Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Mind Master and the Discourse of Three
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The tumultuous day drew to a close. The Robros Kingdom delegation that had arrived in Kara spent their first day shaking off the fatigue of their long journey, while the Kara side pulled an all-nighter to prepare for the negotiations set to begin in the afternoon of the second day.
The main topic of discussion between the two nations this time was the extermination of the 'Great Desert Bandits.' It was a recurring agenda, nothing particularly special about it, but Kara was approaching it with a more serious attitude than in previous years. That was because, unlike other times, the delegation included Marquis Fabius, one of the real powers in the Robros Kingdom.
Of course, to my eyes, it looked like the marquis had stubbornly insisted on coming along, but even so, Kara couldn't afford to take this visit lightly.
Waah-wah.
The Kara palace was bustling from early morning with local dignitaries and lesser nobles stopping by. Even though everyone from 7th-class nobles down to 12th-class had been excluded, it already looked like hundreds had shown up.
I, who had spent the night at the Kara palace yesterday, was poking around the detached palace dining area late in the morning. I needed breakfast, and I had some important people to meet.
As I entered the dining hall, I spotted a massive figure seated at a round table in the distance. It was Uncle Zenbe.
"Hey. You made it?"
Uncle Zenbe glanced at me.
"You're here? But why'd you want to meet?"
"You know damn well why you're asking?"
"I don't!"
Uncle Zenbe abruptly turned away. Yeah, he knew.
At that moment, a hulking old man kicked open the door and strode into the dining hall. It was Marquis Fabius. But today, unusually, he was wearing a hat adorned with feathers.
The marquis scanned the dining hall as if searching for someone, and the moment he spotted me, he let out a long, drawn-out shout laced with resentment.
"White Face~!"
I waved cheerfully at the marquis as he stormed over, snorting like an angry bull. The third guest to arrive was none other than Marquis Fabius.
"Hey, Gramps. Come on in."
The marquis slammed the table with a fierce glare.
"You. What the hell did you give me yesterday?"
If he meant medicine, yeah, I'd given him one. Hair growth tonic.
"'Ascend to Heaven'? Why?"
"You asking because you don't know?!"
The marquis yanked off his hat in fury, revealing his flushed bald scalp completely covered in hives.
This was bad. Apparently, one of the ingredients I'd put in 'Ascend to Heaven' caused skin trouble.
That's why you should always consult a healer before prescribing herbs.
I swallowed dryly. Screw this up, and I might not live to see sunset.
In the end, I decided to play dumb.
"Nah~. Come on. Do you have any idea what that tonic is...? I told you yesterday. That hair growth tonic is a legendary elixir, aged for ten years by the esteemed Sage Miyul, whose reputation as a divine healer echoes across the Eastern Continent."
"You see this rash and still say that? I just had a healer confirm it."
I waved my hands wildly.
"What do those quacks know? Gramps? You know natural healing medicine is way more advanced in the East than here, right? And this is made by the greatest of them all, Sage Miyul. Not something a back-alley healer can judge."
"You sure?"
"Of course."
The marquis's momentum softened a bit. He seemed skeptical. Seizing the moment, I inspected his condition and chided him casually.
"And what skin trouble? This is just the early signs of your hair roots coming alive. Take a look in the mirror. That bumpy look is full of vitality, isn't it? Gramps, don't you hear the hair roots cheering, 'Brothers, I'm back!' echoing in your ears?"
Marquis Fabius pulled a mirror from his pocket and examined his hive-covered scalp.
"Hmm..."
"Told you. That's the sign of your hair roots stirring. Sure, if you insist it's a rash, I can't say otherwise, but for withered roots to revive without symptoms like this? That'd be weird. It's just growing pains. Growing pains."
"Mm. Alright then?"
"Yeah. The rash is just part of the process as your hair roots regain their vigor."
"Well, fine."
Marquis Fabius gently touched the rash, then sat beside me with slightly flushed cheeks. Hair roots, my ass. This gramps can't tell shit from Shinola.
The marquis ordered food from a servant and settled at the table.
"So. Why'd you call us?"
"Since we're all here, how about the three of us have a little discourse?"
"Discourse? About what?"
Look at this old man playing coy. That's why he came all the way to Kara, and now he acts like he doesn't know.
But I had to steer the conversation somehow. These two were the closest anyone had come to the Mind Master realm. Listening in would be hugely beneficial for me.
"Mind Master. Think about it. Opportunities like this don't come often."
Marquis Fabius glanced at Uncle Zenbe.
"Eh."
"Gramps, you know about it?"
"What?"
I nodded toward the marquis's head.
"That relying on medicine is only temporary."
"What do you mean?"
"All things in the world move in harmony and order. Unless you solve it at the root, even your hair root brothers will leave again. Probably won't even bloom before they do."
Marquis Fabius's eyes twitched.
"Really?"
"Yeah. And there's no more tonic left. It was so rare, I can't get any more. So the only way is the root solution. You know what that is, right?"
The root solution was ascending to Mind Master. Reach Mind Master, and your lifespan extends, your body optimizes. Even the departed hair roots return.
"Ahem. I know that."
"Then do it. That's why you came here, isn't it? To see if you could glean something from Uncle Zenbe."
Marquis Fabius and Uncle Zenbe exchanged glances.
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Then instead of fighting like yesterday, since we're here, let's have a constructive discussion. We might fill in each other's gaps."
Uncle Zenbe and Marquis Fabius hesitated. I lay out the red carpet, and they backpedal. This isn't a blind date mixer—what's their deal?
In the end, I had to kick things off.
"The mental world is vague and ambiguous. You think you get it, then you don't; you don't, but you kinda sense it."
Uncle Zenbe reluctantly chimed in.
"And those two are one, yet two again."
Marquis Fabius added,
"But that thinking might be wrong. Or it might be right."
With that, the discourse began, with Uncle Zenbe and Marquis Fabius taking turns in a heated debate.
Marquis Fabius insisted the essence was purely the nature of the mind, and only that held the answer. Uncle Zenbe countered that formation of the mind was key, and only that led to answers. They passionately argued their views.
I listened intently from the side. Every word was gold—couldn't miss a syllable.
"Sage Oil! The human mind is already complete. No room for formation."
"How can the mind be complete from the start? Like a child becoming an adult, the mind grows through formation."
"No. What grows is knowledge and personality, not the true mind."
They bickered noisily. I summed it up.
"What if you're both saying the same thing?"
"What do you mean?"
I grabbed a bun from the table center and dipped it in jam.
"What if, like bread and jam making a jam bun, essence and formation combine to create the true mental world?"
Marquis Fabius rested his chin thoughtfully.
"Sounds plausible. But there must be a distinction."
Uncle Zenbe jumped in hurriedly.
"Let's go with this for now. Divide the human mind into inner mind and outer mind. Assume their union forms the complete mind."
"Fine. Let's do that."
I called a servant for pen and paper. I drew a bullseye diagram: essence in the inner mind center, formation in the outer. Essence as fundamental fit the core.
Uncle Zenbe spread more sheets, drawing multiples.
"Uncle, why so many?"
"You heard of the wolf child?"
"Yeah. Raised by wolves, right? Why?"
"Makes it easy. Imagine a human baby picked up and raised by a wolf pack. Would it grow into a wolf child or human child?"
Obvious.
"Wolf child."
"Right. The wolf pack society shaped it into a wolf child. You can't explain mental formation without social connections—karma and ties."
He connected the bullseyes with lines, forming a complex web.
But it looked too uniform. Life has close ties and distant ones; lines were all the same. I added thick and thin lines. Uncle Zenbe nodded intrigued, adding large circles at thick-line ends, small at thin, completing the outer mind.
"Yes. That's the outer mind."
"Sure?"
"Mostly."
I studied the diagram.
If true, the human mind connects via ties and karma. It grows through relationships, influencing others'. My mind becomes part of theirs, theirs part of mine.
Complex, vague, but the wolf child example clarified: influenced by wolves, acts wolf-like despite being human.
Marquis Fabius interjected.
"Now, add essence here."
He labeled inner mind with essence, adding desire and instinct in brackets, plus symbols. Uncle Zenbe and I wore subtle expressions.
The diagram showed personal desires clashing with communal conscience—universal human conflict.
"Hmm. Expanding the mental realm from this feels promising."
Marquis Fabius and Uncle Zenbe agreed.
"Definitely something tangible."
"Yes. Feels great."
I grinned, raising my glass of jujube fruit wine for dessert.
"To that, how about a celebratory toast?"
Uncle Zenbe waved it off.
"Nah. Jujube wine? That's juice. A real man drinks 'Snow Ice Tears' at least."
This uncle goes hard. 'Snow Ice Tears' is the 99.99% proof orc booze.
Marquis Fabius chuckled, joining in.
"Heh. 'Snow Ice Tears' manly? A man's drink is 'Breath of Flame'."
Here they go with pointless pride battles.
'Breath of Flame' is humanity's strongest, 99.99% proof. Problem: at that purity, everything tastes the same—burns tongue and throat, no flavor.
But I couldn't back down, jumped into the pride fray.
"No. Man's drink is 'Salamander Rebellion EX.' Only heroes can handle it."
Uncle and Gramps paused their staredown, eyeing me puzzled. Makes sense—they'd never heard. 'Salamander Rebellion EX' debuted in the Age of Ruin; no way they knew.
"What's that?"
"Mixed drink."
"Taste?"
"Can't describe. Gotta try to know, 'This is a real man's drink.' Want a demo?"
"Yeah. Make it."
I summoned servants for ingredients. 'Salamander Rebellion EX' used common stuff, doable anywhere.
Soon, three flat beers arrived. Uncle Zenbe narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You aren't about to mix Eastern-distilled spirits into this like some cheap cocktail, are you?"
"Absolutely not."
I cracked raw eggs into the beers, plopped in a heaping spoonful of mayo each, stirred thoroughly.
The moment 'Salamander Rebellion EX' debuted in this era.
Uncle Zenbe sniffed and pulled back. Marquis Fabius sipped half a mouthful, retched with a shit-eating grimace. Smells and tastes like the fried pancake sludge littering tavern floors.
They yelled in unison.
"Hey! How do you drink this vile crap?!"
That's why we made it in the Age of Ruin. Resources scarce, even one less mouth to feed mattered.
[Mind Master and the Discourse of Three] End
ⓒ Wyverns