111. the way they walked (5)

“… It’s strange, I thought he was a senior, but I think I’ve seen him a lot somewhere.”

Christine frowned and looked closely at the dying Maxim. Sharp impression with black hair. His features were distinct even when covered in the blood of something else.

“It may not seem like it.”

Christine looked at Maxim like that, then shook her head. When Maxim wondered if she should seek medical attention, Christine put her hand in front of Maxim’s chest. Then, the usual warm golden magic was manifested in that hand.

“First of all, thank you for saving me. I couldn’t even say thank you because I wasn’t in a hurry. I don’t know how he came to save me despite such scars… .”

Christine didn’t even say thank you, but her face turned red, as if she was ashamed of the fact that she had just looked at her benefactor. Even so, the warm mana that gradually healed the body did not stop.

“thank you. I swear by the name and mana of Christine Watson, sorcerer, and I will never forget your grace.”

Maxim didn’t have the strength to answer, so he just nodded in place. When the tension was released, I felt great pain all over my body. First of all, the area where the tentacles of the flesh were penetrated. It felt like it was pierced, to the point where I wondered if the wind was coming and going. In addition, the internal wounds and broken bones obtained by excessively circulating mana. Above all, the right arm that has become a rag.

“Oh my gosh… , What the hell did you do to your right arm?”

As soon as Christine glanced at Maxim’s right arm, her expression hardened and contused. Even the slightest touch of her hand made me feel pain enough to make me want to twist my whole body. Christine sighed as she watched Maxim frown.

“I’m glad I can still feel the pain. At least it means there is room for revival. If the arm had been damaged to such an extent that I could not even feel the pain, I would have had no choice but to amputate it.”

Christine carefully applied healing power to her right arm as she told a needlessly frightening story. Maxim could feel the golden magic enveloping his arms little by little and healing himself. The pain that engulfed his entire right arm gradually disappeared.

Christine’s treatment continued for a while. In the meantime, she even wiped Maxim’s face using cleansing magic. She looked closely at Maxim, who had changed into ‘Arsene Bern’, frowning just in case, but when she couldn’t find the face she was looking for, she looked a little downcast. Maxim breathed out shallowly, barely regaining his strength.

“thank you.”

Upon hearing Maxim’s voice, Christine’s expression changes to that of surprise again, then she regains her composure.

“No, no. Something I would have to do a hundred times more… By the way, am I really alive?”

As if the last memory was remembered very clearly, Christine asked anxiously as she touched her chest. Maxim nodded his head with difficulty.

“Yeah. you are not dead This place where you were kidnapped and imprisoned is the underground dungeon of the Mage Tower, a space where black magicians secretly studied black magic.”

“Underground of the Magic Tower… ?”

Christine’s face hardened. She looked around and bit her lip. After Maxim looked at him for a while, Christine lowered her voice as much as she could and asked.

“You, who sent you?”

Maxim answered the sudden and aggressive question with an involuntary blink of an eye.

“It is the order of His Majesty the King.”

Maxim’s answer seemed to add to the confusion that had been messing around in Christine’s head. Christine began to tilt her head with a look of disapproval.

“Your Majesty… ? How did those old people spend all their energy trying to hide the underground space… .”

Christine pondered on her own for a while, then asked Maxim again in a cautious voice. This time, it was a mixture of alertness, curiosity, and an expression of incomprehensibility.

“Who are you… ?”

For a moment, Maxim thought about telling her that he was using a special drug to disguise himself as a fictitious person called ‘Arsene Bern’, and that he was looking at Maxim Apart.

‘… Not yet.’

Even if it was revealed later, it was difficult right now. Judgment was too clouded because of the wound, and now it seems that the priority is to sort out the situation.

“I am Arsene Bern of the 1st Guards, Guard Knights, serving His Majesty the King.”

When the clear identity and name came out of Maxim’s mouth, Christine immediately nodded with a sullen expression.

“How did His Majesty the King know this and send you? And even if you knew, why did you mobilize even the escort knights to save that one… .”

Maxim let out a short sigh.

“Your Majesty did not give up the leadership of the royal family simply because of his strength. Your Majesty, too, is using your strength here and there, based on your own plans and sources of information. Rescuing you couldn’t be overlooked in the process of finding out the Mage Tower’s hidden plans.”

At the word informant, Christine’s eyes seemed to open. Hey, because Maxim is the only one who really knows the situation he’s in.

“Informant… ! By any chance, do you know a man named Maxime Appart? He’s tall, with brown hair, and looks like he can’t kill a single bug… ”

You think you can’t kill a single bug? That’s not it. Maxim twisted the corners of his mouth unconsciously. Determined to look in the mirror first when the drug’s effect wears off, Maxim shrugs.

“Well, I’m just following Your Majesty’s orders, and I don’t dare to know his sources or intentions.”

I’m sorry, Christine. Actually I know both. Maxim added a deep apology to himself and answered in a shameless voice. Christine bowed her head again, downcast. Somehow, it seemed so funny that Maxim had to suppress a laugh inside. After administering first aid, Christine removed her hand from Maxim’s body and stared sharply at her surroundings.

“… First of all, we have to get out of here. Do you know the exit?”

Maxim nodded.

“Yes. I will guide you.”

Maxim stood up from his seat, supporting the ground with his sword sheath. At that time, a strong presence was felt from the laboratory. Maxim frowned, and Christine gathered mana. Maxim grabbed Christine, who was trying to use magic, in a familiar way.

“for a moment… .”

“Why is that?”

Christine looked back at Maxim with a visibly nervous expression. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and Maxim let out a sigh of relief when he saw red hair visible through the entrance.

“Vice-captain Aaron.”

Aaron stuck his head out with a nervous expression, but relaxed when he saw Maxim’s face greeting him safely.

“Arsene, you are alive. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“She is… .”

“Okay. For now, I’ve been sleeping in a separate room for a while. It’s in a safe place, so you can rest assured.”

Aaron then turned to the ragged Christine who stood in front of Maxim. He felt the flow of mana rise and fall from Christine’s body and narrow his eyes. A wizard of considerable, no, great skill. Aaron looked at Arsene with admiration and asked.

“So, is that the old colleague you’ve been working so hard to save? Even with his right arm in that shape, in the end, he rescued him from this hellish dungeon. You are a great person too.”

sh*t.

“Well?”

The air seemed to freeze with that sound. Aaron returned his gaze to Maxim, who was looking at him resentfully, asking what was going on. Maxim’s eyes were looking down at the wizard next to him, and Aaron looked at the wizard at the same time.

The wizard muttered something to himself with his expression hardened. A chill ran down his spine at the sight of him, and he involuntarily stepped back. Aaron thought about whether he had made a mistake, but no matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t do anything wrong. Aaron justified himself and watched the magician and Maxim with the mindset of a spectator.

“Old colleague… ? I’m trying to save it with energy… ?”

Christine’s voice was scary. Maxim looked at Christine, who smiled awkwardly and looked back at him. He thought that there would surely be a lot of verbal abuse and violence, but he couldn’t help but smile when he saw Christine’s expression in his eyes.

“senior?”

Tears welled up in those green eyes. Christine’s eyes were stained red, as if they would pour out at any moment if touched. Maxim fixed himself on the spot and looked at it.

“Senior, right? I don’t know why it turned out like that… , Right?”

Christine grabs her collar and says, “Please, don’t say no.” How can I say no to Christine who looks like this. Maxim sighed and nodded.

“Christine.”

A familiar voice, a familiar way of speaking calls out your own name. Christine’s tears burst and flowed. Christine lowered her head and cried softly.

“The senior was safe… I’m really, really glad… .”

Maxim was frozen in place and couldn’t move, pondering whether he should comfort her.

width.

Maxim felt the presence of Christine walking into his arms. Unable to ignore her sobbing as she leaned against his chest, Maxim carefully wrapped his arms around her back. Christine burst into tears and hugged Maxim tightly. The affected area hurt, but Maxim did not fall and supported Christine as it was.

“I’m glad, I’m glad… .”

Maxime carefully brushed Christine’s hair, who had been holding him while constantly repeating that. For a while, only Christine’s cries could be heard in her pupils. Maxim kept gently stroking her hair until she stopped crying.

Except for the occasional whimper and hiccup from Christine, there was an awkward silence. Maxim patted Christine on the back and raised her head at the sound of clearing her throat as if trying to announce her presence. Vice-captain Aaron spoke to Maxim with an expression as if he had eaten something wrong.

“… That, Hae-hoo’s impression is good, but why don’t we escape from here first?”

Maxim smiled faintly and nodded his head at those words.

—

The Magic Tower’s investigation reached a very successful conclusion. The investigation team, organized and dispatched by the king himself, thoroughly investigated the Mage Tower and uncovered most of the secrets they had been hiding. Research on black magic, experiments on synthesizing magical beasts, curses, human trafficking, etc. In the process, many prominent professors of the Mage Tower were booked. There was a person whose name was known to the general public, and the shock of this news came to the citizens twice as much.

“Oh my God, that professor… .”

“No, you mean you were doing an experiment like that?”

But more than anything else, the fact that came as a shock to the citizens was that a dungeon was set up right below the square of the Mage Tower, where all sorts of crimes were rampant.

“That wide plaza… .”

“They’re all layered thick, to hide the underground lab.”

The words of the royal palace, which announced an official position, spread among the people, mixed with adventurers who liked to spread rumors. People shed their eyes as they passed by the Mage Tower. The plaza of the Mage Tower, which was crowded with people taking a walk on the weekend, was empty.

“They say it happened.”

Three days after the work at the Mage’s Tower was over, Christine was only a little weak while being held in the Mage’s Tower, so she was able to leave the hospital quickly. On the other hand, Maxim’s body was not intact. Even though Christine did first aid with healing magic, the military surgeon shook her head and insisted that she be hospitalized for at least two weeks. Thanks to that, Maxim was confined to the bed with bandages all over his body and a sad expression.

“Even if you are like me, I don’t think I will be able to go near it because I am reluctant for a while.”

The first thing Christine did after being discharged from the hospital was to visit Maxim’s hospital room. Maxim, who changed into Arsene’s black hair and eyes, quietly listened to Christine’s current situation on the royal road.

“In conclusion, the Mage Tower will be closed for the time being. Although the magicians protested vehemently, most of the truly powerful professors had been arrested and the evidence of their crimes remained too clear, so the protest did not last long.”

Christine sighed as she finished speaking.

“Earl Benning seemed to clearly draw a line about this case. If you had to force yourself to protect the Mage Tower, you could have saved it, but is it because you don’t want to take that risk?”

“No, it won’t be a risk.”

Maxim shook his head in denial.

“Isn’t that a risk?”

Christine frowned.

“There are many wizards whose whereabouts are unknown. Recently, there is a record of a large number of business trips being sent out from the Magic Tower, and there is also a record of a talented professor suddenly resigning. Although many wizards have been rounded up by the royal family, there are only a handful of them.”

Christine hardened her expression.

“… Did Benning end up absorbing them all?”

“Even their research records, everything.”

The Magic Tower and Count Benning were merely an alliance of exchanging aid, but after this incident, the core powers of the Magic Tower were subjugated to Benning’s command. The Mage Tower incident has become a form of raising Benning’s status as a single faction.

“In the royal family… .”

“I couldn’t stop it. Still, it’s encouraging that I got out of the situation where I had to deal with Benning from now on and keep the Mage Tower in check from behind.”

“Except for the fact that Benning’s power in front of him has become too strong.”

Christine said in a somber voice. Maxim looked at her silently. Perhaps feeling Maxim’s gaze, Christine cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, how do you like this outfit?”

An elegant uniform based on red. A royal lily shone over his chest. By order of the king, Christine became a member of the Knights Templar of the 1st Guards. As for the fact that Arsene Bern was actually Maxime Appart, the king shook his head as if it was a headache, but he generously passed it on.

‘It was an unavoidable situation. I can’t blame Sir Aaron, so just tell him to keep quiet.’

Christine was holding the hem of my dress with a somewhat excited expression. Those eyes shone brightly, as if waiting for Maxim’s answer.

“As expected, I think you look good in bright clothes.”

Maxim shared his honest impressions. Certainly, the red uniform of the Knights Templar suited Christine much better than the uniform of the Black Jackdaw Knights.

“Tell me more.”

However, Christine put on a mischievous smile as if she didn’t like the answer. Indeed, she remained unchanged.

“… I thought the color red would be too strong, but maybe it’s because our uniforms are classy colors, I think they fit well. matches well.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

Christine stuck her head in, seemingly impatient. Maxim frowned and quickly gave her the answer she wanted.

“Uh huh, yes. pretty pretty It’s so dazzling that I can’t see it straight.”

Christine frowned as if in tears, and slapped Maxim. Of course, it was a much softer punch than being hit with a cotton bat.

“Do I really have to say that? You bad boy.”

Maxim let out a laugh. He pushed the fist away with his hand. Then, with a slightly mischievous smile, he met his eyes and answered again.

“No, really. Nice, Christine.”

It sounded like a fire, like a burning fire. Christine quickly moved away from Maxim, turning her head around to hide her blushing face. Maxim laughed again at the quick change. Christine, exasperated, moved away from Maxim and sat on a chair in the hospital room.

“By the way, magic… I was able to write it just fine.”

At Maxim’s words, Christine tilted her head as if wondering.

“What do you mean, that? Did you think I would lose my magic?”

“No, then… .”

Maxim hesitantly brought up the story of the no-man’s-land where it was raining. The unknown power that gave her scars and curses. They were two people who did not talk about the time implicitly, but when Maxim brought up the topic first, Christine sighed as if she couldn’t help it and joined the conversation.

“It’s true that I gave it to you after being prepared for not being able to use magic in the future, as you said. It is a magic created by pouring the whole essence of mana from the bottom of the heart.”

“Christine.”

When Maxim made an apologetic face, Christine shook her head, saying not to do that.

“Anyway, at that time, I knew I was going to die. It was a final attempt to stop the curse from destroying the senior. I didn’t know it would really stop the curse.”

Christine then created a glow of mana from her hands.

“… Maybe the idiots in the Mage Tower ignorantly poured mana into my body while experimenting. It was a loss that could not be recovered naturally, but seeing it recovered like this.”

Christine reassured Maxim that he didn’t feel anything awkward. Maxim smiled and nodded.

“thanks.”

“Me too.”

Christine smiled back. Christine was smiling like that, but for some reason, Maxim felt an unknown chill.

“By the way, senior.”

“eww… yes?”

Christine came over. Maxim’s smile twisted slightly.

“At that time, who the hell is the ‘she in a safe place’ that Vice-captain Aaron was talking about?”

Maxim swallowed dry saliva, not knowing why he had to break out in a cold sweat.

… Hey, did you always have such a good memory?