Chapter 133. Emerging from Hoblood Cave
“Ahem…! How fares the Northern Duke?”
“Why do you ask? Could it be that you’re also involved with His Grace the Duke…?”
“Do you have a death wish?!”
“His Grace the Duke is currently recovering both body and mind. There’s no need for great concern.”
The tense confrontation sparked by Tolstoy’s sudden appearance had abruptly ended. Of course, that just meant my lifeline had been extended—it didn’t mean the problem was solved.
While Tolstoy, who had fainted from shock, was recuperating in the VVIP room, Res and the witches were busy restoring the ruins of Gold Territory with the half-orcs and elves in tow.
And now, I was in the study of my mansion next to the Beauty Tower, conversing with this lunatic who called herself the Grand Matriarch of the Hoblood Clan—Sia Min, or rather, Minsia—accompanied by Walter. All under the guise of psychological therapy.
“By the way… no, Lady Minsia—”
“Call me Grand Matriarch, child.”
“…If you truly are the Grand Matriarch as you claim, then what on earth happened to leave you in this state? Maybe we should start there.”
“Indeed, to anyone’s eyes, I must look like a mere girl.”
“…”
Sitting across from her in the chair, Minsia ground her teeth with a grating crunch that could curdle blood. Her appearance was unmistakably that of a high school girl—at most, early twenties if you were being generous.
At first, I’d wondered if this was some dissociative identity disorder, multiple personalities. But as she sighed deeply and continued her explanation, an indescribable unease crept in that I couldn’t deny.
“It all began two years ago, during my closed-door training.”
“Closed-door training… You mean completely cutting off contact with the outside world? In a cave or something, surviving on wall-grain pills?”
“Yes. We of the Hoblood Clan call that place Hoblood Cave.”
To my curiosity-laden question, Minsia nodded lightly and pressed on. I had no idea how much of her tale was truth or fiction. But her words, straight out of a wuxia novel, were plenty intriguing.
“As I continued my training, I sensed a foreign energy approaching the main house. It was them.”
“Them? Who do you mean?”
She didn’t answer right away, closing her eyes as if lost in thought. A brief silence fell, then her full lips parted once more.
“The Hoblood Clan is geographically surrounded by the Black Sea. I don’t know where you crawled out from in the East Continent, but if you’re from there, you’ve surely heard of the Black Sea.”
I haven’t.
“The people of the East Continent shun its ominous black waters and never approach. But to the Hoblood Clan, it’s the world’s greatest fortress. That’s why I could enter Hoblood Cave with peace of mind.”
I knew nothing about the Black Sea or its location, but Minsia prattled on like some ancient elder, explaining even the irrelevant details. Still, I decided to hear her out calmly. With Tolstoy unconscious, relations between Lancaster Duchy and the Hoblood Clan had become ambiguous. I didn’t know why Minsia needed so much magic stone from Lancaster, but to Tolstoy, it must have looked like she—or he?—was trying to silence me now that I knew her true identity. And since I was treating both Minsia and Tolstoy, I’d taken on the role of mediator. It was the only way to keep my lifeline intact.
“Two years ago, a group arrived at the Hoblood Clan on a massive ship, navigating through the Black Sea.”
“West Continent folk?”
“That’s what I thought at first.”
“…?”
A bitter smile tugged at her lips as the explanation continued.
“Those who came by sea in a huge vessel looked the part of West Continent mages. They claimed their rudder had broken during the voyage, leading them into the Black Sea.”
“Mages, you say?”
“Yes, they said they were from the Hermilda Dungeon Zone in the West Continent. Though the Hoblood Clan is reclusive, we’re the only ones with territory bordering the Black Sea.”
Hermilda Territory was a marquisate at the southern tip of the West Continent, surrounded by sea on three sides with eternal summer weather—a famous resort spot for West Continenters. It had come up a few times among the Beauty Tower staff.
“The Hoblood Clan had no real ties to West Continenters, but abandoning those in need would go against our spirit. So we helped them until their ship was repaired and they could set sail again.”
“So what did these mages do?”
Minsia, mid-sentence, let out a heavy sigh utterly at odds with her delicate features, her face twisting into that of a beast ready to tear someone apart. The atmosphere turned so heavy I couldn’t press further. Instinct told me silence was best; I waited quietly for her to continue.
“The mages were originally supposed to stay in our territory for a month. But they dragged it out, claiming ship repairs were delayed, extending their time with us.”
After a not-insubstantial silence, Minsia spoke again.
“It wouldn’t have been a huge issue. For the Hoblood Clan, which has minimal outside contact, they offered various goods in exchange.”
“…”
This world had diverse transport: ordinary carriages, magic stone-powered ones, even sky carriages pulled by aerial beasts. But waterways and ships were still steadily used. No matter how fast or varied magic transport got, it couldn’t match a ship’s cargo volume. And if their vessel was a massive warship, they’d have ample supplies.
“Three months after they settled on Hoblood land, I had no choice but to emerge from Hoblood Cave before my training ended.”
Minsia’s face grew even fiercer.
“What happened?”
“I could no longer sense… that child’s qi.”
“That child?”
“Min Soso, my granddaughter’s name.”
Minsia’s hand on the armrest began trembling violently, as if reliving the moment.
“Soso is the apple of my eye, a child I raised like fine jade. But I trained her to be strong, worthy of the clan.”
“…”
“Unlike my weak son, derided as a henpecked fool, she takes after me—exceptional in temperament and martial arts.”
The thought of another brute like her, skilled not just in force but personality, sent chills down my spine; I swallowed dryly.
“Among my grandchildren, Soso has the greatest talent. She became young matriarch at a tender age—no need to explain further.”
Minsia grinned like a proud grandfather stroking an invisible beard in the air.
But her expression soon twisted viciously again.
“At her age, Soso had already surpassed her father in martial prowess. Every morning and evening, she’d send greetings worrying for her training grandmother’s safety. I couldn’t hear her voice in the cave, but I felt her qi. Until one day… it vanished.”
Watching Minsia, whom I suspected of bipolar disorder, I patiently waited for her to go on.
“A day passed, then a week. I thought little of it at first. But after over a month with no trace of Soso’s qi, I knew something was wrong. The young matriarch vanishing for that long? Unthinkable.”
Minsia clenched her fist until her knuckles whitened; I listened intently in the resolute air.
“And when I emerged from Hoblood Cave… contrary to my fears, the Hoblood Clan was fine.”
“Pardon? Fine? What do you mean?”
“Nothing had changed since I entered. When I sought my son the patriarch, he praised the West Continent mages for their help.”
One corner of Minsia’s mouth curled savagely.
“But no one remembered Soso.”
“Didn’t remember…? What does that mean?”
“Exactly that. Everyone but me had forgotten Soso even existed. Even my son the patriarch. He even fretted that I’d overdone my training in Hoblood Cave, ha!”
“…”
Minsia’s laugh held no joy.
“Even after berating him and making him circulate his qi, he still didn’t remember Soso. I checked the mages’ identities via crystal orb with the Hermilda territorial office—they dismissed me as mad for suspecting them.”
“Not even the current patriarch remembered your granddaughter? Not a single soul?”
In this delusional scenario, Minsia nodded curtly.
“No illusion magic could be that insidious. I headed straight to the Black Sea beach where their ship was docked.”
Her face contorted as if facing blood-sworn enemies.
“I’ve never used lightness skill so swiftly in my life. Racing nonstop to where the mages were, I saw their massive ship, big enough to house a manor, surrounded by mages and workers.”
To a modern man like me, it sounded like pure delusion. But this was an isekai with magic, aura, and qi. I couldn’t entirely dismiss the words of Minsia, who believed herself Grand Matriarch. All I could do was listen and gather more info.
“As I approached, the filthy mages greeted me with sickening smiles, just like my son had said.”
“What did you do?”
“I asked the first one who approached where my granddaughter was. When he claimed ignorance, I tore out their necks one by one.”
“…”
“Amusing lot. Even with spines and limbs ripped out, they trembled in terror, insisting ignorance—then unleashed attacks on me.”
Her bared white fangs made my heart sink, but Minsia continued.
“Their petty magic couldn’t touch me. Needing an outlet for rage, I planned to slaughter them all before boarding the ship. I nearly ended over fifty. But too late, I realized it was their scheme.”
“Scheme?”
To my question, Minsia sighed deeply.
“As I’d killed most, blood from the corpse pile surged into the air, binding me like ropes. Blood magic.”
“Blood magic… You mean…”
“Yes. Black magic.”