Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Piercing Eyes #2
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“Theo Gospel.”
As I hurried through the park on my way back to my dorm, someone called out to me from behind.
“Where are you off to in such a rush?”
There was only one person with that soft yet haughty tone. Mirna Draco had followed me out and was now speaking to me.
When I turned around, there she was, approaching slowly under the sunlight with a black parasol in hand.
The silver hair swaying gently in the shade of the parasol contrasted eerily with her crimson eyes that gleamed with an unsettling sparkle. It was quite an otherworldly sight.
“Why are you staring at me with such startled eyes?”
“Oh—.”
Even so, her beauty was stunning. Just facing her like this made my heart pound without me realizing it. Of course, this pounding wasn’t solely due to Mirna’s looks.
“Miss Mirna. I was on my way back to my dormitory. Is there something you’d like to say to me?”
Calming my chest, I gave Mirna Draco a light bow in greeting. In response, she extended the handle of her parasol toward me with a flick.
“Let’s walk a bit. I have something to discuss.”
“Understood.”
I took the parasol from her.
We began strolling through the park, but despite saying she had something to talk about, Mirna simply walked in silence.
Was she planning to chew me out for that impulsive kiss last time?
Because of that, the couples playing a badminton-like game in the park or sharing lunches under the tree shade stood out prominently in the scenery.
“There are a lot of couples around.”
Mirna Draco, gazing at them, murmured softly like a passing breeze. Of course, my sensitive fairy ears weren’t dull enough to miss it.
“The weather’s nice, so everyone’s out and about.”
“Would others see us the same way?”
I pondered her question for a moment.
Would we look like a couple to onlookers?
Sure, some might think so, but right now, we clearly looked like a young lady and her servant no matter how you sliced it. But if I said that, she might get upset, so as I was choosing my words—
“No matter how you look at it, we’d just seem like a refined lady and her servant.”
Mirna voiced my exact thoughts as if reading my mind. As I marveled at that, she added a few more words.
“Theo Gospel, it’s because you still lack the skill and grace to stand side by side with me right now.”
“That’s…”
She was right.
Mirna, Elga, and Aira all exuded an aura that screamed “exceptional” at first glance.
Nobles born under everyone’s blessings, raised from infancy surrounded by the finest clothes, food, and views—purebreds bred solely to stand above others.
Arrogant confidence and antique elegance permeated every gesture, step, even their fingertips. Nobility overflowed from them.
Even draped in rags, their cultivated refinement wouldn’t be hidden.
And what about me?
To others, I probably looked like a timid little man.
Far from refined or elegant.
Naturally so—I was a body raised in a 21st-century orphanage, distant from nobles, kings, or commoners.
Even if I donned a splendid crown and sat on a throne now, I’d look like an amateur playacting.
Of course, that very scruffiness was an invaluable disguise for me at present.
If I had an air of royal descent that screamed it at first sight, those people at the table earlier might have grown suspicious of me.
As such thoughts churned in my mind, Mirna Draco spoke.
“But humans aren’t defined solely by birth. The beauty of life and the creator’s will lie in ceaselessly striving upward from one’s given environment. In that sense, Theo Gospel, your will to transcend commoner limits is admirable in its own way.”
“Thank you.”
Though I had no real desire to transcend commoner limits.
Truthfully, my struggles were purely for survival. To escape the guaranteed bad end awaiting me.
“But it’s true you lack nobility. Refinement and elegance stem from confidence. And confidence comes from ability.”
What was Mirna trying to say?
No need for me to deduce—she got straight to the point.
“Theo Gospel, I want to give you a chance to build that ability. Since you’ve shown talent in magic, entering the magic cavern operated by House Draco should skyrocket your skills.”
“Magic cavern?”
The name alone didn’t inspire a desire to enter. But Mirna’s following explanation tempted me.
“It’s a place no one else is allowed into, but I’ll let you in. You should at least say thank you.”
“Th-thank you.”
As I offered a half-hearted thanks, Mirna chattered on, looking immensely pleased.
“Enter and exit it, and depending on your effort, your magic circle could rise by at least one circle.”
“Is that for real?”
A whole circle increase in magic power?
I’d heard it took a full ten years to advance from the 3rd to 4th circle.
To shorten that dramatically just by entering and leaving this magic cavern—could that really be feasible?
But House Draco was renowned for black magic and necromancy.
It wouldn’t be strange at all for them to have such a mystical training ground.
“Then let’s meet again this weekend.”
Flick.
Mirna took the parasol back from me. That meant our talk was over, and she was leaving.
As I watched her narrow back receding, she turned around with a feigned angry expression and sternly warned me.
“And remember, romance among Radiant Flame followers must be chaste. I won’t allow you to touch my body until marriage.”
So she was mad about that kiss after all.
* * *
That evening, after reporting to Aira, I didn’t feel like staying cooped up in my dorm, so I headed out for a walk in the park.
With so much to sort through in my head, I figured the evening breeze would help while I walked.
—Weeeeng.
But the mosquitoes were swarming annoyingly. Was there no mosquito-repelling spell? A demon king would probably have one.
“Hey. Where you headed?”
Then someone on a bench called out to me. Judging by the tracksuit, it was Elga.
“Lady Elga.”
“What’re you doing out this late? Off to build your harem?”
“…….”
She was still sulking over my harem confession last time. Pretending nonchalance, I asked her.
“And what brings you to this park, Lady Elga?”
“Figured you’d show up, so I waited. So, what’d you and that Mirna girl talk about earlier? She followed right after you left. You two have some secret chat or what?”
Elga acted like a nagging girlfriend policing her boyfriend. She didn’t like me talking with Mirna.
“Nothing much. She just said she’d let me into this magic cavern place.”
When I casually told the truth, Elga shot back in genuine shock.
“Magic cavern? Isn’t that like a haunted den? She said she’d let you in there?”
“You know of it?”
“Heard it’s House Draco’s training ground. Super top-secret stuff. For her to let you in—Mirna Draco’s playing big, huh.”
From Elga’s reaction, I could tell Mirna’s favor was a huge deal. Good thing I hadn’t refused. Thinking that, I sat beside her.
“…….”
“…….”
Neither Elga nor I said a word.
A slightly awkward air hung between us.
—Boooong, boong.
Under the glowstone streetlamps, huge moths like Tinkerbell flew about maniacally. In that boredom and tension reminiscent of old guard duty, I spoke first.
“You kept it secret for me. All the things I told you, Lady Elga.”
“Hmph.”
“Granting me a title—it’s to help me, right? To aid in reviving my house.”
“…….”
Elga whipped her head away from me with a deeply dissatisfied look. Just as I thought the silence would stretch, she muttered reluctantly in a small voice.
“Get stronger than me.”
“……?”
“Become stronger than me, rise higher than anyone. Become such a great man that I can’t handle you alone.”
“A great man…”
“But fail, and you’re just a lion that can’t protect the pride—pathetic and dead. So go on, struggle for your life.”
I realized this was Elga’s way of giving permission.
She was telling me to become a man big enough to declare a harem openly.
And if I failed, she’d bury me herself—that was the threat included.
Flick.
With that, Elga lifted her hips from the bench and dashed off. Watching her back, I finally loosened the tension that had gripped me.
“She’s giving her okay.”
Must be because of those big breasts? Elga had a big heart too. If I really built a harem, she’d get the top spot, naturally.
Anyway, both Mirna and Elga were making efforts to help me.
With their aid, I’d grow stronger and better—then maybe I could win over Aira, who I still couldn’t read.
Honestly, I had no clue what Aira was thinking. Her deductions about Angmar’s heir earlier had given me chills.
What face would she make if she learned my true identity?
When she realized every story I’d spun was a lie, she might turn ghostly and try to strangle me.
I was fated to grow strong enough to subdue such an Aira.
“Magic cavern, huh.”
No telling what lurked there, but whatever it was, entering seemed wise.
And so, attending lectures and training passed the time—
Before long, the weekend arrived swiftly.
Under Mirna Draco’s guidance, I was led to the magic cavern beneath the Draco estate.
“There’s a magic cavern under the manor?”
“The villa itself is like a lid covering the dungeon.”
According to Mirna, the villa had been built here originally to seal this “magic cavern” dungeon.
Step, step.
The basement went deeper than expected—maybe five floors down. Suddenly, the scorching sunlight above felt like a lie as a chilling eeriness crept over my body.
To describe it precisely, less a chill and more an ominous magical energy.
Should I say I’m heading back now? As that thought crossed my mind, I found myself before a massive iron gate so tall I had to crane my neck to see the top.
Above it, a nameplate bore elegant script scrawled across it.
「All who enter here, abandon all hope.」
“What does that mean? Abandon hope?”
When I asked, Mirna Draco shrugged.
“Solomon’s warning, probably.”
Solomon’s warning. Her breath fogged blue as the words left her lips and dispersed. No need to ask what it meant—Mirna kindly elaborated.
“Truth is, this manor was once King Solomon’s villa.”