind of side dishes she liked.

How she was getting along with the neighbors these days, and so on.

They were very ordinary questions.

Questions that didn’t require any lies.

Was that why?

Her pulse was very calm, unlike before.

Kim Haeun, tilting her head as if puzzled by the continued questions, asked.

“Is something wrong? You’re asking all sorts of questions you never used to.”

“Oh, no. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that I haven’t seen you in a while…”

“You’re being silly.”

“Th-then, you know…”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“…Mom, do you love me? You do, right? You always said you loved me.”

“Of course. I love you. What kind of question is that?”

The pulse she felt through their clasped hands quickened a little.

Han Siah asked urgently.

“H-how much…?”

“More than anything in the world. More than anything else.”

The words she had always heard.

The words she had always believed in.

Words that shouldn’t have caused doubt or suspicion.

But…

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Kim Haeun’s pulse was racing faster than ever before.

‘Why?’

Every time she asked about love.

As if it were a lie, again and again…

Why was it beating like this?

At this moment, her heightened senses felt like a curse.

Her throat felt parched.

Her chest tightened with every breath.

‘Doesn’t she love me?’

Why?

How could this be?

It’s a lie.

It’s just a lie.

But tears streamed down her cheeks.

Just having that thought, she couldn’t hold back the tears that flowed like a broken dam.

“Siah? Why are you crying all of a sudden? Hmm?”

“…J-just… seeing you after so long… I’m happy… I feel relieved…”

Han Siah replied with a sorrowful smile.

Her head throbbed with pain as if it would split open.

Despite it being early summer, she felt so cold.

[TL/N: Who tf is cutting Onions?? F*ck]

* * *

Besides Han Siah, there were nineteen other consultations waiting.

Merhen took charge of them all.

It was only natural, as they were conversations with mages.

Leave the work to the experts.

Fortunately, Merhen was quite good at counseling.

“Oh my! Is this the magic amplification?”

―Try it like this. Did you take notes?

“Yes! Thank you!”

She would guide them through the magic just enough, and they would leave satisfied.

That’s when the consultations ended.

Merhen stared at Kim Minwoo and said.

―Minwoo, she used it.

“Really?”

―Yes. She’s been using it for quite a while. Her body won’t be able to handle it.

“Is it dangerous?”

―A little? She seems to have a lot of questions.

“Probably.”

Humans are naturally curious creatures.

Especially when it comes to something they hold dear, they can’t help but open Pandora’s Box.

It seemed Han Siah was no different.

‘She’ll be shocked, but…’

What else could be done?

Sometimes, drastic measures were the answer. Han Siah was one of those cases.

Her condition was worse than he thought.

In other words, it meant they had to catch Lucas quickly.

That would be the only way to get her stolen talent back.

“You said earlier that she’s not a mage anymore.”

―Yes.

“If she gets her talent back? Will she become a mage again?”

―Hmm… probably not?

“Not?”

―Let me give you an example.

A round piece of clay formed on Merhen’s hand. Soon, the wriggling clay took shape.

It was a figure wearing a round pointed hat, a gray robe, and holding a long staff.

―What comes to mind when you see this, Minwoo?

“Mage.”

―Right? But why did you think that?

“Because of the staff, hat, and robe?”

―That’s the mage-like talent. But Han Siah doesn’t have any of that now. In other words, she’s naked. You could say she’s unemployed.

He roughly understood.

Without those things, the figure was just an ordinary passerby, not a mage.

But he had a question.

“If we catch Lucas, won’t she get back everything that was taken?”

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

―She won’t get back the exact same thing. Because they used a tool. It might have been altered from then on.

A tool.

Was that why 80% was taken instead of the usual 50%?

In any case.

That wasn’t important right now.

The most important thing was…

“So, if she gets it back, what will she become?”

―I don’t know.

“You don’t know?”

―Yes. She’ll change according to what she wants.

“Then it seems like she won’t be a mage… I wonder if it’ll be okay.”

―The total amount of talent will be conserved.

“So what.”

Perhaps in this worldview, we might see Han Siah with a different job instead of being a mage.

‘Well, not bad.’

If the total amount is conserved, it means she’ll still be a genius in another profession. That was fine.

No matter what it was, that level of genius would be helpful.

―It’s over. It seems like she’s coming back now. Are you going to meet her?

“I have to.”

The illusion must have been shattered.

That was the goal in the first place.

Now that it was achieved, it was time to move on to the next step.

‘Recruitment.’

Han Siah was originally a character who couldn’t act well. On the other hand, her mother, Kim Haeun, was quite perceptive.

Usually, to be good at acting, one had to be good at observing others.

Could she not have noticed the anomaly?

Probably not.

Then she would try to find out what the variable was.

There was no need to overthink it.

After just one consultation, she’s become a mess?

They would roughly guess who the cause was.

‘If they’ve already identified me…’

Running was the answer.

Before they could react in earnest, he had to move first.

Kim Minwoo stood up.

He strode towards the girls’ dormitory. Of course, to avoid any misunderstandings, he went with the principal.

Room 707.

The room Han Siah and Laura shared. Laura came out when they knocked. She looked at them with clear wariness.

“…What’s going on?”

“I’d like to meet Han Siah.”

“Siah’s sick right now. Come back later.”

“Sick? She was fine just a moment ago.”

Kim Minwoo tilted his head as if he didn’t know anything.

Seeing him, Laura gritted her teeth.

She had already received a call from Kim Haeun.

Bringing Han Siah, who had started burning up with a high fever, here was instantaneous. There was no specific cure for this.

“She had grown so weak that neither magic nor medicine had any effect.”

‘This bastard…’

There must have been something that sparked this sudden change.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain all the strange reactions, starting with her asking for her mother right after their session.

Of course, she had to prevent the next meeting at all costs. There was no telling what this guy might do.

“Well, I’ll be going then. I need to take care of her.”

Just before the door closed.

A foot shot out and blocked it.

“What difference does it make if you’re the one taking care of her? It doesn’t seem to matter much.”

“Well, what difference would it make if you came?”

“It would make a difference. I have a cure. So, please open the door.”

“… Medicine is useless.”

“This is much more valuable than that. It’s not something you can easily buy with money.”

“What is it?”

“Elixir. Have you heard of it?”

Laura’s eyes widened.

She had heard that such an item existed.

A kind of all-purpose restorative.

The only problem was that it was so rare as a reward. If it really existed, it might be able to cure Han Siah’s current condition.

However.

She wasn’t sure if letting Kim Minwoo meet Han Siah like this was the right decision.

‘But I can’t stop it either…’

There were Griff’s henchmen at the academy, but the absolute number wasn’t that large.

Moreover, it was Kim Minwoo.

Could she and a few others stop him by force?

No.

Even if the family’s magical knights came rushing in, it was a matter she couldn’t guarantee.

In the end, she had no choice but to compromise.

“If you really have it, show me.”

“Here. Satisfied?”

Laura squeezed her eyes shut.

… It was a real Elixir.

She was outmatched in both justification and power. Even Headmaster Han Seongil, who had been warned by the family, was personally accompanying him. It was clear whose side the principal was on.

“Just in case, I should also stay…”

“Laura, you’re quite clueless.”

“… Excuse me?”

“I have no intention of talking to Griff’s dog, so please leave. You’re in the way.”

“You dare say that when you know who I am? Was the contact intentional?”

“What you need to do is simple. Report to your superiors. Shouldn’t a lackey just follow orders?”

Laura gritted her teeth.

But reality was reality.

If she didn’t leave on her own, she might be dragged out by force.

“Fine. I’ll leave. But let me give you a warning. Don’t try to sway Han Siah any further.She is a valuable asset of the family. If you mess with her, we won’t stay still.”

“An asset, huh? That explains how she’s treated.”

“If you think you can go against us because of one measly mage, you better think again.”

“Who’s the one clinging to such a mage right now?”

Kim Minwoo shrugged and gestured towards the door.

It was a signal to get lost.

“… Then, excuse me.”

Laura stepped out the door, grinding her teeth and glaring at Kim Minwoo.

She didn’t have the power to fight him off right now. All she could do was give him a cold, warning glare.

Despite that.

Kim Minwoo and the principal slipped inside.

Thud.

The door closed.

Inside, they saw Han Siah groaning under a pile of blankets.

The principal looked at Kim Minwoo and whispered quietly.

“… Are you really going to use the Elixir?”

“I have to. This happened because of me.”

Han Siah and the Elixir.

It was pointless to discuss which was more important.

“Han Siah, wake up.”

“… You…”

Even in her hazy state, Han Siah glared at him, clenching her teeth.

Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she was filled with sorrow and resentment.

“Take the medicine. It’s good for you. Merhen?”

Merhen flicked her hand.

Han Siah’s mouth opened.

Drip.

The Elixir entered her mouth without a single drop remaining.

“How is it?”

—She will recover to some extent. Of course, it won’t heal her soul.

“That’s enough.”

The important thing was whether she could communicate.

Fortunately, the Elixir was effective.

Han Siah’s complexion gradually improved.

“Effective, right? It’s expensive stuff.”

Although the Elixir healed her body, her heart remained heavy.

The sense of betrayal and shock made her feel like she was standing on the edge of a cliff.

With her trust in her mother shattered and the realization of her own miserable situation, there was no medicine to heal her emotional wounds.

In such a state, Kim Minwoo’s kindness felt uncomfortable.

She couldn’t understand his motives for helping her, so she couldn’t help but be wary.

“… Why are you doing this to me? What are you trying to gain?”

She asked.

Kim Minwoo.

He was a man shrouded in mystery from beginning to end.

From the moment they met, he talked about her wanting to escape the family and then about her mother.

He had given her pain, and now he had given her expensive medicine. She couldn’t understand why he was doing this.

“If you’re trying to use me to fight the family, it’s pointless. Even Merhen said it. I’m not even a mage. I have no talent…”

“Han Siah, you have a bit of an ego problem. Do you think I’m doing this because you’ll be helpful in fighting them?”

“N-no, of course not. That’s why I don’t understand. Why are you doing this…”

“Do you know what it means to buy the dip?”

“… Huh?”

“You have to pick things up when they’re cheap to hit the jackpot. It’s the same with people and things.”

Kim Minwoo replied with a sly grin.

[Translator – Prøks]

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