I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 59

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (60)

“The Capital Magic Association. How do you know about that organization?”

“Hehe. Didn’t I tell you? It’s an organization that brings together all the talented magicians in the kingdom. I am also a talented magician.”

That was the moment.

Ilya, who had been listening quietly, began to tremble. The old woman, who had been coughing for a while, said.

“Pffft! Cough! Cough! That’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard! I never knew you had a talent for that.”

“What… what?”

“Hehe. Why don’t you try being a clown? I think you’d be pretty good at making people laugh.”

The bald old man’s head, which had been shining bright white, gradually turned red.

“You old hag! Do you think you can say anything just because you have a mouth? You usually call me a technician, but…”

“That’s funny. If there really were such an organization, wouldn’t they have already approached me, a genius in the production industry?”

“Hmph! Of course not. Who would offer such an honorable proposal to a gloomy old woman who spends all day locked up in a dungeon?”

“Huh huh. What did you say? A gloomy old woman?”

“Oh, I misspoke. You’re not just a gloomy old woman, you’re more like an old monster.”

“You! I warned you not to call me a monster!”

Ilya shouted, her face red.

She was so angry that she completely forgot the old woman’s characteristic “huh huh” way of speaking.

Seeing this, the bald old man smiled slyly, as if he had gained the upper hand.

“Hmph! A doppelganger is a monster, not a human being! I will establish your true identity myself… Ugh!”

Ilia covered the bald old man’s mouth with a single gesture and stood up abruptly.

“Huh! Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since you last hit me. I think you need some love.”

The moment the old woman’s mana-made club appeared in her hand.

“Stop.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s leave the reunion for later and release her now. I still have many questions to ask.”

Ethan stopped Ilia.

There were still many questions to ask, and if he fainted, it would only cause trouble.

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Time was precious.

Ilia lowered his stick at Ethan’s firm tone.

“Huh… Huh. Consider yourself lucky, you bald old man.”

Soon, Melaisis’s mouth relaxed. He looked at Ethan as if he were amazed.

“…How did he handle that brat like that?”

He stopped that old man with just one word?

It wasn’t even when that old man was in the form of a child.

It was when the old woman was smiling indulgently and moving as she pleased, in what was known as “social mode.”

Even Melaisis, who had lived for over seventy years, had never seen Ilia act like that before.

While everyone was silently admiring her,

Ethan looked at Melaisis.

“Let’s continue the story. Are you affiliated with the Magic Council?”

“No, I’m not. However, I have been invited to join.”

After finishing her words, Melaisis drew something on the floor.

It was a kind of drawing.

It was very familiar.

Ethan’s eyes lit up as he touched the mark in his pocket.

“It’s the same.”

The silver dragon head emblem he had obtained from the chief priest.

The drawing Melaisis was making was identical to it.

“It’s a symbol given to me by someone from the Kingdom’s Magic Council.”

“It looks exactly the same.”

“I see. The Grand Duke has one too. However, the color seems to be a little different. The one I saw was gold.”

Gold, silver, and bronze.

It was easy to guess the corresponding ranks.

“Is gold the symbol of the highest rank?”

“Probably not. The mage said he was just one of many officials. Anyway, he made me an offer, but I refused.”

“Was there a reason you refused the offer?”

“They said I had to submit a thesis on the most specialized field of magic to join. While sharing knowledge is a great help for those skilled in various fields, it’s a different story for someone like me who’s only focused on one area.”

Melaysis, who possesses unmatched skill in metal reinforcement but is nearly useless in other fields.

It’s no wonder the offer didn’t sound appealing. My role as an intermediary was likely due to that as well.

“I see. Do you know anything about their headquarters?”

“The Magic Council isn’t just in the capital. The headquarters is in the capital, but there are branches in various regions. That’s all I know.”

The Magic Council.

Now that I had information about them, it was worth coming here.

That was when it happened.

[It seems like we’ve accomplished most of what we came here to do. Is that right?]

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Ilya’s voice echoed in his head. Ethan’s fingers twitched as if nodding his head.

[Then let’s leave the old man for now and talk.

“Thanks for your help. Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, sir.”

He moved to sit next to Ilia.

“What about that old man? How about recruiting him? I don’t know about anything else, but his metal strengthening skills are incredible.”

Greed flowed from the wrinkled old woman’s eyes. Her gaze was like that of a predator eyeing its prey.

“He’s useful, isn’t he?”

“Of course. That goes without saying. With him, we could further enhance the three items I enchanted last time.”

Ilia explained one by one why the bald old man would be useful.

In short, he was saying that he could be used as an assistant in his work.

After talking at length about the necessity of Melaisis, Ilia said casually,

“There were some magic circles on the way here. They were of a very high level to have been created by an old man.”

“They must have been installed by the Magic Council.”

“I think so. They’re designed to sound an alarm if anyone unauthorized approaches. It was impossible to destroy the circles, so we temporarily disabled them, but… it won’t be long before they find out you were here.”

What would happen then?

“Kill him, persuade him, or kidnap him.”

There were three possibilities.

Whatever it was, this was the only chance to recruit Melaisis.

“I understand.”

Ethan returned to the cave.

Melaisis was sitting quietly in her place.

He asked the old man.

“You. Would you like to work for me?”

“Heh heh. Did the old woman suggest that I recruit you?”

“She said you would be very useful.”

“If you agree to my conditions, I will work for you.”

“What are they?”

“Provide me with ample supplies of metal and funds. And protect my life. No matter how I look at it, it seems like the Capital Magic Association will come after me.”

He looked at Ilia.

She nodded readily.

“Huh! Everyone knows you’re useless in battle. I’ll protect you. Is that okay?”

“Kuh!”

Melaisis nodded.

Although Ilia was a skilled magician in the field of creation,

that did not mean she was weak in battle.

With her skills as a grand magician, she could easily defeat even a 7th-rank knight.

“I’ll be counting on you, assistant.”

“Assistant? What! If you’re going to treat me like you did in the past, not paying me and bossing me around, I won’t stand for it!” “Huh. You’re just a kid with a big head. Tsk tsk.”

“I’m seventy years old! You old fool!”

They seemed to get along better than expected.

* *

It had been two days since he returned to the inner castle.

Silvia approached Ethan, who was conducting training.

“Grand Duke. A letter has arrived from Count Cheiman.”

“Hm.”

He nodded and took the letter. He read the contents for a moment.

He smiled slightly.

“The time has come.”

The letter was brief.

Not only had all the nobles belonging to Chayman’s faction lowered their taxes as stipulated in the feudal contract,

but they had also burned all books related to the dragon clan.

In short, they had bowed their heads.

“Maybe they’re not bowing because they’re afraid of me.”

It didn’t matter.

This gave him a solid excuse to shift the direction of his attack toward Count Irdan.

He looked at Silvia and asked.

“Did they lower the taxes publicly?”

“It doesn’t seem so. There were hardly any rumors. I think it was to deceive Irdan.”

What a cunning bastard.

It would take quite some time for Count Irdan to hear this news.

Perhaps only after another faction collapsed would he realize why he was being attacked.

“Is the Itun family also distributing books about the dragon clan?”

“Yes. According to our investigation, they are being distributed everywhere. The same is true in Plestan, the capital of the Itun family’s domain.”

“What about taxes?”

“The same as the other families.”

There was more than enough justification.

The situation was ripe for action.

There was no reason to hesitate any longer.

“Prepare the knights.”

“Yes.”

The knights gathered.

There were nearly eighty of them.

Most of the knights of the Deukun family had not only expressed their intention to surrender, but had also changed their allegiance. They were no longer loyal to the Locan family, but to Grand Duke Ethan.

“Let’s go. Our destination is the Itun family.”

It was a very simple ceremony.

Although it was just a single sentence, the knights knew instinctively.

That the Itun family would collapse overnight, just like the Dekun family.

“…There’s no way we can stop them.”

Even the commander of the knights had been easily toyed with by the Grand Duke.

The Itun family was a family with a similar military power to the Dekun family.

There was no way they could stop them.

“Let’s go.”

The Grand Duke gave the order.

Eighty knights followed him.

They traveled for three days.

They arrived at the city of Plestan, where Mush, a nobleman belonging to the Irdan faction, was based.

Just like last time, the Grand Duke jumped over the outer wall and entered the city.

Shortly after the sound of swords clashing was heard from inside, the outer gate opened.

“…What overwhelming force.”

The Grand Duke’s skill was terrifying.

Just like last time, he jumped over the castle and the gate opened in no time.

The outer walls had already been in chaos for a long time. If the Grand Duke alone had the strength to take over the viscount’s territory, what more could be expected with the knights joining him?

After the knights rushed in, it was practically the end of the battle. The inner walls were no different. Once again, the Grand Duke leaped over them.

After several sounds of swords clashing, the gates began to fall.

The knights who entered the castle opened their eyes wide.

Mush, the viscount

of the Itun family.

Such a nobleman was writhing at the hands of the Grand Duke.

It had not been long since they entered the inner castle, and they had already captured the enemy commander.

“…What overwhelming power.”

That was evident from the sight of the knight commander lying near the viscount.

The knight of the Six Castles was lying there as if he were dead!

To subdue his opponent so easily, the prince’s skill must be overwhelming.

I wonder how powerful the prince really is.

It was enough to make anyone curious.

When Edan saw the knights entering the inner castle, he threw the viscount to the ground.

“Lock him up in the dungeon.”

The knights swallowed hard and nodded in response to his indifferent tone.

The knights took the viscount to the dungeon.

A few days later.

Rumors spread throughout the duke’s domain.

The Ten Branches.

The news was that the Grand Duke, who had brought down four of the nobles who were the de facto rulers of the duke’s domain, had issued an edict.