······Just as I was steeling my courage to approach Ganesha.
“No way! Well, well~ if it isn’t Professor Deculein~?”
A greasy voice and a dense cloud of perfume blocked my path.
“Delighted to see you. It has been a while.”
A man with golden hair, blue eyes, and handsome features.
He was shorter than me, but the magical power he exuded was robust.
I knew this bastard’s face. I had modeled him myself.
“······Ihelm?”
Ihelm von Jerian Rewind.
Deculein’s archenemy... no, calling him that would be giving him too much credit. He was probably just a named figure who was jealous after having the Head Professor position snatched away from him.
“Yes~ Professor Deculein. How is university life these days? I heard an incident occurred from your very first class.”
“It was resolved well.”
“Haha. I suppose it would be. More than that, I’ve been worried lately. It seems certain scoundrels are doubting your reputation.”
Ihelm made a fuss.
They say a long tail gets caught. Just as Ihelm said, Deculein’s falsehoods and deceptions were slowly leaking out.
“Of course, I am awaiting Professor Deculein’s grand magical research. You must be contemplating deeply for a great achievement, yes? Though that contemplation has been so lengthy that it is now approaching almost three years······.”
I looked at Ihelm. The vivid movements of his expression and wrinkles were greasy.
If cheese were alive and moving, would it look like this?
Human cheese.
“······If that great research is too complex and you cannot see the thread, and thus require my assistance, please do not hesitate to tell me anytime. I shall come running immediately.”
It was a mocking provocation.
The original Deculein would have shown him some non-verbal expression, but I did not respond at all. I didn’t even bat an eye.
Honestly, I wasn’t even interested.
“I actually understand. The title of Head Professor must be burdensome. After all, it is the honor of a University Magic Tower wizard······ Are you listening?”
Ihelm, who had been chattering away to himself for quite a while, finally seemed to tire and wrinkled the bridge of his nose, pinching his brow.
“I wasn’t listening.”
“Tsk······ You seem busy, then allow me to add just one last word.”
I turned my gaze over his shoulder to look for Ganesha.
She wasn’t there.
Right, left, near the door, by the window—nowhere.
The important named figure had disappeared.
“If you act so noble and high and mighty all by yourself, no one in this world will like you. Do you understand? A fall from grace is not such a rare occurrence among the nobility. Put an end to that absurd ‘Pure Element Creation’ research now and······”
Heat flared up at the back of my neck in an instant.
Because of this bastard, I had missed Ganesha, yet this mayonnaise brat wouldn’t fuck off and just kept yapping.
“That’s right, Professor Deculein. Hell awaits you soon, so you had better laugh all you can while you still can. Also······.”
One word was already stretching into dozens.
If I stayed still, he seemed like he would lecture me until I died of old age, so I took one step closer to him.
“I’ll say one thing too.”
“Listen carefully to my advi——?”
Looking down at his yellowish, pale face, I placed my mouth to his ear.
And whispered softly.
······Stop meddling and get lost, you rotten cheese bastard.
It could have become a death variable, but it felt refreshing. A natural smile rose to my lips. After all, Ihelm was someone the original Deculein had detested as well.
“Wh-what did you say? Cheese, rotten cheese? You, you just—”
“I’m leaving.”
Leaving the stammering bastard behind, I strode away.
I had barely escaped Ihelm, but there were still many people looking for Deculein. Countless nobles rushed at me as if they had been waiting.
—I heard about that incident. The Elleide scion got into a quarrel with some illegitimate noble’s child, didn’t he?
—But then, they say Head Professor Deculein appeared like a hero. My son told me everything. Hehehe. Just hearing about it excites me so; I wonder how my son felt at that time. Ah, my son’s name is······.
—Head Professor Deculein. Do you perhaps have time tonight?
They said various things to me. There were requests, mere troubles, and something close to temptation.
By now, my head hurt. The sickly sweet dessert and the terrible smell of perfume seemed to crush my five senses. It was because the trait 「Iron Body」 uselessly strengthened my senses, including my sense of smell.
Simply feeling fed up, I looked for a place without people.
Having climbed up to the deserted third floor like that, leaning against the window frame in the hallway to catch my breath—
“······Professor Deculein?”
Someone called my name. I turned around and was greatly surprised.
It was Ganesha, the named figure I had been looking for.
“What are you doing here?”
She approached me, looking with roundly widened eyes.
Had the original Deculein and Ganesha known each other?
I had no idea.
I answered without showing it.
“······I got lost.”
“Oh my. You tell jokes now? Were you waiting for me?”
Well, if it was Deculein, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a connection with Ganesha.
“······.”
I glanced sideways at her as she came up and stood beside me. Perhaps mistaking that look for a glare, Ganesha smiled with her eyes and put her hands together.
“I’m sorry about that mission back then. But I returned even the down payment and the penalty fee. Won’t you let it slide just this once?”
“······.”
When I stayed silent, Ganesha pursed her lips briefly and puffed her cheeks. Her twin braids swayed left and right.
“Well, yes······ I saw a child with tremendous talent in Dadohae, the kind you wanted. I can’t say for certain that it was magical talent, but······ it was a girl.”
I silently looked up at the sky outside the window. Before I knew it, night had fallen, and bluish moonlight shone upon the window frame.
Ganesha followed my gaze and continued speaking.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring her. No, I’m sorry I didn’t bring her. I grew attached. I couldn’t give her to you.”
I could understand the whole story without even trying.
Knowing his own magical deficiency, Deculein must have planned to use an easy-to-handle, talented child like a slave to rack up research achievements in his stead. He had entrusted that mission to Ganesha.
“But Professor, how long do you plan to live like that?”
I kept looking at the moon outside the window.
With no answer, she took a cigarette from her pocket and placed it in her mouth.
“Hey... can ju light dis for me?”
“No.”
“······.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but that I couldn’t. I hadn’t learned 「Ignition」 yet.
Ganesha pretended to be sulky, and I spoke.
“I intend to live differently from now on.”
“······Huh? Really?”
Ganesha moved the cigarette from her mouth to her hand. I nodded without looking at her.
“Uh······ that’s unexpected. I thought you were going to kill me. Actually, I came here to see you. I was curious.”
“······What was so curious?”
“You ran away without a word, yet you didn’t send any assassins after me.”
Ganesha’s twin braids fluttered.
Flutter, flutter—flutter, flutter—
She probably thought she was expressing surprise, but it was annoying.
“It’s an excessive worry.”
Ganesha was a named figure who ranked among the top in combat power. As could be seen from even her hair moving as it pleased, she was a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of the physical body.
With her traits alone, 「Myriad Streams Return to the Source (Wanliu Guizong)」, not to mention the famous 「Vajra Indestructible Body (Jingang Buhuai)」······ she was literally a named figure capable of killing a person with a single strand of hair.
Send assassins after such a monster?
That would be a real madman.
“Is it really okay, Professor Deculein?”
Ganesha asked again. The braid on the right side was slapping my shoulder with soft thuds.
“If you came to meet me, turn back now.”
I lifted my feet and moved toward the stairs.
I had come to build connections, but I already had connections.
If so, there was no need to stay long at this social gathering.
Ganesha spoke behind me.
“Ah, is that so. But I have to be able to trust you. You’re really not going to do something like a purge or expel me?”
Of course, with the prestige of the great noble house Yukraine, he could sufficiently pressure the Adventurer’s Guild. Since Ganesha had violated the Adventurer’s Guild’s faith and refused the mission arbitrarily.
“······It’s beneath me.”
Of course, since that too was an insane act, I cut her off like that and kept walking.
I could feel Ganesha’s gaze on the back of my head.
······Uh, hm······ did he eat something wrong? Is he sick? Or is it because he’s newly engaged? Why is he acting like this······.
Even though I had gone quite far, I heard that muttering.
As if she had lit her cigarette late, a thick, acrid scent of tar wafted in.
It was then.
[ Villain’s Fate: Death Variable Evasion ]
◆ Reward Acquired: Shop Currency +1
“······What? This?”
Villain’s Fate had activated.
Previously it was ‘Overcoming,’ now it is ‘Evasion.’
The conversation I had just shared with Ganesha had also been a proper ‘death variable’······.
* * *
“Oh······ The chocolate flows like a fountain.”
Yulie opened her eyes wide as she looked at the chocolate fountain, these days both a newfangled curiosity and the ‘it-item’ of high society.
“Railly. Look at this. It’s fascinating.”
Then her relative, Railly, who was beside her, grabbed her arm and pulled.
“Ah, seriously. Stop that and come here, really······.”
“······Why do you do that every time I say something?”
“I don’t want to, but it’s so unsophisticated. Sir Knight Yulie has a reputation to uphold! Don’t act surprised; look at it calmly. Calmly.”
“I didn’t want to come here in the first place.”
Yulie glared at Railly sullenly, then focused her gaze back on the chocolate fountain.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle——
That the chocolate was actually surging up was fascinating, but more than that, she wanted to eat the chocolate itself.
Rich chocolate. A sweetness that made her salivate involuntarily······.
“Hm? What’s Ihelm doing over there?”
By the side of that chocolate fountain.
In the corner of Yulie’s vision, Ihelm was spotted huffing away by himself.
“Right? He was talking with Professor Deculein until just now. Why is he suddenly like that?”
“······.”
Deculein, Ihelm, Sirio, Lapel, Georg, and so on······ These peers, called the Golden Generation even on the continent, were Yulie’s seniors at the Imperial Royal University.
Deculein was no different now than in those days, and Ihelm was the hanger-on faction that had clung to his side.
They had completely fallen out over some incident, though.
“But, how are things these days?”
Railly asked subtly.
“What do you mean?”
“With Professor Deculein. There’s been a lot of rumors lately.”
In social circles, all rumors spread quickly. Words spoken in the morning are known even by the dogs nobles keep by evening.
Railly asked openly even though she knew that. She hated Deculein just as much as Yulie did.
“······Absolutely not good.”
A voice that was not loud but distinct.
Perhaps everyone in high society had pricked up their ears to hear that voice.
—But could this too be a prank of fate ordained by the god of high society?
Deculein, who had briefly stepped away, appeared at the second-floor stairs.
It was breathtaking timing; a perfect entrance.
“That man······ his appearance is still the same. They say he’s thirty-three now; why doesn’t he age?”
Deculein was a nobleman with the looks and style to blend in and be welcomed at any social gathering, anytime.
Even those who hated Deculein couldn’t help but admit that much.
His fashion was the textbook for noble men, and he himself took pride in that.
That was why Deculein always stayed until the end of social events to flaunt his dignity, but······.
Today was strange.
He was walking toward the exit.
Moreover, already wearing his outer coat.
The nobles watched Deculein’s bizarre route in a daze.
Thud, thud.
The haughty sound of footsteps sank heavily into the splendid banquet hall.
The crowd of nobles parted to make way for Deculein.
In the silent space, several strands of doubt bloomed in everyone’s hearts.
What is Deculein doing?
Could he be leaving?
Already? He was leaving the social gathering already?
The sun had only just gone down, hadn’t it?
Why?
Ah, because of Yulie?
In that instant, as they merely blinked at this utterly incongruous turn of events.
Deculein stepped out the door, and in the void of sound he left behind, there was only the sound of the chocolate fountain. No matter how long they waited in the silence, he did not return……
Deculein’s sudden departure soon became intertwined with Yulie’s statement from moments ago.
The party began to heat up, using that gossip as kindling.
* * *
[Side Quest Complete: Attend the social gathering “New Year’s Flower”]
◆ Shop Currency +0.5
◆ Current Shop Currency Holdings: 4.5 won
The servants looked at me in surprise when I returned before the sun had set. It seemed I had come home much earlier than expected.
I asked the servants if there was a spacious but unfurnished area, somewhere like a storehouse, and the middle-aged head maid hesitantly guided me there.
Within the vast grounds of this mansion were not only the main building where I stayed, but also a rear mountain, an ornamental forest, gardens, and servants’ quarters, as well as an abandoned building that had once been used as a storehouse.
“……Filthy.”
The storehouse was about half the size of a soccer field, but as though it had not been used for a long time, it was filled everywhere with cobwebs and dust.
I did not go out of my way to show my distaste through action. Covering my mouth with my hand for fear of inhaling dust, or coughing, were acts that ran contrary to dignity itself.
“Are you outside?”
I stood in place and sent only my voice out. The servants came running in no time.
“Clean this place. Also, bring metal ingots.”
“Yes.”
I watched the cleaning with my hands clasped behind my back. As expected, Deculein’s servants were excellent at cleaning, and they polished even this enormous space to a shine in a mere fifteen minutes.
“These are steel ingots. If there is any furniture you desire—”
They had also brought the metal quickly. It bore a seal, perhaps procured from a smithy.
“That will do. Go and rest now. However, from now on, unless I call for you, and unless you have my permission, do not enter this place without authorization.”
“Yes, understood.”
The servants withdrew backward, careful not to show their backs.
After confirming that they had completely disappeared, I took off my clothes and folded them neatly in midair. It was a telekinetic clothes hanger.
I dropped a steel ingot onto the floor. Then I used the “Basic Metal Transmutation” I had learned previously. The steel touched by my mana rose up in a long shape, and soon became a piece of equipment very familiar even to me—a “horizontal bar.”
Just as I was about to grip that bar and begin exercising.
“……”
On the off chance, I used “Midas’s Hand” on the horizontal bar. I poured in 3,000 mana, the highest value in the thousands.
──「 Horizontal Bar 」──
◆ Information
: A horizontal bar made through transmutation magic.
: Its support has been improved due to “Midas’s Hand.”
◆ Category
: Equipment ⊃ Health
◆ Special Effect
: Exercising with this equipment seems likely to yield greater efficiency.
[ Midas’s Hand: Level 3 ]
────────
An increase in exercise efficiency.
Indeed, it was a special effect befitting the category of “Health.”
“……A very versatile trait.”
Satisfied, I stretched out both hands and gripped the horizontal bar. Maintaining my posture, I fully extended my arms and lifted my body.
One, two, three……
My arms trembled, and I slipped. Three pull-ups was the end of it.
It was bewildering.
“I could originally do at least five…… No. I used to. Is it because this body hasn’t exercised at all?”
Well, even with the trait “Iron Man,” he had devoted himself only to magic. He had been far too foolish all this time.
Fortunately, my muscles recovered quickly, and I gripped the bar again.
Now, the second attempt.
One, two, three……
Past three, four, five, six……
A total of six.
The number had increased dramatically.
With just a single set, my physical ability had visibly improved.
This was the performance of “Iron Man.”
In only two sets, Deculein’s athletic ability surpassed Kim Woojin’s.
“This is troublesome.”
Whether I should laugh or cry.
Even so, I smiled and gripped the horizontal bar again.