Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: New Connections (1)
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I was completely wiped out right now.
It was because I'd had to deal with all those young ladies who had suddenly shown up, and it had drained every last bit of my energy.
A sigh escaped me naturally.
"Haa..."
"Then, see you next time?"
The young lady from the Corellia family.
Pone Corellia flashed a bright smile before stepping out of the room. She had stuck around until the very end, determined to wear me down, before finally leaving.
Screech.
"Thank you! Take care!"
Marian came in, greeting the departing Corellia young lady with a cheerful wave from my room.
"What is all this...?"
If they had just told me to train with the sword, I would've done it.
I'd hate it to death, but at least I'd know how to handle it.
But this? This was just too much.
"I've lived my whole life without a companion by my side."
In my first life, had I ever had to deal with noble young ladies like that?
I was too busy running for my life.
My second life wasn't any different. As a warrior of the Sichuan Tang Clan, there had been plenty of marriage proposals floating around.
But they were all outside my interest.
It's not like I treated women like stones. Why wouldn't I have looked twice?
It was just that my thirst for martial arts burned even stronger.
Before I knew it, I'd missed my chance at marriage and died a bachelor.
So... a situation like this was completely new to me.
"It's finally over now, right?"
I glanced up toward the doorway.
Fortunately, the only one in sight was Marian.
Whew, seeing Marian finally put me at ease.
Marian smiled back at me.
"Yes! Young Master. It's all done now. But really, wasn't there anyone you liked?"
"Nope. Just tired."
"That's too bad. Even if no one else caught your eye, that last young lady who left seemed worth meeting. Lady Pone Corellia is the only daughter of Marquis Corellia, after all."
Marian seemed even more excited about it than I was.
"Pass."
I had mountains of things to do.
Why would I waste time on some idle chit-chat? Besides, it had sapped my energy...
Hold on. Nellin was nowhere to be seen.
"More importantly, where's Nellin?"
"Nellin's with Master Ralph. She was worried about him, so she's nursing him in the sickroom the Forge prepared."
"Hm? Nellin with Ralph...?"
Something felt off.
"I need to go check right now. Gale! Gale! You there?"
I called for Gale, the butler assigned to us by the Forge.
Gale approached from the start, showing me the top of his head in perfect form.
"You called, sir!"
"..."
He seemed oddly tense.
"Gale, just treat me like you did at first. This is awkward for both of us."
"Hahaha! Is that so?"
He forced a laugh, but sweat was beading on his forehead.
"Tch..."
I pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him.
"Wipe your sweat with this, Gale. Oh, and can you guide us to the sickroom where Ralph is being treated?"
"Of course!"
Gale barely wiped the sweat before snapping to attention like a soldier.
"This way, please!"
He led us straight down the annex corridor.
But... the young nobles standing in the hallway subtly stepped aside as I appeared.
They didn't want to get on the bad side of someone stronger, huh?
Well, no wonder Gilbert North had been so arrogant.
It's the same everywhere. Nobles knew better than commoners where to swallow their pride.
After all, nobles were the ones who stood above others through the logic of power.
So I knew it well.
The moment I slipped up even a little here, all these guys in the hallway would bare the fangs they were hiding.
And then there were the bats who smiled on the outside and clung to the strong.
Like these guys.
"Haha, Master Deyan. Where are you headed?"
Three boys appeared before me with beaming smiles.
They were the ones who had mocked me from the spectator seats during the duel with North.
"If you're free, how about hunting with us? There's an amazing spot nearby."
"Sure, I've got time."
"Oh, really? Then..."
"Time to mess with you lot."
"Pardon?"
"I heard everything. All that chatter from the spectator seats—why don't you say it again?"
Did they really think I hadn't heard?
They looked pretty flustered.
"Th-that was...!"
I glared at the noble trying to talk his way out with his slippery tongue.
"Paletta of the Gustavo family, Marcella of the Danilo family, Tonelli of the Lorenzo family. Right?"
"...?"
I glanced around at the other nobles and raised my hand.
"Anyone want to go hunting with these three instead of me? My temper's too foul to join them. Oh, and if you're going, let me know ahead of time. I don't want to deal with you. My heart's too narrow for that."
"...!"
No need to dirty my own hands.
Everyone here had seen what I'd done in the arena. And I was the third son of the Pador family.
They wouldn't want to make an enemy of the Padors, so they'd handle it themselves.
And sure enough.
The quick-witted nobles started shoving them aside.
"...Pathetic idiots."
"They're so lacking in manners. Talking like that to Master Deyan."
Did those three who badmouthed me get the message?
"S-sorry, Master Deyan!"
"We're so sorry!!"
They kept apologizing profusely, but I had no intention of accepting it from them.
"No need to be sorry. It's fine. I'll just keep misunderstanding you on a massive scale. Keep that in mind."
The Tang Clan motto.
The Nine Lives Seven Phrases, second line.
-Rip out the teeth of anyone who's already bared them at you. Make sure they can't even whimper again.
Mercy? Forgiveness?
That had no place in the Tang Clan.
Root and stem, eradicate completely.
Even if you tried to reform the cubs, they'd never shake their beastly instincts. Better to yank out all their teeth from the start.
How dare they bare their fangs?
"Please, forgive us...!"
"Sorry, Master Deyan!"
I ignored the ones groveling at my feet and tripping over each other as I headed to Ralph's sickroom.
There... was Ralph, wrapped head to toe in bandages with a swollen face, and Nellin trying to feed him soup.
"Master Ralph, here you go!"
Nellin held a spoon to Ralph's mouth.
"Thanks, Nellin...!"
Ralph swallowed the soup without a second thought.
Soup, huh.
Something felt fishy.
"Nellin, did the Forge provide that soup?"
"No way! It's for Master Ralph, so of course I made it myself!"
Nellin grinned innocently.
Ah, that was the bad vibe.
"Puuuuh!!"
Soup erupted from Ralph's mouth.
He sprayed it like a water cannon, all the way to the ceiling. Looked like there was a bit of blood mixed in?
The ever-cheerful assassin.
Nellin had struck again.
"Nellin, I told you not to cook."
"Uh, well...! Haha."
Nellin realized her blunder and slinked backward. Meanwhile, Ralph, who had eaten her soup...
"..."
Was he unconscious?
Only the whites of his eyes were showing.
Marian saw it and rushed to call a doctor.
"H-hey! Doctor, quick...!"
I stopped her before things escalated.
"Marian, hold on a sec."
"Huh? Young Master, we need a doctor now...!"
"No, it's fine. He's coming to."
I calmed the panicking Marian.
Then, I discreetly channeled some internal energy into Ralph.
"See?"
"Huuuugh!! Mommy?"
Ralph woke up calling for his dead mother.
Maybe because he opened his eyes and saw me.
He squeezed them shut tight.
He probably wanted to die.
"Your body's holding up fine."
"Shut up, you bastard!"
"Voice sounds strong too."
For someone who'd been hit like that, his build was solid.
He had natural bones for it.
Did he know?
That unlike me, Ralph was suited for something other than the sword.
Fist and leg techniques that could make use of those bones.
But he didn't know, so he clung to the sword.
Ralph, embarrassed, caught his breath and sat up.
"I heard. Deyan, you won everything, huh?"
"Yeah..."
Ralph's face fell into a sullen expression.
What was that look?
"Father had his reasons for favoring you... I see."
Ralph slumped in a way that wasn't like him at all.
"Just got lucky. Emma, your opponent, collapsed right after you did."
"Really?!"
Ralph's head snapped up.
"Yeah."
As if.
But in Ralph's head, it apparently made sense.
He burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! I knew it! That's what happened! Yeah, that makes sense! That's how you won? I figured Easton was like that from the start, but Gilbert North? He wasn't all that after all! Losing to you! Hahaha!"
Ralph laughed loud enough to shake the sickroom.
Was this positive or just stupid?
As long as he's healthy... I guess?
Just as Ralph was cackling away...
"What's this? Let me laugh too."
A laid-back voice.
Andrew showed up holding a banana.
"What?! You Tral scum!"
Ralph pointed at Andrew the moment he saw him.
"Is that a gift?"
Ralph zeroed in on the banana.
He seemed inwardly pleased that someone had come to visit, his lips twitching up.
"Oh, this?"
Andrew peeled the banana and popped it in his own mouth.
He chomped away and plopped down on an empty bed.
"Brought it to eat myself."
"..."
And then.
Snoooore.
Andrew promptly fell asleep. Ralph chucked a pillow at him.
"Why are you even here, you jerk!"
Andrew took the hit to the face but protected his banana.
That was a skill in itself.
"Fiery, aren't ya? Even after getting wrecked like that."
Andrew cracked one eye open and looked my way.
"Something felt off, yeah."
"...?"
"Hm, never mind. You don't wanna talk about it. I won't bring up what happened then. Still haven't paid you back for that food anyway."
Trial Valley, huh?
Andrew...
He seemed to go with the flow on everything, but he'd pieced it together.
Andrew stuffed his mouth full of banana and pointed at it.
"My lips are sealed."
"Fine, just finish that banana before you talk."
Seeing the chunks in his mouth wasn't a pretty sight.
"Sorry, sorry."
"Skip the rest. What happened to the North guys?"
"North? Gilbert North woke up and left right away."
Ralph roared with laughter at the North news.
"Uhahahaha!! Serves him right. Serves him... Gah!"
Ralph clutched his ribs mid-laugh. Andrew watched him, then sluggishly got up.
"Well, we exchanged greetings. Time to go."
Marian tilted her head.
"Leaving already?"
"Yeah, clan sent me to come anyway. Gotta wander again. Oh, right. That Lan Ford guy."
Andrew clicked his tongue, looking displeased.
"Better watch out for him."
"Lan Ford? Why him?"
"Hm, this okay to say?"
Andrew glanced around and whispered.
"Big bro said it. In the Forge, the one to watch isn't the heir Ramel Ford—it's Lan Ford. My brother's got killer instincts for that stuff."
"Haha! What? Watch out for Lan Ford more than Ramel? Lan's just a good-for-nothing layabout!"
Who knows?
But Andrew's big brother had good instincts.
That gut feeling was spot on.
Lan Ford.
In a way, he was the most dangerous of the bunch.
The strategist Lan Ford.
He'd surpass his brother Ramel in the future and become head of the Ford family. And... he'd tip the balance among the four great houses that had stood for ages.
Well, ours crumbled on our own. The Norths because Gilbert North clashed hard with his family.
But it was a fact that Lan Ford had overwhelmed the other great houses and elevated the Fords to the empire's top tier.
The duel between North and our family already felt off.
We clashed now, but back when Closs was active, it was different.
Even without provocation, Lan Ford had put us on stage.
I'd figured out his intent during the match.
That shield linked to something subtle.
It wasn't just a simple life-force display with magic. Probably had a spell to gauge our mana levels too.
He wanted to scout the power of rival heirs.
Ambitious little fox.
Well, I'd caught on early and held back. Still felt slimy.
As I pondered Lan Ford...
Andrew's voice came again.
"Actually, big bro warned about someone else even more."
"Who?"
Besides Lan Ford?
Andrew stared at me intently, then grinned.
"We're friends, right?"
"Hm?"
Andrew's brother really had sharp instincts?
"Of course."
I nodded.
But Ralph, unlike me, didn't catch Andrew's meaning.
"Friends? Ha! You're all beneath the great Ralph!"
He puffed up his chest arrogantly.
"Scary. I'm out first."
Andrew chuckled as he slipped away, despite claiming fear.
Ralph chased him off and turned to us.
"You lot go too! Too noisy!"
What a brat.
"Yes, Young Master!"
"Got it, got it."
I closed the sickroom door.
The two girls stepped out first, and I was about to follow...
When Ralph's mutter reached me faintly.
"That Deyan punk... when did he get so strong? Father's gonna love him again."
Pride?
"I'm the only one who's fallen behind."
Ralph's voice trailed off weakly.
Fallen behind?
Not from where I stood. Someone truly behind wouldn't have that spirit.
He might not realize it, but Ralph had every qualification to rise higher.
"Haa..."
Another sigh from Ralph.
He'd end up in a coffin at this rate.
Time to encourage him a bit.
"Ralph, you did plenty well."
Didn't he notice I was still at the door?
The bed creaked noisily.
"Wh-what?!"
Ralph panicked.
"Aren't you gone...?!"
"Was just leaving."
I actually stepped away this time. The hallway was still full of nobles, but none met my eyes.
Then.
A nobleman in a worn coat walked straight up.
"Thank you for last time!"
He bowed to me.
Ah, the ruined noble who'd lost to Easton?
He really didn't fit a party like this.
Didn't know which house he was from, but times were tough—his glasses were smudged, buttons barely hanging on.
Appearance aside, though.
He was a fine noble who knew to thank his benefactor.
Those eyes behind the glasses sparkled with spirit; he'd rebuild his fallen house soon enough.
"No big deal. Just did what I wanted."
"Still, help is help!"
"True. You've thanked me now, so we're good."
"I don't like empty words."
"...?"
The man pulled something from his pocket.
Gonna give me something?
Just say thanks and go.
I hated awkwardness.
But the man confidently showed a ring.
"Would you accept this? It might not seem much to Deyan of the Pador family, but it's a multi-tool ring I developed. More useful than it looks!"
The ring in his hand had an engraved pattern of crossed hammers that didn't quite match—shaped like swords.
But... those hammers.
Way too familiar.
"This thing."
Thinking I'd refuse, he hurried to demonstrate.
"Just try it once! The functions of this ring are...!"
"No, not that."
I looked not at the ring, but the man.
"What's your name?"
"Pardon?"
"Your name. I'm curious. By any chance... is it Bernard?"
The man's bright eyes blinked.
His head tilted slightly.
"How do you know my name?"
"Jackpot..."
"Huh?"
Jackpot.
Did anyone here grasp the value of that ring—or rather, this man's true worth?
It wasn't like stumbling back while chasing a cow and catching a mouse.
More like picking up a random pebble on the road...
And finding out it was a pearl. No...
The empire's greatest gem, practically!
This man, repaying a favor to me.
He was the genius who'd spark a revolution in civilization across the continent, beyond the empire.
The continent's top inventor.
Bernard Sherman.