Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Bodyguard (2)
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"Hello. My name is Jane. I'm truly delighted to meet all of you."
A woman spoke up.
She was a beautiful woman with pink hair that suited her perfectly, and to top it off, she adorned her body with what looked like magic items everywhere, doubling her allure.
In fact, as if to prove it, the druid and the solvers, along with the hired help, all took an immediate liking to her.
The solvers in particular fell for her hard, despite it being their first meeting.
It was quite intriguing. Normally, Oliver would have focused his eyes and observed what items she was wearing and what potions she had applied to her body.
But he couldn't do that.
His mind was preoccupied with other thoughts right now.
'This gift... no matter how I look at it, it's my recipe... No, wait. Even if it's my recipe, it's just mixing two emotions. Nothing but a simple idea. Anyone could do it if they tried. Can't exactly call it mine.'
Oliver pondered deeply.
'...Still, the ratios and the mixing method feel like mine.'
Oliver thought, recalling the Filterette. And with it came memories of teaching the people of Joseph's Family in the past.
It started with Marie.
In exchange for teaching her to read, Oliver had taught her black magic, but it wasn't anything impressive.
He had merely polished her shaky basics, offered advice on a few theories, and occasionally guided her hand indirectly when she couldn't manipulate emotions properly.
Like holding the back of a bike while someone learns to ride.
Anyone could do it.
Then, somehow, when he ended up as the temporary head of the family in Joseph's place, he taught the others out of duty.
At first, he instructed them all one by one, but later the numbers grew too large, so he handed things off to the skilled high-grade disciples—a slightly embarrassing memory.
Handing off his own work to others, after all.
But it was unavoidable. He had to wrap up the handover as quickly as possible.
In compensation, Oliver had assessed the high-grade disciples' tendencies, split them into two groups, and intensively trained one in combat and the other in Filterette production.
For example, combat training for Marie, who wanted to grow stronger, and Filterette production for Peter, who wanted to make a lot of money.
And the Filterette Nina the solver had given him was remarkably similar to the production method he had taught.
'...Hmm. If it's really something I passed on, it looks like they're all doing well.'
Oliver concluded.
And rightly so—stable supply of the product meant the organization was stable too.
In other words, everyone was getting by fine even after he left.
Whew... Oliver let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
He had been worried, but this was truly a relief.
As odd as it was to say, they had all started out with strong wills to take responsibility for their own lives and forge their paths, but at some point that faded, and they began watching his every mood.
Marie had been the worst offender, and as expected, once he was gone, it seemed they had all reverted to their original selves.
It couldn't have been more fortunate.
'Was it half a year ago that I left? A bit more? That's fast. Truly a relief... Maybe I should visit sometime.'
"Um... ex... cuse me."
Just then, someone called out to Oliver. From right in front of his face, no less.
Pulling out of his reverie, Oliver found the pink-haired woman leaning forward, looking up at him from below.
It was Jane, the protectee.
A quick glance around showed everyone now watching them. Oliver fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"...Yes?"
"You seemed lost in thought. What could you be thinking about so deeply?"
"Ah... sorry. It's nothing."
"Good, then. But I'm in a position where I have to rely only on you all, so I'd appreciate it if you could look a bit more reliable. Please?"
Jane smiled brightly as she placed a hand firmly on Oliver's shoulder.
It felt natural, and with it, a faint trace of mana emanated from the bracelet on her arm.
'What was that?'
Oliver checked the spot she had touched, but there was no particular effect.
It was awkward to ask, so he let it slide, and before he knew it, the meeting was over.
"Well, then, I'll be off. Take good care of me for the next two weeks."
Jane waved with a beaming smile.
As she left, Duncan stepped forward again and spoke.
"That lady is who you all will be protecting. As you can see, she's young, innocent, and kind."
'...Innocent?'
Oliver felt a flicker of doubt. She seemed pretty sharp, on the contrary.
"So she'll cooperate with us nicely too. For the next two weeks, the young lady won't leave this mansion. At most, an hour of strolling nearby each day. In short, very easy to guard."
"What's the point?"
"You'll take turns with our staff, guarding the young lady one day at a time."
The middle-aged solver said.
"So we work every fifth day?"
"Count me out."
Nina spoke up.
"My abilities are better suited for monitoring the entire area around here in collaboration with the hired help."
"Abilities?"
"Yeah, easier to show than explain, right? Duncan, mind if I demonstrate?"
"Of course. As you wish."
With permission granted, Nina immediately unstrapped the gear from her waist.
It was fairly large, so he wondered what it was, but once unwrapped, a small machine gun appeared.
"Well... first time seeing one since leaving the military."
But the surprise didn't end there.
Nina donned goggles and began emitting mana from her body. A considerable amount.
"...Everyone, look out the window. See that big tree far off?"
"Yeah, I see it."
"Watch closely, everyone."
She licked her lips and raised the machine gun. Taking aim at the wall, she channeled mana into it and opened fire.
What followed was an astonishing sight.
A purple magic circle unfolded in front of the machine gun's muzzle, and an identical one appeared outside the window.
"Fire."
Du-du-du-du-du-du-du-du-du-du-du-
A massive gunshot echoed through the room, and through the magic circle, a barrage of mana bullets flew out and pummeled the distant tree.
Impressively powerful—it chewed through half the trunk in mere seconds and toppled it entirely.
Everyone was awestruck by the raw firepower, when the middle-aged solver spoke.
"A real magic gun. You're a mana user?"
"Yeah. Now you all get why I'm sitting this out?"
Everyone nodded, Oliver included.
With a weapon like that, it was more effective to patrol solo than babysit up close.
He wondered how such a weapon was made, and right on cue, the middle-aged solver muttered as if he knew.
"The latest SB-series, a joint product of the Spatial School and Browning Corporation. Weapons for mana users aren't mass-producible, so they're all limited runs. You somehow got your hands on one. Not cheap."
"Saved up my bonuses."
"Didn't you say your salary was low?"
Oliver, who had been listening quietly, asked bluntly.
An awkward silence fell for a moment, then Nina flashed her usual bold grin.
"I scrimped every bonus."
"Ah... I see."
"What, you picking a fight? Over not giving you that Filterette earlier?"
Nina asked half-jokingly, but Oliver caught the faint tremor of anger beneath—a reaction to touching a sore spot.
As Oliver hurried to apologize, clapping sounds rang out—clap-clap.
It was Duncan.
"Let's get to work first. We'll assign roles based on your specialties, so please follow along. First—"
After that, roles were assigned.
Not anything too complicated.
Perimeter security around the mansion was handled by Duncan and Edith's staff, plus Nina.
Druid Scott, mana brawler Russell, veteran solver Godri, and black mage Oliver would rotate in two-man teams with the other staff to guard Jane up close.
Off-duty solvers rested and stayed ready for emergencies.
It looked tight at first glance, but it wasn't bad.
Rest areas were inside the mansion, and the staff provided every convenience.
Room and board included—even newspapers on request. Thanks to that, Oliver spent his first day off without working, reading the newspaper and the Pater scriptures Yoanna had given him.
For the record, the newspapers were surprisingly entertaining, while the scriptures were still hard to grasp.
He'd have to ask Yoanna about it later.
"That's unusual... Reading scriptures."
As he focused on the scriptures, someone approached and spoke.
Looking up, there stood pink-haired Jane, wearing a different outfit each day.
Today's was... quite revealing. It vaguely resembled the outfits of the girls working at the angel house following Coco's lead.
The vibe, or the purpose, perhaps.
Reading his gaze, Jane spread her arms and spun around.
A lively motion, like a girl on a picnic in Landa Park.
At least on the surface.
"Hehe. What do you think? Pretty?"
"...I'm not sure."
"Oh? Doesn't suit me? I put some thought into picking it..."
Jane pouted as if dejected, but Oliver responded as usual.
"No, I just don't know much about clothes. Never studied it."
"...Ha. I see. Well, good then. But when a lady asks that, a gentleman says it's pretty."
"Interesting. Coco said the exact same thing... Do you know Coco?"
"Eh, sort of... More importantly, mind telling me why you're reading scriptures? A black mage reading them is kinda fascinating."
Jane grinned like a child and leaned in close.
She seemed utterly innocent, her acting top-notch. No clue why she was putting on the show, though.
Oliver glanced behind her as he replied.
"What about the guards?"
"Oh? It was stuffy, so I asked for some alone time. But they're nearby, so no worries. Anyway, you gonna answer my question? Kinda disappointing if not."
Jane kept pressing with a smile. Though the feel was different, she shared Edith's core essence, so Oliver answered straightforwardly.
"It was a gift, so I'm reading it."
"A gift? Hmm... From a woman?"
Oliver paused to think. Was Yoanna a woman?
"Uh... yes. A woman."
"Ooh, really? I was just joking... Hmm, so she's your lover?"
"Lover? No, just someone I'm grateful to."
"Oh? What for?"
Jane feigned interest and pulled up a nearby chair, sitting right next to Oliver. Very close.
"Mm... She made me a grateful offer."
"What offer?"
"...It's a bit hard to say."
"Aw, disappointing. Then how about telling me why you're reading so many newspapers? I've never met a black mage before."
With that, Jane placed her hand on Oliver's.
Soft and warm. That was it.
"I lack basic knowledge, so I'm catching up. Coco told me to at least read the papers."
"I see? Well, some black mages just hole up in caves or the underworld training, they say."
"On the flip side, you seem to know a lot, miss."
"Pardon? Ah... I've had some education since childhood, picked up bits here and there. After meeting my father, I got professional training too. Ah...! Want me to help?"
"Pardon?"
"If anything in the papers is hard or confusing, I can teach you. How's that?"
An unexpected offer. Oliver replied.
"Grateful, but are you sure?"
"Well, I'm bored too. And you're the ones protecting me—grateful for that. Plus..."
"...?"
"Your face is my type."
Jane leaned in close, whispering like a secret.
The scent of perfume laced with mana wafted over.