WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Northern Grand Duke’s Mad Son-in-Law ◈
Chapter 44: Training Camp
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‘Hm.’
Galahad desperately held back the groan threatening to escape.
He had answered the Grand Duke casually and stepped away, but he was not in good condition.
The blood of a supreme-ranking Demonkin was on an entirely different level from anything he had drunk before.
Drinking other Demonkin blood had felt like swallowing fire.
This was...
‘It feels like I swallowed lava.’
It felt as though everything inside him were melting.
From the lips that had touched the cup, down through his mouth and esophagus...
This was a deadly poison. The kind that would kill ninety-nine out of a hundred people ignorant of mana.
If it was that dangerous even for someone ignorant of mana, how much worse would it be for a mage sensitive to it?
All his mana boiled.
It slipped beyond Galahad’s control and welcomed the Demonkin blood as though in worship.
The pressure made it feel as though his heart would burst at any moment.
Then the Egg of Pain moved. Drooling, it approached as though the blood of a supreme-ranking Demonkin naturally belonged to it.
Galahad...
‘Wait.’
He stopped the Egg of Pain from rushing at the Demonkin blood.
The Egg of Pain trembled faintly. Pain rose through him, as though his insides were not merely boiling but melting. The Egg of Pain insisted fiercely.
If he did not deal with that immediately, Galahad’s insides would melt.
It was right.
With mana that concentrated, Galahad would surely melt away.
Even the mana within him was currently running wild beyond his control.
If this continued, his destruction was inevitable.
Still...
‘This won’t kill me.’
Deadly poison was poison only to the ignorant. To someone who handled poison, it was treasure.
This blood of a supreme-ranking Demonkin was treasure to Galahad as well.
Treasure that could never be obtained easily.
Could he simply hand such treasure over to it?
It was certainly dangerous. But not dangerous enough to kill him immediately.
He had time for just a little taste.
Just a little...
The Egg of Pain shook violently, as though asking why he insisted on doing something so dangerous.
If he fed it to the Egg of Pain, it would come back out anyway.
That was true. If he gave it to the Egg of Pain without compressing it, it would provide concentrated, pure mana.
Still...
‘It wouldn’t taste good.’
This was mana at a concentration he had never encountered before.
As a mage, he could not accept passing over mana this radiant without trying it himself.
The Egg of Pain buzzed, as though grinding its teeth.
Galahad’s attention was wholly fixed on the Demonkin blood.
He prodded at the vicious poison that was not merely burning his insides, but melting them.
Like savoring an exquisite dish, he lightly scraped its surface.
A small amount leaked out, and the taste was truly intoxicating.
So good that he would not notice if he ate it alone and died alone.
‘How should I consume it?’
Ah. Galahad slowly narrowed his eyes.
‘Compression.’
The pinnacle of handling mana was compression.
If one could compress mana, it meant they had complete control over it.
‘It feels possible.’
The Egg of Pain shook fiercely. It kept screaming that it was dangerous. If Galahad died, it would be finished too. It seemed worried.
‘Shut up.’
The Egg of Pain stopped dead.
After silencing it, Galahad licked his lips.
The mana was incredibly concentrated, but it was simply pure mana with a high concentration, not compressed mana.
In theory, it could be compressed.
His calculations were brief.
Galahad forcibly pressed down on the solid mana.
Its concentration was so deep that it felt as firm as a mountain.
It was like pressing down on a mountain peak with his palm.
It did not budge.
‘How dare you...’
This mana had entered Galahad’s body.
In theory, Galahad held its reins.
No matter how concentrated it was, how could a mage be dragged along by mana?
So...
‘Kneel.’
At that absolute certainty...
The mana that had held firm as though it would never move shifted.
Only slightly, of course.
What mattered was that it had moved.
‘Ah.’
The result followed his calculations, but a guess and certainty were different things.
And the experience of pressing down on a mountain was no small matter.
Galahad felt the force he used to press down grow stronger.
The compressed mana twisted because it had nowhere to settle. Mana that should have dispersed into the air suddenly vanished.
As though it had been absorbed.
Galahad frowned at the unfamiliar phenomenon.
Then the pain surged again.
The mana he had failed to press down began running wild once more.
‘Eat.’
The Egg of Pain, which had been writhing as it endured, rushed at the Demonkin blood. This seemed difficult even for it, and the two wrestled within him.
The Egg of Pain began devouring the Demonkin blood. Its body swelled little by little, until he could feel its weight beside his heart.
Galahad groaned and pressed hard against his chest.
The Egg of Pain vibrated as though cheering. Already in poor condition, Galahad swayed violently.
Perhaps because it had eaten something delicious, it seemed to have lost its mind. It kept pulsing, and its presence continued to shake Galahad.
Come to think of it, was it not an egg?
‘Is it going to hatch?’
It was right beside his heart.
If it hatched there, that would be quite troublesome.
He called to it several times in alarm, but it kept shaking as though it had lost all reason.
It seemed too excited to hear him.
Now that he looked at it, this appeared to be its own kind of dance.
It did not seem about to hatch immediately.
Still, Galahad was not in good shape.
That bizarre dance was deadly to him in his current state. It was too excited to listen to him.
Galahad hastily turned his head.
At a time like this...
‘Wife!’
It was Adrianna.
* * *
‘He received the Grand Duke’s recognition...’
Velogrime, commander of the Seventh Battalion, swallowed hard.
The Grand Duke ruled the north.
He was not called its ruler simply because he was a duke.
The Grand Duke had risen to his position by carving a path through his own kin, his enemies, and Demonkin blood.
[Whoever cuts off my head may have this seat.]
Those had been his first words after becoming Grand Duke.
To the northerners, whose blood already ran hot, it had been like throwing fuel onto a fire.
Countless people had challenged him.
Every last one had fallen to their knees before the Grand Duke.
Very occasionally, the Grand Duke offered a cup.
It happened once for every thousand challengers.
Most people who received the cup avoided drinking from it.
Receiving the Grand Duke’s cup alone was the highest honor.
Yet that man had not stopped at receiving it.
He had drained the cup in a single swallow, then asked for more as though that were not enough.
It had never happened before.
Nor would it happen again.
‘You really do live long enough to see anything.’
Velogrime looked at Galahad with fresh eyes.
His hair was slicked back neatly without a single strand out of place. His body was lean and long, yet gave off a sense of strength, and even his clothes were immaculate.
He was a man wholly unsuited to the north.
He was even a mage.
A man completely opposite to the north.
Yet such a man had received the Grand Duke’s recognition.
‘You really do live long enough to see anything.’
Then Galahad opened his eyes.
A dense presence flowed from him.
It was a presence Velogrime could never forget.
‘...A high-ranking Demonkin?’
Velogrime instinctively gripped his staff. His hair stood on end, and his hand tightened.
Galahad blinked.
The ominous presence Velogrime had felt a moment ago was gone.
No, it was the same man as always.
Calm eyes that somehow carried madness within them.
‘...Did I see it wrong?’
Velogrime narrowed his eyes and studied him, but it was still the same man.
‘I’ve grown old.’
As he muttered that, Velogrime realized his hand was soaked in sweat.
He had actually tensed up.
Galahad headed toward the Grand Duke and Adrianna, who were talking. His legs trembled as though he were ill.
‘Was it too much after all?’
It had to be because he had drunk the Demonkin blood.
Velogrime had heard that Demonkin blood was even more lethal to mages. He knew as much as his wrinkles suggested.
Most of it was useless knowledge, but useless knowledge was still knowledge.
“It cannot be done.”
“Retaking the Seventh Battalion’s position comes first.”
“It is already open.”
“That does not mean we can simply leave the Demon Realm as it is.”
The Grand Duke’s eyes looked subtly gentler. Others might not have noticed, but Velogrime had served him on the battlefield and could tell.
The Grand Duke’s love for his daughter was famous, as was his love for his dead wife.
When Galahad approached, both the Grand Duke and Adrianna turned to look at him.
Then...
‘...?’
Galahad suddenly held out his hand to Adrianna. He did not say a word. He simply offered his hand.
Adrianna let out a soft sigh, removed her gauntlet, and took it.
The entire exchange was remarkably natural, as though they had done it several times already.
They even interlaced their fingers.
‘They suit each other fairly well.’
As Velogrime muttered that, he suddenly felt a murderous presence and turned his head.
The Grand Duke’s brow had creased slightly.
The thick, vicious muscles in his back twitched roughly, as though screaming.
“Haha, my hand was a little cold.”
Galahad smiled as he said that to the Grand Duke.
‘He really is insane.’
Velogrime sincerely admired him.
He had seen quite a few strange people, but Galahad was the strangest of them all.
* * *
‘I might die.’
At the sight of the Grand Duke’s creased brow, Galahad hurried behind Adrianna.
He could not help it. The Egg of Pain had been acting up too much.
The moment he held Adrianna’s hand, the Egg of Pain went quiet as if by magic. It seemed to settle down a little. The Egg of Pain bit at his heart as though disappointed.
‘Power you cannot control is useless.’
At Galahad’s rebuke, the Egg of Pain shut up.
Then Adrianna looked at Galahad and spoke.
“We were discussing the Demon Realm.”
“This?”
Galahad waved his hand. Ash scattered around them fluttered after it.
“Yes. If we leave it as it is, it will affect the Demonkin and Monsters. It is likely to become a problem, so we were discussing how to guard it.”
Adrianna nodded.
The Demon Realm was more than a suitable environment for Demonkin, Monsters, and mages. For knights, it was the exact opposite, the worst possible environment.
There was the lack of visibility, where they could not see even an inch ahead, along with the psychological fear.
If it was difficult even for knights, there was no need to mention soldiers. Simply entering would surely send them into a panic.
“Is there a solution?” the Grand Duke asked in his usual deep voice.
‘Like a beast deep in a cave. One that smoked heavily during puberty.’
Galahad muttered softly.
It sounded somewhat provocative, but the fact that the Grand Duke had asked him directly carried great meaning. It meant he was willing to hear Galahad’s opinion.
‘So this is recognition.’
Recognition aside, the Grand Duke’s gaze stung as though it would burn Galahad’s eyes simply by meeting it.
“Yes.”
Of course, he had a solution.
“...Really?”
Adrianna’s brow rose. She looked at the Grand Duke, whose brow lowered.
“I dislike jokes.”
“I like them, but I choose the time and place.”
“...Is that so?”
Galahad laughed at the Grand Duke’s low question.
Nobody else did.
‘A father and daughter who know nothing about humor.’
Galahad clicked his tongue and nodded.
He had seen the scattered Magic Stone fragments and the shattered magic circle earlier. It was easy to infer the connection between them.
“Yes. They likely gathered a large amount of Magic Stones, used a Demonkin as a medium, and detonated them all at once to create compressed mana. The compressed mana then drew in the surrounding mana, creating this situation. Of course, once it exceeds a certain range, it will no longer gather because of the mana threshold, but...”
Galahad’s voice trailed off when he saw their lowered brows.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I am an excellent mage.”
Galahad tapped his head as he answered, and the Grand Duke frowned.
“Then is there a way to get rid of it?”
Adrianna turned to Galahad as she asked. He nodded.
“We have you.”
“...Me?”
“Even if it is called the Demon Realm, it is only mana with an unusually high concentration. And this is not a true Demon Realm.”
“Explain it simply.”
Ahem. Galahad forcibly swallowed the words, ‘I explained it simply enough.’
They were northerners.
“I will stop the mana continuously flowing in from outside, and you can erase what is inside.”
“Erase it?”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
At the Grand Duke’s question, Galahad looked at Adrianna. Her eyes widened.
“Me? I do not know magic.”
“It is fine. I know it well enough. I will handle the mana coming in from outside, so you only need to draw up plenty of aura and run around.”
“...What?”
Galahad considered for a moment how he could explain it any more simply.
“Ah, I understand. But can it truly be resolved that easily?”
“Because it is not a real Demon Realm. Its range is only about the size of a castle. An upper-ranking Demonkin or above is needed as a medium, though.”
“Though?”
The Grand Duke repeated in a low voice. His massive trapezius muscles twitched, making it seem as though he might seize Galahad at any moment.
Galahad met the Grand Duke’s fierce gaze and spoke.
“Must we get rid of it?”
The Grand Duke’s brow creased almost imperceptibly. Adrianna’s brow lowered.
‘The father and daughter do have one thing in common.’
They both expressed their emotions with their brows.
“What do you mean?” the Grand Duke asked.
Adrianna remained silent.
“Of course, if this exists, the nearby Monsters and Demonkin will gather here. But is that necessarily a bad thing?”
The Grand Duke’s brow creased further. He looked like a beast opening its jaws wide. Galahad’s throat itched for no reason, and sweat formed on his back.
He subtly moved closer behind Adrianna.
“What do you mean?”
“When I saw them earlier, the knights of the First Battalion did not seem accustomed to the Demon Realm.”
“Yes.”
“This will only be the beginning. It will happen again in the future. It is not a problem that caution alone can solve.”
Galahad spoke while looking at the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke silently stared at him.
“So we train them.”
“...Train them?”
Adrianna opened and closed her mouth, apparently shocked by his words.
“Do you know what kind of place the Demon Realm is?”
This time, the commander of the Seventh Battalion spoke. Shock filled his eyes.
‘He is making such a fuss over the Demon Realm.’
Could he be blamed? Galahad lightly snapped his fingers.
“Yes. I stopped by before coming here.”
“You say you stopped by as though you visited a tavern.”
Then the Grand Duke spoke.
“Training in the Demon Realm. Interesting.”
“Yes. If we manage it well, it can be operated as a Demon Realm Training Camp.”
“It is dangerous.”
“Danger becomes opportunity when you overcome it.”
Galahad quietly looked at the Grand Duke.
“Good.”
It was the answer he had expected.
“Then the training camp will need an administrator.”
As the Grand Duke said that, the corner of his mouth rose sharply.
‘Hm, I did not expect that.’
Galahad met the Grand Duke’s gaze as his mind raced.
Manage the Demon Realm Training Camp...
‘...Not bad.’
After thinking it over, Galahad nodded.
The Grand Duke’s smile deepened slightly.
At the mention of the Demon Realm, the Egg of Pain, which had been sulking, began jumping around.
‘Like a dog that heard the word walk.’
Galahad quietly clicked his tongue.
* * *
‘There is considerable resistance.’
Theodore frowned as he looked over the reports that had come in.
The commanders were not openly showing it, but they were subtly expressing their opposition.
It was because of the Grand Duke’s order that if they failed to seal every gap perfectly, he would plug those gaps with their spinal cords.
The commanders’ difficulties were understandable. How could anyone thoroughly guard such a wide front line?
It also did not help that the Grand Duke had issued an order for the first time in a long while.
The greatest cause was that most of the people from when the Grand Duke had actively fought on the battlefield had been replaced.
‘They do not know how frightening His Grace is.’
Theodore clicked his tongue.
A letter saying that he would pull out their spinal cords to plug the gaps was quite kind.
He had not said he would chew on their spinal cords, and he had even given them a deadline.
The Grand Duke of the past would have pulled out their heads first and thought about it later.
By comparison, this was extremely kind.
Then the door flew open, and a man rushed in. The red letter in his hand was the symbol of the Grand Duke.
The news had finally arrived.
Theodore hurriedly knelt and accepted it. When he carefully unfolded it, thick letters like the claw marks of a beast were written across the page.
‘...Demon Realm Training Camp? Commander of the Special Operations Unit?’
The sentences were concise, yet he could not understand them.
Theodore read them several times before finally comprehending them.
‘Ah, a Demon Realm opened in the Seventh Battalion, and he intends to make use of it to create a Demon Realm Training Camp. The commander of the Special Operations Unit will manage that Demon Realm Training Camp. Soldiers from other battalions will train in the Demon Realm...’
Hm...
What the hell was this supposed to mean?
Footnotes:
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