Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Snow Duke's Way of Thinking (6)
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“Hmm…… Hmm, hmmm.”
In the top floor office of Akasha Hall, located at the center of the Pharenchia Academy grounds.
Lehel had received a letter by the window of the warmly sunlit chairman's office, bathed in the gentle summer rays.
It wasn't an extreme hue, but the missive tied to the leg of a royal falcon bore the royal seal.
As she removed the sealing wax, her brows furrowed upon reading the opening line.
“Hmmm……!”
A summons for the Grand Duke Council.
The very notion of gathering the Grand Dukes—each possessing proud, irreconcilable unique magic paths—was far from welcome.
The only consolation was the lack of binding authority.
In fact, the previous meeting had only three attendees, excluding the Snow Duke who had declared absence for northern defenses and the absent Illusion Duke.
However, the mere calling of the council signified a major affair for the kingdom.
Lehel had no desire to use her unique magic path again in what remained of this life.
“What in the world could it be this time…… The royals keep too many secrets.”
She muttered while fiddling with the magic cube bag that had arrived from Merak Magic Tower that morning.
Especially regarding Louis— even she, the Reincarnation Duke, found many inexplicable aspects she didn't know.
Who exactly was he, and why did he possess such overwhelming power?
Both nations seemed to have made a pact to stay silent.
Even his companions—especially Terra Ernisten.
“Well, whatever. It's not right now anyway.”
Lehel grabbed her bag and left Akasha Hall.
Traditionally, the Grand Duke Council was hosted by one of the five Grand Dukes inviting the others.
However, no one wanted to invite the other four into their own domain.
Lehel was no exception.
Inviting other Grand Dukes to Pharenchia Academy or Pekda Magic Tower was absolutely out of the question.
“Especially not that bastard Gourmet Duke……! How dare he eye my Grand Canine.”
The master of taming magic and ruler of familiars.
Thinking of Megrez's Magic Tower Master, she gritted her teeth and crumpled the letter.
“Boss~! I'm here!!”
The magic cube—no, Lehel had arrived.
Carrying a large bag half her size.
As I straightened up from wiping down the massive freezer, she wandered around the canteen, peering curiously at everything.
“All of these are magic cubes?”
“Yeah. About 200 of them? That should be enough for the second-years' classes.”
Fifty gold each made 200 total ten thousand gold.
That was the selling price; what I paid was a fifth of that.
Even so, two thousand gold was no small sum for me.
Pharenchia, a bustling central city, boasted prices up to four times higher than other regions.
Two thousand gold could charter a small merchant ship for a year up north.
But generous Lehel covered it all with promissory notes, installments, and taking her cut from sales of select canteen items.
It was an amount I could repay once the cubes sold anyway, but her consideration was appreciated.
“Thank you. I'll put them to good use.”
“No problem~! We're close, after all! Oh, what's this?”
Lehel pointed to the metal box on the shelf.
Just like the freezer I was cleaning, it was an essential item for any Earth canteen.
“A microwave.”
“Huh?”
“Uh, simply put, it's a device that vibrates water molecules to generate heat in objects…… Still in development, though.”
I'm no engineering major, so I don't know the exact structure of a microwave.
But I figured magic could replicate the principle, so I was giving it a shot.
In an era with magic-powered carriages, surely a microwave wasn't impossible with some manpower.
It was essential for reheating canteen bread, something I'd been planning for a while.
“Hmm~ I see. This freezer doesn't have a spot for magic stones?”
“Nope. Planning to power both with people.”
“People?”
Microwave development still lacked the right talent, but for the freezer, there was a perfect candidate.
“She's training right now.”
“Training?”
“Yeah.”
After sensing the chill emanating from Estelle's body, I found the solution.
As she said, Adella needed to wield her unique magic path freely.
“To freeze ice cream even in midsummer.”
First, I had to discern Adella's most primal wish (??) that stimulated her unique magic path.
What drove her to freeze all things?
For Estelle, that task was quite difficult.
'Mine was simple.'
No, not just her—all Roshiars thus far had but one wish.
The extermination of all demons.
That single resolve had forged the current north.
However, Adella was born different.
She had awakened her unique magic path without severing her emotions.
Like crops untouched by frost, her leaves and flowers remained intact.
That was why she had shown astonishing talent, crossing the ice rink in an instant last time.
'If raised well, she'd be a formidable force……'
The incomprehensible part was precisely what her wish entailed.
Love for Louis?
Love was a highly complex and tricky emotion.
If Adella had awakened her unique magic path solely through love for Louis, there'd have been no need to send a letter to Estelle.
She would have grown endlessly just by being at his side.
In fact, after that day, Estelle had tried teaching Adella in his presence, but saw no major change.
If anything, Adella's focus waned as she fixated only on Louis, reducing efficiency.
So what was it that time?
Pushing aside the nagging doubt, Estelle continued the lesson.
Unique Magic Path: Ice Prison
Ice spikes forming……
Craaaack!
An ice wall formed around Adella on the lake.
And like an Iron Maiden, sharp spikes slowly protruded from within.
“If you don't want holes in your body, break them one by one.”
“Huh? These?”
“Same principle as your ice picks. Grab them. Make them yours.”
The encroaching ice picks.
But Adella couldn't break them.
“Ah, cold! It's so cold! M-my hands are freezing……!”
“If you can't control the ice with your unique magic path, one of two things will happen.”
“T-two things?”
“You'll freeze to death, or get impaled.”
With those harsh words, Estelle stepped back and observed.
Adella floundered amid the approaching picks, grasping and releasing the cold ice with her delicate hands repeatedly.
Her palms reddening was clear frostbite.
Yet she couldn't control even a single pick.
“Ow! It hurts!”
Another failure.
Estelle sighed.
What had endowed this spoiled child with a mage's talent?
Even with her own sharp mind, she couldn't grasp it.
“Hey, is she okay?”
Then Louis approached.
This time with a cube instead of a frisbee.
Estelle shot him a sharp glare.
“Don't come unless called. Her focus scatters more with you watching.”
“You call for help when you need it. What if she gets hurt like that?”
“I'm controlling it. She needs to learn to freeze wounds too.”
“Looks dangerous…… Her range is twice others', and she's careless. A head stab would be bad.”
Haa——
Her blue eyes lowered like an inverted sunset.
To her, Louis's words were utterly irrational.
They'd clashed spears once, but she acknowledged his skill—he was strong enough.
Breaking through magic, Roshiar unique magic path at that, barehanded was suicidal.
Yet confined to her room, Estelle realized she'd been played by Louis from the start.
Wounded all over, he had efficiently subdued her in one decisive move.
So he knew such injuries were minor.
She failed to understand his concern stemmed from love for his partner.
Grabbing his forearm, she pulled his face close, locking eyes.
Her icy breath, sharp as a gale that terrified even her subordinates, pressed right against him.
“Mind your own business.”
“……”
“As is, Adella will just rot her talent without growing. No matter what, I'll make her a proper mage……”
Crack! Snap!!
“Adella?”
“Yes?”
In that instant, the ice prison shattered beyond Louis's gaze.
Suddenly, Adella stood in the lake's center, holding broken ice picks in both hands.
“All done, sis.”
“……”
“What're you talking to Teacher about?”
Her little sister, who had trembled unable to meet her eyes since childhood.
But this jarring sight now recalled Adella's first words to her.
— Lately, some woman keeps sticking to Teacher.
— I hate her so much.
No way…….
“Louis.”
“Yeah?”
“When did Adella awaken her unique magic path?”
“Hmm…… Not sure since I wasn't there. Probably while I was out emptying the canteen briefly? She was alone with Baroness Liv then.”
Baroness Liv.
The student from the library, no doubt.
“I see.”
Estelle finally began to understand.
What stimulated Adella's unique magic path and made her strong.
What her wish was.
“Hates losing her spot beside him……”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Estelle looked up at the man appraisingly.
Her goal: revive Roshiar.
Short-term, Adella's growth mattered, but viewing the entire house longer-term?
And if that method could awaken Adella's unique magic path too.
“Louis, what do you think of demons?”
“Out of nowhere?”
He had pinned a Grand Duke single-handedly; his skill was beyond question.
His looks were fine too.
Compared to the mercenary riffraff she'd seen, who skipped baths in warzones claiming water was cold.
They'd fought to the death, but now with reason diluted, did it matter?
Conversely, he'd ridden to Edenberry for that Adella—proof of strong justice.
“Fucking scum.”
“Room for compromise?”
“None.”
“Excellent.”
Having grasped Adella's growth direction, Estelle readjusted her evaluation of him once more.
And shifted perception bred shifted action.
Glancing at her sister behind, she made a deliberately pointed remark.
“Roshiar daughters have always run cold.”
“What's that suddenly?”
“Means conception is difficult.”
“What? Conception?”
The reason the vast northern house had but two heirs.
War played a part, but Roshiar's unique magic path made succession tricky.
“Truly regrettable. The best way to bolster the house is accepting fine seed to increase heirs.”
The Snow Duke's way of thinking.
“Don't you agree?”
It sometimes birthed exceedingly dangerous ideas.