Dark Fantasy Normalized – Chapter 46

“Oh my god! You turned a wolf into a person!!!”

“…”

Ricir was at a loss for words.

“Do you think I’m some kind of mage?”

Instead of correcting Kella’s misunderstanding, Ricir decided to speak to the little wolf—or rather, the beastkin girl.

“Ah—”

In that instant, the woman’s body relaxed, and she lost consciousness.

Her body transformed back into that of a wolf.

“Is it a—failure!?”

What do you mean by failure?

Ignoring Kella, Ricir checked the state of the wolf.

‘What can I confirm, but… huh?’

Surprisingly, he was able to discern something.

‘What is this?’

If the wolf’s body were made of flesh and blood, Ricir wouldn’t have felt anything.

He wasn’t a veterinarian or a doctor, after all.

However, the wolf’s body was made of mana.

It was as if the essence of mana had been wrapped in the flesh.

Thanks to that, Ricir could somehow gauge the wolf’s condition.

‘It’s clean, but at the same time weakened…’

Ricir placed his hand on the wolf’s body.

-…

Suddenly, the wolf’s expression shifted noticeably for the better.

The wolf’s body squirmed as if craving Ricir’s touch.

Ricir recalled memories of petting a puppy and responded to the wolf’s demand.

He scratched its neck and head, rubbed its belly, and patted its rear.

– Heeung…

The wolf made a pleased sound.

“Oh.”

In the meantime, Ricir sensed that the wolf’s energy had become stronger than before.

‘Not sure how it works, but my energy seems to be benefiting the wolf.’

After a brief moment of contemplation, he lifted the wolf into his arms.

– Heeung…

The wolf wriggled in his embrace, searching for the perfect position.

Finally, the ideal position was achieved: ‘belly-up’.

The blue wolf lay there, exposing its white belly, peacefully drifting off to sleep.

As Ricir held the wolf, he felt a thought emerge.

‘Spirit…?’

Suddenly, that word popped into his mind out of nowhere.

Although he had never directly seen or experienced a spirit, perhaps this was the feeling he would have if he actually encountered one?

“Wh-what did you do to the wolf!?”

Kella, beside him, asked with a fascinated expression.

From the eyes of someone unfamiliar, the series of events looked like a mage turning a wolf into a person and then back again—absolute chaos.

“Not exactly sure, but it seems like I’ve put out the fire for now. Could it be something akin to a spirit?”

“Oh…! A spirit!!!”

“Of course, that’s not certain. It’s an area I’m not well-versed in. Do you have any insights, Kella?”

“I-I’m sorry…! I’ve never dealt with spirits before!!!”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

“Yes! I appreciate you asking, but I’m sorry!”

“No need to be sorry…”

Ricir averted his gaze, feeling uneasy under Kella’s gleaming eyes.

Though he didn’t understand it, Kella’s reaction was perfectly reasonable.

Most mages treated adventurers like ignorant fools, dismissing them without a second thought.

If there was a race more arrogant and rude than the nobles in this world—it had to be the mages.

Indeed, Kella had often faced such disrespect from mages up until now.

They were all laughable individuals who couldn’t even touch the tip of Ricir’s shoe.

– It’s over.

– What just happened?

– Will you understand if I tell you?

-…

If Kella knew some mages, they might’ve held a conversation about the earlier situation in that manner.

But Ricir, this genius mage, wasn’t just explaining things to Kella; he was also soliciting her opinion.

Kella felt unnecessarily anxious.

How great would it have been if she could have offered a fitting answer that matched such respect shown by this genius mage?

With a hope that perhaps another opportunity might arise, Kella sharpened her focus on Ricir.

Suddenly, a memory came to mind.

– I was trying to see if there were any requests I could take on.

– Brother, in my opinion, you don’t seem like someone who would survive in this industry.

Kella recalled her first encounter with Ricir and became pensive.

“I-I’m sorry, Lord Ricir!”

“Suddenly?”

“At first…! I said something that made it seem like I was dismissing you, and I really feel so—embarrassed!”

“Eh? Oh, it’s all right. You were just worried about me, weren’t you?”

Kella now felt panic rising within her.

‘What is this? How can he not be like a typical mage?’

It was as if he hadn’t lived his life as a genius mage all these years, but suddenly became one without any choice in the matter.

Kella gathered her startled heart and spoke.

“First, let’s head to the guild!”

*

He was the owner of a sharp gaze that negated the absence of one eye hidden behind a blindfold.

The second-in-command of the Draphon Guild.

Master Deputy Diphona untied her neatly braided dark blue hair, then tied it back up again.

She felt that doing so would ease her disturbed mind.

She muttered quietly within.

‘This is bad.’

An under-class adventurer had brought in the unconscious thugs and the mage.

It was reported that the thugs had ambushed the mage and her, so the adventurer subjugated them and brought them here.

Up to this point, it seemed acceptable.

Actually, not just acceptable, it was good.

The Adventurer Guild shares some responsibility for maintaining city security with the city council.

Capturing thugs who roam the city’s back alleys in suspicious attire and assault passers-by during the day?

That’s a clear positive factor for the guild.

If this report had ended here, Diphona would have praised the low-ranking adventurer for a job well done and given him a piece of candy.

However, regrettably, the report contained more than that.

Diphona prayed earnestly.

Please let it be that I misheard, or that this mage spoke incorrectly.

“Are you sure? These people might be related to black magicians?”

“Yes. They were in possession of objects infused with black magic.”

“…”

Black magicians were a threat compared to mere robbers or thieves.

If they were to catch a black magician and report to the city council, there would undoubtedly be tremendous commendation following.

Not only that, but the guild’s honor and prestige would also rise immensely.

The act of subjugating a black magician would be an undeniable positive factor for the guild.

Still, Diphona couldn’t afford to be pleased with this.

Black magicians brought immense rewards for subjugating, but they also posed significant challenges.

They were far more difficult to handle than any monster or criminal.

Even the mages within the Mage Towers had limited understanding of black magic.

So, what about adventurers?

A wise adventurer would never involve themselves recklessly in matters related to black magicians.

But wait?

Now you ask me to just sign off on this since the game has already been set up?

Diphona glared at Kella, who stood beside her like a criminal.

“I’m sorry…! I never thought this would involve black magicians…!”

Diphona placed a cigarette in her mouth and lit it.

After taking a deep breath of smoke, her trembling facial muscles began to calm down.

“Are you sure? These people might be related to black magicians?”

“Wasn’t that the question you just asked?”

“Then, let’s consider it a matter of saving one life and repeat it. They could have just happened to acquire that object.”

“The possibility of that is slim.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“They knew precisely how to utilize the power contained within that object. Knowledge of black magic must accompany such understanding. However, I didn’t sense any other traces of black magic from them besides the ring. Thus, my opinion is this: A third party might have assigned them a specific mission alongside that object.”

“…”

Diphona was taken aback, staring at the obsidian ring on the desk.

‘With just that one thing, they gathered so much information?’

The only information Diphona could derive from the ring was ‘it seems unusual.’

Yet, this mage had extracted all kinds of information from that single ring. According to him, knowledge of black magic must have been involved.

It was knowledge and depth even the mages in the Mage Towers might not be able to expect.

For this reason, Diphona couldn’t easily trust Ricir’s words.

‘I can decide after consulting with that guy.’

Shortly after, a new visitor arrived at her office.

“I heard you called for me.”

Her name was Kedgan.

As a formal mage from the Blue Mage Tower, she was one of the mages the Draphon Guild occasionally sought counsel from regarding magic.

To Diphona’s knowledge, there were only a few masters in the Gray Mage Tower who possessed a deeper understanding of black magic than her.

In the current situation, Kedgan was a reassuring talent.

However,

Diphona swallowed hard.

Mages with an absolute sense of pride in their abilities and knowledge rarely offered help for free.

Given the situation, Diphona had no choice but to call her, but the thought of the price she would later demand made her head already ache.

Diphona managed to open her mouth and explained the situation to Kedgan.

“And where is that ring infused with black magic?”

Kedgan picked up the obsidian ring on the desk and scrutinized it.

“You called me here out of fear for something as minor as this?”

“Could you explain to me why it’s ‘such a minor thing’?”

“Rather, I want to ask you. What exactly is it that makes you mistrust this unidentified ring?”

Kedgan chuckled as she let out a soft laugh.

Right. This was it.

Now it felt like she was having a conversation with a proper mage.

Diphona felt a vivid discomfort while speaking, something she hadn’t felt while conversing with Ricir.

“Another mage warned me. They advised to beware of the power contained within that object and to be cautious of whoever might be its true owner.”

“It’s too vague to even define it as black magic. This power doesn’t affect humans at all. If they warned you about it, then that mage is either trying to deceive you or is simply an ignorant fool who is misled by their own knowledge.”

Diphona glanced at Ricir, cautious of this scathing critique.

“Huh?”

As if her gaze had drawn Kedgan’s attention, all too naturally, she looked toward Ricir.

Diphona felt a pang of alarm.

She had been in a similar situation before.

– Oh my god, did you really say that?

– Which school of thought do you belong to? Or who is your mentor?

– Why can’t you articulate your thoughts?

– No way?

– This is unbelievable.

– I’ll ask politely. Could you refrain from discussing ‘magic’ in front of me?

– I doubt I could tolerate being treated as a ‘mage’ like you.

Despite inviting several mages to consult with the Draphon Guild, Kedgan had ended up slaughtering wandering mages in a fit of enthusiasm.

The name of the Mage Tower carried absolute weight among mages.

To engage in an equal debate with a particularly proud mage like Kedgan, one fundamentally had to be affiliated with a certain tower.

In fact, the sole occasion when Kedgan had held a meaningful conversation with a mage was with a mage from the Blue Tower.

Although she had still obliterated her opponent with aggressive logic and tone.

“Are you the one? The ‘mage’ that Diphona was speaking about?”

“That’s me.”

“I am Kedgan of House Sarolath. A formal mage of the Gray Tower, having laid my foundations in the Teldran school. My mentor’s name is Caldrain. And you are?”

“I’m Ricir.”

Diphona sighed inwardly.

Her introduction was far too brief.

She closed her eyes.

As she envisioned the ensuing situation, an unnecessary feeling of guilt washed over her.

It was glaringly obvious.

Kedgan would surely be inspired by Ricir’s alarmingly short introduction and nitpick it to shreds—

“Ricir? Ricir… I’ve heard that before… Ah! I remember now! You were the one who exposed the identity of Tulan, that girl—”

“…?”

Diphona was plunged into confusion.

This was a tone from Kedgan she had never heard before.

Could she really produce such a warm voice?

Kedgan’s subsequent remarks were even more shocking.

She awkwardly chuckled.

“Diphona, how mischievous of you—to seek Ricir’s counsel and then attempt to compare it with my opinion.”

“…?”

“Regardless, it seems there’s only one piece of advice I can give regarding this matter. Entirely, follow Ricir’s opinion.”

“…”

Kedgan seemed to recall having just criticized Ricir in front of him, and hurriedly rose from her seat with a slightly flushed face.

“…Is that really Kedgan?”

Kella asked, dazed.

*

“This place…”

Barely moments after Kedgan had left the room, the bound thugs slowly regained their senses.

“…!”

They were startled once by seeing Ricir’s face, and then again upon looking at Diphona.

“Wait, wait! We know nothing! We just did what we were told!”

The thoroughly intimidated thugs began to speak before the interrogation could even commence.

“You just did what you were told?”

“Exactly! A few days ago, someone came to our guild with that black obsidian ring and—”

Just as they were about to spill everything—

“Kuhaack!”

Their words were abruptly choked off along with their breath.

Diphona sprang to her feet.

“Is it poison?!”

This was a method frequently used by minders to handle subordinates.

They implant a poison that reacts to specific states within their underlings, effectively cutting off any chance of betrayal.

Fortunately, most of the poisons, thanks to alchemists’ efforts, had their production and antidote methods revealed.

Diphona began listing the antidotes she had prepared in anticipation of such a situation.

And while she observed the symptoms closely to select an appropriate antidote—

‘Damn it. What is this!? I’ve never heard of such a poison!’

Flustered, Diphona was startled when Ricir’s voice quietly chimed in next to her.

“It’s not poison. This probably resembles a type of black magic. Thankfully.”

“Black magic? How is that fortunate—wait, what? Fortunate?”

Fortunate that it’s black magic?

Diphona’s mind struggled to connect those two concepts.

“Gah! Gah! Gah!”

Regardless, the thugs regained their breathing all at once.

“Fortunate…”

Diphona’s one eye wavered in disbelief.

*

At the same time, Gadena, bowing her head in pride as an elf, was heading to the Mage Tower to seek help.

Another elf was also bowing her pride, seeking help from a human.

The first-in-command of the Draphon Guild, Master Draphon, was struggling to conceal his shock.

The letter requesting a secret meeting.

The moment he arrived at the place written in that letter, an unimaginable person greeted him.

“You are…”

The beastkin standing behind the woman glared at Draphon.

Immediately, Draphon bowed his head in reverence to the overwhelming aura.

“I pay my respects to the branch of the World Tree.”

From one of the ten greatest noble families, the bloodline of Royeh, who governs the Great Forest, the princess of the Great Forest gazed down at him.

“Draphon. I would like to ask for your guidance in leading a spirit that is wandering about in Bondales. It won’t be an easy task; the child is very shy.”

Draphon, the greatest adventurer in Bondales, sensed immediately.

This would undoubtedly not be an easy request.

*

Meanwhile, the little wolf lying on the chair trembled slightly.

Ricir gently pet the wolf’s body.

-Heeeung…

The wolf issued a pleasant sound and flipped onto its belly.