Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Translator: Latte Editor: Sasha

Over the years, Caville’s physique had changed from a young boy to an unrecognizable man. He had grown up much more drastically than Ren and Brien.

It was all thanks to him training constantly.

Brien had never seen Caville rest. It was mysterious how a human could train for such long periods of time without taking even a single break…

“Has there been any news about the duchy?”

“Nothing, Your Grace.” Brien replied.

Caville’s expression darkened.

“Alright, you are dismissed.”

Brien bowed to Caville and left the barracks. Ever since arriving at the battlefield, there had been no contact from the mansion whatsoever.

‘She said she’d write me a letter, but….’

Not a single letter had arrived from Elody so far.

Even though Caville felt sad, he was worried that something might have happened to her in the mansion.

He wondered if he should just kill all those in the Imperial Army and the temple’s soldiers.

Caville only had one purpose. To end the war quickly and return to his house, where Elody was waiting.

“You seem to be in a bad mood.”

After he was left alone, the brooch on Caville’s chest let out a puff of red smoke.

“I’m not in the mood to chat with you today.”

“Giving me the cold feet, I see.”

Caville stared at the red silhouette who seemed offended. The silhouette that was floating like a cloud soon changed into the shape of a red wolf.

The wolf climbed onto Caville’s fluffy bed and laid down.

“Hey, isn’t the bed cold? I wonder why?”

“……”

Caville clicked his tongue and gave a cold stare towards the grumbling wolf.

It had already been 4 years since Caville met this so-called mysterious prick.

Four years ago, Caville, a weak young boy, heard a voice calling out to him from within his brooch.

“Who are you?”

“I guess you can finally hear my voice. Hmm, hmm… I am the one who can give you strength!” He exclaimed. “By the way, where is the girl who revived me back to life?”

“Girl?”

“Yes, a girl with pink hair.”

“Elody? Are you talking about my wife?”

“Are you an idiot? I would have said it before if I knew her name. Anyway, that pink-haired-girl saved me when I was dying. Seems like her name is Elody, but why am I in your possession? What’s your name?”

“Why should I tell you my name?”

“Hmm… Seeing your black hair and pink eyes, you must be a Cernoir.”

“My name’s Caville.”

“Yes, Caville Cernoir. Why do you have this brooch?”

“My wife gave me this brooch.”

“I see… Well, anyway, since you have the Cernoir name, you seem adequate enough to be the successor of this brooch.”

Caville couldn’t understand what the voice was saying.

The unknown entity began to explain.

“A long time ago, I chose to serve the first Duke of Cernoir. He made a contract with me, and I generously shared my strength with him.”

‘……’

“Now, would you sign a contract with me? You said you wanted to be strong! Don’t you want to have power?”

“I want to have power.”

“Okay, then sign a contract with me.”

“My wife told me not to take requests from strangers.”

“……”

From that day on, Caville would always reject his words, but the entity continued to persuade him.

He couldn’t just throw away the brooch that Elody gave him.

Nevertheless, deep inside his heart, he had an urge to tear it to pieces…

Eventually, Caville got irritated by the entity’s noisy requests, so he gave in and asked, “What happens after I sign the contract?”

The entity urgently replied, “Cernoirs usually have the power to control mana. You will have to train that power and give it to me.”

“What nonsense is that? Won’t I be better off without it? What’s in it for me? Why do I have to give you my mana?”

He didn’t make any sense, so Caville pointed out the errors in his logic.

“When I get stronger, you’ll get stronger too! The moment you turn into a skilled Swordmaster, I will be released from the brooch’s seal. And If I gain the body of an adult, you’ll be able to use all of my strength!”

“What is your power?”

“Hahaha!” he laughed. “Oh, dear heavens! You don’t know anything, do you?“

Caville was offended by his sarcastic speech.

“I’m not talking to you anymore.”

“Ahhh! No! Why are you upset?!”

“……”

“I’m sorry. Please talk to me. I’ve been alone for too long….”

“.…Who the hell are you?’

“Curious about my name now, aren’t you? Yes, you must be curious. Very curious indeed.” He said in a mischievous tone. “Then would you be so kind as to sign a contract with me? Call me by my name, and the contract will be sealed!”

“…..Nah, I’m not that curious.”

“Argh! You cheeky brat, are you toying with me?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re too loud. Be quiet and let me ponder about my dear wife.”

Caville was determined, but the entity within the brooch persistently tried to grow closer to him.

As time passed, he seemed to have learned a thing or two about Caville.

He found out about Caville’s troubles and his greatest weakness.

“You want to go back to your wife soon?”

“…Of course.”

“Then, would you like to sign a contract with me?”

“Why?”

“Because if you release my seal, the war will end in a jiffy.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t dare to lie. If I don’t sign a contract with you, then I’ll have to rot in here for the rest of my life! Woe is me!”

“……”

“Even after I’m released, I promise to be your subordinate and obey your orders for all eternity! Now, isn’t this a good deal? What do you say?!”

“Can you guarantee it on a written contract?”

“Wha… how did you learn this?”

“Of course, I learned everything from Elody.” Caville replied proudly.

The brooch clicked its tongue and complained that he had a lot of doubts about the young lady.

Eventually, Caville documented all the conditions he wanted.

And signed a contract with him.

“My name is Ifrit, the Spirit King of Fire. Now, call me by my name, Caville Cernoir.”

“Ifrit. I shall sign a contract with you.”

At that time, a strong light emanated from the red jewel wherein the light had accumulated. And what appeared in front of Caville’s eyes was…

“….Wh-what have you become?”

Was a little puppy with red fur…

“Behold! This is the body of the spectacular Spirit King, Ifrit!!!”

“……”

He looked like a small, helpless puppy. He was as tiny as a baby.

It had small wings on his back. They were so thin that Caville thought pulling it too hard might cause it to rip.

“Now… this is what I look like because you’re weak. But the more you increase your strength and supply me with mana, the better I will grow!” He said, wagging his tail.

“……”

Caville thought he was scammed.

Four years later… Cavill learned how to properly control the mana in his body.

As a result of periodically supplying mana to Ifrit, the small puppy, he had now grown into a huge wolf.

Caville thought he was a dog, but he turned out to be a wolf.

Anyway, Caville didn’t like Ifrit as he often irritated him.

So whenever Ifrit jumped on to Caville’s bed, he would not hesitate to kick the red wolf to the floor.

“It hurts!” The wolf yelped.

“Why have you been the same for 4 years? I’ve grown up, and I’m constantly supplying my mana to you. Explain to me why you still act like an annoying pest.”

“…..”

Supplying mana was quite painful. It felt like drawing his own blood and shaving away his own flesh.

“This is different from our initial promise. You said the war will end…”

“Hey, master. This is not my fault. You must reach the level of a Swordmaster to win the war. This is just the beginning.”

“That’s a lot of talk for someone who’s consuming mana without doing anything.”

“…I’m always grateful for that. I will definitely repay you once I become an adult.”

“…Get lost.”

“Haa…” he sighed. “You were way cuter as a child.”

Ifrit grumbled and went back to his brooch.

Caville now knew why the brooch was a magic artifact.

The brooch that Elody gave, was an artifact that contained the strength of a powerful spirit.

Caville let out a sigh while pressing down on his temples. He got up and went back to training.

His eyes were filled with sorrow.

For the past 4 years, all he could think about was Elody.

He missed her a lot.

* * *

After arriving at the estate, Elody took the children to an orphanage managed by Petria.

“Make sure that none of the children are sick or injured.”

“Yes, Madame.”

As Elody had expected, a significant number of children had bruises all over their bodies. There was even a child with a broken arm.

Elody decided to check if there was enough medicine for their treatments.

“Don’t worry too much, madame.”

“Yes. I’m relieved you’re here, Petria.”

After all the inspections were done, Elody went back to the castle.

At that time, a child from the slums ran up to Elody and tugged on her dress.

“…What is this? Are you giving this to me?”

“Yes….”

It was a skinny little girl.

The child was giving her a daisy.

When the child was given medical treatment, there was a lot of whipping bruises on her back. Her wounds had reminded Elody of Caville.

Elody secretly wiped her tears while watching the doctor heal her frail body.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“I wanted to thank you for buying me delicious bread…”

“Why, thank you. It’s very beautiful.”

Elody bent her knees and smiled at the child.

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