Chapter 8
Kraush was the younger brother with fierce eyes that resembled none other than Charlotte’s.
It was impossible not to draw attention.
“Haha! So, has the young master of Balheim come to see me for some reason? Perhaps you’ve fallen head over heels at first sight?”
Kraush brushed off her words like they were nothing and got straight to the point.
“I hear you’re quite curious about the world’s eroders lately.”
At that moment, Darling’s shoulders twitched slightly.
The cheerful glimmer that had been in her eyes began to change gradually.
While others looked on with curiosity, Kraush flashed a provocative smile.
“Doesn’t that pique your interest a little?”
Darling slowly smiled back.
“What a cheeky little brat you are.”
She stepped closer to Kraush.
“The price for pulling me in like this is one you’ll have to pay dearly.”
“Don’t worry.”
‘I’m the expert when it comes to the information you’re curious about.’
Kraush nodded and turned around.
Darling Danphelion, known as the Alchemy Queen, whose name rang out as the greatest alchemist in the future world.
It was time to build a connection with her.
＊ ＊ ＊
Kraush and Darling soon found a room for just the two of them.
As soon as Darling entered, she casually flopped down on the bed and looked at Kraush with a grin.
“Isn’t it a bit early for you to be in a room like this?”
“Don’t flirt with a child.”
“Oh, a child wouldn’t even understand what I just said.”
Well, that was true enough.
As Kraush pulled out a chair and sat down, Darling rested her elbows on her knees and propped her chin up.
“How old are you?”
“You’d know if you knew my sister’s age.”
“Thirteen, huh? But you don’t really look it. Your face is quite babyish.”
That was an undeniable truth.
Though Kraush had the mind of someone who graduated from the academy, he was trapped in the body of a thirteen-year-old.
“Does it matter what age I am right now?”
However, there was no reason for Kraush to indulge her.
It’s winter now.
Only two years left until he enrolled in Lahern Academy.
He had a mountain of tasks to tackle before then.
He didn’t even want to waste time bantering with her.
“Regardless, it doesn’t matter. Go on, spill it. Seeing as you shared your curiosity about the world’s eroders, you must have learned something from Balheim, right?”
Darling didn’t seem particularly interested in Kraush.
She thought he probably wouldn’t know much anyway.
“The way to neutralize curses by using curses against each other.”
But the moment Kraush hit the crux of the matter, Darling’s smile stiffened.
“Research on eroding curses that healers still haven’t been able to solve using other curses.”
Now Darling’s eyes were slowly widening.
“Is there any progress on that research lately?”
Kraush asked.
“Hmm.”
Darling slowly brushed her hair back.
She was a natural genius when it came to alchemy.
At the tender age of fifteen, she had already obtained a level two alchemist certification that even adults found hard to achieve.
She had been conducting research on curse neutralization in the Danphelion alchemy workshop.
Though she had ambitiously started writing a thesis to obtain a level one certification, she hadn’t been able to produce results despite her research.
That was only natural.
‘She has no test subjects.’
No matter how thoroughly she studied the theory, she had no means to experiment with it.
Hence, her research hit a wall.
And that research would likely remain blocked for the foreseeable future.
Eventually, she would face the hurt of her pride and reluctantly move on to another study to eventually obtain her level one certification.
But her research would later get resumed.
That would be thanks to meeting Kraush.
‘I owe this guy a little.’
He was the one who slightly reversed the damage done by the rampant stolen curses.
“I can help with your research.”
When Kraush said that, Darling’s gaze suddenly turned icy.
“Don’t underestimate alchemy.”
Had he touched her pride as an alchemist?
Her sharp response indicated that she didn’t want an outsider meddling in her research.
Even Darling, always light-hearted, displayed sincerity when it came to alchemy.
“Don’t worry. The help I’m offering concerns test subjects you think are lacking.”
Darling’s eyes filled with questions.
It was a line of discussion that caught her completely off guard.
“Test subjects, you say?”
“I can steal curses.”
For the first time, a light not of jest flickered in Darling’s eyes.
It was the reaction of an alchemist who had discovered a new material.
“Kid, are you serious about that?”
“I’ve made a contract with a god. Isn’t that enough for helping your research?”
“That’s more than sufficient, I’d say.”
Darling fumbled her words and slowly smiled again.
“I figured you’d want something in return. What do you want, a girlfriend perhaps?”
Kraush, unfazed by her flirtatious tone toward women, shot back without a second thought.
“I plan to gather a few curses. I want you to make medicines that can reduce those curses.”
Kraush was now firmly aware that he could steal skills.
However, that alone was not enough.
Even the extraordinary talents of the Generations of the Sky had ultimately failed to prevent their annihilation.
Thus, Kraush planned to utilize every trick in the book.
After all, he was already tired of using curses in reverse.
“……”
After hearing that, Darling stared at Kraush silently.
Those eyes filled with longing.
Those eyes were not typical of a thirteen-year-old child.
What on earth had shaped this child into what he was?
Darling had heard about Kraush by now.
The fool from Balheim.
Certainly someone unchosen by the god, bearing none of the strengths in any weapon, a scholarship student.
And he was constantly compared to the shining star of Starlon, Charlotte.
‘In a situation like this, most would crumble.’
But some rise again.
And here, in front of her, the young boy had risen.
The glimmers of desire began to fill Darling’s eyes.
‘Hmm, I like this.’
Darling’s preference for people can be categorized into two types.
One is the overwhelming genius.
A genius standing at a pinnacle so high nobody can keep up.
And the second is an underdog.
Someone without even a pinch of talent who uses any means necessary to rise to the summit.
‘How could this pair of siblings be so captivating?’
Darling’s eyes sparkled seductively as she licked her lips.
“Kid, can I ask you one thing?”
Kraush shrugged as if to say ‘go ahead.’
With that, Darling posed the question she had been pondering.
“Are you going to the newly opened Lahern Academy?”
Upon hearing that question, Kraush blinked for a moment and then wore a look of course.
How could he possibly say no when there were so many skills to steal?
“Great. That’s settled then. I’ll make you any medicine. Curses are always welcome.”
Seeing Darling beam with delight, Kraush breathed a sigh of relief.
Luckily, she was still the same now as she had always been.
“Oh, by the way, can I ask one more thing? It’s related to medicine-making.”
At that moment, he decided to toss out a request he had almost forgotten.
“You said you’d make me any medicine, so what is it?”
“The color-changing disease; you know it, right?”
It was a rare terminal illness where one’s skin turned pitch black and blue, progressively leading to death.
Though it was uncommon, Darling recognized the name and tilted her head as Kraush continued.
“Please make a cure for it.”
Hearing the sudden demand for a cure, Darling stunned for a moment.
“……You know that’s an incurable disease, right?”
“I know.”
“Do you not understand why it’s called incurable?”
That was because it couldn’t be cured.
“I figured you could do it.”
If Darling truly committed to her research, it wouldn’t be an impossible task.
After all, this kid would eventually cure hundreds of incurable diseases.
The color-changing disease would definitely be among them.
Kraush clearly remembered why Aliod had swallowed the poisonous soup and chosen death, as well as his daughter’s illness.
So when he heard that Darling had crafted a cure for the color-changing disease, it left a deeply bittersweet impression on him.
“That’s quite a blow to my pride.”
Though how she had come to trust him like this was a mystery, it didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.
Therefore, Darling lightly stood up from the bed.
“Are we done here?”
“Yeah, please contact the Green Pinegwan in Balheim as soon as the cure is ready.”
“Are you going to come here directly? Oh no, I should probably clean up the room.”
“Do you really want to talk about that to a thirteen-year-old?”
“A kid wouldn’t even understand what that means. It is a hassle to clean, so I’ll come myself.”
Such a strange woman.
Having completed his business, as Kraush tried to leave the room, Darling poked him in the side.
“My boyfriend spot is open, so feel free to let me know anytime.”
Kraush frowned as if he had heard something he wasn’t supposed to.
“Don’t you like my sister?”
“I really like Charlotte. But that doesn’t mean I can’t like other people, can I?”
What sort of nonsensical logic was that?
“……No, isn’t it that you like girls?”
Knowing her sexual preference, Kraush said this, and Darling blinked before her face blossomed with a wide smile.
“I like boys too.”
“Huh?”
“So, I like both girls and boys alike.”
As Darling licked her lips while looking at Kraush, he instinctively burst through the door.
“Where are you going?! My future boyfriend!”
“What a crazy woman.”
Having learned about Darling’s unsettlingly diverse preferences, Kraush rushed back to the party hall, nearly in shock.
Luckily, Darling didn’t chase him down with all her might as if she was somewhat teasing.
‘Wasn’t she asking about Lahern Academy?’
That felt unsettling.
Originally, Darling had not intended to follow Charlotte to Lahern Academy, but for some reason, this time it felt like she would enroll.
‘Let it go.’
At least the main purpose of the gathering was fulfilled.
As Kraush made his way back to his seat, deciding not to worry about it any longer,
He caught sight of Bianca.
She was being held by someone else’s hand, and as Kraush noticed that, his expression darkened slowly.
Before he knew it, Kraush rushed to Bianca in an instant.
“Kraush-nim?”
As soon as Bianca called out with her round eyes, Kraush didn’t hesitate to kick the man.
“Ugh?!”
With a scream, the man rolled away, and Kraush quickly grabbed Bianca, who was about to get dragged along by him.
He then checked Bianca’s wrist.
It was slightly reddened, a clear sign she had been forcefully pulled.
“Kraush-nim.”
When Bianca called out to him again, Kraush sighed and turned to her.
“Let’s get some medicine.”
Just in case, you know.
“It’s okay, more importantly—”
Bianca looked ahead.
As she turned to follow her gaze, a boy had somehow staggered up from the floor.
He glared at Kraush with fiery eyes as he scowled.
“You little punk! You think you can kick me like that?!”
“Just what are you thinking, trying to drag away someone else’s fiancée?”
“What? Not drag away?!”
Kraush looked up and down with contempt at a boy who appeared to be around mid-teens.
“Bianca is still young. She’s only twelve. You don’t have that kind of preference, do you? How disgusting.”
“I’m not young!”
Though Bianca chimed in next to him, Kraush didn’t take his eyes off the boy that stood before him, treating him like garbage.
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