WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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◈ The Pushover Young Lord in a Romance Fantasy Won't Take It Anymore ◈

Chapter 26: That Doesn't Make Sense

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There was a mountain of things to prepare before setting out on the Ashen Forest Expedition.

The recruitment notice to make up for the shortage of personnel was actually a lower priority.

People alone would not be enough. I also needed supplies and food.

Before the expedition, I had to buy up massive quantities of iron ore, mana stones, and high-quality preserved food, practically clearing out the market.

The problem was what would happen once I began buying in earnest.

Would Rosenthal, which had a firm grip on the southern market, willingly sell those goods?

They were already pressuring us by blocking the trade routes.

If Cardenos began purchasing all those materials in this situation...

‘Cardenos is preparing for a territorial war!’

That was how they would definitely interpret it.

They would most likely block the distribution network and cut off our supplies.

Then they could ask the central authorities to mediate, or prepare for war themselves.

Of course, I could officially announce the Ashen Forest Expedition through the Imperial Capital Gazette.

If the expedition were framed as a cause for all humanity, Rosenthal might have no choice but to abandon its economic pressure.

That was as far as my wishful thinking went.

The real question was whether I could even get it off the ground.

I could not expect the house to support the Ashen Forest Expedition. I would be lucky if they did not try to stop me.

I had to earn enough money to lay the groundwork myself, somehow secure food and supply lines, recruit people, and develop the Ashen Forest.

Realistically, it was impossible.

‘If I weren't a regressor, that is.’

There was no need to worry too much.

I had a plan for everything.

* * *

One corner of the First Training Ground.

I tossed a red leaf toward Julian, who was sitting cross-legged.

“Here. Eat it.”

“What is this?”

“Flame Thistle.”

What I needed to focus on now was strengthening our immediate combat power.

Hendrickson was already a fully developed combatant, so I could set him aside. Julian's growth was what mattered.

“Ugh!”

Julian frowned at the pungent scent that assaulted his nose.

“You want me to chew this?”

“You can chew and swallow it, or swallow it whole. Just get it into your stomach somehow. It'll become the spark that burns in your dantian.”

This territory had no shortage of top-grade elixirs.

Giving him one of those would make it much easier to form a Ring.

But I saw things differently.

The first Sun Ring had to be formed through hardship and pain.

That was how his bones would harden, forging a stronger martial physique.

Power gained too easily was always the first thing to shatter in a crisis.

“You're not swallowing it? Want me to feed it to you?”

“...I'll eat it.”

Julian squeezed his eyes shut and gulped down the thistle.

His body immediately went stiff.

“Cough...! Coughh...!”

It must have felt like crimson flames were rising from his throat to his Core.

In an instant, Julian's skin flushed red, and the veins all over his body swelled as though they would burst. His lips split, blood seeping out.

I placed a hand on his back in case he fell to an inner demon or was burned alive.

If even a little fire energy tried to escape, I intended to calm it immediately.

The person forming the Ring needed concentration, but the skill of the one protecting them was just as important.

I sharpened every sense and felt everything happening inside Julian.

“Gaaaaah...!”

Julian twisted as he let out a beastlike scream. He fought desperately not to lose his focus.

He suppressed the flames trying to run wild and began gathering them near his heart.

But that was as far as he got.

“Urgh...! You crazy bastard of a young lord...”

Julian's eyes rolled back as he reached his limit, and he collapsed.

I pretended not to hear his last words.

“Hah.”

I nudged the fallen Julian with my foot. He was breathing, but he did not move at all. He had completely passed out.

Hendrickson, who had been watching with his arms crossed, clicked his tongue.

“I knew this would happen. Enthusiasm alone won't make it work.”

“He's formed more than half of it. He even stood a coin on its edge in a single day, so he'll succeed within four days. He might even finish by tomorrow.”

I placed my hand near Julian's heart.

Not all Rings were the same.

Their density differed depending on how tightly the fire energy was compressed, and that density determined their grade.

There were traces of compromise in Julian's Ring. He had tried to form it at a manageable level.

Thanks to that, he avoided the worst outcome of falling into an inner demon.

‘He's the complete opposite of me.’

I had filled mine to nearly one hundred percent purity, suffering through an inner demon and even delirium.

Julian's instinctive choice was not wrong, but by my standards, it was a little disappointing.

“Bleeaaargh!”

“Ah, fuck.”

Julian vomited like a waterfall.

I pulled back quickly enough to avoid the spray, but my eyes were still assaulted by the sight.

It was a good sign since he was expelling impurities from his body, but damn it. He could have shown a little consideration for the people watching.

“Sir. Once this guy wakes up, teach him some swordsmanship. Let him rest for ten minutes since he passed out. He'll recover quickly enough. Make him clean up the vomit himself.”

“Um...”

A faint presence came from behind me.

When I turned around, Celine was peeking out from behind a pillar.

Instead of the flowing dresses she usually wore, she was dressed in clothes that were easier to move in.

“Brother.”

Celine hurried over.

With both hands clasped together, she looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

“I want to learn magic now, too.”

* * *

“Aaaagh!”

“Quit whining! We haven't even started yet!”

“Cough...”

A shrill scream echoed from afar.

It seemed Hendrickson's instruction had begun.

It was training under a Swordmaster. No one could endure even a day without serious resolve and mental strength.

I sincerely prayed that I would hear Julian screaming tomorrow too.

“Brother, do I have to train that hard too...?”

I turned my attention back to what I was doing.

Celine glanced toward Julian and swallowed. She looked a little scared.

I smiled warmly and tousled her hair.

“No, you don't have to put yourself through that kind of brutal training. Your path isn't that of a knight. You're going to be a mage.”

Celine's talent lay not in Cardenos swordsmanship, but in magic.

The coming destruction could never be stopped by my strength alone.

Raising “my people” and drawing out their potential.

That was more important than my own growth.

Celine's talent in particular was sure to be overwhelming.

If I raised her well, she would become a tremendous asset to all humanity.

“First, sit comfortably.”

Celine sat primly on the floor. It looked uncomfortable to me, but she said she was comfortable this way.

I squatted before her, meeting her gaze.

“I'll explain the basics first. Solar forms Rings. Luna forms Heart Paths. Mana is represented by stars.”

Mages generally referred to their hierarchy as ranks, but they also called them stars.

They described their achievements as carving stars into their mindscape, then using them to embroider a constellation.

“As you know, seven stars is the highest level. The stars embroidered into the mindscape can manifest in the caster's body as well.”

“In the body?”

She really knew absolutely nothing.

Yet it was ironic that she had such an interest in magic and talent beyond comparison.

“I'll use a seven-star mage as an example. The seven stars they form manifest in the brain, the centers of the palms, the crown of the head, both eyes, the space between the brows, the vocal cords, and the heart. Those seven stars come together to form a single constellation.”

“How do you know all that, Brother?”

After thinking for a moment, I answered.

“I studied a little so I could teach you.”

In truth, there was also an eight-star level above seven stars.

The eighth star was a halo that followed behind the caster. Lucia had always had one.

“Creating the first star is the hardest part. You might not manage it today. No, you probably won't.”

Rings, Heart Paths, and stars were all the same. The first step was half the battle.

If I had to compare difficulty, Rings were the hardest, followed by stars, then Heart Paths.

Lucky bastards, taking the easiest path.

“Let's get a feel for it first. It's a little different from a knight's Rings and Heart Path. The foundation of magic isn't storing mana in your body. Before that, you must completely empty your mindscape.”

The reason I knew mana breathing techniques despite not being a mage was because of memories from my first life.

In the past, Lucia had personally taught me the imperial family's secret mana breathing technique.

It was the finest breathing technique, one that had allowed even someone as ignorant of mana as me to sense a little energy.

Since it was her first day, I planned to explain only its essentials.

“Don't try to force external mana into your body. Picture the inside of your body as a pitch-black night sky without a single light. First, empty yourself of stray thoughts and create complete darkness.”

“I'll try.”

“As you inhale in that state, imagine the energy of the world entering your body. As you exhale, imagine the murky energy inside leaving it. Then you'll naturally sense the brightest light within you. You need to catch hold of that first light.”

It was actually a rather vague explanation. This method relied on the caster's senses rather than learned knowledge.

I explained it this way despite knowing that because I wanted to gauge just how great Celine's genius was.

Before my regression, she had fallen into corruption as a six-star witch, and she had stood a coin on its edge on her first attempt.

‘If she had been left alone, she might have reached seven stars.’

Celine shut her eyes tightly and began regulating her breathing. Her small, soft breaths slowly became steady.

If Celine really was a genius, she would show results even with an incomplete explanation.

I rose to my feet and stepped behind her.

I placed a palm on her small back in case of mana reflux.

It was not a Ring, so I did not need to worry about her dying, but it was still dangerous.

“Forming your first star won't be easy. It usually takes at least a month, and sometimes as long as half a year, just to sense the energy.”

I had not given her an elixir, nor had I taught her the fundamentals.

She had to turn the mana in the air into her own star through nothing but her senses, intuition, and natural talent.

No one can expect success on their first try.

Today, my priority was gauging Celine's potential. It was also a chance for her to become familiar with the concept of mana.

“Um... Brother?”

Not even three minutes after closing her eyes, Celine slowly opened them.

“What, is it not working? Don't get too impatient if it isn't. Everyone is like that at first.”

“No, it's just... I think something worked.”

“...What?”

“Really. You explained it so well, Brother.”

Something worked? In three minutes? She did not even look like she was joking.

I focused my senses through the palm resting on her small back.

A clear, foreign sensation traveled through my hand.

Hummm!

Mana pulsed in a steady flow.

It was not simply flowing through her body. It had circulated once through her internal pathways, then gathered in her heart.

“...Hah.”

A disbelieving laugh escaped me.

Celine became a one-star mage in three minutes.

She had not only sensed mana, but formed a star in just three minutes.

This went far beyond something that could be explained away as talent.

If I raised her well, she would undoubtedly become a reliable force capable of stopping the destruction.

“Amazing.”

A rough voice sounded behind me.

Hendrickson had approached at some point. Julian was sprawled in the distance, gasping for breath.

Hendrickson swept his sharp gaze over Celine.

“I expected some talent, but I did not expect this much. To form a star after only a few breaths.”

There was pure admiration in his eyes, along with an inexplicable doubt.

“Yet I find it strange as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bloodline accounts for ninety percent of magical aptitude. Cardenos has dealt with nothing but swords and aura for hundreds of years. How could such magical talent emerge from a house renowned for exceptional martial physiques? I could understand if it were merely decent talent.”

I knew that well.

Unlike a knight's martial physique, magic was especially inherited through bloodlines.

As generations carried on the work of those before them, magical talent rose dramatically.

But not everyone was the same.

“There are exceptions everywhere, aren't there? It was about time our house produced a mutant.”

“A mutant. Hmm...”

“Still, it doesn't make sense.”

Hendrickson muttered to himself, but I did not pay it any mind.

The world was full of things that made no sense. There was no such thing as absolute certainty.

“Brother, I did well, right?”

Celine looked up at me from where she sat.

She had no idea what an absurd feat she had just accomplished.

She was only smiling brightly, like a puppy waiting to be praised.

That aside.

Celine's face was devastatingly cute from above.

“You did very well. You adorable little rice cake, with those marshmallow cheeks.”

“Owie... my cheeks hurt...”

The fact that she did not resemble me in the slightest made her even cuter.

If she looked like me, it would have been creepy.

Author’s Note

One more chapter will be posted at 1 p.m.

Footnotes:

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