Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Starry Sky at Night is Said to be the Tears of God (7)
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Pippin charged toward me, raising his saw high. Teneripe drew a dagger from within his robes with his free hand and thrust it straight at me.
Whether by luck or skill, I managed to block Teneripe's dagger with my hand. Both my hands burned like fire, but it was better than getting my heart pierced and dying.
"Hey, ugh, Te-Teneripe."
I mustered every ounce of strength to open my mouth. The grip on my throat loosened bit by bit. At the same time, Pippin glared with his filthy saw blade pressed against Teneripe's neck.
"Let go of the Master."
I grinned as I alternated glances between Teneripe's impassive expression and Pippin's fierce glare.
"Will you be my teacher, or will you die?"
The noisy space fell silent in an instant.
Teneripe stared at me quietly before shoving my hand away roughly. I fell on my butt and looked up at him. When Pippin hurriedly raised his saw, I raised my hand to stop him.
"Amazing."
Pippin glanced at me before coming over to help me up. At the same time, he kicked Teneripe in the stomach and grabbed him by the collar.
As expected, Pippin had the upper hand in close combat. Teneripe groaned, "Ugh," and was held fast. Tayde and Canary, now transformed into baby goblins, headbutted Pippin's shins in resistance, but it didn't seem to faze him much.
If Pippin just beat Teneripe down like this, it would still be my victory. But right now, it was time to aim for something bigger.
I tried to calm Pippin, but my hands hurt and my body felt weak, so I just headbutted his back clumsily. In that awkward position, I held him back.
"Pippin. Put down our teacher."
"…Pardon?"
"You keep dumbly repeating yourself. Put her down."
Pippin released Teneripe's collar. Teneripe let out a hollow laugh as he looked not at Pippin, but at me. He definitely looked more human now than before.
"So the Witch of Illusions has taken in a freak as her apostle."
"Who knows? I told you, I don't know anyone like that."
"Are you just brushing it off like that, or are you really still clueless like an idiot?"
Teneripe stepped back from us and straightened his clothes. Then he gave us that same annoying look.
"The witch hasn't awakened yet. If you can control the witch, I'll cooperate."
"I don't know who this witch is, but I'll definitely track her down and put a leash on her, so don't worry. I'll make it happen somehow. Trust this disciple of yours just once."
"Fine. I'll trust you. I'm curious now. What kind of being is the Witch of Illusions who has you as her apostle? And more than that, what kind of guy are you?"
"That's a compliment, right? Looking forward to working with you, Teacher. I'm a duke and all, but feel free to call me 'Sierra' casually. This is a special privilege I don't give to just anyone."
"You're ridiculous."
At Teneripe's gesture, Recrophadas, who had been rampaging just moments ago, flew over obediently and perched on his back.
He fiddled with his earring, and the ornament I had crushed with a rock returned to its original sparkling form.
At the same time, Tayde and Canary reverted to their normal forms. Fully recovered in an instant, they clung to Teneripe's side, acting cute.
The wolves showed no traces of their fierce battle with Pippin.
The only remnants of the earlier chaos were the dust on Teneripe's hem and the cloak I had set ablaze, now reduced to rags.
Even those were gone in a flash when Teneripe stomped on them, turning to ash.
"Impressive... Were you going easy on us?"
In the end, I'd only bought a little time. If Teneripe had fought back seriously, we would've been in danger. He'd shown off his spirits and watched us run, giving me just enough time to pull off my tricks.
We'd won, but it was pure luck. Good thing Teneripe hadn't thought to counterattack. If the wolves recovered this quickly, my plan to pit Pippin against Teneripe was doomed to fail.
"I didn't expect you to charge in so recklessly. Being off guard is a skill in itself. And striking when someone's off guard? That's skill too."
Teneripe smiled faintly. In that moment, an affinity indicator appeared above his otherwise empty head.
[♥♥♥]
Three at once? Generous rating.
His personality keyword was 'Lust'. I'd thought it meant playboy-like, but no. The description said [Has strong curiosity toward people; affinity rises and falls dramatically.] So, he'd grown curious about me.
"So, Teacher, you'll teach me, right?"
Good was good, so I wanted lessons right away. If I got stronger and went back, I'd feel more at ease during the beast subjugation too.
But Teneripe chuckled dryly and scanned me and Pippin up and down.
"In that state, what do you think you can learn?"
Hearing that, I took a moment to look at ourselves. Both Pippin and I were rolling on the ground, chased by spirits—our clothes were in tatters.
Pippin was covered in blood from various wounds, with a spectacular nosebleed streaming down.
I couldn't laugh at Pippin, though—my hands weren't just red; they were turning black.
I'd been ignoring it, but seeing the injury made the pain I'd been holding back crash over me like a broken dam. My head throbbed, and my legs shook.
Yeah, we definitely weren't in shape for lessons.
"But if we don't do it now, won't you run off, Teacher? Are you trying to ditch the lesson right now?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Even if you were in perfect shape, I couldn't teach you now. A carpenter who doesn't know human form can't make a chair."
"So you're saying self-study first? We can't start if I know too little."
"Exactly."
Pippin, who had been quietly listening, glared and raised his saw. Blood-soaked, he looked like a psycho killer.
"Do as the Master says and shut up."
"Pippin, you should do what I say too. If you charge now, you'll die..."
"......"
"Lower the saw."
"...Yes."
Teneripe turned his back to us and mounted Recrophadas's spirit. As if waiting, the spirit lowered its wings, then stretched them long backward.
"You're a duke, right? Read the forbidden books in the Noamaz imperial library. That's where the info on spirit arts is. Then you might be worth teaching."
"Then at least tell me how to catch a good spirit! Where are they plentiful? What should I catch?"
"Spirits can be made or found. They could be human or beast. If you're bored, go hunt some beasts. You'll get something out of it."
Beast hunting...
I flashed a triumphant smile. Perfect timing.
The whole neighborhood's nobles were being dragged along by the crown prince for beast subjugation. I'd hated going at first, but I could turn this into an opportunity. If I met the crown prince under the pretext of subjugation, I could poke around the imperial library.
Stand out in the subjugation to solidify my position as duke, charm the crown prince for library access. And as a bonus.
I could use it to boost my guard knight's skills too.
"Pippin. Since it came up, want to go beast hunting together?"
"Pardon? Yes! Let's go!"
Pippin's eyes widened in delight. But then he drooped his shoulders with a sullen look.
"But not today—another day? I'm hungry. And sleepy..."
"Today? No, I can't go either. Even if I say let's go, I don't wanna go today..."
Then Recrophadas flapped its wings. Teneripe rummaged in his hem and tossed me a gem. I caught it and examined it—a pretty, pearl-white stone. Perfect for Dahlia's hair ornament.
"What's this? A disciple token?"
"Give it to your pathetic garden jaw. That form is a disgrace to spirit arts."
"Got it."
I handed the gem straight to the garden jaw. It eyed me like a dog caught in the act, then tentatively stuck out its broad tongue to lap it up. As the thick tongue wrapped around the gem, Sugari, who had been resting on the tip, startled and fled.
"When I see you're actually useful, I'll teach you a dragon that can replace Recrophadas."
"Teacher, that means Recrophadas is a dragon connected to the Witch of Illusions, right?"
"Good thing you're not dumb. Manage the witch well in the meantime. If you still don't know who she is, find out."
Teneripe mounted Recrophadas and flew off, adding one last thing.
"I'll come when the time is right. Wait for me, disciple."
He vanished abruptly with the two wolves. Riding a spirit dragon like a mount—what a discovery. I stared blankly at the spot he'd left, then shrugged.
"Well. Time to head home, I guess."
"Master."
The dejected Pippin's voice stopped me. I patted his shoulder to comfort him for his hard work, but indescribable pain hit, forcing me to clutch my hand.
I'd swung a burning cloak and rocks around; no wonder my hands weren't fine. I'd sensed something off earlier, but with Teneripe gone and tension released, the pain was hitting full force.
"Are you okay?"
"No. Not at all. Ants, head home too. The crisis is over."
I gritted my teeth and dismissed the spirits. The garden jaw opened its mouth wide, and the spirits swirled inside with a whoosh before vanishing.
The garden jaw, still smacking its lips, suddenly rolled its eyes wildly and charged at me.
[Master! Master! Mistake! I swallowed it!]
"What? Sugari? You ate Sugari? Hey, I told you not to eat it!"
Pippin, eyeing me, grabbed the garden jaw's mouth with both hands and pried it open. The jaw shook its head no, but Pippin shoved his head deep inside to check.
"Master. No ant-like thing in sight. Just a foul stench."
[Urp...]
The garden jaw hunched like it was about to vomit, and Pippin quickly backed away.
Mouth stench? No surprise. All the beasts it ate today.
I dragged Pippin back from the garden jaw.
"Hey! No puking! If you're gonna puke, just don't! Don't puke! Swallow it! Swallow it back down!"
Whether following my brilliant advice or not, the garden jaw writhed around before spewing thick black smoke from its body.
"Manhole! You okay? Better puke it up!"
The dark smoke enveloped the garden jaw, swirling before dissipating and shrinking it down.
When the smoke cleared, it wasn't that ugly mystery monster anymore.
It was a boy with white hair.
Looking exactly like Teneripe.