I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 100

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (101)

Three days had passed since they left Hermes.

That was how long it took to reach Londinium. During that time, Ilia talked incessantly about card games.

“Hmph! Who would play such a game? Even a smart wizard like me can’t do anything and loses if the cards are dealt like trash. It’s bound to fail miserably.”

At first, he cursed the game.

“My defeat at the hands of the duke was not due to my skill, but simply to luck. Now that I think about it, the structure of the game makes sense.”

After accepting this, he said,

“I’ve been thinking… Isn’t the beginning too boring? It would be better to assign special abilities to each character so that they can do something even if they only get cards that require high mana.”

“If we want to spread this quickly, it might be a good idea to hold some kind of tournament. The winner could receive a winner’s plaque made by the Duke’s family and a card with a special design.”

“I’ve been thinking about a central system. If you and I work on it for about three months, we could come up with something decent…”

Now he was spouting out improvements for the game and continuing to talk about card games.

Ethan, who had been staring intently at Ilia, asked with a slight smile.

“Was it that fun?”

“What? A wise wizard like me wouldn’t find pleasure in such a dirty game of chance. It wasn’t fun at all.”

“I see. Gaillan said he would give the members of the Duke’s household a special set of cards as a gift… Then I’ll leave yours out.” “…!”

Ilia’s eyes widened. She quickly said,

“No… No, I want one too.”

“Is it necessary?”

“Ahem! We need to maintain balance in the game. A special card pack must contain good cards. Such cards can easily upset the balance of the game. As a magician, I have to check them.”

“If that’s the reason, I’ll open mine and show you.”

“…”

Ilya, who had been staring intently at him, puffed out her cheeks.

“You know everything, yet you enjoy testing me.”

“People should live honestly.”

“……How dare you pry into a lady’s private affairs like that? I’ve finally realized it. The duke is the type of man who isn’t popular with women.”

Ethan flinched.

It was because memories of his past life flashed through his mind.

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Ilia.

He was over a hundred years old, but his appearance and behavior were like those of a child of that age.

He had been struck by an unexpected blow from such a person.

Stunned by the fierce blow that reminded him of his past life, Ilia glared at Ethan and said,

“Yes. I want it! Is that okay?”

“…Yes. I’ll take yours too.”

Huh?

Ilia tilted her head.

It was because the duke’s tone suddenly dropped as if he was looking at a lion with his head bowed.

What is it?

“…Could it be?”

Soon, Ilia’s face brightened.

“Duke. Could it be that you’re unpopular with women? Come to think of it, you’ve never had a single marriage proposal.”

“It’s not that I’m unpopular, it’s just that I’m so busy that I don’t have any interest in that sort of thing…”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you talk to a woman. Silvia? She’s the only one, but she’s a boy dressed as a girl. So she doesn’t really count as a woman.”

Whatever you say.

Ilya seemed to have seized the opportunity to counterattack and continued to say whatever he wanted.

“…I’m tired. I’m going to take a nap.”

“Huh. I didn’t think the sleeping dragon of the west would have such worries…”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t worry too much. Surely there must be at least one woman you can talk to.”

“…You’re not referring to me, are you?”

“Who else could there be besides me? A herbivorous man like a duke.”

“…Herbivorous man?”

“In the Kingdom of Murnen, there are two main types of men when it comes to romance. Carnivorous men and herbivorous men. Herbivorous men are… men who are passive in romantic relationships.”

“Huh…”

“Herbivorous men… Hmm. That fits you better than I thought…”

“One more word and you’ll never see the cards again.”

“Ah! Duke, that’s really cowardly…”

“Shh.”

Ilia’s mouth was shut tight as if it were a clam. Anyone could see that she was completely absorbed in the card game.

* *

The two entered the inner city of Londinium and unpacked their belongings.

“Now that we have inspiration, we can begin the restoration work in earnest. Let’s go.”

He looked at Silvia, and she nodded. It was a sign that there was nothing urgent that needed to be done right away.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Yes.”

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He entered the magic laboratory with Ilia. Inside, numerous magic circles were actively moving.

One person was already waiting there.

It was Melaisis.

“Are you here, Duke?”

“Yes.”

“Cough! Old woman! Why are you so late? Did you bring the branches?”

“Huhuhu. Old man. Don’t be surprised. Ta-da!”

Ilia held two branches in his hands. Melaycis’ eyes sparkled when he saw them.

One was a branch from the World Tree.

However, the other one was…

“…What is this? It feels strange…”

“It is a branch from the Yongrin Tree.”

“Yongrinmok?”

“You didn’t know about this tree, did you?”

“……”

“Yongrinmok is an evil tree cultivated by the Yongin tribe… Do you understand?”

“Huh. So there was such a tree.”

“It’s a tree that a technician wouldn’t know about.”

“That technician! Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

“I’m just telling you the truth. Why are you so angry? I always told you to read more and learn common knowledge… Tsk. You’re still young, so you only know how to run around…”

“…I’ve told you many times, I’m already seventy years old.”

“What’s seventy? In my age, you’re still a kid who hasn’t even reached twenty yet.”

“……”

Melaisis stuck out his tongue as if he was fed up and took the two branches.

“Just reinforce these branches?”

“Yes. And I was thinking of reinforcing this handle as well. Is that possible?”

“My specialty is metal, but hmm… If it’s a world tree with such excellent harmony… It might go well with my magic formula…”

After mumbling for a while, Melaisis nodded.

“I’ll give it a try. I’ll need a large magic circle, so please help me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Melaisis and Ilia drew a magic circle on the floor of the room.

After drawing a magic circle with three layers, they placed the hilt of the sacred sword and the two branches in the center.

Melaisis then looked at Ethan.

“Your Highness, we are about to strengthen these three materials. After we infuse mana into the magic circle, will you also infuse mana when we give you the signal? We would like to perform the master consciousness ritual as well.”

Master consciousness.

It was a process in the creation of artifacts in which the master infused their mana into the artifact to make it feel familiar in their hands.

It was one of the steps that all weapons of a certain level or higher had to go through. In fact, it was one of the steps that Poporen had performed when creating the Nephrion Greatsword.

“All right.”

“Then let’s begin. Haap!”

Melaisis’ mana entered the triple magic circle.

Woo-woo-woo!

Ilia’s mana was also poured into the slowly trembling magic circle.

Soon, both of them began to sweat profusely.

What they were trying to strengthen was the handle of a weapon called the “Divine Sword” and two branches called sacred objects.

As such, it required several times more mana than a normal material strengthening process.

Even so.

The amount of mana being consumed was so enormous that it could be called unexpected.

“What is this?”

The two magicians tilted their heads.

The magicians who were looking at the magic circle widened their eyes.

“…Huh?”

The handle of the divine sword, which had been trembling, suddenly began to loosen and slide out.

Soon, it spread out toward the Dragon’s Tail and the branches of the World Tree, twisting together like snakes.

“What… What is that? Why are they merging now? Old woman! What is going on? Was this expected?”

“No… No! Why are they merging now?”

The two magicians were terrified.

Originally, they had planned to combine the three ingredients after finishing the raw material reinforcement process. However, the three ingredients suddenly began to mix, consuming an enormous amount of mana in the process.

Naturally, that mana was

being supplied by the two magicians who were squeezing mana out of the magic circle.

“Ugh… Old woman! Pump more mana into it! We’re going to die like this!”

“…Just because I’m a grand wizard, you think I have infinite mana? Ugh…”

With the strengthening, an unexpected mixture occurred, and the mana consumption rose to an uncontrollable level.

‘If we’re unlucky…!’

If they continued to operate the magic circle, their mana could be completely drained and they could be reduced to nothing.

The two looked at the duke in desperation.

They were screaming with their eyes.

Help us.

Ethan did not hesitate and blew his mana into the magic circle.

Whoosh!

Mana like pure white flames flowed through the magic circle.

The immense power contained within accelerated the mixing process.

However, he was only able to infuse mana for a moment.

Ethan frowned.

“…Does mana normally disappear this quickly?”

“What’s going on… Oh no!”

Ilia’s eyes lit up.

The Yongrimok, an object with the characteristic of madly sucking up mana.

Among the items being combined now, there was definitely a branch of the Yongrimok.

Even after undergoing purification, the unique characteristics of the Yongrimok itself remained.

“That… Damn Yongrinmok! It’s because of Yongrinmok! We need to pump more mana into it! Otherwise, everyone will die of dehydration!”

If they stopped the magic circle once it had been activated, they could suffer fatal internal injuries from the magical backlash.

It was now a matter of life and death.

Edan nodded and immediately released the spell.

The mana accumulated in the three rings flowed out like a dam bursting.

A wave of white flames.

A tremendous amount of mana, literally like a wave, instantly engulfed the entire magic circle.

Melaisis widened her eyes at the sight.

“The Duke’s mana… Was it this much?”

She was certain that he didn’t possess such a tidal wave of mana when she saw him before.

Ilya was just as surprised. It had only been two months since she witnessed the Duke’s exploits at the opening ceremony.

“Surely, back then…”

The white flames the Duke had unleashed were only enough to stain his great sword.

Just a brief moment.

The duke was already several steps ahead of his past self.

This was clear from the pure white flames that enveloped the enormous triple magic circle.

“…No wonder the bishop’s head was cut off.”

White flames.

Even the bishop would have been powerless against such a powerful flame wielded with such skill.

Looking back now, it was only natural that he was beheaded without putting up any resistance.

The white mana that dominated the entire magic circle converged on the handle.

Wood!

Wood!

The handle, which had been cracking like bones breaking for a while, gradually began to quiet down.

“It seems to be over.”

With Ethan’s words, the magic circle slowly stopped moving.

In the center of the huge triple magic circle.

The handle of the divine sword lay there.

The handle, now completely drenched in pure white.