episode_0043

As we came out of the mountain road, we leisurely drove through a wide open space and arrived at the family home.

The sword that could be used twice automatically fell apart one hour after the first cut.

I thought about stacking them, but it doesn’t seem to be like that. It’s just a shame.

The battle was… pretty satisfying.

It was especially encouraging that combat was possible with just power that did not contain magic.

He had been steadily building up his strength, and thanks to consuming the red heart fruit, his whole body was filled with strength.

There is a small problem here, however.

The elation that had enveloped my entire body when the battle began subsided once the battle ended.

The burning hot energy of the fruit coursed through my blood vessels and spread throughout my body.

The energy that had not yet left his body still radiated heat as if it were burning the inside of his body.

It was a side effect of swallowing the red heart fruit without refining it.

Most elixir-type items are refined and made into elixirs for consumption.

This way, you can fully absorb the magic power of the item and also reduce the side effects.

However, magic power didn’t mean much to me, and I just wanted to test the power that had increased by consuming the Red Heart Fruit.

Even though it is a side effect, the remnants of the strong energy remain in the body, so you may suffer from a high fever for a day or so.

It will be a bit difficult, but it won’t be life-threatening.

The next hunt for the 8 Great Villains will be in perfect condition, so I plan to rest for a full 60 days, so the side effects won’t be a big deal.

“Why are you like that?”

“… My head hurts a little.”

“… … !! Are you okay? My whole body is like a ball of fire… … .”

“It’s okay.”

After getting out of the car, I headed straight to my room.

No, I was going to go.

However, because my head was spinning from the heat all over my body, I had difficulty walking any longer.

“… Is Libra there?”

“Yeah… … .”

“Please help me to my room.”

Libra silently offered her shoulder.

I got out of the car with her support.

“… Mr. Cain!”

“Alfred. It’s okay. It’s just a cold or something.”

I calmed down Alfred, who had come out to greet us, and then headed straight to my room.

My head was hot and my eyes were dizzy, but if I rested for a day or so, the heat circulating in my body would naturally go away.

How long did it take me to walk like that? With Libra’s support, I was able to reach the front of my room.

“Now it’s done. Thank you.”

“… … .”

I gave Libra a brief thank you, but she didn’t respond.

Now that I think about it, the situation has been strange for a while now…

Oh, I don’t know. Let’s just rest for a bit.

I lay down on the bed, clutching my dizzy head.

As for showering… I guess I won’t be able to do it.

Although it was a bit uncomfortable, I was thankful that I didn’t roll around on the floor or anything.

—

“Ah.”

When I opened my eyes, a full day had passed.

The fever has gone down quite a bit, and now all that remains is a slight headache.

I slowly got up and checked to see if there was anything strange.

“Okay.”

Fortunately, I was fine without even a single minor injury.

It was only natural that the natural healing power would increase significantly as a result of consuming the red heart fruit.

Rather, it was the best feeling I’ve had in a while since I opened my eyes.

I immediately left my room.

Is it because I slept last night without washing?

My body was so sticky that I couldn’t express it in words.

“… … Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

As soon as I came out, I met Libra.

I’m sure she was quite surprised by what happened yesterday, so I feel sorry for her.

Libra tried to support me, but I declined, saying that it wasn’t worth it.

I headed straight to the bathroom.

After taking a light bath and eating some food, I feel a bit more energetic.

I would like to just rest comfortably today, but… there is still some work left to do.

I have to hand over the corpses of the eight great villains.

—

“… … Cain, I’m sorry, but can you make an appointment for me?”

“Think about it.”

Each of the eight villains has a bounty on their head.

Of course, I don’t go hunting the eight villains for money…

If you can get the money, there’s no reason to decline.

It would be great if I could also raise my reputation there.

The only downside to it was that it involved quite a complex and cumbersome process.

But that part is no problem for me.

That makes sense… I can just leave everything to Merhen.

“So what’s going on?”

“I hunted down two of the eight villains. I brought their bodies back, so please clean them up.”

“… …? Suddenly the 8th villain? Is something wrong?”

Merhen asked me with a face that said she didn’t understand English.

“I just thought it was time to put it away.”

“Really? Well… I’ll do this much for you. But you didn’t bring it to me because you were too lazy, did you? ”

“… … .”

I kept my mouth shut.

It’s best not to answer anything that is unfavorable.

“You… … Ugh. No. So? Surely that’s not why you came… Is there something else you’re here for?”

“What is the status of the mine that was supposed to be handed over last time?”

“Ah. Then.”

Merhen handed me a bundle of documents she had prepared in advance.

“The collapsed ceiling has been repaired. I’ve prepared it so you can start mining right away. The rest is up to you. ”

“I’ll send someone soon. Is there anything to watch out for in the mine?”

“Don’t worry, monsters won’t appear. And mining… We’ve never mined in a mine before, so don’t worry.”

“Is that so.”

I looked through the documents Merhen had handed me.

The document listed the size of the mine, its approximate mineral reserves, and its anomalies.

The size is… smaller than I thought, but it doesn’t really matter.

All we need now is to create a prototype of a shape memory slab.

“Oh, and you. Eri was looking for you?”

“I know. I’m thinking of going right now. How are you these days?”

“I’m the same as usual. I have 20 people in the royal family… but I’m still in a position where I have to be careful.”

“Is that so.”

There are a total of 100 imperial seats.

More than half of them are the current emperor’s men.

So, the remaining half of the seats are contested by two people: Merchen and Royce Goldwyn.

While there are 20 people on Merchen’s side, there are 22 people on Royce Goldwyn’s side.

The gap with Royce has narrowed considerably, but the remaining half are the current emperor’s people.

It seemed that Merhen still thought she was gathering strength.

People will remember the Goldwin family’s last outrage, so Merhen would be at an advantage.

“Are you going?”

“Do you have anything left to say?”

“Um… If I had to choose, there’s one… … .”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“When will the next reading club be held?”

It’s a reading club.

Certainly, quite a bit of time has passed since our last reading.

It might be a good idea to have a meeting sometime soon.

“I’ll contact you again soon.”

But not now.

If we meet… … it would be better after all eight villains have been defeated.

I left the mansion, promising Merhen the next time.

—

“Ke, Kane… You’re here.”

“Yeah.”

After parting ways with Merhen, we headed straight to our next destination.

Eri Astranor, the next head of the Astranor family, one of the five great houses and a renowned magician. I came here to see her.

The interior of her room had a more neat and tidy atmosphere than last time.

“What happened to the mine?”

“I received it from Merhen. It seems that he was considerate enough to allow mining right away.”

“I see… … .”

“What about you? Is the prototype finished?”

“First of all… … . Can you take a look?”

Eri took out two small stone tablets from her bosom.

“I tried making it like you said, but… writing is the problem.”

“But why.”

“First of all, the most important thing is… After all, it’s a stone tablet, right? So it’s not easy to leave traces… … .”

Eri handed me one slab of stone and, holding a carving knife in her other hand, began to carve letters on the remaining slab of stone.

The sight of her carving the surface of the stone slab, holding the carving knife tightly in her hands like ferns… did not look comfortable, even to say the least.

Eri worked hard for five whole minutes to carve the stone slab into the five letters of the word “hello.”

Then I saw that the same letters were engraved on the stone tablet I was holding, not the one she was holding.

“It’s possible to erase it.”

As Eri poured her magic into the stone tablet she was holding, the marks engraved on the tablet completely disappeared in less than five seconds, as if five minutes of her efforts had been in vain.

I’m all for restoring the stone tablet, but who would want to use it if it took 5 minutes to carve text on an important stone tablet?

It was made to be convenient, but it was obvious that if it continued like this, it would become a worse product than not using it at all.

The way it is engraved there is also problematic.

Because the stone slab is small, it is impossible to include many letters by carving it with a carving knife.

It seemed like the plan needed some modification.

“Sigh… How is it?”

“There’s definitely a problem.”

“Right?”

Eri nodded as if she knew that would happen.

“Still, it was fun after a long time.”

“Is that so.”

She had grown tired of magic, but she seemed to have regained her motivation while making the stone tablet this time.

If she works a little harder like this, she will also become the head of the Astranor family.

Eri was born with the talent to become a great wizard.

dripping-

Just then, someone knocked on the door outside the office.

“Eri. I have something to say.”

Veden, a collateral branch of the House of Astranor.

There was obvious annoyance in his voice.

Beden opened the door to the office without even waiting for Eri’s answer.

“Eri. You didn’t even read the business plan I uploaded… … What the hell is this.”

“…!! Beden, what are you doing!”

Eri jumped up and screamed, but Beden ignored her and entered the office.

He lifted the stone tablet in front of Eri and let out a short sigh as if he was dumbfounded.

“Eri. You are the next head of the Astranoor family. This is not the time to be playing around like this.”

“… … Beden. Step back.”

“This is your problem too, Cain Calderon. Please stop blowing the wind of nonsense on our lord.”

This is a mess.

The Astranor family allows even collateral members to become the head of the family if they have magical achievements.

As a result, people like this would sometimes appear.

A rascal who forgets his place and runs wild.

“Beden. If it was unfair, you should have become the head of the household.”

“… Please do not let outsiders interfere in the family’s affairs.”

“Didn’t you interfere first? If you were defeated so badly by a younger brother by one year, you should know your place. ”

“You, you dog… !”

Beden’s face turned red with anger.

As he reached out to me, mana rippled through his fingertips.

The red energy spread out in four directions, forming a magic circle of flames.

No, you’re trying to attack me because I scratched you a little?

Rather than confusion, I was struck by a sense of bewilderment first.

at that time.

“Stop.”

Eri lifted her staff and drew a magic circle identical to Veden’s over the magic circle he had created.

Then, the two magic circles began to collide, causing interference with each other’s magic power.

The two magic circles instantly disappeared without a trace.

It wasn’t just Eri who moved.

“Ugh, ugh.”

“Don’t move. If you move even a little, I’ll cut your throat.”

Before he knew it, Beden was rolling on the floor, subdued by Libra.

It was a task done so quickly that the phrase “in the blink of an eye” could be fitting.