Get out of my house.
When I arrived at Amelia's general store and opened the door, Amelia was busily doing something.
At that moment, I carefully tried to speak to her.
Suddenly, Amelia turned towards me.
And then she stared intently at the heart in my hand.
"Where did you get that...?"
"Well, I just picked it up while walking."
Although I felt a bit closer to Amelia, she wasn't someone I could share all my secrets with yet.
That's why I said it like that.
When I said that, Amelia nodded slightly as if she understood my position and pulled out a chair for me.
"Come on, let's have a chat..!"
Amelia's eyes were unusual.
Should I say it looked like a very good item?
I couldn't help but feel a bit excited since Amelia had never shown such a good reaction before.
She had never been this proactive either.
It was inevitable to feel excited.
What would she say?
Just in case, I went into a very old post I had written and took a picture of the heart to update it.
It was one of the ways to use the forum.
You could save the desired photo in a post by using the update feature.
Of course, it would be risky if another user found out... but no one would dig that deep.
"Can this also be used to enhance a wand?"
This was what I was most curious about.
Whether it could be used to enhance a wand.
I had a desire to use a better wand.
When I asked that-
"It's possible..! Using this heart as a medium, you can make a wand. It looks like the heart of someone who made a pact with a demon... It's much more efficient than the wand you're using now..!"
"Oh."
It was quite a positive response.
I was prepared to accept it even if the answer wasn't positive, but to hear her say this.
Then, my choice was simple.
"Please make it into a wand."
"Eh, I can't make something like that."
"Oh."
That's right.
Amelia runs a general store.
I had hoped that since she knew how to handle magic, she might be able to make a wand as well.
"If you want something like that made, do you know Ehrenburg? Going there would be the fastest. I can write a letter for you... If you ask for a forge there, it should be fine..."
"I don't know if I can accept something like this. I haven't done anything for you."
When I said that, Amelia shook her head vigorously in denial.
"No..! Just the griffin's milk is a huge help..."
It seemed that griffin's milk was indeed a rare commodity.
To say something like that.
As I was thinking how amazing it was, Amelia cautiously spoke up.
"But if you leave it like this... it will be a big problem..!"
"A big problem?"
"Yes. Since you've made a contract with a demon... if the contractor's heart moves around like this, it will become difficult..."
"Hmm... then what should I do?"
Since Amelia was very knowledgeable about these things, it was better to ask her.
I thought I had acquired a decent amount of knowledge, but I had no knowledge related to demons.
In the first place, it was hard to find such books.
As I was thinking that, Amelia cautiously made a suggestion to me.
"Then... if you leave it with me for a while, I'll make a tool to hide its location...!"
"That would be great for me."
From my perspective, it wasn't a loss.
Changing the wand wasn't something urgent right now anyway.
So, I handed the heart that I was holding in the air to Amelia.
Woom-
The heart emitted a faint vibration in the air.
It still exuded a dangerous feeling.
"Then, if you come back in a day, I'll have it ready for you..!"
"Yes, understood."
I greeted Amelia and left her general store.
I didn't think Amelia would run away.
She wasn't the type to flee over something like this.
With that thought, I exited Amelia's general store.
*
"I wonder how things are these days."
I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to check on the current state of Koruntum in detail.
I had heard that something significant had happened, so I searched the forum.
Then, the posts started appearing.
I clicked on the most reliable post from a forum member.
[Author: NewsFlash]
[Title: Today's Koruntum Update…jpg]
[Content: (photo)(photo)(photo) The situation ended when the Archmage arrived ㅇㅇ.. But the important point is that the Legion Commander ran away.
So, if you meet him and think you're going to die, at least drop your location in the forum.
That way, it will be helpful.]
"..Cold-hearted."
Even I wouldn't respond so coldly.
Thinking how utterly cold-hearted it was, I checked the comments.
L: No, this is legendary lol
L: Did he run away because the Archmage came? Damn ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹
ã„´: Crazy coward
L: So, how was the Archmage you saw in person? Super strong?
ã„´ NewsFlash: Just not human
ã„´: Not human..
ã„´: Ah, right lol You can't become an Archmage if you're still human
ã„´: Ah ã…‹ã…‹ humans can't become Archmages
L: By the way, is that a demon's face?
ㄴ NewsFlash: ㅇㅇ
ã„´: ã……ã…‚ did he wash his face with pesticide? So ugly
ã„´:ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹
ã„´: Damn, that's too much ã…‹ã…‹
ã„´: They say it's Gramoxone~
I didn't know which Archmage had gone, but it seemed like they had definitely sorted things out.
Although the Legion Commander had run away, there must have been a reason for it.
With that thought, I headed somewhere other than home.
*
"...This actually came in..."
Honestly, I never imagined such a precious material would come in.
The heart of a person who made a direct contract with a demon.
From the beginning, finding a demon's heart was incredibly difficult, so having it as a material was rare.
"...You've grown a lot."
Compared to before, it could be said that he had grown significantly.
Not in a physical sense, but in terms of skill.
The only person Amelia had seen grow this rapidly was Eugene's mentor.
"Is it that talented people recognize other talented people..."
With that, Amelia muttered to herself and began to slowly touch the heart.
*
The place I went to instead of going home was—
"...It's been a while."
It was the house where Silvia and I used to live.
In other words, the house outside of Baruk.
Honestly, I felt a bit nervous.
It was the first time coming back here.
Thinking about my nervousness, I opened the door and went inside—
"Huh?"
I found unfamiliar people sleeping soundly.
They were not familiar faces.
I tend to remember every face I've seen at least once, but I didn't recognize these.
"...Guests, perhaps."
The likelihood of them being guests was low, but fundamentally, the owner of this house was Silvia.
There was a possibility that Silvia had sold the house, so I decided to wake one of them up.
Tap, tap.
"Excuse me."
"Mmm..."
The person showed no intention of waking up.
There seemed to be about fifteen people in the house... waking them all up would be a bit much.
'...Let's just find what I came for.'
I thought it would be enough if I found what I was looking for.
In the past, I wasn't very interested in books and didn't read much, but now I felt the need to.
I needed knowledge related to demons.
'It's too inconvenient not having any knowledge about demons.'
It was inconvenient to have to ask others about everything from one to ten, so I came back to Silvia's house.
‘I should stay quiet and observe.’
No matter how bad my temper might be, I wasn't someone who would kill people who were sound asleep.
Besides, I didn't even know who these people were.
With that thought, I wandered around the house and grabbed a book.
But then—
‘...There are too few books.’
Many books were missing.
Of course, Silvia must have taken the important ones... but even considering that, it felt like there were too few books left.
As I carefully gathered the books, thinking about that—
“Hey, who are you?”
A voice came from behind.
It seemed like answering was the first thing to do.
So, I answered.
“I’m gathering books.”
“I mean, why are you gathering them here?”
“Because this is the house I used to live in.”
“This is my house.”
“What?”
“What.”
What was this?
Did Silvia sell the house?
Otherwise, there was no way he could be so confident.
So, I asked.
“Did you just move in because the house was sold?”
“No?”
The other person spoke with overwhelming confidence.
‘...?’
“Then are you squatting?”
“This house was abandoned in the first place. What nonsense are you talking about? This is our hideout, so get out if you don’t want to die.”
So, I was in a situation where I was being kicked out by squatters.
Just because I had temporarily left the house I originally lived in.
So, I gathered mana into my fist.
And then—
Smack-!
I gave him a light knock on the head.
Then—
“Ugh…”
The guy collapsed to the floor, clutching his head.
It seemed like I needed to clean up a bit now that things had come to this.
I regretted not casting a protection spell before leaving.
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