Chapter 5
Chapter 5
“…A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”
“Little people cannot see inside a great vessel.”
It was an Empire proverb.
Ordinary people found it difficult to understand geniuses.
Why was he suddenly bringing that up?
“…Have you eaten something bad? Have you been so stressed out because of Ban that you’ve gone mad? It looks like you’ve lost a little more hair, too.”
“Your Grace, I’ve always been bald. This bald spot is my pride and joy.”
“…R-right.”
Hans gleamed his bald head and fixed the duke with an intense gaze.
“I heard you’ve agreed to a duel with Lord Ban.”
“That’s right. I intend to teach him a proper lesson that day.”
Hans let out a quiet laugh.
A laugh whose meaning the duke could not guess.
“Indeed…? Your Grace would do well to be nervous, too.”
“…What?”
“Because it seems a great upheaval might take place.”
Hans turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the duke with a baffled expression.
‘What was that? Has Ban really been giving him such a hard time that stress has driven him insane?’
Just then, Ban’s voice drifted through his mind once more.
—I will give Father the shock of his life that day.
Time flew by.
The day of the duel I’d promised the duke was fast approaching.
In the meantime, I’d studied magic diligently.
‘Does this mean I’ve gained about as much knowledge as an upper-level Academy class?’
I’d acquired magical knowledge up to the Third Star Rank.
It was an incredible achievement in less than a month.
That was thanks to the Grandmaster Ability, as well as Hans, who’d served as an excellent living textbook.
‘The problem is, this is nowhere near enough to get me hired as a professor.’
The duel with the duke, now right around the corner, was another problem.
‘As things stand, I don’t have a chance.’
I’d never intended to win in the first place.
My goal was to land one blow on the duke.
And it still seemed hopeless.
<The Gambler’s Judgment has been activated!>
-Current odds of landing a blow on the duke: 0%
I fell silent.
‘…Should I just admit I was wrong and beg for forgiveness right now? I’m incredibly good at begging.’
But it seemed too soon to give up.
Another message appeared right after.
-Odds of landing a blow on the duke after training is successfully completed: 100%
So it was impossible for now, but I could do it once my training was over.
‘But almost a whole month has already passed. I’ve studied as much as I can. What else am I supposed to do?’
It couldn’t mean practicing magic.
The mana I had was barely enough to fill a swallow’s eye crust. After casting a First Star Rank spell a few times, I’d run out, and I wouldn’t be able to practice anymore.
Just then, I heard Hans’s voice.
“Is there anything you need? I’m your attendant, so please, just tell me what you’d like me to do.”
He wasn’t being sarcastic.
Hans’s eyes were brimming with loyalty.
It was a side of him I’d never imagined seeing when we first met.
‘Has his character changed a little too much?’
Apparently, after he’d followed my instructions and gained a great realization, he’d seen new hope.
Ever since then, he’d been looking at me with those unbearably fervent eyes.
“You can stop being my attendant now. Our studies together are almost over, anyway.”
There was no way to learn magic beyond my current level this way, so I didn’t need Hans anymore.
“…Are you trying to abandon me now?”
“…Huh?”
“I want to continue serving you, Lord Ban. I don’t mind staying your attendant. Please, just don’t abandon me!”
Hans clung to me with pleading eyes.
The sight of a middle-aged, bald mage looking at me with such fervent longing gave me a fright, but Hans didn’t stop.
“I know! The reason you became so twisted is your overwhelming genius! The world failed to recognize you, so you went astray! Damn this world!!”
“…No, that’s not it.”
“If you had even half as much mana as other mages—no, even a tenth as much—you’d already be lording it over the world!!”
In that moment, a sudden realization struck me.
I knew what I was lacking.
‘I need to get more mana.’
Ever since I became Ban, I hadn’t made any attempt to gather mana.
My rate was only one hundredth of an ordinary mage’s.
That meant that even if I struggled for a hundred years to build up my mana, I’d still gain less than another mage would from a single year of effort.
‘And compared to the so-called genius mages, the gap would be even wider.’
But that didn’t mean there was no way at all.
‘I can take a shortcut.’
I meant things like elixirs.
Of course, Mana Insensitivity would still affect me even if I took an elixir.
If another mage gained ten years’ worth of mana from a high-grade elixir, the most I’d get would be one hundredth of that—barely a month’s worth.
‘Even that much would mean a lot to me.’
My goal wasn’t to become a powerful mage in the first place.
If I got stronger, I’d only be dragged off and put through hell when the calamity came later.
I only needed enough mana to get by.
‘But where am I supposed to find an elixir?’
Elixirs were incredibly, incredibly expensive and rare.
Every mage went wild for them and wanted one.
‘The Ducal House has enough money to get one, but they wouldn’t give it to me when they think I’m a good-for-nothing. And it’d take far too long to track down a hidden piece that had an elixir in it.’
Then a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘There is one hidden piece here in the Ducal House, after all.’
I swallowed hard.
It wasn’t a hidden piece with an elixir.
Instead, I could obtain mana another way.
The problem was—
‘This is incredibly dangerous. Even in the game, it’s a hidden piece you only attempt in your third year.’
Rather than face ‘that being,’ it would be better to be driven out of the Ducal House.
Compared to ‘that being,’ I was nothing more than a fly.
Just then, a message appeared.
<The Gambler’s Judgment activates in the face of a dangerous challenge!>
I fell silent.
‘…Why isn’t the chance of winning zero percent?’
It was even fairly high.
A whopping 63.3%.
The problem was that it was a difficult call.
It was worth trying, but there was also a considerable chance I would fail.
‘What should I do? The risk is too great if I fail.’
Just then, a rich, resonant voice stirred my heart.
“Please don’t worry, Young Master. Even if you lose the Duel and are driven out, I will serve you. I, Hans!! Wherever you go, Young Master, I will stay by your side to the very end.”
When I saw the middle-aged, bald wizard looking at me with eyes full of fervor, I made my decision.
‘I’ll see this through, no matter what it takes.’
The Ecclesia Ducal House’s estate held a secret.
The Evil Spirit Lord was sealed in the family mausoleum, where the ancestors were buried.
That was because one of their ancestors had captured the Evil Spirit Lord.
They had been unable to destroy it, so instead, they sealed it in the mausoleum, which was brimming with spiritual energy.
‘Destroying the sealed Evil Spirit Lord has long been one of the Ducal House’s greatest wishes.’
Destroying that Evil Spirit Lord was the objective of the hidden piece.
Hans asked cautiously,
“Are you really planning to defeat the Evil Spirit Lord? Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
His voice was full of concern.
Naturally.
‘It may be weakened right after the seal breaks, since its strength won’t have fully returned, but it’s still far beyond anything I can handle.’
On top of that, I couldn’t get any help from Hans.
The mausoleum was a holy site protected by a special Barrier, and only blood relatives of the Ducal House could enter.
‘Worst comes to worst, I can run, so I won’t die.’
Even if the seal broke, the Evil Spirit Lord couldn’t leave the mausoleum, so I could somehow manage to escape.
But the mausoleum would be left in ruins from all the damage it caused while rampaging.
‘…And I, the one who caused all this, would be left in ruins too, after the duke beat me with his cudgel.’
A cold sweat ran down my brow, but I shook my head.
‘Still, I have no choice. I’m going to see this through, no matter what.’
I brought to mind memories of going out on sales calls in my previous life.
Just as I’d achieved countless sales successes in my previous life, this time, too, I would succeed without fail.
‘Fight on—for a cushy future!!’
Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma responded to my determination.
A fierce aura rose around me.
“Do not worry. No matter how formidable it may be, before my greatness, it is nothing more than a lowly evil spirit.”
…Somehow, my transcendent translation seemed to be getting grander and grander.
Even I, the one who’d said it, felt my limbs curl up in embarrassment, but Hans’s eyes shone brightly.
“Ahhh!!! As expected of the Young Master who will become the star of the magical world! You have my loyalty!”
“…I’m going to the mausoleum.”
“Yes! I’ll escort you to the entrance!”
The mausoleum stood atop the family burial grounds behind the estate.
When we arrived nearby, I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.
“What brings you here, Brother?”
“!!”
He looked to be in his late teens.
A face that resembled ‘Ban’s.’
He had a younger-looking face, but his expression was even more severe.
‘Cal Ecclesia!’
He was the fourth of the five Ecclesia siblings.
Like all the Ducal House’s blood relatives, he was an important character, and he was still a student at the Academy.
‘Was he in his second year now? He was the vice president of the student council at one of the Four Great Academies.’
A second-year student and already the vice president of the student council. That told me just how exceptional Cal was.
‘He was such an exhausting person.’
Just as expected.
“What kind of trouble are you planning to cause this time? Don’t tell me that now, of all things, you’re planning to make a mess of the mausoleum. When are you ever going to grow up, Brother?”
By the setting, Cal was an incredibly hard worker.
He despised his older brother, a good-for-nothing wastrel who was the exact opposite of him.
“You’re being rude. I’ve only come to pay my respects to our ancestors.”
“Hah! You, Brother?! You’ve never even once set foot in the mausoleum your entire life, and now all of a sudden?”
Cal frowned fiercely and huffed.
‘Hmm, he’s cute.’
I scratched my head in my thoughts.
Maybe ‘Ban’ would have been bothered, but I’d been through all kinds of unreasonable people back on Earth.
That sort of huffing and puffing felt more like a show of affection than anything else.
‘There’s no need to bicker with the kid. I’ll just send him away with a few pleasant words.’
With that in mind, I opened my mouth—but I’d overlooked one thing.
Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma had activated in response to Cal’s hostility.
“Cal, it seems you still need to learn proper etiquette.”
“…What did you say?”
“Though I suppose I share some of the blame. As your older brother, I must bear responsibility for your having grown up so discourteously.”
I was horrified, but my cursed mouth wouldn’t stop.
“Cal, you must have a lot of stress, too. I understand. After working so hard, and yet you’re still only Third Star Rank. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you as your older brother. If you ever need my help, just ask. I’m your brother, after all. I’ll be happy to teach you.”
“!!”
Cal’s eyes blazed with anger.
“You…!!”
Just then, help arrived from an unexpected source.
“Stop, Cal.”
It was Hans, who had come along with us!
“…Sir?”
“What kind of way is that to speak to Young Master Ban? Is that how I taught you to behave?”
Cal looked flustered.
Cal belonged to the Magic Faculty.
So it seemed that Hans, the family’s wizard, had served as his teacher.
“W-Why are you doing this?”
“Master Ban is the future of magical studies. He is a great man, incomparable to the likes of us. Cal, from now on, as someone who walks the path of magic, you must show Master Ban the respect he deserves.”
Cal’s mouth fell open.
His expression said, Are you insane, Teacher?