Stigma Effect

Chapter 20 – Green-Eyed Monster

Translator: Skye  Editor: thursdays  PR: sj_myself

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“I’d like to go to where Raphlet is now.”

“Already? When we haven’t even looked around half the street yet?”

Yuriel nodded her head tiredly and Helio acquiesced.

“All right, well, with this much I think I’ve made up for my past wrongdoing–”

“Yes, yes, you’ve made up plenty,” Yuriel quickly replied. At this rate, she felt like she would end up indebted to him if she continued to let him drag her around.

Dressed in considerably fancier clothes than when she first stepped out, Yuriel let out a sigh.

“Look at all this,” she began, pointing to all the items he bought her. “This is more than enough.”

“In my eyes, something’s still lacking, though…” He trailed off.

Helio had a keen eye for aesthetics. As he had often moved about the palace since he was young, he had a sharp eye for not only men’s attire, but women’s as well.

Though he had dressed up Yuriel from head to toe, he still found areas that could be improved.

“It would be good for you to eat more, Miss Yuriel,” he remarked after giving her a thorough lookover.

Yuriel’s body looked pitifully thin. She probably had no idea how frail her wrist looked when she held a gun.

“I think Raphlet has been worrying about me as well, so I’ve been making an effort to eat more lately,” she replied. Raphlet’s name spilled from her lips ever so casually.

Helio quipped back in a slightly displeased tone, causing the amicable air between them to die down in an instant. But he quickly came to his senses and changed the topic, “The fastest way to the alchemists’ tower is this way.”

“The river?” Yuriel asked.

“We can cut across by riding on a boat,” Helio explained as they made their way towards the dock. There was a crowd gathered in front of the large boat, and quite a few people recognized Helio like he was a famous figure.

Instead of buying a ticket, Helio flashed his Albraca crest, and they were able to board the boat right away.

“There’s no need for any knight of Albraca to buy a ticket. Because we often need to get around the city quickly, we’re allowed to board as long as we present our badges. If it’s a more urgent issue, we can even borrow a smaller boat. Keep this all in mind.”

Though she didn’t think anyone working in the strategy office like herself would have a reason to know about such a thing, Yuriel told him she understood.

Helio took a seat on one of the chairs on the deck and said, “Feel free to rest until we arrive.”

“Can I look around?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“Then, I’ll be back after exploring a little!”

“The wind is pretty strong. Leave your hat with me before you go, Miss Yuriel.”

Yuriel left the hat Helio bought for her with him and turned around. The large boat that was capable of carrying several hundred passengers slowly began to take off.

She leaned against the railing and took in her surroundings. She was able to see the capital in its entirety.

There were two roads that split around the palace, leaving it in the center. One led to the temple and the other to the alchemists’ tower. By taking on the shape of a triangle, the city was linked but also independent at the same time.

It was completely different from the Mogris duchy.

Mogris was located in the center of a thick coniferous forest, with the castle in the center of the territory. Its overall shape made it obvious to anyone that the most important place in the duchy was the castle. But here, in the capital, it was hard to tell which place was the most significant.

At first glance, it would seem the street leading to the palace would be the most important, but if you were to look at the city from another angle, the street leading to the alchemists’ tower seemed important as well.

“Ack.”

Turning around to look at the street leading to the temple, Yuriel closed her eyes tight when a strong gust of wind blew past her.

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After a little while, the boat arrived at the dock on the street leading to the alchemists’ tower. Helio was the first to disembark and he helped Yuriel off before the two headed off in the direction of the tower.

Having a closer view of the tower, Yuriel found that it looked overwhelmingly dignified compared to when she saw it from the street closer to the temple.

“T-This…will it not collapse?”

“It’s still standing like this because it has never collapsed, don’t you think? Now, let’s go inside.” Helio pushed Yuriel’s back and entered the tower.

Yuriel had been wondering how people were able to go up and down this humongous tower, and she found that there was some boarding lift being used.

It was a platform that was able to go up or down multiple floors at once. She clung to Helio’s arm, trembling as she got onto the clanking structure.

Back in Mogris, there were hoists being used for moving goods and foodstuff, but she had never come across one for passengers.

The damage would be great if the cable were to ever snap. Yuriel had even witnessed such a terrible scene in the past. Even though it hadn’t involved any people, it was still a frightening experience.

Despite the small reassurance from seeing Helio look so calm, she couldn’t get herself to be at ease.

It was as scary as seeing a monster right in front of her. As the platform underneath her feet rattled, she felt her heart thump with it.

“T-This is s-safe, right?” Yuriel asked while quivering, but Helio only gave her a wordless smile.

She tightened her grip on his arm and clung to him even closer. The lift continued to take them upwards.

Once they arrived on their destined floor, Helio opened the door of the lift. He turned around and gave her a quizzical look when he noticed that she wasn’t following him.

He thought she would have run out immediately.

Helio let out a low sigh. Yuriel was pressed flat against one of the sides of the lift, while her face looked quite pale. The sight of her legs–trembling like a newborn fawn–was pitiful.

“My l-legs won’t m-move, Sir Helio…” she said, eyes welling up with tears.

“My, my. It wasn’t my intention to give you such a fright. I apologize,” he said in a gentle tone after seeing her unable to get off the platform.

“You can be reassured it’s safe. There hasn’t been a single accident yet.” Helio picked her up in his arms and carried her off the platform, patting her shoulder.

Yuriel kept a deathlike grip on his clothes, to the extent her fingers turned white, and barely managed to let out a breath.

“Have you seen an accident involving a lift before?” he asked her.

Yuriel nodded her head with a slight whimper. It didn’t look like she wanted to talk or even think of it further. Helio now understood her reaction.

“We can take the stairs on our way back, though it’ll take a bit longer.”

If she had witnessed an accident, then her behavior was understandable.

After hearing his considerate suggestion, Yuriel was able to calm down somewhat and regulate her breathing.

But she shook her head. She couldn’t be afraid and avoid it forever.

“It’s all right. I think I can ride it.”

Helio waited until she was able to calm down completely before guiding her to where Raphlet was.

Just like when they had gone to the library to see the Book of Prophecies, they had to pass through multiple security points first.

Having imagined a dark, dismal room with a large cauldron–like those that appeared in the rooms of witches in fairytales–Yuriel slowly blinked as she took in the view before her.

The polished scene before her was the complete opposite of what she had been expecting.

There were large windows, and on the other side were people dressed in white uniforms, busily going around. It seemed these people were the alchemists.

“Sir Raphlet, please lift your arm.”

And at the center was Raphlet.

He was staring straight ahead, face expressionless, and back straight. Even from her distance away, Yuriel was able to hear the voices of the alchemists.

It seemed the room was built so that anyone on her side of the glass could hear whatever was happening on the other side.

Yuriel stared at Raphlet’s body through the glass in a daze. He was currently shirtless and surrounded by multiple alchemists.

Among the crowd of alchemists, who had soft, squishy bodies that reflected their lifestyle of mainly staying indoors, he stood out with his curved shoulders and defined neck.

Sickly white hands were all over Raphlet’s body.

And among those hands poking and prodding his body were ones belonging to female alchemists.

As soon as she saw their hands touching his skin, Yuriel subconsciously clenched her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms.

The touch of those female alchemists obviously did not hold any romantic or lustful feelings, but Yuriel was still overcome with displeasure.

She saw them gesture at Raphlet to do something, and he would move his body accordingly.

After they measured his grip strength, confirmed his physical strength, and a series of other tests, the alchemists finally removed their hands from his body.

Broad shoulders and a solid chest–with the black core of a monster embedded in it.

Yuriel stared at him with her hands still clenched. The moment her eyes landed on the core, it felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over her head.

Helio had told her that Raphlet didn’t receive any detrimental side effects after receiving the implant, but something was strange.

“Sir Helio, is…is Raphlet really okay?”

Why was Raphlet–who supposedly had nothing wrong with him–getting an examination from the alchemists like it was routine?

Raphlet revealed his upper body without a single hint of awkwardness, and the alchemists efficiently observed him. Yuriel stared at these people who went about as if this was something they were used to doing often.

Picking up the shirt he had put off to the side, Raphlet then turned around. When he discovered Yuriel on the other side of the glass, he scrunched his brows, then let out a sigh when he saw Helio next to her.

“What are you doing here instead of training?” he asked as he stepped out.

It was a criticizing tone, but it was directed not towards Yuriel, but to Helio.

“I only asked you to oversee her training, not to bring her here to the alchemists’ tower,” he added.

“Miss Yuriel was utterly unable to focus on her training, so I brought her here to get rid of the cause,” Helio responded.

“…Yuriel, this is nothing,” Raphlet said with a troubled look after hearing Helio’s sarcastic remark.

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