Maya, who descended from the observatory first, took a carriage back to her lodging.
Her mind was in disarray, mixed with various emotions.
At first, anger at the disappointnt was the strongest.
But as ti passed, all that remained was remorse towards the Director.
The Director had never harboured any ill will towards her.
He had simply fulfilled his role as a ntor as usual.
He worried when she was in distress, taught her when she struggled.
Yet she had beco annoyed with him, misinterpreted things, got upset arbitrarily.
It was childish behavior.
The reason she was fixated on puzzle on the floor of Tettromino Plaza was due to her remorse towards the Director.
Although it was a misunderstanding, she had done sothing she shouldnt have to soone who had sincerely explained things to her out of concern.
But apart from those feelings, the Directors insight was truly astonishing.
To solve a puzzle that no one had been able to solve for the past 100 years so easily.
Maya created five differently coloured glass beads in the air as a illusion.
Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus.
The elents combined to form a single unit, repeating and forming a double helix.
And the two of them twisted around each other again.
When did the Director find out about this?
They had been in this city for over a month.
It could have been probably be noticed by passing by.
But Maya was more drawn to a different hypothesis.
The Director had known about this from the beginning.
Judging from his attitude during the explanation, it seed like he already knew the answer when she started trying to solve the problem.
Perhaps he had been here before and solved it then.
But then another question remained.
Why didnt the Director reveal what he had discovered to the world?
There were many aspects of his adherence to secrecy that she couldnt understand.
If he didnt like attention from people in the first place, it didnt make sense for him to lead a circus troupe and stand on stage.
Was there a reason he knew that she didnt?
As she pondered over this, the carriage had arrived at the lodging.
Oh my, Maya dear, did you co alone? And what about the Director?
Yurakne, who had rushed out upon hearing the carriage, looked around anxiously.
He had sothing to attend to, hell co later.
Wonderstein said hed be examining Clara this afternoon.
Maya intended to follow suit.
She had heard rumors that there had been so deep interaction between them after she had fainted off in front of Wonderstein last ti.
But she had decided not to believe such rumors anymore.
Misunderstandings were now tireso.
Perhaps the Directors pure kindness had been distorted and misinterpreted.
Neither Ella nor Reyna nor she herself could tempt him.
The Director didnt see a girl ten years younger than himself as a woman.
Even if it was a difference of nine or eight years, it didnt make a difference.
Oh, a package has arrived. Its placed in front of Mayas room.
After experiencing the incident in Dvallchep, she contacted the Academys guidance professor.
She requested the latest research materials on Debulroots.
It seed like they had arrived.
She tossed the professors greeting letter into a corner and began to read through the materials.
The amount of data was vast.
Two things caught Mayas attention.
One was the connection between the Black Magician and the Curse Plague.
This was a study released by the Orthodox Church about a month ago, suggesting a similarity in patterns between the activities of the Black Magician and the outbreak of the Curse Plague.
The Black Magician.
Mayas hand clenched around the paper.
It was the first ti she had been separated from soone she loved.
Ordinary people might have thought that Maya wouldnt rember what happened when she was a few months old.
But her mory was almost perfect from two months after birth.
She could vividly recall the happiness and joy of her infancy.
And the despair she felt when she heard that her mother was no longer there.
It was the first sense of loss Maya had experienced.
She could never have good feelings about the Black Magician.
Maya continued to read the last piece of data.
It was the image of Debulroots captured through the latest observation equipnt by IMT.
Even with the latest optical microscope, Debulroots could barely be seen wriggling as a cluster.
It seed that the engineers at IMT had found a way to capture it.
On the back was a sketch drawn by the researcher who had observed it.
Maya shivered when she saw it.
The drawing skills were pathetic.
To Maya, who was at the level of a professional painter, it looked like nothing more than a doodle.
But the content was incredibly astonishing.
What they had observed in Debulroots.
It was two double helixes twining around each other like snakes.
***
I was in the visiting room in front of the dormitory, organizing the results of this ti while waiting for Clara.
What I gained from defeating the Avatar was two things.
[You have completed the Sub-Quest Disease Demon. As a reward, the Professors Flask is provided.]
I slowly retrieved a transparent glass bottle spinning around in the status window with my hand.
Na: Professors Flask
Target: Blood filled in the flask.
Effect: The creature which drinks from the flask can be trapped and freely put in or out. The contract maintenance period is 30 days. Renewable.
Required resources: None.
The reward was similar to that of the Ghost of the Cabaret.
It was an item that could use the power of an ally.
This ti, it seed like a reward was her ability because she could secretly collect creatures like demons or monsters.
It was a perfect item to give to Ella.
I tossed it into my hat and pulled out another loot from my pocket.
It was a glass bottle slightly smaller than a fist.
Inside, it was filled with sparkling sand-like fragnts.
I knew what this was.
It was a Shard of Tril.
In TT3, Wondersteins colleagues, the Three Witches, used this to perform biomanipulation.
Back then, I thought it had power because it contained Wondersteins soul.
But considering that Tril had to be eaten to manipulate the unique traits, I hadnt thought that this gem itself might have had a connection to Debulroots.
I opened the third main quest window.
*Main Quest Tril
: Its what you wanted to get your hands on.
Condition for completion
: Consu it after Tril turns completely red.
Reward upon success
: Ability to manipulate Unique Trait without Modification Penalty
No penalty upon failure
: None.
To manipulate unique traits, Tril had to be eaten.
What would happen if I tried it now?
It wasnt a complete Tril, and it wasnt completely red.
Would it have any effect at all?
Or perhaps, would it unlock so abilities?
I opened the lid of the bottle and brought it to my lips.
My heart pounded.
The Smiling Man which always maintained his composure reacted strongly only to Tril.
Just as I was about to put it in my mouth.
The door opened, and soone entered.
It was Clara.
She looked at , observing my actions closely.
I hoped she wouldnt mistake for a drug addict.
I put the bottle back into my pocket and casually spoke.
Hehe, Ive been taking dicine because I havent been feeling well.
I see.
I glanced briefly at the bag she had brought.
Are you leaving?
Yes. Im taking a leave of absence.
Many of the students who woke up after yesterdays incident applied for leave.
The influence of the curse of the Avatar had a strong effect on their minds.
So even decided to quit being acrobats.
Co here. Lets start the treatnt.
She undressed in front of .
She didnt seem embarrassed.
After all, it was strange to care about such things when she was about to die in a few days.
Her skin was cracked like a dry rice paddy during a drought.
Through the cracks, I could see blood pooling, shining like a red gem.
So areas turned into dry flakes, revealing a rosy flesh beneath.
The Evolution Research lab explained that it was a phenonon that occurred when a crack between the soul and the flesh occurred.
It seed to be a very rare disease.
I examined every inch of her body and restored it with Debulroots.
As the treatnt neared completion, she spoke first.
May I ask what the Directors purpose is? Why does he insist on running a circus troupe?
It was a tireso question.
It was a question of why I was running the circus having such power.
I shrugged my shoulders and answered.
It wont be any different from what you already know.
With that said, I added one more thing.
Wonder Stage.
Her back muscles trembled.
anwhile, the treatnt was over.
I turned around and waited for her to change her clothes.
But suddenly, she hugged from behind.
Clara?
Can you accept ?
She spoke with a soft voice.
It was one of the offers I had expected.
To heal her body, treatnt had to be done every two weeks.
It would be more convenient to travel together instead of finding the city where we stayed each ti.
I also thought that her joining would be a great help, considering she was once the top candidate of Lekachep.
However, I didnt feel good about using her as a bargaining chip for her treatnt.
Give a chance to repay your kindness.
I didnt help you expecting sothing in return. Besides, people who were part of the Six Theatres at the start of the competition would be prohibited from participating throughout the competition.
Clara buried her face in my back and nodded.
The limitation applies to those who perform on stage. It doesnt matter if I dont perform on stage.
Then what will you do?
Ill work as the Directors secretary. Ill do anything, whether its errands or anything else. Ill definitely be of help to the Director.
I sighed softly.
I didnt know what extre choice she might make if I refused.
Alright. Do you have any desired compensation other than treatnt?
No. I dont have such things. But theres just one thing Im curious about. Its about . Why was I born?
It seed like she was questioning her existence.
It was a complicated issue.
She was a child who was desperate enough to contemplate suicide due to despair in life.
It wasnt strange for her to ask such questions.
All I could say to her was to live for now.
You might find the answer as we travel together.
Really? Okay.
She seed to have hoped for a clearer answer, but she nodded as if she didnt care much.
Alright. Welco, Clara.
[Clara has been added to the mber list.]
But for now, could you please put on so clothes?
Only then did she rember that this was the first floor of the dormitory, and she quickly picked up her clothes and put them on.
Clara glanced at her Master while riding the carriage together.
She had guessed one of the Masters purposes.
It was based on the rumors and information she had collected.
To steal the artifact of Kirku, Tril.
And her guess was correct.
She didnt know what the purpose was, but the Master wanted Tril.
Seeing him trying to eat the Tril fragnt as dicine, could it be that he also had so kind of problem with his body like her?
She wanted to ask in detail but decided against it.
She didnt want to make her master uncomfortable by asking questions he didnt want to answer.
The important thing was the masters goal.
He was undoubtedly trying to do the sa thing as 17 years ago.
Turning the whole world into an enemy.
However, Clara wasnt afraid.
A spark of ambition ignited in her heart once again.
It was the dream she had when she was ill.
To spread her wings on the world stage.
The day her master stood at the top of the highest city in the world.
She would be by his side.
As his most trusted subordinate.
As the person he relied on the most.
She realized this when she ca out of the illness.
She preferred to move passively rather than take control of sothing.
A position of soone being in charge of her instead of standing above others.
That was her new goal.
She vowed to be of help to her Master.
The demon who ca out of the bottle made a vow.
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Chapter 196: Demon in the Bottle 35
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