Chapter 15 | The Assassin Gains a New Ally
At last, it was time to meet the person I came for—Nevan.
It took more than being born as a direct descendant to bear the Romalung name. Using it showed that Nevan was the greatest masterpiece of her generation, one born from House Romalung’s selective breeding and high education.
A servant was leading Dia, Tarte, and me to her.
“Hey, Lugh. What is light magic like? I don’t know much about it because I’ve never seen it in practice, and it’s difficult to find any documentation on it,” said Dia.
“Ah, I am interested, too. It sounds really cool, but I’ve been wondering what it is actually like,” Tarte added.
“It’s more than just cool. It’s an incredibly strong elemental affinity. When used for attack, it boosts your speed and firing range. As you might expect from the name, it enables you to move at the speed of light,” I answered.
“That would make someone impossible to avoid,” Tarte remarked, breaking into a sweat likely from just thinking about fighting someone like that.
“Yeah, you’d be done the moment they struck. I can’t think of a deadlier attack,” I agreed.
There was very little written on light magic, making the subject challenging to learn about. Fortunately, I had been able to study it in the goddess’s room.
Dia brought a hand to her chin. “You said ‘when used for attack.’ That means it has other uses, too, right?”
“Light magic can be used to search a vast area very quickly. It is capable of healing injuries as well. The best Tuatha Dé recovery magic can do is aid with surgery and natural recovery, but light magic is entirely different. It’s capable of mending wounds on its own. Light magic is suited to just about everything,” I explained.
“…Hearing that just makes me want it even more,” Dia confessed, unable to contain her excitement.
If I had to pick only one elemental affinity, I probably would have selected light. There were two reasons I didn’t, however.
The first issue was that light or dark had to be a person’s only affinity. You could possess no others, and they were not included in Total Affinity. No matter how great light magic was, the collection of earth, fire, wind, and water was superior.
The second problem was the limited attack power. Light was swift, but its strength paled in comparison to fire’s raw energy or earth’s physical mass. I required the strength to kill the hero, someone with off-the-charts abilities, so any affinity with weaker punch was out of the question.
“This way, please,” the servant beckoned.
He opened a door, and we heard the sound of a piano coming from inside. The melody being played was beautiful and elegant, much like the room itself.
The chamber was stocked with exotic items gathered from all over the world, yet the assortment lacked the tackiness of someone who had recently come into wealth. They were arranged with a sense of true nobility.
“Welcome, Lugh Tuatha Dé and friends. I’ve been looking forward to your arrival,” Nevan greeted us. She turned around to look at us, her purple hair swaying as she did.
“I have also been looking forward to meeting you again, my lady,” I responded politely.
“Aw, you flatter me. I remember your adorable retainer from last time. Who is the other girl?” she asked.
“Dia, introduce yourself,” I instructed.
“I am Claudia Tuatha Dé, one of the Holy Knight’s attendants. It is an honor to meet you,” she said, bowing in the Alvanian style. Dia’s conduct had reached an unrivaled level of grace.
“You are gorgeous, Claudia… I have a feeling we are cut from the same cloth,” Nevan remarked.
Dia cocked her head to the side. “You think so?”
“Cut from the same cloth.” Nevan sure was sharp. A mere glance was all it took for her to understand Dia was a high-born noble.
“Please be seated,” said the Romalung girl.
“Thank you very much,” I answered, doing as requested.
“When I heard you all were coming, I prepared some sweets that we had in reserve for the occasion. Yet you very kindly brought me something much, much better, so let us go with that instead. Ever since first tasting it last month, chocolate is all I’ve been able to think about. I thought I would never get any more.”
Evidently, Nevan had heard about the chocolate I had passed to a servant upon entering the Romalung castle.
Politely, I replied, “I am glad to hear it pleases you.”
“How did you manage to acquire chocolate? I tried my best to get some but had zero luck,” Nevan questioned. Simply put, she wished to know how a lowly baron’s son obtained something that a member of a duke’s family could not.
“Ha-ha-ha, I think you know the answer to that already. I’m dating the proxy representative of Natural You. She grants me the occasional favor,” I explained.
Nevan frowned. “Hey, using a personal relationship like that is cheating. It got me some chocolate, though, so I won’t complain. Ah, here it is.”
Servants carried plates beautifully arranged with chocolate and tea into the room.
“Nothing goes better with Natural You sweets than Natural You tea. I could never get enough of this elegant, bittersweet taste. Chocolate truly is unique—the perfect treat for the nobility. I wish I could eat it every day,” Nevan said.
She stuffed her cheeks with the sweet like a child. As she was now, Nevan appeared no more than an overprotected daughter who knew little of the world.
It couldn’t have been the real her, of course. This was likely an act she’d adopted because innocent behavior tended to delight men more than a serious, guarded personality.
I understood this precisely because of how perfect Nevan’s acting was. Earlier, Nevan had said that she and Dia were similar, but one could say the same thing about her and me.
We made small talk as we enjoyed our chocolate.
“Have you given thought to my request regarding light magic?” I asked.
“Yes, I’d be happy to help. You are a Holy Knight, and you say you need it to defeat the Demon King and the demons. As a noble of the Alvanian Kingdom, how could I refuse?” she stated with a smile before producing a sheet of parchment.
There were magic runes written on it. In order for Dia to switch her elemental affinity, she required at least one formula of the appropriate kind.
“I appreciate it.”
Yet as I reached out to grab the parchment, Nevan retracted it hastily. The lower half of the page was folded to keep it from being read in its entirety. Nevan had probably done that to prevent me from utilizing my photographic memory. The formula was a valuable asset to bargain over, but if I’d memorized the page’s contents on sight, it would have been worthless.
“I will help you, but not for free,” Nevan explained.
Raising an eyebrow, I inquired, “Was the chocolate not payment enough?”
“That did catch me by surprise. However, I wish another concession from you. Can you guess what it is that I desire?”
I immediately understood what she was after. She had been clear on that point the first time we’d met.
“I’m what you want, right?”
“That is correct.”
“I’m afraid that light magic alone isn’t worth trading my life to House Romalung. Surely you know that, too. I doubt you would find a man who could be bought at such a price worthy of being a Romalung,” I stated.
“You are very good at this. When you word it like that, I can’t even give you my backup proposal. I had thought that if you refused to marry me, I would at least request your seed,” Nevan replied coolly.
Tarte and Dia, who were sitting next to me, both coughed. It seemed like that was quite a shock for them to hear.
Nevan was employing a textbook negotiating tactic. She was asking for something unreasonable first, then offering a compromise. It was a simple method but effective nonetheless. It left the other party feeling obligated to accept after rejecting the initial offer. Nevan, however, continued as though she had expected this outcome.
“Then how about this?” she began, clapping her hands together. “I want to know more about you. So…the next time you fight a demon, please take me along.”
At that, she flashed me a wide smile.
“That would be difficult. I can’t guarantee your survival. Naoise and his order of knights asked the same of me recently, but I refused them for being a burden. I can’t grant you special treatment. It’s better that you don’t risk your life,” I asserted.
“Your concern is unnecessary. After witnessing the duel between Naoise and your adorable maid, I can confidently say that I am stronger than her. I am a Romalung, after all.”
Nevan couldn’t have put it more convincingly than that. Her words were undoubtedly true. I had long since noticed that the girl sitting in front of me was a monster. She was definitely more powerful than Tarte.
I did have one point of consternation, however.
“You’re joking about the duel, right? There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed an intruder at that party.”
“I promise I was present. Want to know how you didn’t notice me? I switched places with one of Naoise’s knights. I often serve as a body double, so I’m quite adept with disguises.”
She got me.
I’d had no way of recognizing her, as the party was before I’d met Nevan. What’s more, it was also my first time seeing Naoise’s followers.
I had told Naoise at his party that if he was stronger than Tarte, he was qualified to fight with me. Now Nevan was holding me to that declaration.
“…Out of curiosity, what were you doing there? And why go through the effort of disguising yourself?” I questioned.
“Because I was interested in you… Well, that was only part of it. Truthfully, I attended because an idiot childhood friend of mine seemed like he might follow the same path as that blockhead prince. I wanted to keep an eye on things. I was grateful when you reprimanded him. That showed me how outstanding of a man you are and how useful you can be,” Nevan explained.
“Naoise is a lucky man to be in the thoughts of a beautiful girl like you,” I replied.
“I harbor no romantic interest in him. He’s not worthy of being a Romalung, and I have no desire to bear his children. Naoise is more like a hapless little brother. He’s always clung to me like a cute little puppy at every opportunity.”
The daughter of House Romalung viewed the head of a class at the Royal Knights Academy as utterly innocuous. That was a terrifying thought. Naoise may have surrounded himself with some odd people, but he was undoubtedly a genius.
After a moment, I said, “Regarding your condition, I have to admit it’s tough to swallow. I don’t want to be responsible for anything that might befall you.”
“If that is what you are worried about, then there is no reason not to let me come along. Standing in harm’s way to protect the country is a noble’s duty. Perhaps I could write a letter relieving you of blame in the case of my injury?” Nevan suggested.
“Why do you want this so badly?” I pressed.
“I don’t appreciate you answering a question with one of your own. Yet for you, I’ll oblige. I have two reasons. I find you so interesting, and I can’t get you out of my head. Furthermore, I desire to know how you slew that demon as well as how you wiped out that horde of monsters during the attack on the academy. You are a man of many secrets.”
“The answers are available in the report I submitted to the kingdom.”
That document was top secret, and only a select few had access to it, but Nevan should have been one of them. There was no way she hadn’t read the file already.
“Those reports are full of falsehoods. I want to see you in action with my own eyes.”
My initial reaction was to refuse. For starters, I was concerned about what would happen if House Romalung learned about guns. I had just seen how capable they were at making weapons. If they started crafting guns, it might flip the country on its head.
Refusing Nevan would ensure she sent a lookout to pursue me. It was better to have her around.
“What’s your other reason?” I asked.
“House Romalung needs your blood. I grow more certain of that every moment. If you had been a simple low-ranking noble, I could have coerced you into bed, but your status as a Holy Knight makes this more difficult. That is why I have decided to attack head-on and make you fall in love with me. I have to spend time with you so I can spark our steamy affair. Relax—it won’t take long for you to become enamored with me. If seducing you does prove impossible, then I will just have you give me a child by force, so you have nothing to worry about. It will all be over before you know it.”
Talk about confidence. And what was with that last bit? Is House Romalung truly so messed up, or is it just Nevan?
I felt Tarte’s and Dia’s piercing glares.
Clearing my throat, I said, “I have a couple of prerequisites of my own. You are not to speak a word of what you see when you’re with me to anyone. You are also not to misappropriate my technology. If you can swear to do neither, then we have a deal.”
“That is no problem. I look forward to fighting demons with you. Now then, here is the list of light magic spells.”
Nevan definitely came out ahead on this deal, but I’d achieved my goal. Dia would now be able to use the light affinity.
There was one last matter to attend to, though.
“I prepared a document regarding my plan to assassinate the second prince,” I stated. “The plan requires House Romalung’s cooperation. This is as good a time as any to work out the details.”
Without so much as glancing at the file, Nevan replied, “I approve of your plan. I’ll look through it later.”
“…Are you sure you should agree without reading it first?”
“You are not one to err when it comes to killing, are you? There’s no way I would desire the child of a man who can’t even do his job.”
Evidently, Nevan put a lot of faith in me, although perhaps she trusted her own intuition, not me.
“I will make arrangements to become a Holy Knight attendant. I would like for you to request it from your end as well, Lugh.”
With that, I had gained an unexpected companion. In time, she would prove to be a massive boon. So long as I didn’t misuse her, she would undoubtedly be a powerful weapon, but one misstep could spell disaster.
Handling Nevan demanded special care, and that wasn’t all. I needed to have a long conversation with Dia and Tarte later.
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