Chapter 8: What Have I Done

“I think I’m dying.”

Sushia, spitting out viscous black blood, wore a faint expression.

“There’s so much I haven’t done yet... I need to visit the new dessert shop in the shopping district, and I want to travel to the Kelli Kingdom, and I wanted to have a group meeting with the judiciary...”

“Calm down, Sushia.”

“I always wanted to get married to a handsome man and live in a mansion with a garden and a pond, and maybe keep a couple of dogs.”

“Sushia.”

“But now, all these dreams will remain unfulfilled, won’t they. Life is like a bubble, only a fleeting moment can make us eternal...”

Ascal tapped Sushia’s forehead with the back of his hand.

“Ouch!”

“You’re perfectly fine right now.”

“...Am I?”

Sushia wiped the black blood smeared around her mouth. When she vomited blood, Ascal had thought he might need to take her to a doctor immediately.

However, as time went on, Sushia’s complexion started to improve, actually regaining a healthy color.

“Oh. I apologize. I wasn’t considerate enough.”

Then, Hanson, serving the main dish himself, wiped the spilled black blood off the floor with a wet cloth.

“Today’s special is Yakseon*. It’s specially prepared to assist your mind and body, likely fatigued from dealing with national affairs.”

Hanson continued.

“It seems like the lady has been having some respiratory issues. How are you feeling now?”

Sushia, who had been listening blankly, cleared her throat with a cough.

“...Huh? I sang all night yesterday, so my throat was in bad shape. But now, I think could sing about ten songs – my throat’s in pretty good condition.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It seems like the dish worked well for you.”

Hanson cleared away the empty appetizer plates and served the main course.

“It’s a lamb dish. The outside is crisply cooked, while the inside has been made tender in the oven. It’s topped with homemade apple sauce, for an unburdened taste.”

They say a great dish delights starting from the eyes.

Various herbs and spices gracefully adorned the lamb meat.

The perfectly browned, crispy skin seemed like it would reveal moist juice and a tender meaty flavor at the first bite.

Having skipped lunch, he almost instinctively picked up his fork to take a bite, but Ascal once again remembered why they were here.

‘I need to check for magic stone poison.’

Ascal assessed Lia with a superficial glance. Indeed, upon seeing the dish, something seemed amiss in Lia’s gaze, it held a peculiar glint.

‘Lia is sensitive to magic. She must have noticed the Magic Stone Powder sprinkled on the food.’

In reality, a small amount of Magic Stone Powder wasn’t a major health concern. It was when it accumulated that major issues occurred.

So, he thought an appetizer’s worth would be alright, but symptoms appeared in Sushia the moment she tasted the dish.

What deviated from expectations was not that Sushia’s condition worsened after eating the appetizer, but rather improved.

‘A temporary recovery?’

It might be akin to a drug. It temporarily numbs the pain and restores vitality but wrecks the body in the long run.

Symptoms appeared so suddenly either because Sushia’s condition was already quite poor, or Hanson used an excessive amount of Magic Stone Powder this time.

Or it could be both.

Just as Ascal, having pieced it together, was about to press Hanson—

“You used Magic Stone Powder in the food.”

“...You noticed?”

Lia beat him to it. Hanson’s expression hardened. Ascal sensed a shift in the atmosphere within the restaurant.

‘That's it, Hanson.’

He had thoroughly arranged for personnel to wait outside in advance. This was also absolutely necessary for his own protection. Even if entwined in a joint responsibility, if he arrested Hanson himself, his punishment would be lighter.

Ascal, tensed, awaited Hanson’s move. It was a hair-trigger situation.

“A quantity like this must have been quite pricey, are you alright with that?”

“It was a bit of a burden, but what is too much for a benefactor.”

“...Hmm?”

But the atmosphere was peculiar. Lia, well-versed in Magic, did not interrogate Hanson further, and Hanson, seemingly embarrassed, rubbed the back of his neck.

‘What was going on here?’

Ascal was taken aback but maintained a calm tone as he spoke.

“I don’t understand. Doesn’t Magic Stone Powder accumulate in the human body, leading to addiction? It would cause serious complications later on.”

And upon examining Lia’s face, it held an expression that seemed to ask what he was saying. It was like the face one might make when seeing someone throw stones at a person who did a good deed.

“If you use cheap Magic Stone Powder, that’s what happens.”

After a moment of silence, Hanson sighed.

Then, he spoke self-deprecatingly.

“In truth, back in the day when I wasn’t recognized, I did harbor wicked thoughts. Thoughts of deceiving people’s eyes with dishes using cheap, inferior Magic Stone.”

Hanson clenched his fist tightly.

“However! With the improvement of Magic Stone in the Empire, good-quality Stone Powder began to be mass-produced, so there’s no need to do such things anymore. Now anyone can use good-quality Magic Stone Powder at a cheap price.”

Wait a minute.

‘Improvement of Magic Stone?’

‘That’s the thing I did.’

Ascal lost his words at the term that unexpectedly popped up.

“Moreover, the benefactor recognized my value; how could I possibly engage in such petty tricks now? I can now incinerate this body to embody my culinary philosophy. All of this is thanks to my benefactor, to you, Ascal-nim.”

This wasn’t right.

Why was everything going wrong?

‘No.’

‘Really.’

“Ah... It’s just a coincidence.”

“You’re even humble, Ascal-nim. Please visit our restaurant anytime. I will not accept money from you for a lifetime. No, how dare I even accept it!”

Watching Hanson, even shedding tears, Ascal thought he had been such a passionate person.

“Then, please enjoy your meal.”

It felt like a storm had just passed through.

Ascal, soulless, picked up meat with his fork.

‘It’s delicious...’

Thanks to the Magic Stone Powder cuisine, his back, always stiff from always doing administrative work, felt better. Ascal looked towards Lia. Lia, originally having a healthy body, seemed to have no change.

Today’s gain: Just came, enjoyed a delicious meal, and left.

.

.

.

‘Strike while the iron is hot,’ Ascal, having confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Hanson’s shop, decided to deal with the illegal stall of the witch in one go.

Trying to escape, claimed overtime work, Sushia was just barely kept by promising to buy a high-end Montblanc as a deal

When Ascal opened the shabby tent door, an elderly woman with deep wrinkles flashed a sinister smile.

“Hehehe... I’ve been waiting for you, noble sir.”

Ascal hadn’t liked fortunetellers since long ago.

In his previous life, after having his fortune told, he heard some crap about dying young.

Moreover, the witch seemed to have severe hygiene issues.

Touching cards with fingers, marred by fungus, looked distinctly unsanitary.

“Here’s the official document. It bears the seal of the executive branch, so check to see there’s nothing amiss, and from today, this illegal stall will be dismantled.”

“Do not hasten so, noble sir. My coming here was to meet you. How about having your fortune told, just once?”

‘What’s the point?’

Ascal frowned.

“I don’t believe in superstitions.”

“I’m curious though. Can I have mine told instead?”

Sushia stepped forward.

Ascal recalled that a few days ago, Sushia came with a rosary wrapped around her wrist. Sushia was the type to enjoy superstitions.

But wasn’t the administration of this country too lax, even when conducting official business?

“Don’t be foolish, woman. But fine. I’ll allow your fortune to be told out of respect for the noble sir.”

“…Huh?”

Contrary to when she looked at Ascal, the witch’s face turned stern in a blink.

In the interval when Sushia was startled by the flip-of-a-hand change in demeanor, the witch began to tell the fortune.

Shuffling the cards, and laying them out, the witch spoke.

“It’s the fortune of betrayal. Noble sir, do not trust this woman too much.”

“...That’s it? She’s really crazy. Manger-nim, let’s dismantle this right away?”

“She might surprisingly have some credibility.”

“Manger-nim?”

Ascal nodded his head.

“Have a look at my fortune as well.”

“Of course. Please come closer.”

The witch, who also told this fortune, raised her voice as if a miner discovering a diamond in a mine.

“Ohhhhhhhh! The energy of the heavenly messenger is so pure! Noble sir, allow me to verify further.”

Without asking for permission, the witch palpated Ascal’s palm with her wrinkly, aged hand. Ascal scowled.

“Read my fortune, too.”

Lia took a step forward. The witch lifted her head to the firm voice.

“Well, there seems to be another possessor of unusual energy here. Let’s see. But this time, I’ll read the fortune in a slightly different way.”

The witch spoke in a serious tone.

“Place your hand on the crystal ball.”

Lia laid her hand on the crystal ball.

“Oh... oh... This is the blood of a dragon, so noble... This too is..."

The witch, muttering something to herself and intensely gazing at the crystal ball,

<You tread on my land with your filthy feet, showing not an ounce of respect.>

<Do not open your mouth. Can you not feel the tainted air from your lungs reaching me? I should sew those wicked lips shut first.>

<Witch.>

<You>

<You should never have set foot on this land to begin with.>

<The only space I could allow you is, yes,>

<About the size of a neck, I suppose.>

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

Suddenly screaming, the lower half of the witch heated up. The witch, who wet herself refreshingly, swiftly crawled on all fours and fled the tent.

“...What on earth happened?”

Lia, removing her hand from the crystal ball, wiped her hand with a handkerchief, as if she touched something filthy.

“Witches often perform strange actions. They are a kind beyond common understanding.”

“Is that so?”

“Now that the witch has left, it should be easier to dismantle this place.”

Lia adeptly instructed the laboring servants to dismantle the tent.

“What should we do with the items left behind by the witch?”

“Either burn them or confiscate them. It’s at your discretion, Manger-nim.”

Among other things, the crystal ball seemed quite enticing. A witch carries only one crystal ball in her lifetime. A witch’s crystal ball, endowed with magic, was sold at a high price even on the black market.

“Let’s omit this from the report.”

Ascal embezzled the witch’s crystal ball!

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

[ TN: Yakseon: It literally meaning 'food that is (as good as) medicine'. 

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