Chapter 97: Another Misunderstanding Piles Up (3)

The land of the North.

A frozen wasteland where blizzards raged without end.

Even amidst the howling storm, a colossal fortress stood unshaken.

Flap-flap!

A small bird flew through the snowstorm and slipped inside the walls.

Amazingly, it was completely untouched by the raging blizzard.

Flap, flap-flap!

“…Hm.”

“It’s unusually noisy today.”

“It’s just a bird.”

“Ignore it.”

The guards on duty spotted it but luckily let it pass.

The bird—no, the letter—flew down the corridors and finally landed on the windowsill of the deepest room.

The office of the Grand Duke of the North, sovereign of the vast northern territories.

Shrrr—

The bird dissolved in light and turned back into a single letter.

“…I clearly said I would receive no contact from anyone.”

In the dimly lit room, the Grand Duke, sitting alone, slowly opened his eyes.

“…Looks like the knights need disciplining.”

They couldn’t even follow a simple order.

Rubbing his throbbing temples, the Grand Duke stood and picked up the letter.

To my dear friend, the Grand Duke of the North.  

From Professor Moriarty.

The faint crease between his brows smoothed out.

So the knights had recognized the sender and let it through.

He never expected a reply from Professor Moriarty.

…Has he finally found resolution?

The Grand Duke knew better than anyone the situation Moriarty had been in.

As a fellow father, he had sympathized and tried to stop him.

In the end, he had failed…

But judging by the steady handwriting, he had somehow overcome it.

As the Grand Duke read on, his brow twitched slightly.

The contents were, as expected, impeccable.

Noble penmanship and tone, and the fact that he had come to his senses—all pleasing.

There was only one slightly puzzling part.

The final line.

“I hope this person may be of help to you.”

Who was “this person”?

Reading further, he roughly understood.

Evan Alkart, second son of Duke Alkart.

A name he had heard a few times.

Was it normal for fathers to suffer because of their children? 

This son was no less troublesome.

Trying to revive a dead mother with necromancy…

He could understand the feeling, but coldly speaking, it was something that should never be done.

Still, the rumors had stopped, so he must have come to his senses.

And now he had saved Professor Moriarty…

So the rumors of his skill were true.

An alchemist.

A free alchemist unaffiliated with the Alchemy Tower.

Extremely rare.

Surprisingly, the North had a good relationship with the Alchemy Tower.

Close yet far from the Empire, aided yet checked—an ambiguous position.

They needed many things made or supplied, so they required manpower.

The Alchemy Tower fit perfectly.

The North also possessed vital resources only found there, so it was win-win.

They said the Tower was watching him closely. I’m curious what his real skill is like.

Should he summon him once?

Moriarty would likely face punishment and be unable to pay properly, so he wanted Evan compensated instead—with Moriarty’s own assets, not the Grand Duke’s personal wealth.

That much was easy.

He was the man who had saved a dear friend.

The Grand Duke folded the letter and tucked it away.

Then he turned toward a corner of the room.

“…If things go well, you might get a friend.”

He had just come of age, hadn’t he?

Probably around the same age as this child.

In the corner of the room, a faint silhouette could be seen—a girl curled up, bound in thick iron chains.

A benefactor.

He had discovered and helped with Moriarty’s black magic…

He had apparently exerted considerable effort.

But lifting this child’s curse was a separate matter.

“…Hoo.”

The Grand Duke sighed and headed outside.

To send a letter to Evan.

Even if only part of what Moriarty wrote was true,

he should at least be able to speak with his daughter.

***

Evan boarded the returning carriage.

He had barely stepped in, yet he was already exhausted.

…Haa. They’re really tenacious…

Even right up to leaving the academy, the commotion never stopped.

The moment he announced he was leaving,

professors—and even the Chancellor—had clung to him, begging him to stay.

Young Master! We haven’t properly repaid you yet. Stay so we may repay our debt!

Exactly.

While you’re at it, if you could also tell us how you used black magic…

In short: spill everything you know.

On the surface, since he had spoken with the Saintess, no information had leaked.

They must be dying to know how he resolved the black magic.

Of course, he had no intention of telling them.

Because I didn’t do it in the first place…

Everyone else seemed to be strangely misunderstanding.

After that, even professors he had never seen before joined in.

Begging him to stay.

To fill the vacancy left by Professor Moriarty.

Evan firmly rejected every plea.

Am I insane? Stealing Moriarty’s position?

If something went wrong, they wouldn’t take responsibility anyway.

He now knew Professor Moriarty wasn’t fundamentally a bad person.

But that was that; caution was still caution.

Boarding the carriage, Evan flinched.

The interior was clearly different from a few days ago.

“…Why has the carriage changed?”

“Ah, well…”

While Evan had been tangled up in various incidents at the academy,

gifts had poured in from all directions.

Many secretly from the Chancellor.

A plusher-looking bed.

Miscellaneous magical devices of unknown purpose.

Most were defensive.

No surveillance… probably.

Were they trying to turn it into a mobile fortress?

“Wow! Evan! The carriage got bigger!”

“Oh… they even installed spatial expansion devices? Nice work.”

Lapis threw her arms up in cheer, while Aegis entered and nodded in approval.

Frey glanced inside and gave a small hmph.

“This is why you’ll never surpass me, Lapis—if you’re satisfied with this level.”

“What?”

“I found evidence first, remember?”

“Y-you…! That was just luck!”

“But the fact remains I finished the job first.”

Frey and Lapis bickered for a bit.

Lapis turned her head with a huff.

“Hmph. Why bother talking to you. Evan! Let’s play on our beds!”

“…Go lie down first.”

“Yay!”

Boing!

Lapis leaped onto the bed like a child with a new toy.

Frey looked at her with pity, then opened a thick book and began reading.

Aegis…

“I’m sleeping. Don’t wake me.”

“Grrr…”

…was already asleep.

And Royan—when did he even get here?

Grunt.

“…You guys didn’t leave?”

“We were waiting only for you, young master. I fed them separately.”

“…Good work, Dolph.”

Evan patted the heads of the two eager wolf-dogs.

Hati and Skoll panted happily, tongues lolling, clearly not neglected.

He petted them, tried putting them on his lap, nearly shattered his knees…

Eventually Evan sat alone by the window.

Sipping warm tea Dolph had prepared, he stared blankly at the scenery rushing by.

Thanks to Dolph’s attentive care,

he finally felt the tension easing bit by bit.

Ah… yes. This is healing.

How wonderful it would be if he could quietly reach the estate like this.

But nothing in life ever goes that smoothly.

BOOM!

A sudden impact rocked the carriage violently.

Looking out the window—bandits.

But they looked different from ordinary bandits.

Beside them prowled ferocious beasts with sharp claws and fangs.

Wolves, bears, even massive boars.

…Why now, of all times.

Beast-taming bandits.

In terms of difficulty, pretty high.

The kind of random event that only appears with terrible luck.

…Why on my way home?

…Haa. What was I expecting.

Evan clicked his tongue briefly.

Everyone else seems asleep. Waking them would just annoy them…

Frey was the only one awake.

But among the Sins, she was relatively calm.

She was staring at him with sparkling eyes that said she would follow anything he said.

“…I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, Evan. I’ll support from behind.”

“No need.”

Evan opened the door and stepped out.

The bandits’ eyes lit up when they saw him.

“Oho.”

“That face…”

“Definitely nobility.”

“He’ll sell for a good price.”

Evan frowned.

Human traffickers?

They weren’t just demanding money—they clearly intended to kill.

Possibly tied to evil god worshippers or similar.

…Tired.

Let’s end this quickly.

Evan tapped the ground with his staff.

Shrrrrrrrr—!

RUMBLEEEEE—!

In an instant, the earth around them transformed dramatically.

Soil, stones, everything small became “material.”

Comprehension, decomposition, reconstruction.

Purpose: magic golems.

Using the magical knowledge gained at the academy—infusing existing golems with magic.

Perfect time to test it.

Shrrrrrk!

Materials assembled, and several massive golems appeared around the carriage.

Hummmmm—!

Different elemental energies condensed in the golems’ hands.

Fire, ice, lightning.

“W-what the hell are those?!”

The bandits panicked at the unfamiliar sight.

But their panic didn’t last long.

“Attack—all of them.”

At Evan’s command, the magic golems launched their assault in unison.

BOOM! KABOOM!

Fireballs exploded, ice spears rained down, lightning struck.

The bandits and their tamed beasts collapsed helplessly.

Pssshhhh…

In less than a few minutes, the chaos ended as if it had never happened.

Only charred and frozen bandit corpses lay scattered around.

Not bad.

Good enough for average performance.

Evan recalled the golems.

Better than expected.

They would be useful going forward.

“…Evan.”

“?”

“Never mind.”

Frey looked like she had a lot to say, then swallowed it.

As expected—she clearly thought Evan had planned everything.

No…

What did you misunderstand this time?

***

A few days later, Evan finally arrived at House Alkart’s ducal estate.

It had been a while since he returned home, but instead of comfort, a familiar tension greeted him first.

What is this uneasy feeling?

Something felt off.

Sure enough, at the estate entrance, Leo Alkart was glaring at Evan with sharp eyes.

The eldest son, Leo.

He had apparently come out personally after hearing Evan was returning from the academy.

“Hmph. Back, I see.”

Leo spoke in a sneering tone.

“You made quite the spectacle at the academy. Planning to branch into education now?”

“…Misunderstanding.”

“You acted like you had no interest in the ducal title, but now you don’t even bother hiding it anymore.”

Leo’s eyes flashed dangerously.

No…

I’m telling you it’s not like that.

Evan couldn’t understand Leo’s words.

The ducal title?

He had never once coveted it.

If anything, it was a position he desperately wanted to avoid.

For a moment, the words “Because you’re incompetent” rose to his throat.

…Haa. No. Hold it in.

He had become quite twisted lately.

Evan forced himself to endure and walked past.

Leo’s furious gaze burned into his back, but he ignored it.

Guided by Dolph, Evan returned to his room and finally caught his breath.

But the respite was short-lived.

Knock knock—

“Young master. His Grace the Duke requests your presence immediately…”

“…Yes. Let’s go.”

Soon after, a summons from Duke Cavaro arrived.

…Please, let nothing happen.

Surprisingly—or compared to what he feared—nothing major occurred.

“Evan.”

“Yes, Father.”

“What do you think about marriage?”

“…Pardon?”

…It just came from a completely different direction.