Chapter 37 Translator: XZY Chapter 37: Denise (3) ***
"Lady Denise. A-Are you being serious?"
"We were the first to find the mage's location. We have the most advantageous position in the competition. We need to win him over quickly before the other families catch the scent and come looking."
"B-But... to think you'll be staying in a place like this... The mistress of the house might become very angry if she hears about the situation."
"Don't worry, I'll act in a way that doesn't cause any harm to the servants. Just say that this was all my own decision."
After being flatly rejected by Derek, Denise had to return to the entrance of the cave.
Bella had thought that she would first take the carriage back to the mansion and report the situation, but Denise shook her silver-gray hair and shook her head.
Then, she had someone fetch various supplies before the sun set and ordered them to set up a simple campsite at the entrance of the cave.
By the time they had brought in plenty of high-quality firewood, thick tents, the finest carpets, and a soft makeshift bed, the sun was already setting. Each item was of such high quality that it was hard to call it camping, but in any case, it was by no means a space where a noble young lady should be staying.
However, Denise didn't seem to care in the slightest.
<><><>
The next day, as soon as the morning sun rose, Lady Denise once again entered the cave where Derek was training.
Derek was still honing his mana alone in the large clearing. Denise approached him with an elegant smile, then set down all sorts of food and supplies and said.
"Training is good, but it's not good to push your body to the point where you look so haggard. I will assist you well so that you can focus on your training, Mr. Derek!"
Derek just stared at Denise with a look of disbelief.
Denise blinked her eyes with a worldly innocent gaze, then twisted her hands with a full smile.
"There's not much I can do for you, but at the very least, I can help you focus on your magic training."
"...My opinion will not change just because you do this."
"I think that watching you train in magic, Mr. Derek, will also give me inspiration in its own way and help my own magical achievements. It's something I'm doing on my own, so please don't worry too much about it!"
Denise, who had clenched both her fists, smiled.
There were various ways to win a person's favor, but simply giving them things was one of the most basic of the basics.
There was a question of whether such a blatant strategy to win favor would work on a person like Derek, but Denise had a certain degree of confidence in her own thoughts.
Originally, if one wanted to win someone over, the most efficient way was to take the initiative and make them feel sorry.
Even if there were ulterior motives and reasons for giving things, the person receiving them had no choice but to feel a little bit of gratitude, even if they knew it was obvious. That was what sales was all about.
'I should tell the servants at the mansion to bring all the things needed for magic training.'
It was a strategy that the merchants who supplied goods to the mansion mainly used. Whether the intention was obvious or not was not very important. The important thing was to have a thick skin.
If one maintained contact like that, one's heart would inevitably be moved little by little, like clothes getting wet in a drizzle. A person's heart could not be that hard forever.
"Then I will gratefully accept."
Derek was also in the middle of thinking that he should go out to get supplies soon, so he didn't put much meaning into it. In fact, it was a situation where it was burdensome to push her away any further, as a noble young lady was bowing her head and approaching him like this.
And so, for a while, Derek accepted the supplies that Denise brought every day without any fuss.
However, Derek was a tough nut to crack in his own way.
"Today, I brought some food and magic stones."
"Thank you. However, working for the Beltus family is a bit difficult."
"Good morning! A rare fish has come in from Ebelstein. The mansion's chef cooked it, please have a bite!"
"Thank you very much. However, I don't think I will work for the Beltus family just because of this."
"Mr. Derek. Look at this. It's a Crystal Light Stone. It's a stone that helps you observe the surrounding mana more efficiently."
"This precious thing... thank you. But, it's separate from working for the Beltus family..."
"Mr. Derek! I brought some things to wash your body with. You have to take care of your hygiene while you train!"
"Thank you for your concern. However..."
One day passed, and then two, and she visited to see Derek's face every time, even if by force, but Derek put up a thorough wall, to the point where she wondered if he even had a human heart.
Honestly, at this point, it was natural for him to feel a little burdened or sorry, but Derek took all the goodwill that Lady Denise gave him without a second thought and just focused on his own magic training. He was a person who did not particularly refuse the goodwill that came his way.
After about five days, it just felt like she was pointlessly hitting a tree that would not fall with an axe.
'I-I didn't think it would take this long...'
The noble young lady of the Beltus family had thrown away all her pride and came to visit every day, making pleasant conversation, giving supplies, and bowing her head, but he was still just sticking to his own convictions.
She wondered what kind of person this was, but then she also thought that he must be at this level to be able to teach noble young ladies magic without being intimidated.
'If I knew things would get this troublesome, I would have just let it go...!'
Lady Denise was sitting in a corner of the campsite, tearing at her hair.
Her policy was to finish any task quickly in a short period of time and then rest leisurely for the remaining time.
However, for the past week, she had tried to win him over in all sorts of ways, praising and flattering him, and even trying to push him with authority, but that man, who was like a stone mountain, was just buried in magic training all day long.
In the first place, it felt like he was just perceiving Lady Denise as a background element that periodically visited the cave. The most noble young lady of the Beltus family, no less.
─He was just a madman for magic. Derek was a person who could throw away anything if it meant he could raise his own level of magic.
'Come to think of it... I haven't seen a trace of Drest. If he had met that mage named Derek, they would surely be training together...'
Derek had said that he had met a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that for now, he wanted to be completely immersed in magic training.
It was obvious that the opportunity he mentioned was the meeting with Drest. Nevertheless, that mage named Drest never showed himself before Denise.
In fact, Drest Wolftail was not someone one could meet just by wanting to.
Since his relationship with the nobles was not exactly good, it was not that strange that he did not show himself before Denise.
'If he has Drest as a master, he would know where I am and when I will come to meet him... but he's not actively avoiding me. In a way, this might be a good sign.'
When she thought about it, it was strange.
If he really wanted to avoid Denise, he could have received Drest's help and avoided her to the point where they couldn't even meet. The labyrinth inside that cave had a fairly complicated structure.
'The fact that meeting itself is not much of a burden... then there's still hope. At least, it means it's not to the level of being annoying.'
The question of how to win Derek over had already gone beyond a family matter and had developed into a matter of Denise's own pride.
Still, the strategy of pushing him with authority would not work. He was a person who was in a position to enter the Belmeade or Duplein families if he so chose.
A way to make him enter the Beltus family to teach Lady Denise, without offending him as much as possible.
She had to think of that method quickly before the other families caught the scent. She didn't have much time, as she had already wasted quite a lot of it.
It was when Denise was deep in thought.
"L-Lady Denise! The head butler from the Duplein family is at the entrance of the cave!"
"W-What... already?"
Denise was the first to pinpoint Derek's location, but she was just faster than the other families.
In the end, as enough time had passed, even the advantage of having contacted him earlier than others was beginning to fade.
However, on the other hand, she had another thought.
'He's a person who can't be won over even after being pushed with all this material and emotional support, so would the other families have any special trick?'
He was a person who was crazy about magic.
He would not try to teach anyone until he was satisfied with his own training situation.
It didn't seem like the Duplein family would have any special way to break his stubbornness.
His iron-like stubbornness was now rather reassuring Denise. At least until she found a method, he would not be won over by any family.
"Lady Aiseline sent a letter in person? Hmm..."
'...Why is he thinking about it?'
She, who had followed the Duplein family's head butler, Delon, while hiding her presence as much as possible, bit her lip hard.
Derek, who was sitting on the rock, seemed to be acquainted with the head butler, Delon, as he greeted him warmly and then began to read the letter he had brought.
She had thought that he would reject the Duplein family's request as firmly as he had with Denise, but he was deep in thought, his chin resting on his hand, even as he was trying to collect his body, which was tired from training.
Aiseline, Elente, Denise.
Among the trio of the Rosea Salon, the person whom Derek rated the highest was Aiseline.
She was a person who had already reached the 2-Star level at an age just before her coming-of-age ceremony, and a girl whose understanding of the Scholastic School of magic was extraordinary.
He had felt it while teaching Elente, but Derek thought that the act of teaching others was a great help to his own magical achievements. If he had a magical exchange with a person like Aiseline, whose field was firm, he himself would have a lot to realize.
"Since you have a track record of achieving results when you taught Lady Diella, the Grand Duke has high expectations. And as you well know, the Grand Duke gives a sufficient reward to those who have achieved results."
Derek knew that character of the Grand Duke of Duplein well.
He was a person with the magnanimity to be able to casually give away a 3-Star grimoire, which was so precious, to a mere commoner. Of course, it was only possible if one produced results worthy of it.
"From my perspective, it is a very honorable thing, but as you can see, I am currently preoccupied with my magic training. I am in the middle of seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I am completely buried in training."
'Of course...!'
Although he was speaking in a much more polite tone than he had with Denise, Derek was still expressing his intention to refuse.
As expected, Derek was a person for whom his own magical achievement was the most important. There was no way he would be easily won over.
However, Derek's following words were different from Denise's expectations.
"So, would it be alright if we discuss it after my training is finished? It will also be beneficial for Lady Aiseline. If the level of the master who teaches magic is higher, the level of the disciple who receives the teaching will also rise faster, wouldn't it?"
"Hmm... certainly, if that is the reason, the Grand Duke will likely understand. From the family's perspective, attaching a good magic master to Lady Aiseline is the most important thing."
Derek was clearly showing a much more favorable attitude towards Lady Aiseline.
He had not even brought up the matter of discussing it again after his training was finished to Denise.
He was casually offering to Aiseline the goodwill that he had not shown even after she had taken care of all his training needs and had come in with her pride broken.
Denise pressed her brow and let out a pained sound.
Certainly, it was not easy to close that gap. Whatever it was, she needed a trump card.
<><><>
"Mr. Derek's location has been identified?"
"Yes. I understand that the head butler has gone to visit him with a letter in person. I heard it's near the Raspa Cave."
"To think he's training in such a dangerous place... Well, Mr. Derek was that kind of person."
Quite some time had passed since the tariff agreement in Ebelstein had ended.
Lady Aiseline, who had returned to the Duplein mansion and was having a pleasant conversation with her family, had a bright look on her face at the report from the head maid, Katarina.
After the last magic duel, the thought of wanting to learn magic from Derek had suddenly sprung up. So, quite some time had passed since she had mentioned putting in a request to Derek.
"I heard that the other families are also asking around, so it is a situation where it is hard to be sure if that mercenary will really come to the Duplein family. However, Head Butler Delon is eloquent in these matters, so let's trust him and wait."
"No. Actually, it's hard to just wait any longer. I've been busy with my social activities, but since I have some time now, I think it would be better to move in person."
"Pardon?"
Lady Aiseline was a person who held a unique position even in the Ebelstein social circle. Although her schedule was full every day, she could make quite a lot of time at least while she was back at the Duplein mansion.
"Actually, if one wants to ask for teachings, it is right to go in person. If it's the Raspa Cave, we can stop by anytime by just turning the carriage a little on the way to Ebelstein, can't we?"
"Ah... it is a bit of a dangerous place for you to go in person, My Lady."
"I'm a 2-Star mage now too. I'm not at a level to be defeated by simple magical beasts, and I'm going to bring a lot of guards, so what's the problem?"
Aiseline, in her own way, already had a premonition.
Right now, Derek did not have a great desire to teach people, but it seemed clear that he would eventually become a person who would make a great name for himself, centered around Ebelstein.
Later, when his abilities were more widely recognized, more competitors would flock to him.
Not only Diella and Elente, but the young ladies who had been taught by him might be perceived as a kind of verified person.
And before all that, she just wanted to learn a little more about magic. It was the common sense of the world that if one wanted to ask for teachings, one should go in person.
"Please prepare the carriage. I need to go to the Raspa Cave in person. The faster we move, the more advantageous it will be... I should say goodbye to my family first and leave quickly."
It was rare for Aiseline to move so busily.
Even before Katarina could nod her head, she was rising from the tea table.
"First... should I say goodbye to Diella separately before I leave?"
"It will be difficult for Lady Diella to exchange greetings right now."
"Is she very busy? I heard she has started preparing for her debutante."
"That's true, but... once she is immersed in her magic training, she does not like to be disturbed."
After being taught by Derek, Diella's magic mastery was soaring to the sky with a growth curve that was strangely steep.
The blood of the Duplein family was known as the best lineage that had produced numerous high-ranking mages, but even considering that, the speed of her growth was difficult to understand.
"Then... I guess it can't be helped..."
Aiseline also saw her from a distance from time to time.
A strange extraordinariness was flowing in the aura of the young mage who sat quietly on the terrace of the annex, looking down at the world with mana-infused eyes. Perhaps she might even come to threaten the achievements of Valerian or herself.
Diella Catherine Duplein.
The world did not know her name well yet, but her older sister, Aiseline, was watching her from the closest distance.
She was Derek's first disciple.
Soon, she would go through her debutante and come to the social circle of Ebelstein.
She was the first work that the magic teacher, Derek, had presented to the world.
The second was Elente, but at least for the third, Aiseline herself wanted to put her name on the list.
When the world did not yet know the value of the magic teacher named Derek, she wanted to take him faster than anyone else.
When one discovered an undervalued treasure faster than others, one was bound to fall into excitement.
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