Meeting (1)
Chapter 137
For a while, Ray went out in a wheelchair.
Although he could get up and walk around, he avoided unnecessarily straining his body to prevent further injuries.
Karen, feeling sorry for Ray’s injury, didn’t miss the opportunity of his weakened state.
“Should I clean up for you?”
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“Do you want me to change your bandages?”
“Do you want to take a bath?”
Under the guise of offering help, Karen visited Ray’s house almost every day.
Ray didn’t mind her visits, so he never stopped her.
Of course, since the wound was still grotesque, he changed the bandages himself.
When Karen tried to offer help again today—suggesting she would change the bandages or assist him with bathing—Ray waved his hands dismissively.
“Go home already.”
“I’ll rewrap your bandages!”
“I can handle it myself.”
“You’re refusing even when I’m offering to help!”
Showing her dissatisfaction, Karen gnawed at Ray’s ear from behind where he sat in his wheelchair.
Though this act carried nostalgic memories, the emotions exchanged now were different from their childhood.
Instead of nibbling with her teeth as she used to, Karen stimulated his ear with her moist lips.
Trying his best to remain indifferent, Ray couldn’t help but tense up upon hearing Karen’s breath tickling his ear.
Just as Ray was about to tell her to stop, Karen’s tongue flicked over his earlobe.
The sticky sensation sent shivers down Ray’s spine, startling him.
“Damn it!! Go away quickly!”
Seeing Ray shake his shoulders, Karen smiled oddly and raised her eyes mischievously.
“It’ll be easier if you let me help with the bandages. You don’t want to show your wounds? Or…”
Since the area needing new bandages was extensive, Ray would have to almost completely undress to rewrap them.
After inspecting Ray from head to toe, Karen tightened her neck muscles and mimicked Johanna’s voice.
“Scared…?”
“This is weird stuff that you keep learning.”
“Ouch!”
Grabbing Karen’s chin and pushing her away, Ray got up from the wheelchair and flopped face-down onto the bed.
Even though Ray kept urging her to leave, Karen came over and lay beside him.
Familiarly brushing Ray’s hair off his neck, Karen’s warm and soft touch had a calming effect.
As Ray silently allowed her to play with his hair, Karen whispered into his ear.
“Ray.”
“What?”
“You not going to pounce?”
Ray, who had been slightly dazed, snapped back to reality and replied while lying face down.
“My knee hurts.”
“…Do you want me to move?”
“Please just go.”
Pushing Karen aside as she started teasing his ear again, Ray pulled a thin blanket over his head.
Muttering under her breath, Karen stood up and tapped Ray’s side cautiously.
“Ray.”
“What?”
“Try rolling over.”
“…Just wait a moment.”
“…Scared?”
Whack!
A hand emerged from under the blanket and struck Karen on the top of her head.
“Leave before Alesya comes.”
Alesya always seemed to arrive at moments like these, and Ray didn’t want any unnecessary commotion.
Rubbing her sore scalp, Karen finished cleaning up briefly and shouted.
“I’ll come again tomorrow!”
“Do what you want.”
With permission granted, Karen left with a wide smile after closing the door.
While Karen helped Ray with his daily life indoors, Johanna pushed his wheelchair whenever he went out.
Despite often sticking out her lower lip, she never showed any signs of annoyance.
When they visited a distant blacksmith one day, Johanna shook her own body excessively while pushing the wheelchair, which Ray noticed soon enough.
“Did you put on perfume?”
“Why, isn’t it okay for me to wear perfume?”
Pretending to be annoyed but slightly flushed, Johanna waited for Ray’s reaction.
She expected something like “It smells nice,” or “You should keep wearing it.”
But this was Ray.
“Well, sweaty musk suits Johanna better.”
That day, Ray ended up abandoned on the street.
About three hours later, Johanna finally retrieved him.
While passing the time this way, the Count summoned Ray.
Upon arriving at the office, Ropheiren and Luna were already there.
“What’s the matter?”
The Count showed Ray a pile of documents prepared by Ropheiren and Luna.
These documents detailed a conceptual plan, with the ultimate goal being the deployment of a city defense barrier.
Ray had many questions but decided to ask the most important one first.
“Is this actually feasible?”
The Count glanced at Ropheiren, who nodded.
“Entirely possible.”
“What’s the budget requirement?”
“One year’s worth of the barony’s budget.”
“And where will we get the energy source to maintain the barrier?”
“We can draw it from the Sigini Mountain Range.”
“Seriously, what was the thought process behind designing such a barrier?”
According to the proposal, once fully deployed, the barrier would allow real-time tracking and monitoring of all human-sized organisms within its boundaries and also featured an interception function designed for large-scale invasions.
“Are you planning to start a war with neighboring territories?”
“It’s because Luna insisted.”
Turning his gaze, Ray saw Luna looking somewhat sullen, blinking her eyes.
Rubbing his brow, Ray sought the Count’s approval.
“Can I speak with Ropheiren privately for a moment?”
“Go ahead.”
Leading Ropheiren to another room, Ray chuckled dryly.
“Seriously, is it really possible to cover the entire barony with such a high-performance barrier?”
“If I assist Luna, it might take some time, but it’s entirely possible.”
“Hmm, anyone watching us might think we’re plotting treason.”
Ropheiren laughed softly along with Ray.
Due to Luna’s insistence, the Count eventually called Ray to discuss turning the entire territory into a fortress through magical means.
Until now, Ropheiren had helped with Luna’s conceptualization and detailed design of the barrier out of intellectual curiosity and for research purposes.
“But isn’t a defensive barrier necessary?”
“On/off functionality only.”
A constantly active barrier would amount to nothing more than a display of force. Moreover, covering the entire barony with a barrier?
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Royal Guard arrived to investigate the situation.
“For this round, without any jokes, redesign the barrier with evacuation scenarios in mind and bring it back.”
“Understood.”
If the barrier focused on exploration and real-time communication functions, it could effectively assess emergencies and ensure the safe evacuation of key individuals during crises.
This required further discussion with the Count, so Ray asked another question.
“How skilled is Luna in magic right now?”
It was a rather abstract question.
“Skill in magic” could be defined differently depending on the individual.
Even Ropheiren, who recently advanced to a 5th Circle Mage due to an increase in Circles, excelled in theoretical interpretation and redesign compared to most High Mages.
After pondering for a moment, Ropheiren answered.
“With sufficient support and time…”
“With support?”
“Luna can manifest most existing magic.”
“…”
Ray looked at Ropheiren incredulously, but Ropheiren remained confident.
Luna’s ability to learn and make things her own exceeded imagination.
Of course, even if Luna were a prodigy, pioneering and creating new domains would remain a difficult task.
If taught only up to 6th Circle Magic Theory, Luna might eventually create Great Magic on her own, but it would require significant time.
However, Luna could study all the magical theories recorded in the Obelisk.
All the refined magical theories throughout history were absorbed by Luna.
Moreover, Luna was now a 3rd Circle Mage.
Though only a 3rd Circle Mage, the computational power of each Circle far surpassed that of ordinary mages.
By forcibly increasing the computation speed, Luna could temporarily manifest a 3rd Circle spell using just one Circle.
Thus, with sufficient support and time…
“Right now, this child can split the heavens.”
This was both the first and last warning Ropheiren gave to Ray.
At first glance, Luna’s growth seemed slow, but her rate of development defied logic. As time passed, even Harshia, who once reclaimed past glories, would find it impossible to handle her.
This could overturn the concept of destruction at any time.
If removal became necessary, action must be taken as soon as possible.
Looking at Ropheiren for a moment, Ray lightly patted his shoulder.
“Keep doing your best.”
Ray made his decision, and Ropheiren bowed his head in compliance.
Ropheiren hoped Ray’s choice wasn’t wrong.
To reverse a single wrong decision would cost at least half the continent.
*
Mineher officially began her mission.
Observing Phillip’s County, Mineher realized it was an extremely peculiar territory.
There were approximately ten knights under Count Phillip, all radiating the seasoned aura of Expert-level warriors.
Mineher, who had underestimated the place, expecting them to simply dress strong men in armor and call them knights, was shocked.
‘How can they maintain such a knight force?’
Additionally, Phillip’s County operated an orphanage, providing education regardless of social status to those showing talent.
Coming from a society highly sensitive to class differences, Mineher found this place almost otherworldly.
The concept of nurturing and promoting talent irrespective of social status appeared positive at first glance.
However, running a territory this way would inevitably lead to the rapid collapse of a system based on class distinctions.
Either the territory would descend into chaos, or nearby nobles would rise up against it.
Such a system could only persist for a few decades at most—or if an absolute powerhouse guarded the heart of the territory.
The owner of the county’s underworld, ‘Matthew,’ also surprised Mineher.
Although Matthew seemed slightly inferior compared to the county’s knights, he undoubtedly possessed the aura of a mature Expert.
It seemed that the underworld boss ‘Matthew’ utilized ‘Jimi’ as a figurehead.
Mineher detected no aura from ‘Jimi.’
Judging ‘Jimi’ to be a powerless old man going through menopause, Mineher marveled at Matthew’s meticulousness in using such an elderly person as a frontman.
Considering how things were run in the county, Mineher thought a straightforward approach might be better for recruiting ‘Johanna.’
Simply handing a large sum of money to Count Phillip and recruiting Johanna seemed viable.
It appeared Johanna had feelings for the disabled man, so this information was noted for transmission.
After roughly assessing the situation, Mineher decided to stay a few more days before returning.
On her final inspection tour around Phillip’s County, she headed toward the orphanage after wandering through various corners.
She had observed it from afar a week ago but planned to get closer today.
Crunch.
An unexpected situation hit Mineher.
Veins popped out on her wrist, which began to turn black.
Poison? Cursed magic?
Could there exist a method capable of stealthily poisoning an elf with such strong resistance to magic?
Clutching her twisting arm, Mineher soon realized.
This wasn’t a curse-based magic.
A curse capable of overcoming an elf’s all-around resistance like this…
“The World Tree…”
What, what kind of absurd situation is this?
What kind of existence resides in that orphanage right now?
As Mineher, now in panic, redirected her gaze towards the orphanage, the sound of a sword being drawn reached her ears.
“Who are you?”
Matthew, sword pointed at her, questioned.
Only then did Mineher realize her concealment had been undone.
