Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Minerva's Interest
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“So, you’re the child Kaikilia took such a liking to?”
The woman called Minerva rose from her seat. The first thing that caught my eye was her staggeringly tall stature, on par with Claudia’s.
Claudia was taller than most men, and Minerva was about the same—off by maybe the width of a finger, or we could just call it equal.
And that was all I could make out.
Long white hair cascading down to her ankles, her gender as a woman, and a vague impression of her face. Everything else was right in front of me, yet impossible to perceive.
“Stay still for a moment, dear?”
Before I knew it, Minerva was right in front of me—I hadn’t even sensed her approach. She let out a soft “hmm” and began examining me from every angle.
“...Truly peculiar. Mana and faith coexisting in harmony. It’s said to be impossible within a human body...”
Minerva circled around me, muttering nonstop. From the snippets I caught, she was fascinated by how mana and faith were both dwelling inside me.
For me, it was just a matter of allocating stats and watching the abilities rise on their own. But for people in this world, raising stats required systematic training, so no wonder it amazed her.
If you couldn’t allocate faith after picking mana first, or vice versa, that’d be a seriously flawed system. At least within the Brnyk series, anyway.
‘Oh right, I still need to distribute my stat points.’
After granting Lucia peace in the Abyss Dungeon and taking down the DLC’s final forsaken creation of the gods, I must’ve racked up a massive amount of experience.
Even conservatively, at least 20 points, maybe more. With that many stat points, dumping them all into Strength and ditching the Bloodied Sword for a new weapon wasn’t a bad idea.
Weapon enhancement would soon be available in this city, so the time to set aside the Bloodied Sword was fast approaching.
“There, that’s enough. I can certainly see why Kaikilia dotes on you so much.”
While I was lost in thoughts of stat distribution, Minerva finished her observation and stepped back a few paces. I couldn’t make out her expression, but her voice was unmistakably excited.
Minerva, who had been deep in thought, suddenly turned to Iris.
“Iris, mind if I ask a favor?”
“Yes, Lady Minerva. What is it?”
Iris replied in a tightly strung voice. Ignoring her tension, Minerva casually walked over and linked her arm with my right one.
“I’d like to borrow this child for a bit.”
“...You mean Delta?”
The knight captains’ first reaction upon hearing that was shock. Their varied eyes went wide.
As the shock faded, their gazes shifted to ‘What crazy thing has he done now?’ They seemed convinced I’d pulled off something incredible behind their backs.
But this time, I was innocent. I’d never done anything to attract Minerva’s attention.
I hadn’t brought her a grimoire or gone down the mage tech path, so I was the one wondering why she was acting like this.
“There’s no issue on our end, but shouldn’t you ask Delta himself?”
“Ask the child directly? How amusing. As knight captains, surely you can order a new recruit to follow me?”
The knight captains’ faces turned to expressions of bewilderment, clearly puzzled about what I even was to them.
“Well, that’s true, but...”
Iris hesitated unusually. The other three reacted similarly.
They’d always made requests or suggestions rather than outright orders, or I’d taken the lead myself, so this situation felt unfamiliar.
Minerva watched us with a chuckling smile before turning my way.
“Since Iris insists, I suppose I’ll ask directly. What do you think, my dear child?”
“I don’t mind. Though, may I ask the reason?”
The only difference was that Minerva had come to me instead of the other way around—this was just something I’d have faced eventually, sped up a little.
No harm in agreeing.
“Of course, dear. I can explain every little detail, or just the three biggest reasons—pick whichever you prefer.”
“...The latter, please.”
I timidly chose the second option. I didn’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath of the first.
Someone with that personality would likely ramble on about every trivial reason until it drained your soul. Source: my gut feeling.
“First, I noticed why Kaikilia is so taken with you. Second, you pulled off something huge in the Holy Kingdom to have the popes personally escort you here. Third, those two reasons sparked my personal curiosity. Does that explain it?”
“Wait, Lady Minerva. The popes personally brought the knight captains here? For real?”
Aurora, who’d been quietly sipping tea, suddenly jumped in with a startled voice.
“Why would I lie about this? It’s true. The popes, who hadn’t shown their faces in years, suddenly used holy spells themselves to bring you all here.”
Aurora’s golden eyes turned to me. Just like the knight captains, it was a ‘What did you do?’ glare. She didn’t need details to pin it on me.
And she wasn’t wrong, so I had nothing to say. I averted my eyes guiltily, which only sharpened her gaze.
“Now, may I take the child, Aurora? Don’t worry—it won’t take long.”
“...Why ask me? You’ve already finished talking with Delta.”
“We just reunited after so long; we haven’t even properly chatted. Leaving now would leave our dear Aurora quite upset, wouldn’t it?”
“...”
Aurora’s face flushed red. Her hand holding the teacup trembled.
“We’ll be back soon, so don’t wait blindly—entertain yourselves without us for a bit.”
A blue magic circle appeared beneath Minerva and me. The moment I noticed, it glowed blue, and my vision drowned in azure.
The distinctive floating sensation of teleportation hit.
“...”
The knight captains stared blankly at the spot where Delta and Minerva had vanished in a swirl of blue light, frozen in place after a mere blink.
Their minds couldn’t keep up.
The Tower Master Minerva—or the Eternal Mage Minerva—was renowned in the empire as a mage of immense power and status, second only to the emperor, or perhaps his equal.
For such a person to suddenly appear at Aurora’s mansion and whisk Delta away out of personal interest? No wonder they were dumbfounded.
While the knight captains stood stunned, a group of maids bustled in, efficiently clearing the table, setting out fresh teacups at proper intervals, and pouring steaming green tea into each one with precise movements.
Quivering wisps of steam rose from the last cups before they finally stopped.
“What’re you doing? Sit down. You gonna stand there forever?”
At Aurora’s words, the knight captains snapped out of it. Once all four were seated on the sofas by their teacups, Aurora crossed her legs elegantly.
“How was the Holy Kingdom? Why’d the popes summon you?”
“...There were a few incidents.”
“Because of Delta?”
Iris nodded curtly. Aurora continued in a tone that said she already knew.
“It’s fine—tell me everything. You’ve already wrapped up whatever it was. I’ve got time.”
She emphasized “everything.”
The knight captains exchanged glances. Aurora wanted the full story, but one incident was a bit awkward to share.
Naturally, it was about Lize and Delta.
—Lady, she said tell everything. Can I mention you and Delta getting it on?
—You think that’s okay?
—Too bad. She’d definitely be super interested.
Lize and Claudia were acting suspiciously like they were hiding a huge secret—not even trying to conceal it, almost flaunting it.
Aurora wouldn’t ignore such an intriguing exchange. Erika and Iris sighed deeply as curiosity lit her golden eyes.
One blink, and the scenery changed. I looked around.
“Where...”
“The top floor of the mage tower, dear. My bedroom.”
It was a space I had no memory of.
The Minerva mage tower I remembered was a nightmare of twisted layouts, brutal mob placements, and disorienting chaos magic that flew at you out of nowhere, enough to make anyone curse.
A plush-looking bed, softly lit candles, a wooden desk with a few sheets of parchment, a matching wooden table, and simple curtains—this humble, peaceful room was beyond my imagination.
Minerva pulled some cookies from a cupboard and returned to the table. The chair slid back on its own with a scrape—inviting me to sit. I obediently took the seat.
Minerva sat across from me and placed the cookies on the table.
“I can fetch something else if you’d like—just say. Or maybe the child prefers something a bit sweeter?”
“This is fine. So, what do I need to do now?”
“First, let me tell you something. If there’s coming, there must be going, right?”
Minerva raised her right index finger.
“...Yeah, sure.”
“It’s only natural, so no hesitation. In exchange for satisfying my curiosity, I’ll share two pieces of information with you.”
She extended her index and middle fingers, then grabbed her chin with her other hand before pointing her index finger again.
“One: why Kaikilia spared Aurora’s father and overlooked his atrocities.”
She paused, keeping her index extended as her finger touched her middle one.
“The other: the true nature of the restoration magic on the cathedral.”