Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Utility of the Demon Sword - 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The head of the Agulvein Count House, Harondal Agulvein, found himself in dire straits.
The territory was on the brink of collapse.
The Agulvein Count House had enjoyed a boom across five generations thanks to its mining industry.
But from some turning point onward, the ore yields plummeted dramatically, marking the beginning of their downfall.
With their primary industry staggering, the territory's economy shook right along with it.
As resources dwindled, income dried up, and they reached the point where they couldn't even properly pay the miners' wages.
The miners had no choice but to set down their picks to make ends meet.
Those who left the mines tried turning to farming, but the Agulvein lands weren't suited to agriculture due to their geography.
While everyone was barely scraping by, the count insisted on collecting taxes on schedule.
"There's no future in Agulvein!"
In the end, the territory's people began to flee, and the Agulvein Count House rapidly declined.
They had clung on by the skin of their teeth thanks to ties with the wealthy Altesia Count House and their support, but even that was over.
They'd received word from Altesia that support would end along with the broken engagement.
"This is unfair!"
Meanwhile, Elisabeth, dumped by Heinz, couldn't pull herself together and insisted to her own father that she had done nothing wrong.
Harondal sent a formal letter of protest to Altesia in response, but it only backfired on him.
Altesia replied by pointing out Elisabeth's arrogant attitude and expressing their displeasure.
After that, the nobles of neighboring territories all cut ties with them at once.
They didn't want to make enemies of the thriving Altesia Count House, now riding high on elixirs and arachne silk.
The Agulveins were left utterly isolated, unable to seek aid from anyone.
Elisabeth, who had earned the hatred of the hero-acclaimed Heinz, drew a torrent of criticism.
With money and reputation both in freefall, Harondal faced the greatest crisis of his life.
'No other options left.'
He needed to cleanly abandon the mines and find a way out of this mess.
But he'd clung to the hopeless mining business out of lingering attachment, leaving them short on funds.
Harondal decided to go see Heinz Altesia himself.
If he groveled pathetically and begged forgiveness, Altesia might toss him some money just to be rid of him.
It was then, as he steeled himself to swallow his pride and save the territory, that...
"My lord, we have a distinguished guest."
A visitor to the crumbling Agulvein estate.
Someone worthy of being called a "distinguished guest" was rare these days, so curiosity piqued.
As Harondal was about to tell them to bring the guest in...
Kwachik-!
The head of the servant delivering the message exploded.
Red blood sprayed everywhere, widening Harondal's eyes.
An old woman strode in, trampling the headless corpse.
Instinct told him she was the killer.
"Hol hol! I told you to relay the message quickly, yet you only now inform the count? Your feet are too damn slow."
"What in the world...!"
"I've given you a chance to replace that lazy servant. Be grateful to this old hag."
It was absurd.
She'd killed an innocent territory resident and now told him to be thankful?
But Harondal couldn't voice a single complaint.
The six-pointed star brooch on the old woman's chest was the symbol of the Mage Tower.
Its pure white color marked her as a mage from the White Tower.
"To what do we owe the visit from a White Tower mage?"
"Hol hol hol! To offer the count an unmatched opportunity."
"An opportunity...?"
"I know you're facing many setbacks and hardships. If you're amenable, I'd like to lend my wisdom. What say you?"
"...I'll hear you out, at least."
He wanted nothing more than to chase her off, but he couldn't risk ending up like that servant.
The servant might have been rude to her first, after all.
Harondal planned to listen vaguely, then politely decline and send her packing.
"But if I may say, it seems your head is filled with useless thoughts?"
"Even a White Tower mage can't speak so rudely before a noble and expect to get away with it!"
"This old woman came to wipe away all those stray thoughts. Please set aside your anger."
No sooner had she finished than her staff pointed right at his face.
Sensing danger, Harondal spun away, but his pupils were already dilating.
His consciousness faded, leaving only a mindless doll standing there.
"Hol hol hol! To be a good boy, you must obey Granny, right?"
In that moment, the territory lord became a puppet of the cult.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the Altesia estate's reception room.
Heinz received the Agulvein father and daughter, along with Hulcas, in a delinquent slouch with legs crossed.
Relations between the houses weren't good enough for polite courtesy.
Besides, Heinz hadn't abandoned his wastrel persona yet.
"What brings such lowly folk to this fine place?"
"Your insolence is grating."
"Did you expect a welcome? Be grateful I didn't sprinkle salt on you."
As Heinz and Harondal glared daggers at each other...
Maribel stood behind Heinz, watching Hulcas intently.
Her bodyguard staying back felt off somehow.
"Anyway, spit out your business quick. I'm busy."
"We've come to demand compensation for your unilateral breach of engagement."
"Turn around and get out, JOAT."
Heinz dismissed them outright, deeming discussion pointless.
Before he could issue an eviction, Harondal placed the box at his feet onto the table.
"We admit some responsibility for the broken engagement, so let's barter."
"I don't care about trades or whatever. Get out. I did nothing wrong, so what's with the scheming?"
"I wonder if you'll say the same after seeing what's inside."
"It's some rare ore, right? No thanks on the hard sell—go peddle it to the blacksmith village east of here."
"Jumping to conclusions isn't wise. Do you think I'd bring something useless to you?"
Harondal unlocked the case and revealed its contents.
A lone crystal orb sat inside, and suddenly light burst from it, engulfing the room.
Heinz winced at the blinding glare, but only for a moment.
He felt his mind growing hazy.
⚔ TYRING ⚔ Pathetic suggestion magic. With me here, cheap tricks like this won't work. 'This tipsy feeling is the best. Feels just like being drunk.'
⚔ TYRING ⚔ ......Sigh. Thanks to Tyring's power, Heinz had full resistance to mental magic.
But he was letting a bit of the suggestion magic in on purpose, savoring it.
The demon sword sighed at its master's antics.
However, Heinz's feigned vulnerability prompted the black curtain to act.
"To fail even at something this easy, getting two of the cult's elite knights killed... I can't comprehend it."
The light from the crystal orb had the power to temporarily muddle the human mind.
Hulcas had deliberately stayed back, away from the light's influence.
Seizing the moment of her opponent's vulnerability, she drew her staff.
Just like with Harondal, she aimed to turn Heinz into the cult's puppet.
"Hol hol hol! Your consciousness won't return for life, but at least you'll keep breathing. Don't be too disappointed—Granny will dote on you."
"Granny, I'm not into that. Quit the dog shit and scram."
As Hulcas approached, Heinz glared at her with wide, ice-blue eyes.
His genuine look of disgust and loathing startled the old woman into retreating.
"What?! You're not under the suggestion?!"
"As you can see."
Heinz casually closed the case with the crystal orb and set it behind him.
It's mine now.
That was the claim his actions made.
"H-how did you shake off the suggestion magic?"
"I was never caught. You think I'd go unprepared when so many are gunning for me?"
"...So it wasn't luck that took down those knights."
"Nah, it was."
He hadn't expected them to follow him into the ancient dungeon at all.
Exhausted from traps and guardians, the knights had gone down easy—pure luck.
But Hulcas, unaware, took it as mockery.
"No helping it. If mental magic fails, then death it is."
"Sorry, but you'll die first, granny."
"Amusing jest. You, with your feeble sword and magic, think you can kill this old woman?"
Heinz drew Tyring.
He pointed the blade at Hulcas with a triumphant grin.
"Take this first and talk!"
Just before Hulcas could react, black energy erupted from Tyring, engulfing her.
It gave no chance for counterattack, swallowing her whole.
The black aura coating Hulcas's body hardened.
Soon cracks formed on the surface, splitting open in an instant to reveal a completely renewed Hulcas.
'At 99, she'll croak naturally, right?'
Heinz had unleashed Tyring's power at full throttle.
Even if not natural causes, at 99 she'd be too frail to handle herself.
Confident he could take a doddering oldster easily, Heinz glared at her.
"Eh...?"
But the scene unfolding was nothing like he'd expected.
Hulcas's wrinkled skin turned plump and smooth, her eyes sharpened with keen intelligence, and her hunched back straightened gracefully.
Rejuvenation—the exact opposite result—made Heinz's pupils tremble.
⚔ TYRING ⚔ I-I don't bring the future or summon the past! That old bat must've found a way to extend her lifespan by 30 years and rejuvenate within that time! 'What the hell!'
Instead of natural death, she'd returned to her prime.
Heinz cursed inwardly, racking his brain for a way out.
And he found one, barely.
If Tyring had rejuvenated Hulcas, youth must've been her deepest wish.
His tongue darted toward the flustered Hulcas.
"I read the wish in your heart."
"You read this old woman's deepest desire...?"
"Yeah. And I granted it, if only temporarily."
"Why would you do that?"
"Worship me from now on, not the evil dragon Nidhogg. Do that, and I'll give you this youth forever."
Hulcas let out a groan, seriously pondering.
Heinz's improvisation had worked wonders.