Blue thorn fruit. At first glance, it looked like an apple, but its price was high due to its enchanting color and taste. It was often referred to as the ‘golden apple’.
However, in recent years, cultivation methods had improved and more people had begun to plant them. This rapidly increased their yield and supply was currently exceeding their demand which caused the prices to plummet.
‘They said they were lowering the price for him only?’
The price the merchants were offering to sell the fruit for was ten times higher than their current market price.
“Alright, just one moment! Hmm, one gold coin, two…”
Nathan didn’t notice their trick at all. He innocently took out his wallet and began to count the money, about to hand it over to the merchants.
“Okay, here-“
“Hold on a moment.”
Elaine approached the group and blocked Nathan’s hand.
“Huh? Dame Elaine?”
Nathan turned around, eyes widening in surprise when he spotted Elaine. He quickly checked his pocket watch, let out a groan, and apologized with a sheepish expression on his face.
“I’m sorry. Did you wait a long time? Let me just finish this really quick…”
“It’s alright, but what are you doing here?”
“Oh, these fruits…”
“Rather than that, do you know what these are even worth before you buy them?”
“Well, those merchants just now…”
“Cough, cough”
One of the merchants who was listening to their conversation suddenly began to clear his throat and intervened. He smiled at Elaine while questioning her.
“Are you acquainted with him?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, then let me offer this special service to you as well. I will provide you with a good price on an item!”
The merchant smiled widely and spoke in a bright voice, though she didn’t miss the way his eyes narrowed for a moment when he looked at her.
“Come on, there are a lot of good things over here as well. If you’ll follow me-“
“Why would I believe the words of a scammer?”
Even without looking, it was clear what his intentions were. When they saw that she had noticed their deception, they had intended to divert her attention elsewhere. At the cold words uttered by Elaine, his smile instantly hardened.
She then pointed to the fruit Nathan was about to purchase.
“That fruit should be 3 gold, not 30. Should I really trust a merchant who would scam someone for ten times the price of an item? Do I look insane?
“S-scam?”
Nathan hurriedly looked at her with wide eyes.
“3 and not 30 gold… How much was it, did I hear right?”
“3 gold.”
“But they just said…”
“They’re scammers.”
“How could that be…”
At her firm answer, Nathan looked back at the merchants with an expression like he had been stabbed in the back. Then, the stiff merchant forced a smile attempting to resolve the situation.
“Haha… It looks like your companion misunderstood something. As she said, the price fell for a while, but the biggest farm recently caught fire so the price rose again-“
“It is true that the farm caught fire, but it wasn’t a big fire, right?”
“…”
“If you still insist, should we ask some of the people who are passing by?”
“Ugh…”
The merchants were speechless, their faces distorted now.
“What happened?”
“I guess someone is trying to scam those people over there.”
“Huh? Fraud?”
As their argument had continued, the people passing by began to look their way. As eyes began to settle on them, the merchants faces turned bright red quickly. In the end, watching them pack up and leave, Elaine shook her head with her arms crossed.
Now that it was known they were scammers, they probably wouldn’t be doing business around here for a while. Nathan, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face, sheepishly scratched the back of his head and looked at Elaine.
“Phew, I almost got ripped off. Thank you for the help.”
“No problem, but did you really not know it was a scam?”
“I’m always up in the mountains doing my research so I’m not very aware of the changes in the market prices.”
He then sighed looking embarrassed.
No matter what, she couldn’t believe he would fall for such an obvious lie. It was something that could easily have been discovered by just looking around the market. It was so clear that even she, who had just woken up, knew. It’s a good thing she stopped him before he handed over the money…
She softly sighed again before speaking.
“It would be best to change locations now.”
As she took the lead, Nathan nodded vigorously and followed behind. As they got further from the gate and entered downtown, Nathans eyes lit up as if nothing had happened a moment ago.
“Wow!”
Building were lined up side by side and the lights shone brightly. He looked around while carrying a large bag continuing to let out excited exclamations. Elaine narrowed her eyes. He looked like someone who had just arrived from the countryside.
“Didn’t you say you went to the Academy that was located in the Capital?”
The academy Nathan had attended was located in Helon, which was designated as the new capital after Seveka had fallen. It was said that Killiard had developed a lot, but he was someone who should have seen cities larger than this.
“It just feels like its been decades! Ah, this is it. The smell of a hazy city… How long has it been since I entered civilization?”
Nathan opened his arms wide as he exclaimed in a voice filled with emotion, breathing in the air deeply.
“Okay, I get it.”
Elaine shook her head and opened the door of an inn located in the alley. After renting one of the rooms, she climbed the stairs with Nathan following closely behind. After reaching the room and closing the door tightly, she looked back at him. At that moment, his ceaselessly moving mouth finally came to a halt.
“Alright, lets confirm the terms of the deal first.”
His face suddenly turned serious, as he spoke. Even though he seemed foolish, he was more confident than anyone in this area.
“Sounds good.”
After all, the sooner they got to the point, the better. She nodded and Nathan mumbled something quietly. Soon a faint beam of light swept across the room. It was a soundproofing spell, ensuring that what happened here would not be leaked.
Eventually the beam of light faded and the two sat across from each other at an old wooden table.
“Here is the Saturan that I promised.”
Elaine took out the glass bottle, filled with the brilliant flower, from her pocket. Nathan’s gaze wavered when he saw it.
“You really…”
It was definitely the Saturan. Was she really able to find it? Of course, their deal was made on the premise that it wasn’t a lie, but he still couldn’t believe it. Evan if you had a ton of money, Saturan wasn’t something you could just get because you wanted it.
‘Who is this person really? She was able to find an herb that even skilled herbalists are unable to locate.”
Well, that wasn’t what really mattered at the moment. Since she had completed her end of the deal, he would have to fulfil his end.
“These are the results of the investigation you requested.”
He then took a thick wad of parchment out of his bag and placed it on the table.
“Among the existing magic circles, I only collected those that looked similar to the magic circle you have told me about.”
What she had requested of him was the purpose of the magic circle that had caused Bella to go berserk 20 years ago. Knowing this would give her a better chance of tracking down the culprit. The only problem was, she couldn’t accurately remember the magic circle’s pattern. The pattern she had given to Nathan was bound to be missing components.
The only part she was able to remember clearly was the shape of the eye with a long vertical slit.
Nathan had searched through all kinds of magic books and recorded only the magic circles that had eyes like that.
“First of all, I looked for everything that was even only slightly similar. Do any of these match what you are looking for?”
She then turned over the parchments that were spread across the table, one by one. There were more magic circles with eye shapes than she had expected. Even though they looked similar, many of them had slight differences.
Even though this was the case, she could tell. Though she had seen it only once, she would recognize it immediately if she saw it again. She needed to find a clue this time. It might be able to lead her to the one who created that hell.
Her fingertips trembled with tension as she turned over the parchment, however…
“…?”
Suddenly, she saw a torn piece buried between the parchment. It was an old piece that had about a quarter of the page torn off for some reason. The moment she picked it up, her breath escaped.
“…!”
In her shaky vision, she saw the magic circle she had been searching for.
The one she saw that night when she had broken the necklace that was soaked in Bella’s blood, the perpetrator of the whole calamity was right in front of her.
“This is it.”
She clutched the parchment until her knuckles turned white, barely able to get the words out.
“Really? I’m glad… Wait, this…”
Nathan who had been talking with a bright smile froze when he saw the pattern that was on the piece of parchment she was holding.
“What you were looking for… Is this really it? Are you sure? How could this…”
“I’m sure.”
Even though some parts were torn and missing, it was unmistakable. She wasn’t able to mistake it once she saw it, it was a memory that had been engraved deep inside her bones.
But, why was he so upset?
Elaine questioned him.
“What is this magic circle?”
“This is ancient magic that was lost long ago.”
“Ancient magic?”
“More specifically, its mental magic. I know this because I’m interested in this type of magic and I’m a genius, but its magic that was forgotten a long time ago so not much is known about it.”
“…”
“I had only added this one just in case. How on earth did someone who isn’t even a mage see this?”
“That is something I am unable to tell you.”
“Then why are you looking into this. It seems like you don’t even know what kind of magic it is.”
At that moment, her demeanor sharpened.
“You’re asking too many questions. Didn’t we agree to exchange only the necessary information. Why are you so curious?”
It was a warning that he shouldn’t cross the line any further than he already had. She appeared so cold it was hard to believe it was the same person sitting across from him. However, as a mage, Nathan had a reason he was asking.
Finally, with a troubled expression, he spoke.
“Well, it’s not ordinary curse magic.”
