I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 58

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (59)

The inner courtyard of the Duke of Dekun.

A carriage rushed out from there. Only Ethan and Ilia were in the carriage.

Inside the carriage.

Ilia, who was fidgeting as if the seat were covered with thorns, said.

“I am not incompetent!”

“Yes.”

“I explained it earlier…”

“I understand.”

The reason Ilia was acting this way was simple. It was because of the question she had asked before getting on the carriage.

“Can’t you use teleportation?”

The answer to that single question could have been written in hundreds of lines.

To summarize it in one sentence:

He was a specialized craftsman magician and couldn’t use teleportation.

If it’s a skill to express that simple one sentence in hundreds of words, then it’s a skill.

“Anyway, even among grand magicians who are skilled in spatial magic, only a select few can use it. It consumes so much mana that it has to be used by hammering high-grade mana stones into gate-like devices…”

“Right.”

“Huh! I’m not making excuses by explaining it in detail! There are no more than three magicians in the kingdom who can use teleportation.”

“I understand.”

After answering for a while, Ilia finally quieted down.

There was a moment of silence.

He asked,

“By the way, does that old man live around here?”

“I heard so.”

“That’s interesting. He must be quite the wanderer.”

“Did you know him well?”

“I met him occasionally. He was a master in one field, but he was completely useless in everything else.”

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“What was that field?”

“Raw material reinforcement. In the field of metalworking, there is no one in the entire West Continent who can reinforce metal as precisely as that old man.”

“Technician? Wasn’t he a magician?”

“What kind of magician is good at only one thing? He’s just a technician.”

Ethan’s eyes sparkled.

“I understand why they chose him as a middleman.”

A cult that served the dragon clan.

They were collecting rare metals here. A magician who could strengthen such metals would be a logical choice as a middleman.

“How strong are they?”

“Strong enough to defend themselves against thugs?”

“Are you really talking about neighborhood thugs?”

“Ah… I mean, to be precise, you can take down a 4-star knight on your own?”

As Ilia said, his fighting ability was close to zero.

“There won’t be any fighting.”

If the cult sent guards, it would be different, but if he was alone, he thought he could resolve the situation through conversation.

“By the way, why are you looking for him?”

“I have something to say to him.”

“Something good?”

“That depends on how he responds.”

“Hmmm…”

Ilia was reluctant to say more.

Although he was acquainted with Melaycis, they weren’t really close.

He would find out his purpose once they arrived.

“Metal reinforcement.”

He had figured out what kind of ability the wizard had. It seemed to be quite useful.

He began to look forward to this meeting.

“If I can, I’d better keep him alive and use him.”

The carriage began to rush toward the place the wizard had pointed out.

* *

The place he pointed to was near the middle of a mountain near the vassal’s territory.

“I can feel magic. It’s definitely that old man’s magic. Wait a moment.”

Soon, Ilia’s appearance began to change.

Wrinkles appeared on her firm skin.

Her waist began to bend slightly, and finally, she picked up a cane from somewhere, but it was impossible to tell where she had gotten it. She looked exactly like an old woman.

It was as if she had rapidly replayed a person’s entire life. And it was the aging part.

“It’s the same as last time.”

When she first appeared.

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It was similar to the way she had changed from an old woman to a child.

Ilya smiled as she made eye contact with Ethan.

“Don’t misunderstand. This is not my ‘true form’. A doppelganger’s age is only about two years old in human years.”

She explained the doppelganger’s interpretation of age without being asked, which made it seem like she was secretly worried that her true form would be revealed.

“Does your speech change too?”

“With my appearance like this, my speech has to change too. Hehe. My back is starting to hurt. Let’s hurry up.”

I climbed the mountain with Ilia, who had turned into an old man.

As we climbed the mountain, she gestured to me several times.

Each time she did, the mana flowing through the mountain gradually grew weaker.

“This old man is still as suspicious as ever. Huh. Judging from the welcome magic circle and all the other magic spells he used, he must have used every magic spell he knows.”

“I can tell we’re entering.”

“No way. With that old man’s magic skills, there’s no way he could see through my deception.”

It was convenient to have the grand magician with me.

If Ethan, a knight, had entered the mountain alone, he would have destroyed everything in his path and searched for the magician. When Ilia arrived at the cave, she said.

“Old man! It’s me!”

Urrrgh!

The voice was filled with mana, shaking the cave.

A moment later.

An old man appeared.

His face was ordinary, but his head was not. He was a bald old man without a single strand of hair.

He glared at Ilia and shouted.

“Didn’t I tell you to let me know when you were coming! Again! You destroyed all the magic circles just like last time!”

“Huh. With such low-level magic circles, you can only stop orcs at best. That’s why I destroyed them myself.”

“Huh… Anyway, what brings you here? A technician? You’re not a real magician, are you?”

“Are you angry?”

“Angry? What are you talking about!”

The old man, who had been ranting and raving, turned his gaze to the young man sitting next to Ilia.

“…Is he your disciple?”

“Heh heh… Disciple? You’ll be surprised when you hear his identity.”

“Who is he?”

Ethan silently took out his identity card. When Melaisis saw it, his eyes widened.

“The Grand Duke?”

He was the most talked-about figure in the west in recent years.

Could it be that the person accompanying Ilia was the Grand Duke of the Ardan family?

It was an unexpected visitor.

What could be the reason for his visit?

The moment he looked into the Grand Duke’s eyes.

Melaisis could guess why he had come. No matter how she looked at him, his gaze was not friendly.

“You seem to know why I came.”

“Heh heh. I think I have a rough idea. Is it because of the deal with the Yongin tribe?”

“That’s right. I heard from Viscount Rokan. You are the middleman.”

“That’s correct.”

He nodded calmly.

“Hm.”

I thought he would beg for his life.

His reaction was unexpected.

Instead, Ilia was the one who looked surprised, her eyes wide open.

“You made a deal with the Yongin tribe?”

You’ve gone too far.

That was his impression.

At those words, Melaisis glanced at Ilia with a look of contempt.

“Tsk… When did the times change? Why are you still saying such things? Magic is a science that is advancing toward the truth through new technologies.”

After finishing his reply, Melaisis looked at Ethan.

“It seems you have no intention of killing me right now, is that correct?”

“I am willing to hear your story.”

“Heh heh. Very well. Come in.”

His smile was completely different from when he was talking to Ilia.

“You’re just pretending to be important.”

“I’m not pretending. I am important, old woman.”

Ethan followed the two as they entered the cave, bickering.

* * *

Inside the cave.

The three sat at a small tea table. Ethan looked at the old man and asked.

“Times have changed?”

“I don’t know how the Grand Prince will accept it, but it has long been mainstream to accept the techniques of the dragon tribe.”

“You’re learning it because you think they’ve tampered with it, right? Mercenaries are indulging in dragon clan technology without even realizing their lives are being cut short.”

“Huh… Mages aren’t that stupid. They’re on a whole different level than those empty-headed mercenaries. We’ve already taken apart their technology and studied it thoroughly. We’ve eliminated as many side effects as possible and absorbed only the advantages. I’m no different.”

Even though he said he had learned the dragon clan’s technology, his attitude was remarkably confident.

However, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

For magicians, the most important thing was to seek the truth, and the dragon clan’s technology could be a stepping stone toward that truth.

“Those knowledge-obsessed fools.”

Their behavior was understandable.

“The world has changed a lot. Of course, there were those who vehemently opposed the acceptance of technology. But they quickly became a minority.”

Melaisis said as he took a sip of tea.

“Of course, the same goes for the lunatics who started worshipping the dragon tribe. Wizards are rational beings. That’s why the moderates, who believe in accepting what is reasonable, are the most influential.”

“You must have learned a lot about technology.”

“To be honest… I think more than half of the magicians in the world have learned the techniques of the dragon tribe. That’s how the times have changed.”

Ilia rolled her eyes and looked at Ethan.

The Duke’s family had sacrificed themselves to stop the dragon tribe.

Would Ethan be happy to hear what the old man was saying?

Of course not.

However, unexpectedly.

The Grand Duke’s demeanor and attitude seemed calm.

“I don’t think it’s such a bad idea to take what you can get.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Ethan nodded.

He himself had transformed the shape of his magic according to the dragon clan’s methods.

It was a way to become stronger faster.

He could understand the magician’s words to some extent.

That was why he didn’t get angry.

Even though his family had been sacrificed, that alone was not a reason for magicians to reject new knowledge.

“…To be honest, I thought you would cut my throat right away. I’m a little surprised. Grand Duke.”

“I am not the type who enjoys killing for no reason.”

I have killed many people.

However, there was a reason behind all of them.

I did not kill those who learned the techniques of the dragon clan, but only those who were trying to kill me and had learned the techniques of the dragon clan.

To be completely honest, when I first encountered the techniques of the dragon clan, I was angry.

“Times have changed.”

There were some things that had to be accepted. More than half of the magicians had already learned the techniques of the dragon clan. The knights probably knew about them too.

Kill all of them just because they learned the techniques of the dragon clan?

That was impossible, and I had no desire to do so.

Ethan was not a legendary knight murderer.

Of course.

“Ideology is a completely different story.”

He had no intention of leaving those who served the dragon tribe alone.

In Ethan’s eyes, they had completely crossed the line.

That was also why he had cracked down on the Narakus Sect.

“You are more reasonable than I thought.”

“It is only natural to accept good technology.”

“Heh heh… If you become the head of the family, I don’t think the Duchy will fall behind the times. I’ve seen too many organizations like that…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Over the past fifteen years, many powerful individuals have emerged in the Western Continent. There are more than a few who have broken through the barrier. All of them have accepted the techniques of the Dragon Clan. A new benchmark has been set.”

“A new benchmark?”

“Knights are ranked 10th, and mages are ranked 10th. Don’t you consider them to be transcendent beings?”

“Yes.”

“But now it’s different. There are now powerful individuals known as 11-star and 12-star. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ve completely transcended the previous levels.”

12-star?

It was a mind-boggling term.

Ethan smiled wryly and asked,

“What are 11-star and 12-star?”

“They are those whose power cannot be evaluated at the level of the 10th rank. Therefore, a new indicator had to be created.”

In short.

It meant that they were those who had gathered power like a balloon filled to bursting by using the method of the dragon clan, which allowed them to gather power quickly.

He understood the background.

Now it was time to achieve the purpose of his visit here.

Ethan asked Melaisis as he looked at her.

“If you were a middleman, you must know something about the higher-ups.”

“I don’t know exactly. He never showed his face. However, I can make some guesses.”

“Guesses?”

“…Do you know an organization called the Capital Magic Council?”

“Capital Magic Council?”

“It’s one of the magical organizations in the Kingdom of Haidern. It’s the most secretive group and also where all the talented magicians of the kingdom gather.”

At that moment.

The words the chief priest had spoken at the printing house came to mind.

“There is… such an organization… that comes and goes as if it were their own home… a gathering of mages… even a word mage like me can see them frequently…”

It was intriguing information.