Heat the Pig Liver - Volume 3: Interlude 1

Interlude 1 – A Certain Old Man’s Past

The other party’s target was the young man.  The reason was obvious.  It was because he was a mage.

 

However, the life that was about to be lost was not the young man’s, but his best friend’s.

 

“Please let me go.  I haven’t done anything.”

 

A woman in a black robe walked up to his friend, who was lying on the muddy ground and begging for mercy.

 

“Magic that makes people’s minds unreadable, and magic that eludes detection.  I cannot overlook either of them.  Unfortunately, I have judged that you must die.”

 

The ruthless woman’s voice was rather young, and could even be called charming.

 

The young man knew.  It was his own fault that his best friend was being targeted.  The magic that he applied to protect his friend was somehow imperfect, resulting in the woman detecting it.  And even though his friend wasn’t a mage, his friend was about to be killed as a mage in his place.

 

Everything had backfired.

 

The young man had mastered the sorcery for stealthy hiding, and managed to survive the Dark Ages to this day.  Even after the mage he served was defeated, he used his stealth concealment magic to protect himself and his best friend’s family, escaping from the clutches of that woman.  Or at least, that should have been the case.  But now, because of his own magic, his best friend was about to be killed.

 

“Why are you killing us?!”  His friend shouted.

 

To which the woman flatly responded, “Magic is an extremely dangerous power.  It’s not something that many people should have.”

 

“I swear I won’t do anything!  I mean it!”

 

The young man noticed.  All his friend had to say was “I’m not a mage, the real mage is hiding right over there,” to be saved, yet his friend continued pretending to be a mage.  His friend was risking his own life to protect the young man.

 

“I don’t enjoy long speeches.  Sorry, but let’s end it here.”

 

The woman raised her hand fluidly.  In that moment, his friend drew his sword with lightning speed and targeted her neck.

 

There was a loud bang, and the surrounding area was dyed dark red.  His best friend was nowhere to be seen.  Only tiny pieces of meat were scattered around the woman.

 

She didn’t appear particularly shaken as she looked over the paper in her hand.  Her slender finger made a mark on the page.

 

The young man could only tremble in despair as he watched the woman leave.

 

Her magic power was so terrifying, he felt like his skin had been frozen stiff.  To think that she was able to amass this much power in such a short period of time.

 

The winner, Vatis, must have collected the ultimate treasure that everyone has been looking for – the Wedge of Contracts.

 

It’s a loathsome ancient treasure that sowed death and calamity across Mestria.