Where there is an imperial capital, wealth and people are bound to gather.
Trade guilds armed with trends led by the finest craftsmen and with capital. Under the gracious blessings of the imperial family, the capital prospers.
The irony is that, regardless of the era, the empire’s largest slum always takes root in the capital.
The holy land where the Saintess resides is no exception.
It is hardly unusual for alleys where no light reaches to form beneath the shadow of a towering cathedral.
A place where rats and paupers roll about together.
A place where one can never grow used to the smell of plague.
A place where, with each passing day, one draws closer to death….
And there stood the headquarters of the Black Magic Guild.
As though they had no intention of hiding it, they had even planted a large sign on the enormous building.
“Please, please let us see the Witch…!”
“Our grandson is burning up with fever!”
A ragged old couple held out a child wrapped in cloth and pleaded.
They said they had walked an entire day with the child on their back just to reach the Witch.
But the guard at the entrance merely pushed them away coldly.
“The Witch is busy at the moment. No one may enter right now.”
“Oh, if you turn us away like this, what are we to do with our grandson!”
“Now, now. I told you it cannot be done. Come again another time.”
“What ‘another time’ does this boy have! Please…. Please, at least let this child breathe the air inside…!”
Just then, a window on the upper floor of the building opened, and a clear voice rang out.
“Let them in.”
“But, Lady Witch….”
“Did I not say it was fine? Let them enter.”
“Ahem. Understood. I will guide the two of you.”
The old couple followed the guard into the guild building.
What greeted them was a stench that pierced the nose and an ominous green fog.
Even the grimy old people could not help but cover the holes of their faces.
“W-what is this….”
“Rest assured. Simply breathing it will not harm your body.”
Then did that mean there was something that would harm them?
Swallowing his curiosity, the old man stood before the door.
Before the guard could even knock, the Witch’s workshop opened.
Beyond the threshold stood a silver-haired woman draped in a black robe.
The one who had accepted them from the window.
The Witch.
Aurelia.
“Aurelia…. It has been a long time since anyone called me that.”
“F-forgive me. This ignorant old man has been rude…!”
“It’s all right. You said the child has a fever?”
“Ah! This is our grandson. Since the day before yesterday he seemed to have no strength, then suddenly he began to burn with fever—”
“Give the child to me.”
Aurelia took the child into her arms.
The child’s harsh, wheezing breaths made it clear at a glance that his condition was poor.
The Witch stroked the child’s cheek and examined the mana within his body.
Soon, Aurelia furrowed her brow.
“Does the child have parents?”
“They are both dead. We are merely taking in this poor thing and raising him.”
“What property do you have?”
“A single shack and a little patch of field where we dig up potatoes to eat. Lady Witch, if it is the cost of medicine, I will sell even my soul to pay it, so please, just the child…!”
“The child will pay the price.”
Leaving the puzzled old couple behind, the Witch let out a deep sigh.
“His life will be saved, but he will live as a cripple for the rest of his days.”
“What?! Oh heavens! What are we to do…!”
It was a grave illness. But not an incurable one.
A well-educated doctor of the empire could have cured it within a fortnight.
A skilled priest could have healed it with a single gesture.
There would be no need to pay a great cost.
But with black magic, the story was different.
For black magic always demanded an unfair bargain.
In Aurelia’s judgment, in order for this child to regain his health, he would have to pay with the future in which he stood on two feet.
It would almost be better if it took a part of his soul instead.
“Will that be all right?”
“A cripple…. He will become a cripple…? Lady Witch, we…. No, please, just let him live!”
“Raising one who cannot walk will be extremely difficult. Your helping hands will lessen while the mouths to feed increase.”
“T-that, well…. Then we will have to sleep less and feed him, raise him, will we not?”
“What happens when you die?”
“That….”
He would crawl across the market floor, begging, until his life ended.
It was stifling.
Because they had not had the fortune to meet a doctor traveling through the empire.
Because they had not had the money to grasp even once at the soft sleeve of a priest, he would have to crawl like an insect.
If they had even had a few coins to hand to some quack, they would never have come to her.
—Had it not been for you, Lady Witch, we would not even have had such an opportunity.
Would they?
How was she seen by those at the very bottom?
Was she the last straw they grasped at, or a vicious loan shark charging interest they could never bear?
Clicking her tongue inwardly, she began writing down the materials needed for the spell.
“Nebra.”
At the Witch’s call, a crow flew in.
“I called Nebra. Why have you come?”
“Caw, caw! That fellow must be slacking off. By now, he is likely roaming the skies of the holy city.”
“Deliver this note, then go find Nebra at once.”
“Caaaw!”
The crow took the paper in its beak and left the room.
The Witch placed the child back in the old woman’s arms.
“Follow Philippus here. He will show you a place to rest for a while. Philippus, would you call me once the preparations for the magic are complete?”
“Understood.”
After sending away the old couple, who bowed with hesitation on their faces.
Aurelia quietly wiped a hand down her face.
The murky future cast over the patient, and the sight of people agonizing over the price of black magic.
Even after more than ten years of doing this, she could never grow used to it.
If only Nebra were here at times like this, he would have lifted her spirits.
In the end, to soothe her mounting stress, she had no choice but to open the gallery.
Putting on a different persona, she made her rounds through several galleries, and finally arrived at the Artisan Gallery.
As it happened, the ceremonial dagger she had ordered was apparently complete.
The new blacksmith rambled incoherently for quite some time before opening the trade window.
‘This is troublesome.’
A trade had to be fair.
If one received something, one had to offer a return gift of corresponding value.
But because she had not expected the dagger to be completed so quickly, she had not kept the item beside her.
If she wanted to give the gift she had in mind, Nebra would have to come.
Flutter!
Just then, a crow flew in through the window frame.
It was the one she had been waiting for.
Aurelia’s dark expression softened at once.
Only then did the Witch greet the crow in an affectionate tone befitting her age.
“Caw, caw! I hear you called for me?!”
“Where did you go, Nebra? I was just in need of you.”
“It always pleases me to hear that I am needed! Caw, caw, caw!”
“I missed you as well, and the time has come. Bring me your egg.”
“Caw-caw-caw-caw! To think you would first weaken my heart with praise, then immediately say you intend to take my offspring—truly, you have the makings of a black mage!”
“You know that isn’t what I mean.”
At Aurelia’s sulky voice, the crow chattered its beak in delight.
“I am sorry, but I cannot give you my egg!”
“What? Why not?”
“Caw! Because that would not be a fair trade! By this crow’s intuition, a far more precious return will be needed!”
Flutter!
Nebra the crow beat his wings fiercely and circled around the cluster of light.
“Crows are far smarter than you imagine! I had already foreseen today’s farewell!”
“Nebra! Don’t tell me you—!”
“I wish to explore the vast world!”
“No, Nebra! If I don’t have you—”
“Now, you will no longer need me either! Aurelia! Farewell!”
With those words, Nebra hurled himself into the cluster of light.
Where Nebra had been, only a single sword with a blade that curved left and right lay forlornly.
“Nebra…!”
At the sight of the sword, Aurelia grew irritated.
To think her most precious friend had been exchanged for a mere sword like this.
The thought of immediately asking the blacksmith for a re-exchange arose in her mind.
But the moment she irritably picked up the sword, a tingling sensation rose in the Witch’s palm.
“Oh?”
Startled, she set the sword down.
A vivid red mark burned clearly into her palm.
Poison?
Her first guess was poison.
But even Aurelia, who was well-versed in poison arts, did not know of such a mechanism.
This welcome yet foreign sensation felt beyond the poison.
Something she had not felt in a very long time, like the scent of a season carried on some summer day.
Ding— ding— ding—
From far away, the bells of the cathedral rang out.
“Ah….”
Only now did she understand Nebra’s words.
That she would no longer need him.
Divine power.
Had he meant that she would regain the power she had lost in childhood?
The Witch tore the hem of her pitch-black robe and wrapped it around her hand.
The dark-magic energy clashing with the divine power was somewhat neutralized.
“All preparations are complete. Please come down.”
“Philippus, it seems the time has truly come.”
“Pardon? More importantly, where did that sword come from…?”
“I am sorry. All the materials you worked so hard to prepare will have to be thrown away.”
“What on earth do you mean…?”
Aurelia looked out the window at the back of the cathedral.
The day she would return was not far off.
***
Even after I threw the kris into the cluster of light, the trade did not go through for a while.
What was this? Did I get scammed?
As I tried hard to hide my confusion, Ji Suyeon asked.
“Wow, what is this? Am I going to learn this too?”
“No, this is…. It’s like an awakened skill only I can use. I offer up an item and receive something else.”
“The dagger was cool, though. It feels kind of disappointing.”
“An artisan’s job is to make things and send them away. I need to get used to it.”
I had asked indirectly several times, but Ji Suyeon seemed to have no idea of the gallery’s existence.
There were likely other awakened artisans besides me and Ji Suyeon.
Had those people not awakened the gallery either?
It would have been nice if there were a gallery where all awakened blacksmiths gathered, so I felt a little regretful.
“Uh, uh! Something’s about to come out!”
Just then, Ji Suyeon shouted toward the cluster of light.
Something really was pushing its way through the flashing beams of light.
Something very black, flapping about without a shred of dignity….
“A crow?”
“Wow, it’s a crow. Cute.”
“Caw! The concentration of mana is different here!”
“Wow, it talks too! Cute!”
“Caw-caw-caw-caw! Is it you? The one who summoned me!”
Me?
“I have been wandering all day, so I am hungry! It would be nice if someone offered me a tribute! I am very fond of nuts, caw-caw-caw-caw!”
While I stood there bewildered, Ji Suyeon took out an energy bar and gave it to him.
“That was my snack….”
“Crow, this is grain, not a tribute.”
“Very nutty, and sweet! Caw—!”
Fortunately, he did not get picky about the chocolate on it.
The crow pecked at the energy bar with his beak and crunched it up.
One energy bar quickly disappeared.
Perhaps the sugar had improved his mood, because he flapped his wings and clacked his beak.
“What do you think his name is? If he doesn’t have one, we can name him!”
“How about Blackie?”
“Caaaaaaaaaw—!”
“I guess he doesn’t like it. What about Kkam?”
“Caw-caw! My name is Nebra. I am the familiar most cherished by my master, Lady Aurelia!”
“Who is Aurelia?”
“I don’t know either. Why don’t we just call him Blackie?”
“A one-sided relationship…. Interesting! We already know you, after all!”
The crow flapped up into the sky.
“Thank you for the mea-l! I should give something in return as well, no?”
“Something in return?”
“Caw, caw! I shall be back shortly! I will grant what you desire!”
He would grant what I desired?
Without even asking what that was?