3-star (4)
'Duke Beltus, that man really doesn't seem to age at all.'
Count Belmiard muttered so to himself.
The central conference hall of the Cleon Hall in the Ebelstein noble district.
The sight of the three great noble families, famous even in the western part of the Empire, gathered in one place made the servants swallow dry saliva.
Each and every one of them were figures who reigned like kings in their own territories, so even a small mistake could grow into a great disgrace for one's house.
'It's not for nothing that rumors are going around that he touched a taboo.'
Count Belmiard was presiding over the meeting with a hearty laugh, but the Duke of Duplein and Duke Beltus, as always, merely wore heavy and gloomy expressions.
Those called Family Heads were usually like that. In truth, someone like Count Belmiard was the rare one.
"If Duke Duplein plans to expand his territory beyond north of the Belcos Peninsula, you should be careful of the labyrinths in the White Zone. If you can redirect the trade routes that way, it will be a great gain, but if you carelessly provoke a monster from a higher-rank labyrinth, wouldn't the losses only grow?"
"Duke Beltus is quite the worrier. I directly dispatched my territory's knights to look into it, and it seems there will be no major anomalies."
"It concerns the lives of the people of the territory, so we must be more cautious. If needed, we can also dispatch our own knights."
"You call those fellows knights? Aren't they just mercenary rabble?"
Duke Beltus, who had a thin face and bluish hair hanging down, twisted his expression.
The territory of the Beltus family was large and fertile, but in truth, it could not compare to the other two sitting here. Most of it consisted of mountainous regions.
Even their military power was at a level comparable to high nobles, but more than half of it was nothing more than hiring the mercenary corps of General Orel, who had been a former soldier.
In terms of authority, he could not compare to Duke Duplein, who had the blood of the Imperial Palace's direct line mixed in, so it was fair to say he was always suffering from a shortage of talent. He was a figure who always fidgeted, afraid of being pushed out of these three great houses.
"Duke Duplein, your words are too harsh. The mercenary corps of General Orel stationed in the Beltus territory are also people who swing their swords with their own convictions and beliefs, are they not?"
"Aren't they the kind who would stab the very person they were guarding until just a moment ago without hesitation if you shower them with gold coins? Can you really sleep soundly after entrusting your territory to such people?"
"It seems Duke Duplein thinks he can handle that vast territory forever with only private troops. I hear plenty of rumors that in the outskirts of the Duplein territory, public order has hit rock bottom and criminals are everywhere."
Duke Duplein let out a hollow laugh. He knew the mercenary corps of General Orel were brave, but simply hiring them for a request and entrusting them with the security of a territory were completely different matters.
"You'll feel the limits someday. Or are you planning to be satisfied with just that much?"
"What a laughable provocation."
"Did it sound like a provocation? I was merely stating the facts."
Count Belmiard let out a deep sigh. In truth, he did understand why the two were so sensitive like this.
The White Zone stretching to the north of the Duplein territory was a golden land filled with all kinds of high-risk labyrinths.
If they could break through it, improve the trade routes, and retrieve the treasures hidden in the labyrinths, it would be a great gain… but in truth, it was not something easy to do with only the military power of the Duplein territory. Labyrinth exploration was not something that could be solved by the scale of military power alone.
The reason Duke Beltus kept whispering about dispatching knights was because he also wanted to take those White Zone treasures together. If they were to share the profits, he needed a pretext, so he kept poking at Duke Duplein, telling him to ask for help if it became too much.
In truth, such struggles over interests were always happening, but they were not something to talk about in a place like this.
In any case, the discussions about the tariffs on goods passing through to Ebelstein were all finished, so Count Belmiard thought it would be best to exchange some light conversation and then part ways.
"Still, since everyone came all the way to Ebelstein and exchanged opinions directly, it's much faster and better than debating through letters. Since all the disputed points have been agreed upon, let's conclude the discussion here. Since you all came such a long way, shouldn't we go see our children's faces at the High Society in the noble district for once?"
Count Belmiard turned the topic to their children.
In truth, the people sitting here all cherished their children dearly, even if their ways differed.
It was also important that each of their daughters held a place in the Rosea Salon of Ebelstein's High Society.
Since even the fathers were constantly at each other's throats, they strongly wanted to make sure their daughters would not be looked down upon anywhere.
"I heard that Young Lady Delia of the Duplein family will also enter Ebelstein's High Society after her coming-of-age ceremony. I heard she went through a brief period of wandering, but recently her magic achievement has been remarkable."
No parent disliked hearing praise about their own child.
When Count Belmiard offered some praise about Delia to lighten the mood, Duke Duplein crossed his arms and leaned back against the backrest of his luxurious wooden chair.
"Hm… it's true there was a bit of a wandering period, but it does seem she's achieved a lot recently. However, she has a tendency to underestimate her own results because she's intimidated by Aiselin's achievements."
"She'll be too busy preparing for her debutante, so she'll soon throw away such pessimistic thoughts."
Count Belmiard threw out such pleasant small talk to lighten the mood, but in truth, he was not the kind of person who always just went along with others. Especially when it came to boasting about his child, he was relentless.
"Still, she can't compare to Ellente."
"......."
"Duke Duplein, you don't need to be so pessimistic. Even if she can't reach our daughter Ellente's achievements, that's not something to be ashamed of, is it?"
Duke Duplein's brow twitched slightly.
If the topic turned to boasting about daughters, it wasn't as if he had nothing to say either.
"Certainly, Delia's achievements haven't fully risen yet. But since there's no hill she can even rub up against Aiselin on, did you change your target to Delia instead?"
"......."
Aiselin was truly the flower of Ebelstein's High Society, and a figure like the pillar of the Rosea Salon.
To be honest, even Count Belmiard, who doted on his daughter, would find it hard to nod easily if asked whether his daughter Ellente was more noble and outstanding than Young Lady Aiselin.
Having Aiselin as one's daughter was like holding a guaranteed win in a battle of bragging about children.
Even as he thought it was truly hopeless, he still could not tolerate his daughter Ellente being treated as inferior anywhere.
"It seems Duke Duplein hasn't heard about this magic duel."
"What? A magic duel?"
"Yes. Even though Young Lady Aiselin always reigns at the top of Ebelstein's High Society, that kind of might might not last forever."
In truth, it wasn't that he hadn't heard about the magic duel at all.
Aiselin often candidly told Duke Duplein about various trivial happenings in Ebelstein's High Society.
In particular, it seemed she had felt a lot from this magic duel with Ellente.
Aiselin was always relaxed. But this time, it clearly seemed she had felt a sense of crisis, having almost lost to Ellente in the duel.
Just looking at how she, who always only thought about her house, actively tried to bring in a new magic master made it obvious.
In fact, Ellente had caught up right to Aiselin's heels. Duke Duplein quietly looked at Count Belmiard, who was looking at him with a triumphant expression, and then slowly narrowed his eyes.
He had heard that Aiselin won the duel. However, looking at Count Belmiard's expression, it was hard to tell who the winner and who the loser was.
"Certainly, that mercenary-origin magic master who taught Young Lady Delia seems to possess outstanding skill. Right now, that mercenary is completely on our Ellente's side, though."
Though he was speaking in a refined and dignified manner, if you looked only at the content, he was merely scratching at Duke Duplein.
It was nothing more and nothing less than saying, 'The magic master you benefited so much from is now working for our family. Aren't you jealous?'
However, Duke Duplein merely snorted as he looked at Count Belmiard.
"On Ellente's side? Did that mercenary rabble really look like someone who would plant his roots in one place?"
"Pardon?"
"From the looks of it, Count Belmiard, it seems you haven't met that mercenary."
Duke Duplein's words hit the mark.
He hadn't even seen the face of the mercenary called the magic master whom Ellente and Aiselin trusted so much.
When Count Belmiard was momentarily left speechless, Duke Duplein rested his chin in his hand and spoke with an arrogant expression.
"Certainly, he has outstanding talent for teaching people, but he's not the kind of talent you can easily tie down to one place, and if you try to force him, it will only leave a backlash."
Before being a magic master, he was a mage filled with desire for achievement.
If he judged that teaching noble young ladies began to have a negative effect on his own magic achievement, he would not teach anyone, even if offered immense wealth.
To handle such talent, persuasion is far more effective than coercion.
Duke Duplein's insight was something that could only be had after directly meeting the man called Derrick. Count Belmiard could not make such a judgment at this point.
Feeling as if he had gained the psychological upper hand, a bit more leeway entered Duke Duplein's voice.
"Moreover, he has already worked as a master in the Duplein main house for a long time, and has also shared a long time of rapport with Delia. He deeply understands what kind of person Aiselin is, so isn't it obvious that rather than teaching Ellente, he will eventually return as the familiar Aiselin's master?"
"Keugh … "
"Did you think you could tie him down just because he took a brief detour working for the Belmiard family? If you're called a ruler, you should know how to grasp and handle people."
Count Belmiard couldn't refute those words.
In fact, Derrick had come to deeply understand that Duke Duplein was a man who gave rewards befitting the results he produced while working under him.
Since he didn't even know what kind of person Count Belmiard was, there was no need for him to give his full loyalty to him.
If there was someone Derrick would give his loyalty to, it would ultimately be Duke Duplein.
Hearing that tone filled with such conviction, Count Belmiard rested his chin in his hand and let out a hollow sigh.
'… I'll have to meet him.'
Ellente seemed to really want to keep the magic master named Derrick. In fact, it was true that with that master named Derrick, she had achieved great results in the magic duel against Aiselin.
His daughter losing her master because of the difference in their fathers' authority. That was something he could not tolerate.
And for it to be not someone else, but Aiselin who took the master away—if something like that happened, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night with his legs stretched out. That was something he had to stop, no matter what.
'Was it called the Veldern Mercenary Corps?'
Once this meeting ended, the other lords would go to meet their daughters in the noble district.
He felt sorry for Ellente, but he decided that he should head to 'Tears of Veldern' in the Tavern District faster than anyone else.
Only after he pushed that mercenary named Derrick into Ellente's arms would he feel relieved leaving this Ebelstein.
'......'
However, Duke Beltus, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, also did not have a light expression.
He was an opportunist.
If people like Count Belmiard and Duke Duplein were fighting like that over a single talent, then that person surely had something special.
Since he was said to be a magic instructor who taught noble young ladies, it was also sufficient as a pretext.
His own daughter, Young Lady Denise, had not made much progress in her magic achievement lately.
To be precise, it was because Young Lady Denise simply lacked motivation and was only doing about as much as others did.
However, even though he was her father, Duke Beltus had not seen through even that lazy tendency of Young Lady Denise.
'I should send a letter to Denise and tell her to look into that magic instructor named Derrick. Asking around the High Society side will be the fastest.'
In any case, if Denise stepped in personally, she would bring back something.
She wasn't the type to step forward first, but once she did, she always produced results.
In fact, Denise had already predicted that Duke Beltus would give such an order.
She had already sent a request letter to the Veldern Mercenary Corps.
If she could just get her hands on that man called Derrick, it would surely have meaning on this negotiation table.
*
The sound of water dripping down along the stalactites echoed.
Even in the darkness where he couldn't see an inch ahead, Drest walked forward without hesitation.
When Derrick habitually tried to light a torch, the old man raised his dried-up hand and stopped Derrick's movement.
"....."
"Always learn how to grasp your surroundings even in the dark."
"How exactly should I do that?"
"Release your mana."
"......"
The old man's explanations were always brief.
There was no way it would be possible to grasp what lay beyond the darkness just by releasing mana.
Among Search-type magic, there was a magic called 'dark vision' that let you see even in the dark.
However, the old man didn't seem to be using that magic. No matter how much of a master-level mage he was, he couldn't implement magic without even the process of gathering mana.
However, it seemed there was a knack to grasping the surroundings just by releasing mana.
Derrick closed his eyes and did as the old man said. Releasing and emitting mana wasn't particularly difficult.
However, in this dark cave, the mana he released merely collided here and there and disappeared.
"… Don't tell me."
"That's right. You're quick to understand. Just by scattering your mana and grasping its reverberations, you can roughly understand the surrounding environment."
Derrick swallowed dry saliva.
It was like how a bat emits sound waves to grasp the structure of a dark cave. The old man seemed so used to this process that he could walk even with his eyes closed.
If you do this, you don't need to use high-star magic to get a basic grasp of the battlefield.
However, just because the theory was clear didn't mean it was easy to do.
The old man seemed to have grasped the entire structure of the cave without any trouble, but Derrick had to sharpen all his senses just to grasp his surroundings.
"This… works…?"
Derrick tilted his head after trying it several times, but seriousness was evident in the old man's voice.
He spoke as if this wasn't even such an amazing technique, but merely the basics of Search-type magic.
The standard was too high. There was no way this kind of technique was basic. However, Derrick didn't voice any particular complaint.
This old man was an authority on Search-type magic that no one in the world could dispute.
"From the looks of it, you don't seem to clearly know the star ranks of Search-type magic. 1-star Search-type magic is merely at the level of sensing danger or discerning weaknesses, but when you reach 2-star, you can track the location of a specific target, sense magic itself, and even glimpse a little of the past contained in objects or places."
Search-type mages belonged to a non-mainstream field. Because they didn't directly help combat power.
There were hardly any mages specialized in Search-type like Drest, and most were used in auxiliary roles.
"At 3-star, you can see through disguises created by magic, or see distant places, and when you reach 4-star, you can discern the level of another's magic or whether they're lying. This too is only a part of the many Search-type magics."
"… What happens if you reach 5-star?"
"You can read people's hearts. Sometimes, you can even talk to the dead."
At those words, Derrick had to swallow dry saliva.
That old man, reciting in a hollow voice like he had lived through everything, meant that he was already reading even Derrick's heart.
In other words, it meant he had seen through even the fact that Derrick was not a being belonging to this world, and that his blessed magical talent was not of an ordinary kind.
Yet, even looking at such Derrick, the old man didn't show the slightest sign of surprise.
He was an old man who had lived through an entire century. It seemed there was nothing left in the world that could surprise him.
"When you reach 6-star, you can sometimes glimpse the future and fate. You can't use it completely freely, but sometimes it makes you feel as if this is what the eyes of a god are like. Of course, if you fall into such arrogance, the ending is never good. We must never forget that we are humans crawling on the ground."
"… Then, is there a reason you sought me out like this, Sir Drest?"
"That's right."
When the old man dug into the dark cave for a long while like that, a space like a vast open area appeared.
In the darkness, bats screeched as they flew around, and unidentified rodents crawled across the floor.
The old man quietly sat down on a large rock in the center.
"You are destined to die before your coming-of-age ceremony."
"....."
"However, I simply do not wish for that."
You are destined to die.
Hearing such a declaration not from just anyone, but from a 6-star Search-type mage, was a shocking thing.
However, Derrick didn't particularly act surprised, nor did he become emotional.
As a mercenary who crossed battlefields, he always lived a life close to death. He even found it strange himself that he felt so little emotional upheaval.
"I have many things I want to ask."
"Sorry, but I have no intention of answering. I don't know how my answers might change your future. The future branches out in many ways, and sometimes goes in a different direction from when it was first observed. Still, there's one thing I can make certain."
The face of Drest Wolftail was layered with the traces of time.
He had lived for a century and experienced countless things, and at the end of it, he seemed to have realized something.
If there was any goal left in his life, which had been spent losing everything, what could it be?
Derrick couldn't quite gauge it.
"You must not die. So, I will make it so you do not die. You must reach an even higher realm than you are now."
"Are you saying you will teach me Search-type magic?"
"Yes. And if you can also aim for 3-star in Combat-type and Illusion-type, it would be best to achieve that now as well. If you accomplish it all, no one among your peers will be able to follow your achievements."
"Why are you doing this much? Is there something you want from me?"
Drest closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and then stayed like that for a long while.
After pondering how much to say, the old man seemed to quietly find a point of compromise.
"Before you become an adult, Valerian Delomain Duplein will lay his hands on Necromantic-type magic."
Derrick's eyes went wide open.
"If that happens, you must kill that man."
Drest Wolftail would not speak empty words.
Even so, Derrick couldn't help but ask again what he had just heard.
*
As always, Jayden was just wiping cups in front of the bar table of Tears of Veldern.
However, when he saw the face of the customer who entered the tavern early that afternoon, his eyes nearly popped out.
It was because Count Belmiard, the Family Head of the Belmiard family, walked in with the escort of numerous servants and retainers.
It was already such a commotion that from the very entrance of the Tavern District, passersby were all bowing their heads.
He wasn't someone who could casually stroll around the shop district of Ebelstein like he was taking a walk.
"W, welcome."
Jayden first bowed his head deeply.
He had heard rumors that there was a tariff agreement among the three great noble houses of Ebelstein. It was just one of those passing pieces of news.
He never even imagined that Count Belmiard would come in person, so not only Jayden, but all the customers gathered in the tavern could only stare with their eyes wide open.
"I heard the head butler sent a letter, but there was no reply."
"I, I didn't know you would come in person. There's nothing special I can offer you right now. They're all low-grade stuff…"
"That's fine. Do you think I came here to drink? I need to see the face of that mercenary named Derrick in person."
Count Belmiard let out a hearty laugh and sat down at one side of the bar table.
With numerous servants standing behind him with their heads bowed, Jayden, standing on the other side of the table, felt like he was going to die from the pressure.
In any case, he was the tavern owner right now. If Count Belmiard came as a customer, he had to serve him.
"I, I received the request letter. But… there's a bit of a problem…"
"A problem?"
"Yes. Th, that is… right now, Derrick is missing."
A few days ago, Derrick had burst into the tavern with an excited face, left only the message that he would refuse all requests, and then left after packing his food pouch.
Since then, there had been no contact at all. There were days when he took breaks saying he needed rest, but this was the first time he had completely disappeared without any contact.
'The Beltus family and the Duplein family must have received letters too. And he disappears at a time like this?'
Rushing to the tavern faster than anyone else was Count Belmiard's own strong move.
He had many schedules set inside Ebelstein. He had already sacrificed a lot by pushing all of those aside and coming in person. He was a father who would do anything for his daughter.
If a Margrave came in person and showed this level of sincerity, a mercenary of commoner origin would not be able to refuse any offer.
You had to push this much pressure so he wouldn't be distracted by offers from other houses.
However, that was only possible if you could see him in the first place.
"Ah, maybe… he went into closed-door training for the sake of magical achievement…"
"Training…? Where would he do that?"
"That, I don't know. He's always been so elusive at times like this…"
He was someone whom Beltus, Belmiard, and Duplein were all fidgeting to recruit.
No matter what, he wouldn't be someone bold enough to refuse an offer made directly by the Family Head.
—Then, whoever finds him first takes him.