After that, a similar pattern repeated itself. When Isidore discovered a trap, Roderick would break it and advance.
The problem was that they were causing quite a stir.
“...What lowly person dares to come here without fear?”
Suki Insidio they'd been searching for, finally appeared before them. Contrary to her boastful speech, her appearance was anything but pleasant. Even in the middle of the day, the noise they made seemed to have awakened her from a deep slumber.
Her black hair was tangled and matted, not knowing when it had been cut for the last time, and her eyes were swollen and caked with eye boogers, making her look incredibly dirty.
“Suki Insidio?”
Roderick called her name in a harsh voice. The scorpion tattoo on her left cheek gave away her identity, but he wanted to be sure.
“...How do you, a mere culprit, know the name of this body?”
When her name was mentioned by a stranger, Suki asked with a slightly puzzled look on her face.
"It seems I'm right. You should come with us. I recommend you refrain from unnecessary resistance."
A gleam flashed in Roderick's blue eyes. It was a look that could scare anyone but a man of considerable stature.
“Why should I do that?”
But unfortunately, Suki was one of those 'quite swollen livered' people.
"It's not right to turn away those who came all this way willingly to be the subjects of my experiments. Shall we go wild for a bit?"
She smiled maniacally, then instantly unleashed a black flame from her hand and hurled it at them. Roderick deftly dodged the flying flame and shouted at Isidore.
“Brother, please hide in a safe place.”
“I'm already hiding. Be careful.”
Isidore, who had suddenly hidden behind the wall, answered with only his eyes peeking out. Roderick smiled wryly at that sight.
“Do you think I’ll get hit?”
"No, I'm not saying you should be careful. I'm saying you should take it easy. Remember to take her alive."
Isidore, who had insisted on going with them just a little while ago, saying that he couldn't make his sister a widow, now seemed to have no worries after seeing Roderick's power with his own eyes.
Should I take this as a sign of trust? Roderick laughed bitterly and leaped towards Suki.
“...I guess he’s quite strong?”
When the fireworks she threw only burned her own precious treasure, Suki hesitated and stepped back, looking slightly embarrassed.
For a moment, she giggled and attacked Roderick using all sorts of strange magic.
“Of course, compared to this great body, you are nothing more than a human being.”
She tried dropping a green acidic liquid from the ceiling that would melt flesh at the touch, and she also tried to catch him by summoning sticky, pitch-black vines from the floor, but unfortunately, her attacks failed every time.
Even though it was a highly acidic liquid that could melt even metal, it could not melt Roderick's sword, which was covered in black energy, and no matter how tough the vines were, they were cut down helplessly before his sword.
Dodging the barrage of attacks, he arrived in front of Suki in an instant and held the sword with a blue glow to her neck.
Then she opened her mouth in a very embarrassed voice.
“What the hell are you doing? How dare you...?”
“...I’ll say it again. You have to come with us. There won’t be a third time.”
Roderick brought his sword a little closer to her neck and spat out harshly.
“Yes. I don’t know what your purpose is, but I’ll make it a special occasion to accompany you.”
Faced with his aura, threatening to cut off her neck at any moment, Suki surrendered, seemingly helpless. Even if she was a bit out of her mind, her life was precious.
Of course, even though she was scared, she couldn't give up my bluff.
As soon as the surrender was declared, Isidore, who had been hiding behind the wall, began to move towards Roderick and Suki, past the pitch-black flames and the eerie green puddles that were steaming.
After walking stealthily, Isidore arrived next to her and took a metal bracelet out of his pocket and put it on her wrist.
“What is this? What are you doing to me without my permission...!”
“It’s a magic restraint. Don’t even think about doing anything stupid.”
The moment the bracelet was placed on her arm, the black flames blazing around her suddenly quieted, as if by magic. The spell had been broken.
Suki, with a look of hurt pride at Isidore's words, tried desperately to free herself from the magical bracelet that was binding her wrist, but the bracelet stuck to her as if it had become one with her body and would not come off.
“...Cowards.”
It was already unfair that she was trapped in the mountains, living quietly alone, and then being dragged away without even knowing what was going on, but now her magic is also being restricted.
Of course, with all the accumulated karma, it wasn't unexpected that something like this would happen someday. That's why she set up so many magical traps.
She never thought she would be caught so easily.
“Then go.”
Just as Roderick was about to leave, he threatened her with a fierce look in his eyes.
“Hey, wait a minute! We can’t go on like this!”
The normally quiet Suki suddenly gathered strength and stood firm in place.
"...What?"
"I have a cat. Let him go with me. It's my only friend."
Roderick was about to get a little angry at the sight of his precious daughter being cursed and her cat being pampered and cared for, but he nodded in understanding.
The cat just met the wrong owner; it's not at fault.
Suki sighed and climbed the stairs. Of course, she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by two men who doggedly followed her.
Isidore, always suspicious, glared at her with suspicious eyes. He couldn't help but suspect that the cat was just an excuse, that she was up to something.
But his worries soon proved to be wrong.
“Pumpkin! Pumpkin, come here.”
As Suki called out what he assumed was the cat's name, a plump, yellow, striped cat appeared, meowing, and circled between her legs.
'It really was... a cat.'
Isidore, who had momentarily doubted the cat's existence, looked slightly disappointed.
"Now that it's done, let's go. I don't know where on earth you're taking this body."
Suki placed the cat in a woven rattan carrier, then lifted it up and spoke. It was surprisingly docile, considering how rebellious it had been, pouring out magic.
After leaving the building, Isidore had to use a magic scroll to erase the traces his brother-in-law had left on the building's exterior walls when he destroyed the magic trap.
He's checked several times to make sure there's no one around right now, but if Byron's people are stopping by here regularly to check on Suki, shouldn't it be as if nothing happened?
Restoring the broken outer wall would have been too time-consuming and labor-intensive, so as a temporary measure, illusion magic had to be used to make it appear intact from the outside.
And Suki was horrified by the sight. Her pride was hurt, so she didn't show it.
She couldn't understand how the traps and the exterior walls of the building she had set could be destroyed like this.
After boarding the carriage that had been waiting at the foot of the mountain, Suki finally looked up at the two pairs of sharp eyes watching her and asked.
"Now, let me hear the details. I have the right to know where I'm being taken and why, don't I?"
It wasn't that there weren't any clues, but there were so many that she couldn't fathom why she was being dragged here. It wasn't just one or two things she'd done.
Of course, since being kicked out of the academy, Suki Insidio has lived a fairly quiet life—at least by her standards. She's only been involved in minor misdeeds, such as stealing livestock from a nearby village and conducting vivisections.
It was no longer possible to experiment with curses and sorcery on humans as before. After the suffering caused by human experimentation, it was impossible to dare to do so.
“...You must have put a curse on a young girl.”
Oh, except for one time.
Roderick's question brought back memories from over ten years ago. Suki closed her eyes and reminisced. It was a time when her body, now aching here and there, was still young and vibrant.
Even then, someone had invaded her precious nest. They had broken through the traps she had laid, and now they had asked her to place a curse on a toddler who appeared to be only two or three years old.
It was a very attractive offer for Suki, who had been unable to conduct human experiments, not because of moral hurdles but simply because of practical difficulties.
It was the first time in her life that she had ever received a request from someone.
Moreover, it was a difficult spell. It wasn't activated immediately upon casting, but rather delayed until someone activated it.
While curses of this type were not uncommon, they were usually activated by the person who cast them. What they wanted, however, was for a man with zero magical power to be able to cast the active spell.
As a researcher, isn't it natural to become more excited as the problem becomes more challenging?
Suki, who was reminiscing about some pretty happy memories, tilted her head and asked the men.
"Yeah, that happened too. Was that why? Did that kid die or something?"
The problem was that they were causing quite a stir.
“...What lowly person dares to come here without fear?”
Suki Insidio they'd been searching for, finally appeared before them. Contrary to her boastful speech, her appearance was anything but pleasant. Even in the middle of the day, the noise they made seemed to have awakened her from a deep slumber.
Her black hair was tangled and matted, not knowing when it had been cut for the last time, and her eyes were swollen and caked with eye boogers, making her look incredibly dirty.
“Suki Insidio?”
Roderick called her name in a harsh voice. The scorpion tattoo on her left cheek gave away her identity, but he wanted to be sure.
“...How do you, a mere culprit, know the name of this body?”
When her name was mentioned by a stranger, Suki asked with a slightly puzzled look on her face.
"It seems I'm right. You should come with us. I recommend you refrain from unnecessary resistance."
A gleam flashed in Roderick's blue eyes. It was a look that could scare anyone but a man of considerable stature.
“Why should I do that?”
But unfortunately, Suki was one of those 'quite swollen livered' people.
"It's not right to turn away those who came all this way willingly to be the subjects of my experiments. Shall we go wild for a bit?"
She smiled maniacally, then instantly unleashed a black flame from her hand and hurled it at them. Roderick deftly dodged the flying flame and shouted at Isidore.
“Brother, please hide in a safe place.”
“I'm already hiding. Be careful.”
Isidore, who had suddenly hidden behind the wall, answered with only his eyes peeking out. Roderick smiled wryly at that sight.
“Do you think I’ll get hit?”
"No, I'm not saying you should be careful. I'm saying you should take it easy. Remember to take her alive."
Isidore, who had insisted on going with them just a little while ago, saying that he couldn't make his sister a widow, now seemed to have no worries after seeing Roderick's power with his own eyes.
Should I take this as a sign of trust? Roderick laughed bitterly and leaped towards Suki.
“...I guess he’s quite strong?”
When the fireworks she threw only burned her own precious treasure, Suki hesitated and stepped back, looking slightly embarrassed.
For a moment, she giggled and attacked Roderick using all sorts of strange magic.
“Of course, compared to this great body, you are nothing more than a human being.”
She tried dropping a green acidic liquid from the ceiling that would melt flesh at the touch, and she also tried to catch him by summoning sticky, pitch-black vines from the floor, but unfortunately, her attacks failed every time.
Even though it was a highly acidic liquid that could melt even metal, it could not melt Roderick's sword, which was covered in black energy, and no matter how tough the vines were, they were cut down helplessly before his sword.
Dodging the barrage of attacks, he arrived in front of Suki in an instant and held the sword with a blue glow to her neck.
Then she opened her mouth in a very embarrassed voice.
“What the hell are you doing? How dare you...?”
“...I’ll say it again. You have to come with us. There won’t be a third time.”
Roderick brought his sword a little closer to her neck and spat out harshly.
“Yes. I don’t know what your purpose is, but I’ll make it a special occasion to accompany you.”
Faced with his aura, threatening to cut off her neck at any moment, Suki surrendered, seemingly helpless. Even if she was a bit out of her mind, her life was precious.
Of course, even though she was scared, she couldn't give up my bluff.
As soon as the surrender was declared, Isidore, who had been hiding behind the wall, began to move towards Roderick and Suki, past the pitch-black flames and the eerie green puddles that were steaming.
After walking stealthily, Isidore arrived next to her and took a metal bracelet out of his pocket and put it on her wrist.
“What is this? What are you doing to me without my permission...!”
“It’s a magic restraint. Don’t even think about doing anything stupid.”
The moment the bracelet was placed on her arm, the black flames blazing around her suddenly quieted, as if by magic. The spell had been broken.
Suki, with a look of hurt pride at Isidore's words, tried desperately to free herself from the magical bracelet that was binding her wrist, but the bracelet stuck to her as if it had become one with her body and would not come off.
“...Cowards.”
It was already unfair that she was trapped in the mountains, living quietly alone, and then being dragged away without even knowing what was going on, but now her magic is also being restricted.
Of course, with all the accumulated karma, it wasn't unexpected that something like this would happen someday. That's why she set up so many magical traps.
She never thought she would be caught so easily.
“Then go.”
Just as Roderick was about to leave, he threatened her with a fierce look in his eyes.
“Hey, wait a minute! We can’t go on like this!”
The normally quiet Suki suddenly gathered strength and stood firm in place.
"...What?"
"I have a cat. Let him go with me. It's my only friend."
Roderick was about to get a little angry at the sight of his precious daughter being cursed and her cat being pampered and cared for, but he nodded in understanding.
The cat just met the wrong owner; it's not at fault.
Suki sighed and climbed the stairs. Of course, she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by two men who doggedly followed her.
Isidore, always suspicious, glared at her with suspicious eyes. He couldn't help but suspect that the cat was just an excuse, that she was up to something.
But his worries soon proved to be wrong.
“Pumpkin! Pumpkin, come here.”
As Suki called out what he assumed was the cat's name, a plump, yellow, striped cat appeared, meowing, and circled between her legs.
'It really was... a cat.'
Isidore, who had momentarily doubted the cat's existence, looked slightly disappointed.
"Now that it's done, let's go. I don't know where on earth you're taking this body."
Suki placed the cat in a woven rattan carrier, then lifted it up and spoke. It was surprisingly docile, considering how rebellious it had been, pouring out magic.
After leaving the building, Isidore had to use a magic scroll to erase the traces his brother-in-law had left on the building's exterior walls when he destroyed the magic trap.
He's checked several times to make sure there's no one around right now, but if Byron's people are stopping by here regularly to check on Suki, shouldn't it be as if nothing happened?
Restoring the broken outer wall would have been too time-consuming and labor-intensive, so as a temporary measure, illusion magic had to be used to make it appear intact from the outside.
And Suki was horrified by the sight. Her pride was hurt, so she didn't show it.
She couldn't understand how the traps and the exterior walls of the building she had set could be destroyed like this.
After boarding the carriage that had been waiting at the foot of the mountain, Suki finally looked up at the two pairs of sharp eyes watching her and asked.
"Now, let me hear the details. I have the right to know where I'm being taken and why, don't I?"
It wasn't that there weren't any clues, but there were so many that she couldn't fathom why she was being dragged here. It wasn't just one or two things she'd done.
Of course, since being kicked out of the academy, Suki Insidio has lived a fairly quiet life—at least by her standards. She's only been involved in minor misdeeds, such as stealing livestock from a nearby village and conducting vivisections.
It was no longer possible to experiment with curses and sorcery on humans as before. After the suffering caused by human experimentation, it was impossible to dare to do so.
“...You must have put a curse on a young girl.”
Oh, except for one time.
Roderick's question brought back memories from over ten years ago. Suki closed her eyes and reminisced. It was a time when her body, now aching here and there, was still young and vibrant.
Even then, someone had invaded her precious nest. They had broken through the traps she had laid, and now they had asked her to place a curse on a toddler who appeared to be only two or three years old.
It was a very attractive offer for Suki, who had been unable to conduct human experiments, not because of moral hurdles but simply because of practical difficulties.
It was the first time in her life that she had ever received a request from someone.
Moreover, it was a difficult spell. It wasn't activated immediately upon casting, but rather delayed until someone activated it.
While curses of this type were not uncommon, they were usually activated by the person who cast them. What they wanted, however, was for a man with zero magical power to be able to cast the active spell.
As a researcher, isn't it natural to become more excited as the problem becomes more challenging?
Suki, who was reminiscing about some pretty happy memories, tilted her head and asked the men.
"Yeah, that happened too. Was that why? Did that kid die or something?"
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