The Spirit Mage's Mansion (2)
Rudy decided he was done running away.
By now, even he should have learned his lesson.
This made it the tenth time.
Wake up, make a break for it, and get knocked out cold by a backhanded swipe from that damned hamster spirit.
Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve this…
When he came to for the eleventh time, Rudy had asked the passing maids who that woman was.
Rose Eswell.
Head of the Eswell Ducal Family, located in the Lien Spirit Kingdom. This was her mansion, and she was the kingdom's Great Spirit Mage — facts he now understood all too well.
Which only deepened the mystery.
Why on earth did she kidnap me?
A Great Spirit Mage was a special existence, honored in every nation on the continent. Swordmasters and Archmages were rare too, but not quite on that level — spirit arts could only be wielded by those chosen by the spirits themselves.
So why would someone like her do something that would stain her own image, going so far as to abduct him?
…Unable to fathom her intentions, Rudy had no choice but to wait obediently and lose himself in thought until she deigned to appear.
"So you've finally given up on running?"
"……"
Evening had fallen when Rose pushed open the door and strolled in. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, chuckling like she was enjoying the best show in town.
"In ten years as a spirit mage, I've never met anyone like you."
"And in twenty years of my life, I've never met anyone like you either."
"…? Where do you get off lying? One look at you and anyone can tell you're not an adult."
"……"
It wasn't a lie. The body he now inhabited was seventeen, but back in his old world, he'd been twenty-three. Since there was no way she'd believe that explanation, Rudy deflected with a different question.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Hmm? Because it's fun?"
"You're an actual psychopath."
"Anyway, want to come with me for a bit? There's something I need you to do."
"No."
"Hmm…"
From somewhere out of sight, the hamster spirit emerged from behind Rose, eyes bulging.
"Ugh… please get that thing out of here. I have PTSD."
You'd call my precious baby 'that thing'? Your soul hasn't learned its les— hoo, never mind."
Rose started walking down the corridor, tossing a final remark over her shoulder.
"You have five minutes to get down to the mansion courtyard."
"……"
Rudy had no choice but to go. He hauled his aching body upright and made his way down to the spacious courtyard, where Rose was already waiting, arms crossed, right in front of him.
"You're late."
"You're the one who knocked me out how many times? It's not easy dragging a body that hasn't moved in da—"
"Spare me the whining. Show me that thing from back then."
"……?"
That thing from back then?
Noticing that Rudy had no idea what she meant, Rose sighed and elaborated.
"The swordsmanship you used when you took down that tree spirit corrupted by dark magic. I want to see it."
"Ah. Hmm. If I show you, will you send me home?"
"No."
"……"
Her sheer shamelessness left him speechless. Well. Nothing for it.
"Haah…"
Rudy drew Drakan from his waist and let his magic power surge forth. Ten days' worth of accumulated power, layered in his dantian without being spent, overflowed in a torrent. A few seconds after Rudy focused—
Using Lunar Qi.
Current remaining Lunar Qi: 40%
Aura boiling up from his dantian, and with it, a faint silver glow began to suffuse the masterwork blade Drakan.
Moonlight.
The Lunar Qi gathered from the full moon in the Forest of Dead Mist. The same formless light that had felled the tree spirit was now kindling at the edge of Rudy's blade.
"……"
Rose watched him in silence. Her face betrayed nothing, but inside, she was reeling.
…I've never heard of power like that. Never even seen it.
Since becoming Great Spirit Mage, she'd crossed paths with countless swordsmen and mages of every stripe — but she had never once experienced magic power like this. What structure drove it? What form of energy was this, exactly?
"Kya-ang?"
Then it happened.
"Huh? Wh-what…! Why is it suddenly doing that?!"
"…Poopi?"
The moment Rudy released his Lunar Qi, the hamster spirit that had been lurking behind Rose toddled right up to him and began nuzzling and licking his cheek.
…Poopi's supposed to be wary of every human except me?
Something was off. As if reuniting with an old friend, the hamster spirit kept showering Rudy with affection and aegyo.
"Poopi, come back here!"
"Kya-aaang?"
Clinging to Rudy like a burr, the spirit flatly refused to obey. This was definitely strange.
Back then, that power thinned out the dark magic — and the instant he used it, Poopi started acting like this… something's not right.
It couldn't be a form of dark magic. The dark mana used by the Eclipse Cult, that nation-terrorizing syndicate, was similar in appearance — but it was fouler, more sinister, more malevolent. This power, on the other hand, was impossibly bright and mystic. Simply looking at it made her mind feel cleansed.
"…Fine. Hmph."
"Kya-aaang?"
Whoosh.
The hamster spirit's form grew fainter and fainter, then vanished entirely. Rose had released the summoning.
"You. Cut this thing with that power of yours."
"What's with the sudden attitude? Don't tell me… were you jealous?"
"What? It's not like that. Shut up and cut this!"
"……"
If it's not, it's not — so why are you getting mad?
Could it be about the other day? Rudy swallowed the words before they could escape, and with a resigned sigh, released his Lunar Qi once more. And then—
The power of the moon is reacting to dark magic.
…The power of the moon? Does it mean Lunar Qi?
With a soft swish, Rudy cleaved through something Rose had tossed at him.
It was a wooden staff. The moment the staff — radiating that same sinister aura — split in two beneath his blade, its ominous energy stopped as if it had never been. Just an ordinary staff again, nothing more.
Watching this, Rose's pupils dilated.
"…Where did you get that power?"
"Hmm, I got it from the moon."
"The moon?"
"Yes. The records said only members of my family can use it, and that the power is restored from the moonlight."
In truth, it was a power only Rudy himself could use — but with no better explanation in mind, he brushed over the details.
"Where are these records?"
"I burned the whole place to the ground, records and all."
"…You're actually insane."
"Takes one to know one, doesn't it? You kidnapped a complete stranger."
"Shut it. Anyway, I have things to think about, so we're done here."
"Oh! So you're sending me home?"
"Are you crazy? Back to the mansion."
"……"
That little wretch. Watching Rose march off, having said only what she wanted to say, Rudy flicked a double middle finger at her retreating back.
And at that exact moment—
"Ah, one more thing I should tell y—"
"……"
"……"
Caught red-handed by Rose, who had turned around, Rudy could not utter a single word.
Son of a bitch. What kind of spirit mage hits this hard…
The maids were applying salve to the bruises blooming over every inch of Rudy's body. The instant his double middle finger had been spotted, Rose had beaten him black and blue with her staff. She was so fast and so strong that you'd believe she were a swordsman, judging by her physical abilities alone.
Which made sense. Great Spirit Mage was not a title granted to just anyone. It required a certain threshold of power and magic alike, and the strength to protect oneself as an asset of the nation. Judged by the realms of swordsmanship or magic, Rose was at least 5-Star.
"Your treatment is finished, young master. …Don't you dare talk back to Lady Rose again. She's famous for her temper."
"I figured as much. But what am I supposed to do? I'm quite short-tempered myself."
"Still…"
Rudy was chatting idly with the maid when—
BANG!
Rose flung the door open and strode in, early in the morning this time.
"Hey, get ready to move out. We're heading to my territory."
"My name is Kang Baek… no, Rudy. Address me by my name."
"Make me."
"……"
Rudy resolved, then and there, to grow strong enough to make that woman beg for her life one day. It was a genuinely resolute resolution.
Clack. Clack-
Inside the carriage Rose had prepared in advance.
"……"
"……"
Only silence filled the journey. Rose rested her cheek on one hand, gazing out the window, lost in some deep thought, while Rudy lay sprawled across the seat like a man who had given up on everything, staring blankly at the carriage ceiling.
It was Rudy who broke the silence first.
"So where exactly are we going?"
"My territory."
"Speaking of territory — are you actually the head of a ducal house?"
"Yep."
"Then things just got easier. I already have your confession… the moment I escape, I'm reporting this and making it public. The head of House Eswell abducted and imprisoned me without cause. It'll reach your family too — surely you're not comfortable with that?"
"My family's all dead."
"……"
Why do I feel like I'm the one who owes an apology, when I'm the one who should be receiving one?
Rudy found himself with nothing left to say.
…Before long, the carriage rolled to a stop, and they arrived at a certain place. An old, run-down house. The moment they stepped down from the carriage, Rose pushed open its door and went inside, and Rudy followed her in silence.
"Milord…? Cough, cough!"
"Stay lying down. You don't need to get up."
Rose stopped the owner of the house as he struggled to raise himself from bed. As Rudy wondered why on earth he'd been brought here—
"Cough! Cough!!"
"……"
His question was answered a few seconds later, all at once. Wisps of black haze were smoldering up from the homeowner's body. It was the exact same energy as the staff — that sinister, crackling aura Rose had made him cut down just hours before.
The power of the moon is reacting to dark magic.
The same status window from when he'd cut the staff flickered before Rudy's eyes.
I know it's supposed to be a special power only the protagonist can use, but… Because he'd transmigrated into a game so new that no strategy guides existed yet, even Rudy wasn't entirely sure why his Lunar Qi reacted to that dark magic.
While he pondered, Rose approached him.
"Rudy."
Not 'hey' — his actual name, spoken properly by Rose for the first time. It was courtesy, he supposed — a lord keeping ugly rumors from spreading. And before Rudy could even react to that, Rose pressed on quickly.
"Can you do something about that aura itself, not just cutting it?"
"Cough! Cough—!"
"……"
The homeowner writhed in agony, flesh wasted away to bare bone. The dark magic had drained his life force so thoroughly that he looked ready to collapse at any moment. Seeing him like this, Rudy couldn't bring himself to refuse like before.
"I can't promise anything, but… let me take a look."
As Rudy drew near the homeowner, the status window reacted even more violently — and so did Rudy's own body. As he closed in on the dark magic, that black haze, the two forces recoiled from each other as if in mutual disgust: the Lunar Qi within Rudy, and the dark magic implanted in the homeowner's body, swirling against one another with growing ferocity.
Purify?
Remaining Lunar Qi: 20%
"…Actually, it looks like treatment might be possible."
"R-really? Cough!"
"Then hurry up and do it!"
"Yes, well…"
Rudy still resented Rose's commanding tone, but this hardly seemed the moment to quibble in front of a dying man. Without another word, he reached out his hand. And then—
Fwoooosh!
Just like when he swung his Lunar Qi-laden blade, a brilliant light burst forth from Rudy's body in an instant.
"Ooooh…!"
Color flooded back into the homeowner's face at astonishing speed, and the ominous magic withered away bit by bit — until it was gone completely.
All Lunar Qi has been consumed.
Remaining Lunar Qi: 0%
Astonished, the homeowner stretched and rolled his arms this way and that as if he couldn't believe it, then sprang to his feet. He had been made whole again. Gripping Rudy's hands in both of his, he said:
"Even the priests at the cathedral nearby said there was nothing to be done, and yet… *sniff*… thank you, lad. Now I can tend my fields again. My family won't have to work the night shift in my place anymore! You've given my family its livelihood back!"
"N-no, it was nothing. I'm just glad you're well again."
"……"
Rose watched the scene in silence. Her expression, as ever, betrayed nothing — but inside, it was another story.
…This is incredible.
Anyone exposed to the dark magic scattered by the Eclipse Cult died within days unless they received a priest's healing. The homeowner's corruption had already progressed past the halfway mark — even a high priest arriving then would have been helpless.
And yet.
"Please, take this — a token of my gratitude!"
"Oh, you really don't have to… actually, no, wait. I do have debts to repay—"
"A young lad in debt? Then all the more reason to take it!"
"Ugh…"
Rudy had healed the homeowner as casually as swatting a fly — a man who, in truth, could have died the very next day. Rose's lips curled into a slow smile.
Could it be… that insolent brat is…
He might be the clue. The Eclipse Cult… and the power of the moon….
So the world isn't entirely heartless after all.
Even with an Archmage, a Swordmaster, and herself — a Great Spirit Mage — pooling their strength, those wretches had clung on stubbornly, still locked in a grinding war. But now, she could feel it: this time, there was a real chance to tear them out by the roots.
Rose walked over to Rudy, who was still lost in thought.
"Hey."
"…What is it now?"
"You in debt or something?"