Chapter 3
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Dangle
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“A pleasure to meet you. I am Daniel, lord of Garseten Castle.”
Daniel was a gaunt, skinny man. Gilberton was not a short man, yet Daniel was a full hand taller than him.
*How gloomy.*
Galahad clicked his tongue softly and shook Daniel's hand.
“Galahad Amberltan.”
“...Amberltan, you say? Oh, so you are the son of Count Amberltan.”
Daniel's expression changed in an instant. As Daniel raised the corners of his mouth, his sharp, yellowed canines came into view.
*So he knows of Count Amberltan.*
It was unexpected. A central noble would know of Count Amberltan, but this was the very entrance to the North.
The Amberltans were a fairly prominent noble family, but not so renowned that their fame would reach this far.
It was one of two things. Either this noble named Daniel was ambitious, hoping to advance into the central political sphere—
*Or he has investigated Count Amberltan before.*
Warmth radiated from the large fireplace behind Daniel. Shadows deepened and receded on his face.
“What business might a son of Count Amberltan have with His Grace, the Grand Duke?”
Daniel narrowed his eyes, his words trailing off.
“I was invited.”
“Invited, you say?”
Instead of answering, Galahad gestured toward Gilberton, who was standing a short distance away. Gilberton gave a slight nod of his head. It was an arrogant gesture, but Daniel didn't seem to mind.
“Ah, I see. Have you eaten?”
When Galahad shook his head, Daniel once again bared his yellow fangs.
“Please, join me. The meal should be ready by now.”
***
*So this is truly the Northern style.*
Galahad muttered to himself as he pierced a piece of meat dripping with blood.
He had suspected Gilberton had served him undercooked meat just to mess with him, but the meat here was just as bloody. In fact, Gilberton’s had been more cooked.
“You don’t drink?”
“I’m abstaining.”
When Galahad shook his head, Daniel gave a smirk. It was a strangely irritating smile.
Just then, a maid placed some roasted vegetables on Galahad’s plate. Galahad frowned at the maid, who was staring intently at him. Had it been any other noble, she would have been slapped across the face, yet the maid only slowly bowed her head.
“You’re not eating?”
“I’m fine. I ate earlier.”
Gilberton shook his head at Galahad’s question. The odd things Gilberton had said before they arrived compounded his unease.
“Are you, by any chance, a mage?”
Daniel suddenly threw out an unexpected question. The dining hall fell silent. The maids, who had been moving about, froze in place.
*He has investigated the Amberltans.*
Galahad stared at Daniel. His glistening eyes were akin to those of someone looking at a delicious meal.
“I’ve heard a rumor that the third son of the Amberltans is an exceptional mage.”
Daniel said as he cut his meat with a knife. A bit of red blood splattered. Looking closer, Galahad saw the man was eating his meat completely raw.
It was less a question and more a statement to himself. Suddenly, Gilberton’s words came to mind: ‘In the North, they can’t tell the difference between demons and mages.’
“And if I am?”
Galahad lowered his hand beneath the table. He slowly began to circulate his mana, preparing to put a hole in the man’s head at a moment’s notice. It was a basic skill for any mage in this era of magic-hating.
“Ah! My daughter absolutely adores magic. She even took the Academy entrance exam, but she failed. You can’t imagine how disappointed she was.”
A warmth spread across Daniel’s face. Unlike before, he chattered on noisily. Bits of meat flew from his mouth. Galahad grimaced.
“If you don’t mind, may I call my daughter? She would be thrilled to meet a mage.”
Had he misunderstood? Galahad kept the mana gathered in his hand.
“Bring Emma here! Now!”
Daniel shouted without waiting for Galahad’s reply. At his command, a maid ran off.
Daniel’s daughter, Emma, who appeared a moment later, was quite the beauty.
The only thing she shared with Daniel was her tall stature. She was the same height as her father, but unlike him, her face was full of life, and her eyes were large and bright. She was a rare beauty.
“Your wife must be a beautiful woman.”
“Pardon? Ah, she was. Not anymore, though. Go on, greet him. This is Lord Galahad, a mage from the capital.”
Emma grasped the sides of her skirt and curtsied. It was an awkward, capital-style curtsy. The way she looked at Galahad was incredibly clingy.
*Being popular is exhausting.*
Emma sat right next to Galahad. A fishy smell mingled with her sweet fragrance.
“Did you really graduate from the Academy as the youngest valedictorian ever?”
Emma asked, her eyes sparkling. Galahad nodded with a bitter smile.
“Wow! So it was true! My friend who got into the Academy told me! That there was someone named Galahad!”
“The child chattered on so much. The moment I heard the family name, I knew it was you. To graduate as the youngest from the Academy, which is so hard to even get into, is truly amazing.”
*So they weren't investigating the Amberltans.*
It wasn’t the Amberltans they had looked into, but Galahad himself. Perhaps it was a sentiment similar to that of a parent whose child had failed their exams for years.
“I worked hard.”
“Oh, come now. Graduating as the youngest valedictorian is an unprecedented achievement. A genius among geniuses!”
Emma bumped her shoulder against his and smiled brightly. Galahad scratched the side of his neck with his finger.
It was true he had talent. However, graduating as valedictorian wasn't simply a matter of talent.
Existing in a child’s body with the mind of an adult was a truly terrible experience. Galahad chose to read books rather than run around with other kids.
From the age of three, Galahad had studied grimoires as if preparing for a civil service exam.
The reason he graduated as the youngest was because he had started studying magic at the youngest age.
In the first place, the amount of studying done by the kids here, who even took nap times, was incomparable to his.
However, there was no need to explain all that.
“Would you take a look at my magic?”
Emma asked in a cautious tone. Galahad nodded. He might as well earn his keep.
Emma began to chant a flamboyant incantation. She even spread her arms out to the sides. Anyone watching would think she was casting some grand spell. Galahad fought to keep his eyebrows from furrowing.
“Show me! Thy fury—!”
*Why is the incantation inverted?*
Then, with a cry of “Hup!” Emma thrust both hands forward. A faint flame sputtered from her palms. It lacked enough heat to even light a cigarette.
Should he praise her courage for even thinking of applying to the Academy with that level of skill? Galahad seriously contemplated it.
“You’ve improved! At this rate, you’ll get in next time!”
Contrary to Galahad’s thoughts, Daniel clapped his hands in delight.
Galahad shook his head. There was no chance Emma would ever get into the Academy. That spell was more pathetic than the ones Galahad had cast when he was three.
Still, there was no need to say it out loud.
“Relax your palms a bit more and push the mana in more forcefully.”
“Relax my palms? But how do I push in more mana then?”
“Do you need to use your palms to move mana?”
“…Pardon?”
*What an idiot.* Galahad suppressed his irritation.
“Mana is moved by will, not by muscle. Many people mistake it for using muscles, but that prevents you from moving mana as you intend. Separate the two.”
Galahad explained as kindly as he could. It was a speech he’d given over a hundred times, so the words flowed easily. There were plenty of blockheads among mages. In this world, it was rare to find someone who even understood magic as a formulaic system.
“…Is that so?”
Emma frowned. It was clear she didn’t understand.
*Well, if she could understand it in one go, she would have figured it out on her own. Being stupid isn’t a crime.*
Galahad sighed softly and held out his hand. Emma’s eyes widened.
“Give me your hand.”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
Her hand was cold, as if she had poor circulation. Galahad channeled his mana through her hand.
Normally, transferring mana to another person was a dangerous act, but not for Galahad. It was something he had done hundreds of times.
*She has a fair amount of mana.*
Galahad was genuinely impressed. For someone with such trash-tier skill, she possessed a decent amount of mana. Had Daniel been feeding her something good?
“My lessons are expensive, so focus.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t open your mouth. Focus on the mana.”
Emma pressed her lips together and nodded. Galahad touched Emma’s mana, guiding its flow. Considering her denseness, he repeated the process about five times.
“…Ahhh!!”
Emma let out an excited gasp. She briefly clenched her hand before opening it again.
“Do you understand now?”
“Yes! So this is what you meant by moving it with will, not muscle! Ahh!”
Emma jumped up and down with joy. The fire in her palm remained the same.
*She didn't get it.* Forcing himself to resist the urge to smack her on the head, he took her hand again.
Only after repeating it about ten more times did the flame in Emma’s hand grow larger. *Now she can at least light a cigarette,* Galahad thought, clicking his tongue softly.
“Thank you so much, Lord Galahad!”
“It’s nothing. Passing on knowledge is a mage’s basic duty.”
Galahad shook his head at her profuse thanks.
In truth, it was a trivial lesson, and exploring another person’s mana was beneficial for Galahad as well.
*For such a dense head, her mana capacity is surprisingly large. Is she naturally gifted?*
Or had she been taking some kind of supplement? Galahad narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself.
“Please, stay the night. We will ensure you have a comfortable evening.”
“That’s right! Please stay! You must!”
A strangely calm Daniel and a flushed-faced Emma spoke one after another.
Galahad glanced at Gilberton. Gilberton still seemed detached, as if it had nothing to do with him.
It could be dangerous, but his curiosity was piqued. Curiosity was a fundamental trait of a mage.
“Then I won’t refuse.”
Galahad nodded with a smile.
“…In the North, adultery is a capital offense.”
Gilberton whispered as he sidled up to him. His expression was quite serious.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t married yet?”
At Galahad’s response, Gilberton gave a small smile.
***
The room was quite splendid, considering it was in the North. It had a bed, a simple bathtub, and even a fireplace. Of course, it was smaller and dirtier than a shabby inn in the capital.
*But this is the North.*
Galahad cleansed himself with a light spell and sat on the bed.
*Candles, in this day and age.*
When he lit a candle, an orange flame flickered precariously, illuminating the room.
Out of habit, Galahad circulated his mana. Then, he set up a simple set of alarm spells. It was a basic skill for a mage.
And with Gilberton’s unsettling words…
*The North.*
Galahad leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes. As a mage, a light sleep was all he needed.
How much time had passed? The alarm spell went off. Galahad slowly opened his eyes.
The long candle had burned down to its base. The window was closed, so the only light came from the fireplace, its flames flickering as if about to die out.
The faint crackle of the fireplace tickled his ears.
Galahad circulated his mana to sharpen his senses. In the space of a single breath, the muscles tensed by the cold loosened. His drowsy mind became alert.
*Creeak.* The door slowly opened. A familiar, wide skirt came into view.
*Emma.*
Galahad frowned. Opening a man’s door in the dead of night…
Emma was certainly a beauty. She was lacking in the chest department, but she made up for it with slender legs.
However, Galahad was on his way to marry the Grand Duke’s eldest daughter. He wasn’t foolish enough to let lust ruin his plans.
“My intentions were purely to teach you magic, nothing more. I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression.”
Galahad refused her as gentlemanly as possible.
His refusal must have been too weak, as Emma strode forward. The room was too dark to see her face.
*This damned popularity.*
As Galahad sighed, Emma stopped at the bedside. She was holding something in her hand. *Does she use props? That's even more unsettling.*
Suddenly, Emma leaped into the air. Her skirt billowed out like wings.
*So forward.* Galahad couldn’t stop his eyes from instinctively following the motion.
Dangle. A hideous thing that had no business being under a skirt offered a vigorous greeting.
*…Dangle?*
Galahad, who had experienced a great many things and was rarely fazed, felt his mind go blank at the utterly unexpected situation.
As the skirt fell, Emma’s face was revealed.
A shaggy beard and hollow eyes.
It wasn’t Emma. It was Daniel.
Dressed in Emma’s clothes.
“They say a mage’s heart is a delicacy! Become nourishment for my daughter! I will repay this kindness for years to come!”
Daniel, his canines elongated, lunged at Galahad.
Dangle!
“This is really too much.”
Galahad’s face contorted in disgust.