Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Translator: XZY
Chapter 74: Person (2)
***
Pushuk! Puk— !
Kwaak— !
This was a story from a time when Derek was not yet accustomed to the smell of demonic beast blood.
It was when he had just made contact with the mercenary company and was following Jayden, getting used to the ecology of the labyrinth.
Demonic beasts of the demi-human race, like goblins, trolls, and ogres, had a considerable presence, so mercenaries exploring a labyrinth for the first time often trembled in fear or were unable to be of any help in battle.
However, Derek, despite his young age, was slitting their throats and cutting off their limbs, showing the appearance of a cold-blooded mercenary as if it were nothing.
Jayden, watching Derek, would often marvel, thinking that he might be devoid of human emotions.
Tadak, tadadak, tadak—
After that day’s exploration was finished, Derek, who was sitting at the campsite managing the bonfire before returning to Ebelstein, showed no signs of fatigue at all.
He was a mercenary who was complete by birth. Jayden was making such an evaluation as he looked at Derek.
— ‘Derek. You worked hard today.’
— ‘Not at all. Just give me a generous cut of the quota when we go back to the tavern district tomorrow.’
— ‘Of course. By the way, aren’t you tired?’
— ‘It’s bearable. There’s no work in the market district that pays this much, so I’m actually feeling quite good.’
This was what a boy who had not even had his coming-of-age ceremony was saying after having slaughtered dozens of demonic beasts in a single day. To those who did not know, it was a sight that would give them goosebumps.
The harsh environment of a life like a long winter sometimes created humans like this boy. They were beings who had the form of a human, but had a strange feeling as if some part of their humanity was lacking.
Jayden was a renowned mercenary who had roamed the battlefields for a long time and had even been active in the ‘Dawn War.’
Because he had spent a long time in the harsh battlefield, he knew well how valuable the smiles of innocent children were.
Therefore, looking at a boy who had already learned all the harshness of the battlefield at such an early age, it sometimes made him feel unsettled.
Jayden sat on the opposite side of the bonfire.
And with a hearty laugh full of human warmth, he said.
— ‘Derek. You are a person.’
— ‘...’
— ‘When you live your life cutting down demonic beasts in a trance, there will surely be times when worries about your own humanity will come flooding in. At times like that, don’t forget and be sure to ruminate on it.’
Tadak, tadak—
Derek stared blankly at Jayden.
Jayden was wearing a benevolent-looking smile, but a firm resolve could be felt within it.
It was surely advice based on experience. This old mercenary named Jayden had wandered while roaming the battlefields for a long time, and he had also found his own answer.
— ‘What’s the difference between a person and a demonic beast?’
— ‘...’
— ‘I heard that there are quite a few demonic beasts that mimic humans. Most of them are nothing more than simple tricks, so their habits or characteristics are immediately obvious... but I also heard that when it comes to truly high-level demonic beasts, it can be difficult to even distinguish them from humans.’
Jayden could quickly grasp the intention of the question Derek was asking.
The boy had already gone through the worries Jayden had been concerned about. He was already experiencing at that young age the anguish that mercenaries who had been through all sorts of trials and tribulations only began to feel late in life.
— ‘Do you know the habits of demonic beasts well, Derek?’
— ‘...They kill people.’
— ‘Right. Demonic beasts kill people. That’s just their instinct. It’s no different from how humans eat to live, reproduce, and wander in search of amusement. That’s why demonic beasts must be killed, and why mercenaries like us make a living.’
Jayden looked up at the sky. There were many stars to be seen.
If one were to compare the number of demonic beasts he had killed so far with the number of those stars, it was hard to hastily conclude which was greater.
That was how much Jayden’s life was stained with blood.
— ‘It’s no different from exterminating pests. Just think of it like that and live.’
Jayden, who had bowed his head with a profound smile, was quietly saying that he had no choice but to come to this conclusion.
Derek did not particularly want to argue with that. It was the law of nature for living things to harm and kill other living things in order to live.
It was a problem on that level. He felt there was no need to attach any more meaning to it than that.
— ‘You said you were hailed as a hero in the Dawn War.’
Derek asked. Even though it was a war that had ended more than ten years ago, it was a major event in the continent’s north that was spoken of as vividly as if it had happened just yesterday.
To kill the great demon Noir, humanity had to lose the 6-Star mage Kalimpod. It was a war that had ended in victory with Melverot, the only other 6-Star mage on the battlefield at the time, finishing off Noir and subjugating all the demonic beasts.
Jayden, who was a party to that gruesome scene, would have a serious expression on his face whenever he remembered that time.
It seemed the scars left by that massive war in the north were enormous, to the point that even a veteran mercenary remembered it as hell.
The form of that giant fiend, which was said to have been visible even beyond the horizon, was still remembered as a symbol of fear by all the people of the north.
— ‘Despite that, what is the reason you’ve come all the way to Ebelstein and are working as a mercenary?’
— ‘Don’t even talk about it, Derek. I refuse to go to a battlefield like that again.’
Jayden, who was staring quietly at the bonfire with his arms crossed, said.
— ‘All who remember the madness of that battlefield that Noir swallowed will think similarly. Such a thing... must not happen twice.’
<><><>
Demonic beasts have an innate sense of smell.
It was strangely different from the human sense of smell, and it seemed to be remarkably good at catching the strange stench of blood that was felt from those who had grown up covered in the blood of demonic beasts.
When he first killed a demonic beast, he had not felt any such sign.
When he had killed a hundred demonic beasts, he had occasionally sensed their fear, and by the time it began to exceed a thousand, it became certain.
They felt the stench of demonic beast blood on Derek’s body.
It seemed that the dense presence, felt only by humans who had lived their entire lives slaughtering demonic beasts, certainly existed.
Every time he killed a demi-human demonic beast, Derek clearly watched them tremble their eyes before being struck by the final blow.
While being hunted by a human they had thought was prey, they would notice the stench of blood on Derek and intuit that this was their final moment.
The weaker the demonic beast, the more severe it was, and there were even cases where they wet themselves or chose to kill themselves.
Of course, a demonic beast with strength would resist. There were even times when they wounded Derek, or when Derek had to choose to flee.
However, the weak demonic beasts that had not yet spread their wings would often, on the contrary, smell Derek’s stench of blood and lose all strength in their bodies.
Therefore, Derek had an intuition.
— ‘Hiik... Hik...’
In the appearance of Lady Siern, who was trembling as she watched Derek stride towards her in the middle of the snowfield... something more than just a human trembling in fear was felt.
The way she handled magic was also a completely different method from Melverot, a standard Regulation School mage, so he could feel a sufficient sense of dissonance.
Siern’s magic, which could not be defined even by the star-rank system, was far closer to that of a heteromorphic being than a human.
However, an intuition could not become evidence.
That was why Derek had been looking into Lady Siern by digging through various records.
Jeobeok, jeobeok—
Derek was striding down the magnificent corridor of the Rochest mansion. A single streak of cold sweat was flowing down the cheek of Aiseline, who was following behind him with short steps.
Looking through the records left by the servants from Lady Siern’s childhood, ordinary people might not notice, but to the eyes of Derek, an expert on demonic beasts, there were certainly many parts that were concerning.
Killing a servant for no reason, occasionally running out into the snowfield to catch and kill beasts, learning magic at an abnormally fast rate...
Besides that, the reason why the various high-level mages who had served as Lady Siern’s magic teachers had died, been injured, or given up on teaching altogether and left.
The reason why he had gone to the trouble of emphasizing that they should keep quiet about everything related to Lady Siern.
He felt as if all those puzzle pieces were fitting together into one.
Once he had organized his thoughts up to this point, everything became clear.
It was not a problem on the level of just having a bad personality, or lacking magical talent.
Perhaps Siern Aleyna Rochest was— a person of a higher difficulty than any other young lady Derek had taught so far.
Derek absolutely did not work for free.
If there was a risk, it was the way of the world that there had to be a corresponding reward.
“Derek-ssi...!”
And so, while Derek was organizing his thoughts and moving forward, Aiseline quickly walked ahead and blocked Derek’s path.
“Derek-ssi. Where... are you going right now?”
“I am heading to Lord Melverot’s office. Since they said it is the giant main building beyond the spire, we will have to walk diligently.”
“What... are you going to say to Lord Melverot?”
Derek said without changing his expression at all.
“I am thinking of making a negotiation.”
“...”
Aiseline’s expression hardened once more. This boy in front of her was thinking of negotiating with a 6-Star mage.
It seemed Derek had likely considered it, but nevertheless, Aiseline pointed it out in her impatience.
“Let’s assume your hypothesis is correct, Derek-ssi. If he is hiding a demonic beast in the mansion, raising it while treating it as a noble young lady... and if he was turning a blind eye to her committing murder... just it being known to the public would be a fatal matter.”
Aiseline, after checking several times that there was no one in the corridor, spoke in a lowered voice.
“If I were Lord Melverot, I think I would think of silencing them first.”
“...”
“You said it yourself, Derek-ssi, didn’t you? That if the difference in power is severe, negotiation is meaningless. Even if we try to hold the secret about Lady Siern over his head... it’s not like we have any evidence, and I don’t think he would be swayed by such a thing. Derek-ssi.”
Aiseline continued with an anxious face.
“You said that the numerous magic teachers who came to teach Lady Siern had died, been injured, or given up. Do you really think that... was all entirely Lady Siern’s doing...?”
Aiseline was pointing it out seriously.
There was a high possibility that those who had tried to grasp Lord Melverot’s secret and sway him had all met a terrible end without exception.
“...”
However, Derek shook his head.
What he was about to do was not a threat, but a negotiation. The two were completely different things.
The Rochest mansion in the north where a blizzard raged.
The 6-Star mage sitting alone in the office of that spire, looking out the window with his chin elegantly propped on his hand. Despite his vast abilities, he only managed this barren land and almost never went outside his territory.
— ‘Those who stand at the pinnacle of the magical world are all people who have a flaw somewhere. An old geezer like Drest is lost in his wanderlust and has no interest in the ways of the world, and a madwoman like Kohella is not even worth mentioning.’
— ‘And it’s not like I’m normal either.’
These were words Melverot himself had said.
There were no normal people among the 6-Star mages. Even while saying so coolly, he did not even make an exception for himself.
He was sitting alone in this northern land full of demonic beasts, and in a corner of his own home, he had a demonic beast that had mimicked a human, calling it his daughter and shoving it in there, and was pushing in high-priced teachers, telling them to somehow socialize her.
There must surely be a reason for committing such a crazy act.
That reason was not yet visible. It could not be found out. If there was a human who knew that reason, it would only be Melverot himself.
Therefore, to break through this situation, he had no choice but to talk with Melverot himself.
<><><>
“I heard you ran into Siern on your way to the mansion. It’s a relief that there were no major accidents, but still, as a father, I’ll apologize. Don’t you feel a little bit of the reality of why I carefully chose the person to take charge of my daughter?”
“Yes, Lord Melverot.”
He had heard that the people of the northern territory considered it natural to wait for over a month to have an audience with the master of this Rochest mansion. And even then, only people of quite high status could get the opportunity.
However, Derek and Aiseline were able to head to the office immediately after submitting a request through the head butler. It was a treatment that showed how specially he was treating the people who were teaching Siern.
And so, as soon as Derek entered the magnificently large office of the Rochest mansion, he was able to meet him, who was sitting with his chin propped on his hand, wearing an elegant fur coat. He was a handsome man with impressive silver hair that passed his shoulders.
He was still looking over the territory’s agendas with a relaxed appearance.
Melverot, sitting in a lavishly carved wooden chair, glanced at Derek. After examining Derek’s expression, he eventually put away the documents and leaned his body against the backrest.
“I heard you had a bit of a ruckus on your way here, so I’ll understand that your visit and greeting are a bit late. So, how was it meeting Siern? Can you somehow teach her the thing called social etiquette?”
“Of course. However, as you said, it seems it will be more difficult than I thought.”
“It would be. It’s not that I don’t know the difficulty of the job. I have no intention of shortchanging your efforts with a paltry reward, but looking at your expression, it seems you want something.”
Derek had been thinking of receiving a few expensive magical accessories that would be stored in the Rochest family. Not only would they be helpful in training Transmutation magic, but there would also be many items he could use in various ways when working as a mercenary.
However, after reviewing the matter again, he felt the need to change his attitude.
Receiving a few magical accessories was not a profitable deal. He strongly felt the need to assert that fact to Lord Melverot.
Therefore, Derek knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and spoke.
“I know this is a rude request, but could you possibly dismiss all the security personnel guarding the office?”
At those words, Melverot’s brow twitched slightly.
It was a story that there was something he wanted to say without it entering other people’s ears.
“Is there a reason to go that far?”
“There is only one thing I have to say.”
Derek, with his gaze raised, looked at Melverot and spoke directly.
“I do not know if this is a part you have taken into consideration, Lord Melverot, but I am a man who has lived his entire life killing demonic beasts. I can confidently say that my knowledge of the ecology, habits, and behavior of demonic beasts is deeper than any other magic teacher.”
In reality, high-level magic teachers who dressed in fancy suits and recited academic theories often lacked practical knowledge about demonic beasts.
However, Derek, who had come up from the bottom with his whole body covered in blood, was on a completely different track from them.
“If you wish, I can state my business here. But it is difficult for me to judge for myself whether that is the right thing to do.”
“That’s enough. All of you, leave.”
After hearing only that much, Melverot waved his arm and ordered the surrounding escort personnel.
Forcing a one-on-one meeting in a small room between a foreign mercenary holding a blade and their master in casual clothes would be something the escort personnel would be reluctant to do.
Nevertheless, the escort personnel hesitated for only a very brief moment before moving to the corridor. The master they served was none other than the 6-Star mage, Melverot.
It did not take much time for them all to go out to the corridor, judging that no great harm would come.
And so, after a brief commotion, only silence hung in the office.
Derek and Aiseline, who had been in a low posture, slowly rose from their spots. A clear sign of nervousness was on Aiseline’s face, but Derek’s expression was, as always, serene.
His courage itself was not ordinary. Melverot could easily tell what kind of person Derek was.
“Alright. Speak.”
“Is Lady Siern a human?”
“Did you not come here knowing she is not?”
Melverot spoke as if it were natural, without much change in emotion.
As Derek quietly looked at him, Melverot let out a short laugh and continued.
“Why, do you think you’ve taken on the wrong job?”
“May I ask why the other magic teachers quit?”
“The riff-raff who didn’t even notice Siern’s true nature were all dismissed by me.”
“...What happened to those who did notice?”
Derek asked directly. Aiseline, who was standing behind him, was breaking out in a cold sweat on Derek’s behalf.
“It’s one of two things. Either they clamored that they would quit themselves, or they tried to handle it until the end and met a terrible end.”
“How many of them made it out alive?”
“You’d be better off not knowing.”
Derek did not press any further.
In the first place, there was not just one or two strange parts. He was able to realize it sufficiently the moment he had exchanged a bout with Siern.
First, her attainment in magic was excessively high.
Even if she had inherited the best bloodline, the fact that she was already using 3-Star magic at that age, with her coming-of-age ceremony still a long way off, was unusual from the start.
It was an achievement that made one wonder if such a thing was possible in the human domain. Even if one searched the entire continent, it would be hard to count the number of mages who achieved that level of attainment at that age on one hand.
How happy would one be to be able to take such a person as a disciple. Many magic teachers had rushed in thinking that, and it seemed most of them had met an unfortunate end.
Siern Aleyna Rochest was not a disciple that just anyone could handle. That fact was already clear.
“It seems it’s a bit late to regret it. Now that you’ve come all the way to my mansion in the north, you won’t be able to return easily just because you want to. Do you think you can leave, crossing this wide and cold snowfield alone?”
In the first place, setting foot in this mansion was already as Melverot had intended.
Once one had entered this mansion in the snowfield, it was impossible to leave without his permission.
As if to remind them of that fact, Melverot’s eyes glinted once.
“As you well know, the north is full of demonic beasts, and it is common for many to meet with an unfortunate accident while crossing the harsh snowfield. And demonic beasts are known to attack commoners and nobles, ordinary people and mages, without distinction.”
“...”
“If you don’t want to add your name to that list of sacrifices, it might be better to pour all the effort you have rather than regretting your choice.”
“I do not regret it. Rather, you have found a suitable talent, Lord Melverot.”
“...?”
To anyone, it was an intimidating threat.
When a mage who had risen to the position of 6-Star came out so openly like this, most would be unable to overcome their fear and fall into despair, or be overwhelmed by the atmosphere and be dragged along.
However, the boy named Derek had, on the contrary, stood up from his spot with a satisfied smile.
At that sight, Melverot was momentarily taken aback, but he did not bother to show such inner thoughts on the outside.
“Did I not tell you during our first exchange? That it is not an easy job, but it is worth a try. But... with just the promised gold coins or magical tools, it is not a profitable deal for me.”
“Hoh... I see, have you come to negotiate your salary?”
“It might be a deeper story than that. You said it yourself, Lord Melverot, didn’t you? That you know what I want better than anyone.”
Melverot, with his chin still propped on his hand, 쭉 examined Derek’s expression.
In his confident demeanor, there seemed to be nothing holding him back. He was really thinking of handling Siern.
He did not even ask why Melverot was protecting a demonic beast that had mimicked a human. Of course, he had no intention of answering, but it was strange that he did not even pose the question at all.
He just dryly laid out what he had to do.
“I am a mage. A mage is bound to dream of a higher level.”
“Right. But even if someone from the bottom reaches out, the era will only cast you aside.”
“That is correct. So, I need a weapon to resist that. If you help me, I will carry all of Lord Melverot’s secrets to the grave, and I will also solve your worries about Lady Siern.”
What was underlying his confident tone was the fact that he was not such a cheap workforce.
It was a common thing for a capable person to have greed and ambition. Melverot did not think of such a disposition as particularly bad.
However, what on earth was he thinking of demanding from Melverot, to be making a negotiation with a satisfied smile even in a situation where his life was on the line?
The price that a mere commoner rabble demanded after making up their mind was often not even worth a penny to Melverot, one of the stars of the empire.
It was not so difficult to just hear what he wanted.
Therefore, Melverot asked.
“Alright. What do you want?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If you are to keep my mouth shut, Lord Melverot, you will need to put a gag on it.”
At Derek’s following answer, Melverot’s expression hardened.
“A title.”
There was no such thing as a cheap and competent talent in the world.
He knew that fact well, but the opponent’s demand was a few steps higher than he had expected.
“The rank does not matter, but whatever it is, I need a title.”
He was a human born at the bottom of the slums.
It was a shady place where the eaves of gloomy and shabby buildings blocked the sunlight. If one was born and raised in such a place, one’s vision and thoughts would be trapped there, destined to crawl on the muddy ground forever.
However, his gaze was truly aiming straight for the very top of the high magical world.
“Even if it’s the lowest rank, it’s fine. I must become a noble.”