Damned Transmigration - Chapter 10

WeTried Translations

Translator: Joy

Editor: Joy

◈ Damned Transmigration ◈

Chapter 10: Rutlan (2)

──────

In a world where gods truly existed, humans could not possess nations or become kings.

That was why this world had cities instead of kingdoms or empires. Of course, not every city was the same. A city’s size, population, economic strength, military power, and countless other factors determined its standing.

Rutlan was a major city acknowledged by all.

Its area and population alone were several times greater than Oldor’s, and the families governing it were prestigious houses that had maintained their power without wavering throughout centuries of history.

There were three major groups in Rutlan.

The Dersia Mage Tower, led by Heavenly Thunder Orca.

The Namgung Family, one of the Five Great Eastern Families and a force of great influence within the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

And the Ascard Family, who could practically be called the current masters of Rutlan. The Ascard Family held considerable influence within the Cartel, an alliance of Western families, and had supported Rutlan’s economy for a long time.

Rutlan’s fertile granary region was the result of the Ascard Family summoning a great number of high priests of the God of Earth and the God of Plenty from Union, a religious federation city, to bestow their blessings. Nearly half the goods distributed in Rutlan also passed through a trading company owned by the Ascard Family.

‘How nostalgic.’

Thirty years had passed, so Yuri had been quietly worried, but Rutlan’s current state, as he understood it through Yuri’s memories and Elena’s added explanations, was not much different from the game.

The Ascard Family was still the real power in this great city. There were other families as well, but even if they joined forces, they could not surpass the authority of the Ascard Family, who belonged to the Cartel’s Pride.

The same was true of the Namgung Family. They had left the East and settled in Rutlan fifty years ago, but to the city’s longtime masters, the Namgung Family were still uncouth outsiders.

The Dersia Mage Tower had not changed either. Those lightning mages could commit massacres whenever they wished, yet the tower remained distant from the city’s struggles for power.

Because of that position, the Dersia Mage Tower received great treatment in the city. Simply being a mage of the Dersia Mage Tower was enough to ensure a life free of inconvenience in Rutlan.

Elena had received a house upon reaching the fourth tier not merely because Heavenly Thunder Orca was wealthy enough to buy a house whenever she pleased. Such gifts themselves were tokens of the Ascard Family’s affection and welfare toward the Dersia Mage Tower.

In fact, every year, the Ascard Family sent the Dersia Mage Tower enormous donations that far exceeded its annual budget.

Mages accustomed to prosperity would not become hostile toward the Ascard Family, even far into the future. That was how the Ascard Family had reigned as the masters of Rutlan for so long.

The Namgung Family, who had only been in the city for fifty years, could never approach the benefits of wealth accumulated over such a long time. It was true that they held great influence in the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, but the “sword” the Namgung Family boasted of posed no threat to the Ascard Family.

In truth, it had been difficult to grasp how impressive the Ascard Family was, or how enormous this city was, in the game.

The scenery of a major city looked miserable compared to the graphics of modern games, and the Ascard Family, the Cartel’s Pride, had been little more than a source of duplicated experience points and game money once players reached a high level.

[Dersia Mage Tower Mage Hunting Tip That Also Makes You Money: Attack the Ascard Family. Even unnamed Ascard Family NPCs drop several million sel by default, and attacking them will always draw out Dersia mages. Kill the family head, and Heavenly Thunder Orca will appear immediately.]

[If you hire a Salhomun assassin and wait in front of the Mage Tower, you can trigger a forced battle event with Heavenly Thunder Orca. However, that is far too inefficient for grinding honor, which has limited uses anyway. If you are aiming for the Hall of Honor, it is better to farm the Ascard Family and secure resources.]

THOR123’s most-viewed guide, written by someone who could practically be called the father of the community’s lightning mages, emphasized exactly that.

Yuri had also used a translator to read it and tried it himself. It was true enough.

‘Though it wasn’t only Dersia mages who appeared.’

The Ascard Family might have been treated as golden goblins in the game, but Yuri could not treat them that way in reality.

Elena’s house, obtained through the wealthy Ascard Family, was not an enormous mansion.

Still, it was far more impressive than the communal housing Yuri had lived in. It was a detached two-story house with a small garden. Yuri stood in front of it with a blank expression until Elena climbed down from the carriage behind him and lightly tapped his shoulder.

“Why are you standing there like that?”

“It’s a nice house.”

Elena’s lips twitched at his sincere impression. She shrugged as she used magic to pull the travel bags from the carriage.

“Well... it’s ordinary, isn’t it? Besides, it won’t be my house forever. I have to return it once I reach the sixth tier.”

“You’ll get a new house instead.”

“How did you know?”

“If they take back the house they gave you, they should give you a new one.”

It was a house Elena could live in for the rest of her life even if she never reached the sixth tier. Lee Su-hyeok, at twenty-seven, had lived in a cheap one-room rental. Yuri, at twenty, had lived in a one-room home without even a restroom or kitchen. Yet Elena, the same age as him, lived in a two-story house with a garden...

‘It isn’t easy to own a home in this world either.’

As Yuri let out a deep sigh, Haryeong approached.

“May we simply leave the carriage here?”

“Leave it. Someone will come and take it away.”

“Surely you will not be staying at this house as well, Haryeong-nim?”

“No. I will be staying at a nearby inn.”

“You seem very devoted to this escort mission. Is that really alright?”

“I would also prefer to remain by Lady Elena’s side, but the young lady dislikes having her personal space invaded.”

‘Then why did she bring me home?’

Yuri looked at Elena in disbelief.

“And yet she says she will keep Yuri-nim in her home. It truly is difficult to understand.”

Haryeong nodded as though she knew exactly what Yuri was thinking.

“There are exceptions.”

Elena hurriedly added an excuse.

“This escort mission started when I previously took on a fourth-grade Adventurers’ Guild request. It was to prepare for dangers outside the city.”

“That is true. Though I also accompany you when you travel within the city, in addition to what the young lady has said.”

“Who in Rutlan would touch a mage of the Dersia Mage Tower? They would have to be insane.”

“There are plenty of crazy people in the world.”

“That... may be true, but it’s fine. I can protect myself well enough.”

Elena glanced at Haryeong.

“Besides, the inn where Haryeong is staying is not very far from here. It is linked to the security magic, so she can respond immediately if someone attacks. And...”

“Alright, I get it.”

Yuri cut off the rambling excuses. Elena instead let out a relieved sigh.

“You do not dislike living in my house with me, do you?”

“You said you dislike having your personal space invaded.”

“It’s fine with you because we slept together when we were children.”

“We were ten.”

“What does that matter? It’s not as if we are sleeping in the same room. I told you, there are plenty of rooms.”

Without saying anything more, Elena reached for the house’s door. Yuri could see the mana she stirred flowing into it.

‘I see.’

Once he became aware of the flow of mana, he could naturally see the magic embedded in the door as well. Complex spell formulas intertwined with one another. Yuri lacked the basic knowledge to understand those formulas yet, but he could understand that Elena’s mana acted as a key to open them.

That alone was enough. Being able to see through a spell formula meant that, if he could reproduce it, he might be able to use the magic.

Of course, knowing a formula alone did not mean he could solve a problem perfectly. He would need deeper understanding and repeated practice.

It was enough. Whenever this happened, Yuri realized just how monstrous the potential of a transmigrated person’s mana affinity and comprehension could be.

That was why he needed to be even more careful.

“Then I will prepare the new contract and visit again. Do you have any plans to go out today?”

“I need to stop by the Mage Tower and submit my report.”

“I understand. In that case, I will visit tomorrow. Would it be alright to come at the usual time?”

“Yeah.”

“That is unexpected. I thought you would remain at home for about a week.”

“What is unexpected about that? I brought Yuri here, but I am still a mage of the Dersia Mage Tower. Of course I have to go to the tower every day.”

Her tone made it sound obvious, but it did not look that way to Haryeong. She could sense that Elena secretly wanted to do just that. Still, it could not be helped. A fourth-tier mage affiliated with the tower was obligated to report their achievements every quarter.

“Yes, I understand. Then I will visit tomorrow morning.”

Haryeong gave a slight bow of her head and turned away.

As Elena saw Haryeong off, she glanced at Yuri.

Anyone could tell from his clothes that he came from the countryside. He did not smell, but they were old and worn all over, making them unpleasant to look at.

Naturally, Elena had no clothes a man could wear in her house.

“I need to buy Yuri some daily necessities too.”

“Me? I brought what I need.”

Clothes, underwear...

“Throw them away.”

Elena answered at once.

“How many years have you worn those? It does not look like you maintained them well either. They were not gifts from someone or things you have become attached to, were they?”

“No.”

Those were clothes the orphan Yuri had bought himself. It was true that he had not maintained them well. There were no washing machines in this world.

There might have been things similar to detergent or fabric softener, but orphan Yuri had not used that kind of thing. Orphan Yuri was a true man’s man who handled all his laundry with cheap laundry soap bought from Gordon’s general store.

The current Yuri was no different. He knew the clothes were old and worn, but more than half the laundry soap remained, and he hated wasting his savings by going out of his way to buy something better.

So he drew cold water from a well and washed his clothes by hand.

“If I throw them away, I’ll have to buy new ones. I don’t have money.”

He still had a fair amount of savings, but buying new clothes and underwear felt wasteful.

“Who told you to buy them? I’ll buy them, so do not worry.”

In truth, Yuri had not worried. He had naturally assumed Elena would buy them for him. Someone might think he was a piece of trash, but Yuri remained shameless. Elena was the one telling him to throw away clothes he could still wear for quite some time, and the savings orphan Yuri had diligently gathered since his days as a pickpocket might be less than Elena’s monthly living expenses.

“Still... I’m only receiving things from you.”

Even if he thought that, he could not openly act shameless. In Oldor, he could behave rudely to sever his connection with Elena, but he had already come all the way to Rutlan. If he acted that way here, he might end up living a lonely, shabby life in a foreign city.

“I’m doing it because I want to.”

Elena’s cheeks twitched as she answered. During the past week, Yuri had noticed that Elena strangely tried to suppress her smile in situations like this. Yet when she showed off, she wore a confident smile so smug it was irritating.

“Anyway, stop standing there and come inside.”

She held back the smile threatening to spread across her face, but she could not suppress the happiness in her steps.

Elena was genuinely in a good mood.

When she had first set out after receiving Gordon’s letter, she had felt concern for Yuri and, honestly, disillusionment with him.

Ten years was a long time. Elena knew she had changed greatly since her orphanage days, and she thought Yuri would have changed as well.

She had assumed Yuri was not doing anything worth boasting about. She had not gone out of her way to investigate, and now that she thought about it, it seemed to be because she did not want to become disillusioned with Yuri. Because she did not want to be disappointed in him.

Yuri’s circumstances were more terrible than Elena had imagined. They were circumstances that could not help but disgust her. She had thought he was doing trashy things and had become trash himself.

But after meeting him... he had not become as awful as she expected.

That made Elena happy.

“There is a restroom on both the first and second floors.”

They passed through the small garden and entered the house. Elena put her hands on her waist and turned to Yuri in the middle of the tidy living room.

“It has basic magical household tools, so it will be far more comfortable than the house you lived in.”

It was obvious at a glance. There was no stove that had to be fed firewood and lit by hand. Yuri could not help being impressed by the unexpectedly modern kitchen.

“If they are magical tools, do you not need to know how to handle mana to use them?”

“Of course not. This house has a built-in magic stone. You can turn that valve yourself and the fire will light, so do not worry.”

When he saw the restroom and bathroom, Yuri had to hold back tears of joy. Just as he had said in Oldor, the restroom was not a pit toilet. The white restroom, filled with a faint fragrance, had a sparkling flush toilet. The bathroom had a sink, bathtub, and shower.

‘Long live magic.’

He could not help feeling grateful for the civilization of a major city where magic had seeped so deeply into everyday life.

“You can use the study on the first floor freely. The magic books there are shared-use books, so it is safe for you to read them.”

The more Elena showed him around the house, the more excited her voice became. It was a twisted desire to boast that she, once an orphan with nothing, had become this successful in the city.

“You really made it.”

It was not difficult for Yuri to notice that obvious desire. So he admired her as she wanted. His admiration was sincere as well.

Elena immediately grew smug.

‘Does she know her chin is getting higher and higher...’

Elena, a fourth-tier mage of the Dersia Mage Tower and the greatest success story of the Oldor orphanage, went up to the second floor.

“You can use that room.”

It was an empty room without a single piece of furniture.

“I’ll go buy the furniture and come back later, so do not worry. A bed, a desk, a chair...”

Elena counted on her fingers as she muttered the things she needed to buy.

“Where is your room?”

“Right next door. The room in the corner is a storage room, so you can go inside if you want. But not my room!”

“I will not go in, so do not worry.”

Even if he wanted to, he could not. When he glanced over, mana was flowing through the door itself.

‘Security magic, probably.’

There was no other place in the house, aside from Elena’s room, that had security magic.

“You said you are going out. Is it alright if I do not come with you?”

“Um... yeah, it’s fine. I need to stop by the Mage Tower first.”

She looked apologetic.

“Can I use the ingredients?”

“Uh... huh? Why?”

“We have not eaten yet.”

Elena’s eyes widened.

“You are going to cook yourself?”

“I lived alone for three years after leaving the orphanage. I know how to cook.”

There was a little lie mixed in.

It was true that Yuri could cook, but he was not especially skilled at it.

So he learned.

While wandering through Oldor’s libraries and bookshops looking for magic books or martial arts manuals, he found cookbooks and read them diligently. If he could not even eat good food in such a miserable situation, he felt like he might truly want to die.

[I tried cooking myself, and honestly, it was terrible. Even if I do not know magic, I clearly have no talent for cooking.]

That was what Elena had written in her last letter. Yuri had not tasted her cooking, so he did not know what level she considered terrible, but he believed his own cooking was not merely edible. It had flavor.

Yuri possessed a talent for cooking that even Elena, who had everything, did not have.

“You said you cannot cook, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I feel bad living here for free, so I’ll take care of the housework.”

Elena’s eyes trembled.

The house had been satisfying but somehow hollow. Now, with Yuri here, Elena was newly aware of his presence.

“Alright.”

Elena moved her lips for a moment, then quickly composed her expression.

“What if a guest comes while you are away?”

“No one will come, so you do not need to worry.”

“You never know.”

“Then do not open the door. Say the homeowner is out.”