Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has His Uses
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“Now, now, there’s no need to be so surprised or frightened. Our ancestor… ahem! The great Duke Beonald von Neumel of the past had an immense interest in techniques and knowledge. Swordsmanship was part of that. So, after seizing power, he went so far as to acquire even the Imperial secret sword techniques—something one would be executed for treason just for seeking. This… you are aware of, yes?”
“Ah, that story was passed down on our side as well. They said he was obsessed… to the point of greed. And there were even tales that he had hidden things all over the world, including in Benofis.”
“Right? Most other studies or theories can leave knowledge behind through ‘writing,’ but martial arts like ‘sword styles’ and mana breathing methods must be ‘embodied’ through training, and within them lies the challenge of overcoming the wall called ‘enlightenment,’ making the transmission of ‘experience’ even more crucial.”
“So that means you… received it from that ancestor, Beonald…?”
“Yes. I am one entrusted with the mission of passing down the Imperial sword style and the Neumel family sword style so they do not vanish. Originally, this black mage was merely… a performance.”
Though thought up on the spot, the lies flowed smoothly from Beonald’s mouth.
Truthfully, he was filled with the desire to reveal himself as the ancestor, embrace this descendant who looked just like Alterio but had admirably taken the path of an alchemist, and fuss over him, but he had no choice but to hold back and weave this tale.
‘Besides, if I do that in my current form, they’d only think I’m someone with special mental walls. My body is younger, after all.’
In any case, at Beonald’s quite plausible answer, Department Head Arjen nodded with an expression of understanding, though he still had a few remaining curiosities to resolve and so asked Beonald.
“Hmm, then you have no connection to Grand Matron Lara von Neumel?”
“Cough! Wh-Who did you say?”
“Grand Matron Lara. The daughter of Ancestor Beonald. So, Grand Matron.”
“Ah… right. Right.”
It felt utterly awkward to hear the title “Grand Matron” attached to his adorable daughter, but Beonald desperately managed his expression and responded to Arjen’s words.
Then, finally calming down, he made a gesture as if he had just remembered something and answered.
“Ah~ But that person… despises humans, doesn’t she? Hahaha. I met her once… wow, it was no joke. And lately, there’s been quite a commotion in the south, right?”
“There’s a commotion in the south?”
‘Ah… right. It’s not far from here to the north? Plus, they maintain a boundary with the Empire…’
Without communication media, most news is only spread by merchants handling logistics or minstrels unless special messenger birds or couriers are sent.
However, even so, for a kingdom of Dyna’s scale, they should at least have informants about what neighboring countries are doing, but given the environment here where most are focused on their own research, it’s likely that even if news comes, many just forget it.
“Ah~ It seems the news hasn’t reached here. Yes, that… the Grand Matron is currently mobilizing the Garkan Republic and working with such fervor it seems she’ll set the world ablaze. Already, countless people down there in the south have been completely wiped out. And there’s even talk that she pledged her soul to the Demon King…”
“That’s not unreasonable. I also heard from my grandfather that the Grand Matron… was truly terrifying. At least we abandoned the name ‘Neumel’ and are atoning, so she spared us knowing our place, he said.”
‘It seems Lara… came here.’
“I believe it was by her hand… that Lord Dalcan Dyna died. Whew~ Anyway, Lord Dalcan Dyna’s divine magic… Then all the more, we, as descendants of Ancestor Alterio, must help you.”
Since the primary responsibility for the “divine magic” research materials being leaked again lay with Alterio’s approval, Arjen, as his descendant, had to stop Dalcan Dyna’s research now, both for the honor of his ancestor and to atone to “Neumel.”
“I am truly grateful. I will definitely repay this favor.”
“Not at all. Anyway… although distant, I am also pleased to meet a distant relative, and I consider this a duty I must fulfill. Then, I will explain to the other professors that I admonished you and we negotiated your purpose.”
“Thank you. Then let’s exchange information about the Dyna family right away. I’ll go first.”
“Hmm… Alright.”
Normally, Beonald would have been sharp and guarded, exchanging information meticulously, but with this adorable descendant, he had completely let down his guard and was responding generously.
Outside the “garden,” he was a ruthless man, but inside the garden, he was infinitely gentle. Moreover, seeing the descendant of that utterly disobedient and betraying son even practicing alchemy had skyrocketed his favorability. In this state, Beonald was ready to lay out every card he had, as if giving away his very heart and soul.
“As you can see, you can tell there’s a laboratory precisely in this underground location. I’ve already investigated that Dalcan Dyna’s personality… From long ago, that fellow was the type to pour his heart and soul into magic research, to the point of eating, sleeping, and even defecating in his laboratory.”
“Oh? You found out such detailed things?”
“It was in the records passed down in our family. Haha… I think the ancestor must have prepared for even this.”
“Of course. Ancestor Beonald is known to have been a very great person…”
‘…Actually, I didn’t prepare. I thought that old man would die before me. When I was alive, I planned that if he died and became a lich, I’d immediately join forces with the religious order to take him down… Anyway, this deification of an ancestor is both terrifying and helpful, how absurd.’
Although he disliked the unreasonable logic of ‘If it’s that person, then it must be so,’ Beonald needed Arjen’s power in the current situation. Since the exaggerated ancestor was himself anyway, he just had to endure the embarrassment. So, he began preparing in earnest with Arjen to strike the Dyna family mansion.
“But how should we stop it?”
“It won’t be difficult. Just go to the place he’s preparing, use the magic stones and magical tools I have here to cause a clash in the ritual’s reaction, and then *BOOM*! That’s it. For ruining work, nothing is easier than ‘destruction.’”
“Then my role is to infiltrate you into Dalcan Dyna’s workshop.”
Delighted by the sharp answer of this quick-witted descendant, Beonald nodded with a smile and began discussing in depth with him the plan to thoroughly ruin Dalcan Dyna’s research.
Dyna Family Mansion, Underground.
Dalcan Dyna, who had begun bustling about due to Beonald’s invoice, was tirelessly repeating the work of inscribing runes for the magic circle to materialize divine magic in his underground laboratory, day and night.
However, even after diligently preparing for over a month, progress was inevitably slow… because although Dalcan Dyna was a genius, he specialized in research and magic, not in installing large-scale magic circles or inscribing runes.
[…Grrrgh! Damn it! I knew it would take long, but I didn’t think it would be this slow! Grrrgh! Darian! Can’t you speed up the work?]
“Well, to be honest, the runes and formulas for this divine magic are too esoteric and difficult. The scale is vast, the amount of mana required is not trivial, and there must be not a single error… You’re asking us to inscribe it all at once without any trial and error or experiments…”
[Shut up, Darian! If you have time to talk, move your hands more! Grrrrr! That damn Beonald guy did it so smoothly… damn it!]
‘Using the skill of a legendary alchemist famed for magical tool crafting and rune engraving as an example… sigh~ Even after investing all the family’s resources, if you complain like this, morale will only drop…’
Currently, within this vast underground cavity, not only Dalcan Dyna and Darian Dyna but also numerous mages were moving here and there, inscribing runes and arranging magical tools and magic stones.
To materialize “divine magic,” they had to go through countless calculations and runes, requiring an enormous amount of mana, so the preparations needed were absurdly extensive. Even though they had invested a significant portion of the family’s resources, the pace was still sluggish, causing the hysteria of Dalcan Dyna, the founder and ancestor of this kingdom, to increase.
“Ancestor, speed is important, but checking and verifying the runes is also crucial. Moreover, even if inscribed identically, they don’t always activate correctly, so we need a bit more leeway…”
[No! That guy… that guy has come. Beonald, that guy! It’s definitely him who dealt with ‘Lirikel’!]
“But the Shadow Faculty said it was clearly their own internal doing… After a month of investigation, that was the result, so what can I say?”
[That’s what’s absurd! Those idiots! Grrrrr! They wasted a whole month on political squabbles?]
The death of Shadow Faculty Head Lirikel had been reported here as well, but the report concluded it was the result of internal strife and covert struggle within the Shadow Faculty—an absurd conclusion.
However, for the Shadow Faculty, being killed by someone from another faculty was less honorable than dying in a covert struggle against another Shadow Faculty member, so they stated it as such and stopped further searches.
[They’re the fools! Grrrrr! That Lirikel, who had ‘fused’ on equal terms with a mid-level demon—it makes no sense for him to be killed by a Shadow Faculty member! Gah! If he were to die absurdly, there should at least be another factor! Grrr! And the one capable of that isn’t in this ‘Tower of Truth’! Yes! Except for that Beonald guy!]
To Dalcan Dyna’s eyes, it clearly looked like Beonald’s doing, but to Darian, it seemed nothing more than an excessive obsession with the name Beonald.
If so, rather than focusing on the work now, shouldn’t they go search for him directly? Thinking this, Darian cautiously made a suggestion to Dalcan.
“Hmm, if that’s truly the case, wouldn’t it be better to reduce the workforce a bit and search for that… Lord Beonald? If he intends to play tricks, he should be within this Tower of Truth.”
[Ha! Speak sense! A cunningly hidden snake! Grrr! …Do you think you, who has worked honestly, could find him? Grrr! …Moreover, if the opponent is truly that Beonald, it would be even harder to discover him!]
“No, but still…”
[…Don’t argue and do as I say. If you want to prepare defenses, fortify this mansion thoroughly. That snake-like guy will come to us anyway! Trying to catch him with clumsy methods is nothing but a waste of time and resources! That cunning snake… surpasses the ‘Lara’ we dealt with in the past!]
“If it’s Lara von Neumel… Whew~ I understand. I will increase the mansion’s defenses. I’ll request more support from the Necromancy Faculty and the Shadow Faculty.”
At the mention of Lara von Neumel’s name and Dalcan Dyna’s terrifying intensity, Darian could no longer argue and had no choice but to follow his words.
As Dalcan said, this place had once been ransacked by a “Neumel family” person named “Lara von Neumel,” resulting in the loss of the family head Dalcan Dyna’s life.
Hearing that his own outstanding ancestor had personally suffered such a fate, Darian had no way to argue further and withdrew without another word.
[We’re almost there… Just a little more, a bit more… Grrrrrgh! Just a bit more!]
The reason he had even learned necromancy, which wasn’t his original specialty, to grotesquely extend his life and continue researching was solely to achieve this long-cherished desire.
“Divine magic,” a method to lay hands on the truth woven like a spider’s web across the world. How much had he strived to achieve this desire? Of course, there had been some sacrifices along the way through trial and error, but compared to the result he would achieve with this, that was trivial.
“Hmm, I know the ancestor’s research is great… but sometimes doubts arise. Whew~ It’s already difficult as it is.”
As the king of the Dyna Kingdom, Darian Dyna had piled-up practical legislative tasks to handle—duties within the “Tower of Truth,” diplomacy with neighboring countries, and so on.
Thus, he let out a deep sigh, dragged his weary body upstairs, dealt with the stacked documents, and went back down. While handling the mansion’s defenses and other tasks, he heard one shocking piece of news.
“The Alchemy Faculty says… the delivery will be delayed? Oh no… This won’t do!”
Currently, the Dyna family was focused solely on completing Dalcan Dyna’s research, and for that, a great quantity of magical tools and magic stones was still needed.
Magic stones could somehow be bought with money from outside, but magical tools required quality, so they had no choice but to obtain them from the Alchemy Faculty here… Hearing that deliveries were falling behind, Darian, already imagining Dalcan Dyna’s hysterics erupting, knew he absolutely had to resolve this issue.