Ellente (1)
Running a tavern means living life out of sync.
You open the shop around the time the sun sets, and close it around the time the sun rises.
When you head home while watching the sky grow faintly blue, even in the sleeping streets, you sometimes notice people who diligently come out and start their day.
Jayden thought this kind of life wasn't so bad.
Back when he used to roam the battlefield and cut down trolls' heads, there wasn't even such a thing as a life pattern, so this feeling that today would blur into tomorrow often felt strangely comfortable.
Of course, he still didn't neglect his training, and sometimes he went out to take commissions himself, so he did live fairly busily... but basically, he felt intoxicated by peace.
Even occasionally going to hunt monsters wasn't enough to count as a deviation for Jayden, who had lived a past drenched in exhaustion.
After wiping a few squeaky cups and looking around the empty tavern, this quietness sometimes felt like a warm blanket.
Jayden quite liked this kind of tranquil scenery right before closing.
And just as he was thinking about wrapping up the day like this, a familiar person opened the tavern door and walked in.
–Creak
"You're still open. Captain."
"Derrick. It's almost sunrise, what brings you here?"
"I was just going to grab some snacks before going back to my place. Do you have any leftovers?"
Derrick, as always, was in tatters.
It wasn't strange to see that mercenary, who knew neither blood nor tears, show up covered in dust from time to time.
However, the strange part was that he had just taken a single expensive commission, so he wasn't accepting any other subjugation requests.
"No, Derrick. Did you go all the way out to the outskirts of Ebelstein? There's no subjugation request, so why..."
"I just went to look into a few things."
"... Don't tell me you even went into the labyrinth?"
"I didn't go deep or anything, just a moderate distance. There's also that plan I told you about last time."
He sat down at the bar table with a weary expression, roughly washed his face, swept his bangs back, and let out a long sigh as if exhausted.
"Is there something to drink?"
"It's right before closing, so there's not much good stuff left."
"Anything is fine."
"Alright, kid."
Jayden knew that Derrick went around the noble district teaching the Young Lady of the Count Belmiard Family.
That alone already took up almost the entire day, and yet at night he still found time to go all the way to the outskirts of Ebelstein.
He seemed to also set aside time to train his own magic or wander around here and there for no particular reason.
"Are you even sleeping?"
"I'll go back now and get a bit of shut-eye."
"And when you wake up, you're going to go teach the Young Lady of the Belmiard family again?"
"If I'm generous, I'll sleep about three hours. I should grab what I need and head back quickly."
Jayden clicked his tongue and served him a simple drink.
Even back when he was active, he didn't think he had lived like such a demon.
Derrick looked as if he were completely bewitched by the study of magic.
It had been quite a while since he had met that boy in the mercenary world.
Jayden already knew well that this boy's magic skill was extraordinary.
Sometimes, he even thought it was excessively so.
"A letter came to the mercenary corps addressed to you. The sender is a bit unusual."
Since he didn't want to keep the tired-looking Derrick around for long, Jayden quickly took out a letter with a luxurious wax seal from under the table and tossed it in front of Derrick.
Derrick picked it up with a puzzled expression and scanned the surface.
"It came from the Count Elvester Family. If it's the Count Elvester Territory, that's way over on the eastern edge, far enough that it still takes a long time even by carriage from here, right? It's the first time a letter has come from that far away... and from a noble house, no less..."
"Count Elvester Family?"
"Yeah. No matter how famous you are, it should only be within Ebelstein. Do you have some kind of talent for charming nobles?"
"No. This is probably... from my master. She said she'd let me know how she was doing when she had some time."
Derrick's master, Katia Flameheart, was teaching the Young Lady Freya of the Count Elvester Territory.
Since Derrick knew well what a good master she was, he had no doubt that she would adapt well even in such a luxurious place.
"The master of the Young Lady Freya, huh. That old Great Mage has really made it in life."
Since the Empire swallowed up an entire continent, the famous families differed from region to region.
News from the east rarely reached even Ebelstein on this far western edge, but still, the names of a few famous figures from powerful families were sometimes heard secondhand.
If it was the Young Lady Freya of Elvester County, then in the eastern part of the Empire, she was already treated like the queen of High Society.
'If this were Ebelstein, she'd be someone like Young Lady Aiselin.'
Derrick slipped Katia's letter into his clothes and showed a faint smile.
He looked quite happy to have heard news of his master.
It was rare to see Derrick, who had already become a cold-blooded mercenary at the mere age of seventeen, smile so humanly.
Watching him, Jayden thought, well, he's human too after all.
"Derrick."
Jayden, who had been quietly folding his thick arms, looked at Derrick guzzling down fruit wine in a completely exhausted state and spoke as if tossing the words out.
"Take care of your health."
"... Don't worry."
[ Newly Acquired Magic ]
1-star Combat-type 'Ice Spear'
1-star Combat-type 'Flame Arrow'
1-star Transformation-type 'Attribute Grant'
1-star Illusion-type 'Illusion - Small Animal'
2-star Combat-type 'Shadow Bind'
2-star Combat-type 'Large-scale Barrier'
2-star Transformation-type 'Crystallization'
2-star Search-type 'Magic Detection'
※ It is now possible to omit the full incantation of 1-star magic.
*
Ellente came to believe in the existence of the afterlife.
Because she realized that hell was not that far away.
Ellente's stamina was by no means weak.
Though she was a delicate noble Young Lady, she had fairly outstanding mental strength and strong will, enough to endure even all-night lessons.
Even so, Derrick's magic lessons had some unknown power that drove people to the extreme.
–"Young Lady Ellente! You can do more! Today, you must learn the sensation of how to more efficiently scrape together exhausted mana and draw out magic...!"
–"How am I supposed to... huff... huff... draw out mana that's already exhausted...!"
–"Is there anything in this world that can't be done with willpower?"
–"That sounds... so easy... to say...!"
–"If it really seems impossible, giving up is also a method."
Ellente's daily schedule was already beyond what a human could handle.
She woke up at dawn and practiced mana usage with Derrick for a short while, went through her general education classes in the morning, had a brief lunch, spent the entire afternoon in magic sparring, ate dinner, trained in star-rank magic mastery until before bed, had a late-night snack, practiced flower arrangement or playing instruments until before the moon reached its zenith, and then fell asleep.
After about two weeks of this, the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, the world already looked hazy.
She even reached the point of realizing, so this is what happens when a person is pushed to the limit.
'At this rate... am I really going to die?'
She had already boasted confidently to Derrick, so now it was an awkward situation to say she couldn't do it anymore.
Even so, she couldn't help but think that if she kept training like this, maybe she really could defeat Young Lady Aiselin.
Ellente had practically never lived a life where each day was split into minutes like this.
They said effort never betrays you.
Ellente had a personality that worked hard at everything, so even in this hellish schedule, she could feel some kind of reward.
Ellente's will was still burning.
However, whether her body could keep up was a completely different problem.
"U-um, Young Lady Ellente. Your skin seems to have gotten a bit rough."
"..."
For a mere head maid to point out the appearance of the Young Lady of the Belmiard family, how great an act of disrespect that was.
Even so, while helping her get ready in the morning, the head maid boldly offered her advice.
"Young Lady. It's good that you always strive for mastery of magic, but if it affects your appearance, we servants can't help but worry."
"That's true. I've been so absorbed in my magic that I forgot to keep my appearance neat. If it weren't for you, I'd be in an even worse state. I'm always grateful."
"... How about reducing your magic training schedule?"
"... That's not possible."
She absolutely had to defeat Young Lady Aiselin.
That blazing competitive spirit was at a level the head maid couldn't understand.
So what if she lost?
It wasn't her place to say something so irresponsible, but at this point, she even thought that someone around her should start pointing it out.
Everyone knew that Young Lady Aiselin was perfect in every way.
And most people thought that no matter how desperately she tried in such a short time, she wouldn't be able to easily claim victory against her.
No matter what anyone said, Ellente was challenging the impossible.
Even if she succeeded, it wouldn't mean much.
Who in the world would think Ellente was a more outstanding person than Aiselin just because she won one practice spar?
It would just be one practice spar.
However, Young Lady Ellente was obsessed with her match against Young Lady Aiselin as if she were a soul possessed by victory.
It was to the point where one wished someone would ask what on earth was making her so obsessively fixated.
"Young Lady Ellente looks very exhausted."
And that was the same for the other noble young ladies of the Rosea Salon.
When she occasionally came out to gatherings or discussions and showed her dignified appearance, Young Lady Ellente was considered a model for everyone, even if she wasn't quite on Aiselin's level.
In the first place, among the three young ladies considered the center of the Rosea Salon, it was meaningless to rank them.
All three were like a single blossoming flower.
That was why no one could understand the seriousness with which Young Lady Ellente devoted herself to magic training, visibly growing more and more haggard by the day.
Before long, she was wandering the cultural hall every day with unfocused eyes, unable to endure the same hellish training.
It was to the point where one wondered if this was really okay.
When she returned to the mansion, she had to train her mana again, and before meals, she had to review star-rank magic again.
Every day, she scraped together her mana down to the last drop until she was completely exhausted, and without even questioning what meaning any of this had, she endured this hell.
In the end, she had only one thought: she had to win.
At some point, everything in the world started to feel hazy and distant.
"....."
And Aiselin, watching Ellente like that from the corner of the cultural hall, felt nothing but discomfort.
"Young Lady Ellente really looks like she's having a hard time. Her skin looks a bit rough, and there's no life in her eyes. Isn't she pushing herself too hard?"
"She must want to put all her strength into the magic spar with Young Lady Aiselin. Even if it's just a practice spar, that seriousness deserves recognition."
Aiselin truly hated speaking ill of others.
Her followers knew that well, so they didn't openly criticize Ellente's desperate, obsessive competitive spirit.
However, hidden in their words was a subtle contempt for Ellente, who seemed to be forcing herself to such an extent.
Aiselin inwardly disliked those shallow lower-rank nobles.
When they followed the marvelous Young Lady Aiselin, her followers often fell under the illusion that they themselves had gained authority equal to hers.
Seeing them project themselves onto her position and subtly look down on Young Lady Ellente was unpleasant.
Young Lady Aiselin wore a troubled expression.
*
The next morning.
When Young Lady Ellente somehow endured her screaming body and got up from her bed, the head maid, who was as always brushing her hair with worried eyes, spoke.
"A gift has arrived from the Duplein Ducal House."
".... What? Duplein?"
"Yes. Ah, it seems to be from Young Lady Aiselin..."
A junior maid entered the bedroom carrying a wooden box decorated with pretty floral ribbons and antique ribbons.
After placing it on the tea table, bowing politely, and leaving, Young Lady Ellente rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened the box.
Inside were a pretty handwritten letter from Young Lady Aiselin, a fragrant sachet, and many magic items meant to take care of one's health.
"....."
"Young Lady Ellente?"
After looking at the contents of the box, Young Lady Ellente quietly unfolded the letter.
Inside, in pretty and delicate handwriting, were lines carefully written by Young Lady Aiselin.
Most of it was filled with messages of encouragement and support.
Before the spar, Young Lady Aiselin had been worried that Young Lady Ellente might be pushing herself too hard, so she sent these gifts.
However, no matter how you looked at it, when someone who was clearly more skilled sent gifts like this out of pity, it was nothing more than mocking the other person.
Aiselin took that into consideration and wrote in the letter that these were just leftover items sent from her main house that she was distributing here and there as a formality.
In truth, they were gifts sent out of concern for Ellente, but so that Ellente wouldn't feel pitied, she had sent gifts to several young ladies at once.
Anyone could see that she was an extremely kind and gentle person.
Young Lady Ellente read the letters filled with such sincerity, then quietly put them down.
"They're very high-quality items. I'll organize them separately."
"No. Throw them all away."
"... Pardon?"
"Throw them all away. Don't let them appear in front of me."
Young Lady Ellente clenched her teeth and stood up from her seat.
When she looked in the mirror, a tired, exhausted girl was staring back with an irritated expression.
She was wearing pretty makeup and cute accessories, but what filled her face was jealousy and envy.
When you saw such a fairy-like person with great talent, a good family, and even a kind heart, with no flaws at all, there stood an ugly human who, for no real reason, was consumed by unreasonable jealousy and harbored hostility.
Who was that? It was Ellente herself.
Who was the wicked person who tried to bury Aiselin with schemes when she first entered High Society? It was Ellente herself.
Even after being moved by Aiselin, who maintained her dignity and convictions to the end, who was the ugly woman who couldn't let go of that jealousy and desperately tried to win? It was Ellente herself.
The woman reflected in the mirror had messy, barely brushed hair from exhaustion, and her skin was dry and rough.
Who is this woman? Who is this?
Ellente suddenly stared at the mirror with her eyes wide open.
"Is Derrick already at the sparring arena?"
"Yes. He is preparing for dawn training. Once you finish getting ready..."
"Why bother, when I'm just going to be drenched in sweat and get dirty anyway?"
"... Pardon?"
Ellente lifted her dress hem and trudged out of the bedroom.
The servants hurried to try to stop her, but she didn't listen.
*
–Boom.
Ellente roughly opened the door to the sparring arena and walked in, dusting off her hands.
Derrick, who had been wiping his sword on one side of the arena, looked at her with surprised eyes.
"You're working hard again from early morning, Derrick. As usual, we'll start with sparring practice, right?"
"Young Lady. Did you come straight after waking up?"
"Isn't training the first thing you should do once you open your eyes?"
"That's not the point..."
"Then what is?"
It was about time for her mind to start sinking into the accumulating fatigue.
The fact that she had held out this long was already impressive.
Derrick had been intentionally driving Ellente into a corner, but he hadn't expected her to react like this, so he had to watch her mood for a moment.
However, Ellente looked at him quietly, then took a deep breath as if it were nothing and spoke.
"If I want to beat Aiselin, every moment of training is precious. I have to master even a little more."
"Young Lady Ellente."
Derrick immediately realized that Ellente was cornered.
Up to this point, everything had gone according to Derrick's intention.
And in this situation, he once again asked the question he had already asked her several times.
"If it's too hard, giving up is also a method."
"Giving up?"
Ellente frowned as if her reverse scale had been touched, then wiped her face once with her slender hand and strode toward Derrick.
Then she glared up at him.
"Why should I give up? Every time I seem to be really struggling, you tell me to give up. Did you come here to make me give up?"
"....."
"I wanted someone to help me beat Aiselin, and you readily agreed. Wasn't that our relationship? Why do you keep talking about giving up and scratching at people like this... can I ask why?"
"Young Lady Ellente."
Why was she so obsessed with her match against Aiselin?
Derrick had to find out the reason first.
Because he had noticed from the beginning that it wasn't driven by mere jealousy and envy alone.
Teaching someone meant discovering the true desire for achievement hidden in that person's underlying psyche and guiding them according to it.
Delivering knowledge is what an instructor does, but guiding a person is what a master does.
And Derrick was someone who had learned well from Katia what it meant to guide a person.
"So what if you can't win?"
Seeing Derrick say something like that now, Ellente suddenly felt an unknown anger rising inside her.
Ellente had hired Derrick in order to beat Aiselin.
She hadn't brought him here to listen to such pointless words.
Ellente grabbed Derrick by the collar.
As she was about to raise her voice, she suddenly saw Derrick's serious eyes and quietly lowered her gaze.
"If I can't win... then I'll be too ugly."
Finally, Ellente said as if spitting the words out.
On the day she brought Derrick in, she said that she was revealing her own shame and persuaded him.
But she was also someone who had spent years in High Society.
She had said that, but she hadn't truly revealed the real reason she wanted to beat her.
Derrick judged that he couldn't help Ellente in such a state.
"I told you. I'm the kind of person who badmouthed Aiselin and tried to slander her. Even though they call me the pillar of the Count Belmiard Family and the flower of the Rosea Salon, at best, I was only that kind of person, you understand?"
"...."
"I admitted how immature and ugly I was, and I understood hundreds, thousands of times that Young Lady Aiselin is truly upright and admirable... I already accepted long ago that she isn't someone I should be competing with. My head and my reason understand all of that. I know well that there's no reason to hate her or be hostile to her."
In Ellente's eyes, which were still gripping his collar, the anger had completely disappeared, and only sorrow remained.
She spoke as if vomiting out the mud that had been stuck in her chest.
"But what am I supposed to do? This ugly, pathetic inferiority complex won't disappear..."
Only then did Derrick feel like he understood her a little.
In the end, she was just a girl that age.
Even if she understood how childish and futile this base inferiority complex was, it didn't really mean anything.
Human emotions don't always follow reason.
Ellente was a noble girl who received looks of admiration wherever she went, but she was still just a girl going through that turbulent age.
Rather, her reason had matured too much, leaving her emotions behind.
Because she knew how ugly and cruel inferiority could make a person, she only ended up seeing herself, who harbored such thoughts, as even more base.
But as she said, could such emotions really appear just because you wanted them to, and disappear because you didn't?
–"You're good at putting on a front. I know well that my personality isn't that good either."
–"Because of that, there came a time when I felt really pathetic about myself."
Derrick finally felt like the puzzle pieces were fitting together.
She always acted like a proud rose, but hidden in her words and actions was a subtle self-loathing.
It was such a faint sign that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it, but once you did, you could finally see her whole self.
Young Lady Ellente must have tried to find a way to improve this ugly side of herself.
However, human emotions don't change as easily as pressing a button.
After all sorts of worries and wandering, the place she arrived at was the idea of beating Aiselin, even if only in something small.
In the end, the one she truly hated wasn't Aiselin, but herself.
At last, Derrick felt like he had seen the bottom of Ellente's heart.
The reason he had asked her several times whether she was ready to do anything was because he needed to confirm that resolve.
What Derrick was planning to do would only put her in danger if her resolve was half-hearted.
"I see."
Derrick didn't make a fuss, nor did he respond emotionally.
He simply made Ellente slowly let go of his collar.
There was even firmness in that action.
"... Then let's win."
Ellente's eyes widened.
Despite Ellente's emotional outburst, Derrick didn't show even a hint of being flustered.
He was a man like well-tempered steel.
[Dear readers, you can support me here: https://ko-fi.com/reaper87 ]