Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 101: Melania
Accompanied by the acting lord Alfred to obtain the gun magic, Lucius and Lauren visited the tower.
Viscount Girad, who rules the tower, stood up.
“I’m busy too. Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Viscount Girad started walking alone.
He continued down the corridor in silence. It seemed he had no intention of engaging in small talk.
“It’s amazing.”
Lauren whispered nervously.
“Yeah, these are the western nobles.”
Even from the outside, it looked luxurious, but the interior of the private rooms was even more extravagant. Furniture similar to what was displayed in Lord Strauss’s castle was lavishly adorned here. Considering this was the residence of a viscount, it was quite surprising.
At the same time, it became evident that the North was indeed impoverished.
“We’ve arrived.”
Guided by Viscount Girard, they reached the back of the castle.
Since Viscount Girard’s castle blocked the tower’s only entrance, they had to enter the tower from the inside.
Contrary to the luxurious mansion they had walked through earlier, it had turned into a village of dilapidated houses.
The walls were made of stacked stones, with roofs merely covered with thatched straw. Even though it was indoors, the construction was far from that of a decent home.
And all the villagers wore the same gray clothes. Most of them had thin arms and sunken cheeks.
Everyone turned their frightened gazes towards Lucius and his group.
No, towards Viscount Girard.
“Could it be… they are slaves?”
Lauren voiced her doubts as much as possible.
That’s to be expected. Slavery is not recognized in this country.
With no answer in mind, Lucius and Alfred were also puzzled. Then, a voice close to a scream came from Lauren.
“Hyah!”
It was someone with scales on their arm.
From their attire, they seemed like villagers, but they weren’t particularly bandaged or anything.
―― Is it a disease…?
Looking around, some had scales growing on their arms, some had their legs discolored gray, and some had their eyes and mouths covered with cloth.
Furthermore, there were also those who walked aimlessly with vacant stares.
It seemed as if their thoughts had been taken away.
With a triumphant tone, Viscount Girard answered Lucius and his group’s astonishment.
“It’s a curse.”
“A curse?”
“Yeah, many gun mages use curses. Be careful. You can easily get cursed with a small accident inside the tower. Just like the peasants here.”
He spoke as if he wanted them to be cursed.
“…We’ll be careful.”
Viscount Girard called over a vacant-looking woman.
“Bring that one here. The one I named.”
“Yes…”
The vacant-looking woman, drooling from her mouth, nodded sluggishly.
“Hurry up, you slowpoke!”
Suddenly, the woman collapsed to the ground from a kick by Viscount Girard.
He kicked her from behind as she obediently tried to go somewhere.
“Viscount Girard!”
Lucius couldn’t help but raise his voice.
“What?”
“What did she do!?”
“She’s my property. How I treat her is my business.”
As if nothing had happened, the vacant woman silently stood up and started walking, blood dripping from her chin.
“But—!”
Still unable to contain his feelings.
“Haah.”
Viscount Girard let out a deliberately loud sigh. Then, he bent down and whispered into Lucius’ ear.
“Don’t get cocky just because the king favors you, kid. There’s a true ruler of this capital, and it’s not the king. Your magic power and first-class skills might work in the frontier, but not here. If you want the Artillery Magic, you’ll follow me.”
I was stunned by his sudden words.
“Viscount Girard… Are you insulting the king!?”
“Hmm? Did you say something?”
Viscount Girard feigned ignorance with a clueless expression.
“Even so, as a noble—”
Lucius was about to retort, but just then, the woman from earlier brought a girl.
Ad
She was around the same age as Lucius.
“I’ll leave the rest to her. I’m busy.”
Viscount Girard started heading back to the mansion.
Lucius clenched his fists tightly.
Now was not the time to argue.
“…Understood.”
Satisfied with his response, Viscount Girard turned around and smiled smugly.
“Oh, I’ll lend her to you until you get the gun magic. Feel free to use her however you want. You already know about these things at your age, don’t you?”
Lucius remained silent, not answering anything.
He averted his gaze from the unpleasant sight and looked at the girl who had been brought in.
The girl was probably around 14 or 15 years old.
She had a short bob of reddish-brown hair and large yellow eyes that sparkled.
But there was another noticeable feature.
―― Wings on her arms.
Feathers grew on both of the girl’s arms like bird wings.
Ad
Is it some kind of curse?
The girl gracefully bowed with bird-like hands.
“I apologize for the unsightliness. My name is Melania. I received a curse from a certain gun mage, which has caused me to take on this appearance, but it’s not contagious, so please rest assured.”
Despite her appearance, Melania spoke eloquently and cheerfully. Alfred, who had been following closely, stepped forward.
“Please make sure to obtain a top-tier gun mage for my master. The reward upon success will be generous.”
Alfred emphasized strongly.
“Of course.”
Melania nodded with a smile.
For some reason, Lucius felt that her smile was extremely forced.
Despite thinking so, there was no point in just standing around.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lucius.”
“I’m Lauren. Melania-san, pleased to meet you.”
Lucius and Lauren extended their hands to the girl for a handshake.
“H-Hawaa…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I-I’ve never been asked for a handshake before, s-so…”
Melania trembled, her wings fluttering. It wasn’t clear whether she had no palms or if her fingers were hidden by the wing feathers, but it seemed she couldn’t shake hands.
――So that’s how it is.
Lucius lightly grasped the large wing and Melania trembled her wings hesitantly.
Lauren also shook hands in the same manner.
Melania, who had started speaking more cheerfully than before, began to speak.
“D-Do you have any preferences?”
“Preferences? Regarding the type of gun magic?”
“Y-Yes!”
“I see. Well, anything works, but if possible, I prefer a Grade 1 gun magic capable of wind magic. What about you, Lauren?”
“I hope for a Grade 5 gun mage that seems useful for daily life.”
Lauren was also a heavy chanter with two magic cores. She had already contracted with the White Phantom, the eastern-type, during the match, and it was arranged for her to contract with a gun mage at the same time as Lucius.
“I-I’ll do my best!”
Melania nodded nervously, her face tense.
“By the way, Alfred-san, you can go back first if you’d like. To Bulgia in the north.”
“No! Today, I’ll wait for Lucius-sama’s return!”
Alfred looked astonished. He probably didn’t expect to be sent back here.
“Since Alfred-san is the acting lord, it’s better for you to return quickly. Also, please proceed with the reconstruction and the matter of the fake core. It’s something only you can do, Alfred-san.”
“The fake core…is it the matter requested by the Orleans family and the dwarves?”
“Yes, so please return quickly.”
Alfred smirked.
“Understood. Even at the cost of my life.”
“Thank you.”
With a smile on his face, Lucius saw off Alfred, who started to leave with a skip in his step.
When Alfred’s figure disappeared into the city wall, Lucius stretched widely.
“Well, now that the oddball is gone, shall we climb?”
“Calling him an oddball is a bit much.”
Lauren instinctively defended, but it seemed she couldn’t completely deny it.
As they began to walk upward, Melania started to fidget uncomfortably as if she wanted to say something.
“What’s wrong, Melania?”
Ad
“Um, can we stop by my house? I was summoned suddenly, so I don’t have my belongings. O-of course, I won’t take up much of your time!”
It was probably the relic needed for the contract.
“Sure thing.”
Melania bowed with folded wings.
“Thank you!”
Thus, Lucius and his group proceeded deeper into the village.
The villagers whispered to each other as they watched Lucius’s figure.
Some even furrowed their brows noticeably.
――What’s going on? We’re not being welcomed at all.
There must be some reason, or perhaps it’s the effect of the curse.
Feeling it would be rude to stare, Lucius couldn’t help but look at those whose bodies were changing or those with vacant expressions.
“While staring at about ten cursed villagers, I noticed something.”
“…The people in this village have strong magic power. There are quite a few of them at the third-grade level.”
“True.”
Lauren agreed. In an ordinary village, there would be about one magician for every twenty people, but everyone in this village had magic power.
Furthermore, even among those with magic power, it’s common for most to be around the fifth grade. The third grade isn’t rare, but there aren’t many.
“We tend to have stronger magic power than people outside the tower.”
Melania said it as if it were obvious.
――Is that so?
It’s known from Orleans’s research that magic power isn’t influenced by lineage. It only increases through rigorous training.
While Lucius was contemplating this, Melania pointed her finger.
“That’s my house.”
It was a simple house made of stacked stones with a thatched roof. There was no door, only an entrance and windows covered with blinds.
It was no different from the other houses they had seen along the way.
“Onee-chan!”
Pushing aside the blinds of the house, a boy of about ten years old jumped out. He looked similar to Melania and was probably her brother.
Following him, another child clad in a deep robe emerged. In contrast to the first child, there was no sign of excitement. Their gender couldn’t be determined, and they carried a large sack on their back.
The boy who had first emerged hugged Melania.
“Mika, you shouldn’t come out of the house too much. There are guests.”
“But!”
“Be a good boy.”
Mika, Melania’s brother, glared fiercely at Lucius and Lauren out of the corner of his eye. It was the same look as the villagers’.
――Anger…or rather, sadness?
Despite his doubts, Lucius spoke to Melania.
“Your brother?”
“Yes, this is my brother, Mika. He’s just a child, so he can’t greet properly. I apologize.”
“Our lord’s children are pretty much the same. And what about over there?”
Lucius directed his gaze towards the child in the deep robe, whose gender couldn’t be determined.
“No, they’re not my siblings. They’re my other half. That luggage was necessary.”
Melania directed her hand towards the luggage carried by the child wrapped in the robe.
“Other half?”
“You’ll understand soon. Now, let’s go find the gun mage.”
Melania comforted her reluctant brother and returned to the house. Then, the three of them began to walk towards the top of the tower.