Copy Skills with Affinity! - Chapter 58

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Copy Skills with Affinity! ◈

Chapter 58: Lady

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“Will you promise me one thing?”

Just before Aiden left for Lady Liza Aslan’s territory, Grand Duke Aslan called him over.

“... Liza is at least somewhat more mature than Damian. Please go easy on her.”

“... If she’s mature, doesn’t that mean I won’t have to beat her up?”

“Not that mature.”

“...”

It seemed parents were never fully satisfied with their children.

Aiden mulled over that thought, then nodded.

“I’ll hold back a little.”

The Grand Duke nodded in satisfaction, but in truth, it was a necessary choice for Aiden as well.

-Sub Quest

▶ Protect target “Liza Aslan”!

▶ If you succeed, the Affinity of several people will increase greatly!

“...”

He had no idea what was happening, but this window had suddenly appeared before him.

‘What kind of situation is she in right now...?’

Aiden tilted his head.

Still, after seeing things like this several times, people naturally developed a capacity to learn.

If a situation arose where someone needed protecting, something bad was certainly going to happen.

Which meant he needed to...

“...”

Aiden rubbed his chin as he stared at the window, then cocked his head.

“Hmm.”

Clearly, it would be foolish to go in without any preparations.

▣

The people of the Aslan Ducal House were all warriors renowned for their noble character.

Of course, Grand Duke Aslan would likely click his tongue and call both Damian Aslan and Liza Aslan all puff and no substance compared to their public reputations. Still, those reputations were not entirely baseless.

The conversation in Lady Liza Aslan’s office proved it.

“I refuse, Minister of Administration.”

If Aiden had heard such an unbending answer, his opinion of her would surely have risen considerably.

Anyone hostile to Rad Ilja Barfon was automatically Aiden’s ally. It was a very simple formula.

Of course, Liza had not taken such a firm stance for no reason.

She stared at her counterpart with an incredulous look.

The Prince’s closest aide, the Minister of Administration.

Everyone who knew him agreed that he was a schemer.

And what he was saying did not stray from that assessment in the slightest.

“If you want an advantage over your brother in the succession struggle, your soldiers need to become stronger, don’t they? This is no time to be picky about methods.”

“...”

“Lord Damian is likely already considering using force against you.”

Had it been something less extreme, she might have agreed.

By nature, Liza was every bit as ambitious as her brother, and the sort of person who took whatever she needed to accomplish what she wanted.

Even so, there was a minimum line she would not cross as a human being.

Brushing back her curly blond hair, Liza roughly tossed a vial onto the table.

It was what the Minister of Administration had just handed her, telling her to test it.

“A Beastification Potion? Are you sane, offering something like this?”

“It is a product with guaranteed effects.”

The casual answer made sparks fly from Liza’s eyes.

Demonic energy was itself a lethal poison to living things. That was why the Void Zone was forbidden in the first place.

Even if its effects were as certain as he claimed, the soldiers injected with it would inevitably suffer side effects.

Everyone living in the Aslan Duchy knew that.

Those exposed to demonic energy for long periods, or infected by magical beast blood and the like, always underwent physical changes, great or small. Some even grew savage enough for their personalities to become warped.

And he wanted to inject substances related to magical beasts directly into their bodies?

“Of course I want the Grand Duke’s position. But inject demonic energy into my soldiers? You’re telling them to die!”

No matter how desperate she was, Liza still had the minimum conscience required of a commander responsible for her soldiers.

“A Heavenly Mandate is coming, My Lady.”

The man who whispered that in a soft voice clearly did not care in the least.

“...”

“The Imperial Capital will soon be thrown into chaos. Will you still say the same when that happens?”

“... You...”

“Of course, the Prince and I are currently in a position where we must keep our heads down. Still, this is not a simple offer of cooperation.”

The Minister of Administration continued with the same smiling face.

“... Everyone in the Empire will soon have to stand on one side. The Prince, or the other side. I’m giving you an opportunity to attach yourself to the advantageous side.”

“...”

Liza was speechless for a while.

The proposal was simply too ridiculous.

“Your side was crushed when you tried to frame Lionheart not long ago, yet your confidence is sky-high. Did you think I wouldn’t know your situation?”

“Well, we aren’t saying this without any basis.”

... Certainly, he was acting far too boldly for someone backed into a corner.

As if he had something to rely on.

But regardless, the proposal before her was something she could never accept.

“... Get out. This is your final warning. Otherwise, I really will cut you down.”

Liza growled.

Rad shrugged at her response and gathered up the vial.

“If you insist, there is nothing I can do.”

At least he seemed willing to leave. Liza relaxed the tension around her eyes, allowing some of her hostility to fade.

It seemed this could be resolved fairly peacefully.

Until Rad immediately drew black mana from around his body.

“... You, what are you...?!”

With a shout that was almost a scream, Liza instantly drew her sword.

As someone from a duchy bordering demonkind and the fragments of the Demon God, she knew better than anyone.

“From beyond the Void Zone, we succeeded in bringing over someone fairly useful this time. This year’s Night of the Hunt should be quite entertaining, but separately from that, I must keep the promise I made to the Prince.”

What stood before her was not human.

It was not human, but something like a demon...!

“So, since that man’s party also happens to be nearby, and I need some field data on this medicine before putting it to use in the Imperial Capital later...”

The next moment.

“... Would you personally provide it, My Lady?”

Rad’s eyes glowed red.

▣

“Something is seriously wrong with the way this world works.”

Noel muttered in a voice that sounded as if she had already lived through it all.

Anyone would likely react the same way if told they would go to the young lord’s territory during the day and turn it upside down, then go to the young lady’s territory at night and tear that place apart as well.

‘... She won’t be as easy as Lord Damian.’

Everyone in the Aslan Ducal House was a renowned warrior, but Lady Liza was far more popular than Damian.

In fact, the established belief among the nobility was that Damian’s frequent attempts to check Liza stemmed from his inferiority complex.

And they were going to attack her territory now.

The person who had led them into this situation, Aiden, had left saying he had preparations to make. Being left alone with Katia only made Noel feel more exhausted.

“...”

And what was he having elite personnel like Lionheart and Deathwish do?

They were meticulously arranging their abilities around the area like a net.

Noel spread out her Ki, while Katia scattered her Divine Power as invisibly as possible.

At this level of weakness, they could hardly exercise any physical force.

At most, if Noel and Katia concentrated with all their strength after setting this up, they might barely learn that someone had passed through the area.

Still, because they had to form a net surrounding the entire territory, it took considerable effort even with the two of them.

‘... I’m tired.’

That was all Noel could think.

“Why? The schedule is packed. That’s great.”

Of course, there were no absolutes in this world.

Noel pressed a hand to her temple as she watched Katia walk along with a cheerful hum.

Katia clearly found the prospect of going to beat someone up utterly delightful...

‘Once again.’

From one end to the other, she and Katia had nothing in common.

They were so completely opposite that even their smallest food preferences differed.

The one fortunate thing was that Katia did not show Noel much hostility whenever Aiden, their common denominator, was involved.

Normally, when Katia accompanied them somewhere, Noel worried herself sick over what kind of trouble she would cause. But whenever that man asked her to do something, Katia became remarkably obedient.

Even so, that did not make her any less difficult to deal with.

“By the way, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly is going on between you two?”

“...”

Asking such an extremely sensitive question right to her face was not behavior Noel could possibly approve of.

“... Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“No reason. It just doesn’t seem like you have an ordinary marriage.”

“...”

“... Don’t you have a lot you’re hiding from each other?”

What made Katia even more difficult to handle was not just her aggressiveness. Her mind worked far faster than it appeared to.

“I’ve thought it for a while now. There’s something unnatural about you two. I keep getting the feeling that you haven’t known each other for very long.”

“...”

“Are you really engaged?”

In the past, Noel would have changed the subject or given a vague answer.

Or it might have even turned into a fight, as it had before.

It was an uncomfortable subject to bring up, and Noel did not like seeing Katia’s eyes so full of suspicion.

“...”

But instead of answering, Noel kept her mouth firmly shut.

After all...

‘What kind of relationship are we...?’

She herself was surely the person who found that question hardest to answer.

They were not on bad terms. They were not distant, either.

But were they close enough for her to seriously answer such a question in front of Katia?

Her eyes wandered. She almost looked as though she were holding back embarrassment.

“...”

Then her serious gaze returned to Katia.

Katia’s eyes narrowed when she saw Noel place one hand on her scabbard.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll speak frankly. I don’t like you very much.”

“What a coincidence. I feel exactly the same.”

It was a terrifying conversation to exchange without either of their expressions changing, but neither Noel nor Katia seemed to have any particular thoughts about it.

“Still, we can probably find one thing we have in common.”

“Hmm.”

Then Noel’s hand moved like lightning.

The path of her sword glinted coldly beneath the moonlight spilling across the night sky.

And caught in that arc was something creeping toward them through the darkness.

A monster with numerous limbs no human could possibly possess. Its body was horribly twisted, warped, and crushed.

Then Katia’s Divine Power struck the creature Noel’s sword had hit, as though following the sword’s path.

Before it could even let out a scream of pain after being struck simultaneously by two of the strongest ability users, it shattered into pieces.

“... At least when we fight together, we seem to work well.”

“Yes. I agree with that.”

Perhaps it was because they both had someone they wanted to protect.

With that thought, Noel sheathed her sword again.