Belmiard (5)
Globeltein Cultural Hall.
This large cultural hall, built after the name of Sir Globeltein Ebelstein who founded this city, is a place where people of High Society gather to discuss aesthetics, hold art auctions, and sometimes even small concerts.
As a place where influential figures from all walks of life gather for social activities, it is one of the most strictly managed locations in this Noble Society district. The place where the aesthetic debate of Rosea Salon was held was also right here.
After the regularly held exhibition ended, the Young Lady who had gathered to cultivate their refinement were leaving one by one. Each of them was a big name in their own territories, but even in a galaxy filled with stars, there are always stars that shine more brightly.
"It seems that a magic sparring session is planned for the next gathering. I've been hearing a lot of rumors lately that Young Lady Ellente's magic skill has improved even more, so hearing that makes me nervous."
With several servants in tow, the followers of Young Lady Aiselin, who was smiling beautifully, crowded around her side. The lower-rank nobles from the outskirts were making a fuss, flattering her in hopes of catching her eye even a little.
Young Lady Aiselin treated them with a classic smile, but inwardly she would not consider them to be meaningful connections. Young Lady Ellente was inwardly certain of that as she watched.
Ellente tidied her reddish hair, then gathered her luxurious quill pen, sachet, and a delicately yet classically made opera glass and handed them to the servants.
After that, after having a maid neatly arrange the hem of her dress, she went out into the corridor and followed beside Young Lady Aiselin.
When the two of them are together, all the lower-rank nobles in the area become quiet. They were afraid that even intruding into the conversation between the two would be considered rude.
"Young Lady Aiselin, you are truly modest. You've never lost even once in the salon's magic sparring this quarter, haven't you? As expected, you really deserve to be called the flower of the Duplein Ducal House."
"Oh my, hearing such praise from Young Lady Ellente makes my shoulders rise."
Young Lady Ellente emotionally acknowledged Young Lady Aiselin, but still, when she looked at her, she could not suppress the strange envy and jealousy that welled up.
The more flawless and perfect a person is, the more inexplicable aversion can sometimes arise. That is usually what the feeling called inferiority is like.
Even so, today's Young Lady Ellente could not help but be more spirited than usual.
What was there to hide. News about Derrick was something Young Lady Aiselin was also curious about, so there was no need to keep it secret.
"I recently decided to bring in a new magic master. Master Pelmier opposed it, but the person has a good background, so I pushed it through. Back when I was at the Count's estate, I didn't have the power to ignore the opinions of the retainers, but becoming the owner of the mansion is a good thing."
"Oh my, really? To think Young Lady Ellente would push something so actively. You must trust that magic master quite a lot."
"To be precise, it's not so much my trust, but closer to Young Lady Aiselin's trust."
"Yes?"
When Aiselin asked back with an innocent face, Young Lady Ellente said with a full smile.
"I mean that mercenary you mentioned last time, Derrick. He was carrying out another request at a place called Veldern Mercenary Corps in the tavern district, so I spoke to them separately and brought him in."
"Oh, Mr. Derrick?! I suppose he's been very busy with mercenary work all this time!"
At hearing that name, Young Lady Aiselin's face brightened.
Even after he left the Duplein mansion, Aiselin would often talk about him when she personally had tea with Delia.
Her younger sister Delia had told her that Derrick would surely be killing time doing mercenary work anyway, so even if he didn't stand out, not to worry too much. In truth, Derrick was a person who only knew magic and money.
"Well, that's right. He goes around experiencing real combat at all times under the pretext of training, and studies magic too."
"As you know since you've met him yourself, he's deep-minded and trustworthy. You've really found a good master. Congratulations, Young Lady Ellente."
'... This isn't what I meant... '
Seeing Aiselin's face full of delight, Ellente ended up making a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
Wasn't this basically saying that she herself had brought in the wandering magic master from the rumors, the very one that even Aiselin couldn't keep at her mansion.
She thought Aiselin would show at least a little frustration, but instead, Young Lady Aiselin was sincerely congratulating Ellente.
In fact, Aiselin knew to some extent. The boy called Derrick was a human born with huge wings, someone who could not be pushed into a cage.
She knew well that him agreeing to look after Ellente's magic was simply because he, who wandered here and there, had found a place to stop by for a while.
Certainly, if someone as excellent in magic as Young Lady Ellente were to receive Derrick's teaching..... she herself could not just relax either.
These days, when it came to magic sparring opponents, only people who were not proper matches came up. Even Young Lady Aiselin herself felt that her sharp edge had dulled a lot.
If there were a good-natured rival like Young Lady Ellente, it would be a great help in honing herself. Young Lady Aiselin sincerely wanted to encourage and congratulate Young Lady Ellente.
However, suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind.
–"Delia. I was thinking of making some time and asking Mr. Derrick to look over my magic too... what do you think?"
–"... Elder Sister Aiselin. There's absolutely no need for that. Elder Sister Aiselin, you've already reached a sufficiently high realm of magic on your own."
–"Still, I thought that if a skilled person looks over it, I might achieve even greater things. I was thinking of sending someone to the mercenary corps side to ask. It seems Mr. Derrick doesn't come to the Noble Society district very often...."
–"Absolutely, absolutely no need. Elder Sister Aiselin. Unless it's truly necessary... there's no need for someone who's already doing well on their own to receive Derrick's teaching."
Delia's face, pale as she desperately tried to stop her, had been quite serious. Aiselin thought that her cute little sister was just feeling a bit of jealousy, afraid her own master Derrick would be taken away.
While looking at such a lovely youngest sister, Aiselin had smiled gently... but Delia had not stopped Aiselin for that reason.
As a rough mercenary by background, he would sometimes try to teach in ways that one would never imagine when dealing with noble Young Lady.
Sometimes he would take them to the forest and make them spam magic until their mana ran dry, or suddenly make them jog, saying stamina is important... and other various bizarre training methods that the flowers of noble houses would find hard to endure.
From the very beginning, the fact that he tried to slap her the moment they met and drag her into the forest to beat her up already showed that he was not an ordinary magic master. It was not something that noble Young Lady raised like flowers in a greenhouse could easily endure.
"...."
What was there to say. A master called Derrick is bitter medicine.
He is like magic that grants any wish if you want it, but nothing comes without a price.
If you know in advance, you might at least have some time to prepare yourself mentally, but it was hard to know whether Young Lady Ellente was aware of that rough mercenary's brutal teaching methods.
When her thoughts reached that point, worry suddenly bloomed on Young Lady Aiselin's face.
As she held her chin and looked at Young Lady Ellente with a worried face, that Young Lady, tightly wrapped in jealousy and envy, lifted the corner of her lips sharply.
'Yes. If she thinks carefully, she'll understand what it means that I brought in that master called Derrick.'
Unfortunately, Ellente misunderstood Aiselin's worried expression.
She thought it was an expression filled with dissatisfaction at having Derrick taken away. To think she could see Young Lady Aiselin looking frustrated in her life... Young Lady Ellente felt an unknown sense of fulfillment bloom in her chest.
"Um.... "
"Oh my, it's already this late. Since I decided to hold the first lesson today, I should hurry back to the mansion."
Young Lady Ellente brushed back her hair and smiled in a classical manner, then strode forward confidently.
Young Lady Aiselin could only watch her back with a still worried face.
The nearby nobles who had been watching Young Lady Aiselin and Young Lady Ellente also had puzzled expressions.
No matter how rare a magic master was, it was hard to imagine that just changing masters would allow her to defeat that lofty Young Lady Aiselin in such a short time.
'I knew Young Lady Ellente was very jealous, but still, to think she would even rely on a mercenary from the streets just to win one practice spar... '
Denise, the eldest daughter of the Duke Beltus family, who had also been watching them from afar, let out a deep sigh.
Futile.
They could not say it out loud, but the people present were all probably thinking that inwardly.
*
"That's how it turned out. For the time being, I'm going to focus on that request."
"Count Belmiard's house, huh.... You're really playing in big waters, Derrick."
"Still, there's no need to go all the way to the Count's estate. It's something that can be handled properly within Ebelstein, so from my perspective it's comfortable and good."
Today as well, the tavern Tears of Veldern was quite full of customers.
As Derrick sat at a corner bar table drinking delicious apple wine, Jayden approached him with a hearty laugh. Derrick roughly told Jayden about what happened in this request and expressed his intention not to take requests for a while.
From Jayden's perspective, it was somewhat regrettable, but thinking about the number of jobs Derrick usually handled, he didn't really feel like complaining. Rather, he had been worried that Derrick might hurt himself by working too much.
"And if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it properly."
"You mean you're going to make her win against Young Lady Aiselin? From what you say, Young Lady Ellente does seem to have talent, but... Young Lady Aiselin is someone whose reputation is famous even outside the Noble Society district."
"It's not like there's absolutely no way. I can think of about two ways... "
Derrick said with a troubled face, arms crossed.
"One would be to learn 2-star magic. Then there would be the option of overwhelming her with firepower, so beating Young Lady Aiselin wouldn't be just a dream."
"Just by looking at it, that doesn't seem easy."
"Yes, so I thought about a second method..... In that case, I think I'll need the Captain's help. So I came to tell you in advance. When I tell you later that I need help, please help me just once."
"My help?"
Jayden was a veteran mercenary who made a name for himself in the great war against the huge monster tribe of the north, the 'Dawn War'. Though he lived like a loafer now, his skill was something even Derrick had no choice but to acknowledge.
"And if possible, it would be better to be safe than sorry.... so it would be good if Felnine could accompany us too... "
"Me?"
Felnine, who had been drinking hard liquor beside them, stared blankly at Derrick with half-loosened eyes.
Judging by how she was guzzling alcohol from midday, she didn't seem to have much intention of working today.
"Derrick. I told you, if you get, get, get swept along by those noble trash, you'll re, re, regret it.... "
"Why is she drinking so much in the middle of the day?"
"She lost big gambling. She was playing cards with the customers earlier today."
"........"
When Derrick narrowed his eyes into crescents and quietly stared at Felnine, the girl rubbed her flushed face and spoke as if lamenting.
"Who would've guessed an ace would come out there. Huh?"
It seemed she still hadn't kicked her habit of jumping into gambling dens with eyes blazing and throwing money away. Derrick sighed and patted Felnine's shoulder.
"Anyway, I'll make sure you get a decent share, so cooperate."
"Pu, for, for some pocket change, instead of cleaning up after nobles, I'd rather ju, ju, ju.... rather... "
"I boldly asked for 20 aidel gold coins as the request fee, and they accepted gladly. I asked for five more coins than at Duplein... nobles really do spend differently."
"... What, your price got that high? Wh, what..... using gold coins like water... "
Unable to finish her sentence, Felnine buried her head on the bar table and made a melting sound. It meant she didn't care.
Jayden brought some cold water and set it down in front of Felnine with a thud, then said.
"Alright. Let's hear what you're planning to do."
"........"
After Derrick laid out his thoughts, Jayden could only gape in shock.
*
'Certainly, maybe because he's from a rough mercenary background, the lesson tempo is extremely fast.'
That afternoon, Derrick visited Young Lady Ellente's mansion and started the lesson right away without any preamble.
Unlike Pelmier's lessons, which always emphasized formalities and preached about the history of magic, Derrick's lessons cut out all unnecessary theoretical parts.
Before starting the lesson, Derrick had already stated clearly.
He could not teach noble etiquette or the history of magic. What he taught was only practical, combat-oriented knowledge.
From Young Lady Ellente's perspective, it was exactly what she wanted.
She wanted to quickly learn only the knowledge needed to defeat Young Lady Aiselin, cutting out useless extras.
Teaching about fundamentals was of course important, but what she needed right now was practical knowledge that would satisfy her competitive desire.
Thus, Derrick stood in the private outdoor sparring ground set up beside the mansion and was drawing up mana.
"First, we'll do sparring training like last time. We'll repeat it 10 times in a similar way to basically work up a sweat, and review the basic techniques needed for mana training. After that's all done, let's use 1-star magic one by one and check whether the fundamentals are all in place."
"Ten sparring matches right now?"
"It's just practice sparring. There's no need for grand etiquette, so let's first check how much your basic practical ability has improved."
Thus, Ellente and Derrick finished 10 consecutive sparring matches.
After that, they reviewed the mana manifestation method they had just talked about, and spent time spamming 1-star magic and checking the basics again. When they came to their senses, the sun was already setting.
Young Lady Ellente sat down in a corner of the sparring ground, drenched in sweat.
Certainly, Derrick's magic lessons were very different in nature from Pelmier's. If Pelmier spent more than half the time reciting theory, Derrick spent the entire lesson fighting, clashing, and using magic repeatedly.
When Derrick's lesson was about halfway through, Ellente's mana had already run dry, and by the time it reached the final stage, she had to grit her teeth and scrape together what little mana she had left to use magic.
When she manifested the ice spear for the last time, she was to the point where her mind became hazy. Even in that state, Derrick politely stood with his hands behind his back and encouraged her that she could do one more.
"You're doing well! Young Lady Ellente!"
"Huh... huh... "
"Lastly, let's manifest the ice spear just once more. This time, use it simultaneously with Illusion-type magic."
"Y, you said that was the last one just now.....! "
"This one is really the last. We'll really finish after this."
"Ugh.... khh...! Ughgh...! "
Ellente, sitting on the sparring ground floor and panting, still ground her teeth and somehow drew out her mana.
With that mana pulled out to the limit, she manifested the ice spear again and drove it into the ground, then looked at Derrick with a proud expression as if to say she could do it too.
"Huh.... huh... I can... do it too... "
"Now, for the real last time, let's manifest Flame Arrow. Here, rest for just 15 seconds and one... two... "
"You said that just now was really the last!"
After continuing such back-and-forth, it was time for the sun to truly start setting. Young Lady Ellente forgot even her dignity and ended up lying sprawled on the sparring ground floor, soaked in sweat.
The servants who had been watching her from the corner of the sparring ground swallowed their dry saliva.
The servants were people with professional pride. Watching their master rolling around drenched in sweat seemed very hard for them.
It looked like they wanted to rush out right now, comb her hair, spray perfume, and bring a new dress.
However, Derrick shook his head at them. This was, after all, a private sparring ground in Young Lady Ellente's mansion, so aside from the servants, there was no one else watching.
Thus, Derrick's magic lesson, pushing Young Lady Ellente to her limits, only came to an end after more than 30 minutes more.
"Ahk.... huhh.... hah... "
Young Lady Ellente, who could not tell whether she was panting or groaning in pain, lay on the sparring ground floor staring at the sky.
At some point, dark darkness had settled at the far end of the reddish sky.
Stars were starting to show a little, making it impossible to tell how long they had been using magic. Young Lady Ellente had never once used magic continuously for this long before.
"Good work. You can have dinner now."
"........"
"... Are you alright?"
Even though it was a bit awkward for him to say it, Derrick still spoke words of concern to Ellente.
"If it's too hard, giving up is also a method."
Young Lady Ellente lay there panting like that, then at last, with difficulty, raised her body and said.
"Ahaha."
"........"
"Just this much? Seeing you make me promise several times that you could do anything, I wondered what on earth you were thinking, but in the end, you're just making me use my body a bit roughly."
Surprisingly, she had not lost her smile.
She had raised her body with difficulty, and although she was panting, her will was still burning.
"Do you think I survived in Ebelstein High Society without going through all sorts of hard effort, and that I'm someone who needs to be worried about just this much? I've often stayed up three days and nights reading refinement books. You don't need to ask such questions."
"..... I see. I was short-sighted."
"Today I'm a bit tired because I went to a social gathering, but from tomorrow, I can really devote myself properly to training. So tomorrow, it would be better to increase the intensity even more than this."
"......"
Derrick listened to Ellente's words for a moment, then said without changing his expression.
"Tomorrow...? What do you mean?"
"... Huh?"
"I told you it's dinner time now, didn't I?"
She did not immediately understand what that meant.
Soon, as she understood Derrick's meaning, Young Lady Ellente's face began to turn pale.
[Dear readers, you can support me here: https://ko-fi.com/reaper87 ]