The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 243

All of the mages entered the city in a state of extreme tension.

Even though they didn’t know how dangerous it truly was, the sheer sense of intimidation alone was overwhelming enough that the mages made a huge fuss before even stepping inside.

Defensive magic that summoned massive shields, status ailment immunity, mental defense spells.

As if that still weren’t enough, they brought artifacts for emergencies—and even precious relics.

“W-What! Life is precious to everyone!”

“Who said otherwise?”

They were armed well enough to survive a dragon encounter, yet Jemello still said he couldn’t relax.

“At least three of us might drop out.”

Apparently, none of the knights who had entered before had managed to come back out. And on top of that, even nobles from the Muebisk family were inside—there was no telling what kind of inhuman hellscape awaited them.

Jemello warned the other mages that the city itself might already be dead, or that they might be faced with a sight no human could endure.

“Alright, we’re going in!”

With each of them steeling themselves, they broke through the barrier—

“Eh?”

Contrary to Jemello’s expectations that it wouldn’t be easy, the barrier let us pass through without resistance.

And then…

“Arer–arer–arer. It’s not just me seeing something weird, right?”

“No. It looks strange to me as well.”

“It’s… intact?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is that?”

At the very least, we had expected half the city to be destroyed, but our assumptions were completely off.

“A ruin eruption and it’s this intact? Makes no sense.”

The mages murmured among themselves.

“Then why did no one come out to ask for help?”

“And why didn’t the knights who went in earlier return?”

“Don’t tell me… it’s because of the barrier?”

At the same time, everyone turned around.

When they saw that the mist which had let us pass so easily had now solidified into a wall blocking our way out, several mages groaned.

“In that case, leaving right away won’t be easy.”

“We weren’t planning on leaving immediately anyway.”

“Let’s see—mana flow is stable, mana density is… huh? It’s really high. About ten times the normal level.”

Watching the investigation team start their work regardless, Jemello nodded.

“Even if we fail, we push ahead. Let’s head into the city.”

 

****

 

 

 

“It just looks like an ordinary city.”

The scenery inside the city was no different from anywhere else, which only made things more confusing.

How was I supposed to find my dad here?

The population was around 1.5 million, wasn’t it?

Gairen had many ruins nearby, and thanks to the constant influx of adventurers seeking a quick fortune, it had grown into a massive city. As a result, it was divided into five major districts.

At the very center was the Mage District, where only officials from the Imperial Ruins Administration and mages from the Southern Mage Tower lived.

Next was the Noble District, home to influential figures and wealthy commoners.

After passing through the Commoner District—which, along with the Merchant District, had the smallest population—you reached the largest area of all: the Adventurer District.

“It’s really huge.”

Even those of us who came from the imperial capital, the largest city of all, were overwhelmed by the unique dynamism and liveliness of the Adventurer District.

It was only natural. We were all confirmed homebodies.

We barely ever left the Mage Tower in the first place.

“Ugh… there are too many people.”

“I feel like I’ve seen everyone I’ll see in my entire life today.”

“I’m getting dizzy… I feel sick.”

Watching the mages complain about their aversion to crowds, I clicked my tongue.

Were these people really okay to be acting like this when they were here to investigate?

“Jemello? Jemello, say something to them. How are we supposed to investigate if the mages are that weak—”

When I turned to look at Jemello, he too was pale, dry-heaving.

“…Ugh.”

“……”

You too?

The more I got to know mages as a group, the more my romanticized image of them shattered into pieces.

“A…Rel….”

“What is it?”

“I… music… please.”

“You know I’m not allowed to play. Don’t you remember the master forbade it?”

“Tch, thought that’d make you say yes.”

“You absolute menace.”

Even though these mages didn’t have a shred of artistic sensibility, maybe they’d grown fond of my performances from hearing them whenever they came to be purified.

Some of them had already started making things like music boxes before, and these days there were even mages dabbling in instrument performance. Everyone was strangely serious about music.

Among ordinary mages, there was even a ridiculous rumor going around that mastering music was a basic requirement to become a star-ranked mage.

In any case, since the people who were supposedly here to investigate were all like this, I stepped in myself.

“Where are all those people going?”

“Where else! To the ruins, of course!”

A loud, gruff reply came back to my muttering. Startled, I turned to the side to see a middle-aged woman opening the door of an inn, looking at me.

“First time in this city?”

“Huh? Y-Yes.”

“If you can help it, cover your face when you walk around. Could be dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

She frowned as if asking whether I really needed that spelled out, and I immediately caught the implication.

“Oh.”

“Not all adventurers are bad folks, but when you live at the bottom, you get plenty of shameless types too. Gotta be careful. If you need a place to stay, come to our inn!”

“I have companions, thankfully.”

“Oh, you do?”

I smiled at the woman, who clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“Ma’am, by any chance, have you seen a man who looks like me?”

“What? There’s another one with that face?”

“Yes, probably.”

“Oh my, I’d love to see him.”

Since newspapers were common mostly in the imperial capital, it seemed people in Gairen didn’t recognize my dad’s face.

This is a problem.

With that face, there was no way he wouldn’t stand out.

“Arel–arel–arel. Ugh, save me…”

I pushed Jemello off as he clung to me and let out a sigh.

“First, I should dump these lumps of baggage at the Southern Mage Tower.”

 

 

 

****

 

 

Just as Arellin entered Gairen—

The imperial palace fell into a new wave of chaos.

After enjoying a deep, restful sleep for the first time in a while, Pession woke up feeling refreshed and energized—and promptly began driving everyone around him even harder than usual.

Thanks to that, Griam felt like he was about to die.

Lady Arellin…!

We had it good, didn’t we? Then why would you put us through such a trial?!

How had Arellin escaped the Crown Prince’s Palace? What method had she used, and who had helped her?

With Pession practically losing his mind and storming even the Lord’s Palace to interrogate Shirua, the entire imperial palace soon learned of Arellin’s escape.

“No, seriously—how?”

The imperial palace wasn’t a place you could just leave because you felt like it.

Even magic, considered all-powerful, barely worked due to the barriers.

So how in the world had she gotten out?

After conducting an intense investigation of all palace personnel who had even once come into contact with Arellin—including those of the Crown Prince’s Palace—Pession received an unexpected result.

“Mana traces?”

“Yes. Mana traces were found in the Crown Prince’s Palace. It appears she left using magic.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Only for a mage of very high attainment.”

This conclusion came from the officials responsible for the imperial barrier stones and the imperial court mages.

Pession had known Arellin was a mage, but he’d never thought much of it—so this felt like being struck from behind.

He wasn’t the only one shocked.

“Arellin is a mage?”

Shirua was equally stunned.

“Is that even possible?”

“What is?”

“Ability users can’t become mages.”

Due to the difference in how abilities and magic manifested, only those without innate abilities could become mages.

Abilities were the exclusive domain of high-ranking families, including the Five Grand Ducal Houses, which was why no highborn nobles ever became mages.

That, in turn, was part of why the Mage Tower could remain detached from worldly power.

“Maybe you’re mistaken?”

“Guess it was possible because it’s Arellin.”

Shirua had been shocked by the unprecedented revelation, but seeing how calm Pession was made it somehow sound plausible.

Right—this was someone who’d returned alive from an incurable deathly illness.

When you think about that, an ability user also being a mage doesn’t sound that surprising…

As Shirua was gradually being convinced thanks to Arellin’s influence, Pession turned his attention to the Mage Tower—the place most likely to be her destination.

The Mage Tower, perhaps having no intention of hiding anything to begin with, readily spilled everything.

“So she went to Gairen.”

Coincidentally, Pession had been uneasy ever since handing things over to Muebisk and receiving no further reports.

“I need to see His Majesty.”

“The Emperor?”

“If I want to personally investigate Gairen, I’ll have to follow procedure.”

Pession recalled Edward’s words at the banquet—how the Emperor had tried to dump the task on him, saying that whatever was happening in Gairen didn’t seem normal and that Pession should go see for himself.

The Emperor’s intention had probably been, ‘Assess the situation and take command to clean it up yourself.’ But—

“When you’re commanding on-site, it’s only natural that you’ll end up going inside.”

Griam, who had been listening quietly, looked like he wanted to say that wasn’t how it worked—but he didn’t have the courage to argue with a Pession who had clearly lost all restraint.

Wait for me, Arellin.

Trying to leave me behind just because it’s dangerous? I’ll follow you and make it clear to you myself.

That I’d rather die than be separated from you.

If I die, I’ll die at your side.