Chapter 45
“How did you know?”
Claude handed me a note. On the small piece of paper, it was written that the crystal was the core of a monster, and that it contained a large amount of magic.
“It smelled awful. And the energy felt a bit off too.”
“Magic is normally colorless and odorless…”
Claude muttered with a look of disbelief.
“I’ve been in the Monster Hunt Corps for over five years, and I’ve never heard of magic giving off a specific smell. Only high-ranking priests or knights might detect magic, but I’ve never seen any records of someone noticing it.”
“Couldn’t people with sensitive senses feel it?”
“No. Even I’ve never felt it. People who claim to sense magic always describe it vaguely, like they’re uneasy about it.”
Claude shook his head firmly.
If even Claude, who has heightened senses, hasn’t felt it, then it’s clear that magic is something very hard for ordinary humans to detect.
“Could it be that you’re mistaking your senses?”
“I don’t think so. The smell got stronger as soon as the box opened.”
“Now that you mention it, you did say it was magic as soon as you opened the box.”
Claude’s expression grew serious.
“Have you ever felt magic before?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I’ve never even seen a monster.”
Although I lived in the Duke’s manor, I was still a noble lady.
I grew up in a peaceful domain, so there was no way I had ever encountered a monster.
“But how did you know the energy was magic?”
“Well… I guess it just felt instinctive? Like how you know food will taste good when you see it?”
“Instinctive…?”
Claude rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“I think I’ve heard something about that.”
“What have you heard?”
“They say some people react very strongly to magic.”
“Are you talking about priests or the pope?”
“No. There are people who are naturally sensitive to magic. It’s a very rare condition, but I think you might have it.”
Claude picked up the black crystal from the box.
“This crystal is the core of a monster’s heart. It’s a crystallized form of concentrated magic.”
“I didn’t know monsters had cores.”
“These cores are rare. They’re found in larger, higher-ranked monsters. Based on the size of this core, it must have been quite difficult to kill the monster.”
Claude placed the core back into the box and slipped the note into his jacket pocket.
“Why did His Majesty send this to the Duke’s manor?”
“It’s obvious. The number of monsters with cores is increasing, so they want me to return to duty as soon as possible.”
“Isn’t it bad that there are more monsters with cores?”
“Yes. It means the number of powerful monsters is rising.”
Claude frowned deeply.
“It looks like the Monster Hunt Corps needs to be reorganized. I’ll have to request support from the temple too, but the people there are so greedy…”
He rubbed his temple with his finger for a moment before his gaze suddenly focused on me.
“Lady…”
“Why, what is it?”
For some reason, his eyes seemed to sparkle.
“Maybe… this?”
Claude opened the box again and took out the crystal, offering it to me.
“Could you try purifying it?”
“Purify it?”
“Yes. I’ve heard that about half of the people who can sense magic also have the ability to purify it.”
Claude’s eyes gleamed as he leaned closer.
“You might have the power to purify it. After all, you reacted so strongly to the magic.”
I instinctively leaned back as he moved closer.
“If I had such a great ability, I think I would have noticed it by now.”
“Ordinary people rarely encounter monsters. Even if they did, they probably didn’t realize it.”
Claude pulled his chair closer to mine.
“Would you like to try?”
His face was now very close to mine, and his eyes were shining brightly.
“I’d be pretty embarrassed if I couldn’t do it…”
“It’s okay. Just being able to sense magic is an amazing ability. Not even most priests can do that.”
“Well, thank you for saying that, but sorry, I have no idea how to do it.”
It’s not like sneezing, a natural reaction. How could I purify something when I don’t even know how?
“Hm, how about you try touching the core first? It’s harmless, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Okay.”
I placed my hand on the black crystal.
Surprisingly, nothing happened.
“Try putting some power into it.”
“Power?”
Power isn’t something like breath—it’s not something you can see or touch. How would I even put power into it?
“Think of it like squeezing water out of a cloth.”
“Hm.”
I placed both hands on the crystal and tried to focus. But nothing changed.
“Or you could mutter to yourself, hoping it will purify?”
“Duke.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“You don’t know how to do this either, do you?”
“…”
Claude’s mouth closed tightly at my question.
“Seeing you tell me to try various things without a clear method makes it seem like you don’t know how to purify it either.”
“Well…”
Claude looked around, searching for words. Then he smiled awkwardly.
“Actually, I’ve never seen anyone purify magic before.”
“Never?”
“No. Purifying magic is more like a supernatural ability… There are only legends of people having that power.”
“Does that mean the people at the temple can’t purify it either?”
“That’s right. Only a few people who react strongly to magic are selected as holy knights.”
“What about high-ranking priests or the pope? They do holy work, so don’t they have some purification abilities?”
Claude shook his head.
“I used to think that, but no… they don’t.”
“But they have divine power, don’t they?”
“That’s a story from long ago. Divine power has almost completely disappeared in modern times.”
“I see.”
I thought the knights would use divine power to hunt the monsters, but it turns out they were just beating them with brute force.
“Then, it seems like the Marquis made a huge mistake. There’s no way I have the power that’s passed down through legends.”
If I had such a powerful ability, I would have stood out long ago.
‘Even in the original story, there was no mention of Lucella having purification powers.’
Claude had only been mentioned as defeating monsters with sheer strength, but there was no mention of him receiving help from an ally with purification powers.
“That’s not true. The ability to sense magic is also a very impressive power. The ability you have will be a great help in finding hidden monsters.”
“Really?”
That sounded a bit strange.
‘It feels like he’s asking me to help hunt monsters.’
Before I could even finish thinking, Claude suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Lady Rilfrey.”
“Yes, yes?”
“If it’s not too much trouble… would you consider joining our monster hunting team?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not asking you to stand in front of the monsters and fight. All I need is for you to sense where the monsters are hiding.”
I was completely caught off guard by this unexpected proposal.
The strange tone made sense now—it wasn’t just a misunderstanding.
“Your ability is truly remarkable. If you join our team, we will not only be able to find hidden monsters but also be better prepared for monster attacks. This way, we can minimize casualties.”
Claude’s gaze as he looked at me was serious.
“Your ability will be the trump card to end the long war with the monsters. So, please, would you consider joining our monster hunting team?”
“I think it might be a bit premature. I could be wrong in my judgment. After all, I’ve never actually seen a monster, and today was the first time I’ve ever sensed magic.”
“That’s something we can easily confirm. We don’t need to get close to the monsters; one core will be enough to check.”
Claude spoke rapidly, like a machine gun.
‘Was he always this talkative?’
In the original story, Claude was a very quiet person.
“I know this is a big proposal, especially for an ordinary person, let alone a noble lady. But now that I’ve seen such a remarkable ability, I can’t calm down.”
Noticing my confusion, Claude stepped back a bit. I used that moment to slip my hand out of his grasp.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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