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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 73
About three months later.
When the Grand Martial Contest was just around the corner.
Chris abruptly opened his eyes.
He blinked a few times.
‘How long has it been?’
For the past three months.
Chris had maintained a regular schedule.
He studied various martial arts techniques and dark magic, deepened his mastery of the Body Realm, and used his remaining time to research Blacksteel Energy.
Thanks to steady training, he reached mid-3-star level, and his proficiency in various dark magic spells and martial techniques improved by leaps and bounds.
To think he had reached mid-3-star in less than three months. To be precise, he had reached the peak of mid-tier. On the verge of entering high-tier 3-star.
It was an insane rate of growth, but he had been feeling frustrated, as he couldn't quite grasp the clue to Blacksteel Energy.
Then came the moment of enlightenment.
Without any warning.
He fell into a trance, and only now had he come to his senses.
‘Has it been about two days?’
It felt like he had closed his eyes for a moment, yet two whole days had passed.
He couldn’t remember clearly.
Only the memory of endlessly chasing something.
A thread that refused to be caught.
And then, the moment he seized the thread with his ‘will’, he suddenly regained consciousness.
Chris checked his condition.
He lightly examined the surrounding demonic energy.
‘What’s this?’
Chris looked surprised.
He had reached the realm of high-tier 3-star!
An achievement far faster than expected.
And more importantly, something else had occurred.
Chris instinctively opened his hand.
The Black Sword unfolded.
But that wasn’t all.
Chris looked at the Black Sword.
Fwoosh!
To the naked eye, there wasn’t much change.
It was still a Black Sword.
But Chris could tell.
The sword now carried his will.
His Black Sword was no longer a mere physical weapon....it had become a medium through which his will could be manifested into the world.
‘Still, I can’t recklessly use it. Embedding will consumes a lot of demonic energy. In terms of power... compared to the Blacksteel Energy wielded by a real 5-star demonic warrior, it's about half as strong.’
Half of Blacksteel Energy. That was a tremendous power.
An unimaginable strength for someone who had yet to break free from the 3-star rank.
‘And it’s not just that I can now wield Blacksteel Energy.’
In an instant, Chris’s constitution had changed.
The energy of darkness vanished, and a clear, radiant energy of light circulated through his body.
And then....
Fwoosh!
Light Aura, a power on par with Darksteel Energy, surged from Chris’s hand!
He had become able to use the Aura Blade.
‘So I’ve reached “True” 5-star in the Light Realm.’
It didn’t mean he had actually become 5-star.
He was still at 4-star, but when one surpasses the limits of 4-star and begins to faintly control aura, it’s referred to as the “True” stage.
Likewise, if someone at 5-star starts to faintly handle “Will Manifestation,” they’re called 6-star True. That sort of thing.
It’s a term derived from military ranks, where someone may not have been officially promoted but is already serving in that position....like being called a “True Centurion” before formal promotion.
In other words, he hadn’t broken past the 4-star boundary yet, but he had one foot in the realm of 5-star.
He had also grown significantly stronger in terms of overall combat level.
‘Good thing I made it just in time.’
Chris checked the calendar.
One week remained until the Grand Martial Contest. Just enough time.
“Marie? Are you there?”
[Young master?]
Marie emerged silently through the wall and came to a sudden stop.
[Something’s… thump-thump… You seem even more amazing now?]
She instinctively sensed that Chris had grown stronger.
“Anything happen in the past two days?”
[No major incidents. Ah… I did look into the First Princess Yulian.]
Chris’s eyes lit up at those words.
The First Princess was his most dangerous rival.
This was important information.
“Did Princess Yulian have any kind of special past?”
Devil Contractors often had unique stories behind them.
Usually painful, agonizingly despairing stories.
Because devils crave souls that once shined brightly, only to fall into despair through horrific experiences.
When a soul is wounded, torn apart, and cries out in misery, the devils willingly offer their “blessing.”
If Yulian was like that, there should have been some noticeable incident in her past.
But....
[They say… there was nothing special at all?]
“Hm?”
[Princess Yulian was born as the youngest daughter between Marquis Langham and his former wife… and was raised with plenty of love and care. They say she’s never gone through anything painful or traumatic.]
A noble lady raised in luxury.
That was all Marie had found out about Yulian’s past.
“Really?”
Chris looked surprised.
‘If she had no special reason to make a pact with a devil, did she do it out of pure greed?’
If so, there wasn’t too much to worry about. Those who make contracts out of greed have clear limits to their power.
But somehow… it didn’t feel like that was the case.
It was a gut feeling.
‘…There’s definitely something. Something the family doesn’t know about.’
It seemed like he needed to dig deeper and spend more time investigating.
But then, Marie brought up something unexpected.
\[Ah… come to think of it, there is something strange, they say.]
“What is it?”
\[They say Princess Yulian’s personality changed completely in an instant.]
Marie tilted her prettily innocent-looking face in confusion.
\[About five years ago…? After suffering from a fever for a few days, she became a completely different person. Originally, Princess Yulian was known as an arrogant and cruel villainess who looked down on everyone below her, but starting from that point, she completely changed. They say she matured and became a kind, warm-hearted person.]
Chris blinked.
It was a strange story.
Her personality changed after a fever?
‘I’ll have to keep watching Princess Yulian a little longer.’
Chris shook his head.
There still wasn’t enough information to make a clear judgment.
“All right. Good job.”
\[Watta…?]
“Yeah, watta.”
Marie gave a gentle smile and giggled bashfully, and Chris moved on to another topic.
“There’s one more thing I need you to do. Go to the Rudolf Merchant Guild....no, the Rubid Merchant Guild Leader....and deliver the letter I wrote.”
It was the merchant guild he had extorted money from during the artifact expedition.
\[May I ask… for what reason?]
“Ah. I have another request to make of the guild.”
Chris grinned.
The reason was obvious.
To extort money again.
‘If I’m going to carry out what I planned, I’ll need a lot more money.’
Chris glanced out the window.
Beyond the mansion. Specifically, where the side estate of the Noble Executor was located.
That’s right.
Chris planned to use the Noble Executor to create a grand finale for the upcoming Grand Martial Contest.
* * *
A few days later.
The side estate of the Noble Executor.
Merian and Nordion were having a conversation.
“What is that boy, Christian, doing these days?”
Merian hid her surprise.
For the past three months....
Nordion had repeatedly asked about Christian’s whereabouts.
It was a level of interest he had never shown to any other young master before.
“There haven’t been any notable changes. He’s studying and practicing black magic and mage arts under the family’s instructors.”
“…I see. And that girl, Presia, is she still the same?”
“Yes, she’s using her authority to isolate Christian.”
The Noble Executor clicked his tongue.
A flash of displeasure showed on his face.
Toward Presia, for resorting to such petty tactics?
No....toward Christian, for laying low and submitting without complaint even while being treated unfairly.
This wasn’t the kind of behavior Nordion expected from Christian.
“Maybe I expected too much. To think he’d just take it all so helplessly. I thought he was a lion cub, but maybe he’s just an empty husk.”
A severely harsh judgment.
But then Simon suddenly cut in from the side.
“Perhaps he’s not helpless.”
“Then what?”
“Maybe he’s sharpening his claws.”
“Christian, that boy?”
“Yes. If that temperamental young master is this quiet, don’t you think he might be aiming for something?”
Nordion frowned deeply.
“You little bloodsucker, you know something more, don’t you?”
Simon only gave a sly grin.
“It’s just… I have a feeling something interesting is going to happen. We vampires are always more cautious when someone goes silent.”
The Noble Executor clicked his tongue again.
As his anger seemed to ease a little, Merian cautiously held out a box.
“What is that?”
“A gift from Christian to the Lord.”
“…A gift? For me?”
“…Yes. He said it was a gesture of thanks as a grandson, in return for your teachings.”
Yesterday.
Christian had secretly come to Merian and asked her to deliver the gift box to the Noble Executor.
‘…I’m worried this might backfire.’
Merian couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
It seemed like Nordion might blow up just from seeing the gift box.
“What a pointless gesture….”
As expected, his reaction wasn’t good.
Merian hurriedly tried to take back the gift box before Christian made things worse.
“I’ll send it back. I’ll make sure to properly educate him so he never does something like this again….”
“No, it’s fine.”
“…Pardon?”
“Let him give it.”
Merian handed the box over in confusion.
The Noble Executor still wore a deep frown. As if displeased.
‘I told him to grow stronger, and he does this pointless nonsense.’
But the reason he accepted the gift was for one reason alone.
A phrase written on the box.
....I am certain this is a gift you’ll be satisfied with.
The Noble Executor let out a short, dry laugh.
‘Brazen beyond belief.’
It was that ridiculous line that made him decide to accept the gift.
A thought crossed his mind....to at least see what kind of gift it was.
When he opened it, it was chocolate.
“…Why?”
“…He said he prepared it himself after hearing that you like chocolate, my Lord.”
Nordion’s gaze turned cold.
Merian broke into a nervous sweat.
‘Damn it, why did that fool Christian pull something like this?’
She felt more anxious than when reporting a failed mission.
It seemed like Nordion might incinerate the chocolate with demonic energy and summon Christian for a severe reprimand.
Thankfully, Nordion didn’t raise any demonic energy.
....I am certain this is a gift you’ll be satisfied with.
It was because of that line.
‘There’s no way he thought I’d be satisfied with mere chocolate.’
Of course, it was true that Nordion liked chocolate.
But no matter how divine the flavor, there was no way Nordion would be pleased with such a gift.
Because what he expected from Christian was far more than this.
And Christian wasn’t someone who wouldn’t know that....so why would he do something like this?
Even as anger rose, he couldn’t help but wonder what absurd scheme that cunning boy was thinking when he did this.
After glaring sharply at the chocolate, he picked it up and popped it into his mouth.
Alongside the resolve that if it turned out to be nothing more than fancy-tasting chocolate, he’d give him a proper scolding.
The moment the soft texture touched his tongue....
A refined sensation surged through his palate.
A flavor that seemed to come from a top-class pâtissier at the peak of their craft.
And yet, Nordion frowned.
‘He made this himself? Has he been wasting time cooking like this instead of fulfilling his duties as a noble heir?’
Just as disappointment washed over him and he swallowed the chocolate....
Something completely unexpected happened.
Flash!
Nordion’s vision changed.
‘…An illusion?’
It was no longer the view of the side chamber.
An expansive plain.
The towering spires of the Dark Demonic house’s main fortress.
And there, a lone figure stood.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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