The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 73

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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 73

It seemed I hadn’t died after all.

The terrible pain that assaulted me the moment I opened my eyes paradoxically assured me that I was alive.

Even if I were in the fires of hell, it wouldn’t be more painful than what I was feeling now.

“Ugh… urgh.”

More serious than the intense pain spreading from my wounds was the headache. My head felt like it was splitting. I wondered if my brain had burst.

It seemed to be the aftereffects of Chronos.

As I groaned and tried to compose myself for a while, someone peeked their face out from the corner of my vision.

At first, I thought it was Renia.

But looking closely, it wasn’t Renia but a woman with light purple hair.

“…You’ve opened your eyes?”

A clear, ringing voice.

The woman smiled so widely her eyes curved into crescents as she placed her hand on my forehead.

“Wow. Your head is like a fireball. You won’t be able to walk like this. You’ll be bedridden for the next few days without a doubt.”

“…Excuse me.”

I frowned.

I had many questions for this woman, but I decided to ask the most necessary one.

“First, where is this place?”

“It’s an infirmary.”

“I mean… ugh, I’m asking which infirmary this is.”

“Ah! Yes! This is Arcamen’s infirmary!”

Arcamen.

So Sheril and Renia had brought me here after all.

Then the next question.

“Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m late with introductions. I’m Isobel. I’m an alchemist of Arcamen.”

“An alchemist…”

Only then could I roughly guess the situation.

“…Were you the one who treated me?”

“Hehe, that’s right. I’m the most skilled alchemist in Arcamen, you know.”

Arcamen doesn’t only have weaponsmiths. The alchemists’ skills are also at the continent’s highest level.

Sheril and Renia had brought me, half-dead, to the Arcamen domain, and the physicians here had rushed to save my life.

That aside.

‘The most skilled alchemist?’

The woman before me, Isobel, looked to be at most the same age as Renia.

“Um… Miss Isobel? How old are you, if I may ask?”

“Seventy-nine! Or was it eighty?”

“…”

Only then did I notice the wing-shaped horns on Isobel’s temples.

“Are you a Celestial?”

“Ahaha. Humans often call our race by that name.”

Celestials.

Though very rare, races other than humans live in the Empire, and most of them live longer than humans.

The Celestial before me was the same.

Wing-shaped horns sprouting from her head, a lifespan far exceeding humans. Even extremely developed mana sensitivity.

In my previous life, I could count on one hand how rarely I’d seen non-human races, especially Celestials, but at least the Celestials I’d met were mostly strong.

Isobel before me would be the same.

“Surprising. I didn’t expect there to be a Celestial mage in Arcamen.”

“Well, strictly speaking, I’m not affiliated with Arcamen. I’m staying here for various reasons.”

Similar to Victor Otto, it was probably a case of an outsider setting up a workshop within the Arcamen domain.

I nodded in understanding and sat up. When I moistened my face with the wet towel Isobel brought me, my mind finally became clear.

“Phew…”

In any case, I had dealt with Markel Benheim.

I couldn’t be certain if he was completely dead. But even if he survived, his mana core would have completely collapsed, so he wouldn’t escape being a cripple.

‘That was really dangerous.’

If I hadn’t had Chronos and Barisada in my possession, I wouldn’t have been able to even attempt resistance.

Even then, I could barely grasp victory only because Markel was a half-baked 7th rank mage. If I had faced a full-fledged archmage like Kaiden or Oswald, I would have certainly been defeated.

In the end, I couldn’t be content with reaching the 6th rank.

To stand against the Archmage King and his subordinates, I had to aim for at least the 7th rank, or even the 8th rank and beyond.

‘…More than in my previous life.’

Beyond the path of the wandering mercenary Reagan, surpassing the path of the Archmage King.

It was when I was making that resolution again.

“Hehe…”

Isobel was resting her chin on the bed, looking up at me with an interested gaze.

“So, how was it?”

“How was what… what do you mean?”

“What else? That drug you took.”

“Drug? Are you referring to Chronos?”

Isobel gave a sinister smile and nodded affirmatively.

“That’s right. Who do you think made that Chronos?”

“…Don’t tell me Miss Isobel… no, Lady Isobel made that drug?”

“Yes!”

Isobel nodded vigorously as if proud.

“As the one who made the drug, may I ask some questions? Reagan is the first human to take five or more Chronos pills at once! I think you must have had a near-death experience! About that review… gack!”

Before she could finish speaking, someone grabbed Isobel by the scruff of her neck.

Looking up, there was a woman with tightly bound brown ponytail.

“Lady Iline?”

“…Hello, Reagan. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“Aah! Iline! I still have things left to ask!”

“Ask that later. You have no shame bothering a patient.”

“Th-this is tyranny!”

“Tyranny or whatever, I am the law here as the head of the family.”

Iline dragged Isobel away and roughly threw her out the infirmary door.

The seventy-nine-year-old Celestial granny disappeared from sight like that.

Iline sighed and returned to the bed.

“Sorry. The granny bothered you, didn’t she? All of Arcamen’s mages are like that, but Lady Isobel is an exceptional eccentric even among them.”

“Yes… Well… she seemed like it.”

“Well, her skills are solid though. She’s also the one who healed your body, so don’t think too badly of her. Without Lady Isobel, you probably would have been bedridden for over a month.”

“…Certainly.”

I nodded reluctantly and tried lifting my arm.

Despite suffering such severe injuries, recovering this much in just two days was close to a miracle.

I had seen many excellent potions in my previous life, but not a single one among them had this level of efficacy.

Isobel’s introduction as Arcamen’s most skilled alchemist was apparently no boast.

“Well, never mind about granny Isobel, just wet your throat.”

Iline handed me a glass of water.

“Did anything happen while I was unconscious?”

At my question, Iline drew out a long sigh.

“…Well, you can probably guess, but Renia Benheim and her attendant returned to Karac carrying you half-dead. Seeing that, I hurriedly sent alchemists.”

“There must have been several corpses at the scene.”

“I confirmed that too. And not far from there, we also found the corpse of Giles, who was a former researcher of the Amber Tower. It seems he fell victim to blood magic, as there wasn’t a drop of blood left in the corpse.”

So Giles, who ordered the assassination, was killed by Markel.

Well, that’s at least some good news in this troublesome situation.

Iline waited until I had emptied my entire water glass, then took the empty cup and continued her story.

“I heard the whole story from Renia Benheim and her attendant. The railway was cut, so you were traveling by carriage when you were attacked.”

“Yes. First it was an attack by the Claws, then an attack by a black mage.”

“Right. I heard that much too.”

Iline let out a deep sigh.

“The assassin’s guild ‘Claws’… and even black mages. Not only was the outer security of our domain breached, but even the railway was destroyed. This is Arcamen’s shame.”

“They laid their trap very meticulously. It’s not Arcamen’s fault.”

“No need to comfort me. The fact remains that an honored guest nearly died right at Arcamen’s doorstep.”

Iline pressed her throbbing temples firmly. As the family head, she seemed to be suffering quite a headache.

Feeling somewhat sorry, I carefully set down the empty water glass on the table and changed the subject.

“Speaking of which… where is Renia?”

“She’s sleeping now. More precisely, we put her to sleep.”

“Put her to sleep…?”

“Yes. She was crying and making such a fuss. What’s that… couldn’t you do your romance stuff in Benheim instead of Arcamen? It’s annoying just watching.”

Iline crossed her arms.

Indeed, she had remained single well into her thirties.

“…Anyway, back to the matter at hand. In a few days, a separate carriage will come to escort you to Benheim.”

“Directly from Benheim?”

“That’s right. Train service has been suspended, and Benheim’s son-in-law was attacked and left half-dead. Even Renia, a direct blood relative, nearly died. From Benheim’s perspective, this isn’t something they can easily overlook.”

“…”

True enough.

The news that Markel Benheim had been defeated would have reached Steren’s ears through Sheril, so this would be an appropriate response.

Then Iline adjusted her position in her chair. She placed both hands on her knees and bowed her head deeply.

“And as the head of Arcamen, I formally apologize to Benheim, including you, Reagan. I’m truly sorry. Due to my incompetence, you suffered terrible ordeals.”

Only then did I realize why Iline had been looking displeased all along.

She was blaming herself greatly for our being attacked near Arcamen’s domain.

“…It’s not Lady Iline’s fault.”

“Yes. You would say that. However, everyone in Arcamen, including myself, feels deeply responsible. Even the Grand Elder scolded Arcamen’s mages.”

“…”

“We really should have assigned you guards. My thinking was too short-sighted.”

“No… Even with guards, it wouldn’t have made much difference.”

“That comment really hurts my pride.”

“What can I do when it’s the truth? The black mage who attacked us, Markel Benheim, was a 7th-rank blood mage.”

“And you rose to 6th rank in that battle and defeated him. You also did the insane thing of swallowing five whole Chronos pills.”

“…Ugh.”

I had no excuse for that.

Since it was an undeniable fact that I had consumed more than a lethal dose of Chronos.

Iline grimaced and picked up the small medicine bottle that had been beside my bed.

“Anyway, the Chronos is confiscated. I’m never giving you any again.”

“Isn’t it too much to give it and then take it back?”

“Even if it’s too much, what shouldn’t be allowed can’t be allowed. If something were to happen to you because of Chronos…”

Iline wrapped her arms around herself as if getting chills.

“Your fiancée would definitely try to burn this place to the ground.”

“…Renia would?”

“You should have seen the expression Renia was making when you collapsed a few days ago. She looked like a demon from hell. You have no idea how hard it was to calm her down and put her to sleep. Thank goodness Victor helped out.”

Looking closely, I could see dark circles under Iline’s eyes.

She really must have been quite troubled.

“In any case, as the head of Arcamen, I don’t want to bear such unnecessary risks.”

“Hmm…”

“So this is confiscated.”

In the end, I lost the Chronos.

It was regrettable, but well, I had used it sufficiently, so that was enough.

Right now there was a more important matter.

“Lady Iline. Do you happen to know about ‘Grave’?”

Perhaps it was a sudden topic change, as Iline tilted her head and asked back.

“Grave? That black mage detention facility in Orelion? Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“Well… actually, what we encountered in the attack two days ago wasn’t just Markel Benheim.”

“Right. The attendant who came with you told me. There was some flesh monster beside that bastard Markel. It seemed to be a type of undead that black mages control.”

“Yes. It’s called a corpse golem. But… the face on that corpse golem… was a face I recognized.”

Iline frowned at my words.

“A face you recognized? Reagan, what on earth are you talking about?”

“Calus. He was the black mage from the abandoned mine in Mist Valley. He was captured alive at the end of Benheim’s black mage subjugation operation and handed over to the Rodel Council.”

“…”

Iline also seemed to realize the seriousness of my words as her expression hardened.

I nodded and continued speaking.

“The black mage Calus, who should have been imprisoned in Grave, appeared before us as the vessel of a corpse golem.”

“…That means.”

“Yes. It seems someone managing Grave is…”

“Reagan, wait. You can stop there.”

Iline was indeed experienced. She hastily cut off my words.

Thanks to that, I didn’t have to say the words “Imperial Magic Association” out loud.

“Do you really think that? That there’s a black mage collaborator in… the Royal Court?”

“Rather than a collaborator… I think they might actually be the leadership.”

“…”

Iline stared directly into my eyes.

Seeing that gaze and realizing I was telling the truth, she placed her hand on her chin and fell into thought for a while.

“…The Alliance Subjugation Force. Its official launch is next month, wasn’t it?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

Iline nodded.

“Then I’ll check if we can maximize Arcamen’s support for the Alliance Subjugation Force.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Would I be lying?”

“But… wouldn’t that be a burden for Arcamen as well?”

“You’re right. Many of the Elders would oppose it too. We’ve already used up all our materials for repairing the ‘Mechanism’. But you know what? If I, as the family head, talk about the family’s profits and losses when Arcamen’s honored guest was attacked near our domain, what would happen to our reputation?”

Iline stood up and added briefly.

“Above all, you are our benefactor. And Arcamen never forgets debts of gratitude.”

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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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