Chapter 8
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 8: Raiding the Duke Estal Family (2)
The moment I opened the reception room door and stepped in.
A cool pressure sweeping over my whole body chokes my breath.
The Head of the Duke Estal Family.
Cassian von Estal.
He was sitting on the guest sofa waiting for me.
'......This person.'
Just how high is the mana density?
The space itself is saturated due to the mana this man emits.
'The author was really good at descriptions.'
The descriptions in the novel
were not wrong in the slightest.
A man with a taciturn yet fierce gaze like a beast.
The cruel charisma the author painstakingly wrote down is sitting in front of me as if it popped out of an illustration.
Since it is a world created by the author in the first place, it's natural that the description is accurate.
But the intimidation in front of my eyes is on a different level from reading it in print.
'He was 6th Hierarchy, probably?'
A strategic weapon-class powerhouse who changes the tide of war.
With just one rough gesture of his, a lowly researcher like me would literally be split in half.
Whew, getting goosebumps.
The thought that I must be careful comes naturally.
At that moment, Eleanor spoke to me in my consciousness with a voice mixed with a yawn.
"Ahem, at best he is 6th Hierarchy. Hmm, it seems my disciple completely ruined his child farming. How can he emit such weak energy."
What are you saying.
Even at a glance, he looks terrifyingly strong.
'Weak, Senior. He is a powerhouse counted within ten fingers in the Empire.'
I retorted inwardly, broke the awkward silence, and sat down.
Cold blue eyes contrasting with blond hair pierce through me as if penetrating.
He is handsome.
A sharp and exquisite beauty good enough to be a specimen of the word 'middle-aged handsome man'.
Is it a romance fantasy background for nothing.
Even the villains in this world are dazzlingly handsome.
"Are you Teacher Rihan?"
"Yes, Your Grace. I am Rihan."
"I saw the Fire Storm magic circle you reconstructed very impressively. That precision twisting the root of mana...... A genius must be a word used for someone like you."
Why is this person like this.
A person arrogant beyond measure giving embarrassing compliments.
Cassian brought up the main topic immediately.
"I would like to invite you, Teacher, to our Duke family."
It was a sudden invitation.
And at this timing of all times.
It was a good opportunity to head to the treasure vault where the Ring of Words is, but the intention is unclear.
"......I am honored, but may I ask for what reason you are calling me?"
Cassian leaned his upper body towards me.
The wave of mana he emits brushes past my nape like a sharp blade.
"Your heterogeneous yet precise talent. I think that might become the answer for our family. For your reference, refusal is not a consideration for me."
What kind of speech method is this.
He is saying it's an invitation.
But the meaning hidden between the lines is a clear threat.
As I bit my lip and tried to rack my brain, Eleanor started scratching my brain mercilessly.
"What are you hesitating for! Say immediately that I will go personally! Are you going to turn your steps away with that ring right in front of your nose? I will watch your back, so hurry!"
'I told you it's not a problem to decide that easily.......'
But Cassian in front of me already has eyes convinced that my answer will be 'Yes'.
No, looking only at his eyes, it seems this reception room will become my grave the moment I spit out 'No'.
'Fuck......, in the first place, I don't have a choice.'
Finally, I opened my heavy mouth.
"......Alright. If that is Your Grace's will, I will choose the path to be of help."
A cruelly satisfying smile spread on Cassian's lips.
On the way out after promising to go to the Duke family.
At the end of the hallway, I ran into Yveline standing with her back to the afternoon sunlight pouring from the window.
Normally, she would have raised her nose saying, "Being invited to our family is a natural honor!"
For some reason, her face is pale.
"Rihan, really...... do you absolutely have to come to our family? Can't you say you can't go even now?"
Yveline asks, blocking my front.
Eyes like a scared puppy.
'Why is this kid suddenly like this. Making a person unable to adapt.'
I deliberately shrugged my shoulders and retorted in a light tone.
"Of course I have to go. If I refuse the Duke's proposal, don't you know what might happen to my life? Besides, didn't you say the Duke's research facilities are the best in the Empire. It's not like I'm going to live there forever, just going with the feeling of a short field trip. Where would there be a greater temptation than that for a researcher."
Of course, the real purpose is the Ring of Words sleeping in your house's treasure vault.
That is a secret I will take to the grave.
"......You don't know anything. What kind of place our house is, what kind of person Father is."
She lowered her head.
I can see her fingertips trembling finely.
"If you have nothing more to say, I'm going. I have to pack."
As I tried to pass by indifferently,
Tak―.
Yveline urgently grabbed my sleeve.
"......Be careful of Father. He wasn't to that extent in the past. Although his academic zeal for magic was high, he was a kind and warm person."
Her voice trembles finely.
"But a few years ago, after a certain fortune teller prophesied that our family would fall soon, Father completely changed. Rihan, I hope...... no problems arise for you. So go, and please don't do useless things."
Leaving those words, Yveline left the spot as if running away.
I stood blankly watching her receding back.
".........That fortune teller, completely hit the bullseye."
Later, I want to go and ask if I can continue my major like this.
If I can survive in this academic world.
Family downfall.
I was curious about the identity of that fortune teller who guessed the original plot exactly.
But the pressure the Duke must have felt approaches more realistically.
Like the loneliness of a man who became a monster trying to protect his beloved family and household.
"Is there no villain without a story?"
At that time, Eleanor spoke quietly inside my bosom.
"It is Causality."
"Yes?"
I wondered what nonsense she was saying again.
It is not her usual playful voice.
A voice containing the coolness of a transcendent who has contemplated a thousand years.
"Causality....... Something like fate? Well, according to quantum mechanical interpretation, the future is not a determined result but a probabilistic superposition, but nothing is certain yet."
It is quite a fundamental question.
Is their fate in this novel world already decided by the author?
To my monologue spat out mixing scientific deduction in my own way, Eleanor retorted once again.
"Rihan. I am not talking about the conceptual fate you think of. In this world, 'Causality' exists."
".........What does that?"
"It means not something metaphysical that exists conceptually, but the entity called 'Causality' really exists somewhere in this world."
What kind of out-of-the-blue sound is this that collapses the physical laws built up painstakingly for thousands of years.
No matter if it's fantasy, isn't this going too far?
Is she perhaps talking about something like 'Laplace's Demon' derived from Newton's classical mechanics?
That hypothetical existence that can calculate the future if it knows the position and momentum of all particles.
"How can something called Causality have a body and exist? Does that make sense?"
"I have already met it. If your Hierarchy rises and you continue with me, you will also face it someday."
Certainty dwells in her voice.
She wasn't joking right now.
My head goes ding.
Fuck, what kind of thing is that?
Causality is a real person?
Is it the author of this world?
Or the world itself?
Does Laplace's Demon exist?
As a physicist, beyond getting goosebumps, the back of my neck feels stiff.
".........Ah, I don't know."
Even if I worry now, no answer comes out, only my head hurts.
First, I should think about packing the ring at the Duke's residence.
I forced myself to shake off the complicated thoughts and moved my steps.
Right now, I have no time to care whether Causality exists or not.
Because it was me who had to crawl into the Duke family right tomorrow.
Well, if I continue to research magic, the day will come when I meet that entity or whatever as Eleanor said.
It's not too late to argue then.
Next morning.
I packed simple luggage and the doll Eleanor resides in and boarded the carriage heading to the Duke's residence.
'Unexpectedly looking forward to it.'
Looking around a new world is like entering a huge laboratory for a physicist.
A pleasant tension rushes in.
Looking at the laboratory receding outside the window, I slyly touched the doll in my bosom.
'Senior, you are ready, right?'
It's an absurd remark.
But the only existence I can trust in this world right now is the old doll in my bosom.
It doesn't matter if she is a ghost from a thousand years ago.
At least she will cherish my lifeline like her own.
"Don't worry. It is the place where my treasure is. It feels like returning to my hometown! Hehe, I look forward to seeing what kind of amazing treasure vault that guy's descendant built."
However, unlike the excited us, the pitch-black carriage sent by the Duke was not so friendly.
A special structure with no handles inside.
As the carriage departed, a curtain of mana settled beyond the window frame.
Sitting opposite was Yveline.
The girl who would normally not keep her mouth shut asking about my magic theory.
Whether she has no energy, she is just staring blankly out the window now.
Does she herself know that her hands placed on her knees are trembling finely.
"What's wrong? You've looked pale since earlier. Like someone going to a battlefield when going to their own home."
"Shut up. It's just...... the air is a bit turbid. You, don't leave my side. If Father calls you, absolutely do not go alone."
She squeezed the cuff of my sleeve very tightly, small enough that I wouldn't notice.
'Just what kind of atmosphere is it that she is like this.'
We're going on a picnic, it won't do if the atmosphere is dead like this.
I looked down at her fingers for a moment, then opened my mouth as if it was nothing special.
"Yveline, do you know? Actually, fear is not a big deal. If you look into it, it's like a system error sent by the machine called the brain."
"......What?"
Yveline turned her head and stared blankly at me.
I lightly tapped my temple with my index finger.
"Biologically, fear is just an electrical signal. When the uncertainty of the surrounding environment increases, the brain secretes excessive adrenaline to increase survival probability. In other words, it's like a very inefficient warning light sent to warn you that your body is wasting energy right now."
"You, what nonsense are you talking about in this situation.......?"
"It's funnier if you look at it physically. The distance between atoms that make up our body is actually empty, right? Your hands trembling is just the electrons filling that empty space emitting unstable energy."
I added lastly.
"What I want to say is, don't think too seriously. Just enjoy the picnic atmosphere."
Yveline's pupils wandered for a moment at my lengthy logic.
After a brief silence.
"......Pfft."
A short laugh burst out from between Yveline's lips.
"Ha, haha! You really...... You are really bad at comforting."
"Hey. I said it with sincerity based on my own grounds."
Once the laughter burst, it didn't stop easily.
She shook her head as if it was absurd and gently loosened the strength of her hand that was tightly gripping my sleeve.
Faint vitality returned to her pale cheeks.
"Okay, let's just say it's because my brain is stupid."
Now it's a bit better.
Befitting a character in a romance fantasy, she looks prettier when smiling.
As soon as the carriage picked up speed, Eleanor's voice inside the doll became low unlike usual.
"......By the way, Rihan. About the mana curtain cast on this carriage just now. Its purpose seems to be Capture to not miss the prey inside, not protection from the outside. What do you think?"
"Don't say such creepy things."
Actually, I had that thought too.
But commonly speaking, doesn't it make sense that a carriage with his own daughter riding is for capture?
If Yveline hadn't ridden together, I wouldn't have ridden either.
I just hope we arrive safely without any trouble.
Like that, looking out the window, we ran for a long time.