The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 94

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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 94. The Grand Mage of the Allied Forces (1)
Iliana’s body trembled at my words, flinching visibly.
“W-who are you…?”
Iliana’s eyes darted left and right in confusion.
And at that very moment.
“Do you know them?”
Kai suddenly turned to ask me.
“But who are they that you’ve suddenly assumed such a rigid stance?”
“…Hm?”
Following Kai’s gaze downward, I realized my body had stiffened into a perfect military at-attention posture.
I hadn’t even noticed it myself.
In other words, it was an automatic reflex.
A habit from my days in the Allied Forces.
And for good reason—Iliana was a commander of the Mage Corps.
A commander of far higher rank than me, a Special Forces Duke Commander.
With Isolde, our first meeting had been so chaotic that it didn’t matter.
Had we met under normal circumstances, it would have been no different.
I consciously relaxed my rigid posture.
“…Ah, my apologies. You bear a striking resemblance to someone I know.”
But the formal speech patterns slipped out regardless.
Iliana looked distinctly young, almost innocent.
In fact, she was younger than me.
Yet to me, she was the commander of the Mage Corps.
Kai’s face and expression twisted into something decidedly strange, clearly unaware of this fact.
“B-but how did you know my name…?”
Iliana asked me with considerable wariness.
As befitted the Grand Mage, she was remarkably perceptive.
Ah, forget it.
“Has the cure been completed?”
I simply dodged the question.
In a battle of wits and logic, I couldn’t defeat Iliana even if I tried.
“Y-yes…?”
“Wasn’t the cure manufactured based on my request?”
“I did receive a request to manufacture a cure, that’s true…”
Iliana’s eyes darted left and right once before her body trembled slightly.
She seemed uncomfortable with the concentrated attention of three men.
Sure enough, Iliana answered in a voice that grew increasingly timid.
“The request came through the Merchant Guild… you see…”
“This distinguished gentleman here placed the request with us. We’re merely subcontractors, so to speak.”
Adlern answered perceptively, filling in the gap.
“Eh, what?”
Iliana’s small shoulders trembled once more, flinching.
“Then… you mean…?”
“You can simply deliver the cure to Adrian here.”
“…Adrian?”
Iliana repeated my name, falling into deep contemplation.
As if she’d heard it somewhere before, she tilted her head back and forth in confusion.
“Wait! Are you the one who sells monster meat?!”
Iliana cried out, her eyes wide with surprise.
It seemed the rumors had reached even the Langrit Tower, following their spread through the Holy Kingdom.
“That’s correct.”
“How did you remove the monster’s madness?!”
Iliana exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.
Gone was the hesitation from moments before—her face now brimmed with curiosity.
“I’ve conducted extensive research myself, but I could only arrive at a few hypotheses at best!!”
Iliana was truly Iliana.
Whether then or now, her magical curiosity remained unchanged.
“Can I receive the completed cure now?”
“…Yes? Oh, yes, yes.”
Iliana answered with a somewhat reluctant expression.
Soon, as Iliana reached her hand into empty space—
With a whoosh, her hand vanished into the void.
Spatial magic.
One grows accustomed to inventories, but spatial magic is advanced magic nonetheless.
It was not magic that a newly-fledged apprentice mage could wield, yet Iliana handled spatial magic with practiced ease.
“I put it somewhere around here… Ah! Found it.”
As Iliana withdrew her hand—
A crimson bottle emerged, clutched in her grasp.
A potion bearing a deep red hue, as if condensed flames themselves had been bottled.
“As for the effects, I aimed to alleviate the symptoms described in the request as much as possible…”
Iliana provided various explanations regarding the cure’s properties.
However.
“By not removing the side effects of the medicinal ingredients, it reverses the thermal energy deficit through a principle that grants heat resistance. And this also—”
I couldn’t understand a single word of what she was saying.
It clearly appeared to be Iliana’s creation.
‘Then the effects must be reliable.’
Iliana was Iliana, after all.
An alchemist incomparable to someone like Avarus, and a Grand Mage versed in all fields of magical study, not merely alchemy alone.
It was no coincidence that she was called the [Mage of Truth].
“…a cure with such effects.”
Just as the explanation seemed to end, Iliana took a deep breath.
I hadn’t heard a word of what she’d said—
“Adlern.”
At my call, the dazed Adlern snapped back to attention.
Then, moving with careful deliberation, he retrieved a large box from the vault.
“Here, the remaining payment of 500,000 Gold.”
Iliana stood before the box, watching my reaction carefully.
She then stored the box away in her subspace.
“Well then, farewell.”
Iliana promptly turned to leave the shop.
“Wait a moment.”
Creak—!
But at my call, Iliana froze mid-stride as she opened the shop door.
“You should take the cure with you.”
“…Oh! Ah, that’s right!”
Iliana hurried back toward me and carefully handed over the cure she’d been cradling in her arms.
Then she bowed slightly.
“W-well then, farewell.”
Iliana turned to leave the shop once more.
“Wait a moment.”
Creak—!
But at my repeated call, Iliana stopped again.
“If you have time, would you care to sample some monster meat?”
“…Y-yes?”
“You were curious about how I removed the monster’s madness, weren’t you?”
“W-well, that….”
“One observation is worth more than a thousand theories, after all.”
Those were words the Iliana of my past life had once spoken.
“Ah, I….”
Iliana hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I don’t have any money on me.”
…No money?
Of course, I had no intention of asking for payment anyway.
“Didn’t you just receive the commission fee?”
And a substantial sum of 500,000 Gold at that.
Enough to eat well for a month on Lex meat alone.
No money, she says?
“That money isn’t… mine, you see….”
…Well, I suppose that was true.
The commission had been placed with the Stone Seat Mage who oversees Iliana, after all.
But then.
‘Something felt off.’
Something was decidedly strange.
The cure appeared to have been made by Iliana herself.
If that were the case, shouldn’t there be a performance bonus that came with it?
“I won’t accept payment. I’d like to treat you as a token of my gratitude for creating the cure.”
“Really, truly?!”
Iliana’s blue eyes widened in surprise.
Despite her attempts to hide it, her magical curiosity about monster meat was clearly immense.
“Then… well…!”
“Would you head to the Predator Restaurant in Freche Central Plaza first? I’ll follow shortly after.”
“Yes! I’ll go ahead and wait!”
Iliana answered enthusiastically, then rushed out of the shop.
I watched her until she was completely outside—
“Adlern.”
“…Yes?”
“Well done.”
“…Yes?”
Adlern tilted his head in confusion.
He clearly didn’t understand what he’d done so well.
“Did… did I do something right, sir?”
It was far more than just doing something right.
“That was absolutely brilliant.”
By placing the alchemy commission with Iliana’s supervisor, the Stone Seat Mage, he’d created a natural opportunity for me to make contact with her.
How much would I have needed to spend to meet Iliana otherwise?
Without question, I would have needed to prepare tens of millions of gold.
And that’s even while groveling before the Langrit Tower.
Yet Adlern had orchestrated this entire situation for a mere one million gold.
The word “brilliant” truly escaped my lips unbidden.
Though Adlern seemed surprised that I would praise him to this extent—
“Hehe, it’s an honor, sir!”
He was simply delighted that I said so.
* * *
After lavishing praise upon Adlern.
“Adlern, can you investigate this prodigy Stone Seat Mage who took on the commission?”
“Of course, sir. What aspects would you like me to look into?”
“Everything you can find—past history, reputation within the tower, and recent activities.”
“Yes! I’ll conduct the investigation as swiftly and accurately as possible!”
“Then I’m counting on you.”
I made sure not to forget to provide him with a generous bonus for his efforts.
Strictly speaking, Adlern wasn’t truly my man.
So calling it a bonus didn’t quite fit, but regardless.
“First, loyalty to money! Second, loyalty to Adrian, sir!!!”
I left the shop, leaving Adlern behind as he folded himself in half at the waist.
And right then.
“What is it?”
Kai, who had followed me out, asked me point-blank.
“What now.”
“That woman from earlier.”
“Iliana, the commander… no, why Iliana?”
At that, Kai’s eyebrows twitched.
“Your manner toward her was quite different from usual.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“There’s no problem per se, but perhaps….”
Kai looked at me with a meaningful gaze—
“Did that woman catch your fancy?”
He started spouting absolute nonsense.
“Is that your taste?”
What the hell was this guy talking about.
“Then what about The Saint?”
“…What?”
“Weren’t you in that kind of relationship with The Saint?”
I told him to use his imagination, but he was using his delusion instead.
“It’s not like that.”
“The Saint wasn’t to your taste?”
“I said it’s not like that. And what’s with all this talk about taste since earlier?”
“Well, you’ve been touching this woman and that woman without discrimination. I thought any woman would do.”
“That’s—”
…Ah, it hadn’t been long since I was a reckless fool in his eyes.
“But now that I think about it, you’ve never actually slept with any woman.”
Well, that was true.
In fact, I barely remembered my reckless days.
So I had no memory of touching this woman or that woman as Kai mentioned.
Yet I knew the reason I never slept with any woman.
It was my father’s influence.
My father, as a count of noble blood, placed tremendous importance on lineage.
In other words, he would not tolerate me, his firstborn heir, carelessly bedding other women.
He tolerated my descent into gambling and debauchery.
Yet because I was of his blood.
But precisely because I was of his blood, he absolutely would not permit me to carelessly mingle my blood with anyone else’s.
Though I had fallen under my father’s influence and indulged in gambling and debauchery, I had never once shared a bed with a woman.
To avoid any entanglement of a sexual nature, I had never even allowed the handmaidens to attend to my bathing.
“I was wondering why that was, but it seems it’s because she isn’t your type?”
Kai, unaware of the circumstances, was jumping to his own conclusions.
“A timid and introverted personality. A small, delicate frame. A cute appearance. Certainly, I’ve never seen anyone like that in the Whitewolf Territory.”
What kind of nonsense had he been spouting this whole time?
And he didn’t even know Iliana.
Iliana was absolutely not timid and introverted.
The commander of the Mage Corps, the Allied Forces’ greatest military asset, couldn’t possibly be timid and introverted.
But.
The Iliana I had just seen was quite timid and introverted.
‘That was strange.’
She was completely different from the Iliana I remembered.
Considering how Isolde had been identical to her previous life, this was certainly odd.
“That’s not it.”
“Really?”
“My interest in women isn’t purely romantic.”
“Then what kind of interest is it?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Kai gave me a meaningful look once more.
“Usually, interest between men and women tends to be—”
“By that logic, you and Seraphia must be in that kind of relationship too?”
“…I misspoke.”
Kai quickly apologized, as if he understood.
But this guy too.
He was unpredictable.
To be honest, I suspected Kai harbored romantic feelings for Seraphia.
Otherwise, such loyalty couldn’t emerge.
There would be no reason for Kai to be so obsessed with Seraphia otherwise.
So I had wondered if it stemmed from romantic affection toward Seraphia—
‘But that doesn’t seem to be the case.’
At least, not from what I could see now.
Of course, if Kai were hiding his feelings for Seraphia, I wouldn’t know.
Or perhaps.
He didn’t even recognize that what he felt was romantic affection.
But who could fathom the mind of a madman?
If I could understand that, I’d be the madman.
“Stop spouting such nonsense.”
I handed the cure to Kai.
“As you can see, I still have business to finish in Frecce. Kai, take the cure back to the Whitewolf Territory.”
Kai accepted the cure as though it were more precious than his own life.
Though frankly, he wouldn’t treat his own life with quite that much reverence.
“And when you arrive at Whitewolf Territory, you’ll see soldiers you’ve never encountered before.”
“Soldiers… are you saying, sir?”
“You’ll understand when you see them. There’s no point explaining—you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“But if I hear what you have to say first—”
“Enough. You’ll handle their basic military training.”
Kai was the chief knight of Whitewolf Territory.
Tactical command and soldier training fell squarely within Kai’s purview.
And beyond his unwavering loyalty, Kai was a madman of exceptional chivalry as well.
In my previous life, the soldiers of the frozen wastes possessed extraordinary combat prowess.
Knowing that Kai had trained them all, I could trust him with Vister’s basic military training without hesitation.
‘Besides, it’s become difficult to kill Kai now anyway.’
Dependent Immortality [E] was Dependent Immortality [E], but my course of action regarding Seraphia had become somewhat ambiguous.
What if Ian were drawing the Emperor’s attention?
Then the timing of hearing Ian’s regret would be pushed considerably further away.
Of course, it could be otherwise.
After all, it was merely a hypothesis based on my speculation.
Which was precisely why the situation remained ‘ambiguous’ for now.
So I had to make use of Kai like this.
Though whether Kai would obey my orders was another matter entirely.
Perhaps it was because his favorability was at [Trust].
“Understood, sir.”
Kai voiced no complaints whatsoever.
* * *
The Predator Restaurant—the most popular establishment in Frecce.
Ordinarily, it teemed with patrons, but not today.
Adrian had declared business closed for the day and sent everyone out.
The nobles had wailed and protested endlessly because of it.
Yet Adrian remained unmoved.
As though today existed solely for Iliana, he had turned them all away.
‘Why… why to this extent….’
In truth, Iliana had never anticipated such lavish treatment.
He claimed it was in gratitude for creating the cure, but she had merely accepted an alchemical commission and manufactured the remedy.
The commission fee alone had been more than generous—excessive, even.
In other words, she had already been adequately compensated.
Therefore, Adrian had neither reason nor necessity to treat her this way.
And besides, what courtesy was owed to someone he was meeting for the first time?
‘How did he even know my name?’
No matter how hard she thought about it, she had never introduced herself first.
In that sense.
‘Why, why does he keep staring at me….’
Adrian kept glancing over at me for some reason.
And why were those crimson eyes so intensely piercing?
‘I’m terrified….’
What if he devoured me right here?
Or what if I was meant to be his next test subject?
What if I was about to be kidnapped without anyone knowing…!
Perhaps.
Adrian had lured people in with monster meat only to abduct them.
Perhaps the underground dungeons beneath Whitewolf Territory held countless kidnapped victims, subjected to horrific torture and experimentation day after day.
Creating grotesque hybrids by fusing humans and monsters.
Transforming people into monsters using forbidden drugs.
Swapping the souls of monsters and humans!
What if even the monster meat itself was born from such experiments!
Now that I thought about it, wasn’t Adrian famous as a ‘tyrant’!!
Had I foolishly wandered into the dragon’s lair driven by curiosity!!!
‘C-calm down. Stay calm…!’
Iliana’s trembling hands repeatedly pressed against her chest.
Hadn’t they say that even if you’re captured in a dragon’s lair, you can survive if you keep your wits about you?
Iliana exhaled her ragged breathing slowly—.
Running through 63,455 different escape simulations in her mind—.
‘If worse comes to worst, I could use teleportation magic… Wait! I haven’t set spatial coordinates for Frecce…! Dimensional gates consume too much mana, and if it breaks midway, it’s even more dangerous…!’
Every escape method crumbled to failure within Iliana’s calculations.

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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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