Chapter 41 Translator: XZY Chapter 41: Magic (3) ***
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To Derek, the magic teacher belonging to the Veldern Mercenary Corps, heed this.
As passed on through Head Butler Klaven, I am aware that you have begun the task of teaching Denise at the mansion in Ebelstein.
First, I commend your efforts. The rumors of your outstanding skills are widespread, and there have been many efforts and sacrifices on the part of the Beltus family to bring you in. I hope that you will show results worthy of them.
As the master who is directly teaching my daughter, we should meet face to face and exchange greetings, but as you know, the situation in the southwestern part of the empire is chaotic, so it is difficult for me to leave my post.
And to call a teacher who must be busy teaching my daughter all the way to the territory would only make things sluggish, so I ask for your understanding in sending a letter instead.
My daughter Denise showed talent in various fields of magic even before she became active in the Ebelstein social circle, but at some point, she has been unable to produce any magical results, as if she has hit a wall.
As you are a renowned magic master, I eagerly await you to quickly break through that wall of achievement that seems to be blocking my daughter.
I will entrust the authority over Denise's education to you. If there is anything you need, speak through the head butler or the servants of the mansion, and if there is anything to report regarding her achievements, deliver a letter directly.
The wisest and oldest master of the Beltus territory.
Grand Duke Andeloph Kellog Beltus.
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Reply
To the great His Grace, the Grand Duke of Beltus.
I will take it as a great honor that you have sent a letter in your own hand. I will be faithful to my duties in receiving the trust you have sent.
Please do not worry too much about Lady Denise's achievements.
If I say I will do it, I will do it.
Derek.
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For Denise, attending the meetings of the Rosea Salon was nothing short of an ordeal.
It was because it was a very tiring thing to have to dress up from early in the morning, carry oneself gracefully, and exchange pleasantries with the nobles with a smile that was not in one's heart.
Denise would always think as she walked through the various splendid corridors of the noble district. I want to go home, lie down, and read a romance novel.
However, recently, attending the meetings of the Rosea Salon had become a way of resting. It was because home was more of a hell.
"Derek won't come to the mansion today, right? I'm scheduled to listen to a lecture on Aintress philosophy at the Salon Cultural Hall in the morning... and I have to go to the Rosea Salon meeting in the afternoon. It will be late at night when it's all over...."
"Yes. There was no particular message from Mr. Derek. It would be meaningless for him to come since you'll be doing social activities all day."
"I-I have to finish getting ready quickly and leave before that persistent man comes. The schedule is set to leave after breakfast, but let's just eat something simple and leave the house before the sun rises."
However, Derek was already standing at the main gate, having bought a lot of magic tools for training.
"Good morning. Lady Denise."
"H-Hic...!"
"The dawn air is very clear. Today, let's focus on classes on basic physical strength and theory rather than magic training."
"D-Derek! Classes are good, but social activities as a noble young lady are also important!"
"Yes, that is a very right thing to say."
Derek was not inflexible.
No matter how much he rolled up his sleeves to reform Denise's lazy mindset, he could not do anything about her duties as a noble.
Therefore, Derek spoke to Denise with a refreshing expression.
"I will wait at the mansion until you finish your schedule. I also have many things to train personally, so I can just focus on that. Please don't worry about me and concentrate on the Rosea Salon and your social activities."
"...You'll wait? At the mansion?"
"You will finish everything and return to the mansion around dinnertime, won't you? If we squeeze in training from then until you go to sleep, we can train for over six hours. Well, since you will be physically tired, let's focus on theory classes. I have prepared all the teaching materials. I have prepared them by spending my own money in my poor circumstances, so please read them carefully."
"M-Mr. Derek... if you bill the mansion for such things, we will pay for them all..."
As the exclusive maid, Bella, spoke in surprise, Denise met Bella's eyes and shook her head vigorously.
"F-First... I'll go to the meeting then!"
Denise felt goosebumps all over her body at the tenacity of that magic master, who was clinging to her like a water ghost.
<><><>
Derek quietly saw off Denise's back as she ran away as if escaping, and then, guided by the servants, he entered the mansion.
The servants had cleared out the entire guest lounge so that Derek could be at ease. In any case, since the mistress of the mansion was away, there would be no distinguished guests visiting this place.
Derek laid out the various magic supplies and letters he had brought on the lounge table.
And he also took out all the various groceries and daily necessities he had bought from the shopping district. There was a reason why he had brought all these things from the crack of dawn.
'Phew...'
The young lady to be taught was away from the mansion. Nevertheless, Derek moved his body busily.
He took off his cloak and folded it on one side, and rolled up both his sleeves.
In any case, if he wanted to walk the line between the three great noble families, he had to produce at least a minimum of results.
And whether it was intended or not, Derek had been recognized among the noble families by teaching the noble young ladies. Now that the situation had become like this, it was right to do his best in the given situation.
What does it mean to teach a person?
If it was just about receiving knowledge, one could just read a book. To teach a person means to sincerely empathize and communicate with that person and move forward together.
Therefore, the current situation where Lady Denise was feeling burdened by Derek and running away could not be seen as very positive.
Lady Denise was completely different from Lady Elente. Elente had been eager to actively absorb Derek's teachings, but Lady Denise was in a situation where she was trying to push Derek away. If so, he had no choice but to change his approach.
Derek was a person who handled all matters business-like, considering efficiency. It was his habit to research how to complete any task in the most certain and neat way.
To get a hold of Lady Denise, to produce magical achievements, to correct her attitude towards magic, and to put the Beltus family in his debt. This grand plan would begin with tightly binding that Lady Denise so that she could not say anything else.
He was already in a position where he had been recognized as a magic teacher by the Grand Duke of Beltus, but that alone was not enough.
If he wanted to firmly get a hold of Lady Denise so that she could not say anything else, it was good to slowly overturn her environment first.
This mansion was her kingdom.
It was because it was a gathering place of servants who had gathered to serve only her as the mistress, with the support of the Beltus family.
The first thing to do was to win over the servants who were sweating all year round, only to assist her.
That was the very reason why he had come to the mansion from early in the morning, even though Lady Denise would be away.
The first person Derek sought out was the tough-looking gatekeeper of the mansion.
"Please rest while you work. The daily temperature range is also getting bigger, so if you don't warm your body enough, your health will suffer."
"Oh, this precious tea... thank you. Aren't you the magic teacher who came to teach Lady Denise?"
"Yes. I'm a bit free right now since the young lady is away."
"Hahaha.... you are a person whose aura is different from an uneducated person like me. To think there is such a difference even though we are both commoners... Still, please take good care of the young lady. She may seem unmotivated, but she is a good-natured person."
"Of course. I am a person who came to work for Lady Denise, so I must be faithful to my duties."
And so, that day, until Denise came, he drank tea with the mansion's gatekeeper and talked about the world.
And after the class in the evening, he said he had good liquor and dragged the gatekeeper out to drink at the pier by the beach. And so, he and the gatekeeper became a drinking companion from time to time.
Next, he went to the mansion's chef and the head of the maids and had a conversation about the taste of food.
Derek studied various ingredients and food culture all day long at the library of the cultural cloister.
Every time he passed them in the corridor, he would talk at length about the details of the ingredients that went into the meal of the day, and he would discuss the profundity of the taste.
From time to time, whenever Derek obtained a rare ingredient from the market district, he would bring it to the chef, and they would cook a delicacy and eat it together or serve it to Denise.
When Denise would praise the taste of such a delicacy, the chef would have a satisfied expression in the kitchen and put his arm around Derek's shoulder.
Seeing Derek gradually entering the world of gastronomy, the chef would get excited and, spitting saliva, would give a long speech about the difference in the sweetness of fruits from the western and northeastern parts of the continent, and he would explain for over thirty minutes the difference in the degree to which the sauce seeps in depending on the direction of the cuts on the ingredients.
Derek would listen to all such stories with an interested expression.
He also discussed the vegetation of the southwestern part of the continent with the gardener who managed the garden whenever he had a chance.
For this as well, he had built up a basic knowledge by poring over books on plants and ecology all day long. Although he could not build up the knowledge of an expert just by reading a few books, he could at least pretend to be a person with whom one could have a conversation and learn something.
Since he had worked in various noble families, it was not a big deal to get close to the maids.
Since he knew a certain amount about the hardships of the servants, he would empathize with them, and once in a while, he would help a little with the laundry or cleaning, and get some of the kitchen's delicacies and eat them together, and at some point, they would smile with a bright face just by making eye contact.
It was also easy to form a bond with the squires and the guards. They were very interested in the raw life of the mercenaries. They perked up their ears at Derek's tales of valor, of going through various labyrinths and beating down magical beasts.
The head butler was the most formidable, and he had noticed Derek's intention of consciously trying to get along with the servants.
However, after he figured out that Derek's ultimate goal was to reform Denise, he would rather come to Derek's lounge first and tell stories about the history of the mansion.
"Lady Denise! Mr. Derek has come...! He has brought a lot of good ingredients today too! Would seafood be alright for dinner tonight? I will show off my skills without reservation!"
"Aigo, Derek. You old man. You're having a hard time from early in the morning. Take it easy."
"Mr. Derek. I've mended the clothes you mentioned before. It was a great help for the apprentice maids' practice."
And so, when he came to his senses, the tough-looking mansion gatekeeper was laughing heartily with his arm around Derek's shoulder, the mansion's maids were greeting him warmly, and the head butler was also greeting Derek with a satisfied smile.
The gardener was spreading a beautiful story that that man was a really proper person, and some of the naive apprentice maids would blush when that man passed by, which was quite a sight.
"...He is a person who is very good at social life, contrary to my thoughts. Well, to make a living in that rough mercenary world, he must have at least acquired the eye to see people and the art of living..."
"No... Bella... no matter what, it's strange for him to blend into the mansion so quickly... isn't it possible that he used some kind of trick with illusion magic?"
"...Actually, it's true that the person named Mr. Derek is a proper person. Although he may be harsh as a master."
"Ugh...."
Denise was lying on the bed, enduring the aching pain.
Since it was lunchtime for a while, Derek had stopped the training and had gone out to have a pleasant conversation with the servants.
Even though it had not been long since he had been appointed as a master, his reputation among the servants was already sky-high.
Of course, it was not a favor that was obtained for free.
He had bought various gifts by spending his own money, and even though he must have been busy with just his magic training, he had studied the interests of various people, listened to their words, and slowly built up a relationship by helping them with necessary tasks until late at night. It was all the result of investing time and effort.
Above all, there was a gap between Denise and Derek that could not be narrowed. Denise was a noble to whom one had to be careful just by speaking to her, and Derek was a commoner who had come up from the bottom with his bare hands.
There was no need to even weigh who would feel more familiar to the servants.
"And well... it's not that strange for him to get along well with the servants, is it?"
"That's true, but... I feel uneasy. That mercenary is blunt and indifferent, so he doesn't try to win others' favor unnecessarily... but there must be a reason why he's going out of his way to do so. Surely... it must be one of the ways to tie me down..."
"..."
"Bella... you, of all people... must not fall for that mercenary's unknowable inner thoughts."
Bella was lost in thought, her chin in her hand.
Certainly, Derek had been kind to Bella as well. The people who came to the mansion as magic masters were usually high-nosed and arrogant, and often treated the servants poorly, so it was a refreshing feeling.
He had helped Bella when she was dusting off the artworks alone by using a light wind magic, and when she was struggling to move the cleaning supplies late at night, he would come over with an indifferent air and carry them for her.
It seemed like an action to openly win her favor, but the thought of a recognized person like Derek trying to win the favor of lowly servants did not come to mind... in the first place, he would just say 'good work' without even taking credit and go to do his own work.
"....Isn't he just a normally good person?"
"B-Bella... you too...!"
When she came to her senses, Derek had already completely blended into Denise's mansion. It was getting harder and harder to cut him off.
It was a part that was hard to grasp just by seeing him buried only in magic with a dirty appearance in the cave. Derek was already mastering social skills to some extent. Most of it was influenced by Jayden, the tavern owner who handled any kind of customer with a frank attitude.
Denise felt as if she was gradually being sucked into his grasp.
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