Hajime was truly surprised; together with Fumio and the others, he remained wide-eyed when he realized he had recovered enough to stand and walk.
His natural recovery ability had been enhanced by the [Grimoire] to the point where it rivaled some [magic].
With the book continuing to change him day by day, it was only a matter of time before other aspects of him changed as well.
"For now, try not to exert yourself too much... I'm astonished that you're already in such good health."
"Thank you, Fumio-sensei... I suppose there aren't just disadvantages to having this [Grimoire]."
Kuro, Cloe, and Kohaku had gone to school, leaving the [mage] and the teenager alone. The man was troubled by a particular matter.
"(Should I tell him or not?)"
Yukihime had left it up to him to decide whether to tell Hajime about Veronica or not.
Obviously, Fumio was in a bit of a dilemma: on one hand, Goto's stepson still wanted to tell Kaede the truth about the [Black Corps] and Goto, so the man could only delay the matter for a while.
"(She won't stop being friends with White-san just because her mother is dangerous... But it's a fact that Yukihime-sama would prefer maximum distance between the two of them.)"
"Fumio-sensei?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Since I don't have the strength to go home yet and I'm bored to death without my phone, can we play a game of chess?"
"...hm, okay. There's nothing else to do."
Playing chess with the teenager helped the teacher with his thoughts. He couldn't avoid telling Hajime about Veronica; eventually, he would find out on his own, or worse, the [Scarlett Queen] herself would tell him, just to spite Yukihime.
"(Should I tell him about his father? Yukihime-sama is reluctant to do so... I can't disagree with her; Kamijo-san has enough on his plate as it is. That woman has only made things more complicated for us.)"
While the 30-year-old was deep in thought, Hajime was doing the same.
"(With my new power, I should be able to change my appearance... but if it's sealed at 9/10, I doubt I could manage it... I wonder if I can move my internal organs? I could avoid being killed if I get hit; I should train to do that once I've fully recovered.)"
In the end, the young [mage] lost five times in a row before Kuro and the others returned to the base.
"I think I should go now. I can walk without getting dizzy, and I've finished my blood transfusions." (Hajime)
"How will you hide the fact that you didn't go to school today?" (Kohaku)
"!? Crap, I forgot about that!" (Hajime)
"Let's hope your little sister didn't find your phone; otherwise, you'll be in trouble if she starts asking questions." (Kuro)
"No one else is in my room when I'm not there, so it shouldn't be a problem, but... I don't know what excuse I'll come up with for the situation." (Hajime)
"Tell her you were with a girl all night and that you overslept." (Kuro)
Everyone looked in Kuro's direction, who had provided a solution to the problem with an overly indifferent attitude. Hajime was about to thank him, thinking it was a good idea, but Kuro's next words stopped him.
"Or with a prostitute. I'd say the second option is more likely; I strongly doubt a sane girl would ever—" (Kuro)
"Finish that sentence, and I swear I'll take one of the beds in this infirmary and use it to hit you on the head!"
"Meh, what do you think you're going to do? You still haven't recovered, and I'm faster than you!"
"Really? Why don't we check just to be sure!?"
The two boys began to argue. Kohaku laughed at the scene while Cloe sighed, massaging her temples. Fumio, on the other hand, was still reflecting on whether to tell Hajime the truth or not.
"(Better to sleep on it. Otherwise, I won't be able to find an answer.)"
*****
Alberich Hackmesser, the man that Kuro and Hajime had captured on their first mission, was in a pitiful state.
His legs had been severed by a clean blow from the scythe of the black-haired adolescent.
The people who had captured him ensured his wounds were bound and that he stayed alive, but he wasted no time nor [mana] in trying to regrow his lost limbs. It was easier to watch someone who could only crawl.
The former trafficker's body was reduced to a rag. He had been given the bare minimum to survive. He remained tied to a chair all day, with straps cutting into his wrists.
He had been beaten and tortured for so long that he had lost track of how long he had been in that cell.
The question from his tormentors was one, and only one: "Where does the [Dragon's Blood] come from?"
Alberich tried to resist; it wasn't the first time he had found himself in such a problematic situation. Until now, he had always managed to escape or to be rescued.
This time, however, it was different. The location of his prison was little known even among the members of the [New Dawn]: it was a bunker located in a mountain between the southern and central sectors.
The former trafficker knew this only because it had been his captors to tell him. Demonstrating absolute confidence that he would never escape.
After a while, the tortures became more severe. They had ripped his nails, some teeth, broken three-fourths of his bones, and cracked two ribs. In the end, Alberich spoke; he wasn't such a tough man as to withstand all that.
He told them the truth. Of course, they didn't believe him, so the torture continued.
The man couldn't really blame them; he himself didn't believe that the [Dragon's Blood] came from "that."
The first time the substance arrived on the black market, many sought to duplicate it or discover how it was made. In China, the country of origin of this product, the government itself employed a team of doctors and scientists to learn more about it; the results were kept secret, but whispers suggested that the information was too dangerous to be disseminated.
The former trafficker had been very lucky to discover how to procure it. The Chinese mafia, the triad, had full control over the purest stocks of the substance. But the more inferior ones, while useful, were easier to obtain if you had the right connections. Fortunately, Alberich had them; selling [magic weapons] for years had brought him a dense network of friends and acquaintances.
The heavy door of his cell opened. This could mean only two things: it was time to be fed or time to be tortured.
"Have you decided to tell the truth now?"
Alberich hated that voice. And the person who spoke it. No matter how many times he had said it, they hadn't believed him.
"I-I... already did..."
The voice of the former trafficker was barely above a whisper; his vocal cords and throat were on the verge of collapse after hours of screaming and not enough water to quench his thirst.
"You are lying!"
The person in the room was Hoshi, one of the five leaders of the [New Dawn]. She had taken charge of the situation, much to Alberich's misfortune.
Unlike her colleague Izumi, the woman with hair like the sun was more than capable of causing harm if necessary for her goals and for the victory of their cause.
She had promised results to Yukihime weeks ago, yet even today she had nothing to show for it, except the mumblings of a madman.
"(Perhaps he is really insane? Nah, impossible, this jerk is just pretending to try to get some form of pity from me. Well, it doesn't matter; today we'll find out the truth.)"
Behind Hoshi, another member of the [New Dawn], an [esper] capable of discerning if a person was lying, stepped forward.
Until now, this individual had used his powers elsewhere for other missions; now, finally free, he had been brought to this secret prison by the woman with hair like fire.
"Now, for the last time. What do you know about the [Dragon's Blood]?!"
Alberich recounted, for the umpteenth time, the truth. From Hoshi's contorted expression of rage, he understood that soon he would be subjected to another round of torture.
"Tsk! Still not…!"
"Hoshi-sama, he is telling the truth."
"What!? What he said cannot be true!"
"It is, or at least he believes it is. What should we do now?"
"Tsk! I'll report to Yukihime-sama. Inform the others to keep this human refuse alive; he may still be useful to us."
The woman left the room, slamming the door behind her. What she had heard was absurd, but if she thought about it calmly, it might actually be possible. After all, in certain circles, there were "rumors" about similar events or situations.
"(Perhaps I shouldn't have brushed away his words so easily... after all, even Yukihime-sama is... even if it were true, in the end, it's still a difficult situation for us.)"