The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 167

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 167. The Weight of a Count (1)
The sunset gradually painted Whitewolf Territory in amber hues as evening descended.
The children who had been playing house had all returned home.
The adults engaged in their daily labors were slowly gathering their belongings.
It was the hour that marked the end of another day in Whitewolf Territory.
“Sigh…”
Seraphia slumped across the desk in the Administrative Office, her forehead pressed against its surface.
Her hair was disheveled from running about all day long.
Her clothes were thoroughly rumpled, and a sour smell emanated from her sweat-dampened underarms.
She hadn’t had a proper chance to wash after hiding in the gaps between the storage shed and the barn.
“I must be out of my mind….”
I simply couldn’t muster the courage to face Adrian.
And for good reason—emotions have their stages, and relationships have their proper procedures.
No matter how close I’d grown to Adrian at the Royal Social Society, there were still boundaries.
But I’d skipped every single stage and procedure, accelerating recklessly under the influence of alcohol.
“Ugh… why did I do that, really….”
“What are you talking about?”
“Eek!?!”
I jumped up in startled surprise—
“B-b-big brother!?!?”
Adrian was standing right before me!
“W-when did you get there!?”
“I just came in.”
“Y-you should have k-knocked!!”
“I did. Dozens of times.”
“Oh… I see….”
Seraphia’s eyes darted about nervously.
My mouth had gone completely dry, and my mind had turned to blank white.
I didn’t know what to say.
I didn’t know how to say it.
I didn’t even know how to react.
‘Oh no…!’
I truly had no idea what to do.
Then, with a soft thud—
something fell onto the desk in the Administrative Office.
It was a rather thick stack of documents.
“What is this…?”
“Documents requiring approval.”
“Documents requiring approval?”
Seraphia’s eyes widened as she asked the question.
“You’ve been running away so much that I came to get your approval myself.”
“…Eek!”
I trembled at my shoulders while fumbling to pull out a quill pen and cried out.
“I-I’ll do it right now!”
And just as I was about to sign the approval document—
“Aren’t you even going to check what I requested approval for?”
“Oh…! Oh no!”
I broke into a cold sweat, my eyes darting frantically in every direction.
Adrian watched me for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
“Seraphia, you are the highest decision-maker of this territory.”
“….”
“The moment your signature is written, whatever it is becomes the policy of this territory.”
…I was scolded.
“It means that because of your decision, someone could starve, and someone could lose their home. Even if it’s my approval, you must be capable of rejecting it based on your judgment.”
…Scolded again.
For a long time after that, I continued to be scolded.
About what it means to have the heart of a count.
How heavy and grave that responsibility truly is.
That when Adrian is absent, it is none other than I who protects the territory.
How could I possibly pass through approval documents without review.
Above all, the approval documents that had been piling up—how long ago were they requested, and why haven’t they been processed yet.
A decision delayed because there was no time.
A document discarded because it was bothersome.
Did I even know what kind of impact was being inflicted on each workshop and the livelihood of each resident right now.
Unable to move goods because permits were delayed.
Unable to receive support because policies were suspended.
People struggling through each day in anxiety because approvals hadn’t come down.
If I didn’t know, it was incompetence.
If I did know, it was irresponsibility.
If the position of count was merely something I was sitting in ‘because I was entrusted with it,’ then such a ‘figurehead count’ was unnecessary—I should quit immediately.
“I’m s-sorry… *sob*, I am….”
…I was scolded so thoroughly that my eyes were swollen and red with tears.
* * *
My eyes were so puffy and red from Adrian’s scolding that I looked like I’d been crying for hours.
My nose was flushed crimson, making me look like a clown.
I knew I shouldn’t cry.
What had I done so well that I deserved to cry.
Crying now was nothing but whining.
It was the kind of behavior Adrian despised most—whimpering and sniveling.
I knew that all too well….
“I’m sorry, *sob*… I’m so sorry….”
I couldn’t hold back my tears no matter how hard I tried.
It wasn’t because I resented Adrian for scolding me.
When I received the title of Count, I had sworn so earnestly to be of help to Adrian.
I knew I could never match Adrian’s capabilities, but I had resolved at the very least not to become a burden around his ankles.
Yet here I was, paralyzed by mere embarrassment, unable to fulfill my duties—and that self-reproach was what truly tormented me.
That was what I apologized for.
That was what broke my heart.
“I… I really… I’m sorry… *sob*, I am.”
Even with ten mouths, I would have had nothing to say.
“I… truly… *sob*! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry….”
I wiped away my tears for what felt like an eternity.
Adrian gazed at me quietly for a moment, then spoke again.
“Seraphia, a Count can decide with a single command the life and death of a person, the fate of a family, and the destiny of a territory.”
“….”
“And when necessary, you must be willing to cut off people’s livelihoods and send soldiers to their deaths.”
“….”
“That weight of responsibility… eventually exhausts even one’s own thoughts, and there are moments when you want to abandon everything and flee. But….”
Adrian fell silent for a moment.
His gaze drifted to the window beyond the administrative office, as if recalling someone—.
“It is a position you must endure regardless.”
His voice was low and deep, carrying far more than mere words.
“…Y-yes, *sniff*!”
I managed to nod through my hiccups.
Adrian looked at me and opened his mouth once more.
“That said, you don’t need to do everything alone. People possess the power to change the world, but they lack direction. Your role is simply to provide that direction.”
“….”
“So set the direction, but delegate everything else to the people. Even if that person is me. Do you understand?”
“…Y-yes, *sniff*!”
I nodded again and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.
* * *
I hiccupped so many times I lost count.
I finally managed to compose myself.
Adrian waited patiently throughout it all.
Even after my tears ceased, Adrian remained silent.
I glanced at him cautiously, then lowered my gaze.
A stack of documents lay upon the administrative office desk.
I carefully reached out and meticulously reviewed the contents of each approval document.
[Tax Law Amendment], [Administrative Law Implementation Ordinance], [Urban Infrastructure Management Act], [Work Standardization and Skill Grade System], [Labor Incentive and Shift Operation Ordinance]….
‘I don’t understand any of this!’
Various laws, regulations, and endless rows of numbers.
…Honestly, I couldn’t understand a single thing.
Was this administration or some kind of magical formula?
And why were there so many tiny numbers crammed inside parentheses?
Why were the footnotes and their cross-references so unnecessarily complicated?
It was no different from deciphering an ancient language.
‘How does my brother manage to read through all of this…?’
…Truly, he was remarkable.
Now that I thought about it, I still had a long way to go to keep up with Adrian.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure if I could ever catch up.
No matter how I looked at it, Adrian seemed far more suited to be the Count than I did.
‘I won’t embarrass my brother!’
If I didn’t understand something, I would learn it.
I would study hard and learn steadily, and one day I would become a magnificent countess worthy of Adrian—no matter what it took!
‘I’ll have to spend the night in the Library today.’
Seraphia steeled her resolve and opened her mouth.
“Would it be alright if I carefully reviewed this and reported back to you later?”
“Understood.”
Adrian nodded readily.
It was a response different from what I’d expected—I thought he’d scold me.
Honestly, I’d assumed he would furrow his brow and ask, ‘Can’t you do this right away?’
But Adrian wasn’t like that.
Even though I was woefully inadequate… he believed in my efforts.
…My chest tightened again.
Tears threatened to spill over once more.
Seraphia bit her lower lip hard.
“By the way.”
Adrian’s question came at that moment.
“Where are the others, and what are they doing?”
Seraphia licked her blood-tinged lip and asked back.
“The… the others?”
“I walked around Whitewolf Territory today and didn’t see anyone except Kai. Did everyone leave?”
“Oh! No, everyone is still in the Territory.”
“Then why didn’t I see them?”
“Isolde is probably at the Snowy Mountain, so you wouldn’t have seen her.”
“The Snowy Mountain?”
“Yes. It seemed like she was training there.”
The mountainside was exploding with loud booms, after all.
The aftershocks caused several avalanches, which startled me quite a bit.
“Chief Broombar is creating something at the Runesteel Mine.”
“From the Runesteel Mine?”
“Yes. They said it was something that required an Arcanoheart.”
“I see.”
“Iliana is there too.”
“…?”
“She and Chief Broombar have been constructing strange machines while exchanging the most peculiar terminology.”
“…?”
“Blood information imprinting…? Iliana tried to explain it to me, but I couldn’t understand a word of it.”
The terminology was as difficult as Adrian’s approval documents.
Yet Adrian seemed to harbor doubts about something else—
“…Iliana?”
“Yes.”
“…Iliana is?”
“Oh! We decided to become friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes!”
Seraphia answered with vigor, though she subtly gauged Adrian’s reaction.
She worried he might not approve.
Fortunately, he seemed largely indifferent.
“Have you heard when their research will be completed?”
Seraphia exhaled a silent breath of relief before answering.
“Well… I’m not entirely certain about that myself.”
“I see.”
Adrian fell silent, lost in thought.
For some reason, the pressure was palpable.
Seraphia held her breath, unable to speak.
Time passed in that silence.
“I shall visit the two of them briefly.”
Adrian spoke slowly.
“In the meantime, review the approval documents.”
“Yes, of course! Leave it to me!!”
Seraphia answered with a voice mixed equally of surprise and determination.
* * *
Whitewolf Territory 2, situated in the Frozen Tundra Zone.
‘I should change the regional designation.’
No suitable name came to mind.
In any case.
The Runesteel Mine was located within Whitewolf Territory 2.
Thus, a magnificent vista now unfolded—no longer a mere runesteel ‘excavation site’, but a proper runesteel ‘mine’ worthy of the name.
A colossal cavern spanning a diameter of one kilometer stretched deep beneath the surface.
The interior was reinforced with facilities constructed using arcane engineering.
Dozens of vertical shafts branched out with precision, and elevators moved up and down each level, transporting the mined ore—
‘It seems they’re not sending workers down.’
Naturally, eleven kilometers underground was an environment even I struggled to endure.
Even now, after devouring the Ogre, I wasn’t entirely confident.
Therefore, instead of sending workers down, Broombar designed the mine—
using the Arcanoheart’s energy to excavate, and then employing the Arcanoheart’s gravitational field to pull the mined ore back up.
The ore raised this way was sent to the Rune Steel Foundry for smelting.
In other words, the Runesteel Mine operated entirely on automation except for the smelting process itself.
‘…The fact that he designed all this in his head alone.’
It amazed me every time I saw it.
In any case, securing bait to lure out The Emperor was progressing smoothly.
In that sense, the Arcanoheart was operating with full vigor.
Around it, Iliana and Broombar were engaged in an animated discussion.
And between them, I spotted an unfamiliar device—
“Oh! Adrian! You’ve arrived at just the right moment!”
Iliana cried out, her eyes sparkling.
“The blood analysis device has just been completed!”
So there was indeed an unfamiliar device.
“Is this that research apparatus?”
“Yes! Chief Broombar designed it perfectly for us!”
In any case, they were fast.
He was not called the one who refined the history of The Continent for nothing.
And it was no accident that Broombar had said such things.
—For me, the difference between mentally striking a hammer and actually working iron at a blacksmith’s forge is nothing.
Hyper Phantasia alone—grasping every structure and design through imagination alone.
But what cannot be imagined.
That is, it cannot be applied to what has not been experienced—
“I could not have designed it alone.”
Iliana’s Insight.
An ability to instinctively understand the origins of the complex world and the flow of energetic sources, and to perfectly grasp their workings.
Insight and implementation.
Truly, these two heroes had excellent synergy.
In any case, with this, the preparations for the regeneration potion research were complete.
“How much of my blood is needed?”
“The more the better, but if you draw too much—”
Crack!
“Kyaaaah!”
The moment I severed the artery at my wrist with the monomolecular blade, Iliana shrieked in alarm.
And the reason I deliberately used the monomolecular blade was—
‘Now the dragon’s claws can only inflict wounds.’
My body, enhanced by Hardened Transformation[U] and the Ogre’s Predation[S+], could not be easily severed by the dragon’s claws[A].
Splash, splash.
I continued replenishing calories and filling my blood reserves.
And once the blood was fully replenished—
Whirrrrrrr!
The research apparatus activated, conjuring holographic displays in rapid succession like pages of a document.
“How long will the analysis take?”
“Just a moment….”
Iliana swiftly scanned through the holographic data—
“To give you the conclusion first.”
…Already?
She was remarkably fast, as always.
It was no coincidence that she had mastered all arcane disciplines.
And it was no accident that Iliana had told me such things before.
-If you ask me ‘why’ a phenomenon occurs, I cannot answer you.
However.
-I can explain everything about ‘how’ a phenomenon occurs under given conditions.
The law that constitutes this world, and the truth known only to the divine.
Iliana had come closest to such truth, and the Allied Forces called her the [Sage of Truth] for it.
“Looking here, your blood factors, Adrian, are composed in a form that can respond and grow of their own accord according to external stimuli. Like… blood attempting to evolve.”
Thus, the regeneration potion I created by extracting my Regeneration[B+] blood factors.
“If the conditions are met, your blood factors, Adrian, can adapt and stabilize to match the user’s constitution.”
“You mean….”
“There are still many confirmations needed, but….”
For a moment, Iliana’s eyes gleamed with brilliance.
“The potential is more than sufficient!”
I had obtained another strategic weapon rivaling Runesteel itself.

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