Chapter 42
I don’t know how I managed to return home.
One of the horses had been shot, so we rode back on another uninjured horse together.
On the way, we stopped by the stable to get the injured horse treated.
Fortunately, the horse with the gunshot wound was not in life-threatening condition.
“…Hah.”
It was only deep into the night that I was able to lie down in bed.
Thump, thump, thump…
My heart still beats loudly, as if asserting its presence.
I placed both hands on my chest and clasped them together, but it did not calm easily.
I recalled the conversation I had with Alec while riding back.
“Those people earlier, could they have been sent by Marquis Marcel and his friends? Are they trying to retaliate against us…?”
“…I’m not sure. They seemed like ordinary bandits.”
“Really…?”
Were they really just simple thieves?
My blood cooled, and my fingertips grew cold.
Although there was no definite evidence, they were probably mercenaries sent by Marquis Marcel.
The three main pillars of Holden Textile Union were not known for their moral integrity in the first place.
I remembered the massive strike by textile factory workers that took place a year ago.
The workers demanded guaranteed breaks and lunch times, as well as improved working conditions.
The factory facilities were outdated and poorly managed, causing many people to fall ill as textile fibers entered their lungs.
Even a reduction in working hours or breaks for fresh air might have prevented the deterioration of their health.
The workers believed that if they raised their voices, at least ventilation facilities would be installed.
But that was a misconception.
Holden Textile Union secretly and severely punished those who organized the union and incited the strike.
It wasn’t publicly known, but those who were in the know understood the truth.
I recalled the conversations of the noblewomen gossiping about the incident.
“If they don’t like the textile factory, they can work at another factory, right?”
“Exactly. If you don’t like rye bread, you can eat another kind of bread, can’t you? Hohoho.”
“My husband says they’ve identified the ringleader. He’ll probably be found in the sewer soon.”
“Oh dear, all for wanting a few more coins, and now he’ll be covered in sewage.”
“Hohoho.”
I thought they were joking.
But a few days later, the strike leader was indeed found near the factory sewer, beaten almost to death.
They said installing ventilation facilities would cost no more than a few Julia dresses.
Yet they found it too costly to spend even such a small amount for the workers and resorted to violence instead…
Julia, Marcel’s wife, was proud of her husband for such actions.
“The Grave Mercenary are truly capable of anything, aren’t they? They even captured my runaway maid recently.”
“If any of you have servants in need of discipline, just leave them with that mercenary corps for a few hours. They’ll pay special attention if you mention my name.”
I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.
Marcel and Julia often entrusted the mercenary corps with their dirty work whenever something displeased them.
They didn’t care that such behavior was dishonorable for nobles.
As a result, other noblewomen flattered Marcel and Julia while also keeping a wary eye on them.
Julia was not only a lady-in-waiting close to the Empress but also her cousin, so they feared being secretly eliminated if they fell out of her favor.
There were no people as ruthless and merciless in the social circle as they were.
It seemed they had hired the Grave Mercenary this time to take revenge on us.
“But why were they…”
Why had they all collapsed?
And in the blink of an eye…
The Grave Mercenary was a group I knew well.
There were many large and small mercenary groups in this empire, and the Grave Mercenary was one of the most famous among them.
They mainly took on jobs for the upper class, beating the targets of personal grudges or vendettas to the brink of death.
They also collected large gambling debts on behalf of their clients.
Though I had never seen them in action, it was clear they were ruthless and fearsome people.
Thoughts I hadn’t been able to consider on the way home came rushing in.
“Stay here for a moment. It will only take a short while.”
“It’s all over now. You can go home.”
“…”
My husband, who disappeared like the wind and reappeared like the wind.
The ones who had collapsed in the meantime.
My heart pounded.
Though I thought it couldn’t be possible, my heart already knew the truth.
“…Yes. I’ve become stronger. As you have seen.”
It seemed he had grown far more powerful than I could have ever imagined.
***
“Level 2 has been reached!”
Finally…!
Click.
The door closed.
Alec, who had entered the room, buried his face in his hands and bent slightly at the waist.
It was unbelievable to him that he was so happy about leveling up from 1 to 2. He felt strangely unfamiliar with himself.
It was silly to be so happy about such a thing, but the overwhelming emotion from the bottom of his heart couldn’t be hidden.
“Hah.”
Eventually, he lifted his head with a deep breath, his face contorted with complex emotions.
Alec pressed his lips together and sank into the plush chair in his room.
Moonlight streamed through the window where the curtains had been drawn back.
Resting his head against the back of the chair and closing his eyes, he felt a little more at ease.
Memories of everything that had happened since he first opened his eyes in this world flashed before him like a revolving lantern.
It didn’t seem like a long time, yet so much had happened.
He moved to a new house, unlocked the system he thought would never appear, activated mana, and recruited his first familiar.
He had met the three people from Holden Textile Union while out in the bustling city, and just today he had gained 50 experience points from that incident.
And with Louise…
“…”
It had become a bit easier to deal with her compared to when they first met.
All these events resulted in only reaching level 2.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
In his past life, he had exceeded level 600, and now here he was, celebrating going from level 1 to 2.
The difficulty level of this world was much higher than in his previous life.
Not knowing anything about the real Alec, it was a relief that his true identity hadn’t been discovered yet.
“If they find out, I won’t gain any affection points…”
After staying like that for a while, Alec slowly opened his eyes to check the system.
He wanted to take a closer look at his current status.
[Status of ‘Cool Novice Husband’ is displayed.]
[Level 2]
[Affection 1, Experience 30]
[Trust 11, Reputation 337]
“Affection 1? Ah…”
Up until now, he had accumulated a total of 4 affection points.
However, upon leveling up, only the leftover affection and experience points were displayed numerically.
Trust and reputation were not required for leveling up, so the scores he had earned remained the same.
Alec checked the affection and experience needed to reach level 3.
At the far right end of the bar indicating his affection and experience status, the numbers 6 and 60 were visible.
When he was at level 1, he needed 3 affection points and 30 experience points, so the requirement had exactly doubled.
He had thought only affection points were the issue, but now experience points were also a concern.
Both were not easy to obtain.
After being attacked by the Grave Mercenary Corps, he realized something important.
When he faced dangerous situations, quests appeared that could reward him with affection or experience points.
Not wanting to waste time leveling up, he decided not to wait for quests to come to him.
He would need to proactively seek out quests.
He needed to level up quickly and defeat the final villain, Aksen, to understand why he had come to this world.
But for now, Alec needed time to recover.
As expected, Carson’s combat power was at level 15. The other mercenary members were between levels 10 and 15.
After knocking out ten of such mercenaries at once, his mana and stamina were completely depleted.
If he hadn’t activated his mana in advance, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.
He closed his eyes, as if waiting for recovery.
His depleted stamina and mana would naturally replenish over time.
A recovery potion would have been nice, but for now, even the store within the system was closed.
TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories
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The last part of this chapter, after Alec gets the notification that he levels up, is repeated twice.
Anyhow, it’s starting to become much clearer just what the “System” wants Alec to do! I have my own guesses as to why he has to kill the Emperor and needs Louise’s affection to level up, and I look forward the story either confirming them or explaining why! Especially with the hints in past chapter that Alec’s soul wandered other worlds after death, after that, it became pretty obvious. After having seen that Alec was not an asshole and was only meek and submissive but never wanted to hurt Louise, I hesitated to go on thinking it’d be NTR, but hope the novel proves me wrong. :3 Great work, thank you for the translations!