The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 76.

A problem with the Count’s heart meant I was entering the second act of the story.
There was something I needed to do now.
I headed toward the beach at Sandvich.
Basil trailed behind me faithfully.
“Miss Charlotte Schmidt, did you come all the way to Sandvich for a particular reason?”
“Yes, I have a plan for all of this.”
I quickened my pace, reciting a famous line from a film I’d once seen. When I arrived, it was a secluded stretch of beach that lay much deeper inland than the place where I’d first found Jack.
Though I called it a beach, it seemed remote enough that one could dispose of a body here and no one would ever know. It was that desolate.
“I didn’t know such a place existed in Sandvich.”
“Most people don’t. The locals don’t come here either. Did you notice on the way? The path was extremely treacherous.”
Basil stared at me intently.
He seemed to be asking how I’d come to know this place, but I didn’t bother answering.
“We’d need to go further in, but this is as far as Basil can go.”
“Does this concern the Raven?”
Sharp instincts, as always.
“Yes. Beyond here lies the Raven’s Fortress.”
The Raven had fortresses scattered across the continent. Except for their main base, they were hidden in remote places like this, concealed with meticulous care.
“Basil, do you remember when I said I’d prevent a landslide and brought those golem friends of mine from the marshland?”
“How could I forget.”
Basil answered with the expression of someone recalling something he’d rather not remember.
“The cause of that landslide is beyond that cliff. An earthquake will strike Sandvich, and its tremors will reach all the way to Lucifenia, triggering the landslide. So in about three months?”
Basil’s eyes narrowed again. As expected, I avoided his sharp gaze.
That’s how it is.
He didn’t press me further. He’d learned by now that I wouldn’t tell him everything.
“I’m planning to stop it.”
“You, Miss Charlotte Schmidt?”
“Despite appearances, I’m a full-time mage in service to the Archduke’s Castle. I know how to do my duty.”
When I didn’t know how to wield Black Magic, I’d attempted to block it with golems, but things were different now. I had a method—why sit idle?
The landslide would happen anyway, and if it does, I’d be the one cleaning up afterward. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if I prevented it beforehand?
“Then I’ll accompany you.”
“Didn’t you just hear what I said? Unfortunately, only those with Black Magic can enter that place.”
“…The Archduke will not permit it.”
“That’s why I asked you to cooperate.”
“It’s not acceptable.”
“Wait, I’m not asking for permission, am I?”
I grinned slyly.
“If I just run away from here, only you’ll catch it from the Archduke.”
…….
“Can you stop me?”
Don’t look at me with that disillusioned stare.
Unable to hold back my bubbling laughter, I pressed the Pocket Watch into his hand.
“I’ll be back before this watch shows seven o’clock. Will that do?”
“If you don’t return—”
“Then go to the place I told you about.”
“…I understand for now.”
Oh, he’s so obedient.
Impressive.
I wanted to pat him on the backside approvingly, but I held back.
After a brief goodbye to Basil, I turned and made my way down the cliff face strewn with rocks, the sound of waves crashing against my feet ringing clearly in my ears.
“Let’s see, is it around here?”
It looks like an ordinary cliff, but this is actually a cave. The entrance is just sealed off by several layers of Barriers.
It goes without saying that an ordinary person would never find their way behind a cliff face where there’s nowhere to set foot, but excessive caution was a hallmark of the Raven.
“Yes, I think it’s around here.”
I went by instinct for the location. Whether you looked at it this way or that, it seemed like a seamless cliff face, but when you channeled Black Magic into it like this….
“Ta-da, open sesame.”
The solid stone rippled like multiple layers of curtains before parting smoothly to both sides.
I walked in confidently.
Sandvich was crawling with watchers from the capital. Raven had already abandoned this place and hidden themselves elsewhere. It wasn’t uncommon for them to leave their satellite bases empty like this.
I passed through the dark lobby and descended straight into the underground levels. A spiral staircase wound down endlessly.
“Loath as I am to admit it, these Raven bastards are remarkably resourceful.”
Excavating a cavity this deep would’ve been impossible with ordinary Magic. Of course, to wield such uniquely potent power, they had to corrupt their Mana with Ancient Witchcraft.
After walking down for what felt like forever, I found myself in an enormous cavern.
Unlike the darkness above, dozens of Mana orbs floated here, casting everything in a pallid glow.
One wall was lined with stone-barred cages; the opposite held research tables crammed together. As expected, there wasn’t a soul in sight. I crossed through without hesitation and made for the deepest chamber.
“…That’s something.”
I passed through a narrow corridor, and the ceiling opened into a vast space. In the center of the room stood an enormous creature, pinned in place by countless ropes and iron rods.
“Seeing it in person is actually grotesque.”
The ‘Sacrificial Creature’ that Raven had been cultivating.
Since it was still incomplete, its upper half and head twisted into bizarre, warped shapes.
“Uhhh…”
A sickening sound came from behind me. Not far away, I spotted a large cylindrical glass vessel.
……
My face hardened before I could think.
Inside the vessel were Mutants—unlike those I’d seen in the Temple Underground, their bodies were melting away, fused into a single mass.
“So they were already too far gone…”
Raven didn’t just use Mutants as soldiers. Many of them served as raw material for Sacrificial Creatures like this.
But this one would fail. The Black Magic had been injected incorrectly, which meant the creature’s core would detonate. I had to destroy it before it could trigger an earthquake and tidal wave in Sandvich.
“…I’m sorry.”
I murmured an apology I couldn’t quite articulate the reason for, then drove Black Magic into the glass vessel.
The Mutants’ anguished cry cut off as their eyes lost all light, and they went still.
“At least you won’t suffer anymore.”
I turned back toward the creature.
The upper body was imperfect, but near the heart, something glimmered with unmistakable clarity.
The core.
Since this core was the distilled essence of hundreds of fused Mutants, I couldn’t simply absorb it like a crystal. I had to strike it precisely and shatter it.
One careless touch could cause the incomplete body to collapse or explode entirely.
I marshaled every ounce of concentration to hone my Black Magic to a spear-sharp point. My Mana reserves had surged explosively, but Black Magic was still so new to me that sculpting it into the exact form I wanted proved agonizingly difficult.
A single thrust wouldn’t be enough to shatter the core. After swinging my power at it some ten times, the rippling black mass finally cracked with a satisfying snap.
“Got it!”
Now I had to get out before they came back.
Just as I was about to bolt, something fell from the fractured core.
“Huh? What’s this?”
A Black Magic Crystal?
It resembled a crystal at first glance, but far larger. The power emanating from it was unmistakably different.
“Why would something like this be inside the core?”
I found myself reaching out without thinking.
The moment my fingertips made contact, overwhelming force engulfed my heart, and my vision dissolved into darkness.

***

Charlotte Schmidt and Leoni appeared in my dream.
Charlotte grabbed my hair, shaking me furiously: “Don’t mess around with my body!” while Leoni crouched down and wept, saying she hated me to death.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry!
But I have to get home eventually, don’t I?!
As I thrashed about, my Aunt appeared and started pummeling my back, shouting, “Nothing good ever comes when you stick your nose in!” Even though it was a dream, it hurt like hell.
Damn it, why is she here too?
Let go of me!
“That hurts!”
Flash.
When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Are you awake?”
“…Basil? Or should I say, Lord Leoni?”
What is this?
My head throbbed with a dull ache. I must have frowned, because Basil pressed down firmly on my shoulders, insisting I rest a while longer.
“When you didn’t appear well past seven o’clock, I went searching below the cliff and found you collapsed.”
My memory snapped back into place, like film spliced together after a break.
Right—I’d passed out trying to pick up something that looked like a crystal.
Just in case, I’d cast a spell to relocate myself to a specific location if I lost consciousness—and it seemed that spell had activated.
“Thank you, but this place is….”
“A priest’s quarters.”
“A priest?”
“Yes, he said he was a priest traveling on pilgrimage. The inn managed by the Mage Tower was too far away, and all the nearby inns in town were fully booked, so I was forced to impose on his hospitality.”
Basil explained kindly enough, but the aftereffects of fainting made it difficult to understand what he was saying.
Why would a priest suddenly appear now?
And on pilgrimage, no less.
Just then, a light knock sounded, and someone entered the room.
The moment I recognized his face, my eyes widened.
“…Bill?”

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