The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 80
The meeting with the Western alchemist ended more briefly than expected.
Though Aseph gained a general idea of Myron Devesis’s potential destination from the information shared, there was a significant issue.
The alchemist had come assuming that Zephyr’s brainwashing had been undone or something equivalent had occurred.
However, learning that wasn’t the case and that Zephyr had even revived Myron Devesis, he left in utter disappointment, even laughing bitterly.
More disheartened by that reaction, as if all hope was lost again, was Aseph.
The fact that he had created this situation was what troubled him the most.
Without thoroughly investigating what it was, and seeing that Bea seemed to cherish and be obsessed with it, he had focused solely on restoring it to its original state.
And this was the result.
The consequence of what Aseph thought was acting for Bea’s benefit.
It would not be something that could be easily excused in any manner.
“If the earcuff is damaged, she can’t hear well, nor can she stand properly…” Ruslan remarked, seemingly sharing the same thought.
Alchemists are a group that uses tools to wield magic. If a tool is broken, the functionality that the alchemist relies on is compromised. To eliminate the brainwashing function, one would simply need to destroy the tool that’s operating in that manner.
But the kind of ‘tool’ that it was remained to be a problem.
Because Bea’s disability seemed to be congenital.
“That kind of thing… isn’t that exactly Myron Devesis’s specialty?”
Aseph covered his face with his hands, lost for words.
Mages can heal physical traumas or acquired disabilities, but not congenital disabilities.
Magic enhances the body’s healing and regenerative abilities by returning it to a remembered former state, rather than creating something out of nothing. That’s why the difficulty of treating an old, even if acquired, disability significantly increases.
Fixing a congenital disability is more akin to modifying the human body than healing it, and strictly speaking, falls into the realm of alchemists, particularly Myron Devesis.
Even if all the research conducted by Bea in place of Myron Devesis, and the knowledge was originally hers, she couldn’t have operated on her own ear.
“If her ear… is a congenital disability, we must assume there’s no hope.”
“…Yes.”
Bea’s disability likely was congenital. No one knew of a time when Bea’s hearing was intact.
Moreover, being from the western part of the empire, where children with lower survival abilities were abandoned in the desert, and presumed to have been a slave originally, it was plausible she was abandoned due to such a disability.
‘Should I have not fixed that broken thing?’
He couldn’t bring himself to return the magical device to its partially brainwashing state as before.
Not knowing when or how its function might revive, destroying it completely was the only option. Perhaps meeting him in such a miraculously intact state was unknown to Bea.
Though she wouldn’t continue gaining notoriety nor continue being exploited by Myron Devesis for her capabilities if she would stay by Aseph’s side, it would mean living the rest of her life with her disability.
But would Bea be happy with that? Was he being too presumptuous?
Maybe living a life of accomplishment with a healthy body was what she desired?
If Aseph was arbitrarily deciding and forcing upon Bea that this was a better life for her, what then?
As Aseph was sinking deeper into gloomy thoughts, Homun groaned and moaned in discomfort.
Regaining focus, Aseph tended to Homun. The likelihood of this child surviving healthily in this situation had drastically diminished.
“…I’ll leave you to it, Your Highness.”
Ruslan intuited the end of their conversation and excused himself.
“Master…”
Unable to focus and in pain, the child sought Bea.
While stroking the sweat-soaked hair, Aseph pondered for a long time.
Decisions regarding Bea were not easy to come by.
However, decisions regarding Homun didn’t take as long.
❖
It was a night brightly lit by the moon.
Myron Devesis, seemingly pleased with the body repaired by Bea, moved quickly towards his destination.
Following him silently, Bea had to barely keep herself from collapsing. Her strength had significantly waned from days of harsh treatment following his commands.
Although Myron Devesis had become a mage, not being a congenital mage meant he couldn’t intuitively use magic without understanding its principles.
Typically, alchemists used schematics filled with formulas to create magical devices. On the other hand, he wasn’t born a mage but found himself in a state of being able to use magic. Asking him to use magic without those schematics was like asking for the creation of a magical device without them.
But since Bea had initially created magical devices without looking at any schematics, she couldn’t understand his incapability.
If one could emit magic from their body, it should be a matter of directly translating what’s in the mind.
His inability to do so led Myron Devesis to hassle Bea for days, forcing her to create auxiliary tools for him without rest or food. Recently, she even had to resort to potions with awakening effects.
Eventually, she succeeded. The bracelet-like magical device jingling on Myron Devesis’s arm was the result.
However, even if he was satisfied, from Bea’s perspective, it wasn’t impressive. A weakened body couldn’t yield a device of proper efficiency. Yes, just as Aseph Vilkanos had said.
To think he was content with such an inadequate device meant her master wasn’t as great as she thought.
She found herself questioning why she had blindly followed him before.
“…Who goes there.”
Bea halted her ongoing thoughts as her master suddenly stopped.
“Myron Devesis.”
In the darkness, two different colored eyes glinted.
Recognizing the colors alone, Bea immediately knew who was there, blocking the path.
