Ch.235Chapter 235 – Haha, What a Mess (Additional Content)

However, despite learning about the “Beast of the Abyss” from Count Ekatos himself, I felt rather indifferent about it.

Why? Because the Beast of the Abyss was an entity I had never heard of before.

Even when I played Erasto Chronicle, the game based on the stories of this world, information about the “Beast of the Abyss” had never been revealed.

It didn’t exist in developer notes, art books, Q&A sections, or even in-game dummy data.

The only thing certain was that it wasn’t on my side.

Since Count Ekatos said the Beast of the Abyss was a subordinate of the Demon God, it meant this creature was in league with Eldran.

And the Storm Guide was used to seal the Beast of the Abyss, and it split itself in hopes that the seal would never break.

Well, this was my own deduction based on information I’d gathered from Count Ekatos and Ironbeard.

Anyway, what’s important is… the Storm Guide split itself in half to prevent the seal from being released.

In other words, the sword had its own will and split itself intentionally, so why was the Count trying to act against the sword’s will?

He said with his own mouth that he needed to strengthen the seal that binds the Beast of the Abyss…

‘Wouldn’t all the seals have been strengthened when the World Tree was revived?’

I couldn’t help but question this point.

The World Tree, which draws mana from the veins beneath the earth and spreads it throughout the world, had been revived.

As a result, the concentration of mana in the atmosphere had become much denser than before, which would affect sealing magic circles whose power varies according to the concentration of mana in the air.

In other words, the sealing magic circle containing the Beast of the Abyss should be much stronger than before, so I couldn’t understand why he wanted to repair the Storm Guide.

“Count Ekatos. I understand that the sealing magic circle created by the Storm Guide has become stronger than before… am I wrong?”

“…!”

When I pointed this out, Count Ekatos jumped up from his seat in shock.

“How do you know that…?”

Count Ekatos seemed curious about how I knew this.

“On my way to the Eastern Continent, the marine mages told me. They said the mana concentration in the atmosphere has thickened, making protective magic circles deploy much more strongly than before.”

Of course, that’s a lie. In reality, I learned this information from Shreka, the High Elf Grand Elder who is the guardian of the World Tree.

“Hmm… to think you know even that…”

Count Ekatos showed a look of dismay.

“So I’d appreciate it if you’d be honest with me. Why exactly are you trying to repair the Storm Guide?”

“For the prestige of my family.”

Only after I mentioned the truth that the Ekatos family had been hiding did I finally understand why Count Ekatos wanted to repair the Storm Guide.

Repairing a family heirloom for the sake of family prestige…

Actually, it wasn’t an unreasonable explanation.

After all, prestigious families sometimes accept losses to maintain their reputation and honor.

That’s how important prestige and honor are to the nobles of the Gelebrio Empire.

So I could understand why Count Ekatos wanted to repair his family heirloom for the sake of family prestige.

I would do the same if a family treasure were damaged.

Because it’s better to repair the heirloom at any cost to preserve the family’s honor than to let it remain damaged and tarnish the family’s reputation.

For nobles, honor and prestige must be preserved at all costs.

So Count Ekatos must have asked me to repair the Storm Guide thinking I didn’t know about the relationship between mana concentration and sealing magic circles.

“Then you could have just said so from the beginning.”

“Sigh… you have quite good observation skills and are quick-witted. That makes me rather regretful.”

“Regretful?”

“You already have two marriage commitments, don’t you?”

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

He probably wanted to send one of his daughters to me to create a father-in-law and son-in-law relationship between us.

That way, the Ekatos family’s affairs would become my affairs as well.

Some might think I’m getting ahead of myself, but the women of the Ekatos family aren’t my type.

Just look at Serin Ekatos—she’s more slender than glamorous.

Of course, by South Korean standards, she would still be considered quite glamorous, but…

‘They should be at least like Sister Regina, Cheon Hyeryeong, or Professor Emelda Carmen.’

Even in this world where the average size is quite large, Sister Regina and Professor Carmen boast overwhelming proportions.

However, it seems men here don’t prefer breasts that are too large.

This appears to stem from the fear that marrying someone more capable than themselves might cause them to lose control over their family line.

After all, in this world, the equation “large breasts = extraordinary abilities” holds true.

Ah! Is that why Epitrina’s chest is so large?

I feel good about having realized another important fact today.

“Well, that’s not very important, so let’s set it aside.”

“I agree. So… how much are you willing to pay to restore your family’s prestige?”

“10,000 gold coins. That’s the fund our family has saved to repair the Storm Guide. If you repair it, the money will have no further use, so I’ll give it all to you.”

10,000 gold coins.

He was offering an enormous sum of money as payment for repairing the sword.

It’s incredible—commoners tremble at spending a single silver coin, yet nobles throw around thousands or tens of thousands of gold coins.

Is that why ability users desperately try to become nobles?

“10,000 gold coins should be sufficient. Then, let’s draw up a contract to formally negotiate the compensation…”

Just as the Count and I were discussing the contract, we suddenly heard people moving beyond the reception room.

“Who decided this on their own!”

There was a loud bang at the reception room door, and as it opened, several elderly men who looked quite stern appeared.

“Elders? What brings you here?”

“Family Head! Why are you trying to repair the sword without consulting us?”

“Wasn’t the Storm Guide broken by its own will? Why are you ignoring the will of our family treasure and unilaterally trying to repair it?”

[Are you alright?]

As the elders of the Ekatos family entered and caused a commotion with the family head, Cheon Hyeryeong spoke to me in a slightly annoyed tone.

Is this what they call telepathy?

I nodded in response to Hyeryeong’s question.

[That’s good. If they cause you any harm, I will personally step in and deal with them.]

I got goosebumps at Hyeryeong’s words.

Looking closely at the Ekatos family elders, though their faces were aged, they still maintained robust physiques, suggesting they were quite formidable.

And yet Hyeryeong seemed to think she could dispose of these intimidating people as easily as throwing away roadside trash.

I shook my head, and Hyeryeong must have seen my gesture.

[I understand. But if you are endangered, I will not hesitate to take action against them.]

Thanks to Hyeryeong’s reassuring presence as my bodyguard, I could leisurely watch the argument between Count Ekatos and the elders.

“I am the head of the Ekatos family! I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t question the head’s decisions.”

“But we are the family elders! Even the family head must consult with the elders on certain matters.”

“We must repair our family treasure to restore our prestige! It makes no sense for our family to be the only one with a damaged heirloom while other families have intact ones!”

Hmm… is there any popcorn around? This situation calls for popcorn and cola.

Watching the head of the Ekatos family and the elders argue with each other reminds me of company executives fighting with site managers.

Yes. This all comes down to one conclusion.

“What a mess.”

The conclusion I can draw from this situation is… well, it’s obvious.

‘I absolutely should not repair the Storm Guide.’

In a situation where the family head and the elders are in conflict, fixing it on my own would clearly put me in an impossible position.

So I made my decision.

“Since there’s a difference of opinion between the family head and the elders, I’ll consider the repair of the Storm Guide canceled. Hyeryeong, let’s go.”

“As you wish.”

I called Hyeryeong and immediately left the Ekatos family.

Hoping they would call me back once the situation calmed down.