Chapter 110 - The Start of the Semester (2)
The Start of the Semester (2)
Translator: XZY
Chapter 110: The Start of the Semester (2)
***
Pinne was a 6-Star necromancer, a figure Derek had known about even before he came to this world filled with magic.
Even he, who had little interest in game-like settings, couldn't help but have heard of Pinne, as the global ripple or influence she would cause in the future was something that could not be ignored.
The number of 6-Star mages was small enough to be counted on one hand, and among them, she was a master of the forbidden art of necromancy.
She was a queen amidst a pile of corpses, dealing with grudges and the dead, casually stepping into the realm of the forbidden, and smiling grimly amidst slaughter and ecstasy.
She could not be killed.
Having already manifested the 6-Star necromancy spell 'Imprint of Reincarnation,' even if she lost that body, she would be born again as a descendant of some noble house while maintaining her soul.
She was a being who had repeated the process of starting her life anew with all her memories, experiences, and magical talents intact several times, so no one knew how old she was.
'Contacting Viscountess Rodeia wouldn't be a very good method either.'
After asking for Aiseline's understanding, Derek, who was sitting alone in his office lost in thought, had an even more serious look in his eyes.
She was a hero who had declared that if he found a clue about a 6-Star necromancer, he must send a letter, and that she would come to kill them, betting her all.
She was a reliable person… but in truth, she was not of much help at this point in time.
Not only would he be unable to prove that Pinne was that necromancer right away just by calling her, but even if he did prove it, killing her was not a very wise decision.
It was better now that he at least knew Pinne was that necromancer, but if she used the magic of reincarnation again here and hid her identity once more, he would not even be able to track her.
No, in the first place, it was uncertain whether she could even be killed.
Derek leaned back in his chair and swept a hand over his face.
In any case, if Pinne was left alone, she would either disappear into seclusion on her own, or be sealed by Drest or Melverot and imprisoned in the underground of the imperial capital.
There seemed to be no need to provoke her, but even so, he didn't want to leave a legendary necromancer wandering around the Ravencrow Barony. Considering what had happened in the Duplein family, he couldn't take it lightly at all.
In the first place, why would that legendary necromancer, who had already reached the pinnacle of magic, come to a training school like this?
He couldn't understand it from that point on, but in fact, it wasn't that difficult to guess the reason.
'The main family probably thought it was about time to prepare her for her high society debut. From her perspective of hiding her identity, she wouldn't have been able to just say no.'
If the head of the Tigris Barony had decided to send her, as long as she was hiding her identity, she would have had no choice but to move as instructed.
That's how she ended up attending a training school she had no business being in.
He didn't know what kind of impression to leave on this ironic situation, but for now, calmly establishing a countermeasure was the priority.
'Trying to do something with force is a foolish idea.'
She was an opponent that even Melverot, the hegemon of the North, had to risk his life against.
Therefore, he had no choice but to deal with her in a different way.
The fortunate thing was that he knew a little about her situation.
Pinne's ultimate goal was to complete the advanced art of corpse revival and resurrect the 6-Star mage, Kalimpod.
Until she achieved that goal, she would hide her identity and try to act as a proper young lady while infiltrating noble society.
It meant that although she would reveal her true colors if cornered, she would at least not want to cause unnecessary friction.
In the first place, she was probably attending the Ravencrow Training School because her family had instructed her to, so she herself probably didn't want to attend a training school that taught such basic magic.
Therefore, the conclusion was more or less set.
Regardless of military power, Derek's social authority was far superior.
Derek was the master of a house, and she was just a spirited young lady from a rural frontier family.
Derek was the director of the Ravencrow Training School, and she was just a student who came to ask for learning.
Derek was a renowned instructor in Ebelstein's high society, and she was just a heavenly maiden who had not even made her high society debut.
If so… crush her with social authority….
Derek made a frightening expression.
Clenching his fists one over the other and resting the bridge of his nose on them… he flashed his eyes in the dark room.
"Find a pretext and expel her."
He had to protect the Ravencrow Barony, at the very least.
His will was blazing fiercely.
<><><>
On the opening day of the Ravencrow Training School, the retainers of the Barony began to move busily from early in the morning.
Today alone, more than thirty distinguished guests would visit the Barony.
Since each and every one of them were figures who had grown up like queens in their respective territories, there could be no mistakes in their reception.
Moreover, they were not just staying for a day or two; most of them would be living in the large dormitory building built on one side of the mansion.
Many of them came accompanied by their personal retainers or servants, but it was still necessary to assign additional servants to each person.
As a result, the number of servants under the command of the head butler, Delbritten, was approaching nearly fifty.
'I thought I had come to a promising mansion as a head butler, but to think the scale would become this large already…'
Head Butler Delbritten was wiping the dust off the gold chain of his monocle.
In the dawn hours when the sun was just beginning to rise, a strange sense of emptiness was felt when he came out to the garden where the chirping of birds could be heard.
In this place that had been just a small mansion, at some point, a large garden, a three-story dormitory building for noble young ladies to live in, a classroom building for classes, a building to be used as an auditorium and magic practice hall, a separate annex for the retainers who came with the distinguished guests, a stable and an open space, and other miscellaneous facilities were all in place.
These were not facilities that could be prepared in a few months, but when Aiseline, with her sleeves rolled up, pushed forward with crazy momentum, she really managed to do it.
'I don't think even the executive officer of the Rochest territory was this much…'
Watching Aiseline handle her work while sleeping less than four hours a day, it was to the point where he couldn't distinguish whether she was a noble young lady or an imperial official.
As he came out to the garden with such a sense of awe, that very Lady Aiseline was sitting on a garden bench.
"Ah, Lady Aiseline."
"Oh my, Head Butler. It's still so early, but you're already awake."
"You haven't slept?"
"What? Of course not. I couldn't possibly not sleep on a day as important as today. I got a little over two hours of sleep earlier. It was a bit stuffy in my room, so I came out to get some dawn air."
At the sight of Aiseline smiling sweetly as she said that, Delbritten felt a certain fear beyond awe.
What defines a person's strength?
Outstanding physical strength, gushing mana, strong charisma… all could be its components.
However, he did not know how to define the strength that the girl named Aiseline possessed.
Delbritten was a veteran who had lived a long life and experienced many people, but he felt an inexplicable eeriness from the sight of Aiseline sitting on a corner of the garden with her hands neatly on her knees.
She slept for about two hours? Was that really enough?
The intellectual aura emanating from her bright eyes was not that of someone who had stayed up all night.
Even diligence, when it went beyond a certain point, was bound to evoke fear.
"Actually… I've become a bit… empty."
"Pardon? Wh-what do you mean by empty… isn't today the day that all of Lady Aiseline's hard work pays off?"
"Th-that's true, but…"
Aiseline nodded her head and then finally said with difficulty.
"When I woke up this morning, there were no documents to review, no ledgers to approve. And there wasn't anything specific to study either. Finance, statecraft, basics of magic… the books in the mansion have all more or less caught my eye… the tea ceremony and continental language books are at the main house, so I can't look at them now… I've memorized all the personal information of the servants and students too…"
"……"
"Come to think of it, since I've handled all the work that needed to be done, there's probably nothing more to review regarding the mansion's work. The schedule for the opening day has also been reviewed several times… I went out to the vegetable garden to see the crops, but there were no pests, they seemed to have enough nutrients, they didn't seem to need more water, and the leaves were green… I went out to review the work situation of the servants, but there was nothing to point out… the paperwork is all finished too…"
"…."
"Strange… why is there no work to do… truly… strange……… why… why is there no work to do…."
Delbritten swallowed dryly with a pale expression.
He felt like he could understand why the mansion's squires sometimes called her a monster of diligence.
"Ah, Delbritten-ssi. By any chance, the dishes that were left after the tea party last night. Have they all been cleared away already? Is the dishwashing done too?"
"No matter what, I cannot entrust the dishwashing of the dishes to a young lady…"
"Right… then, I saw some dust had collected in Derek-ssi's personal study…"
"The cleaning duties are the same. Lady Aiseline. Please be aware of your status."
"Th-there's no high or low in work, you know."
"...There is a high and low in work."
"I'm a fallen young lady."
"A fallen young lady is still a young lady."
When Delbritten spoke firmly, Aiseline became discouraged with a look of disappointment.
He knew about her workaholic tendencies, but looking at it like this, it really seemed like she was determined to take on all the mansion's work by herself.
Aiseline let out a deep sigh and then nodded her head while sitting on the bench.
"Yes… then I'll just rest comfortably without doing anything…"
"..."
"Should I just write the letters to send to the main house… and the status of the support funds…"
Even though it hadn't been long since she said she would rest, at some point, she had taken out a quill pen and parchment and was checking the status of the support funds to be sent to the Duplein side.
Since Derek had decided to grant her a portion of the funds that came in from the operation of the training school, she was planning to use it for the reconstruction funds of the Duplein family.
Perhaps if the income of the training school increased, the amount she sent to the Duplein family would naturally grow as well.
The world was full of rumors that the Duplein family was collapsing.
'I wonder, really…'
Delbritten adjusted his monocle while watching Aiseline move her quill pen.
"Come to think of it, didn't the young ladies of the three great families decide to visit for today's opening ceremony?"
In the end, Lady Aiseline was a person who was at ease only when she had work.
Therefore, a task that only she could do was needed.
"Yes, now that you mention it, that's right."
"Aren't they people you often saw at the Rosea Salon? It would probably be best for Lady Aiseline to personally greet such distinguished guests. Lady Denise of the Beltus family… and Lady Elente of the Belmeade family."
At those words, Aiseline's diligently moving quill pen stopped with a whoosh.
"..."
"Lady Aiseline?"
Elente of Belmeade was coming.
As if she was pricked by something at that fact, this time, Aiseline's expression began to gradually worsen.
<><><>
"Oh my, hello, Lady Aiseline. You left the Belmeade mansion so suddenly that we couldn't even say a proper farewell."
How long had it been since the former three members of the Rosea Salon gathered in one place?
They were the three who had always seen each other at the Elfontaine Hall in Ebelstein.
Aiseline, Elente, and Denise were now gathered in a tea room in the annex of the Ravencrow Barony, sharing a pleasant conversation.
At the central gate of the mansion, the luxurious carriages of the young ladies newly entering the Ravencrow Training School were arriving one after another.
Since the main building was in such a hectic state, the three of them had no choice but to enter the annex and take a rest.
In a way, they were welcome faces.
Although Ebelstein's high society was like walking on thin ice, there was still a strange kind of affection left between the three members of the Rosea Salon.
However, their positions had changed a lot.
Aiseline, who had always been the star of the show and maintained the most authoritative appearance, had become the weakest in terms of influence.
On top of that, she was fidgeting with her hands on her knees as if she had done something wrong, holding an awkward posture.
Elente, who had always observed the situation, grasped the atmosphere, and just went along with it, for some reason, had a cross-shaped vein popping on her forehead and was smiling brightly. She looked as if she was angry.
Denise, who met the two of them after a long time, still looked annoyed, with her half-moon eyes open, and swept her hair back.
'What is this…?'
She instinctively felt that there had been a change between the two, but it was a situation where it was difficult to grasp exactly what had happened right away.
In particular, she clearly felt that Elente's attitude was strangely odd, but she couldn't quite imagine what the cause might be.
Of course, if she were to learn the whole truth, the first person to faint would be Denise herself.
However, sadly, for now, everything was a mystery.
She just wanted to finish her work moderately and go home to lie down in bed.
However, it did not take long for even such a Denise to turn serious and look at the two of them alternately.