Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Translator: XZY
Chapter 72: Northbound (4)
***
Ssak, ssak—
The sound of Derek’s boots crunching on the snow was heard.
In the snowfield where a blizzard was raging, Derek, who eventually emerged toward the carriage, was carrying Lady Siern slung over his shoulder.
Her limp, flopping appearance was as if he had captured the corpse of some wild animal, and all the servants gathered at the scene trembled with their eyes wide.
“I apologize for the commotion.”
“N-no... this... how...”
Lady Siern was spinning her eyes, unable to even collect her wits.
It was unknown what kind of exchange had occurred between her and Derek in the blizzard where visibility was almost nil, but aside from a single streak of blood flowing from his temple, Derek did not have a single scratch on him.
‘He subdued Lady Siern, who is practically on par with a 3-Star mage, that easily...?’
The head butler Layton looked at Derek with eyes of disbelief, but Derek, without even a hint of caring, asked with Siern still slung over his shoulder.
“The carriage seems to be completely broken. Is there much distance left to the Rochest mansion?”
“Ah, no... It’s not so far that we can’t go on foot. It will be a bit of a struggle because the weather is rough, but...”
“Then let’s go quickly.”
And so, Derek strode off and headed into the blizzard.
It seemed he thought nothing of this level of severe cold.
<><><>
Tadak, tadak—
The Rochest mansion looked like a spire that had soared up in the middle of a blizzard.
The scale of the architecture itself was considerable, but being a building in a harsh environment, even its grandeur seemed to have faded.
Unlike the Duplein mansion, where one had to be overwhelmed by the giant garden upon entering, the Rochest mansion felt as though everything was made for practicality.
Considering that it was a frequent occurrence for demonic beasts to pop out and raid the mansion whenever they were bored, it was a natural thing.
“You’ve had a hard time as soon as you arrived in the Rochest territory. From the head butler’s position, I have nothing but shame.”
“Not at all. I have come to know well what kind of person Lady Siern is, so it is fine.”
It seemed to be the custom of the people of this region to guide guests to the front of a bonfire first when they arrived from a distant place.
Derek, who was warming his body while sitting in front of a fireplace larger than a person’s body, waved his hand dismissively as the head butler brought the servants over and greeted him politely.
“Where is Lady Siern?”
“She is unconscious, so we have laid her down in her private room in the spire for now.”
“I suppose I should go pay her a visit. Since we’ll be seeing each other’s faces often now.”
The head butler swallowed a dry gulp of saliva as he looked at Derek.
It was an appearance of maintaining his composure even after seeing Lady Siern, who had charged at him without warning on their first meeting and launched a perilous attack.
If he had been a half-baked mage, he would have been done for right away. In reality, there were quite a few incidents where Lady Siern had ambushed high-level mages who were off their guard and inflicted moderate to severe injuries.
“Sh-she’s even more ferocious than I thought. I don’t know if I’ll be able to play my part...”
Aiseline, who was warming herself by the fire behind Derek, said in a dispirited voice.
Now that she had come all the way to the north, it seemed to be sinking in for her. This place was different from its very foundation from the Duplein territory, where everything was plentiful and beautiful.
She had cheerfully exclaimed that they should give her anything to do because she needed the money urgently, but now that she had actually come face to face with Lady Siern, who was genuinely aiming for their lives, it seemed she had gotten a sudden fright.
“Far from being able to talk to her, I might just get seriously hurt trying to do anything. Derek-ssi is a person of high level and high combat proficiency... but I’m not like that...”
“...Are you very afraid?”
“...Yes.”
Aiseline spoke honestly.
A great deal of confidence was lacking in her gaze. But she was not the type of person to just keep making weak remarks like this either.
“Still, I have to do it. I’ll try to devise a method in my own way.”
Soon, she put strength back into her eyes, and Aiseline clenched both her fists and said.
“Since I decided to do it, I have to do it. In fact, nothing will change just by making weak remarks.”
“Those are good words. In fact, you don’t have to worry so much.”
“Pardon?”
“Even though I guessed that it would be a considerably harsh job, why do you think I specifically asked Lady Aiseline to accompany me?”
“...Wasn’t it because you thought I would agree right away since I was in urgent need of money...?”
“...That reason is not entirely absent.”
Derek sat next to Aiseline and spoke while warming himself by the fire with her.
“It is because there was a need for someone like Lady Aiseline to accompany me.”
“Someone like me...?”
“Specifically, a person who is graceful, elegant, and beautiful at a glance.”
“Heup.”
At Derek’s sudden torrent of compliments, Aiseline held her breath, and then, with a shabby attitude, she lowered her gaze and spoke.
“E-even if you suddenly compliment me like that... nothing will particularly come of it...”
“It is the truth as it is. In complete contrast to me, who is somewhat rough and has a commoner’s air, Lady Aiseline is a person whose culture and grace are revealed even with a casual glance. This gap is important.”
Aiseline’s face grew hot for no reason at Derek’s attitude of spouting embarrassing words without batting an eyelid, but it was not likely that he was spouting these words to win Aiseline’s favor.
“I mentioned that I had something in mind. I had heard a rough account of the information on Lady Siern, and there were parts that, at a glance, seemed a bit difficult for me alone. I was planning to receive some of Lady Aiseline’s help in those parts.”
“So... you mean things like a lady’s culture, high society etiquette, and knowledge of balls...?”
“No. All of that is secondary.”
“Pardon...? W-weren’t those things important...?”
In any case, such cultural knowledge was something that could be taught anytime as long as he could win Siern over.
The most important thing was how to get a grip on Siern.
“We need a carrot and a stick. I’ll be the stick, so you be the carrot, Lady Aiseline.”
“W-what do you mean by that...?”
“Hmm... I have a plan laid out, would you like to hear it? In fact, it’s a strategy I received advice on from an old friend in the slums, but since this story has more credibility than I thought, I decided to actively adopt it.”
Derek knew many people in the slums, but there were not many with whom he had a special enough relationship to call a ‘friend.’
Since Derek was always treated as an outsider in noble society, Aiseline became curious for no reason about who the colleague he would call an old friend was.
‘Wh-why am I curious about that... I-I think I’m getting too nosy...’
However, she quickly shook her head and focused on Derek’s words again.
“It’s called... the ‘Battered Wife’ strategy, I hear...”
“...”
“...Is it a bit strange?”
“That friend’s family life... must not have been smooth either...”
Derek recalled the young archer who used to run around to support her old mother while roaming a corner of the slums.
Now her old mother had also passed, and her life, having become a complete orphan, was just as unsmooth as Derek’s.
“There is no one among those who are from the slums who doesn’t have a story. I didn’t bring this up to talk about something too gloomy, but that Lady Aiseline should play the role of the battered wife.”
What on earth did that mean? It was time for that question to pop out.
Aiseline was waiting quietly, thinking that Derek would explain soon.
“Then I will be playing the role of the pathetic husband.”
“H-husband? W-what do you mean by that. H-h-husband... S-someone might misunderstand if they hear that!”
“The metaphor is like that. I will explain the detailed plan further.”
Derek looked out the window where a blizzard was raging.
Behind the figure of Aiseline, who was twirling the tips of her fingers and sending glances from time to time, the sight of the blizzard, which was raging even more strongly, could be seen.
There was nothing good about staying in such a remote place for a long time. It was right to put Lord Melverot in his debt, take as much as he could, and leave quickly.
In order to do that, there was a need to fix Lady Siern’s mentality in a blitz.
In any case, she was the only daughter of the continent’s greatest mage.
Once he got a grip on her as well, it would not be strange if a rumor spread that there was truly no young lady in the continent he could not teach.
Such personal glory was also important, and there was also a magical accessory he wanted to receive separately from Lord Melverot. There was no reason to waste time here.
Derek spoke with an even more serious expression.
“Lady Aiseline. Are you somewhat skilled in acting?”
“Pardon?”
After that, as Derek continued his explanation, Aiseline’s expression slowly hardened.
“D-Derek-ssi, are you really okay with that?”
<><><>
— ‘Ugh, ughheok! It’s a monster!’
— ‘Lord Melverot! No matter what, h-how can you let something like this into the mansion! It’s not something that can be taught or not! I must... formally inform... the Imperial Family...!’
— ‘S-save me! Please! Just my life... you can cut off my arms and legs... just let me keep my life...’
— ‘What... on earth are you...?’
Hwaak— !
The moment numerous fragments of memory raged in the far side of her dream, Siern’s eyes flew open.
The air, warmed by a cozy bonfire. The scent of well-laundered fabric from the blanket tickled the tip of her nose, and the sound of the blizzard occasionally tapping on the window glass settled in the room.
Lady Siern, who shot up her upper body just like that, recalled her last memory.
It was the memory of exchanging magic with a man named Derek.
It was the image of him moving as if he foresaw where Siern was going, and then suppressing her with 3-Star magic without even giving her a chance to counterattack.
When she had met his eyes right before falling, Siern had swallowed a dry gulp of saliva without even realizing it.
He was of a completely different nature from the magic teachers who had come all the way to this distant northern land, saying they would teach Siern.
He was not a bookish scholar who seemed like a sissy, but a man who had truly lived by tearing apart and killing countless demonic beasts on the battlefield.
Siern did not know any such prior information, but she could feel it just by having faced his killing intent head-on.
In reality, that man had killed numerous demonic beasts. He was a man accustomed to taking lives.
‘It would be best not to run into him if possible. I have to ambush him when others don’t know, or attack him when he’s asleep, and somehow drive him out of the mansion.’
It was when Siern was thinking that and turned her gaze to the outside of the bed.
“Heok.”
“Are you awake?”
The white-haired man she had just been thinking of was sitting at a table in the corner of the room, reading a book with his legs crossed.
His appearance was so overflowing with composure that the image of him chasing Siern in the snow, bleeding, felt like a distant past.
Siern quickly kicked off the blanket and got up, then leaped to the opposite corner and took a guarded stance.
“You... youu... why are you here...”
“Do you not already know the reason? Lady Siern, you will be learning magic from me.”
“Why do I have to learn magic from you? I’m sure you’ll just spout some nonsense, then give up and run away with your tail between your legs.”
“I will be the judge of that. And from tomorrow, I will be the one setting the class schedule.”
“Eat shit.”
Siern used telekinesis magic and sent the table flying. Derek closed his book as it was, then lowered his posture and dodged by rolling on the floor once.
Kwajik! Kwagagak— !
Kung! Kugugung— !
Various other pieces of furniture flew at him, but they could not touch Derek’s body.
Derek dodged by moving here and there, and then, at some point, he was right in front of Lady Siern’s nose and snatched her arm.
Paak— !
“Kyaak!”
And as he looked down at her with an intimidating gaze, Siern’s body once again began to tremble.
Even if the opponent was an unruly ruffian, Derek did not bat an eye. Those red eyes, filled with killing intent, were excessively terrifying to this naive girl.
At this point, Siern realized. The opponent was an expert in this field.
His purpose must be to subdue or persuade people like Siern and tame them like gentle lambs.
As soon as she realized the opponent’s purpose, an even stronger sense of rebellion welled up.
“Do you think I’ll listen to you? Don’t waste your effort and go back to the southwest. There is no space permitted for you in this north.”
“It seems you need to be hit some more to come to your senses.”
No matter what, it was not a remark a commoner should make to a noble. How could his head remain intact after doing such things?
It was an unbelievable fact, but Derek had already accumulated numerous achievements. The reason he could act so insolently towards a noble like this was because he had asserted the fact that he was a proven magic teacher for a long time.
The anecdote of him slapping Diella, who was a famous ruffian in the southwest, as soon as he met her was no longer an internal family secret, but an open secret that all who knew, knew.
Derek’s unique uprightness, where he did not shrink back at all even before a noble young lady, was something that most magic teachers could not even imitate.
If a commoner with nothing to their name did such things, they would become a traitor, but if a magic teacher who had accumulated a great deal of achievements did it, the meaning changed completely.
Of course, his skill was also accompanied by it.
No matter how much of a genius Siern was with her magical skills, she could not easily escape from Derek’s grasp.
Kwang— !
However, it was not that she did not even try.
Siern cast the 2-Star combat-type magic ‘Rapid Explosion’ and set the room on fire altogether.
Pababak— !
Derek instantly manipulated his mana and defended against the impact, but he ended up letting go of the wrist he was holding tightly.
Siern, who had gained freedom of her body just like that, kicked open the door and rushed out of the spire. It was a strong assertion of her will to not play along with Derek anymore.
Hwaak— !
However, Derek chased after Siern in an instant and came down. His movements were far faster than when he had chased her to kill demonic beasts.
The killing intent felt from his eyes was still there. He was a ferocious human, to the point where one might wonder if he had come with the intention of beating Siern to a pulp.
“Ugh...!”
Siern quickly wrapped her body in mana and ran out of the mansion wall. If she just created distance and escaped, Derek would not be able to find Siern in that vast snowfield.
The moment she was about to rush out of the wall, she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Derek, who had charged at her, moving like a beast.
Paak— !
Siern, who had rolled once on the snowy ground in her dress, shook the snow from her hair and glared at Derek.
“Ugh... it hurts...”
“You need to be in more pain yet. Since you won’t listen even when I try to reason with you with words, I have no choice but to rule with pain.”
“Youu... and you think... you think you’ll be fine after this?”
“I will take care of the aftermath myself.”
Derek, who said that, took out the staff that was slung on his back. Siern, who saw that, widened her eyes and swallowed a dry gulp of saliva.
It was the 4-Star staff, ‘Footprints.’ At the end of four old tree trunks that were intertwined and wound up, a large jewel was embedded.
‘He was... a mage who knew how to handle... a staff...?’
The use of magical weapons required not only a high level of magical skill but also seasoned experience.
Whether it was a wand, or a magical weapon... just being able to use one meant that one had already far surpassed the category of a general mage.
He knew something was unusual from when he had subdued Lady Siern with almost no damage, but he had already risen to a position where he would not be outmatched by magic even in front of most nobles.
“Do you know the name of this staff? Since you said it was an item from the north, perhaps you would know as well, Lady Siern.”
“The ‘Wanderer’ made by Idenbrew... or... ‘Footprints’...?”
“No. In fact, I have renamed it myself.”
It was more common than one might think for a user to rename a magical weapon.
Of course, the originally known name was more famous, and out of consideration for the creator, there were not many cases where one would bother to do so... but Derek was not a person who cared about such things.
“...It is the ‘Rod of Love’...”
“You... are really crazy...”
Hwiik! Hwiik—!
Derek was swinging the staff like a club. It was to the point where one would doubt if he was really a mage.
Hwiik! Hwiik—!
The sound of it cutting through the wind was ferocious. There was an intimidating feeling that just one hit would make one’s calves swell up red.
Siern swallowed a dry gulp of saliva once more and was about to leap and run away again. However, Derek, who had already learned her behavioral patterns, tripped her without difficulty and stopped her.
Paak! Peoseok— !
Siern, who rolled once in the thickly piled snow, clenched her teeth and pushed off the ground to raise her upper body. And then, she looked up behind her and gasped again.
Holding the rod of love, which was firmly united with love, devotion, and the virtues of a master, a hideous man was striding towards her. That man was truly the true master of this era.
“I’m not doing this because I want to. This is all for your own good, Lady Siern. Is hitting a person a good thing? When I’m swinging this switch like this... in truth, my heart aches, breaks, and is torn. A fire rages in my chest too... and my heart hurts... But! Correcting people is my job! Even if my heart is torn and my mind is shattered, for Lady Siern’s sake, I have no choice but to do it.”
“D-don’t lie..! Your heart is torn... W-when did you ever see me...! Don’t come near me...!”
“Now, how many hits will you take? You decide, Lady Siern. You are to say as much as you think you did wrong. I will give you a chance.”
Derek’s eyes glinted, and his breath came out in puffs.
His appearance was like seeing an uncontrollable monster, so Lady Siern somehow scrambled back on the snow.
However, she could not shake off Derek. For her, who was outmatched in detection-type magic, escaping from Derek with only Transmutation Acceleration magic was realistically impossible.
It was around the time Lady Siern’s fingertips began to tremble. As her vision went dark, wondering how she should escape, an anomaly occurred.
“Derek-ssi! Stop!”
Hwaaaak— !
Lady Aiseline, who had run out, parting the snow, blocked the space between Derek and Siern.
Her appearance, with both arms spread wide, her brow furrowed, blocking Siern’s side.
Because she had gone through a long life as a high noble, she was a person from whom grace overflowed even if she just sat still.
Even in the raging blizzard, a sense of sublimity was flowing out.
Her bold appearance was like that of a heroine shining brilliantly even amidst all sorts of trials. It was the kind of strength one could see in the protagonist of Lady Denise’s novels.
Derek, an avid reader of , was inwardly impressed as he looked at Aiseline’s appearance.
Soon, Aiseline, with a face full of will, shouted as if for all to hear.
“Violence! Is! Bad! Yes! It’s bad! Violence!!!”
Unfortunately, the heavens had not given her the same sense for lines as Lady Denise.
“…”
Derek fundamentally acknowledged Aiseline, but he could not bring himself to give a high evaluation of her acting ability.