[MacGuffin No.823 / 『Demonic Beast and Magitech Tome』 recovered.]
[Achievement Points +50]
The existence of the Nano Eater was only mentioned in the setting notes and never appeared in the main story.
There was just a brief backstory that three years from now, the alchemist Heinrich Budenberg from the Alpanium Library would discover the lower layer while digging through ancient texts.
So despite the grandiose setting, it wasn’t a particularly important MacGuffin.
While I was checking the message window.
Chesa was staring at the book floating in the air.
“Devoted Reader’s Foreshadowing Recovery Journal, Episode 55”
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“It wants a contract. It’s acknowledging you as its owner, Chesa.”
…
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According to the settings, the conditions for this magitech tome to choose an owner are extremely strict. It scrutinizes not just current skill but potential mana as well.
But Chesa, who had already surpassed 20 in [Mana] as a teenager, and possessed the traits 『Dense Elemental Amplification (S)』 and 『Extreme Mana Circulation Body (S)』 — her potential was more than enough to far exceed the Nano Eater’s passing grade.
Chesa gazed intently at the elegantly bound magitech tome. Soon, she bit her thumb, drawing blood, and pressed a fingerprint onto the first page.
Whoosh!
A blinding light burst from the 『Nano Eater (S)』, and in the next instant, it flew into her arms.
“This is…”
Chesa slipped the tome into the pouch I’d prepared in advance. Suddenly, she felt an unusual change.
She fluidly circulated her mana and chanted a spell.
〈Energy Ball〉
Whirr—
The most basic magic unfolded above her palm. The energy sphere she created maintained a perfectly stable and distinct shape.
I smiled faintly.
Energy Ball is a mundane basic spell. But until moments ago, Chesa couldn’t even properly cast such a fundamental spell — she’d been half a mage at best.
The newly contracted Nano Eater had instantly devoured the unusable mana lingering in her body, drastically reducing the total amount of mana she could wield.
But because her two S-grade traits had inflated her mana to an absurd degree, the reduction in available mana ironically made control far easier.
Her control sensitivity had returned to a normal level.
The negative mana-related trait 『Mana Sensitivity Disorder (-)』 would disappear soon enough, and before long, she’d be able to use the ten spells embedded in the tome as well.
Chesa had just laid the crucial foundation to become far stronger than her original self in the novel.
“…Ah.”
Chesa stared blankly at the Energy Ball she’d created.
Soon, her body began to tremble.
Then… she rushed over and threw her arms around me.
“Uh…?”
“Young Master!”
What’s with her? I wondered, but before I could process it, Linia pointed toward Epio and Clara and shouted at me.
She looked somehow urgent — I wasn’t sure why.
What?
Bad influence on the kids?
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, I instinctively expanded the Formless Robe I was wearing to conceal us.
And a few seconds later.
I understood why Linia had seemed so flustered.
It was to preserve Chesa’s dignity.
“Sniff… hic…”
Chesa, clinging to me, was crying.
I could feel her trembling through our touching bodies.
I instinctively understood her feelings.
This wasn’t sudden.
It was a long-accumulated emotion exploding all at once.
From the moment she first received the Yin-Yang Tea, she’d trusted my words and diligently practiced magic in silence.
Her mana sensitivity disorder had improved bit by bit, but the inferiority complex and resentment built up over her entire life couldn’t be shaken off so easily.
She sobbed against me for a long while. Eventually, she started hiccuping through her sniffles, so I gently patted her back.
It took nearly ten minutes for Chesa to finally pull away. Her bloodshot eyes stared quietly at me before she sniffled and spoke.
“…Thank you, Aiden.”
A single sentence laden with countless emotions.
Soon, a smile spread across her lips.
Seeing it, I couldn’t find words to reply.
Perhaps because she’d cried so much, her usually neat face was swollen and messy. Yet Chesa was smiling so brightly it was almost dazzling.
I’d seen her smile many times since possessing Aiden, but this was different. The smiles she’d shown until now had always lacked something. They were clearly happy or joyful, yet carried a lingering loneliness and shadow — dry, hollow smiles.
But the smile she showed now held none of that characteristic dryness or darkness.
Was this another positive change brought about by my possession of Aiden?
Various thoughts crossed my mind, but there was no time to linger in sentiment.
I discreetly wiped away the tears and snot Chesa had left on my chest and shrank the Formless Robe.
Whoosh!
Turning my gaze to the other three, Linia looked at us with a warm, maternal smile. Epio wore an expression like a hundred question marks were floating above his head, while Clara chuckled as if enjoying herself.
Feeling awkward, I spoke.
“…There are still artifacts left to collect. Let’s grab them quickly and get out of here.”
I led the group behind the area where Hellaquel had been. Searching the chest there yielded several useful items.
『Perpetual Spell Scroll: 〈Padio Blink〉 (S)』
『Flame Ruby (A)』
Among the various ancient relics, these two stood out the most.
A spell scroll that activates the spatial distortion teleportation spell 〈Padio Blink〉 when torn, and automatically repairs itself over time for multiple uses. And a high-grade material used in crafting fire-attribute equipment.
The spatial spell scroll, in particular, existed in the settings as a failsafe to automatically resummon Hellaquel here if it ever escaped unexpectedly.
I rolled up the paper and tucked it away. I’d be stepping into dangerous places many more times ahead, and this spatial spell would serve as excellent insurance each time.
“…Then, shall we head to the upper layer now?”
We exited the lower layer.
Perhaps because we’d defeated Hellaquel and recovered the Nano Eater, the ruin’s temperature felt a bit higher.
Clara approached me and asked casually.
“Aiden. What were you and Chesa doing earlier, hiding in that invisibility cloak?”
…Invisibility cloak — it sounded like a magic item straight out of a British fantasy novel. I’d need to correct her properly.
“It’s not an invisibility cloak — it’s the Formless Robe.”
“Hmm~ That’s not important! So what exactly did you do in there, all hidden away with your fiancée?”
Clara’s eyes sparkled as she asked.
Ever since leaving the lower layer, a subtle atmosphere had lingered between Chesa and me. Clara seemed to sense the oddly intimate vibe and was deeply intrigued.
But Chesa’s eyes were still bloodshot, making it awkward to approach her directly, so this girl had been sticking to me and bombarding me with questions.
“D-Did you maybe sneak a kiss?!”
“………”
She squealed without even waiting for an answer. I’d thought she might be a bit more reserved five years earlier, but it seemed her playfulness had been there since childhood. Feeling annoyed at her giggling, I flicked her forehead.
“Ouch! That hurts, Aiden!”
“…Young Master? What are you doing?”
“…Uh, reflex.”
Linia looked at me incredulously for my immature response. When she got serious like that, she really felt like a scary mom.
The lightened mood lasted only a moment.
A sharp scent of blood and charred flesh assaulted our noses.
Retracing our path from the lower layer, we arrived at a spot littered with the corpses of white-hooded fanatics.
Epio tilted his head at the sight.
“They’re all dead? Did that blonde lady take them all down and go somewhere?”
[…Hey. Epio, Aiden. The numbers don’t match. There were 47 masked bastards who attacked you earlier. But only 42 are lying here. Something happened.]
Hearing Plebelziam’s telepathy, I flinched. A sword that senses the waves of all things wouldn’t miscount heads.
“…
…No way.”
I checked each corpse individually.
And indeed, my worst fear came true.
Brenda, the one sent to assassinate me, lay among the fanatics — her upper and lower body severed.
Fortunately, the plain-designed silver bracelets I’d been eyeing, the 『Accel Register (A+)』, were still on her corpse.
I’d spread rumors and provoked Chloeria over a long period. I was 99% sure I could lure Brenda as the assassin, but I hadn’t been certain I’d get the Accel Register too. Luck had smiled on me.
This bracelet was the only heirloom Chloeria could personally take from the Altus family vault for private use. Its value was undervalued compared to its actual performance. But I could fully utilize its power.
“…Hm?”
The joy of new equipment lasted only a moment before a sense of unease hit me.
In essence, I had killed Brenda.
It was practically my first murder since possessing Aiden.
Yet I felt not a shred of guilt.
I should still hold modern values — why not?
Was it because I hadn’t stabbed her myself, only providing an indirect cause?
Or because the dead Brenda was nothing but vile trash?
Or perhaps due to the Serene Clarity trait’s correction?
My mind grew chaotic.
Just as nausea threatened to rise.
Chesa grasped my hand.
“Snap out of it, Aiden. Your eyes look unusually clouded — not like you.”
“…Yeah.”
Hearing her clear voice, the turmoil vanished as if it were a lie.
Right.
Suddenly derailing into inner conflict after things were going well — if this were a webnovel, readers would drop it in droves over the frustrating development.
I’d postpone such stomach-churning situations for later.
I’d do what needed doing now.
“Thanks, Chesa.”
After a brief thanks, she nodded and gently released my hand. For some reason, a faint regret lingered.
Shaking my head to clear the thoughts, I examined Brenda’s corpse.
A mage of her level wouldn’t fall to mere fanatic grunts. She’d probably wiped out the small fry only to unluckily encounter a Dragon Horse Cult vice-leader.
I felt troubled.
“…The corpse’s condition is worse than expected. The plan might go a bit off track.”
Hearing my mutter, Clara asked.
“The corpse’s condition? How does that relate to your plan, Aiden?”
“Of course it does.”
I’d worked hard to drag Brenda into the Snowflower Swamp expedition. But acquiring the Altus family treasure, the 『Accel Register (A+)』, was merely a side objective.
Nice to have, but not essential.
The real goal was luring Brenda — more precisely, luring a fire-attribute mage’s corpse into the ruins.
“Linia. Take that out.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Soon, Linia handed me something like clay. This was the consumable I’d commissioned from Bailie not long ago — the 『Shape Fader (A+)』.
“As I said earlier, the Dragon Horse Cult is after your body, Clara. And there’s only one way for you to escape being a fugitive without contacting the Solar Cathedral.”
“…What’s that method?”
“Playing dead.”
Seeing Clara tilt her head, I chuckled.
『Shape Fader (A+)』
- Perfectly records one individual’s physical characteristics
- Transforms the appearance of an inanimate object into the recorded form
The Shape Fader’s function is simple.
It fully records one person’s physical traits and overlays them onto an inanimate object.
Of course, it can’t turn a random roadside pebble into a human corpse — there needs to be some commonality. Thus, another person’s corpse is typically used as the “inanimate object.”
Brenda, who wielded fire-attribute power in life, was perfect for overlaying Clara’s traits.
If we fake the Priestess of the Sun dying in an accident, the Dragon Horse Cult would panic and halt their pursuit.
Of course, the truth would eventually come out, but that would buy at least a year — maybe three.
And in that time, I could grow Blispiel into a force capable of facing the Dragon Horse Cult.
After hearing my full explanation, Clara pointed at Brenda’s corpse.
“But the crucial corpse is sliced in half?”
“Right.”
“Even if we overlay my appearance with the Shape Fader, it won’t fix the fact it’s bisected?”
“That’s… true.”
“So if the person who killed this Brenda lady sees the corpse, the disguise could be exposed?”
“That’s also… true.”
Clara nodded.
“Then we can just reattach it. I ate some delicious flames earlier, so fixing a corpse should be simple.”
“…What?”
Before I could respond, a halo of light enveloped Clara’s hand.
It flew toward Brenda.
And the corpse instantly regained its living appearance.
Faith magic has no effect on corpses, with one sole exception. This is fundamentally because healing-type faith magic stimulates vital force.
Thus, what Clara just did — “reattaching a corpse” — should be impossible with standard faith magic.
But I accepted it easily enough. The original novel had mentioned, without specifics, that the Dragon God cathedral’s faith magic differed fundamentally from the Life Church’s.
“Infuse your mana into it here.”
Following my words, Clara stabbed her mana into the clay-like 『Shape Fader (A+)』.
Then, spreading the now-reddened clay over the dead Brenda, a silver-haired girl’s corpse identical to Clara was complete.
All that remained was to move it to a suitable spot for the disguise to be finished.
This completed one of the two most important tasks.
“Then. Time to head to the rendezvous point.”
Now for the other deepest section.
It was time to go to the upper layer.