Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Chapter 74 After returning to the lodging with Risir, Cartria felt as if she were constantly swimming in the depths of the ocean. The pond she had gazed at together with Risir suddenly came to mind. Wouldn't it feel like this if she fell into the deepest part of that pond? The sights and sounds—everything around her felt hazy. This happened as she tried to remember their last moments together. Paradoxically, it was because she was conscious that these were his final moments. When she came to her senses at some point, she found herself huddled in a corner of the dark room. Ah, that's right. It's all over. Regret washed over her like a tide. Couldn't she have done better? Of course, she knew it was a meaningless assumption. At the point where she had driven the other person's life to complete ruin, all related actions would be nothing but deception and self-satisfaction. She seemed to have realized the meaning of the word despair. The area around her heart felt hollow as if it had been carved out entirely. She knew it. She shouldn't be dominated by this despair. There were countless things left to do. Taking responsibility for what she had done, cleaning up the mess... Cartria calmly began planning for the future. She tried to. "..." But when she came to her senses, she found herself once again staring blankly at the wall while lying on the bed. How much time had passed? She didn't know. This won't do. She knew that. So... The sound of birds chirping came faintly to her ears. Morning had already dawned. "...Ah!" Cartria reflexively sat up. A lively smile appeared on her previously dazed face. It was almost time for him to wake up. She needed to hurry and prepare breakfast and get ready to wake him up- "...Ah." Right. Her duties as a maid. She didn't need to do them anymore. Cartria froze with her expression and posture unchanged. The daily routine that had dominated her recent life had completely lost its meaning. It was fine. Being a maid was only a temporary status anyway. There were many things to do besides her duties as a maid. For example- "..." When she came to her senses, she found herself once again lying down, staring blankly at the wall. She couldn't take any action. She couldn't think of anything. She thought this wouldn't do. But that was all. Wouldn't her current state look like a worthless shell to others? '...Shell?' Cartria got up and headed to the storage cabinet in one corner of the room. A pouch stored deep inside the cabinet. From that 'Subspace Storage Artifact,' she took out two bottles of 'Turbid Truth.' One bottle had become a harmless liquid for some reason that Cartria had tried to find out but ultimately failed to discover. The other bottle was still unopened and new. The reason Cartria had received another bottle of Turbid Truth from Keiren was to discover the mysterious factor that had purified the Turbid Truth. Therefore, Cartria stared intently at the Turbid Truth that had now lost all meaning. '...' A certain method of apology came to mind. The usual Cartria would have known that such a method of apology was absolutely wrong. At the very least, if she hadn't spent the night in such a wretched state, she would never have thought of it. But now, her thinking was as hollow and full of holes as her emotions. Just then, it was the moment when Cartria's hand touched the Turbid Truth. Knock knock. A voice came from beyond the door along with the knocking sound. Cartria wore a bitter smile. She knew her current state wasn't normal. But she hadn't expected it to be this bad. "Tia. Wake up. We need to go sightseeing in Bondaless." "..." His voice, which couldn't possibly be heard, said exactly what she most wanted to hear right now. Such a thought suddenly occurred to her. Had he come to greet her? Thinking this way, her resolve grew stronger. Cartria picked up the Turbid Truth. "...Tia? Is there some kind of problem? I'm coming in?" Then the door opened. Risir discovered Cartria standing in front of the storage cabinet near the door and tilted his head curiously. "What, you were awake? But why-" "..." "Don't tell me you were pretending to sleep because you were afraid of getting scolded for oversleeping and not preparing breakfast? Damn. What an awkward situation. What should I do? Should I close the door and go back out as if nothing happened? And then go back to my room and lie down on the bed?" Was this also a fantasy? No. Her imagination couldn't create such verbose and vivid nonsense. Cartria muttered in bewilderment. "Risir...?" "Not master? Don't tell me I just got stripped of my master qualifications? Damn. Getting fired by a maid. I'm disqualified as a master. Getting disqualified from master qualifications makes me a disqualified master..." Risir muttered nonsense with the most serious face in the world. Then his gaze turned to the Turbid Truth in Cartria's hand. Cartria instinctively tried to hide the Turbid Truth. But was it her imagination? The distinctive purple color that symbolized the toxicity of the Turbid Truth seemed to have faded. Cartria brought the Turbid Truth close to her eyes and observed it carefully. Then she could see clearly. The appearance of the Turbid Truth as its distinctive purple color faded in real time. And Risir's figure looking at Cartria from beyond the bottle. "What's that?" Risir joined in observing the Turbid Truth. That is, he came close and brought his face near the Turbid Truth. The extremely toxic Turbid Truth. Became clear water. "?" Cartria turned the Turbid Truth this way and that while observing it. She even shook it unnecessarily. Then observed again. The extremely toxic Turbid Truth. It had definitely become water. Cartria put down the Turbid Truth and looked at Risir with the most dumbfounded expression in the world. "What's wrong? You seem strange today. Did something happen?" "...No. I'm just, somewhat, very, extremely, greatly confused." "Oh my. If you're just somewhat very extremely greatly confused, how confused must you be? I think I need to do some calculations. Anyway, are you okay? Can you go out to see Bondaless?" "..." Even in her confusion, Cartria was unconsciously nodding her head. *** "Oh right. Tia. If it's okay, before we go out to see Bondaless, can we stop somewhere briefly?" The place Cartria arrived at following Risir was the Alchemy Hall, Master Didoa's research laboratory located there. "Didoa. You called for me?" "Yeah. Sorry if I made you feel bad. Of course, I wasn't trying to bother Risir with my personal business, but you know what Risir asked about back then? I think I figured it out, so I ended up calling Risir unintentionally like this. Sorry if you were busy. And nice to see you. Good morning. Seeing Risir from the morning makes me somehow excited. By any chance, did you eat breakfast? Actually I recently discovered a new sandwich combination and I think it would be nice if Risir could eat this and give me his opinion of course I'm not forcing it actually the opinion is just an excuse and I want to treat Risir to food I like-" "Calm down, Didoa of great lung capacity, please calm down. I'm going to choke. Me, the one listening." "Ah. Sorry. I got too excited meeting Risir, sorry if I made you feel bad." "Thank you for not making me feel bad. Ah, that new combination sandwich you mentioned, could I try it once? Should I say it's perfect timing? Today our house maid overslept because she stayed up all night on an outing, so I skipped breakfast." "Really? That's great. I didn't know Risir would actually eat it. Here." Didoa held out a plate to Risir. Risir's head tilted upward. A majestic tower of sandwiches looked down at him. "Your hands are quite generous." "Sorry if I made you feel bad." "Tia, did you hear? If we leave this, Master Didoa will feel sorry. So think of it as visiting grandma's house and stay alert." "..." Risir and Cartria sat down and began reducing the number of floors in the sandwich tower. In front of the two, Didoa continued her story. "Listen while you eat." In Didoa's gloved hand was a rough ore. A Mana Stone. It was a Mana Stone containing Risir's mana. When Fire Energy suddenly began emanating from his mana, Risir had inquired with Didoa to determine the cause. "I'll get straight to the point so you don't feel bad while eating. Back then, Risir said, didn't you? That for some unknown reason, Fire Energy suddenly began appearing in your mana. Actually, that's not Fire Energy." "Mmmm mm mmmmmm? (It burned pretty well though?)" Risir answered while chewing the sandwich. "Should I call it a more fundamental power than Fire Energy? Heat energy. Among those, it's the power that southern alchemists call 'Celestial Haze.' More commonly known as Solar Energy." "Mmmmmm mmmmmm? (Solar Energy?)" "It's an extremely rare case. To acquire Solar Energy post-natally. Risir. By any chance, have you recently refined and consumed any herbs?" "Mmmm? (No?)" "The reason I ask this is because the methods for acquiring Solar Energy post-natally are largely predetermined. The representative method is refining and consuming extremely rare herbs called Four White Lotus, lava grass, and Mandalian flowers. Setting aside the fact that those who can properly refine them on the Continent can be counted on one hand." "Gulp. Then did I unknowingly consume those plants?" "That's probably unlikely. The herbs I just mentioned bloom once every few decades at the most energy-concentrated points even in the most remote of remote places. Most of them are thoroughly managed by the rulers of those regions, so cases of being taken outside are extremely rare. With a little exaggeration, we probably won't see those herbs until we die." "Then why did that Solar Energy suddenly move into my body? Well, I have been sunbathing quite diligently recently..." Cartria's mouth, which had been busily chewing the sandwich, gaped open. The poisonous herb Four White Lotus. Refined in the stomach. *** After leaving Didoa's laboratory, the next place the two headed to was the Magic Hall, Master Meltas's research laboratory located there. "Risir. Are you certain that the name you mentioned back then was Verdandes?" "Yes. That's correct." "Where did you hear that name?" "I coughed." "?" "But then some black orb came out." "?" "That was Verdandes' remnant." "I see. I understand perfectly. It's a common occurrence." "Really?" "Ah. For reference, by common occurrence, I mean you doing ridiculous things." "Haha. So what kind of fellow is this Verdandes?" "A powerful demon that ruled the ancient Southern Region desert area for centuries." "Why was such a fellow inside my body?" "I'm going crazy wondering about that too. What on earth did you do? Verdandes should definitely be sealed by the Sahila House that rules the Southern Region." "Ah. There's one thing that comes to mind." "What is it!? Tell me!" "Didoa said I have something called Solar Energy. So, the desert and my body have similar climates- Ah, no. Please just pretend you didn't hear that." "Good thinking." "..." Cartria's eyes, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, trembled. The demon Verdandes. Digested. She compiled all the information she had gathered so far. And- "Huh? Tia. What's wrong?" It was probably because she had stayed up all night. Cartria, who had made eye contact with that incomprehensible being, lost consciousness. *** "Is she alright? That maid Young Lady." "Yes. I don't know what happened, but she seemed to have stayed up all night. It's definitely not because Sir Meltas's story was boring, so please don't worry about it." "You remind me of something I hadn't even considered as nonsense." "Huh?" Risir, who had laid maid Tia's body on the laboratory sofa and covered her with a blanket, tilted his head. "What's the matter?" "Someone is... talking to me?" "Ah, did she wake up already? The maid Young Lady." "No, not this one." "Hmm? Then who- Speak so I can understand." "Verdandes. That fellow." "What?" *** Sand Mountain That Blocks the Sun, Verdandes. That massive being could raise sandstorms with a single gesture, and its towering body would block the desert sun and bring forth night. As the master of the entire desert region, he enslaved all life there. The great hero Sahila liberated them from the demon's tyranny. In the process, corpses piled up as high as mountains of sand. A tragedy that must never be repeated. Sahila sealed him at great cost. Verdandes poured out words of contempt toward him, who ultimately failed to find a way to destroy his existence. -Insignificant mortals. -The moment I escape this seal, night shall come to your desert once again. *** "...So, what does this Verdandes fellow say?" "...He wants to make a contract?" "So what did you say?" "...I said no. Then he said let's have a conversation." "What did you say?" "...I said no. Then he said please listen to what he has to say." The demon Verdandes. Trapped in a human body. "..." Even though Meltas had been mentally preparing himself, he was still shocked. "A demon, begging a human...?" It was a case that even this Magic Tower Master's vast experience had never encountered before.