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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 24
This wasn’t just a simple preliminary investigation.
For any martial artist, there is a minimum qualification:
A spirit of self-improvement.
Even if one were a Sword Saint, incomparable to a mere Sword Master, their growth had not yet reached its end.
“Elder.”
I quietly handed him a teacup and spoke.
“As you know, our family has many enemies at the moment.”
“That’s true.”
“It’s a burden my younger sister Melissa cannot yet bear.”
“That’s also true.”
“So, would the Mielephon family be able to assist us? If you pledge your support, I will hand over what you need.”
Everything in life is give-and-take, after all.
At my proposal, his eyes twitched slightly.
“I’d like to help, but you know as well as I do. I am a noble of the Empire, not of the Bata Kingdom.”
If he were to get involved in this matter…
“No, it’s not that. To be precise, I’d only be borrowing your name. It wouldn’t mean permanently tying the count’s territory to your family but merely buying us some time.”
“Let’s hear it, then.”
“A method that wouldn’t raise much fuss even between different nations: a political marriage.”
“Hmm?”
His eyes widened in surprise.
“If rumors spread of an engagement between the Mielephon family and the Cascadia count’s family, the nobles of our small Bata Kingdom wouldn’t dare act rashly against us.”
What I proposed was simple.
A fake engagement.
“Even just releasing a rumor of talks would be enough to intimidate them.”
“Ha… hahahaha.”
At my suggestion, he let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re bold, knowing I wouldn’t be able to refuse such a fiery proposal.”
“I have no intention of inheriting the count’s family anyway. Even if the engagement falls apart later, my sister won’t get caught up in unnecessary rumors. Furthermore, since we wouldn’t name anyone specifically to proceed with the engagement, it won’t cause much trouble for the young ladies of the Mielephon family either.”
“Hmm…”
“You stand to gain much more than making me your apprentice.”
It was, in essence, a political marriage without a target.
“This is purely a transaction. However, I assure you it won’t be a deal where you’ll suffer a loss.”
As grand as words like "engagement" sounded…
In reality, all we needed to do was leverage the connection to a powerful family like Mielephon from the Empire.
“It’s not like it’s a real engagement anyway.”
After contemplating for a moment, he made his decision.
“Alright. If it’s as you say, it wouldn’t be much of an issue. That said, would you really stake your life on this for the sake of your sister?”
“She’s family, even if she can be annoying.”
At my response, he nodded.
“Fine. But understand this: what you’ve done risks the engagement becoming real. That’s the nature of rumors.”
“Even if talk spreads, it’ll just be rumors. The important part is that I have no intention of finalizing the engagement.”
“Well, then, I’ll be expecting your answer.”
At his words, I wrote a single sentence on a piece of paper.
And I handed it to him.
“Elder, I don’t believe what you truly want is to know how I mimicked sword energy.”
“This is…”
“This, I believe, is what you need most right now.”
What I wrote was a hint about the barrier faced by Sword Masters at the very top tier.
“The only one who can break through it is you, Elder.”
“You… just who are you?”
“Have I provided you the payment you sought?”
It was an odd conversation to have between a Sword Saint of the continent and a boy who had only recently become an Expert.
He said nothing, simply engraving the words on that paper into his mind with utmost seriousness.
* * *
“Lord, were you able to resolve the matter?”
“Let us return.”
As Osberg walked briskly, his face grim, his attendant, Bagmut Mielephon, tilted his head in curiosity.
“Elder? Did something upset you?”
Even at that question, Osberg did not answer.
Instead, after some time, his expression grew somewhat satisfied.
“He proposed a fake political marriage with Mielephon.”
“Pardon?!”
“He said even the mere notion of such talks would reduce the pressure on his family. From the perspective of a small kingdom, it wouldn’t be easy to press a family connected to Mielephon as in-laws.”
“A fake political marriage, meaning there won’t be any actual talks? Is that why you’re upset?”
“No, that matter is rather favorable. What I’m pondering is the insight that boy handed me, Bagmut.”
“Insight, sir?”
“It’s an opportunity, a fateful one. To think that, at my age, I would gain such a revelation from a mere boy…”
“An opportunity… Elder?”
“Let us return to the family. We must let the rumors spread as he desires.”
“I’ll make the preparations.”
“Of course, that boy seems to underestimate the power of rumors, but… the consequences are his to bear.”
“However, Elder…”
“Depending on the value this insight brings me, I will calculate the price meticulously and repay him appropriately.”
The Sword Saint chuckled.
“Yes. Let’s send him that black sword we prepared earlier as a gift.”
“Understood.”
* * *
The Sword Saint, Osberg, had stared at the paper with the written sentence as if entranced.
Its content wasn’t anything grand.
If anyone else had seen it, they might have dismissed it as nonsense.
But to him alone, it was exactly what he needed most.
Humans have habits.
By observing the flow and operation of his aura, faint traces of unconscious habits revealed themselves.
From those, I could infer what level he was at, what he was struggling with, and then I wrote a phrase to drive a wedge into that concern.
Interpreting and accepting it was up to him.
I used to be like that, too.
In that sense, Osberg Mielephon is quite similar to me.
Of course, he calls himself a "Mind Master," and if this were a martial arts world, he’d be knocking on the door of transcendence.
That is impressive.
“How many times did I die to reach that level again…?”
Time doesn't flow here, so I can only count the number of deaths.
[Approximately 100,000 deaths have been recorded.]
Even though my survival rate improved toward the end, the total still reached six figures.
“That number—100,000—is ridiculous, you damned Librarian.”
[Confirmed.]
“Even if I were to kill 100,000 enemies in one go, it would take days, weeks, or months. Now imagine experiencing that myself—dying 100,000 times! It’s hellish, you know? Do you get it? And it’s not even about killing, it’s about how many times I died!”
The Librarian didn't react to my complaint.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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“Well, with the rumor circulating in Mielephon, the royal nobles won’t be able to mess with us for a while.”
I had plenty of excuses.
It was enough to say that I crossed paths with Mielephon while dealing with the monsters plaguing the Countdom of Cascadia.
Even though it wasn’t an official engagement or political arrangement, just the rumor that a swordmaster from Mielephon had chosen me as a prospective match for one of their ladies was sufficient.
And Osberg kept his word.
I heard from the Countdom that talks of engagement between Mielephon and me had been circulating.
Perhaps thanks to this, the high-ranking nobles in the royal court, who had been scheming, were now frozen in place.
The lack of interference was palpable.
No, in fact, the royal court went as far as ordering Melissa to quickly obtain an Expert Certification.
In the meantime, Melissa had also been busy, reorganizing businesses that had been floundering due to Tyvel’s tyranny, trading for scarce supplies, and more.
It took a few more days to stabilize.
As for me, I spent that time periodically hunting down the wraith of that damned Tyvel Cascadia, wearing him down piece by piece.
I could have fully transformed him into an undead wraith knight, which would’ve made him a useful pawn.
But I had no intention of granting him that honor.
For now, my goal was to master necromancy up to the fifth circle.
That level was roughly equivalent to a high-ranking Expert in swordsmanship.
While necromancy wasn’t mainstream magic, as long as I didn’t use forbidden spells, it wasn’t a problem.
After finishing some exhausting paperwork, I headed to the kitchen to carry out a plan I had been preparing.
“Leon! You bastard!!!”
Melissa stormed in, furious.
“What is it now? Did you eat something bad?”
“You drew on my face, didn’t you?!”
“…What nonsense is that?”
When I awkwardly avoided her gaze, she ground her teeth.
But soon, she sighed, letting it slide—for now.
“I won’t forget this. Just wait.”
Ah, she’s definitely going to hold a grudge.
I sighed involuntarily.
“More importantly, what’s this about an arranged marriage?”
“Oh… that.”
I glanced around and spread necromantic mana, creating a barrier around us.
“It’s a lie.”
“What?”
“I struck a deal with the elder. I answered one of his questions, and in return, I asked to borrow Mielephon’s name. It’s just a rumor about a political marriage—there’s no specific person involved, and no real discussions are happening.”
Melissa looked utterly baffled.
“And the Sword Saint accepted that?”
“What could he do? The benefits are greater on their side.”
At my answer, she looked at me like I was crazy.
“What kind of madman are you?”
“Why aren’t you asking about the monsters that attacked you or how many of your family knights were injured?”
“I’ve already received all the reports. Honestly, I think it’s better to give up on trying to understand you.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t because you were too weak to handle it?”
At my teasing, she grabbed a plate nearby and threw it at me.
Thud!
Of course, I had no intention of wasting a perfectly good dish, so I caught it.
For now, I set aside the small talk and focused on a more important challenge.
“If this succeeds, we can make some serious money.”
I kept working while addressing Melissa.
“As you’ve seen, Tyvel is dead, the royal nobles are restrained thanks to Mielephon, and the businesses are back in operation. However, the losses were significant, and the manpower shortage is severe. That’s where you come in. You’ll need to handle that.”
She sighed and nodded, seemingly resigned.
“I’ll take care of it.”
But she averted her gaze, seemingly unhappy with her unsteady body.
“What are you even doing right now? Eggs and milk? And what’s that?”
“Condensed milk. Take a guess.”
“Dessert? Sure, dessert businesses can make money, but the competition’s fierce. Will it even sell?”
“Delicious things always sell well.”
This world has plenty of desserts, but there’s still room for innovation in ice cream.
After being trapped in the Labyrinth, I often craved something sweet and cold.
Fortunately, I remembered a simple ice cream recipe from my past life.
It was a shame there was no vanilla extract here, but luckily, this world had liquid chocolate flavoring.
“Let’s mix this in.”
Adjusting between high and low heat, I whisked the ingredients together and placed the mixture into a magic tool with refrigeration properties.
I added a touch of necromantic chill for good measure.
Melissa, who had abandoned whatever she was working on, watched me in a daze.
After some time, I removed the partially cooled mixture and stirred in the next set of ingredients, eventually creating a thick, creamy substance.
“What is this? Some kind of soup?”
“It’s done. Now it just needs to freeze for about eight hours.”
“What? You’re freezing it after making it?”
“Yeah, it’s meant to be eaten cold.”
After placing it in the freezing artifact, I turned to her.
“It’s not perfect, but I think it’ll turn out pretty well. Look forward to it.”
“It better not taste awful.”
Despite her words, she seemed curious and excited, clearly a fan of sweets herself.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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