Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Snow Duke's Way of Thinking (3)
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The inside of the magic carriage was filled with silence.
As if the universe itself had frozen in shock at the miraculous moment when I, Lehel, the Snow Duke, and her lackey faced off.
"……."
"……."
"……."
"……."
Amid the rattling sounds, most of my senses were dominated by that bundle—which I couldn't identify as some biochemical weapon or what.
A round, solid mass several times larger than a watermelon sat next to Estelle's thigh, emanating a maddening stench.
The destination was Pharenchia. Were they planning another war or something?
Passing passengers glanced at her and wrinkled their noses in disgust.
Thud!
'Ugh…….'
Every jolt of the carriage made my stomach churn, my throat convulsing involuntarily.
In my gullet, the milk tea Adella had first given me when she came to the canteen with Erzebet to work there was now charging full force to greet her sister.
Lehel beside me wore a similarly pained expression, so this nuisance was no small thing.
Yet the two across from us stared straight ahead without a hint of disturbance.
Truly, the Empress of Extreme Ice.
Estelle Sylvestra de Roshiar.
She had her emotions under perfect control.
Though she glared coldly at us, she didn't seem about to lunge right away.
In truth, using magic recklessly in a moving magic carriage was extremely dangerous.
The carriage barreled forward at tremendous speed, smashing everything in its path. Though it shook inside, from outside it looked like a meteor streaking across the ground.
If even a small crack formed in the body, it would cause a massive accident like a plane crash in an instant.
Thus, whipping out her spear right here would be a mistake on her part too.
—Fuck, what the hell is that smell? If you're drunk, crash at a nearby inn. Who the hell pukes in a magic carriage?
—Oppa, you okay? Let's hurry to first class.
Crunch.
At that moment, as a couple passing through the aisle spat out those words, my ears caught a faint popping sound.
Following it, the floor beneath the table—under her elegantly stretched legs—was frozen solid.
Looking closely, Estelle's eyes twitched faintly.
—Whoa, the shit smell is overwhelming. I don't care who they are, I'm just gonna...
—Ah, oppa, why? We're on our way to see your little sister. Just hold it in a bit.
—Hah, fine. If it were that Ansen bastard, I wouldn't hold back.
Crack.
Emotionless...? Right?
I suddenly felt uneasy.
Forget why she'd come back to Pharenchia—the carriage might shatter to pieces before we arrived.
Why did we have to run into her at this exact timing...
—I can't take it. Oppa, I'll go say something.
—Ah, just let's go!! Come here!!
Whoosh.
As expected, unable to hold back, the Snow Duke rose from her seat.
The life of the lucky guy with a great girlfriend—and all the passengers here—hung in the balance.
With no choice, I spoke first to take the initiative.
"What are you doing here?"
Lehel couldn't help but snap her head up at Louis's audacity, peeking at his face beyond the wide brim of his hat.
Informal speech? From a mere canteen owner to a grand duke?
She knew well how strong Louis was.
But that didn't mean he could speak casually to the Snow Duke and block her path.
"Step aside."
"I asked why you're here."
Estelle Sylvestra de Roshiar was currently the unrivaled mage in Penheim by all accounts.
The kingdom's hope, rising above the Reincarnation Duke who lost much power in the Great War, the Gourmet Duke, the previous Snow Duke and Illusion Duke who had died.
Estelle, still slaying demons at the forefront of Senrir Lake, was as renowned for her ruthless handiwork as her beautiful appearance.
Just seeing her name mentioned alongside Terra Ernisten said enough.
And now Louis was interrogating such a woman.
"B-B-B-Boss...!"
If a fight broke out, she couldn't help.
Though their appearances were opposites, Lehel was already an aged mage in this life.
Stronger than average mages, but not enough for a grand duke's battle.
"I have no need to explain to you."
"Yeah? What about her then?"
But Louis slipped his hand under her robe, grabbed her underarm, and thrust her in front of the Snow Duke.
"Don't you recognize her?"
"A face I've never seen."
"She's the chairman of Pharenchia Academy, the one you trashed last time."
"Eeeeek! No! I'm not that person!!"
"She's also the lord of Merak Magic Tower, one of the five grand dukes, holder of the Four-Leaf Medal who saved the capital from the Great War—the Reincarnation Duke. Wanna taste her meteor Intrinsic Magic until you drop dead? Shall we duke it out right here?"
"Hiyaaaaah—!?"
Lehel thrashed like a soaked cat, desperately wriggling.
Finally escaping his grasp and hiding behind him, she met the Snow Duke's blank stare.
"Ah, I, um...!"
"Hm. Is that so."
"Yes?"
"Siegfried."
"Yes!!"
Estelle's subordinate behind her drew his sword.
Lehel flinched and hid behind Louis again, but after a moment, something metallic was thrust before her eyes.
"Take it."
"Huh?"
It was the source of the stench: an unidentified rock lump.
"Ambergris. Byproduct vomited up by a perfume whale."
"Y-Yes...?"
"This settles the compensation for smashing the academy. Take it."
"What about the canteen you wrecked?"
"……I have one purpose here."
Not wanting to give it to him, Estelle smoothly changed the subject and answered Louis's question.
"To rehabilitate Adella Sylvestra."
Only then did Lehel and Louis learn why she'd boarded the magic carriage.
Adella, who had awakened her Intrinsic Magic on her own, had asked for help learning the Roshiar ice lineage magic.
It wasn't for war this time, but that didn't dispel the unease.
"Ah~. I see?"
Yet after hearing Estelle's story, Louis inexplicably relaxed completely—and looked extremely pleased.
He even casually patted Estelle's shoulder.
"Give it your best shot. Don't push too hard."
"Boss?"
"Whoa, we're here already? We'll be off then, so do your best! Hm... If it gets really tough, you can come beg for help. Anyway, good luck!"
Grabbed by Louis's hand, Lehel descended the magic carriage clutching the foul ambergris lump.
She couldn't help asking the grinning man why.
"Why are you so happy, boss? Pharenchia might be in danger again."
"What can I do if they say it's not? It's a free country with freedom of movement. Can't stop them from coming. More importantly..."
Pulling her close so others wouldn't hear, Lehel swallowed involuntarily.
The breeze brushing her ear tickled, making her feel like a fish pulled from water.
"They're all fucked."
"W-What... is?"
A reliable man who protected her even before a grand duke.
Playful on one hand, but unleashing his full power when it mattered.
"I've seen plenty try to 'fix' Adella into a proper person. It never goes smoothly. The princess helped the most, but even she nearly lost student council president over it, and her grades tanked this time—it's in the papers. Might as well teach a steel dog to talk."
"I-Is that so."
Her heart, hardened like the ambergris in her hand.
The sense of life was a dizzying sweetness, like the faint earthy scent blooming within.
"Don't worry too much. Let's head back."
His voice made her hair brush and tickle her cheek.
"Oh, and thanks for the Magic Cube?"
"Huh? N-No problem! Haha...!"
Lehel was glad she could hide her burning, flushed ears—which she knew were beet red without looking.
"I-It was joint ownership! Yours and mine...!"
'He's stranger than he looks.'
It was a golden opportunity, but the location was poor.
Estelle clicked her tongue softly, watching Louis flee like the wind as the carriage stopped.
"Shall I pursue?"
"No need."
A moving magic carriage is dangerous.
If it were a demon, she'd have slain him on the spot, safety be damned.
But Louis was someone she couldn't forgive—yet not worth killing right then. Exactly that position.
"He called himself a canteen owner, so he was with the chairman. I can find him anytime while in Pharenchia."
"Understood."
This time, without leading troops, just her trusted aide, she passed through Pharenchia's gates.
Ordering Siegfried to contact the Luhillen family, she headed to the promised meeting spot from the letter.
Behind Pharenchia Academy's Bayu Hall grounds, near a gentle lake lined with nobles' villas.
A quiet plot, empty of even family servants or hired groundskeepers on break—a girl bloomed like a flower in the serene field.
Step, step—
When the quiet footsteps and wind grew close enough not to disturb their talk.
"Long time no see, sister."
"Indeed, Adella."
Estelle faced her one and only sister.
Her sister's gaze held tangled complex emotions.
But without other greetings, she cut straight to business.
"I... awakened my Intrinsic Magic."
"I heard. It was in the letter."
"But I still don't know how to use it properly."
"Naturally. It's not a magic one masters easily."
"I need help."
"If you wish."
Shing!
A chilled spear stabbed into the heated ground.
Her gaze turned to her sister's chest, where the family crest gleamed.
Blue hair whipping, Estelle declared.
"Since you've proven you bear the Roshiar blood, the family will not forsake you. Speak. What do you need? What do you seek?!"
She remembered when her heart was ripped out.
To drive demons from the continent, to fulfill her late father's unfinished task.
To raise the family as Penheim's spear.
To illuminate this hellish world with magic.
She had drawn that cold spear of light and gripped it till it shattered.
"What is the magic you enshrine—the world you envision?!"
"……."
Straight and unflinching, she awaited her sister's answer.
And at last, Adella's resolve—which had called her from the kingdom's edge—revealed itself.
"Lately, there's this girl who keeps hanging around Teacher nya."
What?
"She smiles all fake like a fox, and I hate it nya. If this goes on, she might steal Teacher's seat next to him nya."
What did you say?
"Oh, and this is the only magic I can use nya."
She proudly pulled out a mage staff: an ice pick shorter than a toy wand for kids learning first spells.
"Help me out a bit nya."
Facing that brazenness, Louis's final expression flashed in Estelle's memory.