The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 9
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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 9
In the end, Renia hung on the wall until sunset, watching my training and offering various pieces of advice before returning home.
While her advice wasn’t particularly nutritious, it was certain that the act of training together with Renia had a considerable impact on my state of mind.
“Am I… smiling?”
That evening, the corners of my mouth in the mirror were slightly raised.
“Did my mental age become younger along with my body…?”
Seeing myself this excited about reuniting with an old connection made me think I still had a long way to go.
But it was also unavoidable.
For me, the woman named Renia von Benheim was a companion who had shared one lifetime with me.
It was only natural that my emotions would be stirred anew.
“This isn’t the time for that.”
I smiled bitterly and straightened my expression.
More than my relationship with Renia right now, what I needed to focus on was raising my level.
For me to be truly accepted as a member of the family in Benheim, I had to become a proper mage.
Above all, the Archmage King was probably still building his power. To surpass him, every moment was urgent.
My next goal was the 3rd Circle.
Even the next day, I continued training in magic. I mastered rune magic as much as possible and learned common magic as well.
It was while I was dedicating myself to training for some time.
“Excuse me…”
The maid Sheril approached and spoke.
It was unusual for her to speak first without even ringing the meal bell.
“I’m sorry, Lord Reagan, but it seems you should go outside.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Well… a mage from the family has come to see you.”
Sheril wore a troubled expression. There was only one reason why a family mage would come all the way to this separate residence. It wasn’t surprising.
Renia had even personally come yesterday to warn me about this.
‘Did they come to cause trouble?’
Renia had told me to hide, but avoiding combat wasn’t something to do as a mercenary.
After wiping my face with the wet towel Sheril handed me and going out to the garden, a boy was waiting for me with his arms crossed.
Golden hair and purple eyes. He was a direct descendant of Benheim.
“Ahem! Criminal Reagan, kneel down at once!”
The boy clumsily imitating a constable’s speech looked as awkward as his age suggested.
Having faced all kinds of people as a mercenary, I immediately realized that he wanted to play around with me.
“Excuse me, but may I ask your name?”
“I am Arnaud Benheim!”
“Yes. I am called Reagan. My origins are humble, so I have no family name.”
“I, I see…”
I approached Arno and offered a handshake. Arno, who was about to take my hand as if enchanted, soon came to his senses and shook his head vigorously.
“How insolent! How dare you try to touch the heir of Benheim with those filthy hands! Are you in your right mind?”
“The heir of Benheim, so you must be the lord’s son?”
“That’s right.”
Sure enough, Arnaud von Benheim was Stern’s eldest son.
Just as Renia had told me, her older brother had come to see me.
‘Renia’s sibling…’
Arnaud von Benheim.
That name was by no means unfamiliar.
It was because Renia had often talked about him before my regression.
– My brother was an excellent mage. But he wasn’t an excellent heir.
– What do you mean?
– He was small-minded. And he was a coward. He just kept postponing the fight with the Archmage King.
Just as Renia had evaluated, the Arnaud von Benheim I was facing now had many shortcomings to be called the heir of a great magic family.
To dismiss it as just young age, the weight that comes with the position of heir was by no means small. The potential should show from this time.
Nevertheless, I didn’t look down on Arno.
– My brother, you see, fought a final battle with the Archmage King in the family territory and died gloriously.
Renia’s expression when she said that looked indescribably sad.
For Renia, Arno was a very precious existence. Then I too should treat him with proper courtesy accordingly.
You could say he was like a brother-in-law.
“In Lord Arno’s view, why am I a criminal?”
“You not only stole Benheim’s treasure, but also attacked Renia. And using this as an excuse, you’re deceiving us and wasting the family’s resources. As the family’s heir, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch this.”
“…Ah, so that’s the pretext.”
I clapped my hands.
“So what do you want me to do?”
At my blunt words the next moment, Arno’s eyes wavered.
“Even if I am a criminal, what can you do about it?”
“…Wh, what?”
As if he hadn’t expected such a bold response, the flustered Arno’s brow furrowed.
“Whether you are the heir or not has nothing to do with me. I received legitimate rights from the lord as a benefactor of the family. Are you trying to deny the decision that the lord made after careful consideration?”
“N, no… that’s not… but…”
“Is that so? Then what is the reason Prince Arno has come to find me?”
When I shot back point by point, Arno’s eyes darted around.
What he ultimately chose was the stubbornness characteristic of a child.
“You cunning bastard! To expose the black intentions you’re hiding…!”
“…To?”
“Guh, grk… That’s right! I’ll follow Benheim’s code!”
Arno shouted triumphantly.
Sheril’s eyes, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, narrowed.
“Hmm… I haven’t been here long so I’m not sure, but specifically which code are you referring to?”
“Real combat! True achievement is proven through real combat! That is Benheim’s way!”
“Real combat… surely you don’t mean a duel?”
At my question, Arno pondered for a moment before nodding vigorously.
“Are you being serious?”
“Of course!”
“A duel means staking one’s life. Do you have such resolve, Prince? Before winning or losing, are you prepared to die?”
At my question, Arno flinched.
Of course. How could a boy of this age understand the weight of life?
However, his intimidation was only momentary. Still, the heir of Benheim was an heir after all. Arno struck his chest with his fist and stepped forward.
“Yes! A duel! You too must prepare to stake your life according to Benheim’s code!”
“Young master, this really seems…”
Sheril hurriedly tried to mediate, but I raised my hand to stop her.
I had been somewhat bored lately, so this worked out well.
I chuckled and nodded.
“Very well. Following the Prince’s will, I accept that duel.”
I picked up a tree branch that was suitable for swinging from the annex garden.
Arno’s current rank was at the end of 3rd tier.
Meanwhile, I was a commoner without even a tier.
Logically speaking, the outcome of this match was practically decided before it even began.
‘If we’re talking logically, that is.’
I am a regressor.
Before my regression, I had traversed countless battlefields, and on those battlefields I had cut down many renowned mages. At least for me, the difference in tiers couldn’t determine the tide of battle.
I intended to teach Arno that fact to his very bones.
* * *
Arnaud von Benheim was quite displeased with the series of changes that had recently occurred in Benheim.
The theft of the family treasure was shocking enough to make one faint, but his precious younger sister Renia had even been attacked by mysterious assailants.
However, his father Stern was calling the unidentified outsider who had saved Renia a benefactor and defending him. Even though the stolen family heirloom had been found among his possessions, there was no punishment or interrogation.
Wasn’t this excessively lenient treatment?
‘I absolutely cannot accept this.’
Benheim was a prestigious noble family of great influence.
The power that Benheim possessed was something only blood relatives who shared the same blood could share.
Allowing this to an outsider was no different from diminishing the family’s authority.
As the heir to a Great Magic Family, and as a mage, Arno could not understand his father’s decision.
“Cunning bastard.”
If it were an outer mage who had entered through formal examination, it might be different, but he couldn’t stand by and watch some nobody waste the family’s resources.
That’s why Arno stepped forward himself.
He intended to expose those intentions completely.
From what he heard, that man called Reagan was still a novice who hadn’t even formed a mana core.
Although there were sinister rumors circulating that Reagan had killed the mysterious assailants who attacked Renia, that story didn’t cause Arno even a moment’s hesitation.
However, when Arno actually faced Reagan, he was inwardly flustered.
“Very well. Following the Prince’s will, I accept that duel.”
The duel he had boldly proposed.
Reagan accepted it without even being flustered.
Arno hadn’t thought he would accept so readily.
‘Is there something?’
Arno examined the concentration of mana circulating around Reagan’s body.
Not even a speck.
No mana had gathered in his dantian, nor did he seem to have trained his body to extremes. The clothes he wore and the tree branch he held were ordinary. It wasn’t an artifact, nor was it a precious item with magic inscribed.
‘It’s definitely bluffing.’
Arno’s current tier was 3rd tier. Moreover, he was in a state where 4th tier was right before his eyes.
No matter how he thought about it, Arno couldn’t imagine himself losing.
Having finished his assessment, he spoke triumphantly.
“Well then, criminal Reagan. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready anytime, but must you add that ‘criminal’ part? Haven’t you become too absorbed in playing the champion of justice?”
Arno was momentarily speechless. Just a mere dependent, yet instead of repentance, there was sarcasm at the end of every word. Unacceptable.
“Sh-shut up! You are defiling our family’s honor! I will punish you!”
Even at Arno’s outburst, Reagan wasn’t intimidated at all and let out a small sigh.
“That’s up to you, Prince. Before we start, may I confirm one thing?”
“Confirm?”
“In this duel, what does the winner gain? If it’s a duel, shouldn’t there be something at stake?”
At those words, Arno frowned. Though he thought it was bluffing, he responded to the demand.
“If I win, you leave the family on your own two feet!”
“Understood.”
“…What?”
Reagan readily agreed. Before the flustered Arno could even process the response, Reagan asked back.
“Then, I should receive something on my side as well. What will you give me, young master?”
“What… can I give you?”
“Yes. I suppose you haven’t thought about it.”
Arno believed he would definitely win.
No, he had to believe it. This was a duel between himself, a 3rd Circle mage, and a novice. Even Sheril, who was silently watching this unfold, didn’t doubt the outcome.
Nevertheless, Reagan continued speaking with a sly smile spread across his face, as if giving advice to a child.
“Just in case, let me ask—if I win, would you hand over the position of family heir?”
“Ridiculous nonsense!”
“Yes. I thought so. You don’t have the authority to decide that anyway.”
Though his tone was polite, the meaning behind it was anything but. Arno ground his teeth in displeasure. Regardless, Reagan spoke with a relaxed expression.
“Then give me an elixir.”
“An elixir?”
“Yes. The high-grade elixir stored in the Benheim Family Treasure Vault. I don’t remember the exact name, but I think it was three syllables.”
“Elixir?”
“Ah, yes. That one.”
Only then did Arno guess Reagan’s true intentions.
“You bastard! So you were after the elixir after all! How did an outsider like you learn about the elixir’s existence!”
“I wasn’t particularly targeting it, and I just heard about the elixir from someone who knew.”
“Nonsense!”
Arno was furious.
The existence of the elixir stored deep in the family’s treasure vault was only known among the Great Magic Families. For someone of unknown origins to know about the elixir meant Reagan was a spy.
In that case, he would only be punished.
“You, you stupid bastard! Fine! As you wish, if I lose I’ll hand over the elixir to you! But if you lose, you leave the family on your own feet!”
“Understood. Then let me ask one last thing.”
Reagan tapped the tree branch he held in his hand. It was a stick he had picked up from the annex garden earlier, something that couldn’t even imitate a wooden sword.
“May I use this?”
“…A tree branch? What are you planning to do with such a toy.”
“I haven’t learned anything proper, so I’ll have to use even a toy like this.”
Arno was dumbfounded. Did it even make sense to bring a tree branch to a magic duel?
“It doesn’t matter. If you’re trying to achieve victory with such a toy, your skills must be pathetic.”
Arno snorted.
Soon, as Reagan approached and stood opposite him, Arno stretched out both hands with a triumphant expression.
Recognition, construction.
Immediately after, three rune characters simultaneously appeared at Arno’s fingertips. The mana wrapped around each character shook the surrounding air.
Finally, manifestation.
Kugugugu.
Fierce flames, flesh-cutting cold wind, writhing ground.
Three rune characters. And simultaneous casting at that.
‘How’s that.’
Arno was only eighteen years old. Just being able to use one spell without incantation would be enough to call someone a genius. However, Arno was drawing out three unique spells with simultaneous casting.
Even the completion level of each was excellent.
Looking at the three rune characters forming a semicircle, Arno was certain.
This duel was already over.
The magic Reagan could use was at most 2nd Circle. Even that would take a long time at the construction stage with a body lacking a mana core.
Could such a person break through Benheim’s rune magic?
‘It’s impossible.’
The outcome of this fight was already decided.
There was absolutely no way he could lose.
But—.
“Well, not bad.”
Reagan, who was actually facing the rune magic, was only looking at Arno with a calm expression.
Something felt off.
Something was strange.
‘How is he still standing?’
He realized it belatedly. The destructive power of the magic Arno had cast was truly tremendous. The wind pressure that could blow people away and the writhing ground should have knocked Reagan down long ago. However, he was standing there maintaining his balance as if nothing had happened.
‘How, exactly?’
It was around the time that thought occurred to him.
Reagan made his move.
Crack!
The tree branch swung in an instant.
The next moment, Arno’s mana became tangled.
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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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