The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 142

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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 142
“Well, well, it seems we’ve had a visitor while the Manor has been vacant.”
I frowned as I observed the man who had entered the Workshop—Damian Carius.
I knew this was the Carius Mansion. I also knew that Vera and Sierra, whom Damian had spirited away, had become Necromancers and were using this place as their base.
But.
‘Surely he wouldn’t come in person to clean up his own mess.’
No, there was nothing surprising about it.
In Mist Valley, in Trion.
Damian had brazenly shown up to handle the consequences of his own actions. This time was no different.
“Inspector Damian Carius, it’s been a while.”
I spoke in the most composed tone I could manage. Sheril flinched at the mention of Damian’s name.
But Sheril, too, had spent nearly a decade as a maidservant of Benheim, reading the room and keeping her composure. Without betraying herself, she clasped her hands respectfully at my side and bowed.
“Inspector Damian, what brings you to this place?”
“Well, naturally, the ownership of this Carius Mansion is registered under the Royal Court. We received a report of disturbances on Imperial property, so I came to investigate.”
Damian smiled pleasantly and continued.
“Rather, I should be asking you. Reagan, and even the Archmage of the Shadow Tower. What business brings you to the Underground Workshop beneath the Carius Mansion?”
I stared at Damian in silence.
The Archmage King’s current rank was, by rough estimate, at the pinnacle of the 7th tier. That meant he stood on equal footing with Steren, the head of Benheim, and Oswald, the head of Airidd.
If a Grand Mage of Damian’s caliber set his mind to it, he could erase the two of us without a trace. Especially here, in a Workshop connected by secret Passageways. It would be simple for him to kill us.
But the fact that Damian was attempting conversation meant he had no intention of killing us at present.
That made sense. If Benheim’s son-in-law and the Archmage of the Shadow Tower both vanished simultaneously—and in Orelion, no less—it would reflect poorly on Damian himself.
“…Do you see the corpses here?”
“Of course I do. They haven’t been dead long—crude as the expression is, they’re rather fresh.”
“Yes. They were corpses being controlled by Black Mages.”
“Is that so? Then where are these Black Mages?”
Sheril’s expression hardened at Damian’s casual question.
The man responsible for brainwashing them, controlling them, and even brutally killing them was asking about the details as if nothing were amiss. It was utterly intolerable.
But if we pressed him here without solid evidence, we’d be worse than third-rate.
I had to exercise judgment.
At least until I grew strong enough to stand against him.
“I’m not sure. When we arrived, there was already no one here. There were some animated corpses, but the Black Mages seem to have fled.”
“I see. I understand. The details will need to be determined after a proper investigation, but…”
Damian glanced around and shrugged.
“Based on the circumstantial evidence alone, your testimony appears to be truthful, Reagan.”
“…”
I had long grown accustomed to such shamelessness. I regarded Damian with an expressionless face.
“Then it seems you’ve done the work the Royal Court should have done. Please accept this token of our appreciation.”
Damian withdrew two platinum coins from his uniform pocket and handed one each to Sheril and me. The surface of each coin was intricately engraved with the Royal Court’s sun emblem and a staff.
“…What is this?”
“A platinum coin used by the Imperial Mage Association. It’s also called a ‘Coin.'”
“Coins?”
“Yes. A form of currency. There’s a special shop exclusively for mages belonging to the Imperial Palace. Think of it as a special currency used when purchasing items there.”
“Is it truly acceptable to give me something so precious?”
“Of course. You’ve already eliminated the Black Mages multiple times. This isn’t a personal gift from me, but rather a present from the Imperial Magic Association.”
Demian added with a knowing smile.
“Of course, the esteemed figures of the Imperial Palace seem to find your unconventional actions rather… inconvenient.”
“….”
“At least I support you. Young mages with your kind of drive are rare these days. I find myself naturally rooting for you.”
“I see. I myself feel reassured knowing there are investigators like Damian Carius who dedicate themselves tirelessly to the Empire.”
I fingered the platinum coin as I replied.
A confident smile played at Demian’s lips. Knowing the abyss lurking beneath that smile, murderous intent churned within me. Yet I kept my killing intent suppressed, meeting his gaze with serene eyes.
Our eyes locked for a moment.
The silence that followed was so chilling that even Sheril swallowed audibly.
In the awkward stillness where neither of us spoke first, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs toward the workshop echoed.
“…Demian, what in the world is all this?”
It was senior investigator Gideon Midian. Upon entering the workshop, he widened his eyes at the pile of corpses stacked before him, then gasped again upon realizing that Sheril and I were present in this space.
“What on earth… is this…?”
“Ah, it’s nothing serious. Rather, it’s something to be welcomed.”
“Welcomed…?”
“Yes. It appears the Slums case you’ve been handling, Senior Gideon, was only half-resolved.”
Demian explained with a grin.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It seems a necromancer was kidnapping people from the Slums in the underground workshop beneath this manor, killing them, and controlling their corpses. Though the necromancer appears to have escaped, at least there’s a high probability that no further victims will emerge from the Slums under your jurisdiction, Senior Gideon.”
“I see….”
Gideon looked toward me, and I nodded silently in response.
Having grasped the general situation, Gideon surveyed his surroundings with a complicated expression.
“That’s… quite fortunate indeed.”
Seeing Gideon’s reaction, Demian continued with his lingering smile.
“Now that I think about it, you and Reagan are acquainted, aren’t you, Senior Gideon? You seem quite close.”
“Ah, well. You could say that. He’s the son-in-law of the Great Magic Family Benheim, after all. We’ve met several times due to case management.”
“I see….”
Demian nodded with apparent interest upon hearing Gideon’s explanation.
“Well, this works out perfectly. I’ll handle the scene cleanup here, so I’d appreciate it if you could escort these two outside, Senior Gideon.”
Demian gestured with his chin toward the coin in my hand.
“I’ve separately allocated coins as compensation for this matter. How about helping out as well, Senior Gideon?”
“Ah, of course.”
Gideon gave me a meaningful glance—a silent urge to leave this place quickly. Having no reason to refuse, I nodded and followed Gideon out with Sheril.
“Reagan von Benheim.”
Before I could leave the workshop, Demian called me back.
As I turned, he regarded me with a meaningful gaze and spoke.
“I suspect we’re looking at the same thing.”
“….”
“I look forward to seeing what you do next.”
Just moments ago, during that brief minute when my gaze locked with Damian’s.
I could read the emotion that lingered in his eyes.
It was….
‘Kinship.’
Damian was empathizing with me.
But why?
The answer became clear through the final words Damian had spoken.
‘…Is it because of these eyes?’
Damian and I possessed the same eyes.
An exceptional constitution capable of piercing through the very essence of magic.
Could Damian be mistaking the murderous intent I harbored toward him for a sense of kinship?
It was merely a hypothesis.
A hypothesis, but….
‘Think whatever you wish.’
As long as the fact that Damian Carius was the one who killed Renia remained unchanged.
This story’s conclusion could only end with one of us dead.
And with high probability.
‘That will be you.’
I quietly savored the murderous intent within me.
* * *
The moment we stepped outside the Carius Mansion, Gideon deliberately turned toward the Back Alley instead of the main road.
“So Reagan, what exactly happened?”
Once Gideon confirmed there were no witnesses around, he lowered his voice and asked.
I explained everything from start to finish.
How I obtained cooperation from the Crimson Sapphire’s manager to track Vera and Sierra, how I interrogated the Gang Boss in the Slums to locate the mansion where they were staying, and how I finally captured both Vera and Sierra, only for it all to come to nothing due to a curse placed upon them.
“The moment the brainwashing was lifted, their bodies exploded under a curse that left nothing behind. Not even corpses remained.”
“Then that devastation in the Workshop….”
“Correct. It’s the aftermath left by those two Covert Mages.”
“…I see.”
Gideon exhaled slowly. It seemed difficult for him to believe.
“Inspector Gideon, please believe me. It was certainly the work of Senior Inspector Damian. He modified them into necromancers and commanded them.”
At my assertion, Gideon nodded heavily.
“…I believe you. Besides, Damian’s behavior recently has been suspicious in many ways.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means I can finally view Damian Carius objectively now.”
Gideon let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
In any case, Gideon already seemed convinced that Damian was the root cause of everything. The fact that even the senior investigator of the Imperial Mage Tower was beginning to suspect him was certainly a good sign.
“Gideon, I have a question I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Carius Mansion. Is it named after Investigator Demian’s surname?”
“Actually, it’s the reverse. Demian inherited the surname because he’s the heir to the Carius Family. The mansion bears the family name.”
“…I wasn’t even aware there was a magical family called Carius.”
If Demian was powerful enough to reach the 7th rank, his bloodline couldn’t possibly be ordinary. Yet even Renia in my past life had never heard of such a family. That fact had been nagging at me the entire time.
“I was puzzled too, but I only recently discovered the reason. The Carius Family was subjected to record erasure by the Empire.”
“Record erasure?”
“Yes. It’s a punishment imposed on those guilty of treason or crimes of equivalent severity. The family name, along with all achievements and records related to their existence, are completely erased from Imperial history.”
“…I see.”
Now the pieces fell into place.
Since the records themselves had been expunged, even Renia couldn’t have known about them.
“Then why were they subjected to record erasure?”
“I don’t know that yet. It’s an old matter, and as I mentioned, all related documents have been destroyed. If I discover anything, I’ll make sure to inform you.”
I nodded, and Gideon changed the subject.
“By the way, I heard you received a coin from Demian.”
“Yes. I was told I could purchase items from the Imperial Palace with it.”
I withdrew the platinum coin from my pocket, and Gideon nodded.
“That’s right. It’s currency issued by the Imperial Mage Tower in place of salary. As long as the price matches, you can take any item from the Imperial Treasure Vault.”
“Interesting.”
“Will you use it now?”
Though it came from an enemy, other mages of the Imperial Palace also received and used such currency as compensation, so there was no reason to refuse.
“Yes. Since I won’t have many reasons to return to Orelion anyway, it’s better to use it while I’m here.”
“A wise decision. Follow me.”
And so the three of us crossed through the heart of Orelion toward the Imperial Mage Tower.
Since the Council Chamber had once been held here, I was somewhat familiar with the appearance of the Imperial Mage Tower’s first-floor lobby and the grand conference hall. However, Gideon led us not to the upper levels of the tower, but to the underground section.
After passing through multiple security enchantments and identity verification, a massive steel door opened.
“This is the Imperial Treasure Vault.”
“…Wow.”
Both Sheril and I couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.
“…Surely this isn’t everything….”
“What you see is only the beginning. Including the underground levels, there are five floors in total, all serving as treasure vaults.”
I suddenly understood anew why the Archmage King’s power had been so formidable in my past life.

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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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