n

n

n

"Sir, if I may ask, how did the negotiations go?

" Antion asked as he followed Tom back to where Irea was resting.

n

"Sadly, the troubles within our camp prevented me from getting any real talks done,

" Layn replied honestly, not seeing any merits in lying to the man.

"But it's not like we will return completely empty-handed. Rather than that, I already know what we will have to build back at the camp next,

" he added, looking in the direction where their small settlement was.

n

"Huh?

" Antion shrugged in surprise, not expecting the matter of buildings to come up so suddenly.

"We will need to build something. The need for that kind of building only appeared after you met with the other party...

" Antion muttered under his nose before sharply raising his head and looking at Layn's face.

"Boss, is this going to be an embassy of sorts?

" he asked, putting forth his guess.

n

"There are not that many surprises in my life,

" Layn replied ambiguously before turning his head and looking at his subordinate with a small smile.

"But you hitting the mark with your first guess is one of those rare instances,

" he added before shaking his head.

"But let's leave the talking for later. We should hurry it up,

" Layn added before leaning forward a bit and increasing the pace of their run.

nAstonishingly, the distance from where they caught Befler and where everyone else was, wasn't that great. While the traitor managed to run for a good fewteen minutes, Layn and Antion were both more than capable of covering it in less than a single minute.

n'No matter how long we spent out in the sticks, Antion still holds a huge advantage over the others,' Layn thought. Ever since Irea's state stabilized, his mind was more free to roam and consider other matters. 'I guess I paid a little too little attention to actually teaching them,' he thought. 'And that might soon turn out to be a problem.'

nLayn looked towards the small gathering of people nearby. Ever since the two of them speed up their run, the land around them turned into an array of flashes rather than a concise picture of nature. Only due to their destination being right ahead of them could the archmage see anything at all.

n

"Boss!

" the rest of the group that gathered in this place shouted all at once.

n

"I'm here. How's she?

" Layn asked, rapidly scanning the area to figure out the location of his girl.

n

"Lady is still sleeping,

" Pavrien said while raising his head from a makeshift pillow made by clumping a bunch of grass together.

"Also, I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for saving my life,

" he added, lowering his head despite the pain that instantly surfaced in his expression as he did so.

n

"Don't push yourself too hard,

" Layn ordered the man. 'Given how he was almost revived rather than healed, he should still give his body some time,' Layn thought. Even though he didn't care anywhere as close for any of his men as he did for Irea, that didn't mean he had no feelings of loyalty to those men. After all, they all risked their entire futures to follow after him to the place they considered as a hellscape.

n

"Water...

" A soft voice reached Layn's ears. He instantly rocked his head, directing his eyes towards its source. And just like he could instantly tell from the sound of the voice, it was Irea.

n

"Men!

" Layn didn't even need to pass any orders. As soon as his short shout woke them up from a momentary daze, the entire gathering rushed to offer their help to the girl.

n'She shouldn't wake up yet,' Layn thought, both confused and happy with the situation. Sadly, the happiness soon turned into worry. 'Why did she wake up earlier than expected, though?' Layn asked himself, rushing to find the answer before it would be too late.

n

"Dear...

" Irea spoke up with a weak voice.

n

"Yes?

" Layn instantly rushed to the girl, dropping on his knees and grasping her hand. 'Looking at her in this state,' he thought before clasping his teeth and slightly tensing the hold over her hand.

n

"I feel strange,

" Irea said, averting her eyes a little before bringing them back and looking Layn straight in the eyes.

"I'm cold... But I'm hot at the same time. I feel weak... But I can feel power brimming in my veins...

" she attempted to explain her state.

nAs the girl spoke, her complexion didn't improve. But, while it didn't worsen either, it was clear that it changed. With her usually pale skin suddenly turning red, Layn guessed that the temperature of her body raised.

n'Where does her feeling of coldness comes from, then?' Layn asked himself, pushing his mind to its limits to figure out the answer. 'Is her body rejecting the magical parts?' Layn took a guess, but after a quick inspection of the girl's internal state, that didn't seem to be the case.

n

"You feel weak because your body is exhausted,

" Layn said in an attempt to calm the girl down.

"And you feel strong because of the treatment that I used on you... Just like I said, you are no longer fully a human. Now you are part human part magic being,

" he explained before gently touching the skin of her arm.

nIt was one of the places that was fully made from pure magic.

n

"This part here was created from the magic and mana dust,

" Layn said, gently moving his finger up. And as he started to speak, a hint of an idea appeared in his mind, allowing him to explain the girl's state.

n'I guess she will react differently with how she still has part of her natural flesh,' Layn thought, this time inspecting the flow of energy in the girl's body.

nJust as anyone could guess, the parts remade by magic were brimming with energy. Given how Irea's flesh now had a trace amount of the mana dust in it, her regenerated parts constantly absorbed small amounts of mana from the air, contributing to the feeling of hotness that Irea complained about.

nBut once again, her body wasn't uniformly made from mana, like it was the case with Layn. The flesh that remained wasn't used to this kind of volume of energy. Thankfully, rather than rejecting it, her muscle tissue, bones and skin were happily gobbling up all the energy the rest of her body could offer.

n'But why does that make her feel cold?' Layn thought before riding his finger up to a part of Irea that somehow managed to avoid any injuries or burns in the explosion.

"Just to make it clear, do you feel cold or hot here?

"

nIrea raised her eyes as if she couldn't tell where Layn was touching her.

"It's hot,

" she replied, moving her eyes back at Layn's face.

n

"Strange...

" Layn muttered in response, rubbing his chin. 'What am I missing?' he asked himself once again, trying hard to figure out the problem.

n

"You were mistaken with that hot part in the first place,

" suddenly, a familiar yet foreign voice reached Layn's ears. He looked up, only to see the same wolf-like monster from before calmly sitting roughly a few steps away from their group.

n

"MONSTER!

" In an instant, when others realized its presence, everyone jumped to their feet. It was clear that they still had no idea how did the negotiations go, making them assume that they were all under attack.

n

"Chill down,

" Layn ordered everyone, infusing his voice with a bit of magic. This kind of sloppy execution of suggestion magic wouldn't give him even the worst passing grade in the academy. But in this world? Where mental defenses appeared to be only a byproduct of one's natural growth?

nIn this world lacking any form to technique to shield one's mind, this skill was as good as the perfected crafts that only some of Layn's professors from his past life could cast in the entire world.

n

"What did you mean by that?

" Layn asked politely, still waving his hands at his men to hold their horses down.

n

"The parts you remade are what are making her feel cold. After all, all the energy rushing towards it is creating a cold breeze,

" the wolf yawned, proving that it wasn't its vocal organs that did the talking.

n

"And why did you tell me that?

" Layn asked once again, squinting his eyes as he did so. 'While what it said makes sense, I can't really see the reason for the overlord to help me,' he thought, suspicious about the intentions of the other party.

n

"Isn't it pretty obvious?

" the wolf asked before wagging its tail.

"Just bring us some more of those coins of yours. I examined the treasure you left us with. If you wish, we should be able to have a fruitful relationship,

" the wolf added.

nLayn looked around. The faces of his men didn't change at all despite the colossal bomb-dropping right on their heads. And the simplest explanation for that was that they did not hear the wolf's words at all!

n

"I will make sure to bring more coins, but I will need some mana crystals for that,

" Layn replied in his normal voice, hoping that his people would connect the dots.

n

"I understand,

" the wolf nodded its head before standing up and approaching Irea.

nLayn's mercenaries visibly tensed up as the monster passed by them, but bound by the suggestion magic and the explicit order, they didn't do anything.

nOn its end, the wolf approached the girl before touching her sweaty forehead with its nostril.

n

"She should calm down in the next five to ten minutes,

" the monster said directly to Layn's mind before yawning once again and laying down on the ground.

"Now, how about we discuss how many coins we would receive for each stone I would provide?

"

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