The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 39

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

Chapter 39

The situation was quickly resolved.

The Rune Surveillance Unit.

Composed of the most outstanding combat mages from the branch families, it was Benheim’s elite force second only to Family Head Stern’s personal guard.

As proof of this, all members of the Rune Surveillance Unit were 5th Circle or above. Even the unit commander Valen was a mage standing at the pinnacle of the 6th Circle.

In the modern magic system divided into ten total circles, the prestige held by the 6th Circle was immense.

From the 7th Circle onward were Archmages, and from the 8th Circle belonged to transcendent categories beyond human limits, so the practical peak that ordinary mages could aspire to was safely considered the 6th Circle.

“So, you vermin are the cockroaches of this place?”

Such a 6th Circle mage, Valen von Benheim, had appeared.

The black mages were frozen, not even daring to think of resistance.

And rightfully so. Their leader was merely a 5th Circle mage. A situation where such 5th Circle mages had swarmed in. To make matters worse, the mercenaries and barriers that should have protected them were gone.

To those who had been terrified just moments ago by Barg’s single corpse, Valen was nothing short of the grim reaper himself.

“…Ha, we surrender.”

The black mage leader fell to his knees.

As if this was a signal, the black mages all placed their hands behind their heads and knelt without exception.

“How anticlimactic.”

Valen snorted.

“Arrest them all.”

What followed was swift and efficient.

The unit members each brought magically treated binding ropes and began tying up the black mages together.

It seemed almost too easy for things to go this smoothly.

“Now then.”

After commanding the Rune Surveillance Unit for a while, Valen turned and approached us.

“Reagan. Let’s hear an explanation. What are these children, and what’s this corpse about?”

At Valen’s question, I explained the whole story. The process of infiltrating the hideout, rescuing those who were imprisoned, and dealing with Barg, the mercenary who was guarding the barrier stone.

Valen, who had been listening to the story casually, raised an eyebrow when I reached the part about fighting and defeating Barg.

“Barg?”

“Did you know him?”

“No. I don’t. Benheim is not weak enough to borrow the hands of mere mercenary riffraff.”

“…”

“Reagan, why is your expression like that?”

“What’s wrong with my expression?”

“You look like you’re holding back laughter.”

“Then you’ve seen correctly.”

How could I not laugh?

The heir of Benheim, who claimed not to cooperate with mercenaries, had even handed over a family heirloom to a single wandering mercenary.

“By the way, this mercenary appears to be roughly at the Aura Expert level.”

“That seems about right for his level.”

“A guy who just barely reached the 4th Circle dealt with an Aura Expert-level mercenary? What kind of magic did you use?”

“Well, I’m a mage, so I simply used magic.”

“Forget it. What’s the point of asking you?”

Valen waved his hand dismissively.

“So, are you going to forgive me?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“I deserted without permission and killed a mercenary captain. I’ve accomplished enough merit to make up for it, so surely you could show some leniency.”

“Don’t use achievements like a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

While we were having this trivial conversation, the binding of all the black mages was completed. Valen checked that the restraints were securely fastened and nodded.

Now it was time to check on the rescued victims. The total number was twenty-one. Valen was examining their faces when he stopped in front of one particular person.

Gray hair and gray eyes, pale skin. It was the girl who had been in the private cell just moments ago.

After carefully examining the girl’s face, Valen hesitantly spoke.

“…Could it be, are you Lady Yusephine Airid?”

At Valen’s question, the girl nodded very slightly.

From that moment, Valen hurriedly called his subordinates and began giving instructions. Seeing him move more busily than when binding the black mages, it seemed this was an unexpected situation even for Valen.

I had brought her along thinking she seemed important, but judging by this reaction, she appeared to be of more precious status than I had anticipated.

“Commander? Who is that girl that you’re acting like this?”

“Airid.”

“So what exactly is this Airid?”

As soon as Valen heard my question, he rubbed his forehead as if incredulous.

“The guy who’s going to be Benheim’s son-in-law doesn’t know about the Airid of Spectral Light?”

“…Spectral Light, Airid.”

Mulling over Valen’s words, I suddenly remembered. The Empire’s Five Great Magic Families that Renia had told me about in my previous life.

“Don’t tell me Airid means… one of those Five Great Magic Families?”

“That’s right. A prestigious family with a history as long and distinguished as Benheim’s.”

“Then that child is…”

“The direct heir of Airid. So show proper respect.”

The direct heir of Airid.

In other words, the same position as Renia.

“Wow…”

I looked at the girl with amazement. She had already turned her gaze to the ground as if uninterested in this topic.

Being 3rd Circle at such a young age, I thought she might be from some noble family. I just didn’t know that noble family would be one of the Five Great Magic Families.

“Then why was Airid’s direct line in a black mage hideout?”

“That’s something we’ll have to investigate from now on. You don’t need to be particularly interested. It’s not Benheim’s jurisdiction.”

“Then whose jurisdiction is it?”

Valen answered rather curtly.

“The Imperial Magic Association will dispatch investigators to conduct the investigation.”

“Imperial… Magic Association? What’s that?”

At my words, Valen’s brow furrowed.

“What exactly do you know? If you crawled into Benheim on your own feet, shouldn’t you have at least basic common knowledge?”

“Well, there are circumstances for everything.”

During the period when I was active, most mage families and organizations had long since fallen to the Archmage King.

The information Renia had shared in my previous life was also limited to Benheim, so I could be considered ignorant about things like the Empire’s Magic Association or minor mage families.

Eventually, Valen sighed and explained.

“The Imperial Magic Association is a mage organization directly operated by the Royal Court. It represents the Royal Court’s authority in both pen and sword. It mainly handles magic crime investigation, black mage tracking, magic thesis review, ancient artifact management, and such.”

“They handle quite a lot.”

“That’s right. Being under the Royal Family’s protection, the authority they can exercise exceeds even the Five Great Magic Families. All the black mages we’ve captured will also be handed over to the Imperial Magic Association to receive appropriate punishment.”

“You don’t execute them on the spot?”

“Hey, you brat, do you think we’re in the middle of a war? Everything has proper procedures.”

‘True enough.’

Actually, in real wartime, procedures and whatnot aside, the moment someone’s identity was revealed, they’d put a blade to their throat first and ask questions later. In that sense, these were relatively peaceful times.

“By the way…”

Valen looked over the entire abandoned mine with a bitter smile.

“This entire abandoned mine was a site for extracting Airid’s unique magic formula. The reason they captured people was to draw out and refine the pure mana from human bodies.”

Valen shook his head at the black mages’ cruelty.

If Renia had been captured at the Hunting Festival, would she have ended up like this too?

It was too horrible to even think about.

“That aside… I suppose the rumors were true after all.”

“Rumors? What rumors are you referring to?”

“The hereditary disease that runs among the Airid bloodline.”

“Hereditary disease?”

“It’s called the Black Disease.”

Black Death.

The very sound of it carried an ominous ring. I wanted to probe further, but Valen seemed intent on keeping his words to a minimum.

“It’s nothing good to know about.”

It seemed to be quite a sensitive topic, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Valen placed his hand on my shoulder with a light tap and said.

“In any case, you executed the operation splendidly. Thanks to your idea, we were able to capture the black mage hideout without casualties. Though we failed in our original objective of capturing Markel Benheim, we saved innocent lives including Airidd’s successor, so the head of the family should be satisfied.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“It is indeed.”

Valen said that, but his expression wasn’t particularly pleased.

I didn’t bother to ask about the reason.

I could always ask Stern separately later, and he would surely answer.

* * *

The aftermath was handled entirely by the Rune Guards and the City Council, so there wasn’t much for me to do.

I ended up confined—though not officially—in Rodel’s mansion, and with my restless nature, the boredom was unbearable.

I wanted to practice magic, but Valen had earnestly warned me not to show Benheim’s unique magic to others, so I couldn’t even do that.

So I spent my third day killing time by conversing with Brock.

“An investigator from the Magic Association has arrived.”

An investigator had been dispatched from the Imperial Magic Association.

Seeing how they had reached Rodel faster than Benheim’s main force, they must have traveled by Pegasus-drawn carriage just like us.

“The investigator specifically wants to see you. I’ve already explained the detailed situation, so there’s nothing to worry about. It seems they just have a few things they want to confirm with you.”

An investigator sent by the Royal Court.

From my experience, even during my mercenary days, I had no good memories when the Royal Court was involved.

“Couldn’t this investigator try to frame me?”

“No matter how much the investigator wields the Royal Court’s authority, you’re Benheim’s son-in-law. You’re already considered one of Benheim’s people, so what bold fool would dare touch you carelessly?”

“True enough.”

Since they said it was just a few confirmation questions, they probably wanted to ask about killing Gerkin or Barg.

I thought nothing of it and headed to the City Council building. I was immediately guided to an inner room as if they had been waiting, and when I entered, a man was standing with his back to the door.

“I’ve come as you requested a statement.”

The man didn’t respond to my words.

Wondering if he hadn’t heard, I was about to speak again when the man suddenly opened his mouth.

“The person who just entered is Reagan von Benheim. Is that correct?”

“…”

At that moment.

As if ice water had been poured over my head, chills swept through my entire body.

I remember this voice.

There’s no way I couldn’t.

I shouldn’t not know it.

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

When I didn’t answer, the man turned his head.

His face came into view.

Long black hair, a mole near his left eye, and those distinctive red pupils.

Except for being somewhat younger than I remembered, it was a face I knew well.

“Arch…”

…mage King.

I barely managed to close my mouth, preventing those words from escaping.

I glared at the man before me with wide eyes. He was smiling, but that only made him more familiar.

Because it overlapped with that expression—the torn smile he wore while killing me in that final moment.

‘There’s no doubt.’

The Archmage King.

The villain who plunged the Empire into the flames of war.

The madman who turned the world into hell for his own gain.

He was standing right before my eyes.

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