Chapter 58: 58. The Duke’s Daughter Has Fallen Into Qi Deviation...

The Magic Tower Lord and Adela lay side by side in the same hospital room.

If not for the hospital-room setting, they might have looked like a close grandmother and granddaughter.

In reality, however, this was a gathering of Jang Ryu-o’s victims.

One had suffered a mana backlash from psychological shock.

The other was in shock from physical trauma.

Still, youth was a wonderful thing. Adela sucked in a breath and sprang upright.

"Gasp! Ngh..."

The core strength she used while getting up.

Feeling her stomach twist, Adela looked around.

"Fuck... the infirmary... I’m still alive..."

Whatever had frightened her so badly, Adela rose from her bed with her teeth chattering.

I thought that once she woke up, she would scream Ryu-o’s name and throw a complete fit...

Instead, Adela merely picked up the bundle of belongings beside her.

As she tried to head outside, the Magic Tower Lord’s pitiful voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"No... You mustn’t... that cannot be..."

Freeze!

"Haa..."

Adela turned back toward the Magic Tower Lord with a complicated expression.

"..."

"If it forms... ah... R-Ryu-o... that young man..."

"...??????"

Ryu-o? Did she mean that Eastern spearman from earlier...?

"Energy... that energy... ah... this is something that cannot possibly happen..."

"Ah, fuck! This godforsaken world! Aagh! Aaaagh!"

I had no idea what exactly she had thought of, but Adela’s wild tantrum began.

Bang!

"Oh, my lady! You’re awake? Priest!"

"Aaaagh! Get the hell away! Don’t touch my body!"

"M-My lady!"

After throwing one hell of a fit, Adela slammed the door shut and stormed out.

The mages left behind in the room merely shrugged.

"Sigh..."

"What’s gotten into her?"

"Who knows~"

The Magic Tower Lord really failed at raising her child...

**

A book containing the insights of an Easterner, a "warrior who performed miracles," who had become captivated by the allure of magic.

A Circle’s output came from its rotational speed.

The book detailed research into the movement of such Circles.

The author claimed to have made his internal energy flow within his dantian in the same manner as a Circle.

It also listed a downside. If one’s control was lacking, the dantian would be damaged...

And if excruciating pain arose, one would fall into qi deviation, so it warned the reader to be careful.

I tried circulating my internal energy as I had last time.

Hummm...

[Cloud-Treading Phantom Step] on one side, [Heavenly Demon Divine Art] on the other.

"Huh... good heavens..."

I focused my mind and spun the internal energy inside my dantian.

Kiiiiiing!

An incredible whirring rang in my ears.

Then, after a while... the two dantians abruptly began spinning inside my abdomen.

Hummm, hummm, hummm!

"Ha, honestly... Yuanshi Tianzun... please watch over my husband every single day."

Perhaps I was the only person in the world capable of making the dantians themselves rotate?

The internal energy pushed out of my body poured forth and formed a circle...

Wheeeeeee~

Then it began rotating outside my body.

The energies inside seemed to mingle according to the dantians’ movement as well.

But like stirring water and oil together, they simply would not mix.

Still, after reading this book, an enormous change had occurred.

Namely, I could now release energy from both dantians simultaneously.

Which meant I no longer had to draw from one, rest, then draw from the other.

I observed my body and looked at the Circle that had formed around my heart.

The Circle turned like a waterwheel, driven by the energy rotating through my body.

"Little one... I think it would be fine to stop there?"

I increased the output of the Circle and both dantians.

Wheeeeeeeeee!!!

"Eek! P-Please... Yuanshi Tianzun... Yuanshi Tianzun..."

Before long, the Circle outside my body gradually shrank...

Whumm!

It entered my body, but a second Circle did not form.

‘Tch... what a shame...’

Well... if it were that easy to make them, as if kneading doughnuts, I would have reached the Ninth Circle in no time.

I did not even know a single spell yet. I figured I had been getting too greedy.

When I drew back my internal energy, Master staggered over and lay down with her head on my lap.

"Little one... every time I see you, I feel as though my lifespan is shortening."

"Haha, Master, honestly..."

When I looked at Master with an embarrassed smile, she furrowed her brow—a rare sight.

"I’m not being dramatic. Who in the world has two dantians on top of a Circle?!"

"Um... I do, though..."

"Normally, huh? Their qi and blood would become tangled and destroy their body, and one side would taint and devour the other! Do you have any idea how worried I am... I couldn’t even sleep last night... Little one, there truly isn’t anything wrong with your body, is there?"

There was another reason she had not slept.

That was not what mattered, though...

I laid Master down on the floor and proved just how ‘healthy’ I was.

"I’ll show you just how healthy I am."

"L-Little one? Don’t fool around... mmph! Slurp! Mmmngh~! Honey!"

♥♥♥

"You really are... healthy... very."

Just like last time, Master stared blankly into space with a dazed expression.

I straightened my clothes and tucked a blanket around Master as her eyes slowly drifted shut.

"I’ll be back, honey."

"Have a safe trip♥"

**

Today was the day of the banquet.

The House of Duke Velatus said they would handle the preparations, so I was heading there without much concern.

Honestly, I was a little nervous.

It was not as though I had ever attended a banquet in my life...

I should ask about basic etiquette once I got there.

Lost in such idle thoughts as I ran, I found that I had nearly reached the guild.

When I spotted the platinum-colored carriage dazzling even from a distance, my mouth fell open.

"Wow... insane..."

Knights and the guildmaster stood in front of the carriage.

The knights bowed and politely gestured toward the carriage’s interior.

"Greetings. I am Bezel Edantin, a knight of the duke’s household assigned to escort you today, Jang Ryu-o."

Judging from the fact that he had a family name, he seemed to be from a noble house, yet he was this deferential.

I could feel just how strict the discipline in the duke’s household was.

The guildmaster looked at me, pursed her lips, and lowered her head.

"Ryu-o, you can get in now..."

Seeing the guildmaster reminded me of what had happened before.

Holding her naked, getting hit on at the guild, that awkward tension...

We would be seeing each other often from now on, yet things had gotten incredibly tangled.

Pretending nothing was wrong, I spoke warmly to the guildmaster.

"Thank you for arranging this, Guildmaster. I appreciate it."

The guildmaster abruptly raised her head, her eyes sparkling as her lips twitched with excitement.

"Not at all! Have a pleasant time!"

"Y-Yes... thank you, Guildmaster."

Then I climbed into the luxurious carriage, its seats lined with red cushions.

"I could lie down in here."

The knight seated on the driver’s bench turned around and spoke.

"Would you like us to make up a bed for you?"

"Make up a bed?"

"The seats can be connected and used like a bed."

"...That won’t be necessary."

"Yes, sir."

I had not expected that to actually be possible.

As I sat blankly in the perfectly steady carriage, we had already arrived at the duke’s residence.

A knight who spotted the carriage from afar opened the door for me, and I walked farther into the estate.

No matter how many times I saw it, it was splendid. Even the garden was so sharply precise and impeccably maintained that it gave me chills.

Was this the power of money...?

When I stepped out of the carriage, knights stood lined up in formation. The elderly woman I had seen last time approached me and bowed.

"It is an honor to attend you, Jang Ryu-o. I am Cecily Alman, the head butler of the duke’s villa, and I will be attending you today."

The head butler was far more deferential than she had been last time.

She had been courteous before, but this time there was a delicacy to her manner, as if she were serving a truly high-ranking noble.

Enough to make even my immature self puff out my chest.

"An honor? Haha... it’s nice to meet you, Cecily."

The head butler shook her head, her eyes resolute.

"It is indeed an honor to attend the seed of a great hero. Please allow me to guide you."

Bowing at the waist, the head butler indicated the interior of the manor with both hands.

Once I followed her inside, a crowd of male attendants rushed over and politely greeted me.

"It is an honor to attend you."

"Ah, yes..."

It was burdensome, but I tried to remain composed so as not to look like some country bumpkin.

When I tightly kept my mouth shut, the head butler explained.

"These are the children who will attend you for the day."

The head butler’s eyes flashed, seeming to spark with flames.

"Today... we will make you the brightest star in the banquet hall..."

Her presence was overwhelming, as if she were declaring the lifelong wish of her existence.

Speechless, I nodded.

Nod, nod...

After glaring at each attendant one by one, the head butler growled in a low voice.

"All of you. Attend the hero without making a single error..."

"Yes!"

I was beginning to wonder whether I was heading to a battlefield or a banquet hall.

I was simply swept along like a man caught in the tide.

**

A pure white room overflowing with elegance.

The ornaments were not excessive, yet they decorated the room with a stately presence.

The Duke’s Daughter sat on an exquisite sofa, drinking tea with refined grace.

"Today’s the day."

Imagining Ryu-o’s face when he fell over in shock, the Duke’s Daughter smiled with delight.

An exceptional prize she absolutely, positively could not afford to miss.

The day Arin personally made a move, the Duke’s Daughter had raised her assessment of Ryu-o by at least three levels.

If she established a connection with Ryu-o, she could win the support of the Eastern Continent’s people.

Rumors of Ryu-o had already begun spreading quietly from the capital.

People were half doubtful that he had slain an Orc Hero.

Once it was announced at the duke’s residence today, everyone would know for certain.

They would know the man called Jang Ryu-o.

The Duke’s Daughter was immersed in self-admiration, praising her own luck and discernment.

Then a sound interrupted her tea time.

Knock, knock! Young Duke, may I come in!

At the head butler’s unusually urgent voice, the Duke’s Daughter set down her teacup.

"Come in."

"Young Duke! There is a problem attending Jang Ryu-o..."

"What did you say?!"

The Duke’s Daughter leaped to her feet and headed outside.

"Explain exactly what happened."

The head butler hurried along beside her and spoke awkwardly.

"Jang Ryu-o, regarding the children attending him..."

Step, step...

"Speak, Head Butler!"

The Duke’s Daughter had gone wild with alarm.

She had assigned them because she believed them to be super-elites, yet they dared cause trouble?

Reaching a room not far away, the Duke’s Daughter knocked on the door.

Bang, bang!

"Jang Ryu-o! What is going on?"

"Young Duke, it’s just..."

At that moment, a loud commotion sounded from within.

I said I’m fine! Ah, get out!

Gasp! We are terribly sorry! We’re terribly sorry!

Ah! Young Duke! Young Duke!

Then the door swung wide open...

"Y-Young Duke!!!!"

Ryu-o stood there naked and damp, wearing nothing but a single thin towel.

The Duke’s Daughter’s mind went completely blank.

"........."

Sweet-smelling bubbles slid slowly down the contours of Ryu-o’s body.

The soft white towel clung tightly to him, adorning his vigorous body.

Beneath his flushed face, his thick Adam’s apple bobbed heavily up and down.

Wearing a pitiful expression, Ryu-o opened his mouth.

"I want to wash by myself! A-And... they say they’ll take that dirty stuff and check my health! And clean inside my body... urgh! Ugh! Young Duke, you really do not need to go this far for me."

For the moment, Ryu-o’s cries did not reach the Duke’s Daughter’s ears.

All she could do was deeply empathize with the "leaders who ruined their countries over men" described in history books.

She had thought she was not interested in men.

And reasonably so—she had found far more enjoyment in expanding her power and working, so she had never given men any attention.

But she had been mistaken.

She had simply never met a man capable of completely stealing a woman’s soul away.

With his looks alone.

The Duke’s Daughter already had some grasp of Ryu-o’s value and the kindness in his heart.

But now she had seen him like this too?

"................."

The Duke’s Daughter could only blankly stare at Ryu-o’s fantastical body.

Ryu-o, apparently going mad with frustration, shouted.

His voice was desperately earnest.

"Young Duke!! Please... I’m begging you... okay?"

Understanding absolutely nothing, the Duke’s Daughter simply nodded.

"Whatever you want... I will grant it all..."

"We deserve death!!!!"

She did not hear the voices of the attendants prostrating themselves flat on the floor.

She only stared blankly as Ryu-o went into the bathroom by himself...

The head butler waved a hand, summoning the attendants.

The attendants, who had been glancing at the Duke’s Daughter, closed the door and returned to their duties.

I’ll wash by myself. And I won’t be using the toilet today!

Yes! We will correct the matter!

"........."

"Young Duke? You should begin preparing soon..."

"........."

The Duke’s Daughter had fallen into a state of mental qi deviation and stood blankly in front of the door.

Simply blankly...

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