Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Return from the Hunt
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From that point on, for seven years, Arsen's life was peaceful.
A cycle of honing himself as a knight, carrying out missions, accumulating knowledge, and interacting with others.
It was the happiest time since arriving in this world.
He even wished it could stay this way forever, until his dying breath.
Catching one magic beast as assigned for his knighting ceremony was just another minor event that passed by.
"The knights are coming!"
"Open the gates!"
The barrier gates swung open, and knights mounted on Jins rode in.
Following behind them came a massive wagon pulled by a Cargo Lizard, loaded with the enormous corpse of a magic beast.
It was the Knife Tail, the powerful magic beast that had recently appeared in the southern region and killed several squires and soldiers on external patrol.
Though it was more like shattered wreckage than a proper corpse.
"How the hell does a magic beast end up like that?"
"No kidding."
Ignoring the guards' murmurs, the knights passed through the village and dismounted from their Jins only upon reaching the entrance to the Estate Lord's manor.
Among them, the most eye-catching was Arsen, covered head to toe in the magic beast's blood and flesh.
While the others were merely dusted with dirt and looked fairly neat, he appeared as if he'd been rolling around on the dead beast by himself.
Someone clapped Arsen hard on the back.
It was Baltan, a fellow knight around the same age.
"Nice one, you worked hard!"
"It wasn't just me."
Responding flatly to his comrade's encouragement, Arsen addressed the senior knight who had led the hunt.
"Lady Zenovia, I'll wash up quickly. It won't take long."
"Hm? Oh, from the tower? Sure. We'll go ahead and report, so take your time."
".
If Arsen entered the manor in his current state, the cleaning servants inside would scream and faint on the spot.
Dripping blood and chunks of flesh with every step—what would happen if he wandered the interiors like that?
It wasn't an emergency, so it would be disrespectful even to meet the Estate Lord that way.
After replying, Arsen split off from the group, and Baltan asked,
"Gonna polish your armor alone? No squire?"
"No need."
"Huh?"
Without responding to the puzzled question, Arsen walked off.
But instead of heading to the well, he went to the mage's tower.
Wiping off the oily, sticky magic beast blood with just water was an excruciating chore, and since there was a simple solution, he saw no reason to make the squires suffer.
After knocking a few times, Luden opened the door as always.
Over the past few years, Luden's hair had grown patchy with white streaks.
At least it wasn't falling out—that was a small mercy.
His beard was whitening in patches too, and sometimes he even looked like a proper old man.
He was getting to an age where he could be considered elderly, after all.
"What the—? I heard you went hunting, but what's with that getup?"
"I shoved an explosion lance up the magic beast's ass and detonated it. I'm realizing now it wasn't the wisest method."
"You're something else. Don't come in—just stand there. Eloise!"
At Luden's shout, Eloise came rushing down from the second floor with a clatter.
The small, cute bob-haired girl had now fully grown into a young woman, shaped by the flow of time.
Slender but sturdy build, with long hair grown out and tied back, swaying as she moved.
Eloise ran to the door and flinched back a step at the sight of Arsen, painted in blood from head to toe.
"Ugh, the blood smell. How'd you end up like this? You hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine."
"He says he shoved his secret invention up a magic beast's ass and blew it up. Strong stomach on you."
With nothing good to say back to Luden's grumbling, Arsen just grinned foolishly.
Seeing his expression, Eloise soon smirked in exasperation too.
"Anyway, gotta clean you up first, right? Put on your helmet and step back a bit."
Arsen donned his helmet and backed away a few steps from the entrance as Eloise instructed.
Watching him, she clasped her hands together in front of her and focused her mind.
"Hold your breath."
With those words, flames erupted from within her palms.
Hot enough to reduce an ordinary person to ashes in seconds, the blaze enveloped Arsen's body, burning away the flesh and blood clinging to his armor.
After about ten seconds or so, the flames finally died down, leaving his armor spotless.
Only the acrid smell of charred remains and smoke lingered, so Eloise coughed and conjured a gust of wind with another spell to sweep it away.
It was a method requiring three elements: a knight's overwhelming anti-magic power, armor with excellent heat resistance, and a mage skilled in fire magic.
"Ah, that smoke... How's it look? Clean now?"
"Hang on, gotta take it off to check."
Arsen removed his helmet, then reached back to untie the knots on his breastplate.
Eloise circled behind him and undid them.
Due to their height difference, she had to stretch both arms up high to reach the straps at his neck.
Arsen lowered his body slightly to make it easier for her.
"Hold still... There, done!"
"Thanks."
With the straps fully undone and the breastplate off, Arsen ran his finger over its surface.
Even the ash remnants from the fire had been blown away by the wind, leaving it as smooth as ever.
There was some ash in the crevices around the knots, but that was minor—the squires could handle it easily.
"Nice and clean. Eloise's fire-cleaning is still the fastest and best."
"I'd never do this for anyone else. Only 'cause it's you, Sen."
Eloise snorted triumphantly.
Finding it cute, Arsen chuckled and lightly tapped her head.
Beaming up at him, Eloise asked,
"By the way, you've grown taller again, haven't you? Won't your armor size need adjusting?"
"Yeah, it's been feeling tight."
"Then just strip. I'll measure you right now and adjust it."
"Measuring can wait. Gotta report the hunt to the Estate Lord straight away."
Replying, Arsen lifted the breastplate and donned it again.
As Eloise tied the knots from behind on tiptoe, she tossed out a question.
"So, does catching this magic beast fulfill your knighting ceremony requirement?"
"Yeah. Baltan and Isha should get knighted together this time too."
"Whatever about them."
Arsen gave a wry smile at Eloise's words.
Over the years, she'd grown into an exceptional mage and master of refining arts, but her social skills hadn't improved much.
To a tiny circle—Arsen, Luden, and a few others—she was cheerful and warmhearted, but to everyone else, she remained indifferent and cold.
At least that was better than her old days of cowering timidly or acting aggressively around strangers.
"Alright, see you after I get back."
* * *
As Arsen finished tidying up and headed to the Estate Lord's office, someone suddenly jumped out from a side corridor.
It was a face he didn't want to run into, but with just the two of them in the hallway, dodging or pretending not to see would be awkward, so Arsen bowed politely in greeting.
"Good day, Young Master."
"Ah, good to see you, Sir Arsen."
The greeting came from Deroy, the Estate Lord's eldest son.
Nut was reasonably handsome, and unlike Eloise's beauty, Deroy—adopted, apparently—had upturned eyes and thin lips that distanced him from likability.
Of course, Arsen knew full well how foolish it was to judge by appearances.
Even a brutish giant could cherish flowers too much to tread on them, while a angelic-looking child might torture people by ripping off butterfly wings.
He didn't like Deroy because of looks or prejudice.
"You seem to have aced the knighting exam this time. Heard you took down a Knife Tail."
"Yes. The Knife Tail hunt was a success."
"Good for you—congratulations. You can call yourself a proper knight now. Not that you weren't before, of course."
Deroy grinned slyly and prattled on about trivial matters, but Arsen responded politely on the surface while letting it all go in one ear and out the other.
The first time they'd met, Deroy had abruptly brought up Eloise.
At first, Arsen took it as brotherly concern for a hard-to-see sister and engaged positively, but the conversation veered weirder.
Instead of familial interest, he asked political things like her ideology and ambitions, then probed even into Arsen himself.
'I'm the threat, huh.'
The Estate Lord's bloodline was profoundly important, one of the most revered things in this world—even above a knight's lineage.
The lord and his kin could wield miracle-like powers through the ancient magic within the manor.
Such was their might that tales told of a massive serpent-form magic beast over twenty meters long invading the estate, breaching the manor, only to be repelled by the lord's miracle.
The vine magic beast that attacked the estate before would have reached the manor and been miracle-smited too, if not for the wine.
Against disasters no human could fell, the lord's miracle was humanity's sole counter, lending the bloodline immense authority.
"You give any thought to what I mentioned before? Those girls in that house are top-notch. You'd love it once you're there."
"I'm truly sorry I can't build ties with you, Young Master, but I'm not fond of such places."
After their first talk, Arsen realized Deroy saw him as a threat precisely because of a potential union with Eloise.
A mage like Eloise struggled for real power socially, but marriage to a knight husband changed everything.
This world had no gender discrimination in inheritance laws, and fundamentally, the estate folk wanted a powerful lord who could unleash miracles in crises.
Thus, propping Eloise—who struggled with public duties—as figurehead lord while the mighty knight Arsen ruled the estate was a viable scheme.
Palato had said Deroy obsessively guarded against not just sisters but uncles too, earning him poor reputation.
The way to escape Deroy's improper interest was distancing from Eloise, but Arsen had no desire to ignore her over mere wariness from Deroy.
Especially since the entire estate already treated them as engaged, even if not official.
So Arsen's decision was outright hostility toward Deroy.
Not true enmity—just rejecting persistent lures to abandon Eloise and join him.
Arsen cut off Deroy's nagging coldly.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to report to the Estate Lord soon."
"Ah, right? Well... no helping it. See you next time."
"Yes, Young Master."
Shaking his head as he passed Deroy's half-hearted wave, Arsen sighed inwardly.
He had no wish to meddle in estate politics, but the heir apparent being like that was unsettling.
With the Estate Lord Nut no longer young, once he died, the political landscape wouldn't roll smoothly—that was certain.
'Damn it, what a pain.'
All he wanted was peaceful life in the estate, yet obstacles never ceased.