Chapter 151: In the Workshop, One Day
“Sue, hold him down tight!”
“D-do I really have to participate in this?”
“S-save me, Marie!”
“Hey, how am I supposed to…”
“Aaaaaah!”
The high priest’s desperate cry turned into a pained scream before Sue could even finish her sentence.
“Stop exaggerating, it doesn’t even hurt.”
Jean, after injecting the high priest’s arm with an unknown substance, smacked the back of his head.
He had only given him an injection, he hadn’t done anything else.
“How do I know what’s in that injection! I-I’m going to die!”
The high priest’s anxiety, fueled by the daily injections of unknown substances, had reached its peak. But no one here cared about his grievances.
“Just go feed Rem and come back.”
Jean, having finished his experiment for the day, took a breather. But the high priest, still resentful, gritted his teeth loud enough for Sue to hear.
“Just you wait, Jean Emilia, I’ll get you back for this humiliation someday…”
He had said it with bravado, but all he did was grab a bucket of feed and open the workshop door.
Sue watched, dumbfounded, as the once-vicious man had completely adapted to his life as an experimental subject.
“Jean, what was that injection?”
“That? Vitamins.”
“What?”
Jean chuckled, organizing his tools.
“Let’s just say it was… vitamins mixed with something else.”
“Ah, yes, sure, let’s just say that.”
She wasn’t brave enough to know the truth yet. Not yet.
Sue casually browsed the magic books on the table while the high priest was feeding Rem. All the magic books in the workshop were written by Jean, and the basic ones were surprisingly easy to understand.
Sue, like the high priest, had become quite accustomed to her life, coming and going from Jean’s workshop. Not only that, but she even felt a sense of security in this secret place, hidden from the world.
She wanted to live here if she ever had to run away from Enzhe.
“Sue, here’s your medicine.”
The workshop’s owner, oblivious to his client’s thoughts, placed a large potion bottle on the table.
Sue, startled by the loud thud, snapped out of her daze.
“What’s this?”
The glass bottle, filled with a blue liquid, was so large that she could barely hold it with both hands.
“It’s a pain reliever that will ease the pain of the curse. Take it three times a day, you’ll feel better.”
“…Will it work?”
“Yes, I made it specifically for the snake curse.”
Sue had taken countless pain relievers and curse-weakening potions. But none of them had worked, and they had all been discarded.
“It’s still in the experimental stage, so it might not be very effective. But I made it so there are no side effects, so you can take it without worry. And write down a record of your daily intake and submit it to me.”
“So I’m being experimented on too.”
Sue looked up at Jean, who was leaning against the potion bottle. Jean, unable to deny it, clicked his tongue.
“I don’t have many samples, so it can’t be helped. But I won’t do anything that will harm you, Sue. You’re my client.”
“I know.”
Sue smiled gently. She trusted Jean Emilia.
“Jean, but… just in case…”
“Huh? What is it?”
Sue’s eyelids drooped. She felt like it was time to voice the question that had been bothering her.
“If I also got the curse in exchange for my lifespan… how much time do I have left?”
A heavy silence fell over the workshop. Jean stared at her for a long time, his face emotionless. He had to choose his words carefully.
Finally, he spoke,
“…Sue, lifespan is a relative and subjective concept. Even if you gave up 100 years of your life, some people might live for another 100 years, while others might die the next day, even if they only gave up a day’s worth of life. Lifespan, vitality, life. These are things that can change depending on your will.”
“….”
“All I can say is… let’s break the curse. That’s all.”
“…I know.”
Sue played along with his sophistry. Jean was worried about her too, in his own way.
Sue also wanted to be optimistic. She had managed to survive for 17 years since the curse was engraved. And as the Byron family was overflowing with money, they must have paid a hefty price for the deal.
“Sue, you’ll definitely survive. Don’t worry.”
Perhaps because he had never spoken with false pretenses or lies, his words were always reassuring.
***
Sue, leaving the workshop, saw the high priest napping in the meadow, leaning against Rem’s back. Rem had started to warm up to the high priest. Sue found it strange, as Rem was still wary of her.
She was about to walk past them when she changed her mind. Luckily, Rem was asleep too, so he wasn’t particularly alert.
The high priest’s eyes were still closed. Looking at him closely, his face looked much healthier than when he was at the Holy Demon Religion chapel.
‘Did Jean really put vitamins in the injection…?’
Sue tilted her head, unsure. And then, the high priest, who had been waiting for her to leave, finally opened his eyes.
“Hey, if you’re going to leave, leave quickly. I’m going to sleep.”
“Huh? You weren’t asleep?”
“I’m going to sleep now.”
The high priest waved his hand dismissively, his face weary. But Sue didn’t move, and her shadow continued to loom over him.
“Seriously, what’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”
The high priest sighed heavily and sat up. Sue, as if she had been waiting for it, said,
“Don’t you regret giving up three years of your life?”
So that’s what she was hesitating about.
The high priest shrugged, chuckling inwardly.
“I told you, it was a life I wanted to escape from, even if it meant giving up more of my life.”
“Escape… Right, I understand.”
“You don’t look like you understand. Is it too difficult for a capital lady to comprehend? Hahaha!”
Sue didn’t deny his mockery.
“You’re right, it’s hard to understand. I’ve never lived in the wasteland. But I made a deal with Jean because I wanted to escape from my current life. So I understand that part.”
“Then let me ask you, what would you do if someone told you that you had to give up three years of your life to break the curse on your body?”
Sue thought about it. It wasn’t a difficult question.
“I would give it up if that was the only way.”
“Exactly, we’re the same.”
The high priest clasped his hands behind his head.
“If I’m powerless, I have to rely on someone else. And to rely on someone else, I have to make a deal. You, at least, have parents, a family, and money. So you were able to make a better deal, you noble brat.”
It was a resentful complaint, unimaginable coming from the high priest of the Holy Demon Religion. But Sue, arrogantly, understood his resentment.
“Did your hair turn white because you lived in the wasteland?”
She asked, pointing at his white hair, which was now more lustrous than before.
“Hmph, why the hell are you asking that? …You’re right. I was almost eaten by a monster. My hair turned white after that. Got a problem with that?”
“No, no problem…”
Sue trailed off.
She had never seen a monster in person. They said they were everywhere outside the barrier, but she had never felt their presence or danger.
‘Halo and Airan were really lucky.’
Their clothes were dirty, and they looked exhausted, but their faces weren’t melting like someone else’s, and their skin wasn’t completely pale like another’s.
“But you look tired these days.”
The high priest said, noticing Sue’s pale face. Even he, who wasn’t particularly concerned about her, was worried.
“The snake keeps acting up. It’s hard.”
“Hmm… You said you’re being controlled by that Enzhe woman?”
Sue nodded silently.
“That must be annoying.”
The high priest clicked his tongue.
To think that he had given up his life for a snake that only caused pain, and that someone else was controlling the curse. He would probably die of frustration if he were in her shoes.
“Right! Why don’t you just slap her across the face? How about that?”
“What?”
“She’s annoying, isn’t she? You have to fight back.”
“Haha, you have no idea. The moment I do that, my life will be over.”
“That’s why you have to be prepared to die. If I were you, I would have slapped her.”
Sue, hearing his irresponsible words, replied with an equally irresponsible statement,
“Right, I’ll do that if I get the chance.”
“Yes! Good! You slap her, and I’ll slap Jean!”
They had said it with confidence, but it was a declaration that would never come true.
***
The final year at Full Bloom academy had begun.
It would have been nice if the students were excited about graduating, but after eight years at the academy, it was hard to feel anything.
Sue, who was technically in her third year, was indifferent to the grade promotion. She was even starting to get tired of spring, which she was experiencing for the third time in Atlantis.
Sue, now in her eighth year, was assigned to the Red Snake class. Finally separated from Halo and Fritz, she was now classmates with a different set of difficult people.