Chapter 226: It’s Been a While (6)

Chapter 226: It’s Been a
While (6)

The
next day Diana did not return to the lodging.

Perhaps
she’s accompanying the Second Princess as an escort.

‘Then,
I only have one thing to do.’

Balkan
stepped out the door, properly dressed.

“N-no
personal activities allowed…!”

With
flushed cheeks and a flustered face, the royal maid crossed her arms
to make an X.

I
asked her again.

“Really
not possible? Please?”

“Not
allowed! Walking around the palace with weapons…absolutely…
not…allowed…”

-Glance.
Glance.

The
maid’s eyes wandered to my chest visible through the loosened tie and
shirt.

After
being unable to take her eyes off my well-defined pectorals, she
finally changed her words at my earnest request.

“…Would
it be acceptable if I accompany you?”

“Yes.
That’s fine.”

The
maid before me was slightly weaker than a knight guarding the palace
walls.

She
probably calculated that even with an axe, she could at least stop a
man from going wild.

Balkan
gladly accepted her accompaniment.

After
all, he had no intention of breaking anything in the first place.

[Sniff
sniff. Left…go straight down this corridor. Now right!]

He
was simply following Bunny, who was sniffing like a tracking dog, to
trace where the magi of the Demon of Sloth was.

The
Demon of Sloth had made two requests: the annihilation of its
followers who worship it and retrieving its energy and body from
those who possess it in the form of a blessing.

‘Surely,
it was something about the blessing of that incompetent magician?’

The
jewel tucked in my suit pocket was prepared for this purpose.

Since
the Demon of Sloth had put its power up as a reward, I couldn’t
easily let go of the clue to find it now that I had one.

After
wandering around for about 40 minutes, the maid made an X sign with
her hands again.

“This
area is off-limits.”

Somehow,
I had expected that.

The
third floor of the inner palace gave off a more splendid and mystical
feeling than the first or second floors where various guests came and
went.

Moreover,
even when I closed my eyes and expanded my perception range, I
couldn’t sense anything from the third to sixth floors.

They
probably had placed some kind of presence-concealing artifact.

‘If
I still had Professor Manko Steel’s invisibility magic, I could
have broken through.’

Just
as I was about to go back down the stairs with regret.

-Bang!

A
small explosion sound came from the third floor corridor.

“Eek!”

Along
with a familiar voice.

“…Ellie?”

The
half-elf girl Ellie, Diana’s adopted daughter and the one I spent my
first night with.

Her
voice was heard along with the explosion sound.

“Do
you know Royal Magician Ellie Ordia?”

“Oppa?!”

Following
the maid’s surprised voice, Ellie’s voice came from far away.

The
elf’s exceptionally good hearing had caught even that small murmur.

Ellie
peeked out from the third floor corridor.

Her
usually glossy red hair was slightly singed at the ends, probably
from the explosion, and her magician’s robe with elaborate embroidery
was somewhat torn.

Ellie
stared blankly at Balkan.

Her
eyes grew large as her red pupils contained only the welcome sight of
a man in a suit.

Could
there be two men in the world with such a body?

That
voice, the way he breathed, his appearance. He was definitely the
person she had been waiting for.

Ellie
jumped down from the third floor corridor and hugged him as he stood
on the stairs.

-Poof.

Balkan
caught her with his trained body and patted her head as she expressed
her intense joy with her whole body.

“When
did you get out?! No, rather, how did you come to the palace?!”

“I
came with Diana. More importantly, what was that explosion sound just
now? Your clothes are torn too.”

“Oh,
this? Let’s say it’s a trace of a failed portal magic experiment…
hehe.”

Ellie
scratched the back of her head sheepishly, but Balkan’s eyes widened
at her words.

“Portal
magic?”

“Yes.
You know what you asked me about? The portal investigation. I thought
I was getting somewhere during research, so I tried it but…it
didn’t work well and exploded. Though I expected it, it’s still
difficult.”

Apparently,
the explosion sound just now was a side effect of the failed magic
experiment.

Ellie
used clean magic to remove traces of the explosion from her body and
asked the maid beside her to clean up the room.

“Understood!
But…”

As
the maid glanced at Balkan nervously, Ellie waved her hand.

“I’ll
go with oppa. There’s no problem with that, right?”

“If
Ordia-nim says so…understood.”

“Ah.
Don’t clean up the experiment data unnecessarily. Just replace the
scorched curtains.”

“Yes!”

Indeed,
there seemed to be a stark difference between a maid and a royal
magician.

The
maid bowed respectfully to Ellie and went to clean up Ellie’s room
that had been turned upside down by the magical explosion.

Balkan
felt a strange impression watching Ellie.

“You’ve
become skilled at handling people.”

“Hmph.
It’s been several months already, so I’ve gotten used to this
position. I think it was a better choice than becoming an assistant
to the professors.”

“I
think anything would have been better than that.”

While
saying so, Balkan internally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since
Ellie had a strangely sister-like quality that made him want to worry
about and take care of her, he had been concerned about how she would
handle her first experience in society.

Fortunately,
looking at her like this, she seemed to be managing well on her own.

“Hehe.
More importantly, tell me some stories. Like what happened in the
labyrinth!”

Balkan
chose what to say to her who was speaking with a bright smile.

Since
telling the mating story that even shocked Diana would probably break
Ellie, he put those aside for later and focused purely on the
adventure story.

They
walked in the palace garden outside for a while, sharing recent news
with each other.

Ellie
talked about her daily life as a royal magician, the progress of
recent research, and how the Second Princess showed interest in the
portal magic she had just used.

And
even about how she received subtle jealousy from other royal
magicians who were much older than her…

“They’re
not doing anything bad to you, right?”

“Well,
they’re old enough to know better, so they don’t do anything too
obvious. I do get scolded whenever I blow up my room from failed
experiments, but that’s my fault anyway…”

During
this, she also talked about the structure of the royal inner palace.

The
third floor is where royal magicians like Ellie, who have sworn
loyalty to the royal family, stay.

From
the fourth to sixth floors are where the owners of this place stay,
in other words, where the real royalty stays.

[It’s
up there. The smell is coming from there.]

And
according to Bunny, the smell of the one who might have the Blessing
of Sloth is coming from up there.

“These
days it’s mostly just the Second Princess who stays there.”

“Even
now?”

“Yes.
Probably? I’m not sure about the details, but I had several
conversations with the Second Princess just the other day.”

Balkan
stroked his chin at Ellie’s words.

…Could
it be?

‘Is
the one with the Blessing of Sloth the Second Princess?’

For
some reason, he remembered the blonde girl he met on the day of
Ellie’s graduation.

[Celsia
de ■■■■■
LV.5■]

A
girl with the same name as the Second Princess, Celsia.

[Current
blessings and curses possessed by Celsia: 3]

[◆
■■
■■
In■
Magic■■
Blessing]

If
his current memory is correct, that blessing was definitely…

Though
he wanted to head to the fourth floor right away to confirm,
unfortunately, even Ellie couldn’t freely go above the fourth floor.

In
the current situation, all he could do was wait for tomorrow when he
could see the Second Princess.

‘No,
I can’t just wait.’

He
needs to get a chance to meet with her privately.

To
retrieve the power, he would need to have her touch the jewel
directly, which meant he would need to face a member of the royal
family.

But
how could he obtain such an opportunity?

“Oppa.
Do you have something worrying you? Your expression is a bit dark.”

Just
then, Ellie looked up at him with worried eyes.

The
thought of Ellie having several conversations with the Second
Princess crossed his mind, but he immediately shook his head.

No
matter if Ellie was a royal magician, such a request would be too
much of a burden.

“It’s
nothing to worry about.”

“That’s
not nothing. It’s about you, oppa. If something’s wrong, tell me! I’m
not just a little kid who only receives protection from unc…ahem,
no, oppa anymore! I’ve become a proper adult in both body and mind.
Let me help you!”

“You
brat.”

It
seems like just yesterday she was getting annoyed calling him uncle,
but now she’s developed such a kind heart.

As
he was squishing her cheeks that were like rice cakes, having
absorbed the waters of society and grown significantly, the smell of
alcohol wafted to his nose from somewhere.

It
was quite a terrible smell of alcohol that made his nose wrinkle
automatically, yet somehow familiar from somewhere.

Ellie
must have smelled something similar too, as she held her nose with
her hand.

“Ugh.
Alcohol smell…Aunt Zirnier must have drunk a lot again…”

A
familiar name popped out of Ellie’s mouth.

“Zirnier?
Zirnier Besil? The one I know?”

“Yes.
You know her too, right? Aunt Zirnier. She lives alone in that annex
next to the garden now, and often comes by completely drunk.”

“Well,
she’s a dwarf even if she’s a half…”

Come
to think of it, Zirnier had gone to the palace to repair the Second
Princess’s armor.

‘To
think she lived alone in a royal annex.’

Having
spent nights in one of what must have been dozens of lodgings on the
first floor, Balkan knew well how special it was to be given an
entire annex.

When
Zirnier had spoken freely about the Second Princess being a loser and
even that the Knight Commander had addressed her respectfully, I had
thought she must be quite important, but to this extent.

“Want
to go together, oppa?”

“Is
that okay?”

“I
visit often though? Besides, oppa, you’re close with Aunt Zirnier
too, right? You even drank together….I wanted to drink with oppa
too.”

“You
pass out after three drinks.”

“Th-that…!
It-it was because it was my first time drinking…!”

Ellie
flapped her red elf ears as they flushed and kicked at the garden
bushes with her feet.

Separate
from the fact that Ellie was terrible with alcohol, her words had a
point.

Although
it was mostly one-sided care, I had shared drinks with Zirnier
occasionally.

[Tch.
That detestable woman!]

And
above all, she was the one who had made me the excellent weapon that
was Bunny.

Regardless
of her status, since I had heard news of her after so long, it seemed
fine to at least go pay my respects.

Fortunately,
the distance wasn’t far.

After
just a few steps, the annex beyond the garden came into view.

Though
called an annex, it was larger than most single-family homes.

The
building, which looked even sturdier than the palace walls, appeared
like a rough brick mass as if directly transplanting Zirnier’s taste.

Ellie
knocked on the annex door with a familiar gesture.

“Aunt!
I’m here!”

“Uuugh…”

Then
from upstairs came the groan of someone seemingly at death’s door.

Soon,
along with trudging footsteps coming down, the door opened without
making a hinge sound.

“Ellie.
Why so early in the morning…oh.”

A
half-dwarf woman with blonde hair and tanned-looking skin, holding a
dwarven liquor bottle in one hand opened the door.

Surprise
rose in Zirnier’s voice as she wore a mask covering her face.

“Balkan?
How are you here…”

Just
as his eyes were drawn to her superior figure that couldn’t possibly
be thought of as a short dwarf no matter how many times he saw it,
Balkan froze blankly at the sight of an object inside that annex.

Armor
preserved like a mannequin and repair tools scattered around it.

There
was no way he could forget that armor, which was worn by the person
who had extended a helping hand to save him.

It
wasn’t just similar-looking armor like he had seen before.

It
was exactly the same as the armor that person in his memory had worn.

The
white armor that the Armor Knight had worn was in Zirnier’s annex.