Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 356

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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 79. Records

“Erhafen.”

It had been two days since I regained consciousness.
Kale called out to the Ancient Dragon’s name once more.

“The artifact—”
“Quiet.”

Erhafen ignored Kale’s words.

“No, over there—”
“Quiet, human!”

A piece of meat gently descended into Kale’s open mouth.
Kale chewed and swallowed the beef chunk that Raon had launched through magic.

Whenever Choi Han sliced the meat, it traveled directly into Kale’s mouth through Raon’s magic. Lying in bed, I contemplated the situation.

‘…This isn’t right.’

I’d been rolling around in bed for two days. Kale cautiously gauged the atmosphere around him before opening his mouth.

“Now then, shouldn’t we move on to the next task—”
“Young master.”

Ron offered lemonade with a benevolent smile, and Kale swallowed a sip without complaint.

It was suffocating.
The surveillance was absolutely suffocating.

For two days, I had endured the merciless watch of my companions who had taken control of this room.
The nine-year-olds on average, Choi Han, Ron, Vicross, Erhafen. Along with the Mercenary King pretending to be drunk and Gren Puff, who was genuinely intoxicated.
They took turns ensuring I rested.

Yet there was a mountain of work awaiting me.

‘Hmm, to deal with the White Star.’
‘Quiet, human!’

‘Erhafen, isn’t it time to use the artifact?’
‘Quiet, you unlucky bastard.’

Kale’s attempts failed time and again.
And Kale simply let those two days of failure pass. His fingers moved.
Poke.

“Human! What are you doing!”

Kale poked Raon’s chubby cheeks for no particular reason. Then, without saying much, he stroked On and Hong.
In the meantime, a piece of fruit found its way into Kale’s mouth.

“…Being unemployed really is the best.”

Kale reaffirmed this once more, and at the same time, his mouth opened.

“Erhafen.”
“Qui—”
“I’m fine now.”

Erhafen stared at Kale, who cut him off and rose from the bed. Kale met his gaze confidently.
That was the moment.

“Fine?”

Snort.
A scoff echoed. Kale turned his head. A table came into view.
And on that table.

“…That drunk.”

The drunk lay face-down, drinking. Of course, his eyes were perfectly clear—not drunk in the slightest.
Naturally, that drunk was the Mercenary King Burd Illis.

“From what this secretary sees, you’d need about a year of recuperation to be truly fine.”
“…Sigh.”

Kale Heniatus couldn’t help but sigh.
Why had he made that bet about hiring him as a secretary?
His mouth opened.

“Don’t you regret not making a drinking bet? Why don’t we do this properly?”
“…A drinking bet?”
“Yeah, yeah. A drinking bet.”

Kale Heniatus pointed at me and continued.

“If I win, I won’t accept you as my secretary and I won’t see your face again. How about it?”

Heh.
The Mercenary King chuckled and then bowed his head deeply.

“Ah, I’m drunk!”

With that, he collapsed onto the table, ignoring Kale Heniatus.

“Hey, that—!”

Kale Heniatus felt irritation rising.
This was the first time he’d encountered someone so absurd.

Burd Illis pretended to be drunk like this every time Kale Heniatus told him not to work as a secretary, ignoring his words.
What good was pretending to be drunk?
His face color and pupils were perfectly fine—only the smell of alcohol lingered.

“Young Master.”

Kale Heniatus, whose temperament was usually meticulous, hesitated at Ron’s gentle voice.

“…A drinking bet in your current health condition? After eating only the food Vicross prepared for one day and then fasting for six consecutive days?”

Ahem.
Kale Heniatus cleared his throat and averted Ron’s gaze, quietly slipping out of bed. To him, Ron’s son Vicross spoke, letting out a sigh as he threw the words at him.

“Or perhaps you could tell us why you fasted for six days and what you were doing inside?”

Kale’s mouth pressed shut even more firmly.

He had given his companions a rough explanation of what had transpired within Wind Island over the past week.
That he’d been delayed strengthening the Voice of Wind, one of the Ancient Powers, within Wind Island. That he’d been delayed because the island was a dead mana storage.
However, there were still several things he hadn’t explained.

Kale’s eyes met Choi Han’s. The question Choi Han had asked came to mind.

‘What kind of strengthening was it?’

Kale had answered that question briefly.

‘Just strengthening.’

Not a single member of Kale’s group took that answer at face value. What kind of strengthening could possibly require nearly a week of fasting?

But Kale offered no further explanation.
He couldn’t have even if he wanted to.

‘I can’t exactly lie, can I?’

He couldn’t speak falsely about the trial’s contents, and he certainly couldn’t speak the truth either.
What good would it do to tell them?

It was all a lie.
A phantom that could never become reality.
Why would he needlessly alarm the children and the old man with such things?

Kale lifted his foot with an expressionless face.
Then he kicked the table away.

Crash!

“Yikes!”

Bud, who had been hunched over the desk, pretended to be startled and slowly lifted his head. Kale spoke to him.

“Hey, secretary.”

He pointed at the artifact and spoke.

“Find me a quiet place to set this up.”

There was no way I could use the artifact in this crowded bedroom.
Kale Heniatus watched the Ancient Dragon rise from his seat with a sigh.

* * *

As the massive iron door swung open, an empty cavern came into view.
Burd Illis introduced the space to the group, bottle of liquor still in hand.

“This is where I underwent hellish training under my grandfather and became a Sword Master and the guardian of Wind Island!”

Good grief.
The Mage Gren Puff exhaled a sigh and shook his head in disapproval. But Burd Illis remained earnest.

“Every drop of my blood, sweat, and tears is contained within these walls! This is the guardian’s exclusive Training Ground! Sob, you have no idea how many times I had to roll across this floor during sparring matches, sob!”

Burd Illis’s voice wavered with emotion, but not a single person spared him a glance as they filed into the massive Training Ground.

“Stay strong! This is so pitiful!”

Of course, only the Red Cat Hong, who entered last, patted him with her front paw.

“Sob. Hong!”

Burd Illis tried to embrace Hong, but the cat gracefully distanced herself from the drunkard. Yet the cat’s footsteps came to a halt.

“I’d prefer to do this alone.”

It was because of what Erhafen had said while standing at the entrance.
Kale Heniatus stared at Erhafen, who held the artifact—a ceramic jar—in his hands and insisted on doing this alone. To that gaze, Erhafen spoke matter-of-factly.

“I wish to do this by myself. I’d appreciate it if everyone waited outside.”

Then he extended his palm before Kale Heniatus. It was a gesture asking for the jar.

“No! Golden Dragon Grandfather, I’m watching from right beside you!”

Raon refuted as if it were obvious. The others also subtly expressed their agreement with his words. At that moment, Erhafen added one more thing.

“I am a great dragon.”

A being whose aura could be felt simply by standing still.

“I have no desire to show my healing process.”

The first to step back was the one who heard the words spilling from the Ancient Dragon, who stood rigidly despite his pallid complexion.

“I hope the artifact’s effects prove beneficial.”

It was Ron Mollan.
The elderly man understood this Ancient Dragon’s feelings.
No one could know what state one might be in during the healing process. One might writhe in pain, might struggle. Ron understood the Ancient Dragon’s reluctance to show such things better than anyone else.
He remembered well the expressions on people’s faces when he had lost an arm and they saw him suffering and struggling.

Next came Choi Han and Vicross.
Once those two retreated, even the children averaging nine years old hesitantly stepped back.

“Ahem, well then. Allow me to explain the artifact’s usage once more.”

The Mercenary King Bud explained the artifact’s use even as he stepped back.

“The moment the person who intends to use this artifact on themselves grasps it, liquid will fill it to the extent needed by that being.”

Bud pointed to the cracked jar.

“Drinking that liquid will resolve anything related to ‘vitality’ to the desired extent. Of course, depending on the circumstances, it might cause some pain. When I used it, I felt a bit nauseous and struggled through it.”

Vitality.
That was precisely the power of healing and the power related to extending one’s lifespan.
Kale heard The Thief’s voice in his mind.

-The vitality filling that jar is the vitality stolen in ancient times.

A jar containing the vitality of those who were sacrificed earlier than they should have been by the Dark Forest.

-I hope it is used for a good purpose.

The Thief calmly expressed her approval of what Erhafen was using.
Kale focused on the words of both The Thief and Burd. Burd continued speaking.

“Of course, if the life force required by the user exceeds the jar’s capacity, the jar will shatter after the user has consumed all the water.”

Kale anticipated that the probability of the jar shattering was high. After all, this was not about any other creature—this was about a dragon’s life force.
The longest-lived and equally the most resilient of all beings. Extending the life of such a creature would require tremendous power.

“Understood.”

Erhafen nodded without further words and gestured to Kale with his chin.

“Give me the jar and wait outside. I’ll call you when everything is done.”

Kale handed the jar to Erhafen without hesitation and left the Training Ground without a moment’s pause.
The rest of the group followed silently or with some reluctance. Then Raon stopped briefly and asked Erhafen.

“Grandpa! You have to live a long time!”

Erhafen chuckled and replied.

“I know, little one.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you think you all could face the White Star without me? And I keep my word.”

In Kale’s eyes was reflected the smiling Ancient Dragon.

“I said I would live long, so I will live long.”

The Ancient Dragon smiled peacefully, and only then did Raon exit the Training Ground and take his place beside Kale.
Erhafen watched the group standing outside the door, then turned his head and snapped his two fingers together.

Snap!
With a crisp sound, the massive iron door closed of its own accord.

Boom!
The iron door slammed shut with a thunderous sound, and the group could no longer see what lay beyond it.
Kale Heniatus shifted his weight and leaned his back against the wall in a relaxed posture while the others stared fixedly at the door.

“Oh, friend. Aren’t you being a bit too composed?”

He answered Burd Illis’s question curtly.

“According to what you said, all I need to do with the relic is drink it, and there are no other side effects, right?”
“That’s right. I was so startled when I saw the water rising that I gulped it down without thinking.”

Burd Illis grinned and nodded. But his smile quickly faded.

“Hmm, but I can’t guarantee how much pain you’ll feel when you use it. You and the Ancient Dragon are different, after all.”

Kale Heniatus nodded impassively, his hand moving toward the inner pocket of his shirt.

When Kale Heniatus and the entire group remained silent and still, Burd Illis took a sip of alcohol and stared at the firmly closed door.
He fell into thought.

‘To defeat the White Star, I need the Ancient Dragon’s power.’

Whether facing the White Star himself or his subordinates, the difference between having the dragon and not having it was significant.
From a strategic perspective, Burd Illis judged that the dragon needed to survive for a long time—at least until everything related to the White Star was resolved.
Thus, he waited anxiously for his treatment to conclude safely.

That was when it happened.
In the quiet space.

“Ha!”

A sigh echoed out.
Burd Illis’s gaze shifted to the side.
The source of the sigh was Kale Heniatus.

“I knew this would happen.”

Kale Heniatus moved forward as he spoke.

“Kale Heniatus, what is the matter?”
“Human, why are you doing this?”

The group asked, but Kale ignored them.

Clang!

Something shattered from within the iron door.
At that sound, Hong cried out.

“It sounds like an artifact broke!”

A strange tension hung in the air.
Erhafen had used the artifact. However, the artifact could not withstand it and shattered. Then how much had it helped Erhafen’s lifespan before breaking?

The group waited for Erhafen, each of them tense.
Because of this, they momentarily forgot about Kale, who was walking toward the door. They did not think it particularly important.

Kale stood before the door.
His right hand remained in the inner pocket of his shirt.
That hand gripped a spinning top.

‘A Dragon is using an artifact!’
‘Ooooh!’

Kale had been hearing the voice of the Wind Spirit since earlier.
He trusts Erhafen.

But he had seen it.

The moment Erhafen grasped the jar’s handle, water began to fill it.
Very slowly, bit by bit.

A jar that fills with water as much as the user desires, as much as they need.

If a Dragon wished to live long, if they truly desired it.
Would the water fill so slowly, so gradually?

The Mercenary King had said he drank desperately when he used the artifact. Didn’t that mean the water filled at a much faster rate?

That’s why Kale Heniatus gripped the whip the moment he stepped out, just in case.
The voices of the Wind Spirits reached him.

He still trusted Erhafen.
But Erhafen cherished Raon, himself, and their companions. Kale Heniatus understood better than anyone what someone who cherished others could do.
Because he had once experienced being cherished.

The voices of the Wind Spirits reached Kale Heniatus.

‘Wow! The Dragon is drinking just one sip!’

Water filled the jar only to the amount of a single sip.

‘He’s putting the jar into subspace? Oh, he’s deliberately making the sound of it breaking with magic.’

The corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth twisted.
To him, the gentle voice of a Wind Spirit reached.

‘Child. Are you curious what the Dragon inside was muttering about?’

Kale Heniatus gave no answer. He didn’t even nod his head.
Erhafen’s thoughts were something Kale Heniatus should ask about and hear directly. But the Wind Spirit with the gentle voice told him anyway, without waiting for him to ask.

‘The Dragon who drank one sip of water is muttering. That he can endure this much, he says.’

That he can endure this much.
The meaning of those words was obvious.

Until the White Star is eliminated.
That sentence just needed to be placed before those words.

Until the White Star is eliminated, he can endure this much.

Those were not words that someone with the intention to live a long life could speak.

And Erhafen’s intention to hide the artifact in subspace was equally obvious. He would certainly not use it for himself.

Kale Heniatus’s hand grasped the door handle. Wind lingered in that hand.

Screech.
The massive iron gate slowly opened under the force of wind.
Kale Heniatus stepped through the narrow gap and spoke to his companions as he entered the Training Ground.

“Don’t come in.”

His companions’ expressions turned puzzled.

Boom!
But the partially opened gate slammed shut again with brutal force.
Kale Heniatus stared at the closed gate before turning his head.
The vast, empty expanse of the Training Ground came into view.

“…Kale?”

And there stood Erhafen, his pallor gone, regarding him with a puzzled expression—yet smiling nonetheless.
At the same moment, Kale Heniatus’s face crumpled most ungracefully as his mouth fell open.

“So this is how you come out?”

It was a face that Crown Prince Albert would deem most irreverent, quite extraordinarily so.

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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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