As they held each other, a white light leaked from their touching hands, emitting thousands of tiny fragments of light that slowly revolved around them.
Aqueo's grip tightened, the little guy's tentacle hand was so soft; something stirred within their eyes, and their gaze at each other deepened.
Suddenly, Aqueo was looking at himself. For a moment, he thought that the little guy had become him. It wasn't so, it was just that he was looking at himself from the glowing ball's eyes. And he wasn't just looking at himself, in that moment, he could also sense his surroundings without actually looking around him.
He was inside the little guy's head and he could feel that they were connected.
As the connection deepened, foreign memories started flashing in his mind consecutively in a rapid manner. He knew they were the memories of the little guy.
The flashes of memories were too fast, some he thought must just be fragments of a complete day in the little guy's life. But he roughly understood how its life was like ever since it was born until it met him.
The little guy was a spirit born in this lake. It had been around for at least a hundred years, just wandering around the cave and going out from time to time. Aqueo couldn't exactly tell when it was born, it was just based on the memories of the spirit exploring around the town nearby.
The spirit encountered so many things in that hundred years. Aqueo was so astonished.
After experiencing the memories of the spirit, the light from their touch and the floating fragments of light slowly vanished. As it did, and the light that stirred within their eyes faded, he felt a connection with the spirit that wasn't there before they touched. Curiously, he could tell what the spirit was feeling right now—wonder and excitement that seemed to reach his heart.
He remembered what happened earlier when he was using the spirit's eyes and wondered if he could do it again. So with just his will alone, he tried to enter the spirit's mind just like what he experienced earlier. The spirit sensed his intentions and let him in.
It was like having three sets of eyes: one of his, one of the spirit's, and another one that could sense his surroundings without actually looking around. Although it looked rather confusing so he closed his own eyes and just used the spirit's. And there was something else. Earlier, he felt something from his surroundings, it felt incredible, just as now.
He looked up. It was the huge crystal at the center of the ceiling. It was radiating an incredibly strong energy. Now that he was using the spirit's senses, he finally understood why it looked so drawn to it a while ago. Even in its memories, the spirit spent a lot of time gazing at this crystal.
Even though he had some of the spirit's memories now, he could only vaguely tell what the spirit was feeling and thinking in it. And he wasn't exactly sure if the spirit could actually think. It was quite dumb if he compared it to a human. He thought that maybe because it had no physical body like a human, and so, the needs and senses of a human, it was thinking differently.
And it wasn't just gazing, it was absorbing energy from it. Aqueo could describe it as eating or more like tasting because in its memories, the spirit wasn't absorbing energy all the time. It was also going out from time to time to taste different kinds of energy. Mostly, from the people's things it could sense outside near the cave.
The cave must be hundreds of meters deep in the ground. The spirit would occasionally pass through the thick layers of stones and soil above the cave and emerge into the forest above, and there it would find people to follow around, snacking from the energies of their belongings. Mostly glowing stones as what Aqueo could see in the memories. Those people were usually armed with weapons like bows, swords, and spears. They also carried staffs with gemstones which he identified as the weapon of mages to enhance their spells.
Those people were called adventurers, and most of them could use magic.
Magic. Aqueo already had this rough idea when he experienced that sound slowly healing his body every time it echoed and the healing ability of the spirit. But he wasn't so sure about it. And now that he experienced some fragments of the spirit's memories, he was finally certain.
The very idea of magic in fantasy novels was one of his escapes from the harsh reality of the world in his previous life for someone like him. It was one of the few things that saved him, that kept him going. And now that he was here in this world with magic present in it, he felt so happy. There was no way he would ever go back to that godforsaken life of his. He would live here for the rest of his life.
And just as he was thinking that, his stomach suddenly growled. Aqueo was hungry.
He retracted himself from using the spirit's senses, then caressed his stomach and thought of eating.
'Where can I—'
His question in his mind was suddenly cut-off by his sudden recollections at the back of his mind—memories of people eating in this world. These were the memories he saw when he touched the spirit—people eating while camping in the woods, some eating at the restaurants around the nearby town, but most memories were people dining at the townsquare market somewhere in that town.
Aqueo smiled a bit when he realized that in all those memories, the spirit was absorbing energies from the people's belongings—magical stones, magical equipment, magical jewelries and other things exuding magical energies.
But the town was quite far from here, so he looked around the cave to see if there was anything to eat. Herbs. Just herbs. Some seemed so familiar to him.
A purple flower near him caught his eyes, and a memory flashed at the back of his mind. It was an aphrodisiac.
He looked at the spirit with squinted eyes and said teasingly, "You little p*rvert. You even watch people in their most private intimate times."
The spirit just nodded excitedly, although Aqueo was sure it didn't even understand what he was talking about. In the memory, the woman was wearing a necklace with a big red stone exuding a strong magical energy. She was feeding a n*ked man with the flower and the spirit was just happily absorbing some of the energy being released by the red stone. Aqueo could also remember the two lover's dialogue in the memory so he was sure it was an aphr*disiac—with very promising effects.
He picked up the herb and smelled it. Upon doing so, he remembered even more memories of the spirit where the flower was present. Some were at the market, being traded in whispers and at very high prices. He smirked at the idea that just crossed his mind—he was going to be rich in this new life.
There were a few more memories with the aphrodisiac, but they were quite vague unlike the clarity of the lovers having a great night. He didn't know why, so he just shrugged it off.
A sudden realization struck him. The memories just now, he didn't experience them when they touched. He excitedly looked around for a new herb to confirm his theory.
He found another familiar one, a palm-sized white flower with black spots. He went near it and picked it up. New memory crept up behind his mind—memory of the spirit in an alchemist's laboratory. This one could be used for making powerful healing potions, and thus, could also be sold at a high price.
He looked around further and found more familiar herbs. Each one invoked a memory or memories wherein the herbs were present. Most were commonly displayed on merchants' stands at the townsquare market.
Now, he was sure about it. It must be like how he couldn't remember all of his memories all at once. When seeing something familiar, only then would he remember his memory with it. The same with the spirit's memories. He couldn't remember everything at once, and seeing something the spirit already saw would cause the memory of it to surface.
But just like some of the memories with the purple flower, some were just fragments and so vague that he couldn't exactly tell what was happening in the memory. He thought that there must be something about it, but right now, there was nothing he could do to know.
Right now, he was hungry.
"Since there's nothing to eat here . . . let's just go to the townsquare market. That's right! I'll pick up some herbs to sell so I can have money for food. Little guy! Help me find more of these—oh, that's right. What name should I call you?"
The glowing ball just gave an equal questioning look Aqueo was making. He felt it in their mental connection that it didn't understand him.
"Heh! You're mimicking me." Aqueo laughed slightly and the spirit gave an equivalent joyful eyes and swayed excitedly. "Hmm, let's see. Since you look like water . . . and you were born in an underground cave . . . water underground . . . aquifer. . . From now on, your name is Aqui. Aquifer."
The spirit didn't seem to understand him, so he repeated, "From now on, your name is Aqui. A—qui. You're Aqui. I'm Aqueo. A—que—yo. You. are. Aqui. A—qui. A-qui-fer. Aqui. Aquifer." he said patiently as he pointed to himself and the spirit back and forth, making sure to visualize and transmit his intention to the spirit using their mental connection.
Finally, the spirit nodded and Aqueo smiled in relief and patted its head, "Good job, Aqui!"
Aqueo realized the need for willful transmission of his thought and intention, noting to always do it whenever he talked to Aquifer.
"Alright, help me find this purple flower," he said while raising the flowers in front of Aquifer and made sure to transmit his intention too. The spirit nodded in understanding and started to look around.
Aqueo already got five from a cluster he found. Some still hadn't blossomed or in the middle of blossoming, he didn't pick those.
It only took a few moments for Aquifer to finally point to a cluster with its little tentacle-like arm and what soon followed were the spirit pointing more here and there and Aqueo going there to look and pick.
. . .
Aqueo tied the last cluster of flowers he just picked. There were vines growing around too so he used them as strings after removing the leaves. He made seven clusters of different kinds, he tied them all into one big bouquet of flowers.
"That looks plenty enough," Aqueo said satisfactorily at his handiwork. His stomach growled again. He wondered what would happen if he drank the water in the lake. Would it be safe? The sound of the water droplets had a healing effect, would it also quell his hunger?
In excitement and uncertainty, he walked to the edge of the lake, laid down the bouquet and started drinking with his hand. His eyes brightened when he tasted the cool water with a hint of sweetness in it, and with it came the similar pleasant feeling he felt when hearing the sound. He tried to feel his stomach, it wasn't feeling as empty as before—although it might've been because it was just the usual effect of normal water, he couldn't tell the difference. He wasn't sure how long the effect would be and the town was a bit far in the memories, so he started to frantically cup and drink with his hands.
"Ahhh! That felt great!" he exclaimed after drinking.
He thought of taking a bath in the lake but he refrained himself. He wouldn't dare defile this seemingly pure and holy body of water with the dirts on his body.
"Aqui, let me use your senses again. I'm going to find a way out," he requested as he stood up to concentrate.
Aquifer let him in. In his memories, Aquifer was just passing through the stones to go to the surface. He couldn't possibly do that.
He noticed something odd, he couldn't sense what was outside unlike Aquifer. Above the ceiling, he could only sense stones. The range of what he could sense wasn't as far as the spirit's in the memories.
He looked at the direction of the cave he woke up from, there was another crack on the wall that linked it to another cave exactly opposite of this lake chamber. That must be the way the previous owner of this body used to get here. For what reason he came here, he wanted to find out.
He retracted his mind and picked the bouquet.
"Let's go Aquifer. The only passage I can sense is from that direction."
He started walking but stopped after a few steps because he noticed the sounds of cracking beneath his feet.
"Th—these herbs. . . Ahhhh! What have I done? They're expensive—"
And then he realized it.
"Th—that's right! They're expensive! A lot of herbs here are so rare and expensive."
Aqueo was now mildly shaking.
"No one came here for a hundred years. . . This cave . . . IS NOW MINEEEEE!" Aqueo screamed from the top of his lungs. It echoed in that large chamber.
"Woooooooh! I AM NOW SO RICH!" he shouted even though he hadn't even sold one herb of his.
He danced in joy and Aquifer floated happily around him.
After a few moments of celebration, he walked carefully to the small opening on the wall so he wouldn't accidentally step on his precious herbs while continuously chanting in his mind that he now owned this lake and everything in this cave including the herbs, especially the tremendous crystal—self-proclaiming that he was already so rich.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
"Aqui, can you carry this?"
Aquifer nodded and took the bouquet and Aqueo crawled on his knees once again to pass through the small passage.
The glow of the spirit was their only light now, although a bit bluish. And now that there was light, Aqueo could now see the small pool of dry blood that coated the spot where he woke up. It even had the mark of his back on it. It made him pull the back part of his clothes—it had blood on it. The owner of the body must've been injured, it might've been the cause of his death.
He looked around further if he could find more things from the owner of the body, there was none. He proceeded to the next small passage and urged Aquifer to go first to illuminate the way.
The way was a bit longer and taller than the previous one. He could see drops of dried blood on the uneven stone ground. The owner of this body must've suffered a lot of pain before he died, similar to his death.
He finally reached the end of the passage and what greeted him was a bigger cave that extended a bit far. The lake chamber was way bigger but this one was lengthier. Aqueo could see light at the far end. It made him curious because they were underground.
"Let's go, Aqui."
The only sound he could hear was his footsteps so he sang a tune while walking. The spirit liked it and swayed along with the music.
As they got closer to the end, a sound of rushing water could be heard getting louder and louder. It made Aqueo walk faster to finally reach the end.
A river and a waterfall were waiting outside. Aqueo was astonished when he looked up. They were in the bottom of a deep and narrow ravine, a deep cut in the ground as if a giant sword had cut it. It must be as high as a thirty floor skyscraper. The river extended left and right for as far as Aqueo's eyes could see, and a waterfall was roaring from his side.
"Aqui, can you fly me to the top?" Aqueo shouted so the spirit could hear him. Though there was really no need to shout or speak because he could communicate with the spirit with just his mind, he still wanted to speak with it because he felt it somewhat odd.
Aquifer understood his intentions so it extended another tentacle-like arm for Aqueo to hold. He grabbed it tight and he and Aquifer started flying.
“Waaaaahhhh! Wohoohoooooo!!” Aqueo screamed joyfully.
It was only for a brief moment but Aqueo saw a long rope not far from the entrance. It was only halfway the entire depth of the ravine so he didn't see it earlier. It must've been used by the previous owner of this body. How he reached the ground from that distance was a mystery to Aqueo.
They continued to fly until they finally reached the top ground. A lush of green and the open blue sky greeted them as they passed through the opening of the ravine. There were mountains a bit far from the ravine, and at the opposite side, a vast forest extending a few kilometers. Even farther, Aqueo could see what he could only describe as farm fields. The scene below him was familiar, it was in the spirit's memories.
Aqueo transmitted a mental message of going to the direction of the townsquare and the spirit did so, they went to the direction of the farm fields. He saw the main road and urged the spirit to fly above it.
Aqueo felt so happy, occasionally shouting “Woohoohoo!” or “Woooh!” from time to time especially when he ordered the spirit to make some gliding and diving motions. It was so much better than the last time he went to the amusement park when he was young. He never experienced it again because of the human traffickers. It felt so liberating so he shouted and shouted as a celebration for his freedom.
They saw some carriages and horses along the way, some of them even noticing him flying fast. They passed a lot of farms and forests, rivers and a few hills.
They had been flying for a long while when Aqueo started feeling hungry again. And not just hungry, he also started to feel weaker and weaker by the moment. He also noticed that the spirit was becoming slower and they were flying lower. When he felt his weakness couldn't maintain his grip, he urged it to land in a consecutive panicking cries, afraid that he would fall.
Aqueo landed on his feet, wobbling with his shaking knees.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, shaking.
Aquifer didn't understand that and just floated around him.
Aqueo took the bouquet from the spirit and as he did, he noticed how the translucency of the glowing orb changed. It went more ghostly the moment it let go of the bouquet which piqued Aqueo's curiosity.
He handed the bouquet to the spirit once again and noticed its translucency lessened as if it became a real floating water. And as he did, he felt his body weakening.
He immediately grabbed the bouquet in fear from the sudden realization that it was consuming his energy every time it materialized from being a spirit. It went back to being ghostly looking and the feeling of his energy getting sucked off was suddenly gone. The spirit must have been consuming his energy since he left the cave, he thought, and he must've only felt it now because he was nearly depleted, making his senses more sensitive to his strength getting sucked away from him.
Aqueo wondered what would happen if his energy was sucked dry, he shivered in the thought that it might kill him.
"You little sh*t!" he exclaimed. "What's happening whenever you materialize?" he asked, making sure he transmitted it to the spirit's mind as well.
Aquifer just curiously looked at him. Aqueo felt the confusion of the spirit in their connection. The question must've been complex to the spirit despite him transmitting his thoughts and intentions. But based on their previous communications using their mind connection, Aqueo thought that things that he could imagine well were understood by the spirit more than abstract things that he couldn't exactly picture well in his mind. Still, it gave him hope that he might be able to educate the spirit.
"You-you're not possibly trying to possess me or something, right?"
Aquifer just stared at him.
"Consume my energy so you can finally have a physical body?"
Another stare. Aqueo just gave up trying to find out.
"Alright! Let's just walk from here to the townsquare."
. . .
"Hah! Hah! Hah!" Aqueo panted as he walked while slouching forward. "This feels so weird!" Another panting. "I feel tired and weak and the warmth and relaxing feeling that you're giving me are making me feel sleepy. But I'm so hungry and this pulsing feeling in my head is making me stay awake."
Silence.
"Hey, answer me!"
Another silence. Aqueo knew that the spirit couldn't talk, but he felt like he was going insane so he had been talking non-stop for a while like a drunk man. It was also his way of trying to keep himself awake, as if his hunger level wasn't enough to keep his mind on survival mode. His stomach had been feeling so empty since they landed on the ground and had been feeling emptier and emptier by each passing second.
"Haaah! I can't take it anymore—eh? Is that a house?"
At a distance to his right was a house full of plants and vines all over it. A good distance ahead, there was a pathway connected to the main road that led to the house. He thought it was just a cluster of trees and shrubs a while ago.
"I wonder if somebody's inside." He sighed upon suddenly thinking that they might not welcome him even if someone was indeed there.
Aqueo sighed once more, "I'm going to die of hunger if this continues further anyway."
So with heavy feet, he walked until he finally reached the pathway at the right side of the main road. He sighed triumphantly and started walking weakly at the small path.
"Where are you going?"
A voice from his right side suddenly said. It would have made Aqueo jump, but he felt so weak and hungry to even react. If the owner of the voice was a truck going in his direction, he must've already been transmigrated to another world once again.
He turned and saw a teenage girl at the side of the small pathway, wearing a mage hat and the deep-brown uniform of the Hyndrel Academy—as he could remember from the spirit's memories. The teenager was shorter than him and she looked so thin. Aqueo knew from the spirit's memories that the academy wasn't for the young, but her thin body and height made Aqueo describe her as a midget. Midget sounded like an insult and he felt bad so he just decided to call her a petite mage, but on second thought, petite sounded like an insult too so he just decided to call her a mage.
"Whatever you do, don't sell that herb to my father. He is currently horribly sick and that herb is the cure," the mage immediately added.
Aqueo flinched inwardly at the seemingly disturbing thing he just heard, 'Thi-this mage. Her father is horribly sick and she doesn't want him to be well—. Wai-wait a minute! Why did she slowly speak the word horribly as if to emphasize it?'
Aqueo didn't know what to say so he just cleared his throat.
The mage noticed the uneasiness in his body language. "What's the problem," she asked, unaware of what Aqueo might be thinking.
"Uh—uhh~ about that. . . Do you happen to have food? I'm so hungry. I can trade for the herb that you want. I have seven different kinds," Aqueo presented the bouquet properly. "Also, which one here were you talking about?"
Right now, Aqueo was so hungry and weak. He didn't want to inquire about why the mage didn't want her father to be cured. Seeing she was a mage student and hearing the way she spoke, especially her confidence in announcing that she didn't want her father to be cured, he felt like the mage wasn't that simple. Witnessing things in the spirit's memories, he knew this world was different. The mage might be dangerous and he felt rather vulnerable so he added, "You-you know, I'm pretty useful right now, you know! I have more of these herbs—most of them are rare, so—so . . . it—it'll be much rather preferable to keep me alive."
The mage was taken aback. "Why do you sound like you're pleading for your life?"
"Uh-uhhh, ahaha~ Do I—that doesn't matter! Do-do you have food? I'm dying here, you see!"
The mage felt the urgency in his tone so she said, "We have food in the house. I'll trade with you but you won't like the price—"
"Any amount will do—" he immediately answered. He wanted to add 'as long as it is reasonable and I'll have enough to last me for several days', but he felt he was in no position to make conditions and further discussion would just prolong his suffering. "—so-so please, just feed me."
The mage expressionlessly looked at him and sighed, "Alright, follow me."
After a walk that seemed so long to Aqueo, they finally reached the house. Somewhere inside the house, the mage made him sit on a chair. Aqueo slouched in exhaustion.
"Just wait here. Also, I'm confiscating these herbs. I know they're real and expensive, so I'm taking them as hostages just in case you do something funny. Don't think I believe everything you said about having so many rare herbs."
The mage immediately went out of the room without further ado, leaving Aqueo with no chance to say anything.
Aqueo could barely remember the details of the hallways they passed through because of his condition, but he was sure the house was really large. He didn't notice it earlier because of the trees blocking some parts of it. Or maybe, he thought, he wasn't seeing things normally because of his current condition.
The room he was in had three long tables. There were only a few chairs here so he thought it couldn't be the dining room, and that the room was too small to be the dining room of a mansion—because that was just how big this house was, befitting to be called a mansion.
A short while passed when a familiar pleasant smell suddenly permeated the room. There were one big window and two doors—one connected to the hallway and another door connected to the next room. The door to the next room was the only one opened, the smell must've come from there.
Aqueo knew the mage instructed him to stay there, but he really wanted to see what was in the next room. He thought he wasn't doing anything bad so he followed his instinct. Food. That must be the smell of food being cooked. Even though he never smelled anything like it before, the salivating and appetizing smell told him it was definitely food.
The sound of clanging metals and the delicious smell of food greeted him in the next room. It was a large kitchen full of cooking materials displayed all around—at the shelves, dangling from the ceiling, and a lot of them neatly arranged on the several counters. A man wearing a black uniform was cooking something, expertly maneuvering a large wok in the middle.
"I told you to wait there, didn't I?"
Aqueo looked at the side of the doorway, the mage was standing there looking at the man in black uniform.
"Uhhh, I-I'm sorry! I just got curious, I couldn't resist. It's my first time smelling that."
"Nevermind that. Azbert is finished cooking."
Just as she said that, Azbert was already transferring the food from the huge wok to a plate.
"Let's sit here. I'm going to interrogate you while you're eating."
"Y-yes!" Aqueo answered thoughtlessly, seemingly hadn't heard the word interrogate.
There was a set of table and chairs in the kitchen. They sat there as Azbert served him the tray of food—a large plate of sauteed meat and vegetables and a red colored drink. Aqueo briefly said his thanks and immediately grabbed the spoon and started eating. He hadn't even fully seen the beautiful garnish when he ruined it with his spoon by digging right in the middle.
Azbert just stood beside the mage sitting across the eating Aqueo. Aqueo ate ravenously, alternating with the reddish colored drink and the sauteed meat and vegetables, not minding the world around him.
The plate was almost empty when Azbert whispered something to the mage's ear, the mage just nodded. Her eyes had been narrowed the whole time since a few moments after Aqueo took his first bite, carefully observing him. What she noticed made her put off her interrogation plan while he was eating.
"Azbert, prepare another serving for him."
"Yes, young master." Azbert politely said and swiftly went in the middle of the kitchen.
Aqueo had just spooned the last of his plate when Azbert removed it and replaced it with another plate full of the same dish. He just briefly nodded while chewing and just like the previous one, he just ruined the garnish without fully seeing it and appreciating the beauty of it even one bit.
The plate was already halfway empty and Aqueo was still at the same pace as he started. And the same still was the mage's expression of narrowed eyes while carefully observing Aqueo.
"Azbert," the mage said.
"Yes, young master," Azbert answered, understanding the intention of his master despite her only calling his name. There was no more serving for another plate, so he started to prepare a new dish.
Aqueo finally swallowed the last of his current dish and frantically drank all the content of his colored drink. He laid it down with a thud and a satisfied sigh.
"Uhhh, can I—can I have that?" Aqueo asked, obviously referring to the plate of food Azbert was holding with his one hand. Aqueo didn't notice him moving and getting a new plate of food there. The mage commanded Azbert to just hold it there a while ago right after he prepared it.
"Y-you know the herbs are expensive, right? S-surely, it's not worth less than three plates of food. R-right? Right? Right?" He was rather reluctant because it tasted so delicious unlike anything he had ever tasted in his previous world. The dishes might've been really expensive—especially with the spirit's memories, he vaguely knew that there were some really expensive cuisines here that the spirit encountered, although he couldn't remember the exact details.
"Answer my question first," the mage said in a negotiating tone. "How did you feel while eating?"
"H-how did I feel while eating," Aqueo asked while dazedly looking at the plate Azbert was holding. "Hungry. I just feel hungry and I want to eat."
The mage noticed the oddness in the way he responded and the way he looked at the food. She thought the guy was still not quite sane because of his current condition, just like how he answered her questions while walking along the small path.
She just sighed a bit and with her hand, signaled Azbert to finally serve the plate to Aqueo. Aqueo immediately grabbed the plate from Azbert when it was finally within his reach and dug right in the middle of it.
Seven plates. After the third plate, Aqueo was still not quite sane and kept asking for another serving. Azbert had to cook a third new dish and he made sure to double the amount compared to the previous ones. There were still a few leftovers enough for a plate, but Aqueo finally stopped asking for more.
Aqueo, with eyes closed from satisfaction, wiped his mouth with the table napkin because it felt wet from the sauce of the last dish. He laid it down and started folding it.
"Right here."
Aqueo stopped folding the napkin and looked at the mage, she was pointing at her chin.
Aqueo looked puzzled so she spoke again, "You still have a sauce right here."
"Ah-ahh, I see. Thank you." Aqueo wiped his chin. "And thank you for the food," he added while bowing his head in sincere gratitude.
The mage just sighed, "I'll interrogate you later. Azbert. Call Hermina to lead him to a guest room. Make sure no one else will see him."
"Yes, young master." After bowing faintly, Azbert immediately went out right after saying that.
"When Hermina is here, go with her. You can clean yourself in the guest room. The servant will prepare clean clothes for you. And this time, make sure to just stay there. No one else except us must see you here. Do you understand?" the mage said to Aqueo.
"Yes. Thank you for that," he said obediently.
'J-just how old is this mage to act like this?' Aqueo thought secretly.
He felt somewhat odd that he was being ordered by a person who obviously looked younger than him—short and thin as he had initially described her that he thoughtfully considered as must be insulting—, and that he had been answering her like she was his senior. The way she talked to him and ordered her servants was so mature and imposing, in addition to the fact that she was obviously a mage student and a young master in this mansion, not to mention that he deemed her as potentially dangerous because she didn't want her father to be cured. Who knew what kind of dark family drama was happening in this mansion?
Azbert came back with a servant who led Aqueo to the guest room after a brief courtesy to his master and Aqueo.
The mage and Azbert were left in the room.
"Azbert, what do you think?" She asked while holding a glass filled with the same reddish colored liquid Aqueo was drinking.
"The young man shouldn't have been able to walk in his condition—no, he should've been unconscious—"
"He should already be dead," the mage swiftly interjected. It earned a shocked look from her servant.
"But—how could he still. . ."
"Yes. My thoughts exactly. How can that man still be alive with those severe symptoms of life force depletion."