Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Eight: Magical Power Deficiency
Black sand was scattered around the settlement. It seemed to encircle the entire perimeter of the plateau where the settlement was located.
The black sand looked highly suspicious, so Karen crept around the settlement searching for a gap, but before she’d even covered a quarter of the endlessly continuing ring of black sand, she gave up looking for a break.
Karen stepped over the black sand with a long stride, being careful not to touch it. There was nothing particularly wrong with her body.
She couldn’t feel any sign of people from within the settlement.
However, Karen crouched down and cautiously approached the settlement while hiding behind the surrounding rocks as cover. There must surely be some kind of trap.
Yet no matter how far she went, she didn’t encounter anyone. Even after entering the settlement.
At the far end of the settlement, beyond rows of ramshackle huts, stood one conspicuously large mansion. If there were a mastermind behind the series of incidents, and if some hidden conspiracy lay buried anywhere, it would undoubtedly be there—such was the overwhelming air of suspicion that building exuded.
However, Karen didn’t head there.
“That way…”
After Karen inadvertently muttered while looking in a completely different direction from the building, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
There was no sign of people, but they might just be hiding.
Collecting herself once more, Karen headed in the direction she needed to go.
Being in a body that had used up all its magical power, in this space with an abnormally absent sense of magical pressure, she could feel the presence of magical power standing out tremendously. So Karen simply needed to head toward where she felt magical pressure, in the direction where breathing became difficult.
The direction she needed to go was at the edge of the settlement. It was exactly on the opposite side from the spot where Karen had earlier given up searching for a break and stepped over the black sand.
From deep within the black gap between fallen towering rocks that had become cave-like, she could feel the pressure of magical power.
Karen gulped and entered among the rocks.
Once inside and her eyes adjusted, it wasn’t as dark as it had looked from outside.
With the sunlight blocked, the temperature felt like it had suddenly dropped. Still, light leaking through gaps in the rocks illuminated her feet, and it didn’t seem like she’d have trouble walking. However, the air was damp, and moss had grown everywhere, making it look slippery if she tried to run.
As she proceeded, a section appeared with iron bars fitted to use the gap between rocks as a prison. There was definitely someone with magical power ahead.
If that person were imprisoned, there would undoubtedly be a guard. Karen currently had no means whatsoever to oppose that guard. Though quite some time had passed since she’d used up all her magical power and come to this place, her magical power wasn’t recovering at all. In her state of depleted magical power, Karen was just a slender-armed woman. If the guard were a man, then even against someone without magical power, the current Karen would not stand a chance—
Karen took out a medicinal herb from her pouch, put it in her mouth, and stuck it to her palate. This was a preparation for recovery in case she got into combat, was defeated, and had all her belongings taken. If only her magical power recovered, she might be able to synthesize a potion in her mouth, as Tim had once mentioned.
However, she didn’t end up in combat with a guard.
There was a chair in front of the cage where Julius was, but there was no one there—it was unmanned.
Karen, finding Julius collapsed inside the cage, rushed to the bars despite him being the source of the suffocating pressure.
“Mr. Julius!”
The iron cage rattled noisily, echoing within the rock prison.
If anyone had been lurking nearby, they surely would have heard.
But no one appeared. Was there no one there, or were they observing the situation?
Though Julius should be able to hear too, there was no response.
His right leg looked bent in the wrong direction even without looking closely, making Karen want to avert her eyes.
If she listened carefully, she could hear rough breathing sounds coming from Julius.
Karen took the key hanging on the wall and unlocked the iron bars with a prayer-like feeling.
“Mr. Julius—”
The moment Karen tried to help Julius up and was stunned by the weight of his body, her world flipped upside down.
“Owww…!”
Having slammed her head hard against the rock floor, Karen tried to writhe in pain, but even that was impossible.
“Mr… Julius…?”
When she realized it, Karen had been pulled down to the rocky ground with Julius mounted on top of her.
Her relief that Julius had enough strength left to raise his body was short-lived.
Both her arms were pinned to the ground, and she couldn’t move.
Julius, looking down at Karen, twisted his face in some kind of pain and looked down at Karen with unfocused eyes while breathing roughly.
“Ka… ren…?”
Julius squinted as if his vision was blurred, staring at Karen.
In her pinned-down state, she looked up at such a Julius and nodded.
The head she’d hit throbbed when she nodded, but ignoring the pain, Karen said:
“Yes, Mr. Julius. I came to rescue you.”
“Push me away and run…! I want magical power right now, I want it so badly I can’t stand it…!”
Julius said in agonized gasps.
She could predict that this environment without magical power must be painful and difficult, especially for those who possessed it.
Though his body needed magical power, just being in this place was probably constantly draining it. That’s why Karen’s magical power wasn’t recovering either.
Because she had no magical power, with Karen’s slender arms, she probably couldn’t even push away Julius’s body, even though he wasn’t putting any force into it.
Much less could she possibly push away Julius, who no longer seemed capable of releasing her by his own will.
However, Karen smiled without saying any of that.
“I won’t run away, Mr. Julius. If there’s anything I can do, please let me help.”
It was not that she stayed because she could not escape. So that he would understand she had chosen to stay of her own will, Karen met Julius’s eyes as she spoke.
Julius twisted his finely arranged features.
“I’ll… hurt you…!”
“It’s okay if you hurt me. I like you, Mr. Julius.”
Though she’d confessed, Julius’s expression didn’t change.
Karen smiled bitterly, feeling no response at all.
After all, she had desired marriage with Julius from the moment they met, so from Julius’s perspective, it must only feel like "what are you saying now?”
“The feelings I have for you now are different from when I was attracted to your reputation and desired marriage as a completion reward. Unlike when I wanted marriage with you to improve my life—now I want to do anything I can for you.”
“Saying ‘anything’…! You don’t even know what I’m about to do, so don’t say such things so lightly!”
Scolded by Julius, Karen thought, "Indeed.”
As a result, so she wouldn’t have regrets no matter what Julius was about to do, Karen somehow lifted her head from her pinned-down position and, with a burst of resolve, pressed her lips against his.
Julius, whose lips had been stolen, widened his eyes to the point of bursting from their sockets, then immediately leaned over and took Karen’s lips back.
The medicinal herb stuck to Karen’s palate was snatched away by Julius’s tongue in an instant.
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