Chapter 26 Translator: XZY
Chapter 26: Elente (1) ***
Running a tavern meant living life off-beat.
You opened the shop around the time the sun began to set, and you closed the shop around the time the sun began to rise. When you headed home while watching the bluish, brightening sky, you would sometimes notice the diligent people coming out onto the sleeping streets.
Jayden thought that this kind of life was not so bad.
Back when he was roaming the battlefields and cutting off the heads of trolls, there was no such thing as a life pattern, so this feeling that today would be followed by a tomorrow just like it often felt comfortable.
Of course, he did not neglect his training and sometimes went out to take on requests himself, living a busy life in his own way... but basically, it was a feeling of being drunk on peace. Occasionally hunting magical beasts was not even a deviation for Jayden, who had a past stained with blood.
After wiping a few squeaky cups and looking at the empty tavern, this silence would feel like a warm blanket.
Jayden quite liked this quiet scenery just before closing. Just as he was thinking of ending the day today, a familiar person opened the tavern door and came in.
—Creak
"You're still open, Captain Ahjussi."
"Derek. It's almost time for the sun to rise, what brings you here?"
"I was just going to grab a snack before heading back to my place. Is there any leftover food?"
Derek was a mess, as always.
It was not so strange to see that mercenary, who knew neither blood nor tears, appear covered in dirt and dust from time to time.
However, if there was a strange part, it was that he had just accepted an expensive request, so he was not taking on any other subjugation requests.
"No, Derek. Did you go all the way out to the outskirts of Ebelstein? You don't have a subjugation request, so why..."
"I just went to check something out."
"...Don't tell me you went into the labyrinth?"
"Well, I didn't go deep, just a reasonable distance. I also have the plan I mentioned before."
He sat down at the bar table with a tired expression, rubbed his dry face, and swept his bangs up with a flick, then let out a deep sigh as if exhausted.
"Is there anything to drink?"
"It's just before closing, so there's not much good stuff left."
"Anything is fine."
"Alright, kid."
Derek was known to be teaching the young lady of the County of Belmeade while going to the noble district.
That alone took up almost the whole day, yet at night, he was taking the time to go out to the outskirts of Ebelstein. It seemed he was taking separate time to train his own magic or to explore various places for no particular reason.
"Do you even sleep?"
"I should go in and get some shut-eye now."
"And you're planning to wake up and go teach the young lady of the Belmeade family again?"
"I'll get a good three hours of sleep. I should hurry up, grab my things, and go."
Jayden clicked his tongue and gave him a simple drink. It seemed he had not lived like such a demon even in his active days. Derek looked as if he was possessed by the study of magic.
A lot of time had passed since he had met the boy on the mercenary scene. Jayden already knew well that this boy's magic skills were not ordinary. It was to the point where he often felt that the level was excessively high.
"A letter came for you at the mercenary corps. The sender was from a rather peculiar place."
Since he did not want to hold the exhausted-looking Derek for long, Jayden quickly tossed a letter with a luxurious wax seal from under the table in front of Derek.
Derek picked up the letter with a puzzled expression and scanned its surface.
"It came from the County of Elbester. Isn't the Elbester County a place at the eastern end that takes a long time to get to even by carriage from here? It's the first time a letter has come from so far away... moreover, from a noble house..."
"The County of Elbester?"
"Yes. No matter how famous you are, it's still just within Ebelstein. Do you have a talent for charming nobles or something?"
"No. This is probably... from my master. She said she would let me know how she was doing when she had time."
Derek's master, Katia Flameheart, was teaching the young lady of the County of Freya in the Elbester County.
Since Derek knew well what a good master she was, he had no doubt that she would adapt well even in such a splendid place.
"The master of the young lady of the County of Freya, huh? That old mage has really made it in life."
As it was an empire that had swallowed a whole continent, the famous families in each region were different. News from the east rarely reached Ebelstein, at the western end like this, but still, the names of a few famous figures from influential families were heard from time to time.
The young lady of the County of Freya in the Elbester County was a person who was already considered the queen of the social circle in the eastern part of the empire.
'She must be like Lady Aiseline in Ebelstein.'
Derek put Katia's letter into his pocket and made a satisfied expression for no reason. He seemed quite happy to hear from his master.
It was rare for Derek, who had already become a ruthless mercenary at the mere age of seventeen, to smile so humanly. Seeing that, Jayden thought, so he's human after all.
"Derek."
Jayden quietly crossed his brawny arms, then looked at Derek, who was drinking a fruit wine in an exhausted state, and said as if tossing the words out.
"Take care of your health."
"...Don't worry."
[ Newly Acquired Magic ]
1-Star Combat 'Ice Spear'
1-Star Combat 'Fire Arrow'
1-Star Transmutation 'Attribute Conferment'
1-Star Confusion 'Illusion - Small Animal'
2-Star Combat 'Shadow Bind'
2-Star Combat 'Mass Protection Barrier'
2-Star Transmutation 'Crystallization'
2-Star Search 'Magic Detection'
※Complete chant omission for 1-Star magic is now possible.
<><><>
Elente had come to believe in the existence of the afterlife. It was because she had realized that hell was not so far away.
Elente's stamina was by no means weak. Although she was a delicate noble young lady, she had a fairly outstanding mental strength, and she was full of will, so she could endure most all-night lessons.
Nevertheless, Derek's magic lessons had an unknown power that pushed a person to the extreme.
—'Lady Elente! You can do more! Today, you must learn the feeling of how to draw out magic more efficiently by scraping together your depleted mana!'
—'How am I supposed to... heok... heok... draw out mana that's already depleted in the first place...'
—'Is there anything in the world that can't be done with willpower?'
—'Your words... are so smooth...!'
—'If you think you can't, giving up is also an option.'
Elente's daily routine was already something a person could not handle.
She woke up at dawn to practice mana utilization with Derek for a short while, handled her cultural lesson schedule in the morning, had a quick lunch, did magic duels all afternoon, had dinner, trained in star-rank magic proficiency until she fell asleep, had a late-night snack, and practiced things like flower arrangement or playing an instrument until the moon was high in the sky before falling asleep.
After about two weeks of this, she reached a point where the world looked hazy the moment she opened her eyes in the morning. It was to the point where she gained the realization, so this is what happens when a person is pushed to the extreme.
'Am I... going to die for real at this rate?'
She had already made a bold promise to Derek, so it had become a delicate situation to say that she couldn't do it now.
Nevertheless, the thought that if she trained hard like this, she might really be able to beat Lady Aiseline came to her. It was because Elente had almost never lived her life by splitting each day into minutes like this.
It was said that effort does not betray. Since Elente was the type to do everything diligently, she could feel a certain sense of accomplishment even in this hellish schedule.
Elente's will was still burning.
However, whether her body could follow it or not was another matter.
"La-Lady Elente. Your skin has been slightly damaged."
"..."
What a great disloyalty it was for a mere head maid to point out the appearance of a young lady of the Belmeade family.
Nevertheless, the head maid of the mansion boldly gave her advice to Lady Elente while helping her with her morning grooming.
"Young Lady. It is good that you are always working hard to master magic, but if it affects your appearance, it becomes a great worry for us servants."
"Yes. I was so engrossed in my magic that I momentarily forgot to always keep my appearance tidy. If it weren't for you all, I would have been a mess. I am always grateful."
"...How about reducing your magic training schedule?"
"...That is not an option."
She had to beat Lady Aiseline.
That fiercely burning competitive spirit was at a level that the head maid could not understand.
So what if she lost a little?
She was not in a position to say such an irresponsible thing, but it was to the point where she thought that someone around her would point it out soon.
There was no one who did not know that Lady Aiseline was a perfect person in every way.
And most people thought that she could not easily achieve victory by working so hard in such a short period of time against her.
No matter what anyone said, Elente was challenging the impossible.
Even if she succeeded, it had no great meaning. Who in the world would consider Lady Elente a more outstanding person than Aiseline just for winning a practice duel once? It was just one practice duel.
However, Lady Elente was obsessed with the match against Lady Aiseline as if she were a ghost possessed by victory.
It was to the point where one wished someone would ask what on earth was making her so obsessed.
"Lady Elente seems to be having a really hard time lately."
And it was the same for the other noble young ladies of the Rosea Salon.
Lady Elente, who occasionally came to meetings or discussions and gracefully showed off her appearance, was considered a model for everyone, even if not as much as Aiseline.
In the first place, when it came to the three young ladies who were considered the center of the Rosea Salon, it was at a level where it was meaningless to rank them. It was because all three were like single flowers.
Therefore, no one understood the seriousness of Lady Elente, who was putting so much effort into magic training that it was noticeable how exhausted she was becoming with each passing day.
At some point, Lady Elente was wandering around the cultural hall with hazy eyes, unable to overcome the same hellish training every day. It was to the point where one wondered if this was really okay.
When she returned to the mansion, she had to do mana training again, and before meals, she had to review the star-rank magic again.
Every day, she scraped her mana to the bottom and pushed herself until she was exhausted. She endured this hell without even questioning what meaning such things had.
In the end, it was only the single-minded determination to win. At some point, everything in the world felt hazy and distant.
"..."
And in a corner of the cultural hall, Aiseline's heart was extremely uncomfortable as she watched that Elente.
"Lady Elente seems to be having a really hard time lately. Her skin seems a bit damaged, and her eyes lack vitality, so I wonder if she's overdoing it."
"That must be how much she wants to put her all into the magic duel with Lady Aiseline. Even if it's just a practice duel, I have to acknowledge her seriousness."
Aiseline sincerely hated slandering others.
Her followers also knew Aiseline's character well, so they did not openly criticize Elente's competitive spirit of working so hard.
However, underneath their words, there was a subtle contempt for Elente, who was working so hard to the point of making one wonder if it was necessary.
Aiseline inwardly disliked those simple-minded lower-ranking nobles.
When they followed the marvelous Lady Aiseline, her followers would often fall under the illusion that they had gained as much authority as Aiseline. She disliked seeing them implicitly look down on Lady Elente by putting themselves in her position.
Lady Aiseline had a regretful expression.
<><><>
The next morning. It was when Lady Elente, who had somehow endured her whole body screaming, stood up from her bed.
The head maid, who was brushing Lady Elente's hair with her usual worried eyes, said.
"A gift has arrived from the Duplein family."
"....What? Duplein?"
"Yes. A-and it seems to have been sent by Lady Aiseline..."
A junior maid came into the bedroom holding a wooden box decorated with a pretty flower ribbon and an elegant ribbon.
After placing it on the tea table and bowing politely, she left, and Lady Elente rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened the box.
Inside, along with a beautiful letter handwritten by Lady Aiseline, were a fragrant sachet, magical items for health, and many other things.
"..."
"Lady Elente?"
Lady Elente looked at the contents of the box and then quietly unfolded the letter. Inside, it was filled with phrases carefully written in Lady Aiseline's pretty and charming handwriting. Most of it was filled with messages of encouragement and support.
Lady Aiseline had sent a gift full of worry, thinking that Lady Elente might be overdoing it before the duel.
However, for a person who was clearly more skilled to send a gift like this in a sympathetic way was nothing more than mocking the other person.
Aiseline had been considerate of that part and had written the letter with a ceremonial courtesy, saying that she was distributing the leftover items sent from her main family.
In reality, they were gifts sent out of worry for Elente, but she had sent gifts to several young ladies she knew at once so that Elente would not feel like she was being pitied.
Anyone in the world would see her as a very kind and gentle person.
Lady Elente read the letters full of sincerity and then quietly put them down.
"These are very high-quality items. I will put them away separately."
"No, throw them all away."
"...Pardon?"
"Throw them all away. Don't let them be in my sight."
Lady Elente gritted her teeth and stood up from her seat.
When she looked in the mirror, an exhausted girl with a tired face was making an irritated expression.
She was wearing pretty makeup and charming accessories, but what was filled in her face was jealousy and envy.
When she saw a fairy-like person who was good-looking, from a good family, and even kind-hearted, so there was nothing to fault, there stood an ugly human who was engulfed in an unreasonable sense of jealousy for no reason and harbored hostility.
Who was that? It was Elente herself.
Who was the wicked villain who had used tricks to bury Aiseline somehow when she first entered the social circle? It was Elente herself.
Even while being inspired by Aiseline, who had maintained her nobility and conviction to the end, who was that ugly woman who could not let go of her jealousy and was struggling to win?
The woman reflected in the mirror was exhausted from fatigue, her uncombed hair was disheveled, and her skin was dry.
Who was this woman? Who was this?
Elente suddenly opened her eyes wide and just stared at the mirror.
"Is Derek in the training ground now?"
"Yes. He is preparing for the dawn training. After you finish getting ready..."
"What's the point when I'll get dirty and sweaty soon anyway?"
"...Pardon?"
Elente lifted the hem of her dress and walked out of the bedroom with heavy steps.
The servants quickly tried to stop her, but she did not even pretend to listen.
<><><>
—Thud.
Elente, who had carelessly opened the entrance to the training ground, came up, dusting off her hands.
Derek, who was wiping his sword in a corner of the training ground, looked at her with surprised eyes.
"You're working hard from early in the morning again today, Derek. We'll start with duel practice as always, right?"
"Young Lady. Did you come as soon as you woke up?"
"Aren't you supposed to start training as soon as you open your eyes?"
"That's not it..."
"What's not it?"
It was about time her mind was buried in the recurring fatigue. In fact, it was not ordinary that she had endured this much.
Derek was intentionally pushing Elente into a corner, but he had not expected her to react this way, so he had to watch her for a moment.
However, Elente stared at that Derek for a moment, then took a deep breath as if it were nothing and said.
"Every moment of training is precious if I want to beat Aiseline. I need to become more proficient, even just a little."
"Lady Elente."
Derek immediately realized that Elente was cornered. Up to this point, everything was as Derek had intended.
And in this situation, he once again threw the question he had asked several times.
"If it's hard, giving up is also an option."
"Give up?"
Elente narrowed her brow as if her sore spot had been touched, then rubbed her dry face once with her delicate hand and strode towards Derek.
Then she looked up at Derek with wide eyes.
"Why should I give up? Derek, you urge me to give up every time you think I'm having a hard time. Did you perhaps come to make me give up?"
"..."
"I wanted someone to help me beat Aiseline, and you readily agreed. Wasn't that the relationship between us? Why do you keep scratching at me, talking about giving up or not... may I ask the reason?"
"Lady Elente."
Why on earth was she so obsessed with the match against Aiseline?
Derek had to know the reason first. It was because he had noticed from the beginning that mere envy and jealousy were not the sole driving forces.
Teaching a person was about finding out the true desire for achievement underlying that person's basic psychology and leading them according to that will.
One who delivered knowledge was an instructor, and one who led people was a master.
And Derek was a person who had learned enough about what it meant to lead people through Katia.
"What does it matter if you can't win?"
Seeing Derek spit out such words now, Elente suddenly felt an unknown anger welling up. The reason Elente had hired Derek was to beat Aiseline. She had not brought Derek to hear such futile words.
Elente grabbed Derek by the collar.
As she was about to raise her voice, she suddenly saw Derek's serious eyes and quietly lowered her breath.
"If I can't win... if I can't win, I'll be so pathetic."
Finally, Elente said as if spitting it out.
"..."
The day she had brought Derek, she had persuaded him by saying she was revealing her shame.
However, she was also a person who had grown seasoned in the social circle. She had only said that, but she had not confessed the true reason she wanted to beat her.
Derek had judged that he could not help Elente in that state.
"I told you. I'm the kind of person who used to slander and defame Aiseline. I'm called the pillar of the County of Belmeade or the flower of the Rosea Salon, but at best, I was that kind of person. Do you understand?"
"..."
"I acknowledged how immature and pathetic I was, and I understood a hundred times, a thousand times... that Lady Aiseline is a truly upright and respectable person. I accepted long ago that she's not someone to compete with or anything. My head and my reason understood it all. I know well that there's no reason to dislike or be hostile to Lady Aiseline."
In Elente's eyes, who was holding him by the collar, all the anger had disappeared, and only sorrow was filled.
She said as if vomiting a lump of mud that had been stuck in her chest.
"But what can I do? This pathetic and petty inferiority complex won't disappear..."
Only then did Derek feel like he understood her a little. She was just a girl of that age after all.
It was meaningless to understand how childish and fleeting this base inferiority complex was. It was because a person's emotions did not always follow reason.
Elente was a noble girl who received looks of respect wherever she went, but she was still a girl of that age going through a stormy period.
Rather, with only her reason having matured too much, it just played separately from her emotions. Because she knew how pathetic and wicked an inferiority complex made a person, she only saw herself, who harbored such thoughts, as even more base.
However, it was as she had said. Was such an emotion something that appeared when she wanted it and didn't when she didn't?
—'You have a way with words. I also know well that my personality is not that good.'
—'And so, at some point, a time came when I felt so pathetic.'
Derek now felt as if the puzzle pieces were fitting together. She always acted like a noble rose, but underneath her words and actions, there was a subtle self-loathing.
It was such a faint hint that it was hard to notice unless you were determined to, but once it started to stand out, the full picture finally came into view.
Lady Elente must have looked for a way to improve this pathetic self. However, a person's emotions did not change as easily as pressing a button.
The final destination she had arrived at after various worries and wanderings was to beat Aiseline, even if it was something trivial.
In the end, what she had disliked so much was not Aiseline, but herself.
Only then did Derek feel like he had seen the bottom of Elente.
The reason he had asked Elente several times if she could do anything was also because he had to confirm that resolve. It was because the plan Derek was making would put her in danger with a half-hearted resolve.
"I see."
Derek did not make a fuss or react emotionally.
He just slowly made Elente's hand, which was holding his collar, let go. There was even a firmness in his action.
"...Then let's win."
Elente's eyes widened.
Despite Elente's emotional response, Derek did not show even a hint of being flustered.
He was a man like well-tempered steel.
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