Ch.130EP.32 – The Knight is Enhancing (3)

“So what brings you here? You’re not the type to come by just to say hello.”

…He flinched at the harsh criticism that came without giving him a moment to breathe.

“…Your assessment of me seems rather harsh.”

“You don’t exactly have the look of someone who shows respect to adults, do you?”

“I’m not sure what ‘look’ means here… but from your tone, I can guess what you’re implying.”

“What do you think I mean?”

“Something about judging people by their appearance…”

“You understood perfectly. That’s why it’s easy to talk with smart ones like you.”

“…Is this what they call giving someone a disease and then the medicine?”

Roen Dmitri de Lionel.

The young lord of the North maintained his characteristic expressionless face, making it difficult to read his emotions.

You could say he had a face that rarely showed emotional changes.

But right now, his disgruntled expression was clearly visible.

Ihan seemed to notice this too, chuckling shamelessly with a smirk.

“So, am I wrong?”

“…The irony is that, frustratingly, you’re not wrong.”

“Noble kids are typically disrespectful to adults anyway.”

“…I don’t understand why you always casually discriminate against nobles.”

“You should be grateful it stops at discrimination. If a spellcaster had raised their eyes at me like you do, I would’ve plucked those eyes out first.”

“Hmm…”

Normally, Roen maintained his composure in any situation, with extremely subtle emotional changes.

It was partly his innate temperament, but his status was also noble.

Having spent his life being served and addressed respectfully, or at worst, facing opponents who criticized him with polite language despite being enemies, it was difficult for him to deal with someone who spoke to him so bluntly.

However, if asked whether it felt unpleasant…

‘Strangely, it’s not unpleasant.’

There was no base malice in it; rather, it felt like being treated as a “younger brother.”

Unfamiliar, but still.

‘Not bad… really.’

It was surprising that he didn’t find it unpleasant.

* * *

“I heard you dueled with my uncle.”

As Ihan had predicted, the dark-haired young man didn’t come just to say hello and got straight to the point without preamble.

“…Let’s eat something first, shall we?”

Still, he appreciated the “sincerity” of bringing a mountain of high-class fruit sets and cakes made by famous dessert artisans.

Gulp!

He grumbled while stuffing a piece of cake into his mouth—topped with rich almond flavor and smooth yet dense premium custard cream.

But the taste…

“Can’t find fault with this. Even though I don’t usually like sweet things.”

“It’s worth the conversation. It’s a dessert you can’t get even if you have money.”

“…I’ll give you that.”

It was a taste that justified such confidence, so Ihan said,

“…If by uncle you mean that monster of a man, then yes.”

“Then I’m right.”

“He was damn strong… and while he’s not a bad person, if you ask if he’s a good person, well, that’s not quite it either…”

“…My uncle does have those aspects. I can somewhat guess what happened. Let me apologize on his behalf.”

“No, forget the apology. Just tell him when you see him: ‘No matter how I look at it, the deal wasn’t fair. If you stole my techniques, you should pay the appropriate price.'”

“…I’ll certainly convey that.”

When Ihan mentioned the duel with Maximus, the dark-haired youth smiled bitterly.

As if he could guess roughly what had happened.

Ihan confirmed with a sidelong glance that he had come to ask about the incident in the tunnel, and simultaneously clicked his tongue.

‘He’s asking me about this?’

It would be faster to ask his own father.

‘Last time I saw them, his relationship with the Grand Duke wasn’t exactly positive.’

The awkward, or rather openly hostile attitude toward his father.

Since it was a family matter, he wouldn’t ask in detail, but still.

‘No matter what world you go to, there are plenty of dysfunctional families.’

Ihan was relieved that this kingdom didn’t have anything like home visits.

At least he wouldn’t have to witness other families’ discord.

* * *

Ihan wasn’t stingy.

“A cult settled in tunnels, anti-magic human cultivation, and breeding giant worms… Ha! Each one is a terrible story that could shake the kingdom.”

It was hard-earned information, and one might think it foolish to share it for just a few pieces of cake, but the dark-haired youth Ihan knew…

“As it happens, I too have discovered similar individuals. There was a slave trading group I recently annihilated, and they seemed to be connected to these cultists. In particular, I suspect they were the ones who transported the massive number of prisoners used to summon that monster, the Demon King.”

“…Well, that’s quite the coincidence.”

“Yes, I was truly fortunate.”

See? A perfect example of give and take.

Good information and insights flowed freely, and his generosity was rewarded.

“Hmm, this tells us something. The collaborators have likely controlled the southern continent’s underworld for decades or more. Otherwise, the tunnels and slave traders wouldn’t be cooperating.”

“Who could build such a force?”

“Among those who could be called great nobles, excluding Galahad, Lionel, and Tristan, there are about three candidates, and perhaps the Merchant Union or Mercenary Alliance could do it. Besides them, there are at least five more major figures I can think of.”

“…That’s a hell of a lot of suspects.”

“And all of them would be difficult opponents to face.”

“Hmm…”

Ihan scratched his cheek.

The more he heard, the more his head hurt.

Tsk!

‘Forget it, why should I worry about this? The lady will handle it.’

Having delivered his former colleague, she would surely extract what she needed.

He had done his part, and decided to lose interest in what came next, leaving it to those in higher positions.

“If the instructor builds up a few more achievements like this one, you could easily become one of those high-ranking figures yourself.”

“No thanks. What would a swordsman do with power?”

“But don’t you feel resentful? Having all your achievements stolen by Aren Pendragon.”

“…You seem more dissatisfied than I am.”

“Just thinking about how that incompetent will gain honor and cause more trouble makes me uncomfortable.”

“Well, well.”

A scathing criticism of royalty.

Feeling the considerable hostility, Ihan gave him a fresh look.

‘Does this dark-haired kid have bad blood with the golden boy too?’

Well, the golden boy wasn’t the type the dark-haired youth would like.

If the dark-haired youth was a wolf who survived through fierce struggles in the wild, the golden boy was like a chihuahua raised in a greenhouse.

Not only were their backgrounds and environments different, but if they ever crossed paths, they would immediately show hostility toward each other.

At least that’s how Ihan saw it, and if they had clashed…!

‘The golden boy probably got beaten one-sidedly.’

He was certain they must have fought at least two or three times before the regression.

Well, he could ask Taechang about that later, but for now.

“I’ll say it again, I don’t need illusions like power or honor. I prefer practical things.”

“…Did you receive a satisfactory reward?”

Did he detect something in Ihan’s tone?

He asked, and Ihan…

“…To some extent.”

He muttered as if placating the dark-haired youth, shifting his gaze slightly.

“This cake is incredibly delicious, isn’t it? How… why is the quality so high in the medieval era?”

“Lady Irene, have some tea too. Your throat must be getting dry.”

The two girls were chattering, and his gaze was particularly fixed on the girl with wavy hair.

“Well, I think it’s a fair reward.”

“I… see.”

…Roen observed.

The satisfaction that flashed across his eyes for a moment.

And he recalled.

How his subordinates who had been monitoring the “Fault family” suddenly collapsed like epileptics, foaming at the mouth.

Also.

‘They said tattoo-like marks appeared on their faces, necks, and backs.’

And those tattoos were undoubtedly…

‘Marks that should have belonged to Jeanne.’

His friend whom he could no longer see.

But perhaps it was fortunate that he couldn’t see her.

‘It seems you’ve truly found freedom…’

Roen bowed his head, thinking it was for the best.

—Looking at his friend’s face, now free from worries, he felt like he might cry.

‘Congratulations, Jeanne… no, Levi.’

He remained silent, offering heartfelt congratulations like he had never given to anyone in his life.

As if savoring the lingering emotion.

* * *

‘…”Curse Transfer,” huh. As always, the lady knows many fascinating things.’

Ihan knew that his disciple was now free from the malevolent curse.

More precisely, it wasn’t completely gone, but about 90% had been removed, wasn’t that what she said?

– ‘Curse Transfer’ is exactly what it sounds like—a method to pass a curse onto others. However, to use this method, one must fulfill several strict conditions, and it requires a considerable price. You should be grateful; I bore both the sacrifice and the cost for you. In terms of amount, I must have spent around 100,000 gold coins.

– …Why won’t you do the same for me?

– Insolent! You should be grateful instead of arguing!

– No, do it for me too!

– Impossible. Do you think you’re the same as your disciple? That child’s curse hadn’t fully merged with her body and had a fixed form as a tattoo, but yours has become one with the blood flowing through your body. Of course, if we were to drain all your blood to remove just the curse… hmm, would you like to try it with only a 2% survival rate?

– …Are you praying for my death?

– I’m just stating facts. …Well, enough joking. You still need to be careful. It takes five years for the transferred curse to fully settle in its new host, and if during those five years the recipient of the curse dies, the curse will return to its original host.

– …So if the people who received the curse don’t die for five years, we’re good. Couldn’t we just freeze them and keep them preserved?

– …Sometimes I think my sworn brother has truly crude ideas. When you thaw frozen meat, is it still in perfect condition?

– …So freezing people doesn’t work?

– …They say knights are better when they’re simple-minded, and my sworn brother is certainly an excellent knight, hoho.

“…Hmm.”

Recalling being corrected on common sense by a medieval princess, he let out a groan.

It was truly humiliating.

However.

“Five years, hmm… Perhaps we could freeze them? That would make them easier to manage.”

“……”

“…Why are you looking at me so warmly?”

“Nothing… just thinking that you’re an excellent knight too.”

“?”

“Never mind.”

Ihan was pleased to have such an “excellent” comrade.

With the conversation mostly concluded, dusk was beginning to fall over the courtyard.

Roen quietly rose from his seat.

“The conversation was longer than expected. I should be going now.”

“Leaving after you got what you wanted? How cold.”

“…Would you like me to treat you to dinner? I recently opened a restaurant.”

“Restaurant?”

“It’s newly opened in the central noble district.”

“…Isn’t land expensive there?”

“The investment costs were considerable, but I’m confident I can make enough profit to justify it.”

“…Why is everyone around me rich?”

Ihan grumbled.

It seemed like he was the only poor one among them.

However.

“Skip dinner, but how about some pre-dinner exercise before you go?”

Ihan made a suggestion, saying he found something more interesting than the other’s wealth or anything else.

“…By pre-dinner exercise…”

“Just some light exercise before dinner, you know.”

“…I doubt it will be anything light.”

“I like that response.”

Ihan was satisfied with his reaction.

And for good reason.

“Because you didn’t refuse.”

“…I too sometimes feel the need to stretch my muscles.”

The dark-haired youth had drawn his sword at some point, and Ihan rose with satisfaction.