Chapter 18

Truly, there could hardly be a man more difficult than Erich von Schwert.

Every action he took seemed to have a reason, but those reasons were nearly impossible to guess. Beatrice, observing him closely, let a question slip.

“Do you need glasses?”

“They’re for concentration. Not for vision problems.”

“I see.”

“Why are you here?”

His eyes remained focused on the documents. Beatrice reached out and took his glasses off. …She admitted it was rude.

But wasn’t he the one who was rude first? Not looking at someone during a conversation was too much.

Beatrice looked down at the glasses in her hand.

He must have read her movement, could have avoided it, but Erich didn’t. He simply allowed her to take his glasses.

As Erich said, the lenses had no prescription. Beatrice brought the glasses up to her eyes and whispered, watching him without distortion.

“Come with me to find the ingredients.”

“…….”

“The three materials to lift your curse. Let’s go find them.”

“Now?”

Looking at the piles of paperwork on his desk, Beatrice hesitated. Even if she had time, there was no guarantee Erich did.

“Don’t worry about my schedule, tell me if you want to go now.”

“But…”

“This journey is for my life anyway. Do you want to go now?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go. Right now, or tomorrow morning?”

Beatrice looked at the stack of papers again, then squinted at Erich. He was watching her, clearly wishing for the former.

He really didn’t want to work.

“Tomorrow morning.”

She grinned mischievously and returned the glasses. Erich put them on and sighed softly.

“Raising a partner is pointless.”

“That’s unfair~. Where would you find a partner as useful as me, Erich von Schwert?”

“…….”

“Finish up quickly. If we’re leaving tomorrow, we need to do a lot tonight.”

She would surely be exhausted tonight, so she’d better nap now.

Beatrice went to the sofa in the office and sprawled out. The soft fabric and magnolia scent were perfect for sleep.

She hugged the cushion tightly and tapped her feet. Looking toward the desk, Erich watched her with a face full of words he wouldn’t say.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Get a good nap. I mean it, Beatrice Winter.”

…Maybe she teased him too much.

Beatrice, belatedly, glanced at the owner of the room and got up shyly.

“Well, um, is there anything I can help with?”

As if he’d been waiting, Erich immediately reached out. He had a stack of documents in his hand.

“Check the accounts. Ah. This is the summer training budget.”

“…….”

“While you’re at it, check this too, please.”

“…….”

“You said you’d help.”

Faced with the threat of work, Beatrice did her best to escape.

“Are you sure you want to entrust these documents to me, Schwert? What if I leak them?”

“Go ahead. I’m curious about the result myself.”

Beatrice had no choice but to accept the papers.

A few hours later, Erich von Schwert received the reviewed documents from her and, looking satisfied, remarked, “You really should trust a cat with fish.”

And that wasn’t all.

He made her work hard during the day, and at night, he made her work even harder. Exhausted under him, Beatrice tapped her feet in frustration.

“Come to think of it, could we do it outdoors too?”

“Don’t even dream about it!”

Beatrice shouted, but the man just laughed like a devil and kissed her.

Truly, Grand Duke Schwert was terribly wicked.

There Are Feelings That Survive Even if You Try to K*ll Them

The capital of the Empire’s center, Main.

This fertile land, with a huge river running through its heart, was one of few places where humans always had the upper hand over monsters. With the Imperial Palace at its center, the Schwert ducal residence, noble townhouses, and famous guild headquarters, security was naturally excellent.

But as everywhere, the center and outskirts tell different stories.

Under a sign at Main’s edge, warriors and sorcerers gathered, setting out in search of adventure.

The old sign marking the start of many adventurers’ journeys was still tattered. Beatrice tapped it with her hand, rejuvenating it a bit.

Beside her, Erich, wearing a black hood, stared ahead. His tightly closed lips radiated tension.

A landscape that looked ominous even to a sorcerer would surely seem ominous to a warrior. After a long time scanning the surroundings, Erich glanced at her.

“Do you know the way?”

“Of course. I just need a compass.”

“I’ve never known you to get lost, so I’ll trust you.”

“Wow, how gracious.”

The reason they stood in this dangerous outskirt, not at Schwert’s townhouse in Main, was simple.

To find the branch of the lightning-struck jujube tree.

It could be found in the ‘Forest of Lightning’ or ‘Thunder Wasteland,’ but Beatrice decided this place was best.

“Don’t be too tense. There’s hardly any physical danger.”

“Really?”

Erich looked ahead again.

A scene where gray fog whirled so thickly the path vanished. One step and the mist would engulf them. Even companions right beside would be invisible.

“Strange. I’ve never heard Main’s outskirts get this foggy.”

“This isn’t real fog. Our destination is a divine tree that only we can see, so this fog appears only to us.”

“An illusion.”

“Yes. If you’re not truly desperate, don’t come. If you must, pierce through this thick fog.”

“If our destination isn’t that tree, we wouldn’t even see this fog.”

“Exactly.”

It paid off to have taught him magic basics on the battlefield.

Beatrice praised her past self and straightened up, stretching and gazing down the path of adventure once again.

Finding the branch of the lightning-struck jujube tree shouldn’t be too difficult.

Compared to the mermaid’s tears or the black dog’s tooth.

Probably, the mermaid’s tears would be hardest, then the black dog’s tooth…

Calculating the difficulty, she reached out to Erich.

“Let’s go.”

His dark blue eyes looked straight at her. She didn’t bother giving Erich von Schwert a list of instructions or warnings.

How many times had they worked together?

His large hand slowly took hers. The feeling of his thick fingers sliding between hers was curious.

Beatrice paused for a moment, savoring the warmth of their joined hands.

It was irresistible. She didn’t like herself for it, but couldn’t help it.

She always liked warmth…

“Schwert.”

Beatrice stepped forward, starting their adventure.

“What?”

“If you die, I won’t forgive you.”

“Same to you.”

They snorted at each other.

Beatrice glanced down at the compass. Its needle, pointing to the holiest place nearby, didn’t waver since their destination was clear.

What else could be holier in Main’s outskirts than the lightning-struck jujube tree?

“In a moment, the fog will clear.”

She spoke to her companion, who would be right beside her but invisible. The fog made her voice echo loudly.

Erich, who hadn’t let go of her hand the whole way, silently looked down at their joined hands. Even without prompting, Beatrice would explain.

As expected, Beatrice squeezed his hand and added,

“When the fog clears, something will appear. It’s not a monster, so don’t attack.”

“What is it?”

“Puca. A spirit that guards the divine tree. It often takes the form of a black horse, black bird, or black rabbit.”

Rabbit…

Beatrice thought suddenly. Her gray rabbit. She had promised to take it from the Schwert ducal residence to the Ivory Tower, but left it behind.

No—actually, she hadn’t gone back to the Ivory Tower at all, instead starting this adventure.

“I want to see my rabbit…”

Erich snorted beside her.

“Yeah, the rabbit you brought but never really looked at. I fed and cared for it, so I should own it now.”

“I want to see the rabbit you fed and cared for after I brought it…”

“Have you finally gone mad?”

“I went mad ages ago. If you’re only realizing it now, you’ve grown dull. Anyway, where were we?”

Erich fell silent. For quite a while.

Regardless, Beatrice struggled to recall. 

How did the rabbit come up…?

“Puca.”

Erich, impatient, bluntly gave her a hint.

“My goodness, Beatrice. Seriously, if my chest grew a name, your memory grew a hole. For sure.”

“…Puca isn’t a monster. It looks eerie, but it doesn’t devour people like monsters. So absolutely don’t attack.”

“Got it. But I have a question. You said Puca guards the divine tree. We want a branch from that tree. Wouldn’t Puca attack us while we take it?”

Smart guy.

Before she answered, the thick fog melted away.

Huge black birds, bigger than crows, stared intently at them. Dozens of bright yellow eyes flashed, trapping them.