Chapter 90 - The assassin gets a new teammate
Translator: VALIANT
This time, I was going to meet the one I wanted to see.
Nevan, the young lady of House Romanlung.
Being allowed to call herself a Romanlung wasn’t just a matter of being born as a direct descendant or not.
It meant that she was the best of her generation in House Romanlung, which continued to breed and educate the gifted with the goal of creating true humans.
In addition to her beauty, she had a mind-boggling list of achievements, and she was known for being the only light magic user in the country, earning her the title of Shining Princess, or even ‘The greatest treasure of the Alvanian Kingdom’.
Back at the academy, she was my upperclassman by one year, and of course, she was reigning as the top student.
I wonder how much easier it would’ve been for us if she hadn’t been out of town when that raid on the academy took place.
Also, she was the body double of Princess Farina, and possibly her twin sister as well.
We walked through the mansion with a servant leading us to her.
[Say, Lugh. What kind of magic do you think light magic is? I have no idea since I’ve never seen the real thing in action, and I don’t have any good references.] (Dia)
[Oh! I’m curious to know too. It sounds really amazing, but I’ve been wondering how it is in reality.] (Tarte)
[It doesn’t just sound amazing, it’s an outrageously powerful affinity. When used to attack, it has the fastest, longest-ranging high-performance magic spells. It’s the light affinity, which means those spells work at the speed of light, and with a range of several kilometers.] (Lugh)
[No one… could dodge something like that, could they?] (Tarte)
Tarte broke out in a cold sweat as she imagined what light magic would look like if she had to fight it.
[Yeah, no one. If you’re in her sights the moment she fires, it’s lights out for you. There’s no other attack as nasty as those.] (Lugh)
There was very little documentation left on light magic, and there wasn’t much information on it in this world.
But I learned of its existence in the Goddess’s realm.
One of the most common light magic attacks consisted in firing convergent light.
In terms of speed and range, this attack was unmatched.
[You said “When used to attack”, that means light magic has many other kinds of uses, right?] (Dia)
[Light-based searching magic has an extremely wide range and a fast transmission speed, you can also use recovery spells with this affinity. The medical magic of Tuatha Dé is limited to assisting in surgical procedures and helping to enhance self-healing, but light magic is on a whole different level. You may as well call it a conceptual healing entity. Not only can it do everything, like attacking, exploring, and healing, it also has top-class performance in every other area. It’s an amazing power.] (Lugh)
[…The more I hear about it, the more I want it!] (Dia)
Dia’s heart was pounding with uncontrollable curiosity.
In fact, if anybody could choose any one of the elemental affinities, it would be light.
But I didn’t pick it for two reasons.
One, because light and dark could only be acquired individually. They weren’t eligible for Dual Affinity or Total Affinity. No matter how superior an affinity light was, having access to all four basic affinities, earth, fire, wind, and water, was the better deal.
Two, because it lacked offensive power. Light was indeed fast and far-ranging. However, the attack power per mana consumed was significantly inferior to that of fire, which packed an overwhelming amount of energy, or earth, which had more mass. In order to kill the Hero, who ranked higher than anyone else, I needed firepower, so I gave light lower priority.
While we were chatting about it, we arrived at our destination.
[After you, dear guests. This way, please.] (Servant)
The servant led us to Nevan’s private room.
As he opened the door, the sound of a piano rang out.
Playing it was a pastime that had recently begun to spread.
However, this melody was beautiful and sophisticated.
And it wasn’t just the tone of the piano that was sophisticated, everything in this room was the apex of sophistication.
It was all a collection of the best things in the world, but presented harmoniously, without giving off the stench of new riches.
In short, she had good taste.
The kind that was unique to real aristocrats.
[Welcome to my room, Lugh Tuatha Dé and co. I have been looking forward to your arrival.] (Nevan)
Her golden hair swayed as she turned around.
[Likewise, I have been looking forward to our second meeting.] (Lugh)
[My, I am flattered. I remember meeting your lovely attendant the other day. But who is your other companion?] (Nevan)
[Dia, come introduce yourself.] (Lugh)
[It is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Claudia Tuatha Dé. I am the squire of the Holy Knight.] (Dia)
She bowed in the fashion of the Alvanian Kingdom.
Her gestures couldn’t be more elegant.
[Oh my, Claudia-san. You are most lovely. …And I sense that you and I are of the same kind.] (Nevan)
The same kind, huh.
She was as sharp as I thought. She could tell at first glance that Dia wasn’t born to an aristocrat ranking as low as a baron.
[Please have a seat.] (Nevan)
[Then, we accept your offer.] (Lugh)
We sat down.
[When I heard that you were coming over, I had prepared special tea cakes for you. But then I acquired something far, far better than that, so this is what we will be having today. My mind has been filled with nothing but chocolate ever since I ate it last month. I never thought I would get some again!] (Nevan)
Apparently, she heard about the chocolates I had given to the servants the moment we entered the castle.
[Knowing that my gift is to your liking is my greatest pleasure.] (Lugh)
[How did you obtain it? I couldn’t get my hands on it no matter how much I tried.] (Nevan)
This translated to “If not even the four major dukes could purchase it, how did a baron manage to get it?”
[Hahaha, you already know the answer. The vice-president of Orna and I are in love with each other. We can afford some degree of flexibility.] (Lugh)
Since those guys had already probed into my relationship with Maha, I could tell her this much. In order to prevent them from arriving at the conclusion that Lugh = Illig, I let her recognize that we were indeed lovers.
[Ah! How sly of you to mix work and private matters like that. But since I get to eat chocolate thanks to that, I will let it slide. Now go ahead, they’re ready for eating.] (Nevan)
A beautiful plate of chocolates and tea was brought to us.
[Orna’s sweets truly are best paired up with Orna’s tea.] (Lugh)
The tea that we were drinking was also from Orna.
…I was a bit surprised.
This chocolate was expertly handled. It was slightly warmed up, which made it more palatable.
[Indeed, this is out of this world. This noble sweet bitterness is a flavor that can only be enjoyed with chocolate. It truly is a candy made for aristocracy. I wish I could eat it every day.] (Nevan)
Nevan innocently stuffed her cheeks with chocolate.
Looking at her like this, she seemed like just another girl who had led a sheltered life.
However, I knew she wasn’t like that on the inside.
She probably learned all these innocent gestures because men found them more pleasing than flawless behavior.
It was a perfect performance, but it’s because it was perfect that I could tell she was acting.
Earlier, she had claimed that she and Dia were of the same kind, but in another sense, Nevan and I were of the same kind too.
We enjoyed the chocolate while making small talk.
Then finally, we got down to business.
[Now then, what is your reply regarding that light magic spell I solicited?] (Lugh)
[You can use it, of course. After all, the great Holy Knight has declared that it was necessary in order to defeat the Demon King and the demons. As an aristocrat of the Alvanian Kingdom, of course I will cooperate with you.] (Nevan)
She smiled and took out a piece of parchment.
Magic characters were inscribed on it.
[You have my gratitude.] (Lugh)
Just when I was reaching out for it, she quickly pulled the parchment back.
She deliberately folded the bottom half so that I couldn’t read it. I guess it was a countermeasure to my instantaneous memory. She was going to start negotiating with me, but it wouldn’t do her any good if I could remember the content.
[I did say I would cooperate with you, but that doesn’t mean I will do it for free. Light magic is valuable, after all.] (Nevan)
[Is chocolate not good enough as payment?] (Lugh)
[I admit it’s pretty mind-blowing, but there is one more thing I want. Would you care to guess what it is?] (Nevan)
I realized her true motive.
The only thing she’s ever explicitly mentioned wanting was me.
[Is it me that you want?] (Lugh)
[Exactly.] (Nevan)
[But obviously, light magic is too cheap a price for me to devote my life to Romanlung. You think so too, don’t you? After all, a man who can be bought with light magic shouldn’t be worthy of House Romanlung.] (Lugh)
Tarte and Dia, who were sitting beside me, choked.
The shock may have been too much for them to handle.
The negotiation techniques Nevan used were extremely basic.
First, she makes an unreasonable demand, and then, we come up with a compromise.
This approach was simple, but it was the right one to use. Since you felt indebted to the other party after refusing once, you had to accept the compromise.
But in her case, although I say that, she was talking on the premise that even the compromise would be refused.
[In that case, how about this?] (Nevan)
She clapped her hands.
[I want to know more about you. So… please let me join you in your next battle against the demons.] (Nevan)
She gave me her biggest smile of the day.
[This is a difficult request. After all, I cannot guarantee your survival. Just the other day, Naoise and the chivalric order he founded asked if they could accompany me, and I told them not to because they would only slow me down. I cannot afford to treat you any differently, and it’s for your own well-being.] (Lugh)
[If that’s your worry, then please be at ease. The truth is, I watched the fight between Naoise-san and your adorable maid. So I can say that I am undeniably stronger than her. Despite how I look, I am still a Romanlung.] (Nevan)
“I am still a Romanlung.” You could hardly find any more persuasive words than that.
And what she said was the indisputable truth. I had long since realized it. That what I had in front of me was a monster.
The way she was now, she was stronger than Tarte.
However, there was one thing that bothered me.
[Surely you jest when you say that you were watching that fight. There is no way I wouldn’t have noticed someone trespassing into that party.] (Lugh)
[Believe me, I was there. Let me tell you why you didn’t notice. I was in the garden from the very beginning. I was impersonating one of the knights Naoise-san had gathered. Perhaps it comes from my experience as a body double, but I am a master of disguise.] (Nevan)
…She got me.
That wasn’t something I could have noticed.
If she had sneaked into the party, I would’ve realized it, but since the guests were Naoise’s followers, I didn’t think of suspecting them.
Also, I had never met any of Naoise’s subordinates before.
Even if she had switched places with one of them, I had no way of realizing it since I didn’t know their original appearances.
If she had used a more blatant disguise, such as a mask, I would’ve noticed, but if Nevan used makeup to impersonate someone else when I had yet to see her face, then I might have had a bad feeling about her, but nothing more.
She really got me there.
She cornered me into committing to something annoying.
What I basically said here was that if she was stronger than Tarte, she had the qualifications to fight alongside us.
[…Just in case, I would like to ask you, what were you doing there? And in disguise, even.] (Lugh)
[I went there because I was interested in you. …Though actually, that was my secondary goal. In reality, it was because my idiot childhood friend was seemingly about to end up the same way as that idiot prince, so I had to monitor him for a bit. I thought I would give him a warning, but since you took care of that yourself, you saved me the trouble. That guy is capable in his own way, so there are many ways to use him.] (Nevan)
[Naoise is one lucky fellow to have a beautiful woman such as you looking out for him.] (Lugh)
[I don’t see him as a member of the opposite sex. He’s not fit to be welcomed as a Romanlung, and I am never going to have a baby with that thing. I only love him as an inept little brother. For a long time, he’s always been clinging to me like a cute little puppy.] (Nevan)
…From the point of view of the daughter of Romanlung, even the top student of the academy is just an inept little brother? How frightening.
He may be surrounded by nothing but freaks of nature, but he’s still without a doubt a prodigy.
[Nonetheless, your terms are difficult to accept. I cannot be held responsible if anything happens to the daughter of House Romanlung.] (Lugh)
[If that’s the issue, then there is nothing to worry about. It is the duty of every aristocrat to stand in the firing line to protect their country. If you like, I can write a note saying that whatever happens, you will not be held responsible. What do you think?] (Nevan)
[Then allow me to ask you, why are you so fixated on joining us?] (Lugh)
[It’s not very smart to answer a question with a question. But just for you, I will give you an answer. Once again, I have two reasons for this. I’m so curious about you, I cannot stop thinking about you. How did you kill a demon? How did you manage to wipe out so many monsters during the attack on the academy? You just have so many secrets.] (Nevan)
[For that, please refer to the written report I submitted to the kingdom.] (Lugh)
Normally, it was a top-secret document that no one could read.
But there was no way Nevan was not allowed to… No, rather, there was no way she hadn’t read it already.
[That rubbish is filled with nothing but lies. That’s why I wish to see you in action with my own eyes.] (Nevan)
I wanted to refuse.
After all, who knew what would happen if House Romanlung managed to grasp the concept of firearms?
They even used crossbows to create their latest weapon. They could actually turn upside-down the foundation of this country.
And if I refused, she could dispatch a lookout instead. So keeping her nearby seemed like the better option.
[And the other reason?] (Lugh)
[It’s that your blood is unequivocally necessary to Romanlung, Lugh-san. If you were just a Tuatha Dé, I would have used my authority to “go for it”, but with your status as the Holy Knight, this turned difficult. Therefore, I’ve decided to make you fall in love with me the straightforward way. For that, I think we would need to spend some time together and “be lovey-dovey”. But not to worry, I will have you ensnared in no time. Well, even if that doesn’t work, I could just rape you and take you baby seed by force, so please don’t mind me when that happens. Just count the stains on the ceiling and we will be done before you know it.] (Nevan)
Talk about self-confidence.
And hold on, what’s up with that second part? Is every Romanlung that abnormal, or is she a special case?
And Tarte and Dia were staring daggers at me from both sides.
[…I have a few conditions. Do not tell anyone about what you will see when you accompany us. Also, do not reproduce my technology. If you can promise me that, I will accept your demand.] (Lugh)
[Yes, with pleasure. I’m looking forward to fighting the demons with you. Now, here’s the document with the inscriptions for light magic.] (Nevan)
I ended up playing into her hands.
Still, we have achieved our goal.
Now, Dia can learn light magic.
Gotta pull myself together, and take care of my other business.
[And as for my plan to assassinate the Second Prince, I have prepared some documents. It is a plan that requires the aid of Romanlung. I have decided on the perfect time and place. I suggest we focus on that too.] (Lugh)
[Alright, you have permission. I will look through your plan later.] (Nevan)
[…Are you sure about giving me permission without looking through it first?] (Lugh)
[There is no way you could be wrong about an assassination, is there? If you were a man who couldn’t even complete his actual job, there is no way I would want your child.] (Nevan)
That’s quite a lot of trust she has in me.
No, it’s not me she trusts, it’s her own intuitions.
[Well then, I will make the necessary arrangements to become a squire of the Holy Knight. Please write an appropriate request for one as well, Lugh-san.] (Nevan)
I got a new teammate in an unexpected manner.
Instead of getting in the way, she would be a great help.
She could be a powerful weapon if used correctly, but one wrong move, and I would go to hell.
I had to be extra careful it didn’t happen.
…And I’ll need to be extra careful with her, but for a whole different reason too. I’d better have a long chat with Dia and Tarte about it afterwards.