Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Snow Duke's Way of Thinking (2)
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Lehel Darad—what kind of person is she?
If someone asked me about her, I could answer without a second's hesitation.
A crazy bitch.
Not entirely wrong, but she's a weird mage, that's for sure.
Her name and family name read the same forwards and backwards, her thoughts are impossible to pin down, and her personality flips like the wind.
And on top of that, her way of life is nothing like anyone else's.
Even setting aside her gambling addiction, she was one strange woman.
In even the most serious situations, she couldn't muster a shred of gravity, and the way she kept stripping suggested some kind of exhibitionist streak.
She wasn't exactly the type you'd want to keep around, but if you asked whether I hated Lehel, the answer was no.
At least she listened to me well and knew exactly what to do in crucial moments.
Anyway, our chairman was a pretty useful teleportation gate shuttle... a business partner, you could say.
Without her, the canteen wouldn't have thrived like this.
That's why I figured I'd try to cure her gambling addiction, little by little.
"I'll take this hairpin, please."
Rushopard, the jewelry store I'd visited last time.
I steeled myself for the painful expense and pointed to a silver hairpin. A familiar clerk handed over the wrapped accessory and asked,
"Oh, didn't you buy a ring last time too? Your lovers... plural? Must be nice."
"Ah, this is for a different person."
"...Scum."
The last part was barely audible as the door clicked shut.
Next stop: the chairman's office.
As expected, Lehel was watching the Monster King Tournament. She sprang up the moment I walked in without knocking and bellowed a greeting.
"You've arrived, Boss! What brings you here today?!"
It was the kind of loyalty you'd show a mob boss.
To think one of Penheim's five great dukes, the Reincarnation Duke, treated me this way.
Caught up in the vibe, I plunked the Magic Cube I'd borrowed from Liv onto her desk with a thunk and struck a cocky pose.
"Hey, Chairman."
"Yes?"
"I've got something I want the canteen to stock recently..."
She glanced at the Magic Cube, then her eyes twitched and welled up with tears.
"N-No way? My only source of income... Without this, even Grand Kenian's feed..."
"I'll buy it cheap, right? For old times' sake."
"Nooo, please, just once...!"
"Where's the contract? Oh, gotta go to the Magic Tower for it? Perfect. Move it!"
"Sniff...! You devil!"
That was as far as it went.
After catching her breath, Lehel wiped away her crocodile tears and patted my shoulder.
Her face was full of playful mischief.
"Wow~ Boss. What wind blew you here to mess with me like this? Ah, bored during break?"
"......"
"You turned down my expedition gambling invite last time. But I'm the only one for you, right? See? Kids these days are all about jobs and grades—they can't enjoy life like us."
"......"
"Boss...?"
Sensing something off, I grabbed her soft hand.
Then, mimicking what she'd done to me, I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and backed her against the wall.
Just like the thugs who'd shake me down in back alleys back in the day.
"What're you doing? Let's go."
"Huh? Go? Where...?"
"I just said. Even if you made that Magic Cube, sales go through the Magic Tower. Let's sign the contract. Start supplying the canteen from next semester."
"Ah, ahh...!"
Her already pale face went sheet-white.
I stroked her head gently, as if there wouldn't be a third time.
"Hurry up and open the teleport gate."
Lehel, who had lived longer than most, had one habit.
She didn't own many personal belongings.
The things she cherished could be counted on one hand.
A worn medal and robe set, a pointed hat.
A dragon-bone rosary and a Monster King Tournament broadcast orb.
Even as she threw herself into gambling and revelry, these were the items she never bet, and if lost, they somehow found their way back.
Did she think she was training to be Pirate King or something?
"W-Welcome, Tower Lord. It's been a while."
"Hic! Y-Yeah, long time... no see. Who're you again?"
"Uh... Thompson here. Ten years ago, you personally granted me access to the upper floors..."
"Ah, got it. Thompson? This is the canteen boss... con... tra... "
"Pardon?"
"Con-traaaact..."
"Here for some Magic Cubes. Mind grabbing the contract?"
I relayed for Lehel, who was slurring her words. Thompson nodded hesitantly and led us to the upper floors of Merak Magic Tower.
"Please wait a moment. The handler's on vacation, so I'll bring tea and the contract shortly."
As the door closed, Lehel's sniffles echoed in the cramped space.
The tower lord's office—supposedly the pinnacle of the Magic Tower—felt like a half-demolished ruin, empty enough to believe it.
Just faded parchment and ancient tomes scattered about.
I wiped dust from the desk with a finger and caught Lehel peeking. When our eyes met, I asked,
"By the way, what about that doll I told you to retrieve last time?"
"Th-This one?"
She pulled a cute bear doll from under her robe.
As I took it, a faint mutter reached me: ~It's not a doll. Get cursed~.
'As expected...'
It had the manufacturer marked, just like I'd thought.
I'd ask Bill to investigate this later.
"Hey, Chairman."
"Yes?"
"How much gambling have you done lately?"
"J-Just a little...!"
"How much exactly?"
She shyly held up five fingers.
"50 gold? That's the price of a Magic Cube."
I shook my head.
"500?"
Shake.
"No way, 5,000?"
"50,000."
Crazy.
Last time Darling pulled her out of Alzas, the debt was around 80,000 gold, right?
Down to 30,000. Not bad.
Well, that was just debt—the total losses back then were massive, so this showed restraint.
But throwing that much at gambling while whining over selling me 50-gold cubes cheap was too much.
Besides, Pharenchia Academy aside, plenty of places needed cubes.
A few cheap sales to the canteen wouldn't dent her income.
"Hand."
"Eek!!"
I seized Lehel's wrist as she hid her arm in panic.
I yanked up the pale forearm dangling from her loose robe like a caught fish.
"S-S-Sorry! I won't do it again, please just once, forgive me!!"
The dilemma: how to break her gambling habit.
No addiction centers in this world, and I lacked expertise...
"Should I just cut it off...?"
"Hiyaaak—!"
If she weren't someone I'd keep around, I'd have lopped off both hands without hesitation.
What a tough problem.
"Never mind. Stamp the seal first."
"Huh?"
Spotting the contract in Thompson's hands as he entered, I slammed her wrist on the table.
Contract first.
—Kyaa! Kenian~!! It's been forever—you've grown so much! Missed your master, huh?
—Krooong!
The moment the seal hit the contract, Lehel bounced back to normal.
Another facet of her unpredictable personality.
What happens, happens (?).
She showed no lingering regrets over past events.
She'd only whined for show in front of me; a few cheap cubes weren't a big loss anyway.
She rarely visited the tower, so since we were here, she wanted to see Grand Kenian before leaving. We headed to the mid-floors.
Lehel lovingly stroked the horn of the massive beast, a mashup of elephant and rhino.
As I smoked listlessly behind her, Thompson—her apprentice, apparently—approached with a contract copy.
"Titan Rhinos are monsters that bond well with humans. Their horns fetch high prices as potion reagents, and they Liv up to 200 years easily."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Apprentices' first job is often caring for familiars or monsters kept in the tower."
Senior mages said they'd raised Grand Kenian's parents too, generation after generation.
Makes sense—they'd outlive her into the next life, so the attachment ran deep.
—You damn thing! Why do you always lose? That's why I keep losing money! Sigh, such a spoiled brat.
"Rare to see the Tower Lord smile like that."
"She's always like that around me."
"Then you must be a rare connection for her too, Louis."
Merak specialized in fire magic (?).
Uncharacteristically detached for a paranoid mage archetype.
If it were me, a gambling-addicted boss forcing an unfair deal would've given me whiplash.
—Boss, come here!
"She's calling."
Lehel waved her nearly-severed hand from afar.
I stubbed out my smoke and approached. She tugged my sleeve, pulling me toward Grand Kenian.
"Cute, right? This is Grand Kenian, our tower's Monster King Tournament prospect!"
"Not cute at all."
"No way. Get closer. Here."
Like a sea otter showing her pup to humans for protection, Lehel kept rubbing the stinking beast's cheek against me.
As expected, she alternated glances between the contract in my hand and Grand Kenian, her eyes sly.
"Hey, Boss..."
"What?"
"If I ever enter dormancy... could you look after him?"
That kind of request, huh.
No matter how ditzy Lehel seemed at times—even Adella-level—she wasn't tower lord by accident.
"It's safe here. The tower survived the Great War unscathed."
"I know! But once I sleep, who knows what'll happen when I wake."
I stayed silent. Her voice softened, sleeve-tug weakening.
"N-No...?"
Yeah. How about this.
"Chairman."
"Yes?"
"Wanna gamble with me?"
"Gamble?"
Not sure if it'd cure her addiction, but it was my best shot.
Your sword always treads the best path.
Whitelett's envious words.
"Rock-paper-scissors. If I win, you do what you just asked."
"A-And if I win?"
"Take that pricey horn. Oh, one more thing."
I balled my fist and held it out.
"I'll only throw rock."
"Huh? No way... You're tricking me, right?"
"Believe it or not, no changes. Ready? Rock, paper... "
"Ah, wait...!"
Lehel hastily raised her hand; I just stood.
The result: the duke stepped back with a wry smile.
"Haha, I lost."
"......"
"Knew it was a bluff. Psychological warfare... You've got talent, Boss."
Did I? Or the opposite?
Never heard of Lehel winning big at gambling.
Unless she lucked into this isekai summon odds, it felt deliberate.
Maybe she'd long disciplined herself to avoid sinking deeper.
Losing-only games get boring fast.
"S-Sorry for losing... but could you spare Kenian's horn? C-Cut off my hand instead!"
"Sure? Then..."
"Eek! J-Just take the horn!!"
What did she want?
"Ow! It hurts! It's coming off! Uwaaak!!"
"Drama queen. Here."
"Huh?"
In her tightly shut eyes' place, a small hairpin.
Her big blinking eyes filled with surprise.
"For you. A gift."
"Huh...?"
"And I'll handle that request."
"B-But I lost?"
"So what."
I closed her gaping mouth and said,
"From now on, gamble only with me. Won't bet big, but whatever you want, I'll stake it."
"But wins and losses..."
"Who cares who wins. Doesn't matter."
"That means..."
I knew oaths' weight better than most, but unless some lunatic toppled the tower, Grand Kenian was safe.
Plus, compared to today's gains from her, this gift was a drop in the bucket.
"We're family, right? All eat together, Liv together. What was it? Joint ownership?"
"J-Joint...!"
That's what Darling said.
"Got it?"
Her porcelain skin flushed red to her neck. She pulled her hat low and nodded.
"Y-Yes...!"
No protests this time.
"Ah, to Pharenchia."
The return was leisurely.
Teleporting like to the tower would've been faster, but Lehel suggested the magic train.
I wanted quick, but Liv's words echoed: over-relying on magic dulls your senses.
So, standing on the platform with the oddly matured Lehel hours later, the whistle blew.
"Tickets, please."
"Here."
"Thank you. No luggage? Right this way to your seats."
"Boss, let's go."
The hairpin I'd gifted gleamed as Lehel removed her hat for the narrow door.
Opening our car's door per the conductor, a nauseating stench hit.
"Ugh, what is that?"
"Not just me, right? What?"
Pincering our noses to our seats, the source was the facing four-seater.
No way. Checked tickets repeatedly—ours.
"What the hell did they bring on a magic train...? Huh?"
Beyond the compartment door, familiar blue hair.
Adella? I opened it instinctively—
"Hm?"
"Family Head?"
"Fuck?"
"Boss?"
Our eyes met with the woman I never wanted to see again.