WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

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◈ The Northern Grand Duke’s Mad Son-in-Law ◈

Chapter 43: Empty Glass

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‘Huff.’

Adrianna let out a ragged breath.

She could no longer remember how long she had been swinging her sword.

‘A Demon Realm appeared out of nowhere...’

The Demon Realm was practically the Demonkin’s stronghold. Demonkin grew stronger there, while humans became weaker.

She did not know why, but the Demon Realm was especially taxing for Adrianna, whose aura burned mana.

Biting her lip, Adrianna swung her sword.

Brilliant white aura surged forth and split the enormous tentacle. Its severed end scattered into ash.

It was not a fatal blow, though. Adrianna, who fought with a sword, was poorly suited to fighting such a massive Monster.

It would have been easier if it were a supreme-ranking Demonkin instead.

Still, Adrianna did not complain.

‘I have to stop it here.’

She simply pressed forward, raising even more aura.

Then...

“You’ve been working hard.”

A familiar voice came from beside her.

It was calm and unhurried, as though he had merely come out for a leisurely stroll.

Galahad was suddenly standing at Adrianna’s side.

“I was a little late. I had to deal with the mages.”

Adrianna nodded.

“Ah, you can speak.”

“Yes. How is the situation?”

“It’s looking good. This is all that remains.”

Galahad pointed ahead. Four enormous tentacles writhed above the castle.

‘All that remains...?’

It was far too huge an opponent to dismiss so lightly. Yet when Galahad said it so casually, it somehow felt true.

“Now, let me explain the plan. From what I saw earlier, that thing seems to have something like a core at its center.”

“A core?”

“Ah, um... Think of it as its head. I believe we need to take that part down.”

“I understand.”

Adrianna nodded and swung her sword. A tentacle flying toward them was severed and turned to ash. The shortened tentacle recoiled upward.

“The farther a tentacle is from the center, the lower its mana concentration. That’s likely why you struggled. You grow stronger as your opponent’s mana concentration increases.”

Galahad shook his canteen. Adrianna gave a tentative nod.

“But as a mage, I’m stronger against opponents with lower mana concentration. We work quite well together.”

Adrianna’s brow lifted slightly.

“Now, I’ll handle this part. Come behind me.”

“...Pardon?”

“I’m telling you to stand behind me.”

Galahad stepped forward, opening his canteen.

“I, I’ll take the lead.”

Adrianna had stared blankly at his unexpectedly broad back for a moment before hurriedly speaking.

“Hmm, didn’t I explain enough just now?”

Galahad narrowed his eyes. Remembering how much he teased Sir Gilbert, Adrianna hurriedly shook her head.

“I understand.”

“Yes, you’re not Sir Gilbert, after all.”

Adrianna pressed her lips together.

“Stay close. We’ll move quickly.”

Galahad raised his right hand. The design of red blood on his forearm burned crimson, like flames stirring ash.

“Yes.”

For the first time in a very long while, Adrianna followed behind someone else.

An enormous tentacle crashed down. Galahad, standing before it, looked dangerously vulnerable.

Out of habit, Adrianna gripped her sword. Just as she was about to step forward...

“Hellfire.”

A tiny flame shot from Galahad’s hand.

Compared to the enormous tentacle, it was no bigger than a fingernail. Yet Adrianna felt a strange chill.

The small flame consumed the ash filling the area and swelled in size.

The tentacle caught fire in an instant. A nauseating smell filled the air.

The sight of that enormous tentacle burning was quite spectacular.

“Can you see that? That’s the boundary.”

Galahad pointed to the tentacle’s far end. The fire consuming it suddenly stopped there and vanished.

“I’ll lead us that far. After that, you’ll protect me.”

Galahad’s eyes were unusually serious as he spoke.

“Yes.”

Adrianna nodded firmly.

“That’s a promise ?”

It was rare for Galahad to ask again.

She felt a strange sense of unease, but nodded.

“Yes.”

“I’ll trust only you.”

“...Yes.”

His voice made her feel oddly ticklish, and Adrianna quietly turned her head away.

Because of that, she did not see the corner of Galahad’s mouth rise.

Galahad kept drinking from his canteen as he hurled flames and lightning.

He looked precarious, but he did not hesitate.

After they had gone some distance...

“This is as far as I go.”

Galahad said it, then shamelessly hid behind her without hesitation. Adrianna forgot the situation for a moment and let out a small laugh.

“Did you just laugh?”

“I didn’t.”

“Is that so?”

Galahad raised an eyebrow. Adrianna gave a small cough and adjusted her grip on her sword.

Thanks to that brief chance to catch her breath, she felt much better.

White aura flared fiercely again.

“You’re prettier when you smile.”

She pretended not to hear the words from behind her.

“Hmm, didn’t you hear me? You’re prettier when you smile.”

“...I heard you!”

“Did you just get irritated?”

Adrianna pressed her lips tightly together.

She felt like coughing.

* * *

‘Hmm... Is this as far as I can go?’

Galahad shook out his right arm and smiled.

His right arm felt as though it were burning. He had circulated too much mana through it.

The magic circle left behind by the First Mage contained several functions.

One of them prevented Monsters from recognizing him.

It seemed connected to the Monster Tamer’s magic circle.

Still, even that had its limits.

Once Galahad approached the Monster’s core, its tentacles began attacking him as well.

Ironically, the Demon Realm called the Sanctuary helped Galahad.

With the Egg of Pain and the magic circle left behind by the First Mage added to his abilities as a mage, the Demon Realm was instead highly favorable to Galahad.

No, favorable was not enough to describe it.

The Demon Realm was water.

Galahad was a fish.

‘A supreme-grade Monster...’

Galahad muttered as he watched the enormous tentacle before him.

No matter how supreme-grade it was, it could not fill that massive body entirely with high-density mana.

After checking, he found that its furthest ends possessed only as much mana as a lower-ranking Demonkin. The mana concentration grew denser the farther inward it went.

Then Adrianna split a tentacle near its root. Her golden hair, brilliant as the sun, whipped wildly through the air.

“Are you all right?”

Thump.

His heart beat fiercely. It seemed the Egg of Pain was starting to act up again.

‘I should hold her hand once more.’

The Egg of Pain squirmed. It seemed to protest that it was not the reason. What a shameless thing.

“I don’t think the Monster can focus on this side.”

“It can’t focus?”

...!!

Adrianna’s words were briefly interrupted by the Monster’s intermittent shrieks.

“...The screams keep erupting like this. It seems there may be someone else besides us.”

At Adrianna’s serious words, Galahad rubbed the back of his chilled neck.

‘Has the Grand Duke already made it this far?’

Galahad had deliberately moved to the side opposite the Grand Duke.

They were positioned on opposite sides with the Monster’s core between them. If Adrianna was right, the Grand Duke seemed to have already reached the core.

“It isn’t Sir Gilbert or Velogrime. It could be an enemy. They’re quite powerful.”

Adrianna spoke seriously.

Quite powerful... Galahad let out a soft click of his tongue.

“It isn’t an enemy. I trust you’ll protect me.”

“Why would I protect you if they aren’t an enemy?”

“There are situations like that. Will you protect me?”

Adrianna’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Yes.”

Galahad smiled in satisfaction at her firm answer.

“I’ll trust only you.”

They advanced once more.

No matter how many tentacles they cut and burned, they could not pull up the roots.

Perhaps because of that, it felt as though their numbers increased the closer they came.

Yet the stronger her opponent became, the stronger Adrianna became.

She did not stop swinging her sword. Her white aura burned as if it would paint over the whole world.

As they drew closer, tentacles shot toward them wildly.

Adrianna blocked them all.

Her back was truly dependable.

Still, she seemed to have reached her limit.

The hand gripping her sword trembled violently.

This was the Demon Realm.

The Demon Realm had made Galahad, a mage, and the Demonkin incomparably stronger, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on knights.

“It’s dangerous.”

Adrianna turned to Galahad as she spoke. Her normally expressionless face was tightly twisted. Sweat covered it. She looked as though she were holding back something ready to burst at any moment.

“Have you reached your limit?”

“...It’s difficult to control it any longer.”

Adrianna spoke in a tightly restrained voice.

‘Difficult to control?’

Adrianna’s aura was burning more brilliantly than ever.

Could this truly be her limit?

‘No.’

She was the hero who would fight the Demon King.

Her limit could not be a mere supreme-grade Monster.

Adrianna could go further.

She only needed a trigger.

A trigger...

Galahad murmured quietly.

‘Not bad.’

His calculations ended quickly.

“You can do it.”

Galahad put a cigarette between his lips and smiled.

Adrianna could not understand why Galahad was smiling in a situation like this.

His next action was even more...

...impossible to understand.

Galahad walked forward without hesitation.

Adrianna was already struggling to suppress her aura, so she could not stop him.

Galahad passed her and stood before the tentacles.

Then he turned to Adrianna...

“Save me.”

He spread both arms.

An enormous tentacle shot toward Galahad.

Since they were close to the core, the tentacle’s attack was sharp and fierce.

Galahad smiled at Adrianna.

“Ah...”

At the sight of that madman, Adrianna let out a small cry.

A surge of instinctive fear made her release the aura she had been forcibly suppressing.

The aura she thought she could not control was hers as well.

Ah...

The violently burning aura moved according to Adrianna’s will.

The aura she thought she could not control stretched out in a long stream.

A white line cut across the air.

Boom.

The severed tentacle turned to ash in an instant.

Only then did Galahad turn around.

Unlike before, when only the wounded area had turned to ash, this time it became ash all the way to its root.

“Oh, it worked.”

‘Oh, it worked?’

Adrianna’s lips moved as Galahad casually brushed dust from his coat and smiled.

She wanted to curse at him, but she did not know any curses.

“...Is something wrong with your head?”

“I’m sorry, but my head is perfectly fine. If anything, it’s too excellent. That’s the problem.”

“Then why did you...?”

“I simply trusted you.”

Adrianna’s brows furrowed at his unwavering voice.

“What would you have done if I’d failed?”

“But you didn’t.”

There was no reasoning with him.

Why did he have such firm faith in her that he would risk his life for it?

Adrianna could not understand.

“You don’t wish to become a widow either, do you?”

“We aren’t married yet.”

“Oh, ‘yet,’ is it?”

The more she spoke to him, the more she lost. Adrianna closed her mouth tightly.

“Now then, finish it off magnificently.”

“I already intended to. Not because you told me to.”

“Your voice has gotten sharper. Are you sulking?”

“...I’m not sulking.”

Her aura was burning even more fiercely than before.

She did not want to admit it, but it was thanks to Galahad.

‘Madman.’

She could not understand him.

...!!

Then the Monster let out a shriek.

Unlike before, it was full of pain.

Its tentacles soon lost strength and fell with a thud.

‘What...?’

Adrianna turned her head. Someone had clearly defeated the Monster.

Then...

Galahad suddenly collapsed.

“My legs gave out.”

“...”

Adrianna checked her gauntlets. They were lined with leather on the inside. She loosened her grip as much as she could, until it was hard to breathe.

After checking several times, she lifted Galahad very carefully into her arms.

“It’s nice having a knight for a wife.”

His snickering expression was incredibly annoying.

Then...

“Hmm.”

The Grand Duke appeared.

He held a thick chunk of flesh in a hand drenched in red blood. It was likely the Monster’s core.

The Grand Duke chewed the flesh as he looked at Galahad.

Only then did Galahad realize he was in Adrianna’s arms and hurriedly spoke.

“Please put me down.”

Adrianna held him even tighter instead.

“Adrianna?”

At Galahad’s desperate whisper, the corners of Adrianna’s mouth rose slightly.

After holding out for a moment, Adrianna put him down and approached the Grand Duke.

“Your Grace, why are you here?”

“The self-proclaimed son-in-law invited me. He said a Demonkin banquet was being held in the Demonkin’s yard.”

Adrianna’s voice was higher than usual as she spoke. The Grand Duke stared at Galahad.

“Ha ha, greetings, Your Grace.”

Galahad greeted him with perfect courtesy.

‘He’s stronger than I expected.’

The lump of flesh in the Grand Duke’s hand was clearly the core of the supreme-grade Monster.

He had torn it out with his bare hands. There was not even a single wound on his body. Galahad could not begin to grasp the extent of his strength.

More than that...

‘Did the Grand Duke use an axe?’

Galahad did not know exactly who it was, but one of the key figures he had written down in his notebook had used an axe as well.

“Why don’t you call me father-in-law?”

The Grand Duke asked, baring teeth as sharp as a shark’s.

If looks could kill, Galahad would have died long ago.

Galahad quietly hid behind Adrianna.

“How could you leave your position?”

Adrianna scolded him again. The Grand Duke turned his gaze toward her.

Standing behind Adrianna, Galahad could not feel any of that murderous pressure.

‘How am I supposed to get that?’

Galahad was thinking of something else.

That chunk of flesh in the Grand Duke’s hand... The blood dripping from it was far too enticing.

The Egg of Pain was pounding repeatedly as well. It seemed to beg for it immediately.

The problem was that the other party was the Grand Duke.

Judging by the bite marks deeply carved into the flesh, he truly seemed to tear Demonkin apart and eat them.

‘He eats Demonkin raw without even roasting them. What a vicious barbarian.’

There was a reason he ruled the north. Galahad stared in appalled disbelief.

“Move aside.”

The Grand Duke took a step forward.

Adrianna stood in his way.

“If it hadn’t been for Captain Galahad this time, we could have suffered enormous losses. We could have lost the entire Seventh Battalion, and the unprecedented disaster of a Demon Realm opening in the north could have occurred.”

The Grand Duke stopped. Adrianna continued.

“This is an immeasurable achievement. You should commend him first.”

At Adrianna’s words, the Grand Duke’s face twitched.

Galahad was surprised that a person’s face could look so vicious.

He wondered how Adrianna had come from that face.

“An achievement...”

“Ha ha, I only did what I had to do.”

The Grand Duke raised the corner of his mouth at the sight of the man who did not avert his eyes.

“I grant a cup to Galahad, captain of the Special Operations Unit.”

The Grand Duke pulled a rusty golden cup from his clothes. It was crudely made.

To be granted a cup meant receiving the Grand Duke’s official recognition.

Recognition from the Grand Duke, ruler of the north, was by no means a trivial matter.

He had not granted even Adrianna his recognition.

No, he had not granted it.

Because the Northern Cup was filled with Demonkin blood.

The Grand Duke squeezed the chunk of flesh over the cup. Red blood poured out, overflowing the cup and running onto the ground.

Galahad flinched at the sight.

“This is the Northern Cup.”

The Grand Duke held out the cup full of Demonkin blood to him.

“Father...”

“Quiet.”

Adrianna pressed her lips together and stepped back.

The Grand Duke held out the cup to Galahad.

If he endured it, he would become the only northern warrior recognized by the Grand Duke.

If he could not endure it, that was simply the limit of his capacity.

As always, the Grand Duke only offered an opportunity.

Ninety-nine out of a hundred would die from it, but that was what receiving the Grand Duke’s recognition had always meant.

A warrior recognized by the Grand Duke...

One in a hundred.

No, there was only one such position in all the north.

“You may refuse if you’re afraid.”

The Grand Duke stared silently at Galahad.

Some had fled after being presented with the cup.

Some had drunk from it and gone mad.

What would you do?

In response to the Grand Duke’s unspoken question...

Galahad...

“Thank you.”

He smiled brightly and drained the cup in one gulp.

He kept swallowing without even taking a breath.

As though that was not enough...

“Is there any more, Father-in-law?”

Galahad held out the empty cup and smacked his lips.

“Madman.”

The Grand Duke’s fierce smile widened.

Footnotes:

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