Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Chapter 110 "A duel?" "Young Lady Mastien has challenged someone to a duel!" "Who's the opponent!?" "It's an unfamiliar face... but he seems to be around the same age as the Young Lady..." "Is there anyone among Young Lady Mastien's peers who could be a match?" Just watching a fight would be entertaining enough, but the main character of this fight was the young lady of a great noble house that the nobles in the banquet hall looked up to. People were practically beside themselves with excitement at the unexpected entertainment streak suddenly displayed by the great noble's daughter. This must be what they call superstar quality. The ability to drive people crazy, whether they like it or not— And so I felt like I was going crazy too. 'A duel...' The young lady of the great noble house Mastien—Heinya spoke triumphantly. That she 'too' had reached the 5th Rank. In other words, Heinya currently thinks I'm at the 5th Rank level. It was a reasonable and logical assumption. When I last met Heinya, I was at the 5th Rank, and only about a month has passed since our last meeting. "What, can't believe it? Hehe. Did you think only you were special?" However she interpreted my flustered appearance, Young Lady Heinya's shoulders were rising higher by the moment. Damn it. What is this indescribable guilt? For now, I felt the need to escape this situation. If I were truly at the 5th Rank as Heinya thinks, we would have engaged in a close match that would have thrilled the audience and earned thunderous applause, but right now the difference in power between Heinya and me is too stark. Thinking back to when I dueled with Lord Meltas, it would be like the gap between a child and an adult. Proceeding with a duel under such conditions? The point of contention would be how well I hold back against Heinya. It would be an uncomfortable duel for both the participants and the spectators. "Why aren't you answering? You're not thinking something like 'What will I do about the aftermath if I humiliate the Mastien Young Lady with defeat in front of all these people?' are you?" "..." "Looks like I'm right. You're really arrogant. Well, I'll give you that. You have the right to be." "That's..." "But! Let me make this clear—things won't go the way you think. I don't think I'll easily beat you, but I also don't think I'll easily lose to you. No. I won't lose. I'll win. Definitely. I've changed, and you're going to feel it keenly." The gleam in Heinya's green eyes grew increasingly vivid. It was the confidence possessed by a genius. That confidence was quite different from what I had seen in Heinya when we first met. It contained a much stronger and more positive force. Even I, watching it, felt excited alongside her. "How about we start preparing? I can't hold back any longer." Heinya's emotions were smoothly escalating, transforming into a state suitable for dueling. How on earth could I make such a Heinya lose interest in the duel? "..." After much deliberation, I made eye contact with Heinya. Then, I raised my hand at an angle where only Heinya could see it. "?" Heinya's gaze turned toward my hand. Two outstretched hands. I began folding the fingers of those hands one by one. One, two, three, four, five. And six. "?" Heinya's expression became indifferent. 'What are you doing?' came the voice. "...!?" But soon, that expression completely changed. 'What are you doing!?' came the voice. -Don't be ridiculous! You're lying!? Then Heinya began interrogating me with her eyes. -... With complicated feelings, I raised my hand again. Then, I repeatedly folded and unfolded the seventh finger—my index finger. "Hey!" Unable to bear it any longer, Heinya shouted. With the most aggrieved face in the world. "D-Don't be ridiculous! How is that even possible!!!" "..." Wiggle wiggle. I could only repeat the index finger wiggling with a heavy heart. "I don't believe it! No, I can't believe it! There's no way that's possible!" Unlike her words, her body was honest. Whether she had properly interpreted my signal, I could feel Heinya's will toward the duel rapidly diminishing. "Th-This... cowardly... unfair..." Separately, I could see resentment toward me rapidly growing. A whining voice. The dignified challenger had instantly transformed into a whimpering little child. "Now, now. That's enough." It was then that Young Master Mastien, Heinya's older brother, intervened between us. *** The weight that comes with status. The attitude of the Mastien family's young master—Dray—was friendly, but Risir felt a strange sense of pressure from it. "Heinya, that's enough. You're making the other party uncomfortable. I'm sorry. You must have been startled, right?" "Yes? Oh, not at all." "By the way, that's impressive." "Yes?" "For our Heinya to show such competitiveness toward another person. It's quite rare. What's your relationship with our Heinya, if you don't mind me asking?" Dray looked Risir up and down. "Oh, we're colleagues at the Magic Tower." "Really? Well, well. This is surprising. Given our Heinya's personality, I never thought she'd make friends at the Magic Tower." "We-We're not friends or anything!?" Heinya, who had been listening to the conversation, shouted in surprise. At Heinya's reaction, Risir also shouted in surprise. "What!? Weren't we friends!?" "Uh...?" Heinya, who had been unnecessarily irritable out of embarrassment. She fidgeted with her hands while awkwardly rolling her eyes here and there. "W-Well...? Then... if you really want... I guess it would be okay to consider us friends...?" Beside them, Dray burst into laughter. He looked like he found his sister absolutely adorable. "This is quite an auspicious day, isn't it? Our Heinya has made a friend. As far as I know, this is probably the first time?" "Dray! Stop saying weird things!!!" "What I mean is, it's that rare for you to acknowledge someone. Right?" "..." "Eek." Dray turned to speak with Risir as if fleeing from Heinya's glare. "You. Since you're our Heinya's friend, you don't mind if I speak casually, do you?" "Yes? Oh, of course not." "I'm Dray Ye Mastien. And you are?" "I'm called Risir." "Risir, just Risir..." Dray's expression changed. From the expression of a brother looking at his sister's friend— To the expression of the Mastien family's second son looking at an outsider. Unlike Heinya, Dray was in a position where he worked on the front lines for the family. By approaching groups or individuals who could benefit the family and forming good relationships with them. Some people described Dray's approach as 'talent scouting.' Dray quite liked that expression. The attitude he had when dealing with people wasn't much different from a collector approaching their passion. Such a Dray was now feeling interested in Risir. 'Why would Heinya be interested in him...' It was because his younger sister Heinya had shown interest in him. Given that she rarely opened her heart to others, Heinya's discernment could be considered even more stringent than Dray's own. Dray was curious from a talent scouting perspective about what element had captured such a Heinya's attention. 'Risir. Where does your value lie?' After briefly assessing Risir, he opened his mouth. "Did you know? Our Heinya has achieved the 5th Rank this time." "Ah, yes. I just found out." "Isn't it amazing? About one year since she started learning magic. Even reaching the 4th Rank would be sufficiently surprising, but the 5th Rank? You seem to be a mage too, so let me ask you. Do you think this tremendous rate of progress even makes sense?" Infinite affection and pride could be felt from Dray as he spoke. Indeed, if someone else had possessed talent on the level of Heinya's, Dray would have done whatever it took to 'collect' that person. "Dray... please stop..." At that moment, Heinya spoke with a trembling voice from beside them. Dray thought she was embarrassed by his excessive doting. Humility was a virtue only for those with mediocre talents. Someone of Heinya's caliber had no reason to be modest, and as far as Dray knew, Heinya was well aware of this fact too. 'Is she being shy because she's in front of her friend?' Dray concluded that was the reason for Heinya's behavior. "5th Rank? What is this... how long has she been learning magic..." "5th Rank in just one year... Young Lady Heinya might truly be rewriting history...!" "The prestige of the Gray Magic Tower—" And, satisfied with the reactions coming from around them, he continued speaking. "I heard what Heinya was saying. You're also at the 5th Rank like Heinya?" "Uh, well—" The surroundings stirred once more. "What, he's also at the 5th Rank!? At such a young age!?" "Still, unlike Young Lady Heinya, he must have been practicing magic since he was young..." "Even considering that, isn't it sufficiently surprising! There are countless people who can't reach the 5th Rank even after entering their thirties!" "True enough..." It was a genteel level of commotion compared to the reaction to Heinya. It was also reflective of Dray's state of mind. '5th Rank...' As a great noble. And as a talent scout who had encountered numerous talents, Dray found that Risir's magical level didn't give him much inspiration. He acknowledged it, but didn't feel the need to go to the trouble of 'collecting' him. Thus, Dray's curiosity reared its head once more. What aspect of this man had captivated that picky Heinya and made her open her heart? 'Is it because they're in similar positions...' Eventually, Dray reached such a conclusion. That it was a small commotion that arose as Heinya, placed in the new environment of the Magic Tower, was adapting to that environment. Until recently, Heinya had been at the 4th Rank level. Therefore, she would have felt interest in Risir, who was the same age but at a higher level. But now Heinya has reached the 5th Rank. She wouldn't be able to look at Risir with the same perspective as before. And the same would be true for Risir as well. The emotions that a genius makes a mediocre person feel were truly close to a disaster. 'Considering Heinya's personality, their relationship probably won't last very long.' The talent scout had satisfied his curiosity and lost interest in the subject. Dray, who had returned from being a talent scout to being Heinya's brother again, smiled toward Risir. "5th Rank at that age. That's impressive. You must have worked tirelessly without becoming complacent despite being born with excellent talent. I saw Heinya after a long time and felt relieved. She seemed to be doing very well. I'm sure your influence played a part in that. I want to express my gratitude for that." He patted Risir's shoulder in a friendly manner. Dray's demeanor toward Risir was so friendly it seemed like he could chat all day long. "Please continue to get along well with our Heinya in the future?" "I'd like to, but considering Young Lady Heinya's personality—I think Young Lady Heinya will be the one to decide that." "Hahaha! That's true! Well then, I'll be—" However, he casually concluded his conversation with Risir. After all, the reason for attending today's banquet held by the Golden Barley trading company was solely for 'talent scouting.' There was no more time to spare for Risir. "Lord Dray." "Yes?" "He has arrived, sir." "Ah, really?" Just then, a servant approached and delivered the news they had been waiting for. It was news that the former Blue Tower Master, 'Frozen Breath,' had arrived. He would soon head to the trading company head's VIP room. "Lord Eron...!" At that moment. The trading company head's daughter, Caria, who had arrived almost simultaneously, delivered the same news to Eron. 'The trading company head's daughter is being so friendly... Ah, I see. That must be the Saint.' Dray, who had become a talent scout once again. His gaze turned toward where Risir and the Saint stood together. His gaze was fixed solely on the Saint among the two. "If you don't mind, shall we go together?" The Saint exchanged glances with Risir and nodded. They headed together to the trading company head's VIP room. *** "Oh my, you all are—" Dray, who had arrived at the reception room while chatting with Eron. His eyes lit up the moment he entered the room. Valrod of the Red Magic Tower. The demon hunter Maldad. Shakan of the Sky Step tribe. Not just one, but three figures who stimulated his talent scouting desires were already occupying the space. "Lord Dray." They immediately rose from their seats and bowed to Dray. Dray was about to return the bow and continue the conversation when— "Risir!" They brightened considerably and approached Risir. "What brings you here!" "Ah, I happened to get the opportunity. What about all of you—" "If you put it that way, what can we say? We also came here because the opportunity arose." "We're also in the position of waiting for matters to be resolved, just like you." "Good grief, we were just going to stop by quickly to resolve Ran's request and leave—how did it end up like this." "I feel somewhat sorry. It seems like it's partly my fault." Thwack thwack! Shakan heartily slapped Risir's back. "It's fine! It's fine! No need to be sorry! Thanks to that, we gained very precious connections! Right?" When Shakan turned her gaze to Valrod and Maldad, they nodded without delay to show their agreement. "..." Dray was quite flustered by their behavior. Dray was acquainted with all three, and therefore knew how difficult they were to deal with. But their current attitude toward Risir—he wondered if they were really the same three people he had met before. 'Risir...' The extinguished spark reignited. Just as the talent scout was about to show interest in Risir again, the door opened and a chilling cold air flowed in. It was an old man who looked as if all the hair from his head had migrated to his facial hair. An old man with thick eyebrows and a bushy beard stood there with a young woman. The former Blue Tower Master. Frozen Breath, Palag. The atmosphere instantly became tense with the arrival of a big shot who made everyone in the room look like youngsters. They immediately straightened their postures and tried to offer greetings. "Never mind that, sit down. I didn't come here to receive your greetings." Palag dismissed this with a casual wave of his hand and went straight to sit at the head seat. The young woman who had accompanied him immediately approached and stood beside him. "Ahem." Having taken his seat, Palag immediately cleared his throat to set the tone. The former Blue Tower Master was currently thirsty. Thirsty for praise. The perceptive Dray continued the flow. "Lord Palag. I don't think I've met your companion before. Could this be the one you recently took in, the one we've heard about—" Grin. The old man's thick eyebrows and beard twitched along with his smile. He spoke. "It seems like you've heard something?" It was a gaze that seemed to urge the expected question. Dray smiled wryly and, once again perceptively, continued the flow. "I heard that she possesses exceptional magical talent worthy of Lord Palag's discerning eye." "..." At Dray's words, the three big shots also showed interest. The former Blue Tower Master, Frozen Breath, whose level of pickiness had entered the realm of eccentricity. He who was famous for being ruthless even to his disciples had taken in a new disciple after putting everything down. Just how talented could she be? Under such expectant gazes, the bald old man opened his mouth with satisfaction. "From now on, this old man will tell you an interesting story. The beginning is a story you all know well. A certain old and sickly mage retired from the front lines and began wandering the continent. To confirm things he had missed while running forward all this time. Then, in a certain village, he met a girl. That girl was already a 3rd Rank swordsman who had mastered Blue Breath." There could be no more shocking opening for a story discussing magical talent. Palag believed this without doubt and observed the reactions of those present. To watch their shock-stained reactions. Looking just like a doting old man bragging about his granddaughter. "?" Such an expression of his suddenly contorted. "Lord Palag, surely you don't mean...!" Dray was the only one showing the reaction Palag had expected. Everyone else was glancing at a certain young man with strange expressions.