Chapter 44: Give Him Only to Me
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: Give Him Only to Me
“Good work, Arasen.”
“Oh, it was nothing! I’m just doing what I’m paid for!”
“You worked hard as well, Lady Narupa.”
“Hmm~ It feels like Alto did all the hard work, taking down that Serpent all by himself.”
“You came to pick us up, after all. And you made it possible for us to bring the Serpent back frozen.”
“Haha. This is the first time I’ve ever been thanked by a man. Usually, they all act like it’s only natural for me to serve them.”
Lady Narupa wore a look of utter exhaustion, the same expression Lady Airune made whenever the topic of men came up.
Immediately after arriving in Dakuren, we were all spent.
I thought we had traveled comfortably just sitting there, but it seemed leaving home is a burden in itself.
“There’s a lot of tedious stuff involved with the Serpent—the auction house, distribution, administrative procedures, and so on. If you don’t mind, I’ll handle it all. I’ll leave all the money from the sale with Rene for now.”
“Thank you.”
“I had to come to Dakuren for some magitech appliances anyway, so it works out.”
She was the same age as Lady Airune and apparently a childhood friend. Lady Narupa had a slightly lethargic air about her, but she was a considerate adult who took care of everything that needed doing.
As her swaying navy ponytail moved further away, I turned my attention to Arasen.
“You really went through a lot. Since you ended up on a fishing boat unexpectedly, I’ll give you a cut of the money from the Serpent sale.”
“A-ha! You really don’t have to! But it would be rude of me to refuse when you’re so insistent!”
“Haha.”
“Hahahaha! So, when exactly can I expect to receive it?”
She was terrifying.
Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes were dead serious. When it came to money, Arasen was sincere in every sense of the word.
“We did drop off the middle and tail sections of the Serpent at Massa Village, but the skull and other parts are still quite valuable. I expect the sale will be finalized within two weeks.”
“Understood! I’m always at the carriage station, so please come find me. If I’m out, just leave it with the station management!”
Despite the grueling five-day march that must have left her exhausted, Arasen immediately began maintaining the carriage Lady Narupa had provided.
Once she finished, she would likely head straight back to the station to wait for her next customer.
Did she say she was working this hard for her wedding fund?
Hard work is good, but I wished she’d take proper breaks for the sake of her health. The human body is a consumable; the price of overworking always comes due eventually.
Right!
Once the money from the Serpent comes in, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.
If I didn’t have a pretext like that, neither she nor I would probably rest for even an hour before looking for something else to do. Useless diligence is the easiest way to wear down the body.
“Good work, Alto.”
“You too, My Lady…”
“We’ve been pushing too hard. Let’s rest for a while.”
“Then, until when…?”
“I’ll contact you through Aslet once I’m feeling better.”
The Young Lady spoke bluntly and then approached Arasen.
“Arasen, if you don’t mind, could you take me to the Lord’s Castle? I’ll pay the fare.”
“The Lord’s Castle?! What business do you have there… Wait, could it be…?”
“Uh… yeah. Since an Imugi-class Serpent appeared in Massa Village, I’m required to report such anomalies directly to the castle.”
“A-ha! Since it’s a trip within the city, I’ll only charge thirty thousand Dalk!”
“Thanks.”
No, My Lady.
Thirty thousand Dalk is expensive. You can get there for fifteen thousand.
However, I ignored the uncomfortable truth, figuring it was fair since Arasen’s carriage was a premium model with interior upgrades.
I wonder what kind of expression I had as I watched the Young Lady’s retreating back.
I wasn’t sure.
I just felt a strange hollowness in the center of my chest.
* * *
Alto trudged toward his house on the outskirts of the city.
Watching him through long-range magic, Narupa suddenly realized she was surrounded by people.
“Lady Narupa! You remember me, right? I submitted the design for the magitech power amplifier last time!”
“Move! Lady Narupa, I have a proposal based on wind power generation…”
“I was here first! Get in line, in line!”
Unlike Airune Dakuren, who hid her status and whose face was unknown, Narupa was famous as a renowned magitech engineer and businesswoman in Hus.
Consequently, she was incredibly popular among magitech engineers who hadn’t made it into the Magic Tower or become mages but still pursued the magical arts. There were always people following her, desperate for her recognition.
Normally, Narupa was willing to make time to meet them one by one.
But today, she had a prior engagement.
“Step aside! The most handsome man in Hus, Lord Benjamin, has arrived! Women, clear the way!”
A group of women appeared and forcibly pushed aside the engineers in front of Narupa.
The engineers protested, but at the warning that a man was approaching, they grumbled and stepped aside.
At the end of the path the women had cleared stood a man who called himself the most handsome in Hus.
“Oh~ Lady Narupa. It has been quite some time.”
The man with long, dark blonde hair was a noble, just like Narupa and Airune.
However, Narupa couldn’t care less about his status.
“I thought you said it would be hard to see you for a while because of your research.”
The disgruntled magitech engineers, upon seeing the man, found their hearts fluttering despite themselves and blushed.
His well-sculpted features were enough to make the hearts of every woman present skip a beat.
Except for Narupa’s.
“It must be God’s will that we meet again in Dakuren. Or perhaps it is the reward for my earnest prayers to see you again.”
Narupa sighed as she watched Benjamin, who only ever said what he wanted to say.
The world was truly, truly broken.
To think that such “pretty boys” were praised as handsome.
“Lord Benjamin Lote, I’m sorry, but I have a prior engagement today.”
“Of course, you must be very busy with the advancement of magitech and bu~siness.”
Snap.
Benjamin elegantly placed his hand over his chest as if brushing back his hair.
“But where there is a heart, time will follow.”
“I have neither the heart nor the time.”
Benjamin staggered at Narupa’s immediate refusal, but he quickly regained his posture and laughed heartily.
“Heh, then I suppose I shall have to create both the heart and the time for you! Ho-ho-ho-ho!”
“Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!”
“Ho-ho-ho… ho…?”
“Bwahahahaha! Ho-ho-ho-ho!”
Benjamin frowned at the sound of someone laughing along with him.
But as he turned to vent his annoyance, he came face-to-face with Count Dakuus, who was wearing a sinister grin.
“Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!”
“C-Count?!”
Everyone gasped and scrambled as the de facto leader of Hus and a war veteran appeared.
Benjamin, in particular, turned pale and began to stammer.
“So, you’re going to create something from nothing? That’s quite interesting from a magitech perspective.”
“I… uh?”
“Go ahead, show me. If you can move Lady Narupa’s heart, I will gladly give up this prior engagement.”
“The… the prior engagement was with you, Count?!”
“That’s right. So, go on. Try it.”
Count Dakuus was genuinely curious, but thanks to his appearance—which was reminiscent of a villainous mastermind—he was driving Benjamin to the brink of tears.
“It would be disrespectful to a war veteran, so I… I shall take my leave!”
“Lord Benjamin Lote!”
As Benjamin tried to hurry away, Narupa called out to him.
At the urgent call of one of Hus’s most prominent beauties, Benjamin smiled inwardly and turned around elegantly.
“I knew it! Count, I am sorry, but since this is Lady Narupa’s wish, I’m afraid our engagement will have to wait until next time. I shall accompany Lady Narupa…”
“Unless it’s for official business, please do not show your face in front of me ever again.”
“Do not show my face… what?”
“I’m sorry to have to say this, My Lord.”
Narupa shoved her hands into her pockets and answered languidly.
“You aren’t my type.”
“Not your type?”
“Yes. Not even close.”
He had been dumped.
Benjamin, the self-proclaimed most handsome man in Hus.
Benjamin’s entourage and the surrounding magitech engineers were all frozen in shock.
“Then.”
Benjamin did not back down quietly.
“Then what exactly is your ideal type, Lady Narupa!”
He wanted to see just how high her standards were.
Narupa grinned and began to recite her ideal type.
“A man with a broad, clean, and smooth forehead.”
“My forehead is like that as well!”
“A man with tanned skin, yet so supple and lustrous that you just want to touch it.”
“Ahem! Surely fair skin like mine is much better?”
“The tip of his nose should be sharp, but the sides should be rounded and pleasant to look at.”
“Wouldn’t my nose, with its high bridge, be sufficient?”
“A twisted corner of the mouth that gives off a melancholic, decadent smile. A man who draws me in with that, but then gives me—and only me—a pure, unadorned smile.”
As she listed her ideal conditions like a monologue, Benjamin wore his signature greasy smile.
But Narupa’s eyes weren’t on him.
“Above all, eyes that don’t droop but have immense depth. That’s the best part. I could spend an entire day just staring into those eyes.”
She was simply salivating at the thought of the man in her head.
“If it’s depth of gaze you want, I won’t lose to anyone. There’s hardly any difference except for skin color, so why on earth are you rejecting me, Lady Narupa!”
Narupa’s reverie was interrupted.
Should I just let him have it?
It was a dilemma she faced countless times in her life.
But she held back. That wasn’t the image people expected of her.
“The ‘depth’ I’m talking about is in the pupils, you see?”
“I also…!”
“Now then.”
Count Dakuus’s rough hand gripped the shoulder of Benjamin, who was trying to push his luck again.
“Shall we show some courtesy and respect for the time of a war veteran and Lady Narupa?”
“…My apologies.”
Tsk.
Narupa and Dakuus both clicked their tongues inwardly at the same time.
A man who was strong against the weak and weak against the strong—he wasn’t even worth a husk compared to Alto.
As the man fled into the distance, Count Dakuus offered his arm, and Narupa took it, leaning on the man who had been like a father to her since she was young.
“That ideal type you just mentioned… was it that Alto fellow?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The two walked toward a reserved cafe room, engaging in rare small talk.
“Is he the man you mentioned in your letter as a potential husband for me?”
“He is. What do you think?”
“I like him.”
The Countess doted more on the spoiled but endlessly cheerful Airune.
On the other hand, Count Dakuus looked after the mature Narupa more.
It wasn’t that they were playing favorites, but their personalities simply meshed better.
However, Narupa, whose nerves had been frayed by Benjamin, was reaching the limit of her patience.
Especially since this matter involved Airune, her wall of patience was even thinner.
“I want to make him mine.”
“My Lady?”
Count Dakuus looked at her in surprise at her uncharacteristically harsh words.
“I can do that, right, Count? I want him. I want to have him all to myself.”
“Lady Narupa.”
“I’ve yielded a lot until now. So, don’t give him to Rune. Give him only to me.”
The madness and obsession dwelling in her eyes were of a completely different nature than what Dakuus had seen in Bisharen Diberuper in the past.