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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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Chapter 159: Live Like Child
“By the way, I’m envious.”
I muttered as I took Zizek’s wine cup.
“Of me?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
“Why is that?”
“You had your father’s love. You’ve been able to live cherishing that love.”
“……What about you, Boss?”
“I lost my parents when I was very young. They couldn’t withstand poverty and passed away.”
I reflected on Karzan’s childhood.
“Instead, there was a benefactor who took me in. I grew up feeling some warmth from people.”
But.
“After even that person was taken away by that damned thing called poverty, I’ve been struggling to survive, rolling around here and there like you.”
“…….”
“So, in a way, I envy you.”
Because I never got to feel a parent’s love. I longed for it, yet I couldn’t even understand what that emotion was.
‘You’re the same, Allenvert.’
That boy had locked himself in a room for seven years, tormented by his mixed feelings of love and hate for his parents, slowly dying.
“You’ve had a tough life too, Boss.”
Zizek said something obvious, and I retorted.
“Hey, how many people do you think live a smooth life and then willingly roll into the underworld?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Zizek smiled bitterly.
“……Um.”
Moritz, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, finally opened his mouth.
“Moritz, you have something to say, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Moritz spoke with a somewhat timid expression.
“My parents were wanderers who sang and performed to earn a living.”
“……Ah, I see.”
There are people who travel from city to city, entertaining people with their honed skills in exchange for bread. Moritz was a descendant of those pitiful folk.
“Moritz, do you have a dream?”
At my question, Moritz timidly replied.
“I’m not really sure.”
“I’m just asking what you want to do.”
“Huh?”
Seeing Moritz’s blank face, I added.
“Something other than not starving, living with your sibling, or sleeping under a roof that doesn’t leak.”
“…….”
Then, tears suddenly welled up in Moritz’s clear eyes.
“Can I… really dare to wish for such things?”
I looked at Moritz, who was crying silently, and said.
“How can dreaming be a sin? You have found salvation form me and Zizek, so now you don’t have to worry about starving and just live ‘like a child.’”
“Live like a child, you say.”
Moritz muttered, looking as if he had been struck by something profound.
“Sometimes throwing tantrums, sometimes dreaming absurd dreams seriously, and then suddenly losing interest and forgetting all about it without anyone scolding you. That’s the privilege of a child like you, Moritz.”
“…….”
Moritz wiped his tears with his sleeve and said.
“Then… then I want to sing better. I just want to live singing the songs I love.”
“That’s a wonderful dream.”
Zizek and I looked at each other and smiled.
“Even though we’ll continue to live with blood on our hands, if it means even one child like you can feel happiness in life, wouldn’t that be worthwhile?”
Moritz, who had given up on wiping his tears, stood up.
“Then, let me sing for my two benefactors.”
“Go ahead.”
Moritz, who had stopped crying as if he had never cried at all, soon began to sing softly.
“Wow.”
Zizek exclaimed in admiration, and I also smiled.
“It’s beautiful.”
Perhaps a voice inherited from his parents. And the skills taught by them. This child clearly had the talent to be a minstrel.
‘Moritz.’
I thought of a friend from my past life who shared the same name but had a completely different face and personality.
‘Though you died pitifully before you could enjoy such happiness.’
And though you didn’t get a second chance at life like I did.
‘This child’s happiness is also my way of honoring you.’
Sitting in a small, smelly, rundown building in the underworld, we enjoyed an incredibly beautiful song and the deepening night, drunk on wine.
* * *
“Ugh, damn. My head hurts.”
The next morning, I woke up feeling a hangover. I yawned so wide my jaw almost cracked, then touched my face to confirm the mask was still there.
‘Good, it’s still there.’
If I suddenly appeared as Allenvert’s face, even I wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.
“Boss, are you awake?”
Moritz brought me some water to wash my face.
“Yeah, thanks.”
But I couldn’t wash my face over the mask like a madman.
I gestured lightly to Moritz.
“I’ll get ready and head out. You go ahead.”
“Yes.”
By the way, in the palace, I’m served by Peter, and in the underworld, by Moritz.
‘I’m living the good life.’
I quickly washed my face, put the mask back on, and headed out.
“Boss, good morning.”
Zizek, looking rough from the hangover, greeted me as he wandered the hallway.
“You don’t look so good. Shouldn’t you have something to cure the hangover?”
“No time.”
I circulated the Eternal Ocean Chain Technique to perfectly control the alcohol in my body. Pouring a barrel of wine into the vast ocean wouldn’t even make a single anchovy drunk.
“Want this?”
I showed Zizek the droplets of alcohol forming at my fingertips, and he recoiled in disgust.
“What kind of creepy skill is that? Get rid of it quickly.”
“You’ve got a sharp tongue.”
Just as I was about to flick the alcohol droplets out the window—
‘Huh?’
The energy hidden in my dantian swallowed the alcohol in one gulp, as if devouring the breath of Nepherus.
‘What the hell, you guys.’
Are you hungry? They were acting like possessed spirits, trying to devour anything they could.
‘Do I need to take some spirit medicine?’
Though the power of the Eternal Ocean Chain Technique was strong enough to suppress them for now, if I didn’t continuously feed them mana, there was no telling when they might go berserk.
‘If I tell my father or the head butler, they’ll give me one.’
If they expect me to reach the 5th tier within a month without even giving me spirit medicine, wouldn’t that be an unreasonable demand?
‘Alright.’
I thought I’d take the opportunity to get some spirit medicine before I started seriously practicing the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique tomorrow.
“Anyway, I should get going now.”
“When will you be back?”
“Soon.”
“What, are you done with your busy work?”
“Not exactly, but the surveillance has loosened a bit.”
“Ah, I see.”
I nodded and quickly gave out instructions.
“First, Peter, the attendant of the Young Master.”
At this point, I almost choked on my words.
‘Ridiculous. Peter, the attendant?’
No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get used to that expression.
“Yes.”
“There are secret guards assigned to him, so there’s no need to visibly monitor him. Instead, be cautious of your own actions and watch out for other surveillance over the next few days.”
“Understood.”
“Hire assassins today to handle the surveillance. If they’re from Huten or the Black Night Society, they’ll have spider tattoos, so it shouldn’t be hard to identify them.”
“Yes.”
“Interrogate them freely, but if they don’t talk, just leave them be. I’ll handle it when I get there.”
“Ah, that makes things easier for me.”
Zizek nodded, seemingly pleased, and then asked me.
“What do you plan to do if it’s them?”
“You’re asking the obvious. When the justification is there, we’ll dance with our swords.”
“!”
“If that idiot of a Black Night Society leader dares to pull something…”
At that moment, I probably had a rather fierce expression on my face.
“Then it’s war.”
* * *
I returned to the castle through a hidden passage.
‘Wow, this is convenient.’
They say a wise rabbit digs three burrows, right? Well, I’ve dug one more, so even Verdzig would find it hard to keep up with all of them.
‘So I’ll have to use them sparingly.’
In any case, there are many eyes here. I had to be careful when returning as well.
‘Light as the wind, and stealthily.’
Combining the Lightfoot Technique and the Stealth Technique, I avoided attention and made my way back to the annex.
“I’m back.”
“Young Master!”
I wrapped up my late-night outing with the casual air of someone who’d just returned from a stroll around the neighborhood.
“How did it go? Did you get caught?”
“Stealthy and grand. I went and returned as quietly as an owl.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Your reactions are getting more and more indifferent lately.”
“Was I?”
“Yes. Be careful.”
“Hehe, got it.”
I exchanged some silly banter with Peter as I looked out at the morning of Grunewald Castle, which was still very much awake.
‘I came out early.’
But even if I used the Stealth Technique perfectly in broad daylight, it wouldn’t make much of a difference, so there was no helping it.
Besides—
‘That guy only shows up when it’s time to make a fuss.’
Today was the day I’d finally meet the swordsmanship instructor, who had been conspicuously absent, to learn the techniques of the Azure Sea Moon Shadow Swordsmanship.
* * *
“Young Master, it’s been a while.”
Dressed in my training attire with the bracelet sword at my side, I was about to start drawing on the floor when Venion finally crawled out.
“It’s definitely been a damn long time.”
“I apologize for that.”
Venion replied, not looking particularly sorry.
“Why have you been so busy lately?”
“Hmm, there’s been a lot of work on my main job. Despite appearances, I’m a busy man.”
“Suspicious. Can’t you even tell me what that work is?”
“You’re quite persistent.”
Venion shrugged and then added.
“But no. And to be honest, I don’t have much time to teach you the techniques today either. Please learn them quickly and cleanly.”
“This is absurd. Why are you so confident?”
“You’ll pick it up quickly anyway, right? I’ve accounted for that and kept the time short.”
“Should I be thankful for your faith in me or what?”
“Please take it in good humor.”
Feeling exasperated, I grumbled.
“Don’t swordsmanship instructors need to pass some kind of qualification exam?”
“Hmm, actually, I’d love to be fired too.”
“Good, then I’ll report you for negligence soon.”
“I’d appreciate that, but for now, let’s get started since we’re short on time.”
I voiced my dissatisfaction.
“How am I supposed to learn the next level of advance martial arts like this? I need to reach the 5th tier soon.”
“I was just about to bring that up.”
Venion flicked his finger.
“I’m getting nervous. What are you trying to say?”
“Young Master. Even though you’re learning the clan’s advance martial arts, you still need to spar with the Valkenhain Duke’s daughter, right?”
“That’s true.”
“But coincidentally, I’m still tied up with work.”
Venion grinned.
“It’s the clan head’s decision. For the first two weeks of the remaining month, you’ll prepare for sparring under Lady Ulbhild.”
“Huh?”
With Ulbhild?
“No need to worry. Even during that time, I’ll handle teaching you the advance martial arts. Think of it as temporarily entrusting the training and sparring to her.”
“This is ridiculous.”
I grumbled.
“I don’t understand how things are being handled like this.”
“Haha, that’s why we quickly found a substitute instructor. Please be understanding.”
Venion lowered the sword he had been carrying on his shoulder.
“Then let’s get straight to the point.”
Venion’s sword energy sharpened at the tip of the wooden sword.
“What people commonly call techniques can be broadly divided into two types. One is the type that uses unpredictable trajectories and methods to strike the enemy’s weak points…”
Venion’s sword moved in a dazzling and incomprehensible dance, far more intricate than Mordecai’s techniques I had seen before.
“Wow.”
I couldn’t help but open my mouth at the sheer brilliance and intricacy.
“The other type maximizes power by expending a large amount of mana at once.”
This time, Venion’s sword unleashed a horizontal slash with a force that seemed capable of splitting the sea itself.
Whoooooosh!
It carried a heavy and powerful momentum, emphasizing strength over speed.
“What do you think?”
“It’s a simple yet relatable explanation. I can see that tendency clearly.”
Even recalling Karzan’s experiences, I found myself nodding along to Venion’s explanation.
“If we go into detail, there are other examples like maximizing defense or increasing speed, but broadly speaking, techniques tend to converge and develop into these two types.”
“In other words, either striking the weak points or crushing the enemy with overwhelming power?”
“Exactly.”
Venion smiled, pleased with my quick understanding.
“Today, Young Master, you’ll learn both of these techniques.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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