Chapter 170
Schugenharz and Portlet.
The connection between the two families, Vargan and Erica.
Having exchanged letters but never having faced each other in childhood, the two finally met on a sunny spring day.
“Erica, you need to stand up straight and face him. If you keep hiding like that, it won’t end well, will it?”
Before heading into the private dining room for a meal, the two families exchanged simple greetings at the entrance.
Erica’s mother, Lilian, was gently persuading her in a warm tone. With a firm grip on her mother’s dress, Erica was hiding behind her, peeking out with only one eye visible.
Although young Erica was well-versed in noble etiquette, the current situation made it hard to endure unless she hid behind her mother.
The head of the Portlet family, watching this with a critical eye, spoke in a stern tone.
“Erica, uphold your dignity and manners.”
“….”
As her father’s voice deepened, Erica released her grip on Lilian’s dress and stepped out sideways, one small step at a time, still unable to lift her head in embarrassment.
Her heart raced with excitement, pounding loudly as her body involuntarily fidgeted.
With a petite appearance compared to her peers, her fluttering dress added to her charm.
Shiny black hair framed her face, and her eyelids fluttered like a butterfly.
Erica stood before Vargan. Though she found it hard to raise her gaze, she glanced up cautiously to look at him.
He was the owner of the letters she had been curious about.
The kind and mature persona she had sensed from his writing.
Curiosity bubbled up, pushing through her embarrassment, causing her to keep stealing glances.
Vargan was taller than the other children. His sharp eyes and prominent nose gave him an imposing presence.
He looked somewhat different from the image she had imagined.
Perhaps that was why Erica felt even more shy about facing Vargan. The difference from her preconceived image struck her as oddly unfamiliar.
Vargan took a step closer to Erica, moving at a deliberate pace, so she wouldn’t back away.
“You must be Lady Erica.”
Finally standing before her, Vargan bowed slightly and extended his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I am Schugenharz Troa Vargan, the one who will be marrying you in the upcoming engagement ceremony.”
“…….”
She couldn’t respond but, hesitantly, Erica extended her hand. Vargan gently took her hand and smiled.
“You seem to be as warm-hearted as I felt from your letters, Lady Erica.”
With Vargan’s kind smile, the gentle and mature image from his writing came to life.
Feeling a sense of relief, the warmth of his hand contrasted with Erica’s cold one, making it feel pleasantly warm.
That temperature felt warm.
Vargan then continued,
“I’m lacking, but I will strive to not be ashamed while accompanying you, Lady Erica. I look forward to working with you, Lady Erica.”
It wasn’t ghostwritten.
It was exactly the same tone as I had read in his letters.
I was listening to his written words in his voice directly.
Like the ice flowers blooming in early spring, the thin layers of ice melted under the sunlight.
Young Erica felt pure joy. Though her voice was still small, it seemed she would be able to face him properly someday.
“I, I also… I look forward to working with you, Lord Vargan…!”
That was their first meeting.
The moment their hands finally touched.
*
The dome created by Vargan’s double-fusion familiar.
Inside, although not spacious, it was furnished with everything generally necessary.
For something temporarily created by a familiar, the quality was incredibly high. Even when touched, it was hard to distinguish whether it was part of the familiar or real furniture.
Erica was inside with her crow familiar, Kkamag. They were sharing their vision and researching unique spell techniques.
She had a high-density blue mana stone placed, casting warp magic on it.
‘After all, it’s tough dealing with objects that contain mana… Is my proficiency and understanding still lacking?’
The unique spell technique Erica was currently researching was related to warp.
Warp itself is exceptionally unique, to the point where warp magic is considered a type of unique magic.
However, unsatisfied with that, Erica was working to refine it into a more complete form.
The stage she aimed to achieve was cutting through the mana circuits of all living creatures.
Utilizing warp magic not just for simple movement, but as a technique to separate coordinates and use it as a weapon.
For example, even shifting a very thin layer that connects a person’s upper and lower body could pose a deadly threat of being cut in half.
‘Because of the uniqueness of mana circuits, interfering with them isn’t easy… The more adaptable the creature’s mana is, the harder it is.’
An individual’s mana circuit has the function of entirely blocking external interference, and while it cannot defend against physical means, it can repel mana that directly affects another’s mana circuit, like warp magic.
Thus, while it was possible for Erica to manipulate the contents of ordinary objects or creatures without mana at will,
she could not freely touch those that possessed mana, such as mana stones or humans.
At her current level, she could only use it in combat against non-sentient priest-level Altife. Even among priest-level Altife, the “special entities” that display unique forms required specific conditions to be utilized.
Given the uniqueness of warp, Erica’s achievements were not insignificant, but her critical flaw was that she could not use it against those with greater mana proficiency.
If she could overcome this, she would create magic that could easily break through even the most solid defenses, but it felt like there was no progress at all.
Due to the specialty of warp, there was no one to consult, making it frustrating.
It wasn’t a matter of incorrect calculations or a lack of mana; what more should she do…?
⎯Kkaak!
Suddenly, Kkamag’s shared vision changed.
Kkamag flew away from its spot. What it revealed wasn’t the blue mana stone, but rather a man who had entered through the entrance.
“Good, good, my lovely one. You recognize your old master so well; you must be quite clever.”
Vargan naturally accepted the flying Kkamag, petting its fur. Kkamag scurried around, rubbing against him.
Embracing the moment, she stroked the fur. Kkamag scurried around, rubbing its body here and there.
Erica steadied her mana. She shot an unhappy glare at Kkamag.
“It feels like you keep forgetting your master. Should I start training you again…?”
“It’s not forgetting your master; it just shows your outstanding loyalty, which should be seen in a positive light.”
“Having you be more loyal to me than I am to myself is definitely not a good thing.”
“That’s your fault for not showing enough affection towards your familiar.”
“……”
Erica couldn’t find a comeback.
The clever Kkamag started to sense the room. Erica’s eyes were sharp. It spread its wings to head back.
⎯Kka, Kkaak, Kkaaak!
Startled, it dashed toward Erica.
Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Erica found herself holding Kkamag in her arms. The reason Kkamag was surprised was due to the bizarre creature that entered late.
⎯Grroooowl.
A monster that seemed to be a mix of various creatures. The Chimera Familiar, Kry, stepped into the dome.
“First impressions might be scary, but it’s a good kid, so there’s no need to be afraid.”
Vargan patted Kry’s head. Suddenly, Kry’s harsh voice softened, turning into a purr.
“……”
Erica, like Kkamag, was seeing Kry for the first time, and its appearance was quite intimidating.
Noticing that Kkamag wasn’t calming down, Vargan decided to reverse-summon it.
As Erica stroked Kkamag to soothe it, she recalled the woman who hadn’t joined them. The one who had likely explored the area with Vargan.
“What about the guide? Why didn’t she come in with us?”
“She seems to prefer being outside. She insisted on keeping watch by herself.”
“…No matter how you look at it, that’s a lie.”
“Well, shouldn’t there be at least one vigilant fox at the door?”
Vargan shrugged, dismissing it casually. Then he unfolded a white handkerchief and, like magic, pulled out two warm glasses of milk from within.
He handed one glass to Erica.
After pondering whether to take it or not, she eventually accepted it.
“I didn’t add sugar since it’s not good for your health. You tend to overindulge in sweets.”
“…Do you think I’m a kid? I know how to control that. And I don’t add sugar to my milk.”
“Oh really?”
“……”
“Dishonesty isn’t good, Erica.”
“……”
Sometimes, just occasionally… she might add some for a little mood boost…
Muttering softly to herself, Erica avoided eye contact as she sipped the milk. The scent of the warm milk spread within her.
Vargan chuckled softly and perched on the edge of the bed next to Erica.
“…Do you really have to sit here?”
“Don’t be so heartless. It doesn’t matter where I sit.”
“It feels too close for someone I’ve just met… Keep your promises.”
“Well, for some reason, I feel like if I saw you for the first time, I would have approached even closer than now.”
“……”
“Should I at least hold your hand?”
“…Shut up.”
Taking another sip of her milk, Erica. Vargan playfully withdrew his hand.
⎯Kkaak!
Kkamag announced it was time to go home.
It seemed to read the atmosphere and attempted to leave.
With a somewhat dazed expression, Erica opened a reverse-summoning circle to send Kkamag back. Only the two of them remained in this space.
A strange silence enveloped the dome.
Noticing that Vargan hadn’t said anything, Erica decided to break the awkwardness first, trying to shift the indescribable atmosphere.
He tried to change the atmosphere with something indescribable.
“If you’re entering the dungeon with the guild, isn’t it standard to form multiple teams? Is there a reason you’re not doing that?”
“That’s a sudden question.”
“…I could get curious all of a sudden, you know. You said there aren’t other teams, right? I thought you’d be working with some high-ranking guild members since you mentioned collaborating with Maderlo.”
“Are you worried?”
“Not worried so much as curious about what dark plan you might be cooking up this time.”
After hearing Erica’s question, Vargan rolled his eyes to appear contemplative and replied.
“In places crowded with people, noise accompanies them, and fish won’t come to a raucous dock.”
“Fish?”
“Yeah, the kind you’d love to catch.”
Erica, after a sip of her milk, narrowed her eyes at Vargan’s absurd and vague explanation.
“…If you don’t want to say it, you could just say you don’t want to.”
“Don’t sulk. To add on, the more people there are, the greater the risk in the dungeon could be.”
“Whether or not it’s that kind of dungeon, we can’t know for sure in advance. It’s extremely rare anyway.”
With a dismissive huff, Erica turned her head away and finished her milk.
Vargan naturally took her empty glass and placed it back in White’s area. He stood up without even drinking his own milk.
“Going out again?”
As Vargan seemed to act like he was leaving, Erica, confused, asked. Surely, he must have already searched the area, and it was too late.
Vargan calmly replied.
“Even a fox guarding a house needs food. Plus, I hardly sleep.”
“Uh…?”
“It means you can take your time here.”
With that, Vargan really left as if he had no lingering attachments.
A space created by Vargan’s familiar. Just one bed.
Erica, not planning to use a bed like his, intended to sit, or at least sleep on the floor with a blanket.
But now the owner had disappeared.
Just after giving her a warm glass of milk, as if he had finished his task.
“……”
Left alone, Erica felt a surge of frustration. She tightly grasped the fluffy blanket covering the bed.
As if everything had been prepared just for her.
The reality of his actions being interpreted as ‘consideration’ brought an inexplicable feeling of defeat.
“Playing the gentleman, huh?”
*
As the morning sun slowly rose over Seiman Gorge.
A swordsman clad in rags stood at the entrance of a cave as large as a castle.
The man had a thin sword at his waist.
The fabric wrapping the handle was tattered like his clothes.
“……”
He said nothing and quietly closed his eyes. The resonance coming from deep within the cave was a power only those with heightened senses could perceive.
“Here it is….”
Completing his search, the man muttered.
Then, without hesitation, he took a step forward.
The swordsman stepped into the cave entrance. As if a transparent water surface rippled around the swordsman, he began to vanish.
Even though he hadn’t gone deep inside, merely crossing the entrance caused him to completely disappear from view.
The ripples that spread out like the man’s form faded just as quickly.
Again, there was nothing.
The dungeon plays coy.
