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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 41
After that, other daughters and sons of noble families passed by Chris.
A beautiful young woman with a clear impression like crystal.
A girl with a cold expression.
A boy with a rough demeanor.
They appeared to be the First Daughter, Second Daughter, and Third Son respectively. None of them showed any interest in Chris.
They didn’t even spare him a glance.
It wasn’t that they were intentionally ignoring him.
They simply had no interest.
Because Chris was in a completely different league from them.
Chris was far too lowly to be worthy of their attention.
After the four noble children took their seats of honor, the banquet resumed.
The attention that had once been focused on Chris vanished without a trace.
Everyone was busy trying to exchange at least a word with the noble sons and daughters.
‘Time to head out.’
He had come only to confirm who the noble children were, so there was no reason to stay longer.
‘Too bad I didn’t get to see the First Son.’
Surprisingly, Chris wasn’t the most infamous trash in the Dark Demonic House.
That title belonged to the First Son, Sherad.
Known as a madman.
But strangely, Chris found himself bothered by the First Son.
‘Too many to keep an eye on. There's Ashid, and the First Daughter, Yurian, too.’
Chris glanced at the First Daughter.
The First Daughter, Yurian, was surrounded by people.
As expected of someone from the Dark Demonic House—black hair and crimson eyes.
But unlike the others, she had a gentle aura.
Even the smile she showed toward others was warm.
Clear, calm energy.
And yet, that was exactly why Chris felt even more on guard.
Just what kind of claws might be hidden behind that smile?
Chris slightly raised the corner of his lips.
‘One by one, slowly.’
Whether it was Ashid, the hidden First Son, or the First Daughter Yurian—
They would all eventually kneel before him.
Just as he was about to leave, an unexpected voice rang out.
“Greetings. I’m Prue, a summoner serving Young Master Royen. In light of the Sacred Darkness Ceremony Eve, I have a proposal to make! Before the Sacred Darkness Ceremony begins, I suggest we verify the qualifications of all participants!”
Murmurs spread among the crowd.
“What’s this about?”
In response to Ashid’s question, a mage bowed his head.
“Regrettably, I’ve heard that someone unqualified plans to attend this Sacred Darkness Ceremony. If such a person were to participate, there could be serious injuries or issues. By confirming qualifications tonight, during the eve celebration, we may be able to prevent such misfortunes.”
All eyes turned to Chris.
Among those slated to attend the Sacred Darkness Ceremony, the only one whose qualifications could be in question—was Chris.
‘Well now.’
Chris crossed his arms and let out a faint chuckle.
It was obvious that the magus hadn’t acted on his own.
The one behind it was clear as day.
‘Royen.’
The young master who would become Chris’s first sacrifice.
He was glaring at Chris with smug, triumphant eyes.
‘I was planning to leave quietly.’
Chris downed the remaining ginger ale in his glass.
Now that it had come to this, a brief greeting might be in order.
“This is merely a suggestion for the safety of someone unqualified to attend the Sacred Darkness Ceremony—”
“So noisy.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re picking a fight, right? Then quit the yapping and get on with the show.”
Chris flicked his finger.
“I’ll play with you.”
The mage who had been provoking him flushed with anger.
“Then face the evil spirit I’ve summoned.”
A summoner.
A sorcerer who calls forth beings of darkness to command.
Wuuung—
A sticky aura of darkness flowed from the magus’s hand, and a chilling evil spirit appeared.
A 2-star rank evil spirit—Specter.
“At Young Master Christian’s level, this may be a bit much. Still, if he’s to participate in the Sacred Darkness Ceremony, this much at least—gah?!”
The magus didn’t get to finish his sentence.
The evil spirit suddenly turned and attacked the summoner himself.
“W-What?! Kuaaagh! You bastard?! Aaaargh! S-Someone help—!”
Everyone in the banquet hall stared in shock.
‘Why?’
Among them, the magi with sharper perception sensed what had truly happened.
‘Did he lose control?’
‘No. That’s not it. This isn’t what losing control looks like.’
If one loses control, the summoned spirit would go berserk and attack everything around indiscriminately.
But this spirit was attacking only the summoner who had called it forth.
‘No way… could this be…?’
‘It’s not a loss of control?’
Just then, a mocking voice echoed through the hall.
“My, my. I wonder who should really be worried here.”
As Chris flicked his finger, the evil spirit that had knocked the summoner unconscious floated up and glided toward him.
Then, it knelt before him.
As if worshipping its true master.
“To think someone so clumsy he can’t even keep control of his own summoned spirit dares to speak.”
The people in the banquet hall were aghast.
‘Unbelievable!’
‘How could someone seize control of an evil spirit summoned by another?!’
Interfering with a spirit summoned by someone else was an immensely difficult feat.
That was because the summoner and the spirit were bound by a black magic "contract."
To nullify that contract, one would need to vastly surpass the other in accomplishment—and even then, at most, it would only allow for the summoning to be canceled. To outright steal control of the spirit like that was considered virtually impossible.
Yet Chris had effortlessly taken control of the opponent’s spirit with a mere flick of his finger.
‘If you’re going to step up so confidently, at least have the skill to back it up. What kind of sloppy idiot makes such a weak contract with a spirit? Wouldn’t be surprised if you get scammed by one someday.’
In other words—
He had exploited a loophole in the contract between the summoner and the spirit.
Though he mocked the other, it was still something utterly unbelievable.
It required the ability to read the structure of a contract just from the flow of dark energy—and then pinpoint its flaws.
Only Chris could pull it off.
As the others stared in shock, Chris casually shrugged his shoulders and looked toward Royen—the true instigator behind today’s incident.
“What just happened… that was your doing, wasn’t it, Young Master Royen? You hardly live up to the bloodline of the Dark Demonic House.”
“!!”
“You should’ve just challenged me to a duel directly.”
Royen’s face turned red.
“You bastard. This has nothing to do with me.”
“Really now?”
Chris let out a mocking smile.
His face clearly said, 'Do you really expect anyone to fall for that?'
“Well, it’s a lie so bad even a fool wouldn’t believe it, but sure. I’ll believe it. Just this once. Special treatment.”
Royen’s face flushed as if it might explode.
He growled viciously.
“…Tomorrow. At the Sacred Darkness Ceremony—prepare yourself.”
“Well, what a coincidence. I was going to say the same. You’d best be ready tomorrow as well, Young Master.”
“……!!”
Chris spoke in a low voice.
“I’m starting to get a little angry, you see.”
Chris had already planned to crush Royen during the Sacred Darkness Ceremony.
But now, his thinking had shifted slightly.
He wouldn’t just crush him—he would completely and utterly break him.
Tomorrow, that bastard would come to deeply regret all his arrogance and wrongdoings.
* * *
The day of the Sacred Darkness Ceremony dawned.
Chris made his way to the main building of the estate.
Inside, those participating in the ceremony had already gathered and were waiting.
Among them was a familiar face.
“Younger sibling?”
“Who are you calling younger?! I’m two years older than you!”
Alros snapped, flaring up.
Chris shrugged his shoulders.
“Why are you here? I told you to postpone it to next time.”
“…That’s nonsense. How could anyone postpone the Sacred Darkness Ceremony?”
Alros frowned.
But inwardly, he was already regretting it.
Damn it, maybe I really should’ve postponed. How am I supposed to compete with that guy? He’s way out of my league.
But it was already too late.
He sighed and cautiously asked,
“Are you okay?”
“For what?”
“You got into a fight with Young Master Royen yesterday. He’s not the kind to let something like that slide…”
“Brother.”
Chris smiled faintly and replied.
“I think you’re worrying about the wrong person.”
“!!”
A chill ran down Alros’ spine.
That’s when he finally realized something was different about Chris.
In other words… he seemed stronger than before.
He thought it might be his imagination, but it wasn’t.
The aura he gave off was subtly different.
No way. It hasn’t even been a month—he got stronger again?
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the top of the main building’s stairs.
It was Royen.
“……”
From atop the stairs, Royen looked down at Chris in silence.
His gaze was full of arrogance, like he was looking at something lowly beneath him.
Chris met that gaze calmly.
There was no need for pointless conversation.
Once the Sacred Darkness Ceremony began, they’d have a much more “honest conversation” anyway. One that involved fists.
“Is everyone gathered? I’m Sebastian, the deputy butler in charge of the main building.”
His frame was barely half that of a normal adult.
A halfling.
What stood out was that he wore a pointed hat like a magician from a storybook.
“I will guide you to the sacred ground where the Sacred Darkness Ceremony will be held. Please follow me.”
There were a total of eight participants in this Sacred Darkness Ceremony.
Only Royen was from the direct bloodline.
From the three collateral families—the Count of Khazar, the Count of Tyramin, and the Marquis of Shupen—Chris and Alros were the two representatives.
The remaining participants were scattered members of lesser collateral lines.
The butler took out a wand that looked like a toy and tapped it to the floor.
Then something astonishing happened.
A path appeared, leading downward from the ordinary floor!
It was an illusion spell.
“I will go first. Please follow me.”
Whish— The halfling descended the path leading underground.
Chris glanced down and saw it wasn’t an ordinary basement.
An endless path stretched out within a vast, empty space.
An illusion spell that creates a virtual space? It’s probably not something that halfling butler conjured himself—it must be an illusion system already installed beneath the mansion.
Chris quickly realized the nature of the staircase.
It likely wouldn’t be an easy road.
A practical first test.
Fall behind, and you’d lose your chance to even participate in the Sacred Darkness Ceremony.
Perhaps others realized the same, as their expressions hardened.
The first to step forward was Royen.
With confident strides, as if it were only natural that a direct descendant should go before any collateral relatives.
As he brushed past Chris, he muttered quietly.
“Make sure you don’t drop out. I’ll show you hell during the ceremony.”
With those words, he disappeared down the stairs.
The others followed one after another, drawing deep breaths before entering.
The first test had begun.
Chris followed behind the halfling butler and thought to himself:
This isn’t much.
It was a simple test.
All you had to do was follow the butler.
But there were some differences from a normal jog…
The path was wildly uneven, like climbing a rugged mountain—it demanded serious stamina.
The butler’s pace was unnaturally fast, like a galloping horse.
Oh, and one more thing.
The path behind them was collapsing rapidly.
In short, if you didn’t keep up at a ridiculous speed, you’d fall behind.
“Huff, huff…”
“How… long do we keep this up…?”
Two of the general collateral bloodline members, who seemed to be the weakest, gasped for breath.
Their pace gradually slowed until the collapsing path finally caught up with them.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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