Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Disciple
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...Demolish the old house and give me a new one?
No reason to refuse.
"Phew... Time to test my archmagic?"
I rolled my neck lightly and took a step forward.
Then I extended my left hand toward the mansion.
On my left index finger gleamed a silver ring engraved with mysterious runes.
"Hold on! You're not thinking of using telekinesis, are you?"
Liliana frowned and asked me.
"That's the plan."
"You fool!"
She barked at me.
...For some reason, I got scolded.
"That telekinesis ring has its limits too. If you pour in enough mana to demolish a mansion that size, it won't hold up."
"...Defective product?"
"Gah!! Y-You ungrateful wretch! I gave you an artifact any mage would kill for, and you call it defective!"
Liliana pounded her ample bosom over her black dress, looking utterly aggrieved, on the verge of bursting from frustration.
Her breasts jiggled enticingly.
That's when it caught my eye.
A grating sight. Albert was slyly stealing glances at Liliana's jiggling breasts.
That bastard... Didn't think he was the type...
As Liliana said, using the ring to smash the mansion was impossible. I couldn't waste a precious magic item on something as trivial as demolishing a house.
No choice.
Time for a different spell.
I pulled the Explosion Wand from my inventory.
"Explosion won't work either."
Liliana threw another objection.
"What?"
"Spells like Explosion involve massive mana fluctuations. Fine for moderate power, but... to wreck a mansion that size? Even with barriers, the mana flow would leak out. You'd draw every mage in the city."
"Picky."
"Be my guest if you want a horde of city mages swarming us."
.......Didn't like it, but I'd have to do it the hard way.
I drew my trusty greatsword after ages.
It didn't hum "Wooong~" like it missed being out... or anything fancy.
Despite its grandiose name, Excalibur.
It was just a sturdy mass-produced greatsword you could buy for a fair price.
No high-class reactions here.
If I can snag a decent magic greatsword here... Better ask Liliana later.
I stepped toward the mansion.
The greatsword wrapped in mana, swelling into an even larger blade shape.
"O-oh! Aura Blade!!"
Albert gasped in awe at the mana blade I'd formed.
Slightly different principle, but close enough.
I kept extending the mana-swollen greatsword. It stretched out unnaturally long.
I swung that massive blade horizontally at the mansion's base.
-Slash!
-Rumble.
The mansion crumbled where the giant aura blade passed.
I kept strolling lightly, sweeping it like a broom, reducing the mansion to rubble.
"Ah, break the bigger chunks finer."
Finicky demolition supervisor.
Liliana issued more instructions.
It took less than ten minutes to flatten the mansion with my mana giant sword.
Albert stared at me blankly, utterly entranced by my display—clearly a huge shock.
Didn't need attention from some guy.
"Still debris left. What now?"
"I'll handle the rest."
Liliana folded her black parasol, tapped the ground, and chanted.
《Dig.》
-Rumble.
The ground under the ruined mansion sank slightly, forming a hill. Half the debris sank into it.
She waved her hand in the air.
An invisible giant hand moved.
That massive hand swept the remaining debris into the hill like child's play, scattering surrounding dirt to level the terrain.
"Looks like the foundation's nicely packed."
In an instant, the huge mansion vanished, leaving flat ground. Liliana tossed a model mansion there.
A splendid mansion appeared before us.
Complete with a fountain spouting clear water in the garden.
It perfectly recreated the scenery from my first visit to Liliana's mansion.
Albert and Eirin gaped, entranced by her flashy magic. Even Marie showed clear surprise, though subtle.
"L-Lord Un-ho. A-are you... a Sword Master?"
Albert finally snapped out of it and asked cautiously. As a sword-for-hire type, he was hooked on that.
"Sword Master? Close enough. I'm an archmage and a magic swordsman."
Liliana and Ayla shot me displeased looks, but I ignored them.
"Albert."
"Y-yes? Yes! Lord Un-ho, speak."
Albert snapped to military attention.
"I planned to have you clean the mansion, but as you see, no need. Still, here's your pay for today."
True employer material.
But Albert's reaction was unexpected.
-Thud!
He suddenly knelt before me.
What the...? Did he eat something bad? What's with the kid?
"Lord Un-ho!"
I hadn't done anything, just paid him, and it hit him that hard?
"Take me as your disciple!"
"......"
...The aura blade got to him?
Sorry, Albert.
No, not sorry.
Answer: firm no.
"No."
"Urk!"
His face fell at my cold rejection. As if I'd take a stinky male disciple.
Then.
"Master!! Please take Albert as your disciple!"
Eirin knelt beside him and bowed to me.
Master... Nice ring to it.
Her calling me master shook me for a moment.
"Hmm...:"
"Lord Un-ho!"
"Master!"
(What's with these kids?)
(Ignore them. Let's head in for tea.)
Liliana led her elf friends into the mansion.
"Sigh... Fine... I'll think about it."
I doubted it'd change my mind. The vague answer was for Eirin's sake.
Annoying that my disciple took some outsider's side, but our bond wasn't solid yet.
"Thank you, Lord Un-ho!"
"Thank you, Master!"
Not approved, yet they beamed with joy.
"Don't get happy. I didn't say yes. Just that I'll think."
"A-ah, yes!"
Albert bowed deeply, like to a master.
This made flat rejection hard...
Eirin's favor held me back.
That Albert...
Didn't peg him as sly enough to use my disciple...
*
*
*
Liliana's mansion was satisfactory.
First meeting, just tea, so hadn't explored. But facilities rivaled a luxury hotel.
"Of course. I poured ages of effort into it."
Liliana bragged haughtily. Irritating, but undeniable.
Ayla and I took separate rooms.
Not for space... plenty of rooms.
Adjacent anyway.
Real reason:
Eirin's training.
"Master."
Eirin stood politely before me, ready for lessons.
Couldn't be a laughingstock to Liliana after taking a disciple with no teaching. Eirin would doubt me too.
Eirin was a 3rd Circle mage.
That alone outshone normals. Wielding supernatural power set her apart.
Even in my modern homeworld, let alone medieval here.
Mages seen as superior to knights too. Easy living.
But mage world had ranks.
Up to 3rd Circle? Just average.
4th-5th: mid-tier, respected.
6th-7th: high-tier.
8th: archmage.
Not arbitrary titles.
Talent walls.
Countless mages died stuck at 3rd, never reaching mid-tier.
Eirin's father too, per hearsay.
Humans crave higher.
Albert pushed, but Eirin's desire played in.
She hit 3rd young.
But Liliana said she might stall like her father.
Liliana: 8th Circle master. True archmage.
Her words rang true.
The Liliana who mocked my disciple-taking.
I'd grow Eirin, flatten her smug nose.