I Inherited a Beautiful Wife and a Territory - Chapter 56

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Inheriting a Beautiful Wife and Estate Episode 056

56. Santa Claus

Marun grinned widely.

Serpents were few in number and rare by nature.

So just being able to use this material was a great joy. He said.

“Even if there hadn’t been a pact between the lord and us, just this bone alone would have made me gladly become the lord’s vassal. Uhaha.”

It was a reaction that instantly cast aside all the dignity of an elder.

The passion he held as a blacksmith.

He wanted to create the finest weapon.

So naturally, he needed the finest materials like these for that purpose.

“Whew. Excellent. Absolutely magnificent! Quite some time must have passed, yet it’s still maintained so perfectly…”

It would be, since it was stored frozen.

Marun then went on to share knowledge that hadn’t even been asked for.

“My lord. Do you know why the corpses of such magical beasts are used as the finest weapon materials?”

“Because they accept magical power better?”

“Hehe. Correct. That’s the commonly known fact. Ordinary metals don’t accept magical power well. So the swords of knights who use aura must be replaced periodically.”

Cliff nodded as he heard those words.

Though he wasn’t a knight, he was still from a distinguished family. He knew what Marun was talking about.

Metal couldn’t withstand a knight’s aura.

The more it was used, the more its durability wore down.

‘That’s probably why Teobaldt mainly uses those brutishly large greatswords.’

Crude but durable greatswords.

But even those couldn’t fully handle Teobaldt’s aura.

“That’s why all swordsmen go crazy for things like mithril, orichalcum, and adamantium. Those don’t weaken in strength even when they accept magical power. Gold actually accepts magical power well too… but gold is far too weak to use as a weapon.”

Mithril, orichalcum, adamantium.

All were dream metals.

There were few blacksmiths who could work with them, and above all, the metals themselves were too rare.

Marun continued his explanation.

“But the reason magical beast bones are better than metals isn’t simply for that reason. Magical beast bones have been exposed to the magical power that beast possessed for a long time, becoming tamed and transformed by that magical power.”

Cliff’s eyes narrowed.

From here on, this was advanced knowledge even he didn’t know.

“When people use magical power, their bodies change too. Bones, blood vessels, skin, muscles, and so on… That’s why just being able to use magical power allows one to display superhuman strength and reflexes that surpass ordinary people.”

He knew that much.

Incidentally, people with magical power also had strong resilience.

As Marun was explaining, their skin, muscles, bones, and such became stronger, allowing them to absorb impacts that ordinary people couldn’t endure.

“The bones of powerful magical beasts contain magical power in themselves. And they’ve been tamed by it. That’s why magic swords and divine swords choose their masters. Sometimes they even show signs of rejecting their master’s magical power. Adamantium also has the property of repelling all magical power… that’s also why.”

“Then does that mean even if you make it, I can’t use it?”

“No. Didn’t I mention the taming process is necessary? It’s about adapting my magical power with the magical power contained in the bone. Then when you wield this weapon, you’ll eventually be able to use even the magical power that was contained within it.”

A divine weapon that was difficult to handle but bore correspondingly sweet fruit when mastered.

This was how Marun explained items made from magical beast bones. And there were additional advantages.

“Above all, if you killed a Serpent, you must have taken its heart too. If you ate that heart and amplified your magical power, it means Serpent magical power has already mixed in. If it’s magical power that’s been mixed once like that, these fellows will quickly finish adapting and lend their strength.”

If that was true, then Cliff and Teobaldt would be able to use weapons made from Serpent bones.

Cliff smiled.

Though he wondered if there would actually be a weapon suitable for Cliff.

“Hehe. I know the lord is a mage. But even as a mage, you must have athletic abilities incomparable to ordinary people.”

Cliff nodded.

He was superhuman after all.

For the reasons mentioned earlier, Cliff was capable of superhuman movements.

“For the lord, I’ll make a sword without a sharpened edge, with a blunt tip. So it can also be used as a staff.”

Of course, making a staff from the beginning was also a possible option.

But Marun didn’t mention a staff.

“If I were to make a staff, I’d need something other than these bones. Hmm. The best would be if there’s still a Serpent heart remaining…”

“There is.”

“What? There is?”

Marun’s eyes widened upon hearing those words.

He laughed loudly and rejoiced.

“Leave it to me. I’ll present you with the finest staff through that.”

Cliff shook his head at those words.

The finest staff.

Of course he was tempted.

But treasures that were too great could threaten one’s life.

‘Honestly, I’m more attracted to the sword he mentioned earlier.’

For a man, it’s the sword.

Cliff opened his mouth.

“Something modest will do for my item. Instead, please make a sword for Teobaldt.”

“Teobaldt?”

Marun had met Teobaldt too.

And through conversation, he had learned one fact.

“I see. Did the lord share the Serpent’s heart with him?”

If so, Teobaldt would also have good compatibility with weapons made from these bones.

He had seen Teobaldt wielding his sword.

“Hmm.”

He nodded.

“Good. I’ll definitely create the strongest magic sword worthy of him.”

Marun burned with enthusiasm.

And this was the same for Shasha, whom Mellie had mentioned.

She circled around Cliff, measuring his body dimensions.

“Since you’ve entrusted me with such fine leather, I’ll definitely present the lord with the finest item.”

Her eyes overflowed with craftsman’s spirit.

Her attitude was no different from the previous elders.

Meanwhile, Shasha also showed other desires.

“But more importantly, my lord. Did you find my daughter to your liking?”

Cliff’s shadow flickered for a moment.

“If I had to say whether I like her or not, I’d say I do like her. But I don’t have any deeper feelings right now.”

“Ah, that’s quite unfortunate.”

Shasha seemed to hope things would work out well between her daughter and him.

Cliff only smiled.

While the Dark Elves who had come here each took on their roles and worked, snow finally began falling from the sky again.

“It’s snowing!”

“Snow is falling!”

This was the second winter Cliff had experienced since coming here.

Only the second time.

But even by the second time, the atmosphere toward winter had changed greatly from the first.

The way they looked at snow was different too.

‘The children are already full of thoughts of playing.’

Cliff grinned.

Last winter’s preparations had been a matter of survival.

It had been that urgent and sudden. But this time was different.

“Truly… compared to before, so many things have changed.”

“Truly… so much has changed compared to before.”

Nigel muttered with a moved expression.

An old man with age spots.

The person who had protected the estate until now, even after the previous lord who had been his employer left. He too was speaking while feeling the excited atmosphere of the estate.

It brings back memories.

Perhaps those words were meant for this very situation.

“We still have a long way to go. The children are looking forward to it, but I can still feel the adults are tense.”

Especially the slaves who had newly arrived, or returned to the estate.

Their expressions weren’t good.

Only the children were purely welcoming winter. And Cliff was thinking of making them even happier.

Happy memories of the snow festival.

And the miracle of the teddy bear Kyuung.

But there was still a long way to go.

‘Winter is, after all, about Santa Claus above all else.’

Cliff’s eyes sparkled.

He needed to change the winter atmosphere to be a bit more friendly.

Cliff first called for Mellie.

“What can I do for you?”

“How are the children?”

It was a question he asked with some expectation.

And this expectation was not misplaced.

“They’re wonderful. The children learn to read quickly and have high academic enthusiasm. Usually at that age they’d prefer to play, but while they do like playing, they equally enjoy studying.”

Cliff smiled as he listened to her words.

‘The educational effects are definitely high.’

-Achievement Drive (Lv. 1): Increases domain residents’ desire for achievement

-Intellectual (Lv. 1): Increases domain residents’ intelligence quotient

-Sacred Ground of Education (Lv. 1): Increases domain residents’ learning efficiency in all fields

It was probably because of these skills.

Each was only level 1, but he had realized something while learning magical understanding.

Perhaps within the same skill, the gap between levels might not be that significant.

‘It seems like just having the skill is better than not having it at all…’

He wanted to confirm this, but it would be a long time before he could level up.

Cliff spoke.

“From now on, we’re going to create a story.”

“A story?”

“This estate has a fairy tale related to winter.”

Cliff told Mellie the winter story.

The story of a boy who grew up without a father.

And the story of how that boy also became a father and died in a blizzard.

Mellie’s expression gradually hardened as she listened to the story.

“…It’s a cruel but realistic story. However, such stories alone don’t benefit people.”

Mellie said.

Cliff nodded as he heard her words.

“That’s right. I think so too. That fairy tale has no development.”

The boy blames his poverty on not having a father.

And the man who became a father blames that suffering on the natural environment.

All of it was realistic and correct.

But as Mellie said, just blaming the environment and circumstances wouldn’t allow progress. It would only repeat the tragedy like in that story.

‘Then they’d probably blame the environment again.’

Sometimes, even if it’s false, shouldn’t people live by chasing dreams?

Even if unreachable, hope was necessary.

Bright energy and positive thinking make impossible challenges possible for people. But the opposite has the power to turn possible challenges into impossibilities.

‘Like the story of how if you tie up an elephant from when it’s young, it won’t be able to break free from that rope even when it grows up.’

Cliff said.

“From now on, the winter fairy tale representing this estate will be Santa Claus.”

“Santa Claus…?”

“Yes.”

Cliff nodded.

“This year it’s Santa Claus. And next year I’ll tell the story of Rudolph.”

What could Rudolph be?

That story familiar to Cliff wasn’t so to Mellie. But Mellie quietly listened to Cliff’s story.

Cliff said.

He himself didn’t really know the Santa Claus story properly either.

“The story is simple. It’s about Santa Claus appearing at night to bring gifts to children who did many good deeds throughout the year.”

“Is it to encourage children to do many good deeds on their own?”

“That’s right.”

Cliff nodded.

Mellie wore a thoughtful expression.

Cliff only explained this much to Mellie. Just from that, Mellie realized that adding flesh to the bones of this story was her role.

‘Good deeds, huh.’

This work stimulated Mellie’s interest as much as magical research did.

Through Mellie, who loved teaching children and was loved by the children as a teacher, a new winter fairy tale was told throughout the estate.

Once upon a time, when the cold winter came, the world would become even darker, and even people’s hearts would freeze.

On cold nights, children trembled with hunger and fear, and adults had no capacity to solve this.

Then one day, there was an old man living beyond the deep western mountains. He always wore a black cloak and loved giving to people. In his youth, the old man had traveled the world and seen many things, and was especially heartbroken by the sight of children struggling to endure winter.

“I want to create a winter where children aren’t cold and hungry.”

The old man traveled everywhere looking for ways to overcome winter. He worked with skilled craftsmen to make warm clothes, raised animals, and shared food with poor families.

However, he didn’t just want to give, but wanted to help people create warmth for themselves.

So the old man made one rule.

“To those who help each other and do good deeds for a year, I will personally deliver gifts.”

That rumor spread quickly.

Children listened well to adults and helped friends in need, and adults, seeing the children, didn’t fight with each other and showed kindness to neighbors and strangers. And finally, on the coldest night, the old man covered himself with a black cloak and distributed gifts to people.

His gifts weren’t simply objects. They were the result of people’s efforts and warm hearts.

Those who did good deeds received rewards, and others who saw this were inspired to perform good acts again.

As a result, even when winter came, people weren’t as cold as before, and the spirit of helping each other warmed the entire estate.

People called that old man ‘Santa Claus’. And every year when winter came, children would look up at the sky with expectant eyes and say:

“Will Santa Claus come this year too?”

-A new story with high literary value has been created in the estate.

-Culture level increases.

-The new story contains warm lessons and hope.

-Education level increases.

-Estate experience points increase.

-【Santa Claus Really Exists!】 has been registered as an available Quest.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————