Ch.152152. Your Hair Color Isn’t Red, Is It?

“Wait, just a moment!”

“I just regained consciousness! Please let me rest!”

“Lord Selden Alphonse, I think I’ve learned enough. Please stop the beating!”

The screams of the Dark Corps members echoed through the forest.

I threw the tattered practice wooden sword on the ground and raised my voice toward Denis.

“Denis.”

“Y-yes, what is your command?”

“Bring me another wooden sword.”

“Yes, right away!”

For some reason, Denis was full of vigor as he promptly handed me a practice wooden sword.

The Dark Corps members shot Denis resentful glares.

Ignoring them, I turned my gaze toward Elkan, who was rolling on the ground.

“Elkan, are you alright?”

“Do I look alright?!”

“…Huh?”

“I-I’m sorry. I just regained consciousness and spoke out of turn.”

“You seem quite lively still, so I guess you can take more hits?”

“…”

Resting the wooden sword on my shoulder, I raised my voice toward the Dark Corps members.

“You probably haven’t fully absorbed the energy of the Heavenly Pills, right? Beating you like this will help you absorb a bit more.”

At that, Elkan, who was lying on the ground, half-raised his body.

“I’ve never heard of such a method. Young Master, aren’t you just making this up to relieve your stress?”

“See? I told you he’s still full of energy.”

“Wait, just a moment! Aaaagh-!”

WHACK!

THUD-THUD!

They say a club is the remedy for a mad dog, but someone even crazier needs to know how to wield that club.

That way, the dog won’t bite its master.

Of course, I’m not the master of these Dark Corps members, but shouldn’t I give back in return for the precious Heavenly Pills they received?

By the way.

There’s one problem.

The Acupressure Point technique isn’t just about beating someone to help them absorb medicinal energy.

There are rules to it.

You need to control your strength appropriately to help relax the muscles.

Naturally, I’ve never learned it.

Why am I doing this without proper training?

I’m just giving it a try.

No one is good at something from the start.

If it doesn’t work, I can either return the Heavenly Pills or teach them swordsmanship. And if it does work, I’ll feed the same medicine to my eternal companions Jarvil Wilson and Denis, then beat them too.

WHACK!

THUD-THUD!

And.

The most important advantage, as Elkan mentioned, is stress relief.

What’s the root of all illness?

Stress.

I felt like all the stress I had received from Casia Spear earlier had vanished in an instant.

The feeling of beating someone while breathing in the fresh, fragrant forest air…

WHACK!

THUD-THUD!

It was simply fantastic.

Of course, the Dark Corps members must be feeling like death.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

At my words, Elkan, who had collapsed on the ground again, flinched in surprise.

“Are you saying we have to continue this in the future?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to learn from me?”

“How is getting beaten one-sidedly helping us?”

“Didn’t I tell you? You can attack me too.”

“…What?”

“It’s no fun if you’re just getting hit one-sidedly. Besides, attacking is also a form of training.”

“…”

“Ah, I must have forgotten to tell you to attack. No wonder you were just taking the hits… I thought you were just too weak.”

The previously unfocused eyes of the Dark Corps members now burned with fire.

They looked ready to kill me right then and there.

I showed my palms to calm them down.

“Whoa, whoa! Calm down. Let’s stop here for today. Everyone needs to eat dinner, right?”

“…You can look forward to tomorrow.”

“As you wish.”

Whistling lightly, I walked toward Denis.

He gave me a worried look.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“About what?”

“The Dark Corps members seem quite angry. What will you do tomorrow…”

“Why are you worried about them? You should be worried about yourself.”

Denis tilted his head at my words.

“What do you mean by that…”

“If the Dark Corps members see results, you’re next.”

“…What?”

“If you’re with me, shouldn’t you become stronger than you are now?”

“I-I’m quite satisfied with my current skill level.”

I placed my hand firmly on Denis’s shoulder as he waved his hands in protest.

“We’re talking about Heavenly Pills here. Have you imagined how much stronger you could become after taking one?”

“…I’d rather just take the regular pills.”

“Why waste the opportunity? You’d only get half the effect with regular pills.”

“As I said earlier, I’m not particularly concerned about my strength.”

I crossed my arms firmly as I watched Denis shake his head.

“Didn’t you say you were looking for your wife?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“When we return to Lake Estate, I’ll do my best to find your wife. In return, shouldn’t you at least try to become stronger for my sake?”

Was it because I touched a sensitive spot?

Denis, who had been fearful, changed his expression and gritted his teeth.

“For your sake, Young Master, I’ll take beatings like a dog!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Satisfied with his answer, I headed to a nearby inn with Denis.

It was a moderately sized inn.

The interior felt quite clean.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

The table was filled with abundant food.

If the coachman had moved faster to end the journey sooner, we might have had to camp uncomfortably outside.

I belatedly admired the coachman’s experience as I enjoyed the food.

“This place makes good food.”

“It’s really delicious.”

Before long, the plates were emptied one by one, and I rubbed my satisfied stomach.

“Whew! That was good.”

“Thanks to you, Young Master, I had a very delicious dinner.”

“Shall we have some tea?”

“Alcohol would be fine too.”

“Are you trying to make another mistake like last time?”

“On second thought, tea would be better.”

I carefully began speaking to Denis as I grasped the teacup on the table.

“How did your wife go missing?”

“…”

“I need to know the story if I’m going to help find her.”

Denis, who had been silent as if mute, slowly raised his head.

“Actually, rather than going missing, my wife ran away.”

“Ran away?”

“Yes, one day I woke up and found that my wife had disappeared with her belongings.”

“…Was there a reason for that?”

Denis also grasped his teacup and showed a somewhat sad expression.

“There was. At that time, I couldn’t make a proper living.”

“With your skills, you should have been able to earn enough money.”

“My skills improved as I traveled around the estate looking for my wife. Before that, I was just an ordinary knight.”

“A knight of the Spear family?”

“Yes, I served Lady Casia Spear back then too.”

I looked at Denis with a puzzled expression.

“Even so, a knight’s salary should have been quite substantial. Was it not enough for the two of you to live on?”

“…My late father left behind a lot of debt. As I was paying it off while trying to make a living… it was all my fault.”

“So that’s what happened.”

“Lady Casia knew about my situation and cleared all my debts for me. But by then, my wife had already left.”

I nodded slowly at Denis’s words.

“So that’s why you went to Parsece Estate. Because Casia cleared your debts?”

“Yes, that’s right. If it weren’t for Lady Casia, I wouldn’t have even dared to look for my wife while paying off the debt.”

“…It must have been difficult to talk about, so thank you for sharing.”

“Not at all. I’m truly grateful that you’re willing to help find my wife.”

“We’ll find her soon, so don’t worry.”

Denis, who had been speaking steadily, hesitated.

“How can you be so confident that you’ll find my wife, Young Master?”

“Have you heard of Honghua Tower?”

“Honghua Tower… isn’t that a very famous information network?”

“As expected of a wandering mercenary, you’ve picked up some knowledge.”

“Even mercenaries like me know about Honghua Tower. Of course, I don’t know where it is…”

“It’s in a place called Cheonsonji. About three days’ journey from Lake Estate.”

Denis nodded, then suddenly startled.

“Are you saying you’ll ask the Honghua Tower organization to find my wife?”

“Yes, Honghua Tower should be able to find her quickly.”

“I’ve heard that Honghua Tower won’t move even for a fortune if they’re not inclined to…”

“Is there anything in this world that can’t be solved with money?”

“…Are you saying you’d spend your entire fortune to find my wife?”

I waved my hand dismissively at Denis, who looked worried.

“It’s fine. I’m somewhat acquainted with the head of Honghua Tower.”

“So, are you really saying Honghua Tower will help find my wife?”

“Yes, they’ll do anything I ask, so don’t worry.”

“…Thank you. I’ll never forget your kindness, Young Master.”

“You can thank me after we find your wife.”

“Haha… it doesn’t feel real yet.”

“By the way, what’s your wife’s name? I’ll need to know to find her.”

Denis continued with an expectant expression.

“Enna.”

“Enna?”

“Yes, isn’t it a pretty name?”

A familiar name.

It was a very famous villain character in the novel “The Youngest Son of a Brilliant Family.”

Recalling the character “Enna” from the original work, I jokingly asked Denis:

“Kuk!! Her hair isn’t red, is it?”

Then Denis opened his eyes like a rabbit and raised his voice:

“H-how did you know my wife has red hair?”