IDEFYEM - Chapter 36
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
"Hearing those words really makes me realize that you're back."
It was literally like that. I looked at him with a new feeling. Kael, who smiled mischievously as if squinting his eyes, cleaned up the traces last night.
After leaving the cave where human footprints had been completely erased, we headed back to the place where we defeated the monster yesterday.
Kael, who said he didn't want to make a bad impression, left me nearby and went alone in the direction of the body.
Then, suddenly, the sound of skin being peeled off was heard. I closed my eyes and waited, trying not to imagine the scene.
He returned a few minutes later and was holding something that looked like pure white ivory in his hand.
"Take it, Enri."
"What is this?"
"It's a monster's fang."
"Yes?"
I suspected that Kael was making fun of me, but his expression was quite serious.
"Don't worry, there is no remaining poison like yesterday."
"That's not what I'm worried about!”
The man, recognizing that the explanation was insufficient, shrugged his shoulders.
"Yesterday you cast fire magic and blinded the monster. You played a decisive role, so take the spoils."
"Ah, booty."
"If you show this to the royal family, they will rush to say it is the tooth of a wild boar or a tiger."
A slightly crooked smile appeared on Kael's lips.
"There is a high probability that we will select you as the winner or offer you a reward."
"But...."
"Of course, even if that's not the case, you still deserve to win."
The man who saw the shocked expression added.
"If it's a rotten royal family anyway, wouldn't it be wise to take advantage of it?"
Unable to find a reason to refute it, I thought about it before speaking.
"If that's the case, doesn't it make more sense for Kael to win?"
"I am disguising myself as your escort, not a participant, so this does not apply."
Ugh, that's a perfect rebuttal.
But winning a championship like this is not only unplanned but also burdensome.
"What's good about being the winner?"
"The royal family will hold a banquet for you along with the prize money."
All in all, it was not a bad reward.
The prize money can be used to repay the debt owed to Kael. A banquet held at the royal palace would be a good way to make your social debut and make a mark.
Unable to resist the temptation, I took the fang from Kael's hand. The white teeth were large and hard enough to be used as weapons.
"Actually, I have one more thing I brought for you."
Kael took out a brightly shining jewel-like object from his arms.
"This is the magic stone I just collected. I'm not very knowledgeable in that area, but I heard it's helpful in using magical power."
I unconsciously took the magic stone he handed me and immediately fell into dizziness.
"Oh, well."
Kael caught me as I stumbled greatly.
"Enri, are you okay?"
"Ah yes. It's just an unfamiliar feeling...."
The magic power in my body fluctuated greatly and merged with the energy of the magic stone.
As a test, I tried casting the simple fire magic I used yesterday. As soon as the magic circle was drawn, there was a loud popping sound.
A flame that was twice as big as yesterday was burning brightly. A feeling of uncontrollable force throbbing within the body.
"Wow,"
I was shocked and quick!y extinguished the flame and waved my hand.
"Does it work?"
"For sure. But I think it will take time to properly handle it."
Not everyone who possesses a magic stone will receive such powerful effects.
'If I show it to Vermont, I'll get an accurate answer.'
I was excited because I felt like I had obtained something quite amazing. After thanking Kael, we left the place on foot. Without even dreaming that there would be someone visiting there an hour later.
***
"You really think he went this way?"
"I am sure this information has been confirmed using tracking magic."
"Why on earth did you come to a place like this...."
Martha, accompanied by the Duke's knightly guard, muttered nervously. Suddenly, there was a sound of something clicking on the hoof of the horse she was riding. Martha lowered her head without thinking and soon came face to face with the monster's body cut in two.
"Aaaah!"
She let out a loud scream and started thrashing about on the saddle. The escort calmed the horse by holding the reins as if he was used to that behavior.
Martha sat on it for a while, sighing and panting.
"Why is something like that here...."
"I can feel traces of magical power."
A skilled Duke's knight astutely figured it out.
"Well, then does that mean you caught such a large animal?"
"It's not a beast, it's a monster. Perhaps the fact that something like this was discovered in the royal territory should not be known...."
"Just answer whatever I ask!"
Martha, exhausted from the arduous journey, was unable to hide her personality like usual. The knight shrugged his shoulders and answered.
"It seems clear that a wizard's skills were involved."
Martha, who heard the knight's words, began biting her nails nervously. After Enrica left the Duke's residences Martha could no longer remain the Duke's daughter who knew nothing.
For the first few days, the Duke of Wintersoar seemed to deny reality. He said that there was no way his daughter, who had received a harsh education throughout her life, would be able to leave home overnight.
But Enrica, who had gone to the Grand Duchy, would never return. Even the Duke eventually came to acknowledge the obvious fact.
Although she had already been ripped off by offering a huge dowry and conditions to the Grand Duke who had sent her a marriage proposal.
Even after marriage, the Duke had plans to exploit Enrica as a magician and steal information from the archduchy.
The Duke of Wintersoar was very upset that the plan had come to nothing.
By the way, he was even anxious about what would happen if Enrica tried to take revenge by revealing the abuse to the Archduke. Afterward, he also placed a burden on his second daughter, Martha, whom he had raised with great care.
"Isn't this what happened because you didn't take care of your sister well?"
"But father, I didn't even know that my sister had been treated so badly until she left!"
For the first time, Martha gave her father a defiant answer.
"Of course, I know that my father hates my sister, but honestly, if I had been treated like that, I would have wanted to leave too."
For some reason, for the first time in her life, she felt like she wanted to take her sister's side.
As much as she could never do that when her sister was at the Duke's residence even now.
"..."
However, the Duke clearly showed signs of disappointment with Martha.
After that, his attitude also changed little by little.
"Tsk, you should have had a son to be a reliable successor."
It was basic to mutter this at every meal to make her body rise every time she ate something.
"Isn't it time for the years of favor and luxury without compensation to come to an end?"
He even called Martha into his study and put pressure on her to do her best. She was just embarrassed as she had left all responsibility to Enrica and lived without even lifting a finger.
Her father's love, which she had never doubted in her life, was now doubtful.
'After my sister left, he now turned his arrows at me....!'
It's like a person who has several chess pieces rather than children. Although there are some that he cherishes a little more, he never sees them as equals.
But even amidst the confusion, Martha had to adapt. The Duke instructed her to do two things.
The first was to find out what her sister's plan was. The second was to interfere with everything Enrica was doing.
She thought that Enrica, who had lost confidence and understood her subject, would contact the Duke.
'Is that really the case?'
When she visited Enrica after she left the Duke's residence and talked to her in the carriage. Her sister looked more radiant and courageous than anything she had ever seen.
However, even though Martha felt skeptical about her father's thoughts, she could not disobey him. In the end, she ended up visiting a dangerous place called the Information Guild for the first time in her life.
They were trying to catch even a small trace of Enrica's whereabouts.
Martha, who found the monster Enrica and Kael had defeated, was worried.
'How can I ruin my sister's plans?'
She doesn't want to do anything harsh. She thinks it would be nice to just humiliate her a little...
"Looking at the continuing footprints, I seem to be at a loss for words."
"..."
"We have movement scrolls and horses, so it should be easy to increase the distance."
The Duke's guard spoke as if he had read Martha's inner thoughts. Although a bit of shame appeared on Martha's face.
In the end, she remembered her father's cold face and strengthened her mind.
She felt that it would be easier if she could go back to being a beloved daughter. She swallowed dry saliva and asked in a trembling voice.
"If we had encountered that thing here, would we have been able to kill it?"
"It must have been difficult."
Howie answered firmly.
"It's impossible for me to deal with two monsters alone. I would have been seriously injured or killed while protecting the Young Lady lady."
Marta thought for a while with her eyes tightly closed. But eventually, she opened her mouth and spoke.
"Sir, please take care of its scales."
Comments
Post a Comment