Priest (2)
That evening, Young Lady Aiselin finished all her schedules at the Duplein Ducal House and it was time to return to Ebelstein.
Jayden, who had accompanied Derrick just in case, said he would return together at this time, so Derrick had finished preparing to see them off and was standing in front of the mansion's main gate.
"I think it was a really good decision to bring Mr. Derrick to the ducal residence."
Aiselin, standing in front of the carriage, said with a gentle smile.
She smiled demurely, as if she was happy that the atmosphere of the ducal residence had improved recently. Even though she now lived at the Ebelstein mansion after leaving the ducal residence, it was just like her to always worry about her family home.
"No, if you think about it, I didn't really do much."
"There's no need to be so polite. From Mr. Derrick's perspective, it must have been quite a hard job."
Anyway, Young Lady Aiselin's request was to help Diela become a young lady who could confidently enter High Society preparation after becoming able to use 1-star magic.
Just manifesting mana meant that half the goal had already been achieved, so it was only natural that she was wearing a satisfied expression.
"I want to spend more time with my family, but it's a shame that I have to return to Ebelstein. There are still many things I need to keep working on, so it can't be helped."
With words of thanks, Young Lady Aiselin boarded the magnificently huge carriage.
Jayden, who had finished preparing to return to Ebelstein with her, approached Derrick before getting on and patted his shoulder.
"Looks like I don't really have anything more to do at this mansion. I just came as a mercenary corps representative to save face, and that's the end of it."
"What about the 15 aidel gold coins that were the commission fee?"
"Well. Since I didn't really do much, it's awkward to split it in half, so I'll just take 1 coin as a fee. You should save some money too if you're going to get a wand or staff someday. Isn't that right?"
Since it was a job received at the mercenary corps level, it was impossible to not give even a single coin as a fee. If Derrick had been a lone mercenary, he would never have gotten a chance to receive a commission from a ducal house like this.
Young Lady Aiselin would come to the mansion to spend time with her family whenever she had time, so he would see her face more often, but Jayden would probably not be seen for a while after leaving this time, saying he had to manage the mercenary corps.
Thinking about that, it couldn't be helped that his heart softened a bit.
"You can take about three coins."
"Oh? Your head's hardened and now you're even being generous."
"Don't you like it?"
"Of course I like it. Heh heh."
As Jayden chuckled, Derrick also let out a dry laugh.
After a brief silence, Jayden rubbed his chin and said.
"Finish things up quickly and come back. The Veldern Mercenary Corps is always short on mages."
"Do you want me to throw away this warm and well-fed job as a ducal house instructor and go out?"
"Don't be cheeky. Do you think I don't know you're not the type to stick around in a luxurious mansion like this?"
There were many meanings contained in Jayden's words.
From the fact that Derrick was a mercenary by nature, to the fact that his magical talent would not simply end at this level.
Derrick himself knew it. He had the desire to stretch further, beyond 2-star. For a mage, academic passion and the desire to rise were almost like fate.
However, he was a commoner. Up to a 2-star commoner mage, people might think, "he just worked hard" or "he has some talent" and let it go, but from 3-star onward, the nobles' gazes would change.
By the time one reached 4-star, one might be treated as a dangerous element that could affect the system itself, so at that point it would be hard to show oneself openly. Historically, there were only a handful of commoners who had reached 4-star anyway.
In the end, if one wanted to go higher, one could not stay only within the embrace of a noble family.
"If they find out you're sticking to the ducal house teaching magic, Felnine will go berserk. If that kid flies into a rage, this old man can't handle it. So hurry up and finish and come back."
"Before you take the next commission, send a letter as a greeting."
"Do you think I'll play around with a quill pen like those scholars? You come to the tavern yourself, brat."
Jayden laughed heartily and got on the carriage.
"Then, see you in Ebelstein."
Derrick saw the departing carriage off.
*
–Bang!
"Derrick! I can manifest mana and kind of control it, but the direction keeps getting weird!"
–Bang!
"Derrick! Look at this! I managed to apply cold energy, but it's not being evenly distributed throughout all the manifested mana! Why is this happening?!"
–Crash! Bang!
"Derrick! I can feel the mana, but when I try to manifest it, my senses keep getting dull!"
"Derrick! Where did you go? Why are you out in a place like this? I told you to stay near the annex!"
"Derrick! I succeeded in letting the mana flow out using the method you told me last time! What should I do next?!"
Derrick! Derrick! Derrick!
Because Young Lady Diela kept looking for Derrick whenever she had time, the servants of the annex developed the habit of always knowing Derrick's location. When the owner of the annex became displeased and went to look for Derrick, they had to tell her the location immediately.
That didn't mean Derrick was always staying near the annex.
Derrick sometimes read books in the guest rooms, wandered around the mansion garden reviewing various magic theories, and with the duke's permission, he also looked through magic books in the mansion library.
Although Derrick had come to teach Diela magic, from his perspective as well, this Duplein ducal residence was an environment well-suited to studying many magic theories.
In the first place, since it was one of the foremost magic noble families on the continent, it had tons of those expensive and precious magic books.
Since they were all Noble Society Discipline School books, they weren't directly helpful, but Derrick was good at taking magic theories as references and modifying them into his own. For Derrick, who had a Discipline School master, this was a familiar process.
Magic theories were profound yet simple in some ways, so even though each School of Magic's basic knowledge might seem completely different, if you looked closely, there were many parts that were connected.
Since opportunities to access magic books this freely were rare, Derrick wanted to make the most of this chance.
Thus, while polishing his own magic skills, Derrick also checked on Diela's magic whenever he had time.
Naturally, they ended up spending a lot of time together, and they also talked about many things. Since the gap between a mercenary from the bottom and a Young Lady of a powerful family was enormous, there were rarely cases where they found common ground.
Instead, they could tell each other many interesting stories.
Derrick sometimes talked about the stars he used to look up at from the slums, stories about going around the outskirts of Ebelstein with Katia hunting monsters, and the brutal rivalries between mercenary corps.
Unlike the cute fairy tale books that had been stuck in Diela's room since childhood, Derrick's stories had a sense of reality and contained the coldness of real life. Diela pretended not to care and acted coy, but when the stories got more exciting, she listened with sparkling eyes.
Sometimes she would make an exhilarated expression, sometimes a regretful one, and by the time the story ended, Diela would often go on a long speech about how great her Bloodline was.
At those times, Derrick would make an indifferent expression and read a book, and it was almost daily routine for her to get angry and say he should listen to her story.
As time passed like that, both Derrick and Diela were running toward results.
Diela's goal was to be able to use 1-star magic, and Derrick was trying to expand the range of 2-star magic he could use as much as possible ... and if possible, he wanted to enter 3-star magic.
*
It was late afternoon when Valerian, the first son of the Duplein family and the next Family Head, called Derrick to his room.
It was a time when it was gradually heading toward late spring.
Among the servants who were busy cleaning up the pollen that was flooding into the mansion, Valerian suddenly stopped Derrick and called him.
"What's the matter?"
"Are you teaching Diela well? How is she these days?"
"There has been quite a bit of progress. However, acquiring 1-star magic is still a long way off. It seemed like it would happen quickly, but the progress is a bit slow, so I'm looking for a method."
"I see ... I see."
Valerian's private room was almost twice as big as Diela's private room he had seen before.
They said one had to treat the next Family Head of a powerful family accordingly, but honestly, it was so big that he wondered if a room of this size was even useful.
In one corner of the room, at a table by the window, sat Valerian with his legs crossed. At a glance, he was a tall, well-built, handsome man.
He was such an attractive man that there were quite a few maids who harbored feelings for him, but rather than indulging in women, he seemed to spend almost all of his time managing the ducal territory.
In his spare time, he would oversee Raig's training, or write letters to Aiselin, or take care of his uncles and nephews, making it seem like he loved his family very much.
"Mother, who went to a southern social gathering, will probably return sometime next week. Let me warn you in advance, she's not an easy person."
"Is that so?"
"The Duplein family is relatively mild, but basically, nobles don't really like commoners like you holding important positions. You know that too, right?"
The situation itself, where a commoner was teaching magic to a ducal Young Lady, was not normal. That was because Diela was not a normal case.
Normally, the position of magic instructor in a place like the Duplein family was one that everyone lined up for if they had the ability. It wasn't that there were no people who wanted to do it, but that there were few capable ones.
Once the situation stabilized, Upper-level Mages who wanted to push Derrick out and take the instructor position would probably start appearing in droves. Anyway, since Derrick's goal was to teach Diela 1-star magic, his mindset was just to get through until then.
"I'll keep it in mind. Is that why you called me?"
"That was important business too, but ..... there was something else I wanted to ask."
"Something else you wanted to ask?"
Valerian rubbed his chin and looked out the window, then looked down at Diela, who was practicing mana release alone in the garden. He seemed to be hesitating about something, so Derrick couldn't help but be confused.
"I am the next Family Head of the Duplein family. What is the position of Family Head? It is to embrace and include all the members of the family and lead them in the right direction. To do that, you have to face each and every member with your heart and understand them sincerely."
"....."
The story was getting strangely long, but Derrick listened quietly.
"But that's not easy. Isn't that right? How deep and profound the human heart is. And even if you live together in the same family, your values and what you pursue become different, so there are many cases where you can't understand each other ... "
"I see ... um ... so may I ask what you want to tell me?"
Valerian dusted off his old-fashioned noble clothes and leaned back against the chair, speaking awkwardly.
"Diela doesn't play with me."
"...."
Derrick was left speechless, but at least he succeeded in managing his expression.
He felt like he understood why Valerian was saying this.
Since Diela started properly learning magic, she no longer looked down on people indiscriminately. There were times when her words were sharp, but she almost never acted like a thug anymore.
Around the time when Diela's reputation was gradually starting to improve like that, there was a time when Derrick ran into Valerian while passing through the garden with her.
Valerian, who loved his family dearly, greeted Diela brightly with a smile, but Diela, as if she had seen a beast, flinched and hid behind Derrick, watching carefully.
Seeing Diela, who narrowed her eyes like a cat and barely returned the greeting, Valerian seemed to be greatly shocked.
"When she was little, she always went around showing her drawings with a smiling face. There was no angel like her in the world."
"...."
"My impression can't be that scary ... tell me. What should I do to win Diela's favor?"
"Why ... why ... are you asking me that ... "
"Diela only follows you ..... "
In fact, in the Duplein ducal residence, the only person Diela could be said to follow was Derrick.
"...."
Valerian's heart that loved his family was truly admirable, but unfortunately, the reed-like sensitivity of a teenage girl was a realm more mysterious than most historical unsolved problems to a fully grown adult man.
Still, if one were to guess, there was a high chance she was just shy. After living so recklessly, it wasn't strange to feel awkward when suddenly facing her family.
Usually, time solved these problems, but Valerian was seriously wondering if the problem lay with himself.
"First, look at this. I separately learned embroidery from a maid and made a doll shaped like Diela. What do you think? Doesn't it drip with effort, sincerity, and love?"
Even though Young Master Valerian was said to be good at everything, he seemed to have no talent for delicate sewing, and the doll looked more grotesque than cute.
If the recipient were a mature adult, they would express their gratitude just for the effort, but unfortunately, a teenage girl would probably just be horrified.
The maids seemed unable to tell him the truth.
If he took this to Diela as it was, it would only result in a disaster, so someone had to step up and tell him the truth here.
"If I may speak honestly .... just ..... I think she would be offended ... "
".......Damn it."
Valerian grabbed his brow and fell into anguish.
Derrick could only cheer for his efforts.
*
[ Newly Acquired Magic ]
1-star Combat Magic 'Shockwave'
1-star Search Magic 'Life Detection'
2-star Transformation Magic 'Earth Wall'
2-star Illusion-type 'Confusion'
"Young Lady Diela. It's about time the madam returns."
"It's already that time?"
A neat maid came to find Derrick and Diela, who were studying magic at the tea table set up in the garden.
-Tap
Derrick closed the book he had been reading with one hand and stood up, brushing himself off.
As time passed, Derrick achieved a certain amount of results. The magic materials of the Duplein ducal residence were truly a great help. However, it still seemed a long way to go to reach the ultimate goal of 3-star.
In fact, one could say that wanting 3-star at this age was shameless, but the desire to grow didn't care about age. Still, he was newly realizing day by day that the realm of 3-star was not ordinary. It wasn't something that could be achieved in a short period of time.
What was really interesting was that his achievements in Combat Magic and Illusion Magic were fast.
The fast acquisition of Combat Magic was probably due to his mercenary career accompanied by frequent combat experience, and the fast acquisition of Illusion Magic was likely due to the influence of his master, Katia. Katia was a 3-star Illusion-type mage.
On the other hand, he seemed to have no talent at all in Summoning Magic, and no matter how much time he invested, he couldn't see much light. It was a pity, but it couldn't be helped. As Katia had said before, trying to take everything might be greed.
Derrick let out a long sigh and followed the maid's guidance toward the mansion's main hall.
Many servants had come out for the welcome party of Miriela Dayvel Duplein, the madam of the Duplein family who had returned from a southern social gathering.
Miriela, who had traveled a long way, looked tired, but she maintained a dignified appearance befitting a noble house madam. Her light purple dress, the fan with a ducal feather, and her sparkling accessories each looked like luxury items.
She exchanged pleasantries with the family she was seeing after a long time.
"Nothing special happened while I was away, right?"
"Yes, Mother. On the contrary, it's full of good news."
"Oh my, if you say that yourself, Valerian, it must really be good news."
A noble lady whose face showed the flow of time, but who still maintained the dignity of a noble.
As soon as Miriela came in escorted by Valerian, she looked at Diela's face and made a surprised expression. She seemed to immediately realize what the good news Valerian mentioned was.
"Di, Diela! You came out of the annex!"
Diela was dressed in a pretty frilled dress and cute ribbon decorations, truly looking like a noble Young Lady. Miriela found her so lovely that she ran over and hugged her.
"H, hello. Mother ... "
"Diela. My lovely Diela. How worried I was ... "
"Don't be surprised, Mother. Diela manifested mana some time ago and is now trying to acquire 1-star magic."
"Is, is that true? Diela! You really worked hard! Oh, I should look into places to buy a wand or staff. Should I check the magic shops in Ebelstein ... "
"Haha... Mother. It's too early."
Valerian smiled gently and stopped his mother's fuss. Mages who carried dedicated wands or staffs were usually skilled ones around the mid-3-star level. Even then, many didn't carry them if they didn't need to. Those magical items were too expensive.
Making a fuss more than necessary over a child's achievements was a long-standing habit of parents. It meant that she was that happy.
"What on earth happened for you to achieve such a great accomplishment in such a short time ... it feels like the world has turned upside down."
"Um... that is... "
When Diela hesitated and couldn't say anything, Valerian smiled gently and answered.
"The magic master that Aiselin brought played a big role."
"Oh. I should thank him. Is he at the mansion right now?"
"He's over here. He's a mage named Derrick, who came from Ebelstein."
Derrick was standing next to the servants, and when he made eye contact with Miriela, he quietly greeted her.
Miriela approached with eyes that seemed to drip with honey and greeted Derrick.
"Our daughter has been in your care a lot. You're a mage who came from Ebelstein?"
"Yes. My name is Derrick."
Miriela smiled and said in a gentle voice.
"Diela is quite picky about her magic masters, so I'm very grateful that you've produced such wonderful results. I can't just sit still, so I'd like to send a return gift to your family ... could you tell me your affiliated territory? I want to show our sincerity in the name of Duplein."
At those words, Valerian lowered his gaze awkwardly. The other servants did the same.
Looking sideways at that atmosphere, Derrick felt like he roughly understood the situation.
"I don't belong to any family."
" ... Yes?"
"I am a commoner."
When he said that, silence fell over the main hall of the ducal residence.
Soon, the affectionate gaze that had looked at him like a benefactor disappeared from Miriela's eyes, replaced by cold eyes.
Derrick already knew, having heard it from Valerian.
She was a person who was like the embodiment of noble authority.
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