Chapter 112
“What?”
“You’re not allowed to use even magical tools in a strict Judgement Duel, so how could I use tricks? If I did, I’d be executed for cheating. So I have no choice but to fight fair and square with pure skill.”
Merian frowned.
“Then what? Are you saying you can beat Ashid with just your skills?”
“No. That’s impossible too. I’m a 4-star. How could I possibly beat Ashid, who’s 5-star?”
Christian calmly shook his head.
Unless he used the power of the Holy Radiance together with it.
Even for Christian, relying only on the power of a dark mage meant certain defeat.
That’s how vast the gap between 4-star and 5-star was.
“What on earth are you talking about?!”
“…I’ll go and cancel the duel, sister.”
As Merian became angry and Count Khazar rose from his seat with a grave face—
“Right now, yes.”
“…What?”
“Right now, winning is impossible.”
A strange statement.
People’s expressions began to change.
“You mean… a month from now, it’ll be possible?”
“Yes.”
Christian nodded while still sipping his juice.
Count Khazar looked dumbfounded.
“…How is that supposed to make any sense? It’s just a month. What could you possibly do in just a month….”
“It’s not ‘just’ a month. You should say ‘a whole month.’ A month is by no means a short time.”
Christian added,
“Not for a genius like me.”
“……”
Count Khazar suddenly went silent.
Logically, it made no sense.
But.
‘…If it’s my son.’
The insane display Christian had shown at the House of Ribery not long ago flashed through his mind, and an impossible thought began to take root.
If it’s Christian—
He just might cause a miracle within a month.
“……”
Everyone fell silent for a moment, staring at Christian, until Merian was the first to speak.
“Then, I’ll help you train.”
“Aunt?”
“No matter how talented you are, there’s a limit to self-training. I’ll lend you a hand.”
An unexpected offer.
At that moment, Count Khazar stepped in from beside her.
“Sister, that won’t be necessary. Christian is my son. I’ll be the one to instruct him.”
“Don’t you need to return to your county?”
“You can leave it to Teren.”
“Teren? That little kid? You’ve really gone crazy. I get that you’re eager to train your son, but this is ridiculous.”
“Aren’t you being just as ridiculous, sister? Shouldn’t you be focusing on your duties as Captain of the Black Shadow Knights?”
Christian looked bewildered as the two started an unexpected war of nerves.
‘…I don’t need either of them.’
As he wondered how to turn them both down, something unexpected happened.
There was a knock at the door of the lodging, and an unanticipated figure appeared.
It was Simon, the handsome vampire butler with a pale complexion.
“The Head Butler? Why are you here?”
Merian frowned.
Simon smiled, showing a flash of his fangs.
“I came because of the Judgement Duel. It seems the young master will need instruction for the next month.”
“!!”
Count Khazar and Merian’s expressions stiffened.
“I’ll be the one teaching Christian. I’m his father, Head Butler.”
“No, that’s the role of his aunt. You, Butler, stop your nonsense and go back. And you, Lidan, return to your domain.”
Both were clearly eager to be the ones to train Christian.
Simon chuckled softly.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. To be honest, I am tempted too. However, I’m not the one who’ll be giving the instruction. Someone else will be teaching the young master.”
“Who? Don’t tell me—?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at once.
Simon nodded as if confirming it.
“Yes. The Lord himself has said he will personally instruct him.”
“!!”
It was something no one had expected.
Merian and Count Khazar fell silent.
If Nordion himself was going to teach him, there was no room for them to interfere.
Above all, it was an enormous opportunity.
Of course, Nordion’s instruction was infamous for being brutal. But that didn’t apply to Christian.
If his genius met with Nordion’s guidance, the progress he could make in just one month could be explosive.
“Let us go, Young Master. The Lord is waiting at the secret training ground.”
It seemed to refer to the same training ground used when Christian first learned Dark Mage Arts from Nordion.
‘That time, he helped me a great deal too.’
Chris recalled the instruction he had received from Nordion back then.
If not for Nordion’s excellent instruction, even someone like Chris wouldn’t have been able to accept Dark Mage Arts so easily.
‘This time will surely be a great help too.’
However—
Christian gave a response no one could have anticipated.
“My apologies. I must decline the Lord’s instruction.”
“!!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.
Even Simon, who always kept a poker face, looked visibly surprised.
“Young Master? This is the Lord’s instruction.”
“Yes, I know. But I will still decline.”
“!!!”
At his repeated refusal, everyone reacted with even greater shock, but Christian had no intention of changing his mind.
‘This next month is extremely important to me.’
Now, here’s the question.
What does Christian need to do in this next month?
Advance to 5-star as a demon?
No.
Even for Christian, reaching 5-star within a month was impossible.
Of course, if he pushed himself beyond his limits, he might be able to touch upon the threshold of 5-star through an epiphany, but doing so would be meaningless.
So then, what must he do?
‘I need to establish the foundation to rise higher.’
Right now, Chris is at 4-star, in the “Prime” class.
“Prime” meant the peak of technique.
In other words, up to 4-star is the realm of skill.
From 5-star onward, it’s different.
From 5-star onward, it becomes the realm of “Will.”
What matters is that depending on what kind of will one establishes, even within the same level, abilities can vary greatly.
Thus, with 5-star, how you ascend matters far more than when you do.
Depending on the will one establishes, not only the strength but even the limit of future growth is determined.
‘If I don’t lay down a firm foundation now, it’ll be too late.’
This is an extremely critical period.
Of course, it’s not just about building the basics.
‘I also need to amplify my power as much as possible.’
There’s the upcoming showdown with Ashid, but more importantly, there was another reason.
The catastrophe of Gold Cross that was just around the corner.
To stop that dreadful tragedy, his current power wouldn’t be enough.
He had to become far stronger than he was now.
And Nordion’s teaching alone wasn’t enough.
“I’m sorry.”
“…That’s troublesome.”
Simon wore a troubled expression.
He recalled the Lord Nordion, who had been quietly—if not openly—looking forward to teaching Christian.
Considering Nordion’s usual demeanor, it was hard to imagine, but he had actually been somewhat eager about this instruction.
He was probably already waiting at the training ground for Christian to arrive.
And now he’d been thoroughly rejected.
‘…I wonder how the Lord will react.’
Simon cleared his throat.
“Then what sort of training do you plan to undertake?”
“Combat training. I’m planning to polish my skills by fighting magic beasts alone.”
At that response, everyone looked puzzled.
It might have some effect, but it didn’t seem like the right type of training for the current situation.
But then—
“For the training location… I plan to go to the clan’s Forbidden Grounds.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Would you tell the Lord and ask for permission to use the Spot?”
“!!”
Everyone's eyes widened.
“You… have you gone mad? Do you have a death wish?”
Count Khazar spoke on behalf of everyone’s feelings.
It was only natural.
The Spot.
It refers to the passageway leading to Gehenna’s domain.
In other words, Christian was saying he would train in live combat at the border of Gehenna.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment—
In the southern region of the Dark Demonic House.
At Gold Cross.
At the very center, in the royal palace of the Legal Nation, Arhen.
A young girl sat with an expressionless face.
Emerald-green hair and sapphire-like jewel eyes.
She had a fairy-tale-like beauty, infinitely enchanting, but her complexion was pale.
She looked frail, as if suffering from an illness.
“…Your Highness, have you skipped another meal?”
A maid asked with a worried face.
The girl glanced briefly at the food, then slowly shook her head.
Her movement was like a puppet with its strings cut.
“…I have no appetite.”
“But Your Highness, this would be the third meal in a row.”
“……”
“For Your Highness, the Little Legal King, who will inherit the will of the Legal Nation… if you do not care for your health like this…”
It was a surprising truth.
Gold Cross is an alliance of countless small nations.
But it wasn’t without structure.
They served the Legal Nation, heir to the Starblood, as their suzerain state and spiritual pillar.
The Legal King of the Legal Nation was respected as the equal of an imperial emperor, playing the role of mediator over countless allied countries.
This girl was Princess Olivia, the next successor of such a great Legal Nation.
But the girl, Princess Olivia’s gaze, was utterly vacant.
The brilliance of wisdom once known throughout the distant Holy Empire was nowhere to be seen, and she spoke in a lifeless voice.
“…It’s fine. I’m just not hungry.”
“But, Your Highness—”
“I said I don’t want to eat!!”
“!!”
The maids flinched.
Her sharp outburst was completely different from the rumors that said she was angelic.
Olivia had long since changed from the girl of those rumors.
To be exact, it was about a year ago.
It was because of one person's death.
The “Cursed Prince.”
The disgrace of the Legal Nation.
A person who was supposed to have died long ago and disappeared.
After his death, Princess Olivia changed.
“…When my brother was dying alone, without anyone knowing, I couldn’t even be by his side. Just because I had to receive that pathetic delegation.”
Tears streamed down from Olivia’s eyes.
“The duties of the Legal Nation, the role of the Legal King… What’s the point of any of it, when I couldn’t even save the one person I truly cared about?”
The maids held back their sighs.
Speaking about the Cursed Prince was taboo in the Legal Nation.
He was the devil’s seed, a being whose existence must never be acknowledged.
Right now, even Olivia lamenting like this was something that shouldn’t be allowed, but Olivia was in no condition to care about such things.
“…Please leave.”
“…Understood, Your Highness.”
Left alone, Olivia buried her face in her knees.
Soft sobs leaked out.
“…Brother.”
* * *
Chris headed toward the bustling streets of the city.
‘First, let’s get everything I need ready in advance.’
He was about to head for the border of Gehenna.
One careless moment there could mean death.
He needed to be thoroughly prepared, so he went toward the Rudolph Trading Company’s gambling house.
“You wish to see the head of the Trading Company?”
The branch manager looked troubled.
“The Company Head isn’t here. He’s a very elusive person.”
Chris nodded.
‘She’s probably at Gold Cross by now.’
Ruina was surely carrying out the task Chris had assigned her.
‘Troublesome. I need to see Ruina.’
If he used the artifact Ruina had, she could cross space and come to him immediately—but the problem was how to contact her.
Ruina hadn’t set up a hotline with Christian.
Considering their relationship, it was strange.
But it seemed intentional.
Ruina treated Chris like the plague.
Even if they met, she’d just get wrung dry by him, so she likely tried to avoid him as much as possible.
‘Still, it’s not like I have no way.’