Kays Translations

Chapter 38 Liyol’s Past

Author Note: Tomorrow is Mai’s story. That girl will make a reappearance.

“Henry Howler, are you the adopted son of Viscount Howler?　If so, you have a good adoptive father.”

“Did you know my father?”

“Your foster father was a kind-hearted child. He once came here with his parents to buy some potions. So, what is your request? My only wish is to see Liyol. That’s all.”

　Henry is hesitant because Kyrias is also there, But he had a feeling that even if he hid it here, this old man would find  Mai.

(It would be more troublesome if I hid something now and Kyrias finds out about Mai before Mr. Glidden does.)

“The bottle wasn’t made by Liyol, but by Liyol’s granddaughter.”

“Granddaughter?　Oh, granddaughter. I see, that makes sense… Although it is a trace of the Liyol I know, the impression is slightly thicker and stronger. I see, it’s a granddaughter. So Liyol survived, found a mate, gave birth to a child, and even had a grandchild. I’m so glad, so glad. Hahah… That’s great. Henry, then let me meet the grandchild. I want to hear Liyol’s story.”

　Henry straightened up.

“Before I do that, I have two requests. The first is that I would like you not to tell that person that Heller was sold by her parents, that she was forced to work as Liyol, or that your experiment failed. I would like you to tell them that Liyol was not a poor girl, but that she grew up happily and was blown away in an accident.”

　Glidden looked at Henry carefully.

“I’m surprised. You’ve made it all the way to Heller. And what’s your first reason for doing so?”

“The person was sent to this country for a certain reason. She was separated from her, whom she loved very much, and works and lives alone. She must be suffering from loneliness. I don’t want to cause her any more pain.”

“You …… like that girl, don’t you?”

　Henry nodded slowly.

“Yes, sir. I care about her very much. Since I can’t change the past, I don’t want her to hear any information that will only hurt her.”

“Oh, …… you’re right. You can’t change the past. Very well. I promise I won’t tell her any unfortunate stories. When will you let me meet the girl?”

“Before I do that, I have a second request. I would like to hear about Liyol’s past. This is my request as the head civil servant.”

　For some reason, Mr. Glidden looked satisfied.

“Okay, I can almost guess why you want to know about Liyol’s past. I like it. But before that, I’d like to correct some false rumors that have been circulating around. I’ve dismissed them as unimportant until now, but I’ll tell you. First of all, Liyol and I are not lovers. And I am not the one who perfected the theory of teleportation. It was Liyol.”

　Henry is expressionless, but Kyrias’ eyes widen. Mr. Glidden glances at him and continues speaking to Henry.

“Because Liyol possessed high magical powers, became the property of a certain person at the age of seven. She was then sent to train under my father, who was a wizard. In this house, Liyol  started by learning to read and write, but she absorbed knowledge without limit, like a dried-up pond accepting water. After two years, her magic skills surpassed mine. By the time two years had passed, she had surpassed me, who was seven years her senior, in magic skill. I couldn’t help but be jealous of her natural talent.”

Glidden speaks with a look in his eyes as he recalls a time long gone.

“The contract stipulated that Liyol’s training would end once she was able to make special-grade potions. Liyol’s master must have been very afraid of dying. He wanted to drink the same special-grade potions that the king did, instead of water. After only four years, her training came to an end, but my father was reluctant to let Liyol’s talent go, so he used me. He ordered me to pretend to be in love with her, to go and meet her, and bring her magical knowledge.”

“Four years means a relationship between an eleven-year-old and an eighteen-year-old, right?”

　Mr. Glidden gave a wry smile at Henry’s surprise.

“It’s true, I thought it was a bit much myself. But I couldn’t refuse. I went to Liyol’s place once a week and kept giving her the magic manual my father had written. She steadily mastered the magic manual that was given to her a few pages at a time, all by herself. It seems that she continued to make potions every day in the small room she was given. But her master was not satisfied with just drinking, so he would soak himself in a potion bath. One day when she was 14 years old. With a pale face, she said, ‘It is because you come to see me that I can keep my sanity.’”

　His face scrunched up, then Mr. Glidden covered his face with one hand.

“I asked her if she wanted to run away with me, but she refused. ‘I don’t want to cause any trouble for you or for my teacher. I’m also worried about my family, who received my payment. I want you to become the best wizard in the country. That’s my only joy.’ She was only allowed to go outside once a week to see me. That life continued until Liyol turned 20, and then it was over. She became ill.”

“What do you mean by sick?”

　Henry asked instinctively, and Mr. Glidden touched the right side of his chin.

“A boil that had formed here gradually grew to the size of a lemon and began to bleed. The nobleman, fearing that he might catch the disease, threw Liyol out. Liyol came to our house on her feet and said, ‘I have perfected the theory of teleportation magic. I will teach it to you, so please use me as a test subject. Instead of dying in pain like this, I would rather depart having been of service to you.’”

“She continued making potions and then completed the theory behind teleportation magic?”

“That’s right. By that time, she had already perfectly mastered transformation magic, something even my father had had trouble with. She was beyond the level of a genius. Even though she was locked in a room and forced to make potions every day until she ran out of magic power, she was a being still able to accomplish great feats.”

　As the conversation finally got to the heart of the matter, Kyrias listened with a twinkle in his eye.

“Liyol showed me how to move a small stone on the spot. I objected, saying, ‘Stones and people are different,’ but she said, ‘It’s only a matter of you learning it while I’m still alive.’”

　Unable to resist, Kyrias interrupted.

“The potion didn’t work?”

“I gave her as many potions as she could drink. It bought us some time, but it didn’t solve the fundamental problem.”

“What about animal testing?”

“Liyol objected. Teleportation magic consumes an enormous amount of magical power. She said that If I tried it on an animal once, it would probably drain the body to the point where I probably wouldn’t be able to use magic for six months. That’s why Liyol insisted that we should not experiment on animals. ‘There is no more time for me. Try it on me first,’ she wouldn’t listen. The illness had progressed, and she started having headaches.”

　Henry thought that was reckless, and next to him, Kyrias muttered, “Too reckless.”

“I don’t mean to doubt you guys, but I’ll tell you the rest of the story after I meet Liyol’s grandchild. So, Kyrias, what’s the problem with the bottle of potion?”

“Actually.”

　Kyrias explained  the whole story of the bottle to Mr. Glidden.

“I heard from Jusel how they decided to mark the potion bottles. So this triangle is the marker. Hmmm. It seems that Liyol’s granddaughter has inadvertently reproduced the markings to the letter. How many people know about that bottle, Kyrias?”

“One of my men from the magic department has seen the bottle. I have spoken to the military appraiser. The rest is Henry-san.”

“So then those two are the problem. Give them to me.”

　Kyrias held out the small box he had been carrying. Mr. Glidden took the box and held his palm over the thirty-nine bottles. His lips moved slightly but no voice was heard. It lasted for a few minutes. henry looked at Mr. Glidden, thinking (Mai-san transformed the desk into a cart in an instant without chanting.)

“Okay, this should be fine. Take a look,” he said, handing the box back to Kyrias. When Kyrias peeked in, all the triangular markings had turned into distorted circles, as if a tiny drop of glass had fallen out.”

“Uh huh?　All the markings have changed shape. Sensei, this is…”

“It’s transformation magic. I transformed glass into glass. I’m not as good as Liyol, but I can do it. Kyrias, the most important thing to do is to bow down to your subordinates and the appraisers and say, ‘I’m sorry I misread it.’ Keep apologizing until they back down, even if they say the shape is different. That will settle everything.”

“…… Yes.”

“Come on, let’s go now. Take me with you.”

　Outside, the ten o’clock bell rang. At the same time, Kyrias’s stomach growled loudly with hunger. Henry was prepared to give in and made a proposal to Mr. Glidden.

“It’s getting late, so let’s do it tomorrow. I will certainly take you there.”

“You said she was working. Where does she work?”

“She runs a café “. 

“I see. Then take me to that restaurant tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll take you there tomorrow. First, let’s just meet and have a meal. I will tell her about you. After that, if she says she wants to meet you, we will formally arrange a meeting. Sensei, please give priority to her wishes.”

“I agree. Okay. Let’s do that.”

　Henry and Kyrias left Mr. Glidden’s mansion.

“Mai-san made that potion. I’m surprised that she’s Liyol’s granddaughter. The potion was top-grade! I want to hear about Liyol too. I want to hear about what kind of magic she learned. I also want to hear about her teleportation magic.”

“No, Kyrias, you don’t have to go. I feel like you might say something unnecessary to Mai.”

“I won’t say anything. I’ll go. I’m definitely going. It’s fine if we’re just going out to eat.”

　When Henry fell silent, Kyrias became cheerful and said, “Well, we’ll see you tomorrow!　Let’s take Sensei’s carriage tomorrow. We’ll go at the usual time Mr. Henry goes out, okay?　I’ll leave that time free for work. Then good night!”

(How can I get Kyrias to shut up if he starts to say something unnecessary?)

　With a blank expression and thinking of disturbing things, he watched Kyrias’ back as he left.

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