Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 131

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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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Vice-Captain Hilsman regarded Kale Heniatus with bewilderment as he suddenly introduced himself. But someone grasped his shoulder and pulled him back.

“Stay still.”
“Yes? Ah, yes!”

It was naturally Erhafen.
And Raon watched Kale intently, his small front paws propping up his round chin.

‘Our human is in a strange state.’

Various natural energies swirled around Kale. The earth’s essence flowed from the fractured stone.

Erhafen noticed this too and stepped back.

Ancient Power was something one obtained by oneself. Others should not intervene. If one were to help at all, it would be to stand guard, but Erhafen believed a dragon could never stand guard for a human.

“Gold Dragon! Let’s stand guard!”

Of course, there were always exceptions.

Erhafen ignored Raon’s complaint, and naturally, seeing him like that, Raon let out a long sigh and stood guard with only the Vice-Captain.

Meanwhile, the boulder continued to crack slowly.
Crrrack—
The sight of the boulder cracking on its own was strange.

In the midst of this, a slightly dazed voice echoed through Kale’s mind.

-…A human who has obtained the power of all four of them.

The voice carried lamentation and bewilderment, but Kale focused only on the cracking boulder.

‘It was the entrance.’

Darkness appeared within the fractured boulder.
That darkness descended downward. A gentle slope led underground.

One would have expected Kale Heniatus to hesitate before stepping into such pitch-black darkness, yet he entered without a moment’s doubt.

-Take the keepsakes of my dear friends.
-You deserve them.

The master of this place had granted permission—there was no reason to waver.

Kale Heniatus vanished into the darkness.
Raon watched his retreating figure and muttered to himself.

“Gold Dragon, should we follow? We weak humans are really quite feeble.”
“Alas, such is my fate.”

Erhafen merely sighed, seized Raon, and pressed him firmly to the ground. Raon thrashed about.

“Don’t you dare! I am a great dragon!”
“I am a dragon too, little one. Wait here patiently.”

Raon pouted his snout and swatted Erhafen’s hand away with his front claw, breaking free. Then he gazed quietly into the cavern that had appeared as the stone split open.

Kale Heniatus had vanished into the darkness and was no longer visible.

Yet within that darkness, Kale experienced no visual difficulty whatsoever.

‘The earth is guiding me.’

A remarkable sensation.
With each step forward, the earth spoke to me in an incomprehensible language, revealing the path. Following that guidance, fear melted away with every stride.

Tap, tap, tap.
Light, rhythmic footsteps echoed cheerfully onward.

‘What could these keepsakes be?’

Artifacts passed down since ancient times.
My pace quickened as if my feet might take flight.

Then the terrifying voice of the stone’s master reached my ears.

-I have lived a truly arduous life. Orphaned as a child, forced to fend for myself alone, the only thing I could find solace in was the land. And that land gave me strength.
-Back then, my dream was simply to eat three hearty meals a day and fall asleep without worry.

A footstep.
Kale Heniatus’s steps came to a halt.

-But by fortune, I came to realize that the power the land granted dwelled within my very body, and I believed I must use this strength to benefit the world. So I always stood and fought.
-I wanted to become one who protected the weak, just as I once was.

Kale listened quietly to that voice, his arms folded across his chest.

-I do not regret the life I have lived.

The corners of Kale’s mouth twisted into a wry smile.

-But if there is one thing I wish were different, it is that I lived too harshly. Even knowing my dear friends were in danger, I remained at the side of the weak rather than theirs.

-I protected the weak. Yet all my friends perished.
-And so I could only search for their remnants.

-Before I could pass their legacies to one who inherited their strength, I too had to depart from this world.
-Yet I am happy that I could protect this land in doing so.

Kale resumed his steps.
There was no need to listen further to those words.

Different.

Utterly different from himself.
He valued himself and his own above all others. Dying while protecting strangers? Such nobility held no place in his heart.

‘There is no need to be the same.’

And there was no need for him and that person to be alike.

-I was happy. Truly happy, yet the inability to pass on my friends’ memory, and the sorrow of not witnessing their deaths—it was profoundly, deeply sorrowful.
-And I too felt the melancholy of leaving no trace of myself for anyone to remember.

The end of darkness. A faint light appeared.
Thump, thump.
Kale Heniatus quickened his pace. Soon the light materialized before him.

Whoosh.
His vision flooded with brightness.
In that moment, a deep voice resonated.

-This place is my legacy.

A vast underground cavern opened before him, and luminous orbs suspended from the ceiling cast their radiant glow.
Kale Heniatus exhaled in wonder.

“…Insane.”

A windfall beyond measure.

-Ahem, while I harbor no particular greed for material wealth, I could hardly present myself in shabby fashion when those who carry on my departed friend’s will arrived. So I took some care with the presentation.

A five-story mansion constructed with marble pillars rose into view.
The walls, pillars, and roof were elegant in their simplicity—graceful curves and straight lines converging in perfect harmony. Every window frame, door handle, and entrance bore the hallmarks of a master craftsman’s meticulous labor, adorned with antique embellishments that spoke of countless sleepless nights.
It surpassed even the Heniatus Count Estate—no, even the Crown Prince’s Palace in splendor and refinement.

A garden stretched before the mansion. Though devoid of trees, it was graced with exquisite sculptures. A fountain carved from marble stood in place of flowing water.

“Wow.”

-My home is rather pleasant, ahem.

Rather pleasant? It was extraordinarily magnificent.
Does this person harbor hidden material desires after all?

A smile played at the corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth.

Yet the moment his gaze shifted to the side of the mansion, that smile vanished.

“…What is that?”

Something ominous came into view.

A massive stone pillar stood before me. Iron chains wrapped around it, and talismans—paper seals of some kind—were affixed at intervals along the chains. Surrounding the pillar was an enormous magical formation that glowed with a deep crimson light.

It was unmistakably the kind of pillar used to seal away a Demon King, a demon, or a vengeful spirit.

I hesitated, then stepped back from that direction.

In that moment, a solemn voice echoed through the chamber.
At that moment, a deep voice was heard.

There is one sad truth in this place.

I don’t want to know at all.
-When I was alive, this forest harbored monsters that were strangely absent elsewhere. They were creatures from the Eastern Continent.

The Dark Forest I knew was the same. It was teeming not only with Eastern Continent monsters but also with mutants.

-I discovered the secret behind this when I entered this cave.
There were many mutants as well as monsters on the Eastern Continent.

My gaze fixed on the grotesque pillar.

-Within this cavern lay a bizarre passage connected to the Eastern Continent. Monsters that mistakenly entered the passage crossed over to this Western Continent. In that process, they transformed, becoming stronger and more ferocious.
Kale Heniatus’s gaze turned toward the grotesque stone pillar.

There was one strange passage in this cave that connected to the Eastern Continent. Monsters that mistakenly entered the passage crossed over to this Western Continent. In that process, the monsters were transformed, becoming stronger and more ferocious.

-My companions and I could not unravel the mystery of this passage. We could only seal both the eastern and western entrances to prevent stronger mutants from crossing over. I guarded the western entrance.

I had learned yet another unnecessary burden.
My colleagues and I were unable to solve the mystery of this passage. We simply blocked off the corridors to the east and west to prevent stronger mutant monsters from crossing over, and I guarded the western entrance.

I’ve learned another useless thing.

The Ancient Age was ten thousand years ago.

“Hmm.”
It’s because ancient times were ten thousand years ago.

“Hmm.”

Kale surveyed the underground cavern around him.
Beyond the mansion and garden, the underground cavern contained even more expansive spaces.

A faint smile played at his lips as he immediately headed toward the mansion.
There was no other choice.

Whoosh—
The small orb of flame created by the Destruction Fire had been glowing and pointing toward the mansion since earlier. Wind’s Sound, the shield, and even my heart all agreed.

-Go inside.

The owner of this place felt the same way.

Creeeeak—
Despite ten thousand years having passed, the door remained intact, merely aged.
How could this be? With that question in mind, Kale stepped into the mansion.

Tap. Tap.
The floor was marble.

Kale passed through ornate lighting and countless sculptures, observed the empty first-floor hall, then lifted his gaze upward.
Staircases extending to the fifth floor came into view.

-The third floor.

Kale ascended the stairs.
Dust was abundant, yet the antiquity remained unmistakable.

The second floor held empty rooms alongside an ornate central terrace.
Kale hastened toward the third floor.
The third floor also revealed a row of rooms.

-The innermost four.

Kale headed toward the deepest section and stood before the first door. Pushing the large door open with both hands, its interior was revealed.

-The Glutton only cares about eating, so whenever he received jewels as compensation, he’d just carelessly pile them in some corner. That’s why I took them.

“Really.”

Good grief, seriously.
Jewels gleamed inside a glass display case mounted on a marble pedestal.

I opened the next room.

-The Crybaby possesses regenerative power, yet why is he so fearful? He hoarded weapons nervously—all ordinary arms, but I took them all the same.

After surveying the Crybaby’s room, I immediately opened the next chamber.
Creeeeak, thud.

-The Miser’s accumulated fortune. I’m uncertain if this currency still holds value nowadays, but gold and silver coins surely have their uses, don’t they? So I took them.

“Hahahaha—”

I opened the fourth and final room.

-The Thief always kept meticulous records: everything she stole, her own abilities, her secret hideouts. I took all those documents.

She took everything.
What kind of virtuous person does such a thing?

“Hahahaha!”

For the first time in ages, I could laugh without restraint.
The North, Dark—I forgot them all in this moment.

Why, you ask?

I gazed at the three other rooms on the third floor, my eyes alight with excitement. I immediately opened their doors.

-Hmm, those are things I collected myself. Since they said they’d reward me for saving them, I took everything.

Creeeeak. Creeeeak. Creeeeak.
Three doors opened in succession, revealing the treasures within each chamber.

I dragged both hands across my face.

‘I’m happy.’

The Guardian, owner of the fearsome stone, had meticulously gathered an eclectic collection—jewels, gold coins, and peculiar artifacts alike.

‘Does he collect everything?’ Kale mused.

Kale applauded the Guardian’s peculiar hobby.

“Truly remarkable! How did you manage to gather all of these?”

Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of a single person’s applause echoed through the dusty yet elegant mansion.

-Well, I’m simply thorough, you see.

Kale continued clapping with genuine admiration and naturally made his way to the fourth floor. The fourth floor held nothing—merely a mansion more magnificent than the Lord’s Castle itself.

Delighted by this as well, Kale eagerly ascended to the fifth floor.

The fifth floor contained a single room.

-My chamber.

Though singular, it spanned the entire fifth floor, with a study, bedroom, and reception hall seamlessly integrated into one boundless space. At the center of this space stood a marble altar, reaching approximately to Kale’s waist.

The altar possessed an upright form, adorned with exquisite carvings crafted by some master sculptor.
Between the carvings, precious gems of every variety glimmered.

And upon that altar.

“…A stone.”

A single pebble sat there, far smaller than half a child’s fist.
To anyone’s eye, it was unmistakably just a stone.

-My power.

…Could an ancient power be obtained so easily?
Upon discovering the ancient power known as the Fearsome Stone, Kale found the prospect disappointingly simple. All he needed to do was claim that stone, and the ancient power would be his.

Then, suddenly, a deep, commanding voice thundered forth with overwhelming force.

-Do you want my power?

You want it, don’t you?

-Then chew it!

Huh?
Kale Heniatus’s steps toward the altar came to a halt.

-Obtaining my power is simple! However, this power only activates when you seek to protect something! I wish for my strength to be used for noble justice!

As if possessed by a sudden transformation, the Ancient Power Owner spoke with commanding force.

-The will to never retreat in the face of any danger!
-Goodness and justice are the forces that sustain the world!

The owner of the stone cried out.

-Chew it! If you chew and consume it, you shall possess this power!

He actually wanted me to chew it?
Kale Heniatus approached the altar.

-Of course, it can only be used for the sake of good and justice!

His voice was triumphant, as if certain that once I obtained this power, I would inevitably be compelled toward righteous deeds.
But Kale had little intention of doing so.

‘I only need the attribute itself.’

I could simply possess the attribute without actually using it.
That was the goal.

Kale Heniatus picked up the stone.

-Chew! Chew it!

…Indeed, each of the Ancient Power Owners had their own peculiar quirks.
Kale Heniatus paused to consider.

Should I chew it?

But the deliberation didn’t last long.

-If you possess this power, I shall bequeath this mansion to you as well! One who bears such strength is no different from my own descendant!

Kale Heniatus placed the stone into his mouth.
And he chewed.

Crunch.
The stone crumbled pathetically like a potato chip the moment it entered his mouth.

Thud.
With the tremor beneath his feet, Kale Heniatus felt a surging power rising from the soles of his feet.

The Ancient Power Owner spoke.

-My power can be possessed by anyone.
-However, my power can only be used in certain circumstances.

His voice gradually grew faint and distant.

-Protect.
-Guard.
-Sacrifice yourself.

-That is the power of the earth, which gives everything to all living beings.

* * *

Black Dragon Raon could see a figure emerging from the darkness of the cave.

“Human!”

It was Kale Heniatus.
Raon immediately flew to Kale Heniatus’s side.

“Human, human! I sense the power of the earth emanating from you! We’re saved!”

Raon watched Kale Heniatus stride out with steady confidence, his eyes glistening with admiration. Erhafen sighed at the sight but approached Kale with a surprisingly welcoming expression.
Raon’s voice rose with excitement.

“Human! Stop doing anything else and just travel—”
“Raon.”

Kale cut off Raon’s words.
Raon sensed something odd as Kale called to me.

He was smiling.
Kale was smiling brightly.

“…Human, why are you smiling like that?”

Kale answered the question.

“I found Rare.”

Huh?
Raon’s head tilted to one side.
Kale spoke to the group.

“Follow me. Erhafen, please come along.”

Kale stepped back into the darkness. He entered the Underground Cavern again, savoring the expressions of those who followed.
Raon gazed at the five-story Mansion, which looked more elegant than most Royal Palaces, then turned to Kale.

“…Human! This!”
“It’s our Villa.”
“Human, really?”

Kale nodded and answered.

“Really.”
“Yes!”

Raon spun excitedly in a full circle through the air.
Kale watched with contentment before his eyes met those of the Gold Dragon Erhafen. Erhafen spoke bluntly.

“Remarkably fortunate luck.”

Indeed, that’s the truth.
Kale Heniatus saw no reason to deny it.

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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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