Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 29: Capable Attendant(?) Erwin and Masterpiece Artisan(?) Emiline
The explosion incident in the banquet hall was eventually concluded as an 'accident'.
The official announcement was this:
High-concentration mana condensation masses were stored in the storage warehouse located beyond the library wall, and due to some unstable factors, cracks occurred inside.
It was reported that it was highly likely a defect in the old sealing formula, and no traces of external intrusion or intentional destruction were found.
Of course, that announcement was for 'external use'.
Just that there was no evidence, the Wintel family's gaze wasn't that simple.
Investigation began on invisible lines regarding movement paths on the day of the banquet, duty placement, and subtle changes in the storage list.
And a few days later.
Iden received Galliard's summons.
The Main Castle reception room was still neat, but the atmosphere was different from before.
Instead of flashiness, solemnity had settled, and the North's snow light seeping through the window was illuminating the room coldly.
Iden bowed his head entering there.
"Did you call for me. Young Lord Galliard."
"Ah, welcome."
Galliard was already sitting in his seat.
Short trimmed white hair, neat formal dress, impeccable posture.
However, only his eyes had a different texture from the magnanimity seen at the previous social gathering.
Responsibility, anger, and subtle guilt were entangled.
As Iden greeted formally, Galliard gestured to sit on the sofa and opened his mouth first.
"Sorry to call you this late."
He started the preamble with a polite tone.
"Incident settlement took long. I tried to separate public affairs and private feelings but... it wasn't easy."
Silence flowed for a moment.
"First of all, thank you for protecting Emiline. I convey gratitude borrowing the Wintel family name."
Those words weren't light.
It wasn't a greeting of the Young Lord representing the family, but the sincerity of an older brother cherishing his lovely sister.
Iden bowed his head calmly.
"I just recognized the situation by chance."
Galliard shook his head.
"It was a noble sacrifice to conclude as coincidence."
His gaze looked at Iden as if piercing through.
"I have a question, just before the explosion, can you tell me how you detected the danger?"
It was a direct question.
Iden's heart beat a beat slower.
The whispers he heard and the expression 'Room 3'.
Voices full of certainty that installation was perfect were recalled along the engraved texture.
But Iden didn't show it.
The moment he says that now, recognition of the opposing forces will be elevated from simple 'suspicion' to 'reality'.
And from then on, movements would become rough.
He recalled the flow of the original work.
After Galliard's death, the Wintel family carries out a massive purge searching out opposing forces entirely.
That incident was the trigger, and afterward, they succeed in rounding them all up.
But not now.
If lighting the fire hastily, hidden things might scatter, or explode in unexpected directions.
It was a different directionality and texture from Hamelon.
At that time, countless lives of innocent citizens depended on it, and options and resulting numbers were limited.
Now it was a struggle within power, and depending on his choice, the flow could be greatly twisted or tangled.
For now, as Grand Duke Eldmonde taught, it was wise to lay low until reading the 'flow' with clear information.
Iden caught his breath, and brought out a refined answer.
"I usually imprint a simple mana detection summoning circle on my body to prepare for danger."
Galliard's eyebrows moved subtly.
"Imprint?"
"It's a structure that returns minute waves if the sensory detection gate detects incomplete amplification or rapid condensation of external mana."
Iden continued explanation calmly.
"In the banquet hall corridor, an abnormal waveform caught on the detection line was detected. It was unstable and ominous amplification, and the location was the library side. The wave cycle was awkward to view as simple condensation, so I judged it dangerous."
Galliard was listening silently.
"There were white crest knights in front of the door at the epicenter, and since Young Lord was in the banquet hall, I thought Princess Emiline would be there."
"So you forced the door open and entered."
"Yes."
Iden bowed his head.
Galliard didn't say anything for a while.
And smiled slowly.
"Coincidence, huh...."
Rising from his seat and walking to the window, he fell into contemplation with his hands behind his back.
He seemed to be organizing thoughts.
Accident where his sister almost got hurt badly, as the family successor and sister's older brother, he was trying to read all contact points by concluding this accident as an incident.
Because it shouldn't be repeated.
His gaze lowered further.
"But I am certain. That day's event wasn't an accidental accident."
Iden was silent.
Galliard didn't interrogate that silence.
"I won't ask more for now."
He spoke slowly.
"However, if that 'abnormality' you felt is detected again somewhere, would you let me know too."
In those words, command and request were contained simultaneously.
Command as a successor who must protect the Wintel family, and request as an older brother who wants to protect his younger sister.
Iden naturally bowed his head.
"Understood."
Galliard turned his body and nodded to Iden.
"Right... putting that aside, I want to repay you for saving our Emiline. Since I want to give a personal reward to relieve debt as a dull 'older brother', don't feel burdened."
Hmm.
Iden corrected his posture and exhaled long.
Personal reward.
Galliard didn't present about that reward first.
It would be a move to look into the opponent's inside and vessel depending on the answer.
Iden, gauging the category of 'personal' presented by the Wintel family successor, opened his mouth.
"I heard you are personally leading troops to battle in Saloon Central Plains."
Galliard couldn't answer anything.
Because something far out of expectation range was heard.
"I am but...?"
"I want to join the expedition and fight by Young Lord's side."
"Well... there is nothing difficult but..."
Galliard couldn't continue speaking with a face as if seeing a wondrous object.
A man wanting 'accompaniment to battlefield' not money, honor, or title at the reward proposal of Wintel family's official successor.
Galliard couldn't know yet if that request was a foresight of an extraordinary person, or eccentricity of a strange person.
**
After returning to the mansion, I clung to training again.
This time it wasn't the basement.
It was the outdoor training ground newly maintained behind the mansion.
Flat vacant lot surrounded by low stone walls, scarecrows and straw piles on one side, and weapon racks organized with wooden swords, shields, and spears on the other side.
One week later, I came to head to the battlefield following Galliard.
Although he didn't interrogate about the reason, there were two reasons for bothering to head to the battlefield following him.
First was to fulfill the promise with Eldmonde.
He clearly said.
That he wants to raise the status of Summoners again, and to do so, I must prove in the all-out war with Northern foreign tribes that will start someday.
That I must become not an alias passing for a season, but a person surviving even after being covered in blood and dust on the battlefield, holding the victory flag and leading the flow.
Therefore, to me, this expedition was a 'preliminary match'.
Even in mercenary days, even in Engineering Unit life, there was no large-scale all-out war.
There were traps, defense, and ambush, but I haven't experienced a battlefield where thousands collide.
No matter how excellent the talent as a Summoner is, if I don't experience the air and madness of the battlefield directly, I wouldn't be able to seize the opportunity when the main match starts.
Because an unprepared person cannot seize opportunity even if it comes.
Second was precisely for Galliard's salvation.
Existence of opposing forces was still in the mist.
Although this incident was also officially covered as 'accident', they clearly exist and wouldn't think of retiring with this failure as the end.
If in the worst case, Galliard heads to the battlefield without revealing the opposing forces' scheme, I must protect him.
To do so, it was good to check and learn directly with my own eyes how he fights, what habits he has on the battlefield.
Because I can protect him only if I know how he judges according to situation and decides advance and retreat.
Since he also said he is a person whose aptitude is wielding a huge halberd on the front line rather than commanding from the rear of the battlefield resembling his father.
Although I decided so, the moment I ruminated on the word 'battlefield', somewhere in my chest became cool.
So I found the outdoor training ground instead of the basement.
Summoner.
That identity was clearly powerful.
But me on the battlefield where Summoning Arts is excluded? This question was thrown at me.
Since basic swordsmanship and stamina were solidified by mercenary life, small-scale close combat wasn't fearful.
But that is limited to 'small-scale' to the end.
Imminent battlefield, chaotic battlefield, in a situation where hundreds, thousands are mixed, it was unknown if I could endure without Summoning Arts.
If the summoning circle breaks?
Me at that moment is just a man holding a sword.
So I decided.
One week, let's pull up power other than Summoning Arts in that interval.
Coming out to the outdoor training ground from dawn, I swung the sword.
Lower body movement carrying weight, reaction speed training, breakfall and evasion movements, started to awaken senses of mercenary days felt like old times now.
Throwing body to the ground and rolling, I was covered in dust.
Even if palms peeled and breath became rough, I didn't stop.
Then suddenly, sticking the sword in the rack, I looked up at the sky.
Fundamental doubt arose.
Mana.
Summoning Arts is eventually a special ability connecting another world and spirit with mana scattered in the atmosphere as medium.
Then general magic of this world would also be based on handling mana of the same property....
I opened my palm inadvertently.
Calming breathing, I detect mana in the atmosphere like when using Summoning Arts.
Unlike when drawing a summoning circle, I imagine an image of pulling mana solely inside without connecting to outside.
Mana concentrates at fingertips.
I try to grab the form to materialize it, but regrettably, it only rises like flames.
Recalling flames, I attempted compression into a sphere shape, but it scatters at fingertips.
Attempted countless times but scattered faintly seeming possible yet not.
Only minute heat was felt, specific implementation wasn't done.
"Tsk..."
The moment I muttered low extinguishing mana, a familiar voice was heard from behind.
"Training I haven't seen."
Looking back, Erwin was looking at me leaning against the stone wall.
Opening and closing fingertips innocently, I answered.
"Tried to use magic once but as expected it doesn't work well."
Erwin tilted her head slightly.
"Magic?"
However.
Erwin, looking at my hand for a moment, stepped one step forward casually.
And...
"Like this?"
She raised her right hand low.
Short chant whispered low as if talking to herself.
Mana condenses and a red sphere forms at fingertips.
Compressed heat distorts air, and next moment.
Paang!
Materialized Fireball flew and accurately penetrated the straw pile on one side of the training ground and hit the rear wall hard.
Instantly flames spread and straw burns.
"...?!"
Mana operation was flawless.
Neither unnecessary leakage nor excessive explosion.
Control power and implementation power of a level usable immediately in actual combat weren't skills used once or twice.
"What...? You knew how to handle magic? But why until now...?"
I looked at her as if unbelievable.
Erwin glanced at the burning straw, then shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Because there was no occasion to use it?"
Blunt answer.
And natural answer.
It was a baffling moment for me who only recalled her appearance holding a shovel as Engineering Captain and sweating at the site, never even imagining appearance handling mana on the battlefield.
Flames flickered in the wind.
Air of the training ground heated up strangely for an instant.
**
Emiline was sitting in front of the easel placed in the middle of the mansion garden.
After the incident, she was staying at the mansion following her father's request to refrain from outside activities for the time being, and lifted the brush again to soothe that boredom.
It was her hobby and specialty, and one of the only times she could empty her mind.
Early summer sunlight was covering the North's cold air softly.
Well-trimmed garden, neatly pruned shrubs, sound of water flowing from the fountain were tranquil enough to make the banquet hall confusion disappear completely.
On the canvas, scenery of the banquet hall was captured faintly.
Chandelier and dress hems, fragments of light.
But the brush drawing smoothly stopped in the air.
"...."
It was again.
Scene of that day dug into her head without any notice.
Red flash and bursting explosion sound, collapsing wall.
And.
Solid arms that embraced her.
Chest supported solidly.
Thick arms loaded with muscles.
Neck veins soared momentarily.
Even the male, no, man's body odor strangely vivid even though acrid dust and gunpowder smell were mixed.
Emiline's fingertips trembled.
Even though ears were muffled and vision scattered due to shock of explosion clearly, senses remembered strangely clearly.
Hot.
Face flushed without herself knowing.
"Wh, what...."
Muttering like talking to herself, she put down the brush.
Touching cheek with back of hand, it was certainly hot.
Seemed she received sunlight long.
"...Why do I keep remembering."
Emiline shook her head vigorously.
Garden wind scattered her hair, but afterimages in her head didn't scatter easily.
"Ah."
Come to think of it, she hadn't greeted properly yet.
Banquet hall was chaos itself, and afterward investigation and confinement continued.
Older brother was also busy, and father was also busy investigating the truth.
Herself at the center of that commotion actually.
"Couldn't even say thank you..."
Bit her lip.
Grew up learning courtesy and dignity as Grand Duke family's Princess, but actually at the most important moment, she couldn't say anything.
Realizing how rude that fact is, Emiline's cheeks burn again.
After a few days, it would be okay to visit carefully.
Preparing a gift too.
She heard he became a noble, and a Baronet.
Then a visit fitting formality was needed.
As it is late, not simple thanks greeting, but offering proper greeting would be human duty.
As resolution stood, heart became a little lighter.
Emiline rose from in front of the easel and took out a new canvas.
Banquet hall's flashy scenery drawing until just now pushed to one side.
Brush tip moved slowly.
First catching silhouette of collapsed wall, and putting shadow of a man standing in front of it.
Drawing the form of defensive summoning circle unfolded retracing memory, and capturing detailed posture spreading arms embracing herself.
Strong shoulder line.
Eyes not shaking even in explosion.
And even angle tilting body turning back to explosion to protect herself.
Emiline, immersed in things being drawn, moved the brush holding her breath.
Clearly it will be a not bad gift.
His gaze appreciating masterpiece in the banquet hall corridor was serious, and depth of conversation shared wasn't shallow.
If it's him who seemed to have knowledge about painting to some extent, at least he won't dislike it.
"Hum~ hum hum~"
Heart much more comfortable.
Humming flowing out for some reason.
Emiline drew the painting pouring soul without knowing time passing.
Let's hear the answer of that day conveying this gift.
Why he jumped in without hesitation even though it was a situation where his own life could be endangered.
As brush tip drew his eyes lastly, Emiline smiled quietly.
Smile formed without herself knowing.
Of course.
"Oh my?!"
...In the painting completed at the end of immersion, for some reason apricot color was full.
Hot—!
"Th, this is not iit!"
Emiline, possessed by artisan(?) breaking pottery, had to tear paintings several times that day.
Riiip—!