Chapter 85

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Chapter 85: Why Do I Feel a Bit Sour in My Mouth?

Lin Lin realized how much Caligo hated the cold.

Even though both of them were given a spell to make them warm, he still looked pale and cold after entering the house.

The strong man with a scar on his face was named Bru. He took over pushing Caligo’s wheelchair from Lin Lin. Bru was tall among humans, and his strong hands easily moved the wheelchair.

The wheelchair rolled across the wooden floor, making a creaking sound. Lin Lin quickly followed Bru’s steps, entering the room behind the grocery store.

It was hard to tell if the rain was too heavy or if the house was too simple, but even after going through several small doors and entering a warmer inner room, they could still clearly hear the sound of the rain.

Unlike Lin Lin, both Caligo and Bru felt more relaxed and happy because of the heavy rain.

"The rain will wash away the smell of humans, driving away those who have lost their minds because of illness," Caligo explained to Lin Lin.

He wrapped himself in the thick blanket Bru gave him; even with the fire burning in the room, his pale face still looked bad.

"Are you here to change your leg bone?" Bru asked.

"Yes and no, I originally planned to come tomorrow," Caligo pointed to Lin Lin, "She drank my medicine."

Caligo’s words made Bru, who was about to sit down, stand up again and look at Lin Lin.

From the moment she entered, Lin Lin felt that Bru was deliberately ignoring her. It felt as if she was a source of danger or trouble.

After realizing that Lin Lin drank Caligo’s medicine, Bru was finally able to look at her directly.

"She drank your medicine? She looks quite awake." In the small room, Bru took out a half-transparent sticky potion from the wooden cabinet.

Lin Lin noticed that both he and Caligo liked to fill their small rooms with various things, keeping them messy yet organized.

The potion was handed to Lin Lin, and she just took a whiff before gagging.

"What is this?" Lin Lin asked.

"You’d better not know," Caligo answered Lin Lin before Bru could speak.

The rotten, fermenting smell filled her nose again, and Lin Lin gagged once more. "Sorry, can I borrow the restroom?"

"Of course," Bru replied, his dirty blonde hair slicked to his scalp. "But you’d better swallow the potion rather than throw it all up."

The sound that answered Bru was the bathroom door closing and another gagging noise.

"She drank your potion by mistake," Bru said as he walked up to Caligo.

"Yes," Caligo replied, his face looking a little better, but he still seemed very weak.

"Good. Now answer me, is she a servant of that damned devil?" Bru asked. "You’ve been wide-eyed like an owl for twenty-two hours out of twenty-four. What did she do to you that you accidentally swallowed something right under your nose?"

Bru always worried about Caligo’s health; he cared more about how many years Caligo could live than Caligo himself did.

Caligo was the longest-living child he knew who had been born with a disease.

When Bru was a boy, the disease was not so common, but then one year, it arrived suddenly in their broken town, like a great fire, and most people got this terrible sickness.

Bru spent his best years studying and treating the disease, but he always struggled to make progress.

Then, after meeting Caligo, the research made a great leap forward.

In other words, Caligo had a talent in medicine that Bru could not match, and Bru could only help him when Caligo lacked experience.

In Bru’s eyes, Caligo was much more exceptional than he was, with a brilliant mind and a human touched by magic.

If it weren’t for making a deal with a devil, Caligo should have gone to the holy city of humans to become one of their magic apprentices, instead of being a servant of the devil.

Bru completely could not understand Caligo’s choice.

Until Caligo told him, "The Holy City does not allow apprentices with mutated genes to enter, but Demon King Castle promised me that I can continue my research on mutations."

It was a very strange feeling; Bru could comfortably stay in this rainy and dirty little town for his whole life, but he truly felt that Caligo deserved better.

At that moment, Caligo looked up, and beneath his fiery red hair, his two different-colored eyes quietly stared at him, "Sleep, Master Lin made me sleep last night."

Bru took a step back, as the words seemed to have magical power that shook him, so he had to retreat.

He and Caligo both knew what this meant.

Those who are mutated find it hard to sleep; this is both an inner struggle for control of their bodies against the illness and the unbearable pain caused by the symptoms.

Caligo was not someone who exaggerated, so when he said sleep, he meant the true sense of more than six hours of sleep that is common for humans.

"Have you developed a new medicine?" Bru asked.

Caligo shook his head.

"It shouldn’t be," even though Caligo credited Lin Lin for putting him to sleep, Bru still found it unbelievable, like a door that he had been unable to open suddenly swung wide for someone.

In truth, Bru was not unfamiliar with this feeling; the last person to bring him such shock was Caligo.

The fifteen-year-old carefully placed the potion in his hand and told Bru he had developed a potion that could slow the worsening condition in young people.

And now, another new person had broken through the known.

"That is just too unbelievable," Bru said, "I always thought only the Holy Maiden’s arrival could ease this pain."

"But the Holy Maiden will not come to a barren village," Caligo replied to him.

–

When Lin Lin came out, wiping her mouth, the outside was completely quiet.

Lin Lin looked at Bru with a bit of hesitation, "Could you please give me a glass of water? My throat feels uncomfortable."

Unlike the attitude he had just ignored, Bru immediately went outside to bring water for Lin Lin.

Lin Lin felt a bit uncomfortable and asked Caligo, "What did you say to him?"

Caligo said, "The truth."

Lin Lin now understood why the devil wanted to make a deal with Caligo, because it was too easy to see through him.

Although she didn’t know which officer from the Demon King Castle that devil was, Lin Lin had to admit that this guy had a good eye for choosing people, but his character was terrible.

"Oh?" Lin Lin sat beside Caligo, "Are you discussing me?"

Sure enough, Caligo’s cat-like mismatched eyes sparkled for a moment.

Caligo said, "Bru said you are like a Holy Maiden."

This was completely unexpected for Lin Lin; she thought the other person would be a little wary of her.

Caligo said, "I told him that you are also a human who made a deal with the devil, an important accountant."

Lin Lin, "…Thank you for your clarification."

How annoying, for a moment, Lin Lin really considered playing the role of a compassionate Holy Maiden in front of Bru.

After all, Lin Lin does not have a good reputation in Demon King Castle.

"Your water has arrived," perhaps Bru did remember Lin Lin’s "importance," as he was much more polite towards her.

Bru kindly poured refreshing lemonade for Lin Lin and said, "Caligo is too young; he doesn’t understand many things. You are from Demon King Castle and also a human, so please help guide him."

Lin Lin:…

Why does this feel like a situation I would encounter in a familiar workplace?

[My child is too young, and you are from the same hometown; I appreciate your help in guiding him.]

Lin Lin felt a subtle sense of growth, realizing that she had reached this age too.

Lin Lin said seriously, patting Caligo’s shoulder, "Your child is very talented, please don’t worry."

Caligo slightly flinched at Lin Lin’s gesture but then held himself back, saying, "Master Lin, how is your health?"

Lin Lin replied, "Didn’t I just drink the antidote? I feel much better now."

"Oh," Caligo glanced at Lin Lin, "but the antidote I just gave you wasn’t for the potion."

Suddenly, Lin Lin felt a little weak again, as if she was starting to feel dizzy.

Bru, who was nearby, caught her.

Lin Lin was wrapped in a thicker blanket than Caligo’s, and Caligo sat in front of her asking, "Do you feel better now?"

"I don’t know," Lin Lin replied, rubbing her stomach, "My stomach feels unwell; perhaps it’s starting to get worse."

Caligo said, "Because the potion you just drank is diluted poison, and it is working in the right place."

Caligo was very curious about Lin Lin’s thoughts on his potion.

"It tastes good, like strawberries," was the only information Lin Lin could give him, after all, she had drunk it when she was very sleepy and her mind was not clear at all.

Bru’s room has more potions than Caligo’s; it’s like a small, simple clinic.

Bru checked Lin Lin’s eyes, mouth, temperature, and pulse, and finally concluded, "Caligo, she looks much healthier than you."

After Bru stated his judgment, Lin Lin felt that her body had improved a little.

"Your body is really good, very healthy," Bru did not hide his surprise, "You digested that potion like you would digest a bottle of honey water."

Lin Lin said, "Really? Why do I feel like my mouth is a bit sour?"

"Because you just drank a whole cup of lemonade," Caligo reminded her, "You’re amazing; you must have made a deal with a very powerful devil, right?"

Lin Lin remembered that Caligo had planned to make a deal with the devil about something related to the mutation, but the deal failed.

Before, Caligo only thought it was his own lack of ability, but now he began to question whether the devil he traded with was up to standard.

Lin Lin felt this was a sign of his growth.

"Are you naturally able to digest all kinds of toxins?" Bru asked.

"No," Lin Lin could answer him quite clearly, "I used to vomit and have diarrhea because I couldn’t digest the toxins in monster meat."

Lin Lin suddenly remembered something.

"I awakened my magic, light-type magic."

Lin Lin felt that the changes in his body were explained; as everyone knows, light-type mages are best at healing spells.

Caligo shook his head very clearly, "The awakening of light-type magic cannot change one’s constitution."

Unlike others, Caligo always read many unusual books, which contained knowledge that was sometimes right or wrong, along with many unverified ideas.

He reached out and gathered a black sphere in his palm.

The sphere looked like some kind of pure dark power, and it appeared very ominous.

Bru instinctively moved away from the sphere.

Caligo, however, kept his gaze firmly on Lin Lin and brought the sphere closer to her face.

This power twisted the air around them; even though the door was tightly closed, Lin Lin felt a clear flow of wind.

Lin Lin held her breath, watching as the sphere got closer and closer to her.

At one moment, when it was very close to her, a thin film seemed to ripple beside Lin Lin, creating small waves.

The black sphere suddenly extinguished when the ripples appeared.

Caligo suddenly laughed.

"You are protected by a certain light force."