Chapter 35
Noah regained consciousness at the voice of someone who seemed to be a doctor in the inn, but he couldn’t open his eyes immediately. Lying in a state neither sleep nor awake, feeling as if his heavy body was sinking deep into the ground, he heard Regina leaving the room.
“…Goodbye.”
It was somewhat amusing that she maintained her politeness even while fleeing. He could have forced himself to get up and stop her, but the bother of doing so outweighed the desire.
Without reacting, he kept his eyes closed. Suddenly, the image of Regina carrying his collapsed body yesterday flashed in his mind. Even while sobbing, she had tightly gripped his arm. Honestly, he thought she was pitiful.
‘…Does she lack any survival instinct? She could have just run away at this opportunity. Why is she doing this? And after running away once, why did she come back?’
Noah almost laughed at Regina’s flustered behavior. Strangely though, he wasn’t annoyed by her. He kept finding his gaze drawn to her, and this unfamiliar feeling puzzled him.
This strange Black Fairy was clumsy but honest, without pretense. As a result, her straightforward emotions were exposed, unrefined.
Noah felt awkward at her rough approach, like a small animal rubbing its head against his leg. Watching her try to smile while trembling and glancing at him nervously, Noah found himself smirking involuntarily.
Did she think he would grow fond of her if she acted like this?
That futile expectation was absurd, but Noah let it be. Even knowing that Regina would one day become a significant threat to him, for now, he just wanted to leave her be.
– It smells delicious.
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in Noah’s ears as he lay on the bed with his eyes closed, lost in thought. Simultaneously, the image of a woman with disheveled hair, sitting and crying, flashed in his mind. A black-haired woman looking at young Noah with a tear-stained face.
– Such a sweet smell.
It was a face he hadn’t recalled for a long time. Noah frowned and opened his eyes abruptly, as if shaking off the lingering image of the woman. He blinked at the clean inn ceiling for a moment before forcibly raising his impossibly heavy body.
“Ugh… I guess I’m not fully recovered yet.”
He got up, holding his breath against the stabbing pain felt throughout his body. Only Noah’s luggage remained in the room.
If she ran away, she probably went to the train station.
He hadn’t particularly thought about going after Regina. But if he didn’t catch her, she would likely consume humans. Moreover, he needed the Light Fairy’s pocket watch. He needed it to track down Black Fairies.
“…Sigh.”
Irritably turning his head, he roughly put on his coat, gathered his luggage, and set out. Somehow, he felt like he’d been sighing more often since meeting Regina.
* * *
When Noah arrived at the train station, sure enough, he saw Regina’s back as she sat in a chair. She was fidgeting nervously, probably waiting for a train. Noah stood a little distance away, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching Regina for a moment.
Was it those long, curly black locks that reminded him of ‘that woman’? As he was lost in thought, he suddenly straightened up when he saw Ezra, who had appeared silently, looking down at Regina, who had her head bowed.
He didn’t particularly intend to save Regina. However, the moment he saw Ezra’s hand reaching towards her, he moved without realizing it. Perhaps he didn’t want to see Regina among the countless Black Fairies trapped in Ezra’s laboratory.
“Um… Mr. Noah.”
It was nothing more than not wanting to see someone he had briefly spent a few days with being dissected alive and trapped in that solution. It certainly held no deeper meaning. After all, he couldn’t possibly grow fond of a Black Fairy. As Noah walked, trying to rationalize his uncharacteristic behavior to himself, he turned his head at the sound of Regina calling him.
“What?”
“Uh, well. Are you feeling better?”
Noah inwardly smirked at Regina, who flinched in surprise when he turned to look at her after she called out to him. Was she trying to gauge his mood now that her escape had failed?
“Rather than worrying about my body, you should be lamenting the failure of your escape.”
“What?”
“It’s exactly as I said. And next time you run away, you don’t need to be so polite with your goodbyes.”
She had done nothing wrong. She was alive, so she ran to survive, that’s all. If anything, wasting time trying to save him was the wrong choice.
“Your attempt to escape is natural behavior, so there’s no need to be wary of me. And we’ll stop by Maverick’s mansion before heading to Hoern today, so keep that in mind.”
Noah said this and turned back to walk forward. Because of this, he didn’t see Regina’s face turning red with embarrassment.
The escape had failed. Now they were back to square one. She felt as if invisible shackles were being locked on her again with a click. After experiencing a moment of freedom, the presence of the shackles she hadn’t noticed before now felt vividly clear. Regina’s shoulders slumped heavily as she followed Noah silently with her head bowed.
* * *
Maverick, who was deeply engrossed in his research, frowned at the sound of someone knocking on the door. There shouldn’t be anyone coming to see him. It was becoming quite annoying as the knocking persisted even after a long wait.
“Who could be making such a racket?”
-Click.
Once a sound starts to irritate, it’s hard to ignore. He had no choice but to pause his research and press the switch on the telescope at the side of his desk, closing one eye to look through it. The telescope, modified to show the front gate, revealed Noah and Regina, who had visited a few days ago.
“Mr. Noah?”
Maverick was startled and stood up, not expecting Noah to return so soon after his recent visit. He pressed the button to open the mansion gate, and soon after, he could see Regina and Noah coming down the stairs.
“Mr. Noah, this is the first time you’ve returned after just a few days, isn’t it? Did something happen? Ah, it’s nice to see you again too, Miss Regina.”
“Hello, Mr. Maverick.”
“I nearly died meeting a high-ranking one. I used up all my bullets then, so I’m here to buy more. And if possible, to upgrade some weapons.”
“High-ranking! You mean they actually exist? Where on earth did you encounter one?! No, more importantly, how did you manage to survive an encounter with a high-ranking one!”
It was one surprise after another. As Maverick finally took a closer look at Noah’s face, he noticed how pale he looked. Judging by his paper-white complexion, he must have been severely injured.
“Well, I got lucky. Anyway, can you show me the weapons first? We’re short on time.”
However, Noah waved his hand, seemingly annoyed by Maverick’s scrutinizing gaze, and urged him to show the weapons.
“Ah, yes. Just a moment.”
Maverick opened the inner wall and took out several pistols from the display to check their condition. He glanced sideways at Regina, who was standing dejectedly to one side. Noah beside her was also standing expressionlessly.
‘Did they have a fight or something….’
Wanting to avoid getting caught in the awkward atmosphere between the two, Maverick focused on selecting weapons.
“Noah, how did you find the revolver I gave you last time? I attached a blade to the barrel, was it too heavy?”
“It wasn’t bad. Not too heavy either. But they’re both useless now. My opponent was immune to my blood.”
“What?! Your blood didn’t work? That can’t be… Are you serious?”
Surprised by this unexpected information, Maverick put down the pistols he had selected. If Noah’s blood didn’t work, this type of weapon was meaningless. After pondering for a moment, he seemed to make a decision and closed the wall panel displaying the weapons.
“Hey, I asked for weapons. Why are you closing it?”
“Your blood didn’t work? Could you please explain the situation in detail?”
Noah hesitated at Maverick’s firm attitude. Seeing his serious expression, Noah sighed softly and, as if he had no choice, briefly explained the situation where he confronted the high-ranking fairy.
Maverick listened quietly, nodding to himself as if understanding, then suddenly approached the desk he had been sitting at until just now.
“This is perfect timing. I’ve been researching something. It’s not complete yet, but we need to test it.”
“What…?”
“Actually, I’ve been investigating the ‘Black Star Fragments’ that suddenly appeared in the capital recently. The Royal Institute ‘Arme’ suddenly started distributing them one day, but their origin remains a mystery to the general public.”
“Maverick, I’ll say it again, we don’t have much time before our train to Hoern leaves. I don’t have the luxury to listen to your research presentation right now, so can you just give me the weapons and ammunition box now?”
“Then I’ll just give you the conclusion briefly. This stone, Noah, it reacts to your blood.”
“What?”
Noah, who was about to hand over money and take the weapons if Maverick repeated himself one more time, asked back with a surprised expression. Regina, who had been standing quietly with her mouth shut until now, was equally surprised.
“It reacts to Noah’s blood? The Black Star Fragment?”
“Yes! That’s right, Miss Regina. Rather than just hearing about it, it would be faster to understand if you see it directly. Please look here.”
Regina, who had been looking around at the machines piled up like mountains in the corner, raised her head to look at Maverick. As Regina and Noah’s gazes focused on him, Maverick proudly shrugged his shoulders like a professor receiving attention from students and picked up a beaker from the desk.
“This contains a Black Star Fragment. If I add one drop of Noah’s blood that I collected a few days ago…”
-Fizzle!
The moment Noah’s blood touched the small diamond-shaped stone fragment in the transparent beaker, it happened. Suddenly, the stone fragment lost its shape and crumbled with a crackling sound. The hard, smooth surface disappeared instantly, turning into powder.
“What on earth…?!”
Regina slightly opened her mouth and leaned her head towards the beaker Maverick was holding. Noah also raised one eyebrow, glaring at the black powder inside the beaker.
“To think it turns into black powder when it touches my blood, it’s almost like…”
“Yes. That’s right, Noah. It’s like a Black Fairy, isn’t it?”
Maverick grinned, completing Noah’s unfinished sentence.
