The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 122

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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 122
After hearing Saya’s words, I exhaled deeply.
From what she’d told me, it was clear that Maelrn had committed plenty of misdeeds. Even Benheim and Rucen, who had clashed in territorial disputes in the past, had never grown quite so bitter toward each other.
But why did that matter now?
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“You said it yourself—your entire family has been captured. And now you’d refuse our help? Because your enemies are rivals? When your family’s very survival hangs in the balance?”
“….”
​
Saya clamped her mouth shut. Yet the trembling golden light in her eyes betrayed her inner turmoil.
I sighed.
I’d witnessed it countless times in my past life—people who let pride destroy them, watching their families crumble to ruin.
To be honest, Lyrnia had been like that in my previous life, and so had I.
Perhaps that’s why I felt not just contempt, but pity.
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“Would you rather your father and family die? Are you willing to sever Aconia’s bloodline for the sake of such stubborn pride?”
“It’s not something so trivial that it can be dismissed as mere stubbornness. Aconia is…, or rather, I am….”
“…There’s no time for ‘I am’ or ‘I am.’ Think clearly. If you chase old grudges between families, you might lose the family itself.”
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At my pressing words, Saya bit her lip and looked away.
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“Four days—it’s not too late yet. We can still save them. But if you refuse to cooperate, you’ll be the last bloodline of Aconia. No, wait—there will be Chimeras mixed with Aconian blood wandering the Southern Forest, so what’s the difference?”
“Reagan!”
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Lyrnia cried out in alarm, trying to stop me, but I paid her no mind and glared at Saya.
I knew my words were harsh, as Lyrnia’s reaction made clear. But to track down the Beast Face Society, Saya’s cooperation was absolutely essential.
Rashek had been a reliable guide, but Saya was the heir to a family that had made the Southern Forest their home. Surely she knew this wilderness intimately.
“Decide. Will you keep resisting and lose your family, your honor, everything? You don’t want to cooperate with Maelrn? Even after seeing your own family members turned into Chimeras?”
“Ugh….”
The memory of the Chimera we’d seen not long ago seemed to flash before her eyes. Saya gagged and lowered her head. Lyrnia gasped in alarm and rushed to support her. A moment later, transparent tears fell onto Saya’s hands.
But I had no room for sympathy. If I’d meant to be gentle, I wouldn’t have spoken so harshly in the first place.
“Night has fallen. We’ll camp here for a day. Think carefully until sunrise tomorrow. Miss this window, and you’ll save nothing.”
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This was advice only someone who had lost everything by missing their chance could give.
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* * *
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We cleaned up the ravaged Aconia Encampment and made it our campsite.
Saya remained huddled inside that torn tent we’d first discovered, her face buried in her knees.
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“Reagan, that was too harsh. You shouldn’t say things like that to someone who just lost their family.”
“I simply taught that fool a lesson about reality.”
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Renia didn’t press me further. She was likely thinking along the same lines as I was.
After poking at the campfire with a stick a few times and turning around, I found another reality-challenged fool standing right there.
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“Why do you look like that again?”
“What’s wrong with my expression?”
“Like you’ve just bitten down on a mouthful of insects.”
“….”
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Rashek was perched in a tree near the campsite, his entire demeanor utterly dejected.
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“More importantly, what are you doing up there sprawled out like that?”
“…I find it comfortable here. I’ll sleep here tonight.”
“Stop spouting nonsense and come down. Your sleeping bag is down here.”
“If I go down there… wouldn’t the Aconia Mage find it unpleasant?”
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So that’s why he was huddled up there—it was because of the hostile glare Saya had directed at him earlier.
I exhaled deeply.
For someone built like a bear, his actions were no better than a child’s.
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“Come down now. Otherwise, I’ll just cut the tree down.”
“…Understood.”
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Rashek reluctantly climbed down from the tree.
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“Why are you so dejected? What did you do wrong?”
“…Well, it’s just… I’m from Maelrn, aren’t I? In the end, that Aconia woman….”
“Saya.”
“Right, Saya. Anyway, isn’t it all my fault that she refuses to cooperate?”
“Why would that be your fault?”
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Rashek hesitated more than ever before, then released a heavy sigh.
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“I’ve always believed that Maelrn was a righteous family. Everyone around me said so. So I believed it firmly. But now that I’ve come out here myself… I realize that belief was as shallow as a frog in a well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Aconia… the mages of Aconia… even anyone who visits the Southern Forest—none of them hold Maelrn in favor. Especially… the things I heard from that woman….”
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I’ve always had keen hearing. And with her speaking so loudly, how could I not hear?”
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Rashek let out a sigh before carefully broaching the subject.
​
“To be honest… I was shocked.”
“Shocked?”
“Yes. From childhood, I was taught that Aconia consisted of wicked poison sorcerers who corrupted the forest and stood as evil against Maelrn. Everyone in Maelrn spoke with one voice on this. But hearing that woman’s words… Maelrn itself is evil too. So what am I supposed to believe?”
“You should believe what you see and hear with your own eyes and ears.”
“That’s the problem.”
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Rashek nodded and continued.
​
“Truth is… this is my first time leaving the family without the elders accompanying me.”
“What…? Your first time venturing out alone?”
“I’ve visited the forests near the estate a few times for training. But… those times I was always with family members, so I’ve never traveled this far on my own.”
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A successor to one of the Great Magic Families, and he was only now venturing beyond his family’s reach after coming of age.
Though come to think of it, Arno was in a similar situation, so perhaps this was simply how the Noble Houses operated.
Hearing this much, I recalled Rashek’s reaction from not long ago.
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“Rashek, you said Maelrn’s Head wouldn’t intervene in this situation. Why is that?”
“My father, Kashar El Maelern, despises wild spirits.”
“Why would he despise spirits? Aren’t you a spirit contractor yourself?”
“Maelrn is not, strictly speaking, a family of spirit contractors but rather a family of binding mages. We dominate and subjugate spirits.”
“…Isn’t binding magic supposed to be a method used when spirit affinity is low?”
“Correct. My father’s spirit affinity is extremely low, so he views me with displeasure. He’s repeatedly pressured me to abandon spirit contracts and dominate spirits through binding magic instead. I… refused.”
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“This outing too—I’m only telling you now—but I partly fled to escape my father’s reproachful gaze. The reason I said I couldn’t return to the family recently was precisely that.”
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It seemed Maelrn had its own complicated circumstances, no less than any other household.
However…
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“Does that matter?”
“Huh?”
“Either way, you’ve come out into the world as a mage first, before being Maelrn’s successor.”
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I tapped Rashek’s shoulder.
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“Just because that woman despises Maelrn doesn’t mean you need to cower. Instead of wasting time on that, why don’t you prove directly to that foolish woman that you’re not one of those villains? Come on, you dimwit.”
“…I’m not foolish.”
“Then prove it. We still have time before sunrise.”
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At my words, Rashek’s eyes grew serious.
* * *
A few moments later, Rashek el Maelern stood pacing at the entrance of the Aconia Encampment.
He’d entered the camp on impulse after hearing Reagan’s words, but approaching the Aconia Mage’s daughter required considerable courage.
‘…What face could I possibly show her to offer comfort?’
Just moments ago, he’d heard from a distance the cries of Saya, the heir to Aconia. Her mother had been killed by the mages of Maelrn. Moreover, Rashek was the heir to Maelrn.
Then… was he not essentially Saya’s sworn enemy?
If Rashek approached her with words of consolation, it would likely only deepen the rift between them. There was a common expression used in the Southern Forest for such situations.
‘Crocodile tears….’
Rashek didn’t consider himself a crocodile. Rather, he found Saya’s circumstances deeply tragic. It wasn’t just. He wanted to help by any means necessary.
But how could he prove his sincerity to Saya?
Thus, Rashek found himself pacing around the campfire, unable to move forward or backward.
Then it happened.
“Is something troubling you?”
A woman’s voice called out to him from beyond the tent.
It was Renia Benheim—a woman whose beauty was truly beyond compare.
“Well….”
As Rashek hesitated, Renia spoke up quickly.
“You want to talk to Saya, don’t you? But you’re afraid she’ll reject you?”
Rashek looked at her in surprise. How had she seen through him? Renia grinned and pointed at his face.
“It’s written all over your expression.”
“That can’t be. I… manage my expressions well.”
“Ha. Your pride is exactly like our brother’s.”
Renia giggled. Her brother was the heir to Benheim. To be compared to Benheim’s heir should have been flattering, yet somehow it felt like he was being teased. Just as he was beginning to feel annoyed, Renia suddenly spoke.
“So Rashek, if you want to talk to Saya….”
“…want to?”
“Should I help you a little?”
Lyrnia Erahan von Benheim offered with a mischievous smile.

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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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