EP.131 The Rough-Mouthed People (1)
The arrival of Selly, the Master of the White Tower, was loud, but not impressive. After she appeared, the banquet was still just a banquet, and the warriors were still just warriors.
“So, Miss Rania said…”
“Her punches were so spicy that every time I got hit, it was like my vision was flashing…”
“Don’t even get me started. I nearly fainted when she kneeled me in the temple. I thought my eyeballs would pop out.”
The warriors were sharing their tales of valor. For them, scars were bragging rights and conversation starters. Of course, not every warrior had the honor of battling a guest. Those who missed their chance sneaked glances at the girl conversing with the Duke.
In other words,
“Um, excuse me?”
The sudden newcomer received not even a handful of attention.
“Can you not hear me?”
Selly felt like she might cry for some reason.
Who was she? The owner of the White Tower and a great mage who had mastered elemental magic.
‘I shouldn’t be treated like this…!’
No matter how warrior-centric the North was, this treatment was wrong. Selly’s shoulders trembled. Someone was watching her.
“Uh, um…”
Oyakal, who stood behind Selly, rolled his eyes. The warriors didn’t concern themselves with the trivial. They cared only for battle. However, not Oyakal.
‘If this goes south…’
The Duke of the North’s fewer warriors. Being in high places meant Oyakal had at least some sense. If the Master of the White Tower was truly upset… it would surely become a major headache.
“Ahem, um!”
Oyakal cleared his throat.
For a moment, gazes turned to him, including Lac’s. Oyakal silently urged Lac with wide eyes.
‘Young master, hurry up!’
His lips mouthed those words.
Perhaps his desperation reached him, Lac, who had been sitting at a distance, blinked and spoke up.
“Ah, Master, you’ve arrived?”
“Oh my, Master Selly!”
At Lac’s words, Lady Failia, seated beside him, covered her mouth in surprise. Only then did Oyakal breathe a sigh of relief.
‘Lady Failia will manage something.’
She possessed a gentle strength lacking in the warriors. She should be able to handle this situation well. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Oyakal took a step back.
“Lady Failia…!”
Selly exclaimed in a voice filled with moisture. Failia smiled gently and nodded.
“It seems you’ve been overlooked. You must have been very cold, right? Shall we warm ourselves by the fire together?”
“You don’t have to go that far…”
“Please be quiet.”
“…”
At Failia’s glance, Eryhal shut his mouth.
“What an outrageous rudeness this is. Look, your ears are turning red. Let’s drink this while we chat…”
“Thank you, Lady Failia. But I’m just trying to address the…”
“Let’s save the official talk for later and enjoy the banquet together, shall we? You arrived late, so you should enjoy the remaining time.”
Failia gently interrupted Selly’s words, then grabbed her arm and stood up.
“No, um, I have something to say…!”
“Oh my, our chef has prepared a feast with great effort. Let’s hurry and enjoy it, shall we?”
Without any proper resistance, Selly was dragged away. As they headed toward another table, Failia turned back slightly.
And then mouthed the words.
‘Please feel free to converse.’
Seeing that, Rania could only shake her head.
‘Is that… top-tier social skill?’
In many ways, she was a woman befitting the title of the North’s hostess.
2.
I received a request from the Duke of the North. To say it was a request would be an understatement; it was something I had already been doing since long ago.
‘The more you roll, the more you grow.’
That was almost a truth.
The Sword Master, uncle Kuntel said that, my Master said that, and even the ancient elf Cardi, who lived who knows how long, said something similar.
‘Then it must be true.’
There was no reason not to follow the truth.
Of course, since I was permitted, I would roll a bit more… but in my opinion, that wasn’t enough reason for someone from the North to call me.
‘It could have just been sent by letter.’
He was the Duke of the North.
It didn’t seem plausible he would call me for something so trivial. It felt like there was something more important at play.
“Then what is the ‘request’?”
One request and one request.
The Duke said that. Having received the request, the remaining point was clear. The Duke opened his mouth at my question.
“Professor, do you know the legend of the White Night Castle?”
“I have a rough idea about the legend of the North possessing the White Night Castle.”
The ancient relic, the White Night Castle.
I had studied the legends related to it.
‘That was one of the main tasks of the Ashen Tower.’
An ancient nation turned to ashes.
I had researched everything related to that nation. Among those was the White Night Castle, as it was a relic left by the ancient nation.
“In a snowstorm that raged all year round, one day, a great warrior climbed the mountain through the snowstorm.”
“As he climbed, a castle appeared before the warrior’s eyes. The moment he set foot in the shining castle amidst the darkness, the storm subsided.”
“In that moment, the White Night Castle recognized him as its master. A new master was born in the North.”
That’s roughly how the legend went.
There were various hypotheses regarding manipulation of the climate, that the White Night Castle itself was some sort of barrier… but those remained mere theories.
In the end, nothing could be known.
And it was understandable. The legend of the White Night Castle dated back hundreds of years.
‘Even if I were to try studying it now, it would likely be in a damaged state. Circuits are typically like that.’
As I pondered the legend of the White Night Castle, the Duke nodded and continued.
“Yes, the first head of the Grace family successfully obtained the White Night Castle through the snowstorm. Hundreds of years have passed, yet… that story remains as an undimmed legend.”
A kind of symbol, in a sense.
The Duke narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
“For those who carry the name of Grace, the snowstorm is a trial to overcome. A wall to surpass. And my son must soon face that wall as well.”
Seeing Lac munching on meat, the Duke chuckled. He suddenly ruffled Lac’s hair and said.
“I would take him, but… I would like to make a request for you, who will be teaching this boy.”
“Yes?”
“Please go and see the place where the Grace family traditionally holds their coming-of-age ceremony with him.”
When I blinked, the Duke continued to explain.
“Deep within the snowy mountains, in the center of the raging blizzard, there lies an unfrozen spring. It is the place where our ancestors left behind their weapons.”
An unfrozen spring.
Something stirred in my memories. But before I could be certain, I listened quietly to the Duke’s words.
“Enduring half a day in the snowstorm. This is the coming-of-age ceremony of the Grace family. But I am expecting more than that.”
“More than that…?”
“The center of the spring. The place where the ancestor left his beloved weapon.”
The Duke said.
“I hope Lac can step foot there and pull out the weapon left by our progenitor.”
Lac held his breath.
The Duke chuckled bitterly, relaxing his shoulders.
“Of course, it’s still early for that. No one from our family has accomplished that. But someone from the family will eventually reach that point. I believe it will be Lac.”
“…You seem quite certain.”
“Ha ha.”
At my words, the Duke laughed aloud.
“How can I not be certain? You’ve seen it, so you know, right?”
“…”
“This boy has talent. Talent that no one in the family has ever possessed. And….”
After a brief pause, the Duke spoke again.
“He also has the potential to rise to the level of a superhuman.”
His eyes were sharp.
There was a sense of certainty in his voice.
“It may have wandered a bit, but what I’m asking is for you to go with this boy to see the spring and consider how to approach it through the blizzard surrounding it.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“You will learn a lot in Apuria, so can you not teach him just this much?”
“That won’t be in the curriculum.”
“That’s why it’s a request.”
I couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“So you mean, you’re asking for a special lecture?”
“If you’re in need of a lecture fee, I’ll gladly provide it.”
I shook my head.
I had no intention of asking for any fee. Even if it wasn’t in the academic curriculum… I had already planned to teach it at least once anyway.
‘The unfrozen spring and the snowstorm.’
I chuckled inwardly.
It was easy to guess what was coming.
‘In a way, I suppose this is just a pre-study in itself.’
Coincidentally, Lac had experienced something similar before, right at the beginning of the semester, during the placement exam.
‘That was the Mana Spring.’
The way to endure in the Mana Spring.
How to withstand the midst of a Mana Storm.
‘In other words…’
It was similar to enduring a Phantom Territory. Ultimately, it was one of the things I had to teach.
“It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult.”
“…Oh?”
The Duke smiled, appearing intrigued.
“You speak with quite a bit of confidence.”
“I’ve learned quite a bit during my travels.”
“Ha ha.”
The Duke laughed satisfactorily and extended his hand toward me. It was a warrior’s hand, so to speak. A hand full of calluses and scars.
“I look forward to your help, Professor.”
I clasped his hand.
‘We’re on the same wavelength, this person.’
We both smiled at each other.
“Hmm…”
Lac was looking at me with a very worried expression, but that wasn’t something I particularly needed to worry about.
3.
“Speaking of which, Lac.”
“A guest is staying at the White Night Castle.”
“You can find him at the training ground early in the morning. Try challenging him to a duel once. He seems like someone you could learn a lot from.”
Early morning after the banquet had ended.
Lac was heading towards the training ground. Following closely behind him was Rania.
“Aren’t you going to sleep a bit longer, Professor?”
“I wake up as soon as it’s morning.”
“Really?”
“It’s just a habit, a habit. I have nothing else to do except watch you train. And I’m curious about who that guest is.”
Seems like the professor has little need for morning sleep.
Thinking that, Lac kept walking silently. The warriors’ training ground wasn’t far from the White Night Castle.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed.
A bit away from the White Night Castle, in a training ground set up on the snowy mountains, numerous warriors had gathered.
“Hah!”
In the early morning cold of the snowy mountains, the warriors swung their weapons. Beads of sweat glistened on their muscles.
“Next.”
A voice called out among the warriors.
“Next.”
The voice rang out alongside the metallic sounds.
Each time a clang resonated, a warrior fell to the ground. Among the fallen warriors stood a man.
“Next.”
Untidily unkempt hair.
His scarred face and sharp gaze suggested he had lived through many battles.
“Anyone else?”
A middle-aged man with thick lines on his body.
He held a sword that was still in its sheath. The moment Lac saw the pattern engraved on that sheath, he realized who this man was.
The symbol of an estate turned to ashes.
Now a symbol that pointed to only one swordsman.
“Sword Demon, Draka….”
Lac murmured unconsciously.
Hearing that murmur, the Sword Demon turned his head. His sharp gaze landed on Lac.
“Hah…”
Lac held his breath.
Those eyes were like those of a beast. Just meeting his gaze left him feeling suffocated.
“You.”
Draka raised his arm.
Pointing with his fingers, he indicated Lac.
“Who the hell do you think you are looking at me like that?”
No, it wasn’t him.
Lac looked again at the direction the finger was pointing. Draka’s finger was indicating behind Lac.
‘…Professor?’
There stood Professor Rania.
With her arms crossed, she wore a face that seemed to contend with a bug. Her gaze oozed disdain.
“Do you have a problem with me?”
Draka asked.
To which Rania scoffed, “Hah.”
“No, not really.”
And then just spat out.
“I just thought you looked rather ugh.”
Lac’s complexion turned pale.
Author’s Note:
Draka is a handsome middle-aged man.
He doesn’t look ugh at all!
Sorry for the delay, my bad ㅠㅠ.
