I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 139

 

Arriving in the village where the herbalist lived, Arcandus pretended to be a traveler and took an inn.

 

It wasn’t hard to find her house. She was quite well-known in the village.

 

He found the woman.

 

‘Now, how do we get the mosquitoes to bite her?’ 

 

After some research, it was possible to create a mosquito that could stay alive for a longer period.

 

But it’s not perfect yet, and they only live for about an hour.

 

Releasing them in her lab or bedroom would be the most obvious way.

 

‘Should I sneak in at night and release it?’

 

What excuse do I have if I get caught? I don’t want to be thought of as a thief.

 

“Herbs and alchemy have always gone hand in hand.”

 

Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to use the knowledge of alchemy to plead for a job.

 

The villagers said that she was a kind-hearted woman, and that she could never turn away someone in need.

 

Her family seemed to be quite wealthy.

 

It shouldn’t be hard to hire one. If they still refused, I’d have to find another way.

 

“I’m setting up a mana-less alchemist.”

 

An alchemist without mana wasn’t really an alchemist at all.

 

Just as a wizard couldn’t cast magic without mana, an alchemist couldn’t create anything without mana.

 

As it happened, he had to spend every bit of mana in his body every day to create magic.

 

“Perfect for playing the poor guy.”

 

When you think about it, he was the poor guy.

 

If it hadn’t been Walter’s father who killed my parents, would things have been different?

 

Maybe he would have gone on with his life, forgetting the past while he was at the Academy.

 

But then he met his parents’ enemy and remembered his past hatred.

 

I wanted to end this revenge and find my lost happiness.

 

My happiness could be the end of alchemy, or it could be…

 

It could be the eternal rest from death.

 

🍃

 

Arcandus succeeded in getting a job at the Herbalist’s House.

 

Little did he know, however, that the job would require him to teach a child.

 

“I’ve never taught a child before, and I don’t know how to handle them. I think you’ll find it helpful to have me with you while you do your research.”

 

“No. With all my secret recipes, How can I trust you Arcandus, whom I’ve only seen for a day?”

 

“That’s…”

 

She was absolutely right.

 

“I’ll think about the research assistant later, when I can trust you more.”

 

At Arcandus’s silence, Leen’s mother, Lisa, raised an eyebrow.

 

“What, you don’t like it, I mean, you’re even given a place to stay?”

 

“Oh, no, I’m just grateful that you let me work.”

 

He knew that if he left her sick right away, he would certainly be suspected. He’d have to see how the disease progressed to make up for it.

 

Besides, he’d get tired of studying demons alone…

 

I thought it would be a nice change of pace for a few months.

 

Arcandus looked at the child he would be teaching.

 

“Hello, my name is Arcandus. What’s your name?”

 

“My name is Leen.”

 

Leen greeted with a cynical expression that belied her young age.

 

Arcandus realized that it would be difficult to get along with this precocious child.

 

That was his first encounter with Leen.

 

Contrary to Arcandus’s expectations, they quickly became close.

 

Somehow, it was a perfect match, and I stayed with Leen for a year.

 

At first, I thought I’d only work for a few months, then take a chance and release the mosquitoes and let them get sick.

 

But the fun of teaching Leen alchemy made me slow down every day and drag it out.

 

Leen was a playful, cute little girl who was one thing on the outside and another on the inside.

 

A shadowless, untainted, pure child who grew up with nothing but love.

 

She had many similarities to myself. She was loved and raised.

 

Where Barmon was a genius in alchemy, Leen was a genius in herbalism.

 

And that she would see her dying mother with her own two eyes.

 

Arcandus felt both jealousy and pity for the child.

 

His mother would die at his hands, and without realizing it, she’s being so tender with poor me.

 

“Such… compassion, I shouldn’t stall for time.”

 

He was afraid that he would really give Leen his heart, so he decided to hurry up, settle his affairs, and leave.

 

It wasn’t hard to execute.

 

Arcandus had already built a solid foundation of trust with Leen’s family, and the plague was always ready.

 

The only thing that changed from the original plan a year ago was that Leen’s father was also bitten by mosquitoes.

 

It made sense, since he’d let it out in the couple’s bedroom.

 

Arcandus didn’t mind too much. One or two of them were going to die in the future anyway.

 

The disease was progressing slower than he had expected.

 

That was a priority. He should have quit his job instead of watching the disease progress.

 

After watching them die, he thought it was time to leave.

 

That was wrong.

 

It was only a few days after he had infected Leen’s parents.

 

I was cleaning up my desk after class as usual, when Leen asked me.

 

“Where does Arcandus’s family live?”

 

She was curious because I hadn’t told her my story.

 

“No one.”

 

“No one…?”

 

Confusion flashed in Leen’s round eyes. Arcandus smiled faintly and placed a hand on the child’s head.

 

“There was a time when I was loved and nurtured, just like you. My parents, the only family I had, died in the war.”

 

Leen stared into Arcandus’ eyes, which held an indescribable emotion, and then quietly took his hand.

 

“Do you know that?”

 

“Well, I’m not quite sure what my little lady is trying to say.”

 

” Arcandus says he has no family, but I think of you as family.”

 

“…I’m your family?”

 

My family died more than 15 years ago. There’s no way I could have a family again now.

 

Leen looked at Arcandus with a clear gaze.

 

“You don’t have to be related by blood to be family.”

 

Arcandus’s eyes rippled. He sensed that his plans were going awry.

 

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

 

If Leen really was my family, what had I done?

 

How could I kill a family member with my own hands?

 

I had to deny it.

 

‘You are not my family.’

 

In the months that followed, Leen’s parents began to show symptoms.

 

Slowly, steadily… their bodies rotted away.

 

No magic, no holy power worked, but Leen refused to give up.

 

She worked with her mother, a fellow herbalist, to create a cure, even when she couldn’t move anymore.

 

And finally, she succeeded.

 

A cure.

 

Arcandus, who didn’t think Leen could really make a cure, was baffled.

 

There shouldn’t be a cure. He spent years working on it, and it was the only way he could get revenge on Lagras and Abascanthus.

 

So, he decided to make the cure a failure.

 

Arcandus poured the vial into the mouths of Leen’s unconscious parents.

 

The poison mimicked the symptoms of the plague.

 

Soon after, Leen’s parents ascended to heaven.

 

Looking at Leen’s feverish body, Arcandus felt guilty, but not remorseful.

 

The real revenge hadn’t even begun yet.

 

🍃

 

I came to Professor Walter, who was resting as comfortably as if he were at home.

 

“Professor Walter.”

 

” I’m busy sleeping.”

 

“If you had to choose between saving one person you know and several strangers, and only one of the former and one of the latter, which would you choose?”

 

His closed eyes narrowed and he looked at me.

 

“Is it fashionable these days to ask such an either/or question?”

 

“Just give me an answer already.”

 

“How many people are you talking about?”

 

“Maybe thousands… no, tens of thousands?”

 

Professor Walter gave me an incredulous look.

 

“That many would be unbalanced, wouldn’t they? Of course, we need to save tens of thousands.”

 

I pursed my lips.

 

Would it be easy to tell if he knew it was Professor George?

 

I was not yet convinced that George’s disease was monstera.

 

The disease progressed too differently for it to be monstera.

 

At the normal rate, Professor George should have been dead by now.

 

At least half his body would be rotting away. The question was whether to focus the cure on Professor George or on a cure for Monstera.

 

Plus, we need to find an easy way to kill the demonic mosquito.

 

If we didn’t kill the mosquitoes, the infected would continue to emerge.

 

Carson was going to the outbreaks and killing them, but has one body. I was still worried about sending him into an infected area.

 

Professor Walter clicked his tongue when I couldn’t keep a straight face.

 

“You have too much heart.”

 

“You remind me of my late mom.”

 

“…Too much heart means too much humanity.”

 

A small chuckle escaped my lips at his quick change of demeanor.

 

“Professor.”

 

“Why again.”

 

I debated for a moment whether I should ask Professor Walter this question.

 

In the end, I decided to trust my instincts. Professor Walter was not the kind of person to spread the plague.

 

“As the founder of MoTo-Club, what do you think is the easiest and fastest way to kill mosquitoes?”

 

Professor Walter opened his mouth without hesitation.

 

“If the mosquitoes you’re talking about are ordinary mosquitoes, then of course it’s insecticide.”

 

I gave him an openly disappointed look.

 

“The answer is too obvious.”

 

“The MoTo-Club is literally a club that tortures mosquitoes. They wouldn’t name it that if they wanted to kill them quickly and easily.”

 

“I’m disappointed, because if you’re from Arena Academy, you’re probably all pinning your hopes on MoTo-Club by now.”

 

“I think you’re the one who’s disappointed.”

 

“You’re right about that, too.”

 

I stood up from my seat. There was no point in spending any more time with him now that I’d seen he wasn’t going to help.

 

Professor Walter came and went like lightning and didn’t catch me.

 

As I stepped out into the hallway, I let out the deep sigh I’d been holding in.

 

“If only we could kill demons with a simple spray, like we kill mosquitoes with insecticide.”

 

I realized something was wrong with my words.

 

…Huh? Killing demons with a sprinkle? …Doesn’t that already exist?

 

The Mana Relaxant I made before!

 

The Mana Relaxant was created after seeing Carson on the verge of a mana explosion.

 

When taken in times of difficulty in controlling mana, it had the effect of loosening unnaturally clumped mana.

 

Because of its potency, demons, whose very existence depended on mana, were harmed when they came in contact with Mana Relaxant.

 

Most demons were too large to be killed by a small sprinkle.

 

Sure, you could take it to a basin and pour it over them, but it was too expensive to kill them that way.

 

But a mosquito the size of your fingernail?

 

Mana relaxant is still sold today, so the production facilities were already in place.

 

That meant it wouldn’t take as long to produce as mosquito repellent. I opened my mouth and let out a short sigh.

 

Caon, what the hell.

 

That boyfriend of mine must be a genius.