The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 59

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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 59

 

Five months have already passed since the Great Mage Alliance Council ended.

 

During this time, the Imperial Magic Order, including Benheim, had been moving busily. This was because the proposal to form an Alliance Subjugation Force by recruiting parts of the military forces from families belonging to the alliance had been approved.

 

However, time was needed before the Alliance Subjugation Force could officially launch. Time was delayed due to various family affairs, coordinating interests, and going through administrative procedures.

 

The Alliance Subjugation Force was scheduled to officially raise its banner by the end of the year.

 

Therefore, for Arnaud von Benheim, who was not affiliated with Benheim’s military force, the Alliance Subjugation Force was a story from another world, and daily life continued as usual in the Benheim Estate.

 

Crack!

 

The scarecrow hit by Arno’s magic swayed greatly. It was a special scarecrow with built-in enchantments that only worked against 4th-tier magic or higher.

 

“Magnificent, Lord Arno!”

 

“Truly excellent, young master! You are indeed a pillar of Benheim!”

 

The branch family mages poured out praise as if they had been waiting for this moment.

 

However, Arno’s mood remained uncomfortable.

 

The praise was no longer pleasant. It almost sounded like mockery.

 

The reason was simple.

 

‘That bastard…’

 

Arno was destined to become the next head of Benheim.

 

He had been called a genius since childhood and received the family’s full support. He believed he was living up to those expectations.

 

Therefore, Arno concluded that his achievements were being overshadowed entirely because of the stone that had rolled into Benheim.

 

Boom!

 

Just then, an explosive sound rang out.

 

The scarecrow that Arno had attacked moments ago was shattered to pieces.

 

The scarecrow that hadn’t received even a scratch from his magic was completely destroyed.

 

“…”

 

The branch family mages stood with their mouths agape looking at the broken scarecrow. However, none of them dared to exclaim in admiration as they were all watching Arno’s reaction.

 

This was because the mage who destroyed the scarecrow was none other than Reagan, Benheim’s son-in-law.

 

Arno bit his lips while watching Reagan casually brush dust off his shoulders as if nothing had happened.

 

‘…He’s gotten even stronger.’

 

Five months after the council ended.

 

Reagan had moved beyond the early 5th tier and reached the intermediate level.

 

It was an astounding speed. To reach intermediate 5th tier at just nineteen years old would be an unprecedented record in the Empire’s history.

 

Moreover, the fact that all this growth had occurred in less than a year and a half since Reagan began studying magic, and that Arno himself was still stuck at intermediate 4th tier, made him feel even more miserable.

 

‘Why can’t I catch up to him…’

 

Arno couldn’t hide his sense of injustice.

 

He had received systematic education as Benheim’s heir since childhood.

 

He had drunk two bottles of elixir and absorbed mana from the Mana Vein daily. His growth environment was incomparably superior to Reagan’s.

 

Yet Arno had been surpassed by that ash-haired peer of the same age in just one year.

 

No matter how talented Arno was, his pride couldn’t help but be damaged.

 

‘With such… an outstanding guy around, why am I the heir?’

 

He even had thoughts like this.

 

If he became the family head like this, it was obvious he would live forever in Reagan’s shadow.

 

The family members might revere that brother-in-law more than Benheim’s head.

 

With such thoughts, he was overwhelmed by considerable feelings of defeat.

 

He thought it might be better to join the Alliance Subjugation Force and build military achievements, but the elders and his father would never allow the heir to participate in dangerous missions.

 

Then…

 

“Renia.”

 

Arno called to his sister who was wiping sweat with a towel beside him.

 

“Hm? What?”

 

“Don’t you have any thoughts about becoming the family head?”

 

At Arno’s question, Renia stopped wiping her sweat. Then she stared at Arno and asked back.

 

“Are you serious, brother?”

 

“…”

 

“Brother, until just a few years ago you were acting all high and mighty about becoming the family head. What are you saying now?”

 

“Never mind that, Renia, you’re outstanding too. You’re one year younger than me but at early 4th tier, you’re more than qualified.”

 

Overshadowed by Reagan’s achievements, but Renia’s talent also surpassed Arno’s.

 

It wasn’t just about tier level. Wasn’t Renia’s mana sensitivity so excellent that even father admired it?

 

That fact also made Arno feel miserable.

 

“No, qualified or not, you’re the heir, aren’t you? What are you suddenly talking about?”

 

“…Just, think about it once. For Benheim’s future.”

 

Moreover, Renia was engaged to Reagan.

 

If the two led the family together, Benheim would surely prosper.

 

In fact, during the last council while Arno was going around greeting people from other families, Reagan and Renia apparently cured the Black Disease that Airidd’s heir was suffering from.

 

The strange magic Reagan was currently training was Airidd’s unique magic formula that he received as compensation for that.

 

Like this, Reagan was growing day by day.

 

What about himself, on the other hand?

 

Compared to Reagan’s speed, wasn’t he practically standing still?

 

“…Brother.”

 

Seeing Arno’s dejected expression, Renia frowned and said.

 

“You know I can’t do something like being a family head. And I don’t want to either.”

 

“…Right.”

 

Arno and Renia had different mothers.

 

Renia’s mother was of commoner origin. If she became family head, there would be severe opposition from the conservative elders within the family.

 

Both Renia and Arno knew this fact better than anyone.

 

“…Sorry. I said something strange for no reason. Forget it. I just…”

 

Arno turned his head with a bitter smile.

 

Renia’s eyes looking at him sank deeply.

 

* * *

 

“Brother has become strange.”

 

Renia, who had suddenly visited, immediately brought up such words.

 

Actually, it wasn’t sudden. Renia had always been free-spirited, and she would knock on my door three or four times a day.

 

“Brother? You mean Arno?”

 

“Yeah. It seems like his self-esteem has been greatly worn down.

 

“Is he the type to be like that?”

 

“The fact that he’s not that type makes it more of a problem.”

 

Renia wore a genuinely worried expression.

 

Seeing Renia, who was usually overflowing with playfulness, speak so seriously, Arno’s condition must really be serious.

 

“What’s strange about him?”

 

“He asked me if I had any thoughts about becoming the family head.”

 

“That’s certainly not like Arno.”

 

“Right? It’s not like brother.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

There was a part I could somewhat predict.

 

I rested my chin on my hand and stated my guess.

 

“I think it’s because of me.”

 

“Because of you, Reagan?”

 

“Yeah. Originally, men of that age tend to build their self-esteem by comparing themselves with those around them. And Arno sees me as a competitor. It’s an environment where his self-esteem is bound to fall.”

 

“Reagan, you’re the same age as my brother. Why are you saying things like ‘that age’?”

 

“…I’m speaking generally.”

 

Certainly, for the past year, Arno had continuously sparred with me under the pretext of training, and he had never won even once. For Arno, who already had strong pride, it must have been quite a shock.

 

But I couldn’t show mercy or stop training out of consideration for Arno. That would be insulting to Arno’s pride in its own way.

 

“…This has become troublesome.”

 

Arno is important.

 

In the future fierce battle with the Archmage King, he, as Benheim’s heir, must become our reliable backing.

 

So he cannot be broken here.

 

“There’s no other way.”

 

“Reagan, do you have some kind of method?”

 

“In my opinion, our brother-in-law is seriously mistaken right now.”

 

Arno is Benheim’s legitimate heir.

 

A young master born with a golden spoon who has only walked the elite path since birth.

 

Such a guy is being pushed back by a commoner-born son-in-law, so it’s understandable that he’d be upset.

 

All problems stem from him recognizing me as a competitor.

 

“I have no particular intention of competing with Arno.”

 

My only goal is to take the Archmage King’s head.

 

Benheim’s family head position or honor were never within my interests from the start.

 

So….

 

“I should go boost his pride a bit this time.”

 

“Pride? How are you planning to boost it?”

 

“The mercenary way.”

 

“Mer…cenary?”

 

Renia tilted her head.

 

* * *

 

It was in the middle of the night when Reagan burst into the room without even knocking.

 

“Re, Reagan? What’s the matter suddenly in the middle of the night.”

 

“Never mind that, follow me out.”

 

Reagan somewhat roughly grabbed Arno’s wrist and dragged him. Renia was also with them behind, and she too had an expression showing she didn’t understand what was happening.

 

Arno, who was helplessly dragged out to the garden, shouted.

 

“What kind of business is this about!”

 

“Business my ass. Put up your fists. Let’s have a sparring match after a long time.”

 

“Sparring? We did that yesterday too. And what sparring in the middle of the night. You’ll wake everyone up.”

 

“Do you remember when you first met me?”

 

“First time?”

 

Arno recalled when he first met Reagan.

 

A year and a half ago, Arno went to find Reagan who was staying in the separate residence and picked a fight with him. And he was the first to request a duel and was miserably defeated.

 

Since that memory was a kind of trauma, there was no way Arno could forget it.

 

“Wh, why are you suddenly bringing up that time.”

 

“Let’s duel like back then. With a bet.”

 

“Du, duel? Bet?”

 

“Yeah. If I win this duel, you hand over the family head position to me.”

 

At those words, Arno gasped. Even Renia’s eyes widened.

 

“But if you win, I’ll cleanly give up the family head position. How about it.”

 

“…No, what the hell… are you saying.”

 

Arno spoke stammering in great confusion.

 

A duel over the family head position, does this even make sense?

 

Reagan didn’t seem to have any greed for his position within the family. Such a person was now showing desire for the family head position.

 

He wondered if Reagan was finally showing his true colors.

 

Naturally, it was an unacceptable duel. The next family head position wasn’t something that could be decided by a mere bet between two people.

 

However, Arno, after thinking for a moment, carefully opened his mouth.

 

“Just… you be the family head. I can’t beat you anyway when we fight…”

 

“….”

 

“Take it. You’re better than me. Everyone only looks at you.”

 

Those words were undoubtedly sincere.

 

If Reagan became Benheim’s family head, people might secretly welcome it. No, they would definitely welcome it.

 

In reality, it was Reagan, not Arno, who received more attention in the council chamber.

 

Reagan has incomparably superior talent compared to himself. And it’s better for the more excellent person to lead the family.

 

Just as Arno was thinking such thoughts with a self-abandoning mindset, his vision flashed.

 

“Urgh!”

 

Only after rolling on the ground a couple times did Arno realize he had been punched by Reagan.

 

Arno sent a bewildered look while holding his burning cheek.

 

“You, you, crazy bastard…! Why the sudden punching!”

 

“Why? I said let’s duel, you stupid bastard. Who wanted to hear your loser talk?”

 

Reagan frowned and tapped his chest with his fists.

 

“Don’t think about what comes after, let’s just fight. No mana, magic, or tools.”

 

“…What?”

 

“With only this body.”

 

Reagan grinned.

 

I have no idea what he’s thinking.

 

However, the moment he saw Reagan’s smile, a strange competitive spirit arose in Arno’s chest.

 

He can’t win with magic anyway.

 

Then… isn’t this almost the only chance to hit that smug face?

 

“Damn!”

 

Arno rushed at Reagan.

 

“What would a guy like you know!”

 

He kicked at the solar plexus and grabbed and pulled at his hair. Reagan also swung his fists in response.

 

It was such a crude fight that Renia, who was watching, let out a shrill scream.

 

Honestly speaking, this was Arno’s first time having such a muddy brawl.

 

Since Reagan’s body was more solid than Arno’s, naturally Arno had no choice but to roll on the ground several times.

 

However, he didn’t give up. His endurance and persistence had been sufficiently trained from continuously losing to Reagan over the past year anyway.

 

Most importantly, if he lost even in this situation where they weren’t even using magic, there would be no pride left. So he got up like a roly-poly and continued swinging his fists.

 

Reagan also, instead of blocking or deflecting Arno’s punches, dove into his embrace and threw punches.

 

It was a fight without dignity, formality, or face.

 

In the end, they couldn’t tell which was up or down. A bitter metallic taste circulated from their split palates, and their philtrums were damp with nosebleeds. Their eyes were half-closed so they couldn’t even tell if their punches were landing properly.

 

After several minutes that felt like hours passed.

 

“Ha, heuuk…”

 

Both Arno and Reagan lay down on the ground simultaneously as if they had made a promise.

 

Compared to Arno whose entire face was swollen, Reagan was relatively fine. That fact made his anger boil.

 

“Well… should we just call this a draw.”

 

However, at Reagan’s next words, Arno frowned.

 

He couldn’t help but ask.

 

“You had no interest in the family head position anyway when you dueled, right?”

 

“You finally figured it out?”

 

“Then don’t you know? You bastard, everyone in the family knows you have no interest in the family head position!”

 

Arno let out a short sigh.

 

His head was dizzy from using his body so much.

 

“Damn, the world is so unfair.”

 

He couldn’t help but grumble.

 

“I train like crazy until I’m dying and I’m still like this, while someone becomes 5th rank just a year and a half after becoming a mage.”

 

“What can you do. I’m excellent.”

 

“I know! That’s why I’m more angry! Because I can’t blame you!”

 

Arno let out a deep sigh while looking at the moon floating in the sky.

 

“If I become family head, I’ll get the label of being inferior to the son-in-law we brought in.”

 

“Is that important?”

 

“It matters! I’m going to be the head of Benheim someday! But… if I’m outmatched in talent by an outsider like you…”

 

“I wonder about that. I don’t think your talent is lacking.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m just a patchwork of scraps gathered from here and there. You, on the other hand, are silk clothing carefully woven from the start. Even if the gap seems large now, it won’t make much difference later on.”

 

Reagan shrugged his shoulders as he continued.

 

“And what’s the big deal about talent anyway? Do all family heads have to be outstanding? You saw how the other heads of the great magic families acted in the council chamber. Character is more important than talent. If I became the head, Benheim would probably end up like Maelrn.”

 

“…”

 

“And you’ve got more than enough guts. I’ve seen plenty of guys who relied only on their talent and got broken when they acted up, but at least you don’t break.”

 

“Breaking? What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Persistence is important. Rather than someone who sits down after being broken once, the guy who gets back up even while rolling in the dirt is the one who survives in the end.”

 

Reagan’s words sounded like advice from a veteran soldier, so Arno replied with a grumble.

 

“Stop acting wise. You’re the same age as me.”

 

“…Right. I was.”

 

Looking up at the sky, Arno let out a hollow laugh.

 

He found it absurd that he was receiving comfort from the person he disliked most.

 

Perhaps because of that, the worries that had tormented him for the past few days felt completely pointless.

 

Finally, Arno made up his mind and spoke.

 

“Hey.”

 

“What.”

 

“Teach me magic.”

 

Until now, Arno had never once directly asked Reagan for instruction.

 

He had thought he could overcome it with his own strength.

 

However, with the gap having widened this much, he no longer had the luxury of maintaining useless pride.

 

“Even if I can’t match you, I want to reach the 5th Circle faster than Renia at least. So I’m asking you like this.”

 

Arno’s face burned with embarrassment.

 

He felt even more shame than when he had said he would give up the position of next family head just moments ago.

 

However, Reagan looked at Arno’s reddened face and twisted his lips into a smirk.

 

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

“…”

 

“If you call me big brother.”

 

Arno lunged at him again.

 

* * *

 

The next day, the maid Sheril doubted her own eyes.

 

On a morning like any other, Arno and Reagan were sitting face to face in the workshop, harmonizing their mana.

 

The sight of the two with swollen faces giggling together was bizarre beyond description.

 

As far as Sheril could remember, those two had never even shared a meal together harmoniously, let alone practiced magic like this, making it all the more bewildering.

 

“What… exactly happened here? And what’s with those faces?”

 

At Sheril’s question, Renia, who was beside her, spoke as if exasperated.

 

“I don’t know. Men are so simple it’s problematic.”

 

A faint smile spread across Renia’s lips as she quietly watched the two.

 

“But I like simple things too.”

 

Renia squeezed herself between the two of them.

 

Watching the three young mages conversing with each other, Sheril smiled bitterly.

 

“…Could this be the new wave that the master spoke of?”

 

The wind blowing into Benheim didn’t feel entirely bad.

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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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