Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 36
I raised my eyebrows at a story I’d never heard before. This was something that hadn’t come up even in the original novel. Maybe it was part of the later chapters I hadn’t read yet.
“It’s all just speculation for now. We need to find out who mined these magic stones, why they engraved spells into them and processed them like this, and for what purpose they’re being distributed. If someone is deliberately spreading them, we absolutely have to catch them.”
“Alright, I’ll pass on the message exactly as you said.”
I picked up the pouch, gave the archbishop a bow, and left his office.
Even as I left the chapel, my mind was a mess. I never expected to get information I hadn’t read in the original story. Everything was completely confusing.
Looking around, I headed for a secluded spot under the castle wall. There, behind a big oak tree, I rummaged through my subspace and took out the grimoire.
“Magic stone, magic stone… Ah, here it is.”
Fortunately, the original Lysian had also organized information about magic stones. I traced the words with my finger as I read.
[Magic stones refer to gemstones containing miasma. The more miasma-filled the mine where it is mined, the more miasma it contains. You can inscribe spells into a magic stone, and its color changes depending on the spell inscribed. There are five basic elements: water, fire, wind, earth, and light. If an evil black spell is inscribed, it turns black.]
Of all things, the magic stone was black, which gave me a bad feeling.
[If you want to find out what the spell is, it’s simple. If you channel your own mana into the magic stone, the spell will activate and you’ll be able to see it.]
Following the instructions in the book, I took the magic stone in my hand and carefully channeled my mana into it. It began to glow faintly, and the spell inscribed in the stone started to rise to the surface.
“Huh, this…”
I saw a pattern I recognized. It was exactly the same as the scar on my chest.
…To think the same spell engraved into a black magic stone with an evil spell would be the one on my own body.
“This is really unsettling.”
Why was the scar on my chest also engraved on a magic stone? What was the connection between Lysian and this magic stone?
I wasn’t sure I should hand this over to Kyle’s party.
No matter what, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was somehow involved in this incident.
***
The next day, as the archbishop had said, the verdict at the trial was ‘not guilty’.
The archbishop’s impassioned defense had been a big help. The Emperor was convinced by the archbishop, and since there was no evidence, the hero’s party was released as soon as they were cleared of all charges.
Instead, an imperial decree was given: they had to find the Black Flame Dragon within a month. If not, it would be proven that they had let the Black Flame Dragon go on purpose, and they would be found guilty.
“Find the Black Flame Dragon within a month? Are they insane?”
I nodded along as Gerard grumbled. Finding the Black Flame Dragon within a month was impossible.
It’d be impossible even in a year. I was going to keep hiding, after all.
The first thing Kyle did after being acquitted was head to the largest inn in the capital and treat himself to a huge meal.
Somehow, before I knew it, I ended up at the inn with them as well.
“So, Lysian, what did you want to give us?”
Only then did I take out the velvet pouch from my pocket and hand it to Kyle.
“It’s something the archbishop asked me to deliver.”
“What’s this? Did he send money or something?”
Kyle, sounding uncharacteristically petty for a hero, opened the pouch. But when he saw what was inside, his brows furrowed.
“A magic stone?”
He recognized it right away, so he must have known about magic stones. That meant I didn’t need to explain.
“Apparently, someone is engraving spells into those magic stones and spreading them around. If you attach one of those stones to an ordinary animal, it turns into a violent monster. That’s why there have been so many monster attacks lately.”
Just delivering the whole message made me a little tired. Kyle didn’t seem particularly surprised about the monster attacks, so he must have already known about it.
“So that’s what was causing it? But who’s behind this?”
“That’s what the archbishop wants you to find out.”
“Yeah? Tracking down the Black Flame Dragon is the urgent task, but… Since he helped us, we should help the archbishop, too.”
If this was part of the later story in the original and the Black Flame Dragon was involved, I figured it would be best to check things out with my own eyes.
If it looked dangerous, I could always run away then.
“So, about that…. If your offer from before still stands, Kyle… I’d like to travel with you all as well.”
