Sage 18

The number of mages who could smoothly use healing magic on the continent was very limited. If there were a hundred mages, only one or two of them were proficient in healing magic.

In fact, ‘healing’ was the domain of priests and doctors, not magic. Unless it was an emergency, mages were legally prohibited from overusing healing magic. If mages did everything, what would the priests and local doctors do to make a living?

But unfortunately, the priests of today, even if they had divine power, could not cure diseases or mend broken bones immediately like they used to.

I heard that these days, they could only treat simple bruises, but since it had been more than 100 years since I had actually met a priest, I didn’t know if that was true or not.

When I fell into the imperial lake and was taken by Yekarina as a pet human, the main religion of the Robain Empire was the Henus religion. They worshiped Henus, the god of eternity and abundance, as their main god, and even new priests could easily cure a disease with just a little bit of divine power.

Not only that, but they could also heal fractures in a single day. The reason I was able to survive my slave life with all my limbs intact was because Yekarina had diligently assigned Henus priests to me.

Then, starting with the Kaman invasion war, the main religion of the continent changed about 200 years ago. When Henus was the main god, priests were more like doctors, but these days, I heard that they were more like judges. They used their divine power for judgment and execution rather than healing and nursing.

Anyway, the main god of the current main religion of the continent, the Elios religion, is Elios, the god of balance and harmony. I still find myself seeking out the God I used to believe in only when I took exams in South Korea whenever something happens, but fundamentally, this world was a polytheistic system that worshipped more gods than the number of moons in the sky.

Having many gods to worship had its pros and cons. The fact that they could change the main god as needed according to the situation and timing to restore the order of the continent was a really good thing. It was nice to see how they were diligently using religion for political purposes.

After the war over the ownership of the Southern Forest, Elios, the guardian of balance, became the main god throughout the continent, and mages belonging to the Magic Tower were prohibited from using attack magic unless it was during a war.

It was around that time that the slave system was relaxed, and a law was made that people should not be tortured even if they were prisoners of war.

As a result, numerous non-aggression pacts were made between countries. The fact that Elios, who protects balance and harmony, became the main god was a macroscopic expression of the continent’s desire to stop fighting. Everyone was tired of fighting for decades.

The war had resulted in the deaths of many people and the destruction of many cultures. In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, people made dozens of treaties and alliances that were difficult to memorize, and in the process, some things became common, and some things became rare.

Examples of this were the rarity of healing priests and mages specializing in healing magic, the prevalence of magic contracts, and the increase in the number of priests skilled in sealing and execution. As times changed, the purpose and abilities that the times sought naturally changed.

As a result, it became very difficult for ordinary people without money to receive treatment compared to when Henus was the main god, but since the number of ordinary doctors had increased as well, it wasn’t a big problem. Doctors couldn’t heal instantly like mages or priests, but they had enough medical skills to contribute to public health.

“There must be a reason why your granddaughter came to me instead of a doctor.”

Ordinary doctors could have treated normal elderly illnesses or internal injuries caused by electric shock. A rich person like Teriz could have called in a whole group of skilled doctors.

But Adelaide had come to the Southern Forest, risking her life to find the Great Sage, not a doctor.

Judging from Adelaide’s fiery temper, which resembled Teriz’s, it seemed like 80% of the reason was to kill me, but the remaining 20% was probably based on the calculation that if she made a scene, I would come to Carabel and check on Teriz. Adelaide was not only similar in appearance to Teriz, but also in the way she used her head.

“Other than the fact that there are a lot of imperial knights around here, I have nothing to tell you.”

“After you visited, the imperial knights raided Night Fellow.”

“Adel, stop talking.”

“They took me hostage… and tortured my grandmother. They said they fed her some strange drug. Grandma tried to spit it out…”

As expected, should I just behead the current emperor right now and put Irkus in his place?

I considered it very briefly. It wouldn’t be difficult to usurp the throne by simply twisting the emperor’s neck, and Irkus was smart, so he would be able to manage on his own even without me.

Well, he has no problem with his bloodline, and even if he doesn’t have any supporters, he has the legitimacy of being a prince, so he won’t be openly criticized in this crazy hierarchical society.

They’re sending knights to another country to torture an old intelligence guild leader? Indeed, revolution is the only way to reform a country.

While I was imagining beheading the emperor, whom I didn’t even know the face of, like a true Korean, Teriz came closer to me and Irkus, limping. I didn’t know when she was standing, but when I looked closely, her body was slowly rotting from the tips of her toes.

Fortunately, her left foot seemed fine, but her right foot was already black up to her instep. It was understandable that her granddaughter had run to the Southern Forest in a fit, even though she was in this condition and was looking at the intelligence guild’s paperwork in an armchair.

“It’s lacrium. Did you take the antidote?”

“I got it. But they said I might lose consciousness if a strong antidote enters an old body.”

“That’s probably true. Both lacrium and its antidote are strong. But if you don’t take it, you’ll keep rotting. The rotting speed of lacrium increases over time. Even now, you might have to amputate one leg.”

Lacrium is the name of a plant. This plant, which grows well in any soil as long as it rains well, just like a weed, serves as an excellent stimulant when used in the right amount, but a slight overdose causes the body to rot from the extremities.

Since it was easy to obtain and even easier to manufacture, lacrium quickly became a drug for torture due to its overuse.

Fortunately, because lacrium itself is easy to obtain, the antidote is also easy to obtain, but the antidote was more potent than lacrium. Moreover, taking the antidote did not restore the rotted area to its original state. If you don’t take it, you’ll rot from the tips of your toes until your whole body turns black and you die.

I knew that it was a drug developed for torturing prisoners during the Kaman invasion war, but it was the first time in 200 years that I had seen a case where someone was forced to take it with my own two eyes. Do the imperial guys think the law is a joke? Why did they establish it and then break it?

I approached Teriz. As I moved, Adelaide, worried about her grandmother, sniffled and followed me to Teriz’s side.

“Grandma didn’t intend to reveal the location of that Irkus or whatever in the first place.”

I thought she had willingly sold Irkus’s location because she had become quite a materialist while running an intelligence guild, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

She must have been forced to speak because her granddaughter was taken hostage, and she was tortured. I was going to rationalize that Teriz had also done something wrong and that I had just given her an electric shock, but now that’s all ruined.

I just sighed. Because of the space movement magic that Irkus and I used right away in that store, we left a blatant magical trace, unintentionally causing great harm to Teriz.

“I was planning to report it anyway. It’s just that the imperial knights came before I could.”

But Teriz, not giving me a chance to feel sorry, kindly told me the truth that she was planning to report it. Adelaide’s attempt to argue that her grandmother had no intention of revealing it was a bit ridiculous.

Whether or not that was the case, I knelt in front of Teriz and checked her rotting right foot.

It didn’t look difficult to treat. If she took the antidote, she would have to amputate the rotted part unless magic was used, but I was a Great Sage, so I could restore this much with high-level healing magic. Moreover, since she hadn’t cut off her leg yet, it wasn’t difficult to restore her to her state before taking lacrium without the strong antidote.

“Ir, come closer and watch.”

I called Irkus, who was standing still in the same spot, to my side. Since we were here, I should show him a practical demonstration of healing magic. Opportunities like this don’t come often. It was difficult to show him a practical demonstration of healing magic because I recovered on my own even if I was seriously injured.

When he enters the imperial palace, he might be poisoned at any time, so Irkus also needed to develop the ability to heal himself without relying on others. I may be fine even if I’m poisoned, but Irkus might die.

At my call, Irkus approached me with a troubled expression. He seemed to feel guilty because he thought Teriz was like this because of him.

I lightly tapped Irkus’s shoulder a couple of times. All of this was not Irkus’s fault, but the fault of the imperial knights who tortured civilians to find a child. More fundamentally, it was the fault of the current emperor who couldn’t stop this mess from happening, and of that Ra-whatever who was fighting for the throne.

“I’ve changed my mind. Let’s head straight to the imperial palace as soon as you’re ready.”

It wouldn’t be difficult to simply twist the emperor’s neck and usurp the throne, but if Irkus’s position was to be secure even after my death, he needed to build some foundation.

Irkus is smart, so he’ll be able to do well on his own even without me.

Well, he has no problem with his bloodline, and even if he doesn’t have any supporters, he has the legitimacy of being a prince, so he won’t be openly criticized in this crazy hierarchical society.

They’re sending knights to another country to torture an old intelligence guild leader. Indeed, revolution is the only way to reform a country.

While I was imagining beheading the emperor, whom I didn’t even know the face of, like a true Korean, I slowly drew complex formulas for advanced healing magic on Teriz’s foot and muttered peacefully.

“I think political education is also necessary early on.”

It’s definitely not because I’m pissed off.