Chapter 280

While his expression hardened at the sight of yet another troublesome presence, Tatsuro thanked Aarenfrit for the valuable insight and decided to ask about the next thing on his mind.

What had Aarenfrit been doing immediately after casting magic on Leah Schleiermacher?

“After casting the magic, I was observing how the body would be handled,” Aarenfrit said.

“Observing? Where and how?”

“Right nearby, I had cast Curse Magic on myself to make it so others couldn’t perceive my presence.”

“You can erase your own existence like that? It may not be raw power, but Curse Magic sure is incredibly versatile.”

“Exactly! I’m thrilled you’ve noticed the charm of Curse Magic, Sensei!”

Aarenfrit leaned forward with such enthusiasm that it seemed he might try to hug Tatsuro, who instinctively stepped back to keep his distance.

With no one to catch his forward-leaning body, Aarenfrit toppled face-first onto the desk.

Yet, as if nothing had happened, he sat back up and gave Tatsuro, who looked exasperated, an elegant smile.

“To get back to the topic, if you could do something like that, wouldn’t it have been faster to just take Leah away yourself?”

“…This might upset you, Sensei, but I want to be honest to avoid any misunderstanding. The only reason I initially thought to get that dwarf girl out of there was purely to kill time. If I had intervened and the game ended right away, it would’ve been pointless, wouldn’t it?”

“I see. I was wondering why you helped Leah, and that’s the reason.”

“You don’t seem too angry about it?”

“Well, if we’re talking ethics, I’d have to say it’s pretty messed up. But thanks to that, we met Leah, and it saved us too. Whatever the process, I can’t really complain.”

“Even if it meant some people died?”

Tatsuro made a bitter face, as if to say, You’re the one saying that? But he nodded nonetheless.

“Hearing that people I’ve never met died makes me feel sorry for them, but it doesn’t make me sad. It doesn’t even feel real. Honestly, other people dying is just a distant tragedy to me. Meeting Leah was far more important to me, that’s all. Of course, if it had involved someone I knew, I’d be furious, and if Leah wasn’t part of this, I’d probably only feel disgust toward you.”

“Hahaha! You’re a selfish human, Sensei!”

“That’s just how humans are, aren’t they?”

“True. Even for me, it’s about myself first. I’m glad you’re not some justice-obsessed or sanctimonious type, Sensei.”

Tatsuro had helped strangers before, but only when he was sure it posed no danger to himself or his group.

If Ai were at risk, he’d kick anyone aside to escape, no matter how many others were involved.

And he wouldn’t feel ashamed or regret it.

He thought to himself that such a person was indeed far removed from justice.

“So, now that I understand your motive for helping Leah, go on with the story.”

“Of course!”

According to Aarenfrit’s account, the first person to find Leah, a female caretaker, immediately tried to cover it up.

She quickly grabbed a hemp sack and attempted to carry Leah’s body away in it.

“But if you think about it calmly, carrying such a suspicious load would get you caught right away, wouldn’t it?”

“Probably. If I were guarding the entrance, I’d check what was inside.”

“Right. But that would’ve been boring.”

So Aarenfrit used Curse Magic to make the woman temporarily unrecognizable to those around her until her magic ran out.

He left it to her free will to decide where to take the hemp sack but used Curse Magic again to guide her thoughts, making her believe she had to place a golden dagger where she discarded the sack.

“The hemp sack was tightly sealed. Without something to cut it open, she’d die inside, wouldn’t she?”

“That wouldn’t make for much of a game.”

“Exactly. It was shaping up to be a treasure hunt, but if she died before I could solve it, it’d be a letdown. The thrill of whether a frail human could survive long enough to pull it off adds a nice touch, don’t you think?”

While thinking Aarenfrit had a twisted sense of amusement, Tatsuro considered that living for thousands of years with thousands more ahead might naturally lead to dabbling in such strange diversions, and he kept his mouth shut.

“After watching the woman escape the mansion safely, I returned to scout how my competitors would move.”

That’s when he first saw Moritz, he said.

To keep things interesting and not know too much about his opponent’s plans, Aarenfrit began searching independently around the time Moritz decided to start his own search.

Aarenfrit had thought it would be a short game, lasting a few months at most, but even serious searching turned up no leads.

Excited by what he assumed was an intriguing irregularity, he began exploring various places while, for the first time, seriously investigating Moritz.

“But as I mentioned earlier, despite his status, connections in the underworld, and wealth, the guy was just spinning his wheels…”

So Aarenfrit branded him as not worth watching and set off on his journey to find Leah.

With his long lifespan, he patiently searched for over thirty years until he finally learned of Tatsuro and his group, leading him here.

That was the truth of his story.

“When you investigated Moritz’s circle, was there anyone who seemed particularly sharp?”

“Nope. If there had been, I’d have looked into them more thoroughly. Even if it’s just for fun, I hate losing.”

“Hmm. So we still don’t know much about that side…”

“But Moritz is a half-dwarf. Even if he lives a long life, 140 years would be a stretch. Unlike me, a super long-lived species, thirty years is a long time for him. It’s probably safe to assume he’s given up by now.”

“Even so, if there’s a chance he’s still alive, I’ll stay cautious.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, Sensei, I won’t say anything more.”

The conversation paused, and both reached for the cold tea Tatsuro had prepared on the round table.

As Tatsuro let his mind rest, another question suddenly occurred to him.

“By the way, Aarenfrit.”

“What’s up?”

They set their cups down on the desk almost simultaneously and faced each other.

“Why was Leah being held captive there? Do you know anything about that?”

“I didn’t care enough to dig into the details, but I know she must have an exceptional ability to read information. And Moritz was making a fortune creating rare goods with her help.”

“I see. Just to check, you haven’t been spreading that around, have you?”

“Nope. There’s no benefit to me in doing that.”

“I figured. That’s a relief. I’d appreciate it if you kept it quiet going forward too.”

“I wasn’t planning on saying anything, but since it’s a request from you, Sensei, I’ll promise to keep it under wraps.”

“Thanks.”

Tatsuro gave a slight bow and took another sip of tea.

“So, any other questions, Sensei? If not, I’d love to dive into some magic talk.”

“Oh, right, that was the deal. Let’s see… I can stick around for about another hour.”

“Great! So, where should we start”

Though it was called a discussion, most of it was Aarenfrit boasting about how amazing Curse Magic was, with Tatsuro mostly nodding along.

But if you asked Tatsuro if it was boring, he’d say no.

The talk was about Curse Magic and Mixed Tree and Darkness Magic, with hints about how they worked, so it was all valuable information for Tatsuro.

Far from being bored, he listened intently, thinking about sharing it with Nana, and time flew by-before he knew it, the hour was up.

For Aarenfrit, having someone absorb his dimensional-level talk with such enthusiasm was a first, and he was in high spirits the whole time, his lips curled in satisfaction.

“Well, I should head back to my room. It was pretty interesting.”

“Glad to hear it! I’m satisfied too, getting to talk so seriously. Most low-dimensional beings only half-listen to this stuff.”

It’s tough to expect people to care about things they can’t reach in their lifetime, no matter how hard they try.

Tatsuro thought Aarenfrit had a point but brushed it off with a vague response.

They headed toward their rooms, and Aarenfrit got off seven floors below Tatsuro’s, where they parted ways.

Eager to see Ai, Tatsuro climbed to the upper floors.

After thanking Jeanne, who had been keeping watch on the floor, he reached his room, unlocked the door, and was immediately greeted by Ai, who sensed his presence.

“I’m back, Ai.”

“Welcome back, Tatsuro!”

Though they’d only been apart for a short time, it felt like years, and they shared a passionate embrace and kiss.

They continued for about thirty minutes without tiring, then, to cool off their heated bodies and do something not exactly wholesome, they returned Cardina to Tatsuro’s body and headed to the bathhouse together.

Since coming to this other world, they’d been together almost constantly, so even a brief separation made them crave each other, lingering until their bodies were pruney.

For the next seven days, their routine was taking on requests, discussing magic with Aarenfrit, and spending intimate time with Ai before sleeping.

On the morning of the eighth day, Leah emerged from her room and came to Tatsuro.

“Big brother, there’s something I’d like to try. Could you help me?”

“Something you want to try? I’ll help if it’s something I can do, but what exactly do you need?”

“Come to my room, please.”

“Got it.”

“Hey, Leah-chan, can I come too?”

“Sure, that’s fine.”

“Yay!”

With that, they headed to another room on the same floor to help with Leah’s experiment.

“This place… looks like it’ll be a pain to clean…”

“Haha… I got a bit too absorbed.”

The room should’ve had the same layout as Tatsuro and Ai’s, but it was completely different, littered with Leah’s compiled documents, collected supplies, and blacksmith tools scattered everywhere.

Smiling sheepishly, Leah led Tatsuro and Ai through the only clear path, like a trail through the wilderness, deeper into the room.

In a wide space cleared by moving furniture, Leah had set up a makeshift workshop.

While Tatsuro and Ai greeted Nana, who was already there, Leah cleared a spot for them to sit.

“Can you sit here, please?”

“Sure.”

“Okay!”

Once they were seated, Leah promptly handed Tatsuro the object in question.

“What’s this?”

“That’s the core component of the Magic Brain’s main core. Please be careful not to drop it.”

The object was about fifteen centimeters in diameter, translucent light blue, and cut like a rectangular gem with emerald facets on both sides.

Inside, a circuit board-like structure was embedded, giving it the feel of a mechanical part.

“So, Leah-chan, does this mean the Magic Brain is complete?”

“Yes. I’ve finished the operational tests, and all that’s left is to install it in the staff.”

“Got it. But then, what do I need to do? Should I test it too?”

“Ideally, I’d have you test it after installing it. But along the way, I came up with a strengthening method unique to you, big brother, and I want to test if the theory actually works.”

“Unique to me?”

“Unique to Tatsuro?”

Though Tatsuro had gained some knowledge of magic, he was a complete novice at equipment crafting like Leah’s, and Nana was probably more knowledgeable.

Yet, with the Magic Brain-an object even this world’s artisans would consider an oopart-how could he contribute?

Unable to figure it out, the two could only tilt their heads in confusion.