"Mercenaries who stopped by the village on their way east. They heard stories about you and incited the villagers, saying they should kill you and split your wealth."
Having finished the interrogation, Master explained the full story. Rozanna gave a bitter smile upon hearing it.
"I figured as much. I saw a lot of familiar faces. We'd known each other for years, but in the end, I was just an outsider to them. An outsider they could kill anytime without repercussions."
In truth, witch hunts were quite common. However, among those targeted, only a tiny fraction were actually witches worth the name. Most were wealthy widows or rich single women falsely accused and unjustly killed for their money. It was a tragedy born of human greed. So Rozanna's bitterness was understandable.
"We should leave this place quickly. If none of those dozens of able-bodied men return, the villagers will get suspicious. And if any of them reports this to the church, things could get complicated."
"I know. The village atmosphere felt off, so I was packing my things. But in the end, it all went sideways. Now I just need to grab the essentials and get out of here."
With that, Rozanna began hastily gathering the items she and her apprentice Melissa would take with them. In the meantime, Master cleaned up the traces of the battle. By plowing the ground. The lingering mana might remain, but ordinary people wouldn't notice it, so this would buy them some time.
"I told you everything! So why are you trying to kill me?!"
"Aaaagh!"
"Please, spare me!"
In the process, the five prisoners were buried as well. They burned with the will to live until the very end, but that changed nothing.
"Heros, do you think I'm heartless?" Master asked me as we watched them vanish into the earth.
"No." I answered immediately.
That was truly how I felt. If Master hadn't been a mage of great skill, and if I hadn't known magic, one of us would surely have died in the attack today. The intruders had come with murderous intent first, so it was only natural for him to bury them in the ground.
'I need to learn more magic.' Today's events made it clear. I had to grow stronger than this. Hadn't I held back on using magic to conserve mana and ended up swinging a weapon myself? That wasn't the mage I envisioned.
"Good mindset. Heros, never leave loose ends. The mercy you show could one day return as a dagger in your back." Master patted my shoulder as he spoke.
Never leave loose ends. I agreed completely.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"I've got everything packed."
How much time had passed? Rozanna approached Master with her luggage ready. Then she looked at me.
"Thank you, Heros. If it weren't for you, one of us would have died for sure."
"Just doing what anyone would."
"There are far too many people in this world who can't even do that. That's why your actions mean so much."
Rozanna replied to me. She handed me a book. A pitch-black cover that looked far from ordinary. And the mana emanating from the book itself. It was undoubtedly a grimoire.
"I'd love to give you ten of them, but sadly, this is the only one I have right now. Sorry about that."
I quickly accepted the grimoire from Rozanna.
'Twilight Grimoire.'
That was the name of the grimoire she'd given me. Shadow magic? Thinking that, I focused on the book's voice.
[Hello, nice to meet you.]
A whispering voice tickled my ear.
"Is this a grimoire of shadow magic?" As I concentrated on the grimoire's voice, Master looked at Rozanna and asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah, as far as I know. Oh, just to avoid any misunderstanding—this isn't payment in lieu of the fee. I'll settle the rest in gold and potions."
Rozanna answered Master's question. She soon met my eyes and continued.
"Heros, don't get too discouraged if you can't hear the grimoire's voice clearly, or if there's a lot of static. Shadow magic is inherently hard to learn."
Rozanna tried to comfort me. But then she tilted her head and corrected herself.
"Actually, no. You might pick it up just fine."
And she was right. The Twilight Grimoire's voice came through crystal clear, and its request was simple enough.
[Could you put out all the candles on the first floor?]
A request to extinguish all the candles. I could do it right away, but I needed Rozanna's permission first. She was the homeowner, after all.
"Lady Rozanna, is it okay if I put out all the candles on the first floor?"
"That's the grimoire's request, huh? Go ahead."
Rozanna agreed readily. With her permission, there was no reason to hesitate. I went around the first floor, snuffing out the candles in their holders.
'Wow, she uses expensive ones.'
The candles Rozanna used weren't made from resin or animal fat—they were beeswax. Bright light, minimal soot, no smell! In short, top quality. It was another reminder that she was a wealthy mage.
'Done!' Once I'd extinguished every candle on the first floor, the area naturally plunged into darkness. And there, I heard the grimoire's voice.
[Feel the embrace of darkness.]
Right after the grimoire spoke, the cover opened on its own. What followed was familiar. The pages flipped rapidly. Soon, the back cover appeared. I had fully read the grimoire.
"What unbelievable talent..." Rozanna's murmur echoed from the darkness. She must have realized I'd succeeded from the sound of the pages turning.
"Just as I expected." Master's voice came from nearby.
I checked the new magic I've learned while listening.
'Hide and Seek?'
The spell within the Twilight Grimoire was Hide and Seek. A technique to cloak oneself in darkness for stealth. It seemed like a good spell purely in terms of effect, but the activation conditions were a bit tricky. It could only be used in dark places. And that condition persisted even after casting. If you stepped into the light while using Hide and Seek? The spell canceled.
And that wasn't all I had to watch out for.
'The longer I maintain the spell, the more mana it drains proportionally.'
Hide and Seek consumed more mana the longer it was active. It used 25 to activate, but kept eating more beyond that? That was burdensome for me. Still, despite all the drawbacks, I was satisfied. Why?
'Because my mana increased.'
The Twilight Grimoire had boosted my mana by 50. Bringing my total to 165. Minus the 5 for Smooth Skin, that left 160. Enough to cast Lightning Bolt six times with 10 to spare. Sure, there was still a long way to go, but growth was growth.
"Master!" I immediately shared the good news with him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We stepped outside. There was no reason to stay any longer.
"Where to now?" Master asked.
"With signs of a massive peasant revolt brewing in the east, I need to head far from there. Thinking west. You?"
Rozanna answered, then turned the question back on him. I was curious about his answer too. Our primary goal of meeting her was complete, so now it was time for the next destination.
"Horace's tomb." Master spoke without hesitation.
Horace. He was a legendary necromancer from the past. Master had mentioned him a few times, so the name rang a bell.
"Isn't that too reckless? With black mages running wild, the churches have probably sent out hunters. You might run into them there." Rozanna said, her face full of worry.
But Master's decision stood firm.
"For the grimoire in that place, the risk is worth it."
His next target seemed to be the grimoire in Horace's tomb. A legendary necromancer's resting place surely held something extraordinary. And I'd be the one to read it. Not a bad deal for me. But Rozanna wasn't about to let him go easily.
"Digori, the undead are just undead. They can never replace the living. Even if you revive your family with that grimoire, will it fill the void in your heart? No! Because you know better than anyone that your wife and child won't be the real ones."
Rozanna snapped at Digori. She steadied her breath and continued.
"Live your own life now, please. You've done enough. Don't get stuck in the past anymore."
Rozanna seemed genuinely concerned for Master. But his expression didn't change as he heard her out.
"Rozanna, I can't give up. What do you think I've been obsessed with necromancy for all this time? Even bearing the stigma of a black mage."
"That's..."
"I've come too far. And I've lost my way. I can't go back to how things were."
"Digori."
"I know. That undead are just undead. That they can't replace the living. Even so... you never know. When we reach the end, we might realize our assumptions were wrong."
"You're staking your life on that slim hope? Is that enough for you?"
"It is."
Master's firm answer. Rozanna met his eyes, then let out a deep sigh.
"Fine, if that's how you see it, I won't say more. Poor Heros."
Perhaps because of the heavy topic, the mood had sunk. Not liking it, Rozanna looked at us and shouted energetically.
"Alright! Ready to head out?"
Rozanna touched her torch to the ground. Whoosh! Flames bloomed from the earth, snaking like a serpent before heading toward the house. Soon, it blazed with tremendous force. Bright enough to light up the night sky! Oil poured throughout the house made it possible.
"Burns nice and hot." Rozanna murmured, watching the house blaze spectacularly.
The flickering flames cast shifting shadows across her face. Melissa's and Master's too. Probably mine as well.
'Feels strange.'
As I thought that, Rozanna suddenly looked at Master.
"Oh, Digori. I almost forgot to say this earlier."
Master turned to her. Their eyes met. Then Rozanna spoke.
"You know, people can never go back to how things were."
Flames danced in Rozanna's eyes. Master said nothing.
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