Chapter 42: The Frederik Ducal House
As if cold water had been dumped over him, his mind snapped wide awake. The Beauty Tower's address was Frederik Dungeon Zone 46—01894—925. The dungeon's name was the Frederik Dungeon Zone. Even the territory office was called the Frederik Dungeon Zone Office. And now the Duchess of Frederik was here? It was as if the First Lady had come calling on him personally.
He tamped down his surging vital signs and continued speaking into the crystal orb.
"The Duchess of Frederik—you mean the Frederik of the Frederik Dungeon Zone, right?"
Of course! She wants to consult with you, Director. What should we do?
"Guide her slowly to the director's office. I'll head up right now."
The world he'd been transported to along with his hospital was divided into three major continents: the West Continent, North Continent, and East Continent.
"Miner! Where you goin'!"
"Res, stay here and be quiet. I'm busy."
The West and North Continents, connected by land, were ruled by a single emperor under one empire, while across the sea lay the mysterious East Continent, governed entirely by its own solitary emperor.
An emperor? I'll probably never cross paths with one in my lifetime. But the same went for a duke's family, didn't it? A duke is basically a king or president in his own right!
The sudden, unannounced visit threw him into confusion. But opportunity belonged to those who seized it—and as always, he had no intention of letting his slip away.
He changed into his most formal attire and bolted from his seat, mashing the elevator button like he was trying to break it. By the time he reached the 11th-floor director's office and tidied up a seat for the duchess, the elevator doors slid open.
"Hmm, the more I see, the more mysterious it is. A completely different vibe from a magic tower."
"Ahaha, you're right. If you head inside, our director is... Ah! There he is."
Cache was bowing obsequiously beside a woman with pale green hair and a purple dress.
"It's an honor to have you visit the Beauty Tower, Duchess. I'm Miner Gold, plastic surgery specialist."
"Pleased to meet you. The rumors about your territory have been everywhere—I just had to come see for myself. And I was curious about the face behind the tower lord title."
The Duchess of Frederik reeked. Not just the nose-stinging perfume, but the thick, ostentatious scent of money wafting from her body, draped in exorbitantly expensive jewelry like it was meant to flaunt her wealth. She was the kind of person who made you want to bow your head involuntarily, beyond the pull of mere flesh and blood.
"Thank you. If I'd known the duchess was using our sunscreen, I would've sent some straight to your mansion ages ago."
"Impressive. You can tell just by looking that I've been using your sunscreen."
But he didn't bow. Instead, he straightened his back even more, meeting the duchess's gaze with clear, unwavering eyes.
"That's because the products sold at our Beauty Tower are one-of-a-kind across the entire continent. I'll have some set aside—enough for you to use plenty."
"I'll graciously accept."
The duchess brushed off his gift like it was a given. As if this sort of thing happened all the time.
A faint smile played on the duchess's lips as she continued.
"In two weeks, there will be a social gathering at the ducal castle. And we have a very important guest coming. You're from the East Continent, so you must know all about it—the Esmael Duchy."
"The Esmael Duchy... One of the five pillars supporting the East Continent, as I understand it."
The miscellaneous knowledge he'd picked up from Cache, the witches, and the Jo family was finally paying off.
"Exactly. The eldest princess of that Esmael Duchy will be visiting. And that day, I plan to introduce my proud son, Oscar."
"Then what would you have me do for the young lord?"
The duchess smiled haughtily at his response.
"I like how quick on the uptake you are. I'd like you to come to the ducal house and help make my son look his best. What do you say? The compensation won't disappoint."
She's asking me right now... to do on-site makeup? For a doctor?
But that wasn't the only red flag. From their brief exchange, it was clear the duchess was no pushover.
A visit from a princess of another continent would have been planned months in advance. No matter how hot the Beauty Tower was right now, calling him just two weeks before the event meant the previous makeup artist for the young lord had likely been fired.
This could be risky.
The timeline was tight, and she hadn't mentioned payment—only that it wouldn't be stingy.
His answer was already decided.
"When should I arrive by?"
Opportunity always came from crisis, after all.
Ailene Calendar, October 10, Monday.
Two days had passed since the Duchess of Frederik's visit to the Beauty Tower. On the second floor, the entire staff had gathered to see him off.
"While I'm gone, Cache is in charge of the Beauty Tower. Everyone, listen to her, and Cache—if anything comes up, contact me via crystal orb immediately."
"Don't worry, Director!"
"Uahaha! Go on ahead, Director!"
"Shouldn't you get there early and wait? Virtue demands it—off you go!"
"Don't worry, take your time, sightsee a bit, and come back relaxed."
The most enthusiastic about this ducal house trip were, predictably, the Jo family.
"Rebecca, no communication crystal orb?"
"Right, the Black Moon Church makes their own with that function... Huh? Is that it?"
He pulled a spare crystal orb from his subspace pouch and handed it to Rebecca.
"The Jo family said they didn't need it. Cache is the manager, but for emergencies, use this to reach me."
"Heehee, I'll take good care of the gift."
The Jo family glared as he handed over the last remaining orb, but Walter merely rested a hand on his sword hilt, and they quickly averted their eyes.
"Walter, Res—got all your stuff packed?"
"Yes, all done."
"Yeah! I'm ready to go whenever!"
Walter was coming along as his bodyguard, and Res as the emergency power source.
"It's time—why hasn't it arrived? They said they'd send a carriage..."
Shwaaaaaang!
Kwoooong!
The familiar dust storm whipped up outside the Beauty Tower.
...Looks like the carriage they sent was a sky turtle.
"...It's here. Alright, everyone—take care."
"We're off!"
"Safe travels!"
"Take it easy, haha!"
Without looking back, he stepped out of the Beauty Tower. People disembarked from the first and third carriages led by the sky turtle, and a man from the first carriage stepped forward to greet them.
"From the House of Frederik. We'll escort you this way. No separate luggage?"
"Packed it in the subspace pouch. Let's go."
Under the guidance of men who gave off the vibe of captain and first officer, they boarded the carriage. Despite its massive exterior, the interior wasn't huge—featuring thick, masterfully crafted leather sofa-like seats.
As he fumbled into his seat, glancing around, a voice emanated from the ceiling crystal orb. Following the instructions, he buckled his seatbelt and peered out the unsettlingly large window—right as it happened.
Kyuuuuuuuung—
He'd imagined first-class luxury when buckling up. Reality felt more like a helicopter.
"Whooooaaa, Maaaiiineeer, thiiiis iiiis so cooool!"
Res seemed to find even the rattling thrilling. Honestly, this was his first time in such an unstable flight, so he was just as amazed.
But the wonder was short-lived. The sky turtle shot straight up into the heavens before leveling off into a swift glide.
"Miner, you know what? The sky turtle says it sucks in wind through its mouth and blasts it out under its shell to fly! Isn't that cool!"
"Cool, sure... You talked to the sky turtle?"
"Yeah! Not these ones—the ones that came to the Beauty Tower last time! I asked then!"
Asked a turtle.
Impossible by normal human logic.
"Res, don't tell me..."
"Whaaat?"
"You can talk to animals?"
"Yeah! Why?"
"As expected..."
"What! What's with that reaction!"
Beasts were beasts, after all. But even if Res was amazing, could this happen without magic? He doubted it.
"You can really talk to them? They fly with their mouths open— what if a bird flies in?"
"Happens sometimes, but it says no big deal."
"No big deal?"
Bird strikes could destroy plane engines. Studies showed a single bird hit mid-flight packed the force of 5 tons.
"It just eats it? Said it tastes good."
"..."
As he pondered if a fragile body could withstand what shattered steel, he figured talking beasts handled it somehow. Regretting the pointless question, he sighed faintly and leaned toward the window.
The sky turtle only shook during takeoff; once cruising at altitude, the noise and turbulence weren't bad.
This is the sky of this world...
Back home, he'd flown overseas countless times for conferences. But it felt like his first flight ever—like that thrill of the unknown.
After first arriving in this isekai, he'd had silly thoughts like that for a while. Maybe he was kidnapped for some Truman Show setup.
Gazing out like he was perched on the clouds reaffirmed this place was worlds apart from his original.
Shoooooo—
Lost in the scenic view through the carriage's vast glass window, he drifted off to sleep.
Exhausted from days of nonstop work, he'd conked out. Yawning at the announcement, he cracked his eyes open—and a soft gasp escaped him unbidden.
This is the House of Frederik... my territory's liege lord.
The Frederik Dungeon Zone was a backwater even on the West Continent, stirring mixed feelings of anticipation and doubt.
But the sight under the darkening sunset—evoking Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for Disneyland—left him awestruck.
"This place... Uhguh?!"
No time for admiration. The sky turtle plunged toward the ground.
Amid intense vibrations, it completed its landing.
"Whoa! That was fun!"
"Glad to hear it."
Thank goodness for the motion sickness patch behind his ear. Just then, the carriage door opened, and butler Mendel smiled at them.
"Director Miner and party. Welcome to Frederik Castle."