Chapter 38: A Deal for the North and Elin’s First Friend

As Nia guided them forward, her face flushed red, lips pressed firmly together.

Sneak.
Slide.
Sneakily…
Sliiide…

“Is something wrong, Lady?”

Elin hesitated, raising her hand toward Luke’s collar as if to grab it, only to lower it again.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Mm.”

Startled, Elin averted her gaze and fidgeted with her fingers.

“…Sorry.”

“…Excuse me?”

An unexpected apology.

“…For secretly looking at your teacher’s photo.”

Well, judging by the looks around him, Luke seemed to be the only one caught off guard.

Nia and Bena were both sneaking glances at him, their expressions giving away their awareness.

No wonder the atmosphere felt oddly tense.

“I don’t mind. It’s just a photo.”

“…Really?”

Elin looked up at Luke, blinking for about three seconds.

“Then can I take one with me?”

Her demeanor shifted in an instant.

“Why would you take it?”

“As a keepsake.”

“I don’t know what kind of keepsake you mean, but do as you please.”

At that moment, Bena hesitantly scurried closer.

“U-Um… Could I also take one?”

“…Why would you want one, Lady Bena?”

“A-As a keepsake…?”

Seriously, why did they consider it a keepsake?

Luke simply shrugged, signaling that they could do as they pleased.

“No.”

But the rejection came from Elin.

“Huh?”

“Lady Bena cannot have one.”

Elin shook her head firmly, squeezing herself between Luke and Bena to create some distance.

“Why not?! L-Luke already said it was fine…!”

Exactly. Why was Elin refusing when Luke, the owner of the photo, had already given permission?

Curious, Luke observed her.

Elin then spoke with a determined expression.

“Because he’s my teacher. That’s why. You can’t.”

It wasn’t exactly the most logical reasoning.

“…Ugh, fine.”

Having lost the chance to argue logically, Bena could only surrender to the stubborn will of a noble lady.

After the brief commotion over the photo—

“This is the dining hall.”

Nia turned around with a smile, gesturing toward a room filled with a delightful aroma.

Victor entered first, giving Luke a light tap on the shoulder.

“You’re quite popular with the young ladies.”

“It appears so. Though I’m not sure why.”

“Oh, I think you do.”

Victor’s golden eyes glowed ominously.

“You’ve been so busy at the academy that you couldn’t even send a message home. You should at least make a name for yourself.”

“…”

Victor’s words struck deep before he casually walked into the dining hall.

Luke rubbed his chest.

Fortunately, no actual holes had been drilled into him.

It seemed this sort of verbal ambush would be frequent while he stayed in Bucklin.

He steeled himself, deciding to prepare so he wouldn’t flinch when struck next time, and followed Victor inside.

“Thank you for the meal.”

The food was excellent.

If one were to exaggerate slightly, it could even compete with the Bertein estate’s cuisine.

“I-I don’t know if I deserve to eat such luxurious food….”

There was a brief incident where Bena trembled nervously throughout the meal.

—Constantly belittling yourself also diminishes the dignity of the hosting family. …I-I’m sorry.

One stern remark from Victor was enough to silence her, and she obediently continued eating.

Ultimately, the meal ended with everyone satisfied.

“Lady, it’s time for your potion.”

And so began Elin’s moment of misery.

“Ann, please give the Lady her potion.”

“Yes~.”

Ann responded playfully, shaking the potion as she approached Elin.

“Do I really have to drink it here too?”

“They say you can’t skip a single day if you want to get better.”

“O…”

Elin grimaced at the potion as if it were poison but decided to get it over with quickly.

Gulp.

She downed it in one go.

Her expression instantly contorted.

Luke quickly placed a candy in her mouth.

As the sweetness spread, her mood seemed to improve.

Chewing on the candy, she poked Luke’s thigh.

“Teacher, are you coming to watch the puppet show too?”

Her bright eyes sparkled like never before.

“May I watch as well?”

“Hmm, I don’t see why not.”

Elin turned to Bena.

Noticing her gaze, Bena shot up from her seat.

“O-Of course! I’d be honored if you watched…!”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to—”

“I’m sorry, but Luke will be staying behind to talk with me.”

Just as Luke was about to rise, Victor interrupted.

“Nia, please escort our guests to their rooms.”

“Yes, Brother.”

Nia bowed respectfully to Victor.

“Ladies, please follow me.”

With that, she led Elin and Bena out of the dining hall.

Ann, the dedicated maid, naturally followed them.

Now, only Victor and Luke remained.

Luke stared at Victor with visible disappointment.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I wanted to watch the puppet show.”

“You’re not a child.”

Victor clicked his tongue, unimpressed.

Born in a fantasy world, he probably didn’t see the appeal.

But.

The puppets Bena would use were animated by summoning magic.

They moved without strings.

No modern person could resist the allure of a magical puppet show!

Of course, Luke didn’t bother explaining all that.

Otherwise, Victor would undoubtedly look at him like he was a child throwing a tantrum.

“So, what did you want to discuss?”

“There’s a curse on Lady Elin Bertein.”

Silence fell.

Luke’s words caught in his throat.

Victor simply waited for his response.

Clink.

The sound of a teacup being placed on the table finally prompted Luke to speak.

“How did you know?”

It didn’t seem like Victor was fishing for information.

There was no reason for him to.

Even if he tried, Bucklin wouldn’t gain anything from it.

“I circulated a bit of mana during the meal. When I let it flow through the Lady’s body, it disappeared.”

“The mana within her Mana Heart is perfectly clean, though.”

Even Lanian had to make direct contact to diagnose someone’s condition.

Yet Victor had done it remotely, in the middle of a meal, and unnoticed?

Perhaps there was a reason he was the heir to Bucklin.

“The potion she drinks after meals—is it for treating the curse?”

This wasn’t a question seeking an answer.

It was a confirmation of something he already knew.

All Luke could do was nod.

“That’s correct.”

“You asked about the North earlier because of the young lady, didn’t you?”

“If you examined her body, you must have felt it too, Brother.”

“Yes. It’s eerily similar to the curses observed in northern creatures. We should assume it’s the same curse.”

But from here, even Victor had no answers.

“Why does the young lady have such a curse?”

He believed Luke would be the one to solve this mystery.

“I don’t know either. So, could you investigate it for me?”

“What?”

What came back was a shameless request.

Victor frowned and set down his teacup.

“And why should I be the one to investigate it?”

“I’m busy teaching the young lady, so I don’t have time to go to the North.”

“You seem to think I have plenty of time.”

“I will register the patent for long-distance communication paper under the Bucklin family’s name.”

Swoosh—

Luke pulled out a letter from his subspace.

A real-time communication tool using spatial magic.

An invention owned only by a select few connected to Luke.

Transferring the patent not to an individual but to the Bucklin family meant…

The family could develop and distribute long-distance communication paper without Luke’s direct involvement.

A proposal that was only beneficial—both financially and politically.

After hearing the explanation, Victor nodded.

“I’ll head to the North soon.”

For a mere reconnaissance trip to a cold region, the deal was excessively generous.

“You’re ruthless. Developing such magic, and then keeping it hidden from your family.”

“I didn’t hide it. I just didn’t report it.”

Even if a few patents were sacrificed, it didn’t matter.

“I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Victor clicked his tongue and downed the rest of his tea.

“I need to arrange my schedule, so I’ll be going now.”

“Take care.”

“Oh, and…”

Just before leaving the dining hall, Victor issued a warning.

“Be cautious for now. The more the young lady’s name spreads, the more people will target her.”

“Target her? Are you talking about assassination attempts?”

Would there really be lunatics bold enough to go after a Bertine inside the empire?

“You never know. She carries a rare curse and possesses extraordinary talent. It’s not impossible for her to become a target.”

With that, Victor left the dining hall.

“People who would target her, huh…”

Luke murmured as he finished his tea.

Could that event be approaching?

It still seemed too early, but…

It wouldn’t hurt to prepare in advance.

If he was right about the event, a single misstep could lead straight to a bad ending.

Elin, who had obtained one of the rare solo shots of young Luke, clutched the photo to her chest with a dazed look.

“…It’s too big.”

The room Nia had led her to was almost twice the size of the one she had at the ducal estate.

“The young lady must have the best room, of course.”

“We could all sleep here together.”

“Really? That sounds amazing!”

Nia smiled playfully as she joked, but—

“H-Huh… Y-You’re saying I could be granted such an honor…?”

Bena was dead serious.

Seeing Bena on the verge of hyperventilating, Elin nodded.

“If you show me a puppet show, you can sleep here too.”

It was an offer made because Elin had been craving a puppet show for some time.

“Of course! I’ll perform one right now!!”

In that instant, the shy daughter of a baron disappeared.

What remained was a summoner overflowing with the desire to become a living, breathing pillow.

Vwoong—

She channeled mana.

Small beads spilled out from her pouch.

And then—

The beads merged together to form puppets.

“…Gasp.”

Rabbits, foxes, cats—

Cute animal puppets that perfectly matched Elin’s taste.

“Hehe, this is just the beginning…!”

Bena waved her hands like an orchestra conductor.

And then—

Thump thump thump thump.

The puppets scurried off to their assigned spots in perfect coordination.

Click.

She even turned on a small lantern, completing the miniature theater.

Clearing her throat, Bena wiggled her fingers.

A rabbit puppet, looking much like the one Elin already owned, hopped to the center.

“Once upon a time, there was a rabbit who lost all her money gambling.”

“!?”

Elin’s ahoge stood straight up in delight.

Bena had chosen to perform Elin’s favorite fairy tale.

“Sigh… Where should I run away today?”

Had she practiced alone at home?

The puppets moved so naturally, as if they were truly alive.

Flutter flutter flutter.

Elin’s ahoge twitched, then flapped with excitement.

“Hey, Miss Rabbit. How about a little chat?”

Fueled by her audience’s enthusiastic reaction, Bena got even more into it.

“Whoa….”

Elin, fully immersed, gazed at the performance with sparkling eyes.

“Haha.”

Nia, watching the magical puppet show and Elin’s adorable reactions, felt a sense of healing.

And so, the performance continued in a joyful cycle.

“And so, the rabbit met a wonderful fox, came to her senses, and lived happily ever after.”

After repaying all her gambling debts, the rabbit fell in love with the fox and led an honest life.

Clap clap clap clap.

Elin clapped her tiny hands.

A masterpiece beyond the original.

That was the only way to describe it.

Stomp stomp.

Elin marched straight over to Bena and grabbed her hand.

“Lady Bena. We’re friends, right?”

“W-W-WHAT?!”

The soft, warm touch on her hand.

A voice so certain, as if her opinion didn’t even matter.

Eyes so mesmerizing they felt hypnotic.

Three consecutive critical hits.

Bena wobbled.

“M-Me? Friends with the young lady??”

On stage, she had been a master storyteller, flawlessly controlling her puppets.

But in reality, she was still the same timid baron’s daughter.

“Do you not want to?”

“O-Of course not! I-It just feels too grand for me…”

“No.”

Squeeze.

Elin tightened her grip.

“If anything, I should be the one asking you to be my friend.”

“I-Is that so?”

“After such an amazing performance, of course I’d want to be friends with you.”

Elin, unusually talkative, poured out words at an incredible speed.

Her excitement made her speech on par with—or even faster than—Luke’s.

“Heh… Hehehe. Such high praise…”

Overwhelmed by the flood of compliments, Bena giggled absentmindedly.

“If you don’t mind… I-I’d love to be friends too…”

“Then, to celebrate our friendship, could you show me another puppet show?”

“Of course! This time, I’ll perform an original story I wrote myself…”

Overcome with happiness, Bena enthusiastically started her next performance.

And Elin, completely captivated, lost track of time.

Elin Berteine.

After 13 years—

She had made her first friend!