Genius Swordsman of the Mage Empire Chapter 15 : Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Silver-Haired Maid (5)

Enoch gave a bitter smile at Lien's question.

He was the one who wanted to hear that answer the most.

"Well, I'm curious about that too."

Like Lien's question, where did the original Enoch go?

Why did I have to enter his body of all people?

If he could only find the answer to this situation, which didn't even make any coherent explanation, he would do anything.

Enoch calmly asked Lien back.

"Who are you then? What was your intention in attacking ?"

Her eyes, looking at Enoch who was asking back, were thinly chilled.

Well, from her point of view, she wouldn't believe it at all even if this side spoke honestly.

Even if he told her that this was the world he had originally experienced in the ga, there was no way she would believe it.

“…At this rate, there will be no progress in the conversation.”

Perhaps she had the sa thought, Lien said that and took out two small boxes that were shining faintly in her right hand.

Objects that were a perfectly identical pair.

Enoch knew their identity too well.

Artifacts that can also be obtained in the original work, 「Cubes of Falsehood」.

If people who are having a one-on-one conversation have them, the artifacts will judge lies from each other's words and let them know.

The artifact works normally only when the two people who are having a conversation like a telephone each have one, so it is composed of a pair of cubes like this.

Of course, it is structured to ring if either side lies. Therefore, if Lien lies, this side will also know.

She threw one of the cubes towards this side and continued to speak.

"This is an artifact that rings when the user lies."

Enoch, who caught it, nodded briefly.

Lien's cold eyes narrowed slightly.

"Let's change the question from before then. Who are you?"

"Enoch Elsyde. Halfway."

Enoch said that and checked the artifact in Lien's hand with a sidelong glance.

But as expected, the cube didn't ring at all.

It might have been a slightly ambiguous answer to hear, but honestly, there was no more honest answer than this.

But it didn't seem to be a satisfactory answer for Lien.

"What does that an? Don't cleverly avoid the answer by being conscious of the artifact."

Jiiiik

As Lien moved her hand slightly, the wires tied to her arms and sword tightened with a sharp sound.

But Enoch showed the cube in his hand and replied nonchalantly.

"It's not a lie. It's just that it's hard to explain logically enough for you to understand. I can't explain sothing that even I don't understand yet."

Lien's cold eyes stared at him as if they would kill. At that mont, the sound of people coming and going from outside rang in the quiet room. She looked at the crack in the door for a mont and said quietly.

"We made too much noise. People might co if we make more noise."

She suddenly pulled the wire that was tying Enoch's sword.

The distance narrowed sharply to the point where their faces were touching.

The faint scent from her long silver hair stylish.

She grabbed Enoch's shirt collar with one hand and whispered in a low voice in his ear.

"Don't make a sound."

Tudduk.

Lien unbuttoned Enoch's shirt one by one.

His bare skin was revealed inside.

Lien's expression hardened for a mont as she opened the collar.

"Ah…!"

A small scar on his collarbone.

It was a scar she knew so well.

It wasn't at a level that was crudely imitated and implented with shapeshifting magic or makeup.

"As expected, it wasn't just following the appearance…."

Lien muttered lowly.

If there was even a little difference, there was no way she wouldn't have noticed.

The height, shoulder width, and physique that had grown to the point where she had to look up.

Even the shape of the splitting of the forearm and the circumference of the legs, and even the unforgettable scar on the collarbone.

She had always been capturing 'everything' about Enoch in her eyes.

'Then did they tamper with Young Master's head, not his body?'

Lien, who had been staring at him for a mont, weighed other possibilities.

mory manipulation, brainwashing, hypnosis, and suggestion, etc. Countless related magic that she knew flashed through her mind.

But there were a few points that were strange to simply say that. She couldn't be sure of anything in this situation yet.

Lien, who had stopped moving for a while like that.

Enoch, who had been watching her thinking for a while, wiggled the sword and arm that were tied to the wire and said.

"It's uncomfortable for each other, so let's get rid of this and talk."

"What?"

Enoch looked at her with unwavering eyes and said.

"It's a aningless threat anyway, isn't it?"

It was sothing that could be known with just a little thought that Lien's high-handed attitude and threats were false.

If she was going to kill Enoch, there was no reason to co to such an isolated place in the first place.

Considering Enoch's position in the family, it would be over if she revealed the identity to the other people in the family from the beginning.

The family openly ntions Enoch's disownnt at the regular conference, but no one raises an objection.

That's how despised the current Enoch was.

If the identity of Enoch was revealed to the mbers of the family who had antipathy towards this side, it was too obvious that he would beco a wretch that would be worse than dying before long.

But Lien didn't do that.

Rather, even though she was suspecting him, she was careful in her actions to the point where she brought him to this place where no one was around.

As if she was being careful in case other harm would be done to Enoch, or more precisely, to Enoch's body.

Feeling Lien's fingertips, which were trembling finely, touching his neck, Enoch slowly said.

"You can't hurt Enoch. Right?"

Lien was speechless and tightened her grip.

Even though it was a deadlocked situation where they were aiming weapons at each other, the wire had already tied his arm and sword.

In fact, if she wanted to, she could have suppressed Enoch right away.

Nevertheless, the reason why she had fought in a similar form of battle like just now was to suppress the Enoch in front of her as quickly as possible and interrogate what had happened to the 'real' Young Master.

But this man had already grasped the fact that she couldn't hurt him.

Usually, he wouldn't easily co to think of that far due to the excitent of the battle and the fear of being suppressed.

"……."

But in the end, Lien's fingers, which were gripping the wire, didn't move.

"It seems so."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at Enoch's words.

It was frustrating, but Enoch's words were right.

At least Lien couldn't hurt him unless she was sure that the original Enoch had certainly died and disappeared irreversibly from his body.

As long as he was occupying Enoch's body, absolutely.

"How can you be sure?"

"If you suspected but bothered to bring to this place, you must know what kind of results spreading Enoch's situation to those around you will cause."

Lien's eyes shook slightly.

"And that's the situation you want to avoid the most."

Of course, that situation is sothing that causes harm to Enoch's body in any way.

That's why he agreed to co to this banquet hall in the first place. Because he judged that Lien wouldn't hurt him from the start.

Watching her cyan eyes, which were wavering slightly once again, Enoch smiled.

The parts he had inferred by observing her reaction from the mont he first saw Lien were all fitting together nicely.

He might have died if his guess was wrong even by a millionth chance, but there was no other option besides this in the current situation anyway.

"So, I'll make a suggestion."

And words that Lien couldn't even imagine rang in the dark banquet hall from Enoch's mouth.

"Cooperate with ."

The wires that stretched out in all directions in the empty banquet hall vibrated subtly like stringed instrunts at Enoch's low voice.

The thin tallic sound played a deep silence for a while.

After a mont of silence, Lien looked askance at the wire that was tying Enoch and asked back in an dumbfounded tone.

"…A suggestion. Can't you grasp the current situation?"

"Does it look like that?"

Enoch, who had asked back, forcibly twisted the sword hilt with a expressionless face and pointed the tip of the sword straight at his neck.

Scarlet blood drops flowed from the white wire that had deeply penetrated Enoch's wrist.

Lien bit her lip and glared at Enoch when she saw that.

At that mont, Lien unbelievably discovered a familiar look from him.

Pitch-black eyes. A calmness that was deeply sunk in them was settled.

Just like the real Enoch that she knew so well.

"……."

She closed her eyes for a mont and then collected the wires scattered in the room with a light motion by waving her arm once.

As if to show that she had no intention of fighting at least.

Enoch, who had confird that, also dropped the sword that he had brought to his neck to the floor.

And in the silence that followed again, Lien opened her mouth first this ti.

"If what you say is true. You woke up one day and beca another person?"

"Yeah. To be exact, it was on the day I had the regular conference where they were discussing my disownnt a few days ago."

Enoch said that and held up the artifact cube that was shining faintly in his left hand.

"It's hard to believe, but this should be the basis for my words."

"Are you also a victim?"

"Yeah."

While having a conversation with him, Lien's doubts were deepening even further.

This unusually decisive and calm appearance.

Although it was very fragntary, it was as if she was seeing the usual Enoch.

That's why she had been confused and hadn't been sure several tis until now.

There were quite a few points that resembled him, even though he wasn't completely Enoch.

But he is not Enoch.

The emotions that were rely mistaken have long since disappeared.

Rather, it was a mistake that she hadn't been sure until now.

Lien said more coldly.

"…Don't be ridiculous about cooperation. I'm going to remove you from Young Master Enoch's body and return Young Master to normal. If I have to kill your soul for Young Master to co back, I will do so without hesitation."

"I don't care."

"What?"

"I never wanted to beco Enoch, and I want to go back to my original life as soon as possible if possible. You're the sa in that regard. You want Enoch to return to normal. But it seems like neither you nor I know when that ti will co, and we don't even know a proper way yet."

Lien closed her eyes for a mont at the strong dizziness.

The symptoms he was talking about were clear.

The magic of 'soul mixing'.

She had expected it, but it was the possibility she wanted to think about the least.

It was one of the worst black magic, also commonly called 'possession'. In an effort to calm the confusion, Lien opened her mouth, as the thods of casting and even precedents were almost erased.

"…So what do you want to do?"

"It's simple. You want to return Enoch, and I want to regain my original body and life. But as you said, we have to buy ti until we find a way to do that."

Enoch looked straight at Lien and answered.

"It's not like you'll find a way to solve this by threatening right now. So until we find a suitable way, help to live as Enoch at least. Wouldn't it be difficult for you or Enoch if this situation was known to the family?"

He didn't even want to imagine the developnt of being subjected to biological experints under the guise of black magic.

And that would be the sa for Lien too.

As long as she is trying to return Enoch to his original state. It's not like a non-existent thod will pop out if I kill or torture this side, and she can't do that either.

"In the end, our interests are partially aligned. You have to protect Enoch's body. I want to survive and return to my original life. Then it would be more efficient to help each other. If we both want the sa thing, is there a need to have an uncomfortable relationship?"

Lien dropped her head.

"……."

Silver hair cast a pale shadow over her white cheeks.

She had never imagined that such a thing would happen.

But denying or ignoring what has already happened doesn't make it disappear.

Lien opened her mouth calmly.

"…Even if there's a cube, I can't believe all your words as they are."

"It doesn't seem like there's a proper choice. Both you and ."

Most black magic is known to end in tragedy. Because it is magic designed with such evil purposes from the beginning.

That's why the Empire strictly forbids black magic by classifying it as forbidden magic.

She didn't know who, why, and how used it.

But she had to save Young Master as soon as possible before the situation worsened.

Before it beca more irreversible.

"…Helping a person I don't even know to act like that person."

A bitter smile faintly ford on her face.

Lien herself knew well that there was no other way. Nevertheless, it was quite difficult to accept it readily.

But she had to do it.

For now, there was no other best way other than what this man had suggested.

"Even if I believe all your words, you're so confidently suspicious. In this situation."

"There's nothing that can be solved by staying still."

Lien stopped breathing at that mont.

mories of the past Enoch montarily overlapped.

[There's nothing that can be solved by staying still.]

Enoch had certainly said that to her in the past.

She had never forgotten those words for even a mont.

She slowly released the mana from the wire that was tying Enoch. Enoch's arm, which had lost its fixation, regained freedom.

"…Okay, I'll do as you say."

"You're going to cooperate?"

"Yeah. Even if I investigate the thod to return Young Master to normal, it will take quite a while to find a thod. And I can't put Young Master's body in danger before that."

Lien said lowly, looking at Enoch who was getting up.

"What exactly do you want from ?"

"Help by my side. I need information first and foremost. Information about this Elsyde family and his human relationships, and I need to know the situation Enoch is in. That way, I won't be suspected by chance."

"Okay. But there's a condition."

Lien said, slowly approaching him.

"I can't completely trust you yet. Even if I assu that everything you've said so far is true, I don't know when you'll change your mind and act rashly. I need a way to control that for Young Master's safety."

Tak.

She flicked her fingers lightly in the air.

Then, the silver-white mana that manifested from her fingertips quickly ford two magic circles under Enoch and Lien's feet.

Looking at the rotating geotric patterns, Enoch asked Lien.

"…What is this?"

"It's a type of detection magic. I can know if you feel that your life is threatened."

Enoch nodded.

In other words, is it a GPS tracking device?

"Mutual consent is required to cast this magic. Casting this magic on you is my condition. If what you say is really true, this much shouldn't matter."

The lie detection artifact was silent again this ti.

'It's not a lie.'

Compared to receiving help from a 10th class magician, it was a proposal that could be understood enough.

The powerful magician Lien could be a hidden card for this side, which is all uncertain.

"Okay. I'll do that."

The mont Enoch answered that, a silver-white cluster of light surrounded him and Lien.

Wuuung

The silver light cluster that ford like necklaces on Enoch and Lien's necks at the sa ti.

But the light soon subsided as if it was being absorbed into the skin. No sensation was felt even if he touched his neck.

'Is this the detection magic Lien was talking about.'

Lien ca closer and said in her usual calm tone.

"…It seems like it'll be busy for a while, Young Master."

She, who was standing in front of Enoch, added in her usual emotionless tone.

"There are a lot of things you need to know."