The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24

“Lowborn, I asked what that thing in your hand is.”

Kaiden’s voice dropped low. His gaze remained fixed on the sword gripped in my hand.

“As you can see, it’s a sword made of mana.”

When I held up the sword for him to see, Kaiden’s brow furrowed even deeper. He turned his head to glare at his daughter, Petra Rucen.

“Petra, don’t tell me you revealed our family’s secret techniques to this lowborn.”

Petra’s shoulders jumped with a start. She desperately shook her head.

“N-no! I just… I only…”

Petra’s complexion grew paler and paler. She looked even more terrified than when she had faced Beron earlier.

Unable to watch any longer, I spoke up.

“Your daughter taught me nothing. I simply observed and imitated what I saw.”

“You observed and imitated Rucen’s secret techniques? You expect me to believe that?”

“That’s the truth. In a situation without a sword, I thought Rucen’s blade creation magic was my way out.”

“Nonsense. You’re saying you can replicate Rucen’s magic after seeing it just a few times?”

“If Rucen’s blade creation magic can be imitated just from a verbal explanation as you suggest, then it’s hardly grand enough to be called a unique magical formula.”

Kaiden’s eyebrows twitched.

“You dare mock Rucen?”

“Not at all. I think Rucen’s magic is excellent. It saved my life, after all. However, its structure was more intuitive than I expected. I suppose that’s the result of pursuing efficiency, which allowed even a beginner like me to crudely imitate it. I do have good eyes, you see.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

In truth, even in my past life, what perfected my swordsmanship was imitation. I observed the techniques of renowned swordsmen and crudely copied them into my own sword style.

Scraps sewn together to make rags.

That was Renia’s assessment of me in my previous life.

“…How dare a lowly thing like you… discuss Rucen?”

However, my answer seemed to stoke Kaiden’s anger. His face contorted with rage. He looked ready to take my life on the spot. Petra’s face turned deathly pale.

“That’s enough, Kaiden. Now isn’t the time to pressure the children.”

At that moment, the bushes parted on both sides, revealing Stern, the head of Benheim.

“Father!”

The moment Arno saw that face, he brightened with joy. However, Stern didn’t even glance at Arno. Instead, he turned his head to look at Elder Beron, who sat collapsed with a bewildered expression.

“Elder.”

“S-Stern…”

Not a single living black mage remained beside Elder Beron. They had all been turned to pulp by Kaiden’s bombardment.

The only reason Beron had survived was because, as the leader of the black mages, they needed to extract information from him.

“Further resistance would be meaningless.”

Before Beron now stood two 7th-tier Grand Mages and the military force of the great magic families they commanded.

There was no way Stern would deliberately let him go like he had with Markel.

Sensing his fate, Elder Beron hung his head.

“H-how… so quickly…”

“We had already anticipated your movements. We knew there was no reason you wouldn’t target the Hunting Festival.”

“Ha, haha…”

Realizing he had been dancing in Stern’s palm, Beron shook his head frantically.

This entire Hunting Festival had been a massive trap to root out insiders like Beron.

“Who’s behind this, why you did such things – I’ll ask about that later.”

Stern gestured to the mages lined up behind him.

“Take him to the dungeon. Restrain him securely so he can’t harm himself.”

“Yes.”

The surveillance team rushed forward to bind Beron. They fitted him with magical tools that prevented spellcasting and even gagged him.

No matter how skilled a black mage might be, without access to mana, he’s just a frail old man.

Only after confirming Beron was being dragged away did Stern turn his head.

Stern, who had maintained a cold expression until just moments before, seemed to smile faintly as he looked at us, then opened his mouth toward Kaiden.

“Good work, Kaiden. From here on, we Benheim will handle things.”

“Wait, Duke Benheim.”

Kaiden blocked Stern’s path.

“I still have business with this brat.”

His red eyes fixated on me persistently.

“This lowborn dared to use Rucen’s magic. As the head of Rucen, I must hold him accountable.”

“Accountable? I’m not sure what you mean by accountability, Kaiden.”

“Blade creation magic is Rucen’s pride. This wretch dared to crudely imitate Rucen’s unique magical formula. It’s clear theft and an insult to our family. He must pay the price.”

There was no compromise in Kaiden’s voice.

The crime of stealing a family’s secret techniques. In the world of mages, it was said to be a grave offense worthy of losing one’s hand.

Only then did Stern notice the mana sword in my hand. He actually smiled bitterly.

“Kaiden, you’re being too inflexible. If your daughter Petra had imitated rune magic, I would have praised her as a genius of the century born to Rucen. But why are you so narrow-minded, Kaiden?”

“…”

“Let me give you some advice – that stubbornness will be the path to your family’s ruin. Now that you’re the family head, you need to develop the habit of viewing situations from a broader perspective.”

“…I didn’t come here to listen to sermons.”

“Life is always a continuous learning process. Isn’t that right?”

When Stern smiled leisurely, Kaiden frowned.

No matter that they were both 7th-tier mages and heads of great magic families, there was a considerable gap between Kaiden, who had just inherited his position, and Stern, who had led Benheim for over a decade.

“Tch. There’s no point in saying more. I’ll wait at the main house.”

“I’ll assign you a guide.”

“I don’t need a guide. I already know the way.”

In the end, Kaiden turned around, biting his lip.

“…Let’s go, Petra.”

“Y-yes!”

When Kaiden extended his hand, one of the great swords floating in the air flew to his feet and stopped. He placed Petra, whose legs had given out and couldn’t walk, on the sword like a piece of luggage, then soared into the air.

Leaving a red trail, Kaiden disappeared beyond the forest in an instant.

‘So it can be used that way too.’

Flight magic consumed so much mana that even Renia, an 8th-tier mage, avoided it. However, using a sword as a platform for flight like that could compensate for that weakness.

‘Worth keeping in mind.’

As I was thinking such thoughts, Stern approached us.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“No.”

“I’m in your debt this time.”

Stern’s gaze lingered on the black mages’ corpses and my blood-stained clothes.

“I said I’d come quickly, but I was delayed cleaning up outside the barrier. We had to deal with a separate unit of black mages who had occupied the Magic Tower to steal research materials.”

“No, it’s fine. We survived thanks to you.”

In truth, even if I hadn’t resisted and had been captured, Stern could have easily rescued us.

I even had reasonable suspicions that Stern had deliberately arrived late.

That would make sense, since Stern was looking at me as if he found me quite interesting.

“I heard you used Rucen’s magic.”

“I had unavoidable circumstances. My usual sword was damaged in combat with magical beasts, so I had to create something to wield.”

“Haha. Reagan, I’m not trying to blame you. Using everything available is natural. Implementing Rucen’s magic with Benheim’s mental techniques – being a quick learner is an excellent talent.”

“For all that, the head of Rucen was furious.”

“That’s because Kaiden is still immature. Don’t worry. Even if he doesn’t let go of his anger, he won’t be able to cause any more trouble.”

“Why is that?”

“You’ll find out soon.”

Stern gestured to summon his men from behind.

“For now, return to Benheim Estate. I’ll come find you again after settling this situation.”

“Yes.”

“And Reagan, I’ve prepared a separate room at the main house.”

At those words, I frowned.

“The main house?”

“That’s right. That’s where you’ll be staying from now on, Reagan.”

Not the separate residence where the branch family members stay.

The main house. In other words, the space where Benheim’s direct bloodline resides.

To let me, an outsider mage, into that place means….

“Welcome, Reagan von Benheim.”

Only then did I understand Stern’s words that Kaiden would no longer be able to harm me.

* * *

From that afternoon, rain began to fall steadily.

Watching the raindrops tapping against the window, I let out a long yawn.

I wasn’t particularly tired. It was just to endure the tedious silence.

“Reagan, you’ve really become part of our family?”

Renia chattered with sparkling eyes.

“Now our father recognizes you as a member of Benheim too. Giving you a room in the main house means exactly that.”

“Is that so?”

“It is! An outsider mage receiving the family name happens maybe once every few decades! It’s really amazing, you know?”

Somehow Renia seemed more delighted than I was, despite being the person involved.

“This is your first time in the main house, right? It’ll be very different from the separate residence. It’s huge too. Long corridors and tons of rooms. Oh, you might get lost. Should I give you a tour while we’re at it? Or do you want to see my room? There are lots of interesting books there.”

“Books all of a sudden?”

“Magic texts! The rune characters in the separate residence are degraded versions with key strokes removed. Learning here would be much better. Want to check out the workshop too? Compared to the separate residence, it’s also….”

Renia’s excited chattering wasn’t much different from how she used to cling to me when drunk at the campsite in the past.

I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

“Later, we have plenty of time anyway.”

There is plenty of time.

The Archmage King would start his war in earnest seven years from now.

However, the Archmage King’s minions were already mixed in within Benheim.

Even the family head’s brother, an elder, was a black mage.

If Benheim, the continent’s greatest magic family, was in this state, there was no guarantee that other families, or even the royal court or magic towers, would be safe.

The Archmage King was already moving. Underwater, weaving a massive net without anyone knowing. The time given should be considered shorter than seven years.

‘Whatever the case, I’ve definitely made a good start.’

I had weeded out the black mages within Benheim, and as a result of that achievement, I even received the family name.

As Renia said, receiving the name of the great magic family Benheim was a glory that every commoner mage in the Empire dreamed of.

‘Things are going to get troublesome from now on.’

Due to this Hunting Festival incident, the confrontation between Benheim and the black mage faction had become public.

Even Rucen, another great magic family, got involved. For Stern, it would have been a strategy to drag Rucen in to pressure the Archmage King.

The heirs of two of the Five Mage Families had nearly been killed by black mages.

From now on, an even fiercer storm would rage. And having received Benheim’s name, I had essentially placed myself at the center of that storm.

‘Well, that’s what I wanted anyway.’

It was an unavoidable fight anyway. Fighting under the protection of a great family was much better than fighting alone.

Ultimately, what I needed to do now was solidify my position within Benheim while raising my level.

I had to surpass my previous life’s level, surpass Renia’s level, and become strong enough to rival the Archmage King.

Knock knock.

Just then, a knocking sound broke the silence.

Those who entered through the door were Captain Allet, the maid Sheril, and Stern standing behind them.

“Were you resting?”

“Yes.”

“Father! Which room will Reagan use? Please make it the second floor!”

Renia brightened up and clung to Stern, but he lightly raised his hand to stop her.

“Renia, sorry but please step out for a moment. I have something to discuss with Reagan alone.”

“Ugh….”

Renia puffed out her cheeks as if displeased, but reluctantly followed his instruction.

Soon Stern settled into the sofa across from me and began to speak.

“The interrogation of Elder Beron will begin this evening. However, I don’t think we’ll get any meaningful information.”

“Why is that?”

“He has multiple layers of black magic restraints on him. It’s probably a prohibition preventing him from revealing important information.”

A prohibition, or rather, a geas.

It was something the thorough black mages often did. Beron wouldn’t be able to reveal information even if he knew it. The moment someone tried to forcibly extract information, the prohibition would activate and he would die.

“Unfortunately we won’t be able to obtain information, but circumstantial evidence alone makes tracking possible. We haven’t caught Markel yet.”

“The next operation would be pursuit or an extermination campaign.”

“Exactly. It will be an operation mobilizing Benheim’s elite, the Rune Surveillance Unit. If we’re lucky, we can capture Markel and uncover what’s behind him.”

Stern continued while tilting his teacup.

“Whatever the outcome, the fact that your contribution in this matter was enormous cannot be denied, Reagan. You cut out the rotten tumor within the family, and ultimately protected my son and daughter too. This is an achievement that no one in Benheim can deny.”

Stern put down his cup and gazed at me intently.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, Benheim does not forget debts of gratitude. Having achieved such distinguished merit, it’s right to give appropriate compensation. Reagan, is there anything you desire?”

What I expected had come.

And this would be both a reward and a test.

I paused for a moment before speaking.

“Will you grant me anything I desire?”

“Within the limits of my ability, anything.”

“Even if I were to ask you to open the family’s treasure vault?”

“Your greed is great. Of course, naturally. Even if you carried off an armful of the family’s artifacts, there would be no elder to stop you. The elders are quite intimidated after this incident.”

Benheim’s treasure vault.

In my previous life, Renia used to boast about it endlessly. Indeed, the reason Renia’s resistance could continue operating even after the Empire’s fall was thanks to disposing of the family’s treasure vault.

“Actually, I don’t need things like gold and silver treasures.”

“Hmm?”

However, what I would demand here was already decided.

“Family head, when we first talked in the prison, do you remember the request I made?”

“….”

“This is an extension of that.”

At my words, Stern’s expression became complicated.

He too must have had some idea.

Of what I was about to say.

“Give me your daughter.”

As always.

This was the real objective.

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