Chapter 23 (1/2)

Chapter 23

“… Hnnnggg.”

With one of her hands cupping her chin as she eavesdropped on our conversation, she tapped her cheek with her index finger.

She looked apoplectic, but in the end, she laughed a little for sulking and being aggressive earlier.

One smile a month was the only price for using the name of Yukline’s great noble.

Her fingers curled out of cringe, but Deculein sounded honest, making the scene not entirely bad. However, Julie couldn’t even answer back, causing her older sister unbearable frustration.

If it were her, she would have already caused mines to explode. “Let’s wait a little longer…”

Josephine wanted to kill him. She waited for Julie to request having him killed herself, but she was such a nice kid that she couldn’t even imagine her saying that. Hence, as her older sister, she couldn’t stop herself from acting any longer.

“Of course.”

However, the sincerity Deculein displayed today was passable.

Josephine could differentiate the color of voices apart depending on their intentions. He definitely wasn’t lying when he said he had no intentions of forcing their marriage onto Julie.

She decided to let it slide this time and put it off for a while.

“… Brother, what do you think of Deculein?”

Zeit yawned on the table on the first floor, then raised his eyebrows as he replied with a question of his own. “What about you? What do you think of him?”

“I haven’t thought about it. I only follow Julie’s wishes. You?”

“…” Zeit’s expression hardened as he massaged his temples a few times and swept his hair back.

“Josephine, in chess, the king can’t move like the queen, the knights, or the pawns. I would be really disappointed if it were revealed that what I thought was a queen was a knight all along.”

Zeit wasn’t keen on marrying Julie off to Deculein from the start.

“But Deculein isn’t just a piece. He’s the chessboard himself. He might have some cracks, but that doesn’t mean pieces can’t stand on him.”

“Go on.”

Zeit looked at the window of the restaurant. The embers of war constantly blazed and raged in his eyes. “I haven’t forgotten father’s death yet, Josephine.”

Zeit clenched his teeth. At that moment, his terrifying presence weighed down the whole place so much that the nobles at the restaurant started coughing without knowing why.

“Father was worth more than all those fucking bastards behind their desks put together, yet they treated the knight’s honor as nothing more than a mana stone.”

Josephine just nodded quietly.

Zeit, in times like this, was scary even for her.

“Center, Josephine. They’re the center. We were at the border and had no connections to even be invited to participate in a game of chess.”

Margrave Freyden.

Defending the northwest part of the empire that they managed to connect with by annihilating everything on their path was their father’s last will.

However, upon suffering a defeat, they also lost the Head of their Household. “I won’t allow a repetition of the past. Julie knows that too.”

“Yes. I do as well.”

The truth was Josephine changed into who she was now when her father died.

Since the one lined up to succeed the throne was Zeit, and there was no way for her to kill him, she gave up on the position and kept her distance from it. She was the type to lose interest in things she couldn’t have, after all.

“… There are people out there whose deaths wouldn’t feel satisfying even if they died having their skin and bones torn apart and shredded. I’ll surely rip off his limbs one day, cut them into small pieces, and feed them to the dogs…”

Josephine shook her head. They were from the same family, but Zeit was too savage, which worried her.

Zeit was fearsome, but if Julie ever decided to leave…

Josephine swore she’d be wishing her the best of luck.

If ever that day came, she hoped Julie would be much stronger than Zeit by then so she could defeat him until he was rendered powerless. In doing so, she’d be able to soar gloriously above anyone else.

As if on cue, her little sister came down to the first floor, and next to her was Deculein. “Oho~ have you finished talking, professor?”

Zeit’s expression changed as soon as he saw him.

The air between Julie and Deculein was somewhat awkward, but it wasn’t as bad as before. “Haha. Hmm. Well, it seems like your talk has gone well at the very least.”

“It did.”

Deculein nodded in agreement.

Zeit patted Julie’s shoulder with satisfaction. “Then let’s go have a drink.”

The four of them left the restaurant together.

Deculein intentionally walked slowly, and the three Freydens naturally took the lead.

“The food was good, right, Julie? We ate outside while you two were talking. The steak was delicious!”

“I don’t know. Stop talking to me.”

“Hmm? Why? Why~? You’re making your sister sad…”

“Why are you acting as if you don’t know?”

“What is it? Are we fighting again? Did we have a conflict when choosing your dress?”

Looking from afar, they looked like a harmonious family bickering with each other.

“I will be going back now. I have business to attend to at the tower.” Deculein stopped in his tracks and bowed gracefully.

“Hmm? Already? Let’s at least have a drink.” Zeit said, but Josephine stopped him from insisting any further, mouthing the words ‘Death Anniversary.’ Noticing it, Julie also began to look at Deculein with a strange expression.

“Ah, I see. Be careful on your way. I hope we can get together like this some other time.”

“I hope so, too.”

Eventually, Deculein went on a different direction from them.

*****

Early in the morning of the following day…

Boom—!

The chair that was supposed to float lightly boisterously shot up. As it was about to hit the ceiling, I swiftly manipulated it through psychokinesis, allowing it to have a safe landing as it swayed softly in the wind.

“… I can’t get used to this.”

[Mana Quality Reinforcement (Stage 1) has been applied.]

[You can now control your magic more gently.]

Mana Quality Reinforcement.

It allowed the mana inside my body to be refined in a purer manner. Once the circulation of my mana had become smoother, my magic would produce a more superior output.

In that regard, the force of my psychokinesis, which my whole body had magically memorized, would be amplified by at least 25%. However, it was inconvenient to adapt to it from the beginning again.

“… I’ll move on to my next routine for now.”

The time had come to memorize [Beginner Psychokinesis] again.

My psychokinesis was just a mixture of its basic and beginner versions right now, but if I worked on it for just a week, I could expect a dramatic improvement in its beginner version.

Whooosh—

At that moment, the door of the separate building abruptly opened.

“What?”

I definitely told everyone not to enter it without permission. Who would dare—

“What are you doing? It’s just me.”

Yeriel.

As soon as she saw me, she bewilderedly twisted her lips as if she became a peeper.

“Why don’t you wear some clothes first? I heard you were working out these days, but you’re starting to look like an exhibitionist. Why did you even take them off in the first place?”

As she spoke, I noticed the parcel in her hands, to which the system immediately reacted.

[Main Quest: Bercht’s Summon]

“Take this. They’re holding a summoning conference at Bercht in about 15 years.” I took it using psychokinesis, then read it.

What was written in it was nothing special. All it stated was that the Yukline family was being summoned and that we were responsible for our own safety.

“No, more importantly, have you been tortured? Do you have a deadly disease? Why do you look really dirty?”

Yeriel frowned as she examined me. As she said, my whole body was covered with wounds, and there were bloodstains all over.

“It’s nothing.”

I wiped myself using ‘Cleanse,’ asking her a question as I did so. “Did you come here just to deliver this parchment yourself?”

“No. I also have things to do here, so I’ll be here until tomorrow.”

Yeriel shrugged and answered begrudgingly, though she looked shy for some reason.

“Ah, that’s right. I’ll be sleeping in the room I used when I entered college, so don’t even think about going in it.”

“Make it quick.”

“… Okay. You don’t pay any attention to what I say at all. No, actually, it seems you do pay attention~ boo hoo hoo~”

Yeriel jeered and went outside.

“Give me food!”

I immediately heard her voice shouting to her attendant.

“Tomorrow…”

Yeriel would be staying here until tomorrow…. and today was the death anniversary of my ex-fiance.

I doubted it was just a coincidence.

*****

[CMRC: Common Magic Research Club]

Epherene smirked as she looked at the doorplate hanging in the club room. The first C of the CMRC was a wordplay around the word ‘common’ and ‘commoner.’

“Ah, why do I find this funny? pffft.”

She was forcing herself to hold back her laughter when the door suddenly opened. “Oh my God!”

“Ah, Epherene! You’re finally here! Come in!” Julia grabbed her wrist and dragged her inside.

“Oh, Epherene’s here. Hi.”

“Do you want to play cards?”

There were only seven members in total in their club, which was way less than they expected, but she liked the fact that this minority depended on her as the elite.

“What do you think? It’s spacious, isn’t it?!” Julia twirled in the middle of the club room.

“Yeah, it is.” It was much bigger than she expected. Rather, it was about the same size as the house she lived in before.

Epherene trudged along and sat on the sofa, immediately feeling its softness as her buttocks pressed on it firmly. It returned to its original shape in no time as soon as she stood, too.

She repeatedly sat on it and stood up and even pressed onto it a little harder, but it coped without problems. Sure enough, it was the best sofa she had ever sat on so far. Epherene stealthily laid across it while nobody was watching.

“Haaaaaa—” Letting out a yawn, she proceeded to ask a question. “What was the purpose of this club, Julia?”

“Hmm? Ah~ Gaining ‘a practical understanding of magic and research.’ If we do well with this, we can go on a field trip to the Isle of Wizard’s Wealth.”

Isle of Wizard’s Wealth.