Chapter 172

Chapter 172

172: Trick And Treat / Triscelina Lu Rynin. She came to us quite unexpectedly and sighed as she looked at me. “You figured it out too quickly, didn’t you? I was trying to surprise you.” “I was surprised enough.” “Not enough.” She mumbled regretfully and took a bite of the rye bread on the table. Then, with a bitter expression, she shook her head. “…It’s awful.” I smiled faintly at her words. It was a cheap meal served at an inn in a quiet rural territory. It was only natural that it wouldn’t suit her taste. El, who was sitting next to me, seemed to think the same, and she scolded Triscelina. “It’s rye. It’s probably too much for a princess’s palate.” “Don’t call me a princess. It pisses me off.” When El added a word, she frowned cutely and finished the bread in her hand. From the outside, she looked just like a child, and I felt a strange sense of incongruity with Kim Nam-geun from my past life. However, that sense of incongruity wouldn’t last long. Because that’s how we all were. I turned my gaze away from Triscelina, who was chewing, and looked at the door of the inn. “….” There was no sign of anyone. Even if she was called the Knight Princess of the royal family, it was unlikely that she would travel alone. There would probably be knights or soldiers accompanying her, but where were they? As if she noticed my question, Triscelina smiled faintly and said, “I’m alone right now.” “Knights leaving a princess alone. Isn’t that dereliction of duty?” “It’s okay. I knocked them all out.” “…How tough.” Even though she was still young, close to a girl, her skills must be outstanding. Looking at the arming sword hanging at her waist and the shield on her back, I subtly exerted my energy and bumped into her.

-Flinch.

Raising internal energy to exert pressure is a simple technique to gauge the opponent. By colliding with the pressure and gauging the depth of internal energy, the principle is no different from radar or active sonar. As if she noticed my thoughts, Triscelina also lightly raised her energy and responded. “….” “….” Perhaps sensing the intangible pressure we were emitting. I had the illusion that the group of young men sitting in the corner of the inn had shrunk back even more. While we were making eye contact for a while, and I was wondering if I should wipe off the black bread crumbs on Triscelina’s lips, she sighed first and opened her mouth. “…I lost.” “…Huh?” “What a monstrous internal energy. Did you come from another world all alone?” El, who was next to me, smiled faintly as if she had guessed the situation. I was the one who won, so why did she have a look of pride on her face? “You’re not bad either.” But unlike Triscelina’s words, if we actually sparred, the result would not be easily determined. The power of martial arts is not determined solely by the amount of internal energy. How pure the accumulated internal energy is, and whether it matches the learned skills, are factors that can overwhelm the level of internal energy. Perhaps if she had built up her internal energy with etheric herbs, she would overwhelm me in terms of purity. “…I guess so.” In the end, you have to compare them to know which is longer. // “The mansion is that way.” After finishing the meal, Triscelina led us to the lord’s castle as if she were guiding us to her own home. There were many things I was curious about her, so we walked along the quiet country field path and asked her questions. “But why are you here?” “Aram invited me. Or rather, I told her to invite me.” “….Is it okay to come as you please?” “Well, I don’t think the Baron particularly dislikes me.” Did she come because of Rutricia’s invitation as well? Even so, I thought it was quite something that she was wandering around alone. I had expected to see Rutricia with Triscelina, but unexpectedly, she was the one who showed up first. “She has a cold. So I came out for a walk. And then I heard that two beautiful travelers had come to the territory.” “Beautiful….” Ignoring El, who was giggling next to me, we continued to walk. After walking for a while, the lord’s mansion located in the center of the village came into view. In the Kilkard Kingdom, the mansion is recognized as a symbol of the nobility’s status. Therefore, powerful nobles build castles, and wealthy nobles in the city build splendid mansions. However, the Lanche Baron’s mansion did not seem to have a particularly high status. It had a rather old-fashioned charm, but the size and style were also ordinary. When we arrived at the entrance of the unremarkable mansion, a guard in shabby armor politely greeted Triscelina. “Welcome, Princess.” “….Yeah.” Her face didn’t look particularly good as she answered. Did she not like being called a princess? She must have heard it countless times in Kilkard’s royal castle, but I didn’t understand why she didn’t like it, but perhaps she was even more embarrassed because we were there. “…Triscelina. It’s a pretty name.” As if she noticed that, El, who was next to me, suddenly muttered. “People usually call me Shelina.” “Do you like that?” “No.” Shelina, who answered immediately, crossed the hallway of the mansion as if it were her own home and headed for a certain room. There was a familiar face there. “….You’ve come.” A girl with a slightly sickly impression and auburn hair. She looked a little older than Shelina, but clearly younger than me or El. Although she had grown up a bit since before, she still looked young. She was Rutricia, the second daughter of the Lanche Baron, and Kim Aram, one of my friends from my past life. // Originally, it would have been proper etiquette to greet the Lanche Baron first, but the Lanche Baron and his eldest son were currently absent. In the absence of the Baron and the eldest son, Rutricia and the head butler were acting as the head of the family. Of course, there was no need to worry about such complicated etiquette. “…How have you been?” “Yeah. It’s a little hard right now. But well, the cold will be gone soon.” Looking at her bright smile, I smiled slightly. We came here at Rutricia’s request. In the end, this place was the midpoint of our long journey. I first threw the main point at her. “…You said you wanted to consult with me about something, right?” I knew she was in a difficult situation, but I didn’t know exactly how difficult it was. Sia didn’t say it exactly, and I didn’t bother to ask. But for the conversation at this moment, I had no choice but to ask. And to that question, Rutricia hesitated for a moment. “Ah, that…” She seemed to be thinking for a while, but soon continued in a light tone. “Teach me the Yin Demon Art.” “….Huh?” “….What?” “What’s that?” It wasn’t just me and El who questioned that. Shelina also tilted her head and questioned me. And El was the first to answer Shelina’s question. “You don’t need to know.” “No, why?” “Your appearance is quite criminal.” El, who answered seriously, seemed to be thinking for a moment, then looked at me and Rutricia and opened her mouth. “I’ll take her out for a while.” “…Hey, wait a minute. Don’t I have the right to listen too?” “No, you don’t.” El, who stated firmly, picked up Shelina in a flash and left the room. The last words she left were quite firm. “Loli out.” “Wait, what does that mean?”

-Clack.

Beyond the door that closed again in an instant, the sound of the two bickering could be heard. But the door never opened again. With the sound fading away, Rutricia and I continued our conversation. “Why do you want to learn it?” It was different from the attitude she had shown last time. I never said I would teach her, but she didn’t seem to want to learn it either. Why did her mind change? To my cautious question, Rutricia answered with a bitter smile. “Well, I feel like I’m going to get pregnant soon if I don’t learn it.” “…What happened?” It was an unusual statement. What happened in Perzanta that made her say that? I could guess roughly, but I couldn’t assume that my guess was correct. To me, Rutricia asked in a soft tone. “Do you happen to know Count Lantain?” “No, of course…huh?” I don’t know all the nobles of the Kilkard Kingdom. Just as I was about to shake my head naturally, I tilted my head at the familiar name that rang in my ear. Count Lantain. The owner of Reikers. Why is that name suddenly coming up? “Reikers and your territory are quite far apart, aren’t they?” “Oh? You knew?” “Ah, yeah…” Before I could even say that it was my hometown, Rutricia continued with a bitter smile. “That Count is quite wealthy.” “…I think I know roughly. Is it a marriage?” “Not quite, but his second son likes me. I met him in Perzanta.” Is that a bad thing? I tilted my head, unable to judge right away, and Rutricia opened her mouth again. “He’s about the same age as me, but he’s not a very good person. He’s greedy, fat, and has a somewhat gloomy personality….” “That’s understandable that you don’t like him.” “But there’s one problem. Our family is in a bit of a crisis right now.” “Because you don’t have money?” She smiled sadly and nodded. “…Yeah. It’s a common story, isn’t it?” It’s a common story. I don’t know why a territorial noble who wouldn’t have many financial difficulties if they lived diligently is on the verge of bankruptcy, but every family has its own circumstances. Perhaps they are trying to borrow money from Count Lantain. “I don’t want to refuse that much either. There are things in the world that can’t be helped. But until I’m ready, I don’t want to have his child.” “…Wait. Does that mean you’ve already done it?” When I asked in shock, Rutricia hurriedly shook her head. “No, not yet…but I don’t think I can avoid it next semester.” If it’s next semester, is she talking about Perzanta? The magic academy in the capital teaches magic and various knowledge as a liberal art, but it is more of a social gathering place for young nobles to build connections. Also, it was established for that purpose to some extent. “….” At Rutricia’s words that she couldn’t avoid it, I thought quietly. It’s not that there is no contraception in this world, but most of them are not good for health. If she is going to learn the Yin Demon Art for that, I can’t not teach her. Unless she learns it deeply in a half-hearted way, she won’t fall into lust if she just gets her feet wet. Furthermore, she has the knowledge of Qi Circulation, so it’s not difficult to teach her. …But that’s not a fundamental solution. In the end, her fundamental problem is that her family doesn’t have enough money. Of course, that’s not a problem I can solve, but there might be other kinds of solutions. “….” I looked at the closed door and thought. Perhaps Shelina is needed to solve this problem at once. // “Am I a servant? Go here, come there. You’re doing whatever you want.” Shelina, who came back, was making a pouty face. “Sorry, it was a bit of an important story.” “Then shouldn’t I have heard it too?” “That’s why I called you.” Before she could ask about the Yin Demon Art again, I quickly changed the subject. “Shelina. How much authority do you have over the etheric herbs supplied to the royal family?” “…Is that the story.” When I brought up that topic, Shelina’s eyes became somewhat serious. If her appearance until now was close to a child, now she had the eyes of a teenage girl. It was still undeniable that she was young, but she wasn’t a complete kid like she looked. “To be honest, almost none. I don’t have much power yet.” I could understand the words that she didn’t have power.

Young and a princess to boot. As someone quite distant from the line of succession, not many would find her appealing. However, it was a little different from what I had expected. “Did you figure out the uses for the herbs?” “…Alchemy? I told them a few things.” “You just gave that away?” El, who was sitting next to her, asked in disbelief, but Shellina nodded as if she couldn’t help it. “I have to, to get something out of it. Just because I’m a princess doesn’t mean I can indulge in luxuries as much as I want. Especially when it comes to reagents.” In the end, it was inevitable for her to learn martial arts. “You know the convoy is heading to Lakers, right?” “Of course, I know.” At her answer, I pondered for a moment. But the deliberation didn’t last long. “Then, would it be okay to steal it?” “…What?” As expected, Shellina opened her mouth as if in shock. She had every right to be shocked, considering I openly asked if I could steal her own family’s property. But that was only for a moment, and soon she laughed and clapped her hands. “Ahahaha! That’s an interesting idea!” “….” It was quite a refreshing reaction.