WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 49: Ashen aura

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“Ah, I waited because you were in the middle of a conversation.”

Adrianna answered in her usual indifferent voice, though her eyebrows had lowered slightly.

‘Did she hear our conversation?’

He had instinctively cast a soundproofing spell, but this was Adrianna. It probably had not worked on her.

‘She’s difficult to understand in many ways.’

Magic did not work on her...

Galahad clicked his tongue softly and asked Adrianna directly.

“Did you hear it?”

“...Pardon? No. Eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation is an extremely rude thing to do.”

Adrianna spoke faster than usual. Galahad narrowed his eyes.

“...At first, I didn’t realize you were talking, so I accidentally overheard it. I apologize.”

Adrianna lowered her head slightly as she confessed.

“Ah, of course, I withdrew immediately.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Adrianna’s lips moved hesitantly. Her expression made it obvious that she had done something wrong.

‘She really can’t lie.’

Galahad silently watched her.

Then Adrianna began confessing again.

“...Not immediately, actually. I didn’t expect you to mention Her Highness the Princess, so without realizing it...”

“I see.”

“I heard that Her Highness cared deeply for Captain Galahad, that things ended over some matter, and...”

As Adrianna continued spilling everything, Galahad clicked his tongue.

“You heard quite a lot.”

At his remark, Adrianna’s eyes wavered.

“I’m sorry. It’s been such a long time since I heard anything about Her Highness...”

“Did you know the Princess?”

“Yes. We spent some time together as children. She was a very warm person.”

That madwoman was warm...

Galahad clicked his tongue again.

‘Well, if it was when they were children, that was before the Princess went through that. Before she lost her mind.’

“Is Her Highness doing well?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Ah, you seemed close...”

“As I said earlier, we were only connected through work.”

“Ah, I see.”

Adrianna nodded. Her eyebrows had risen slightly.

Silence followed.

Galahad’s mind was cluttered by the string of recent events.

Most of all...

‘A high-ranking Demonkin...’

The high-ranking Demonkin that had told him to come alone to the Demon Realm.

Its mental interference, projected across such a great distance, was an allure Galahad could not ignore.

He thought he understood why the Demonkin called their powers authority.

To a mage, that authority was no different from a god’s.

He wanted to rush to the Demon Realm at once, but...

‘That would be stupid.’

No matter how enticing its authority was, he would not do something as foolish as trusting a Demonkin and entering the Demon Realm alone.

Of course, it wanted something from Galahad, so it might not be dangerous.

‘Not yet.’

Before going to meet it, he needed to be strong enough to protect himself in the Demon Realm.

Galahad forcibly suppressed his excitement.

“May I ask why things ended badly with Her Highness the Princess?”

Adrianna’s question broke his train of thought.

When he looked up, Adrianna was studying him.

Her eyes were full of caution.

“She didn’t trust me.”

Adrianna nodded at his simple answer.

A little more silence passed.

With an odd expression, Adrianna rose from her seat.

“I’ll return to the First Battalion. I’m concerned about the Demon Realm Training Camp, but it’s also dangerous to leave the First Battalion unattended for too long...”

Adrianna spoke with an indifferent expression.

It seemed she intended to return to the First Battalion.

It was a very Adrianna-like decision.

“I see. Before you go, could you give me your hand?”

Galahad naturally held out his hand.

Unlike usual, Adrianna silently stared at it.

“About what you said last time.”

“What did I say?”

“You said you thought you understood now...”

“Ah, that.”

Galahad nodded.

“What did you mean?”

“The stronger a Demonkin is, the stronger you become. That is related to your nature of burning mana. Mana is fuel to you. The higher the quality of that fuel, the more fiercely you burn it. That was what I tested last time. I tried lowering the mana concentration instead. I felt less pain.”

Galahad recalled what had happened before.

Mana was sometimes compressed, but its concentration was never lowered. Mana with a low concentration was useless.

To test his hypothesis, Galahad had lowered the mana concentration.

It had been difficult work in the north, where mana concentration was naturally high, but the Egg of Pain had made it possible.

He had the Egg of Pain hold most of his mana and used the small amount remaining as efficiently as possible. Impurities mixed into it, lowering its concentration.

When he held Adrianna’s hand, the pain had been much less severe than before.

Perhaps he had simply grown accustomed to the horrific pain of his mana burning away, but...

Adrianna only blinked with her mouth slightly open, making Galahad click his tongue.

“To put it simply, I learned how to hold your hand with less pain.”

“Ah, how to hold it with less pain.”

Galahad nodded and waved his hand, urging her to take it quickly.

Adrianna narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Did your relationship with the Princess also affect the Empire’s decision to send you to this distant north?”

Galahad considered her unexpected question for a moment before nodding.

There were so many things he could be blamed for that he could not be certain, but it had probably played a part.

“Probably.”

“Then it wasn’t only because of me that you came all the way to the north.”

“That... makes sense.”

Galahad answered reluctantly at Adrianna’s calm assessment.

“I promised to hold your hand because Galahad came to the north because of me.”

“That’s right.”

“But now that it has been confirmed that it was not solely because of me, and that your reckless past also had an effect, there is room for reconsideration.”

“...Reckless?”

“We have already entered into a contract, but its terms have changed. We need to change the form of that contract.”

Adrianna spoke firmly as she looked at Galahad.

Galahad frowned at the unexpected resistance.

Her argument was fairly reasonable.

“If you want to change its form?”

“Currently, I must accept Galahad’s request without question. I think it would be better to change it so that you may hold my hand only if I agree as well.”

Adrianna’s eyes were very serious.

Galahad let out a low hum as he looked into those clear blue eyes.

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if you refused without grounds?”

“I will provide appropriate grounds. For example, today, the Demon Realm Training Camp has not yet stabilized, and since I am returning to the First Battalion, considering the danger, it would not be a good time to hold hands.”

“That makes sense. Very well.”

Galahad clicked his tongue and nodded.

“Still, changing it immediately may be sudden for you, so I will treat today as a grace period.”

Adrianna removed her gauntlet and held out her hand. Despite her confident words, the way she offered it looked quite awkward.

Galahad watched her silently. Adrianna flexed her outstretched hand and turned her palm inward.

“You think I’ll obviously take it, don’t you?”

At that question, Adrianna’s eyebrows twitched up and down.

“...Did you not request my hand first? It is a reasonable inference based on that. If you do not wish to...”

“I was only asking.”

Galahad quickly took Adrianna’s hand. It was rough and covered in calluses, but quite warm.

“This feeling...”

It only lasted a moment. Once all the low-concentration mana had burned away, the mana inside him was forcibly drawn out.

At that moment, Adrianna pulled her hand free.

Galahad staggered and sat in his chair. Closing his eyes, he recalled the sensation from a moment ago.

‘It feels like I’m about to grasp it, yet...’

He still could not understand.

“Ah, the reason I am returning to the First Battalion is because I trust Captain Galahad to manage the Demon Realm Training Camp well enough. Still, just in case, I will send a hawk. Please write down the progress.”

Adrianna watched Galahad with his eyes closed for a moment before leaving the room.

Gilbert, who met Adrianna in the corridor, bowed his head.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m returning to the First Battalion.”

Adrianna answered and walked past him.

Gilbert’s eyes widened as he watched her go.

Just now...

‘...Did she smile?’

Gilbert frowned for a moment, then shook his head.

No, that could not be right.

Convinced he had seen wrong, Gilbert knocked on the door.

“What is it?”

“You know that person you recruited temporarily? Not the very pretty woman, the huge one...”

“Ah, First. Is something wrong?”

Gilbert frowned at Galahad’s casual question.

First, or Hirst...

“What is that guy?”

Galahad chuckled at Gilbert’s heavily contorted expression.

* * *

‘Hm.’

Following Gilbert to First, Galahad clicked his tongue softly at the sight before him.

Every soldier in the Demon Realm had collapsed. First stood at the center of them.

They were soldiers who had grown fairly accustomed to the Demon Realm through Gilbert’s training. Yet they had all fallen while First remained standing...

“Breathe through your noses, not your mouths!”

First was urging the soldiers to get up.

“What the hell is that guy?”

Gilbert asked uneasily, pointing at First.

“He’s useful.”

Galahad gave a short answer and stepped forward.

First’s face broke into a smile when he spotted Galahad.

“Galahad, what you said was true. This Demon Realm is quite interesting.”

He looked completely different from Pumpkin beside him, who was drenched in sweat.

“I can’t even imagine how high the mana concentration is.”

“About ten times as high.”

Galahad gave First the exact figure.

First’s brow creased slightly. Still, he was not stupid enough to ask how Galahad knew that. Galahad was that sort of person.

“Even casting magic was difficult.”

Galahad nodded at First’s amused voice.

“Most mages would not even dare try.”

“Galahad, when you say most mages, you must mean those at the upper levels of the Magic Tower.”

Galahad did not answer. First smiled and snapped his fingers.

“Fire...”

First murmured so quietly that it hardly seemed like he had spoken an incantation.

Flames appeared on First’s fingertip. They were not roaring, but magic was still magic.

Casting magic in the Demon Realm...

Knowing First’s level, Galahad was slightly surprised.

“You look surprised.”

“How did you do it? You shouldn’t be skilled enough to use magic in the Demon Realm.”

“Hah. I am First, your rival.”

First was a useful mage, but not skilled enough to cast magic in the Demon Realm.

Then how...

“Ah, you stored the mana from the air first.”

First’s smile froze at Galahad’s mutter.

‘That’s the answer.’

The mana here was about ten times denser than in the capital.

Mana was extremely sensitive. If someone tried to store it recklessly just because its concentration was high, their mana circuits would burn and their core would collapse.

There was a reason Galahad had worked so hard to adjust to the concentration as soon as he arrived in the north.

It had worked, too.

Yet First had stored mana without calculating its concentration.

‘No, that is closer to absorption than storage.’

Galahad frowned at the sweat covering First’s forehead.

Rather than refining and storing mana through controlled breathing like a mage, First seemed to have moved his body and forced it in however he could.

It was an incredibly crude method.

“My body is strong.”

Enduring it with a knight’s body and forcibly storing mana...

Galahad could not help admiring a method so perfectly suited to a knight.

Still, there was a problem with storing it that way.

“Then it must be difficult to use magic.”

First had not stored mana. He had crammed it inside himself. There was no way he could draw it out and use it freely.

“It is the secret of a Magic Knight.”

First raised his chin, his face full of confidence.

Galahad studied him. Ash had gathered on First’s shoes, showing that he had stood in the same spot for a long time. He was also gripping his sword for no apparent reason.

“You used aura to force the mana to move?”

First’s expression froze.

“No, it is the secret of a Magic Knight, so I cannot tell you.”

“You could make your body explode doing that.”

“But I did not explode! I am a Magic Knight! Of course, what you just said is not the secret of a Magic Knight!”

First hurriedly added the last part.

‘Using a knight’s aura to endure it while forcibly moving mana...’

Galahad realized the principle behind First’s training.

“You force yourself to be exposed to high-concentration mana through physical exertion. Then you make use of the overload, where mana is unconsciously expelled and circulated in the process.”

Mana existed in everyone, not only mages. Mages were those who consciously used it.

Most people used mana without being aware of it. Whenever they moved their bodies, mana moved with them unconsciously.

First seemed to have made use of that.

“Correct. As expected of my rival.”

First readily nodded.

Being exposed to highly concentrated mana would certainly improve the body’s condition.

But...

“It would only change the body, though.”

First grinned at Galahad’s question.

“That would be true without aura. If you have aura, which unleashes potential, even a minor change can produce tremendous results.”

Blue aura surged wildly across First’s sword.

It was larger than the last time Galahad had seen it.

Aura and mana were unrelated. Galahad had already confirmed that fact. It was why he had no lingering interest in aura.

Yet First had presented evidence to the contrary.

‘Dense mana is connected to aura?’

Galahad frowned at the unexpected result.

First smiled broadly at Galahad’s stiff expression. To think Galahad would make that face...

First’s smile did not last long.

“I see. Then would you like to drink this?”

“What is it?”

“Demonkin blood.”

“...Why would I drink blood?”

“Demonkin blood contains highly concentrated mana.”

“Hmm...”

First subtly stepped back. Pretending not to hear, he headed toward Pumpkin, making Galahad smack his lips.

Then Galahad spotted a familiar boy among the collapsed soldiers.

Damian was patting his stomach.

His expression looked more relaxed than when he had been outside.

No...

‘He’s smiling.’

Feeling something strange, Galahad put a cigarette in his mouth.

First came back over and waved the faint flame on his finger.

“Need a light?”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

Galahad snapped his fingers.

A roaring flame ignited, and First’s mouth shut tightly.

At that moment, Damian rose, using his sword as a cane.

Something flickered.

‘Aura?’

It had only been for an instant, but it was definitely aura.

Galahad had seen more than a hundred auras.

There was no way he could fail to recognize one.

Using aura was something worth celebrating.

The problem was...

‘It is ash-colored.’

The color of the aura.

Aura was conviction.

That was why every aura was different, but basically bright in color.

Conviction could not be dark...

Yet the aura that had flickered around Damian’s sword was ash-colored.

It was a color Galahad had never seen before.

It was a color that should never emerge from aura.

‘Interesting.’

Galahad threw away the cigarette he had barely smoked and approached Damian.

With a bright smile.

“Damian, who did you say your parents were?”

“Pardon? A prostitute.”

For the first time, Galahad was left speechless by Damian’s firm answer.

Footnotes:

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