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“This is…”

Vaan’s gaze turned serious when Helia Ashenborn removed her silk gloves, revealing the purple skin it covered.

“The Curse of the Purple Umbala, in its second stage. At first, it wasn’t so bad—just the usual disruption of mana flow, affecting the success of casting magic spells. But then, it evolved, becoming one with the body,” Helia Ashenborn explained.

Vaan furrowed his brows as he stared at Helia Ashenborn’s purple hands.

Just as Helia Ashenborn mentioned, the antimagic spores had seemingly merged with her hand, altering the structure of her hand, including her bone, muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels.

“Isn’t it painful, Lord Helia?” Vaan asked after a brief moment before adding, “How did it evolve to such a stage? I’ve been in Sunpeak Town, and none of the residents I’ve come across showed such symptoms.”

“I may have been foolish in attempting to remove the curse from my body. These antimagic spores aren’t simple and have a way of resisting. The harder I try to remove them, the harder they fight back to stay. What you see now is a result of those numerous attempts,” Helia Ashenborn stated.

“As for whether it is painful? The answer is yes. Even now, I am in pain as we speak. However, I have no choice but to hide it and endure the suffering in silence, Sir Vahn. It should be easy for someone like you to guess why I have to.”

“Right,” Vaan casually nodded and said, “If news of the Curse of the Purple Umbala’s second stage was spread, it would cause widespread panic in the city.”

“Not only would people choose to flee the city to seek refuge in another, but even merchants from other cities would stop coming to Redpine City. In which case, all businesses would halt, and the city’s economy will collapse.”

“And that is something neither you, Lord Helia, and us, the Delarosa Household, want to see,” Vaan added what Helia Ashenborn wanted to hear.

If they had not sealed a business deal, Helia Ashenborn would not have revealed her secret to Vaan, and his probing would have landed him in hot water.

“Glad to know we are on the same page,” Helia Ashenborn said with a sigh of relief.

Helia Ashenborn would’ve hated to kill her business partner to silence him before their business could take off if Sir Vahn hadn’t shared her views regarding keeping the matter secret from the public.

Furthermore, it would have been too difficult to pull off without earning the Delarosa Household’s hostility as well.

Helia Ashenborn was glad everything worked out favorably and felt like a load had been taken off her shoulders.

“With everything said, curing the Curse of the Purple Umbala seems to be more of a ‘you’ thing instead of an ‘everyone’ thing, Lord Helia. How does the Curse of the Purple Umbala concern everything’s wellbeing?” Vaan asked before adding, “I guess it has something to do with the method you used in your attempt to remove the antimagic spores from your body?”

“That’s right, Sir Vahn,” Helia Ashenborn openly admitted before saying, “When I realized I was infected with the antimagic spores, I tried to flush them out with my superior mana reserve.”

“However, this only resulted in the antimagic spores concentrating on my hands. The real problem comes after. No matter what magic I used to heal my hands or purify the antimagic spores, I am unable to get rid of them.”

“On the contrary, the antimagic spores fed on my Healing and Purification Magic and strengthened themselves. Although I succeeded in preserving my ability to use magic, the Curse of the Purple Umbala is slowly eating away at my body. Nothing seems to work on them.”

“Untreatable like Zellera’s Curse, huh?” Vaan muttered thoughtfully.

After pondering for a bit, Vaan shared his thoughts, “The antimagic spores possess plant attributes, so it wouldn’t be strange at all that water, light, and plant-attribute healing magic or purification magic doesn’t work on it.”

“If we want to neutralize the antimagic spores, then we might have to look at using fire-attribute magic or medicine,” Vaan proposed.

“However, fire attribute is destructive in nature, and the condition of my hands is very tricky. If it’s anything like Zellera’s Curse, I’m afraid there is no way for me to regain my hands once I lose them.”

“That being said, do let me know if you need anything that may assist you in finding a cure for the Curse of the Purple Umbala, Sir Vahn,” Helia Ashenborn stated before promising, “I will do my best to procure the items for you.”

“Since Lord Helia offered, I will be straightforward then. There is indeed something I require, a magic tool called Atomic Visualizer. I wonder if Lord Helia has heard of it?” Vaan asked.

“I have actually,” Helia Ashenborn acknowledged with a nod before suddenly shaking her head, “However, I do not possess one.”

“That being said, I will be able to procure one as long as it is on the market. Thus, you can rest assured that I will fetch one for one, regardless of its price, Sir Vahn,” Helia Ashenborn promised.

“Thank you, Lord Helia,” Vaan expressed his gratitude.

Shortly after, the two of them further discussed their business deal.

Having confirmed the effects of Vaan’s Pore Stimulation Potion, Helia Ashenborn asked Vaan for the recipe so she could begin amassing the ingredient for its production. Vaan wrote everything down on a piece of paper he was provided before handing it over to Helia Ashenborn.

Afterward, Helia Ashenborn took out a black metal card with magic enchantment from her personal spatial storage space and handed it to Vaan.

“This is for you, Sir Vahn.”

“This is…”

Vaan accepted the black card and glanced at the two names engraved on it, one in bigger font size than the other.

“I finished opening the account with the Witch Union Bank under Young Lady Linetta’s name as you requested. However, I was afraid you may not have access to it, even with the account card presented at the Witch Union Bank, so I arbitrarily decided to add your name to the account. I hope you do not mind, Sir Vahn.”

“No, I am grateful for your consideration, Lord Helia.”