Chapter 23 - The Heavenly Demon’s First Day as a Butler Trainee (2)
Chapter 23 - The Heavenly Demon’s First Day as a Butler Trainee (2)
When Wolfgang urgently turned his head toward his master, the noble wolf’s face was grotesquely twisted with fear.
“I…I’ve never seen anything like this… Not once in my hundreds of years… Armin, answer me! What in the world is that thing before us?”
“What do you mean what? It’s just…just a human. A commoner who can’t even use magic…”
His summoner was so foolish he didn’t even seem to realize what command he’d just given his familiar. Wolfgang could only regret—over and over—having formed a contract with such an idiot.
“Grr…”
No matter how many times he looked at the human before him, nothing changed.
Just as Armin said, not a trace of mana could be sensed from him.
But Wolfgang almost wished he could sense mana.
At least then he might feel some kinship with the being before him who radiated an aura of malice so overwhelming it could crush even a Great Spirit.
Wolfgang was utterly terrified.
“Excuse me?”
“Gah!”
Though Theodor had only called out to him with an innocent expression, Wolfgang nearly leapt backward in fright.
“You’re the senior’s familiar, right? It seemed like he gave you some orders.”
When Theodor took a step forward with that guileless look,
“…!”
Wolfgang retreated several times that distance.
As Armin said, his outward appearance was that of an ordinary human.
But the essence of his soul…
‘Have I ever seen a spirit so thoroughly steeped in darkness? The Fallen Deities? No. Perhaps even they…’
Wolfgang tried comparing him to all the agents of evil he’d encountered, but none could hold a candle to the human before him.
“What the hell are you doing, Wolfgang? He’s just a human who can’t even use magic! Finish him off already!”
“The senior is absolutely right. Judging by your magnificent presence, I’d be no match for a familiar of your caliber, would I?”
Caught between a master too incompetent to gauge his enemy’s strength yet willing to send his familiar to its death,
And an opponent who seemed amused by the situation, grinning cheerfully while egging him on.
“Grr…”
Wolfgang found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place, unable to advance or retreat.
“I misjudged you. Who knew a Great Spirit could be such a coward?”
Voom—
A spade-shaped crest appeared on the back of Armin’s hand.
The unique symbol of the Renon family, proof of the contract between summoner and familiar.
The summoners of House Renon could force commands upon their familiars by channeling mana into this crest.
“I didn’t want to resort to this either. We’ll both be suffering the side effects for a while. So I’ll give you one last chance—obey my command.”
“Cast your illusion magic on that opponent right now.”
Faced with this ultimatum from his master, Wolfgang tightly shut his eyes.
‘…Let’s give it a try.’
Wolfgang had no other choice now.
Regardless of the consequences, he would trap his enemy within his barrier.
‘Yes. Perhaps my illusions might work on him. As Armin said, I sense no mana from this being. Mental interference magic could truly be his weakness…’
Desperately comforting his crumbling resolve with hollow reassurances, Wolfgang finally prepared for battle.
“Awooo—”
As the massive white wolf threw back his head and howled, the training hall was swallowed by darkness.
The indoor space instantly transformed into a moonlit forest at night.
The act of overlaying one’s mental landscape upon reality.
For humans to replicate this, one would need to be at least a Swordmaster capable of projecting their ego onto their blade, or an Enlightened Magician who could cast spells without magic circles or incantations.
But for spirits born of mana, who lived and breathed it, such techniques came naturally.
Soon, only Wolfgang and Theodor remained in the moonlit forest clearing. Armin would be waiting outside the barrier for the battle’s outcome.
“Hoo—”
Wolfgang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and activated his mana heart to draw in the surrounding energy.
The mana of the mental world gathered around him, creating small whirlwinds.
The absorbed mana flowed through his circuits, converging in his head—more precisely, in his eyes.
Flash.
The wolf opened his eyes again.
A pair of silver pupils gleaming sharply with moonlight.
“Human… no, mysterious stranger. First, let me apologize on behalf of my master’s ignorance.”
Theodor simply stared straight at Wolfgang with curious eyes, not even properly holding his sword.
Gulp.
That relaxed attitude made Wolfgang’s blood boil for a moment.
“And now—try to withstand this!”
Whoosh—!
Brilliant silver light erupted from Wolfgang’s eyes.
The wolf’s mental world poured into Theodor’s pupils—
“Hoh. Quite an interesting technique.”
The Heavenly Demon seemed rather pleased with the beast’s little performance.
“The counter would be… like this, right?”
Thud.
The Heavenly Demon channeled demonic qi into his leg and stomped the ground.
“Wha—”
In that instant, the world inverted.
The interior of what should have been Wolfgang’s barrier began transforming into the Heavenly Demon’s mental landscape.
A crimson sky where crows cawed.
Beneath it, a mountain formed from thousands of corpses.
An eerie sight. Though the bodies were tangled together chaotically, they were clearly divided into two distinct groups.
The right side consisted of human corpses wearing unfamiliar garb.
Their genders, ages, causes of death… no two were alike, yet the sinister aura clinging to each corpse clearly indicated they’d all been killed by the same hand.
The left side… contained only one.
Composed solely of a single person’s corpses.
Yet each corpse was in a different state.
Aside from similar faces and clothing, every detail varied.
The most striking difference was the cause of death.
Pierced through the chest, decapitated, vomiting blood… no two deaths were alike.
Atop this grotesque mountain of corpses stood a man.
—Kehaha…
Laughing.
—Keh, keuk… keuha, kehahaha!!
While simultaneously crying tears of blood.
The pitiful little wolf could only stare helplessly up at this overwhelming spectacle.
Then the man turned his gaze toward Wolfgang.
And the moment their eyes met—
“Wolfgang!”
Anxiously awaiting the battle’s outcome, Armin brightened when the barrier in the training hall’s center dissipated.
He expected to witness Wolfgang’s victory with his own eyes.
But what greeted him instead was…
“Yipe!”
“Huh?”
Wolfgang lying flat on his back with his belly exposed, panting like a dog.
“Wolfgang…? What’s wrong with you?”
“Whimper.”
The noble Great Spirit was nowhere to be seen—only a whimpering creature that had lost even the ability to speak.
“There there. Good boy.”
Pat pat.
“Yelp… Grr…”
And Theodor was petting his belly affectionately.
“Ooh… Amazing texture. So soft and fluffy.”
“Uh. Uh.”
Witnessing this scene that defied all common sense, Armin momentarily lost the ability to speak just like his familiar.
“W-what the. Wolfgang! Snap out of it! What are you doing?!”
“Whimper…”
“Now now. You’re scaring him, senior.”
Theodor gently scolded Armin while stroking Wolfgang, who had hidden behind his back.
Thud.
Armin’s legs gave out and he collapsed on the spot.
“What the hell…”
Bam!
“What’s going on here!”
At that moment, two people burst through the training hall doors.
Leading was Head Butler Krabel. And behind him…
“Eek! M-my lady…!”
“We sensed strange mana fluctuations from the training hall, so we came to investigate…”
Parmela swept her cold gaze across the hall before settling it on Theodor and Wolfgang.
“Armin.”
“Y-yes!”
“Stand up and come here immediately.”
Armin scrambled to stand at attention before Parmela.
“Krabel. What duties did you assign Armin?”
“…He was to oversee Theodor’s training, my lady.”
“Armin. If you were supposed to train him in butler duties, why did you summon your familiar—much less the guardian spirit of House Renon?”
“A-ah…”
‘It’s over.’
The fact Armin had angrily tried to ignore now confronted him in the worst possible way.
A mere viscount family’s butler trainee had dared lay hands on someone employed by the ducal family through the lady’s personal favor.
Facing Parmela’s blazing eyes burning with fury, Armin desperately tried to explain himself, but…
“I-it’s. You see…”
The sounds coming from his mouth failed to form coherent sentences.
As Parmela’s red lips parted to deliver her final judgment,
“There seems to be some misunderstanding, Lady Parmela.”
Theodor, who had somehow approached unnoticed, interjected.
“…Misunderstanding?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I find that hard to believe. This situation doesn’t appear open to interpretation.”
Meeting Parmela’s sharp gaze without flinching, Theodor spoke as smoothly as flowing water.
“Senior Armin provided truly excellent guidance today. Butler duties, proper mindset, responsibilities… he meticulously explained everything without omission, going out of his way to ensure even a commoner like me could understand.”
“Then what about Wolfgang?”
“During training, we happened to discuss Senior Armin’s family background. When I heard about his familiar, I begged to see it.”
Theodor bowed deeply with an apologetic, pitiful look.
“I overstepped on my first day. My apologies.”
“…Hmm. Very well. Be more careful next time.”
For reasons he couldn’t comprehend, Armin had survived. He started to relax.
“My lady, might I make one request?”
“What is it?”
“I’d like to continue receiving instruction from Senior Armin.”
“!!!”
Before Armin could say anything,
“Krabel?”
“No objections. I’ll adjust Armin’s schedule to accommodate Theodor’s training for the foreseeable future.”
“Then it’s settled. You two work well together. And…”
Before leaving, Parmela looked at Theodor one more time.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but her gaze seemed to carry some strange emotion.
“…Theodor, if you ever have any difficulties, feel free to come find…find…”
“Find?”
“Find me or don’t!”
Clatter—
“My lady, you were doing so well until that outburst at the end…”
“But it’s too embarrassing!”
With her face bright red, Parmela dashed out like an arrow, followed closely by the flustered head butler.
Left behind were Armin—who had completely lost his composure—Wolfgang—still panting like a dog—and…
“Senior.”
“Eek!”
“Let’s…get along well from now on, shall we?”
Only Theodor, the commoner butler trainee whom no one in this mansion would dare challenge again.