Mutagen

Normally, Mako would only need to give what they had in the kitchen. That was the case whenever they needed to take care of the needs of their guests. It was the apocalypse. There was no time to be luxurious or picky.

However, Mark\'s group became far more than just important than mere guests in the few days of their stay. Thus, the Black Lotus could not treat them like other guests they had in the past. Of course, this treatment was not for all good things. Although Mark had been quite helpful, especially in financial stuff, Ren had yet to fully trust them. Thus, Ren also assigned "Guards" to protect Mark\'s group from the shadows. While they really would protect them, it was also their mission to make sure that Mark\'s group would not do anything that would harm the Reclaimed City.

And as the assigned manager, Mako also had the same duties as the "Guards" aside from making sure Mark\'s group was comfortable during their stay.

However, it seemed that Mako was deliberately not doing some of her duties.

What duty?

It was to report everything that Mako witnessed while guiding and following Mark\'s group around the place.

Then, how did Mark and the girls know that Mako was not doing her duty?

It was due to the fact that even though a whole day had already passed, Ren had yet to appear in front of them to inquire Mark about his skills to create the so-called "Artifacts." Mako knew what Artifacts were. There was no way that her Master, Ren, would not.

Yet, not a shadow of the busy Ren, or even Tadashi, was seen by Mark\'s group in the past twenty-four hours.

It only meant one thing.

Mako, who was the only member of the Black Lotus present during Mark\'s conversation with Yasuo, did not report that crucial information to the leader of her group.

But why? That was the question.

And this afternoon, aside from serving lunch for Mark\'s group, Mako had another agenda.

Mako seemed to hesitate to ask at the start. But her uneasiness did not escape Mark, who asked what she wanted before she could gather the courage she needed.

Although Mako was surprised by Mark, it gave her the courage to speak up. But, of course, since her intention had something to do with it, her eyes repeatedly glanced at the two unknown objects inside the room.

"I had something to request."

Mako said, taking an antique-looking box out of her pocket.

The box was just the size of a fist. But while the box looked interesting and valuable, the more important thing was inside.

"Yesterday... Your talk with Yasuo-ojii-san. You have knowledge of ancient artifacts, correct?" Mako continued. "I... I wonder if you can fix this."

"Can I look at it first?"

Mark said, kind of interested. After all, it was clear what the content of the antique box was. It was an old artifact. Mark had seen a few ancient manmade artifacts like the broken golem, the [Mini Cube], and even the [Shooting Moon Blade]. While Ignis was also considered a [Magical Artifact] as a sentient sword, he was more of a naturally occurring one.

Mako hesitantly handed the box to Mark. She might be the one asking the request, but to her, the content of the box was far more valuable than her life. Still, it was a gamble in the first place. The knowledge about the creation of artifacts was lost thousands of years ago. And now, Mako met Mark. There was a chance to fix her priceless treasure.

The box was pretty light, as Mark weighted it on his hand. He was about to flip the box open, but it would not budge.

"Press the four indentions at the upper corners of the front and back of the box at the same time."

Mako said to Mark.

Mark did as instructed, using his thumb and index finger on both hands to press on the indentions. And pop, the box opened slowly with a few gear-like clicking sounds.

Everyone in the room stopped playing games and curiously looked at the item in Mark\'s hands.

The box contained a silver-colored circular pendant. It was a pretty thick one, being around a centimeter thick. It was around five centimeters in radius, and its side was adorned with small colorful jewels. And at its front and back were indentions and carvings that did not make sense aside from looking mystical and elegant. The unique part was the front, where the center had the biggest indention. It was clear that something was affixed on that indent, but it was gone now.

However, it did not look very Japanese. By design, this pendant was more of a western origin, making Mark, and Otaku, a bit confused.

One would not think much about the carvings if one saw them aside from feeling that it was an antique masterpiece.

However, Mark could confirm. These carvings were [Magic Circuits] turned into a jewelry design.

"Can I take it out?"

Mark asked Mako, to which she nodded.

After getting Mako\'s permission, which was really not necessary, Mark closely examined the so-called broken artifact.

Mark was right. The [Magic Circuits] were used as the pendant\'s design. And he was sure that the circuits were undamaged. However, no trace of [Magical Energy] remained within the pendant. It was no different from a piece of regular expensive jewelry in this state.

There was one more thing. Mark was unfamiliar with the [Magic Circuits] carved into the pendant. It was the first time he had seen such circuits, pretty much like how he was unfamiliar with the circuits in the ancient blueprint that Yasuo had shown Mark yesterday.

The [Magic Circuits] that Mark was familiar with were what he called [Mechanical Magic Circuits]. It was obvious with the name as it was the kind of [Magic Circuits] used in the creation of the golems and what made the [Mini Cube] function. And it was the only kind of [Magic Circuits] that Mark had the opportunity to study properly.

Aside from the [Mechanical Magic Circuits], Mark also managed to get some of what he called [Enchantment Magic Circuits]. It was the kind of [Magic Circuits] present within the [Shooting Moon Blade] and became the basis of some of Mark\'s newly created weapons. Some parts of the [Mini Cube] also contained these circuits, especially being used to convert [Magical Energy] into a power source.

In fact, Mark suspected that the [Magic Circuits] in Yasuo\'s broken blueprint contained old [Enchantment Magic Circuits] since the ones in the blueprint were identical to some of the ones he knew.

But this pendant... Mark was completely in the dark.

"What\'s the function of this artifact?"

Mark asked Mako. Although he was also curious as to where Mako got it, he was not senseless to ask for such private information immediately.

However, Mako shook her head slightly.

"I don\'t know the exact function," Mako replied. "But it was a life-saving artifact. Without it, I should have died several years ago."

Then, while avoiding some parts she could not disclose, Mako shared a bit of her story while explaining the origin of the artifact.

Apparently, Mako was an orphan. Not only her but the core members of the Black Lotus and the most loyal ones were the same. All of them were taken under by their Grandmaster when they had nowhere to go. And that Grandmaster was Ren\'s grandfather, Mitsui Yoshikage. And this was where the loyalty of the Black Lotus originated towards the person designated as their master.

These orphans were trained through the arts of fighting within the shadows. They were the protectors and loyal retainers of the Mitsui Family that went by the name [Kuroishikaku], which literally meant Black Squares. They were also known as the Shadow Troops.

Right now, it was clear that their master was Ren, as opposed to the supposed line of succession. After all, Ren\'s father was still alive and kicking, and he was supposed to be the next in line to be the master of the Shadow Troops.

Were these pieces of information safe to share? Well, it was not if not for the fact that the world had changed. While the name [Kuroishikaku] was still unknown, people already knew about the Shadow Troops, or what was now called the Black Lotus.

The artifact was given to Mako by the Grandmaster. At that time, it gave a lovely luster that would make people feel that it was alive. It was a treasure far more valuable than her life. That was why she kept it in her body the whole time.

But in one mission, Mako made a misstep. The enemies managed to surround and kill her. The last thing she remembered at that time was the enemies laughing at her before leaving to catch her companions.

However, Mako woke up after an unknown amount of time. Her clothes were stained with her own blood, and the hole in her clothes above her chest signified the knife that stabbed her heart.

But Mako was alive. She, who supposedly died, was the only survivor of that event.

It was already late when Mako noticed the artifact she carried had lost its luster, with the main gemstone at its center missing. That was when she realized that the artifact had saved her life. The artifact, since then, had become nothing but a piece of broken jewelry.

Mako had been looking for a way to restore the artifact to its former luster. It was not because she wanted to reuse it for herself.

"I want to give it to Ojousama," Mako spoke her reason. "Ever since she became our master, her life had always been in danger."

As expected, it was a political issue within their family.

Since Ren\'s father was the current head of the clan, it was no surprise that he became the next master of the [Kuroishikaku]. However, not to mention the current clan head, the new master, was not even the first child.

Mitsui Ren, who was the third child and the first daughter, was designated as the master of the [Kuroishikaku] by the Grandmaster before his deathbed.

It sparked issues within the family, especially the fact that when Ren was designated as the [Kuroishikaku\'s] master, she had already cut her ties with the family and was working as an independent Psychologist.

And since then, Ren\'s life had always been in danger, and the [Kuroishikaku] protected her.

Now, the threat to Ren\'s life was rising. She became the leader of Black Lotus after the apocalypse began and was raking up accomplishments that did not include her family. It would not be a surprise if, any day now, Ren would face a deadly situation.

As such, when Mako learned that Mark had knowledge about artifacts, she decided to take the gamble. He was her only possible lead in restoring the artifact.

It might just be once. But the restored artifact would definitely save someone from sudden death.

And here, Mako declared.

"I\'m not asking to repair it for free. I know how artifacts are invaluable. If the artifact was restored, I\'m willing to give everything I have, including myself."

Mako\'s declaration kind of surprised Mark and Emika since the two were the only ones who could properly understand her.

"That\'s surprising. You\'re showing loyalty to Ren, but you\'re acting otherwise."

Mark replied.

That was right. Mako intended to save Ren, but she had not disclosed everything that happened yesterday in Yasuo\'s workshop and was willing to leave her master\'s side in exchange for the restored artifact.

"I know," Mako desperately smiled. "But my loyalty would not matter if Ojousama was dead, isn\'t it?"

One would say that a loyal warrior would follow their master to their death.

But it was bull to some people.

Because to them, loyalty would not even be worth a stain of crap if the master they were loyal to died before their eyes without being able to do anything to prevent it.