Chapter 36

Love and Hate (1)

The translucent text said that Seraphia could not reach the [Affection] affinity state.

◆A person in the [Affection] state is drawn to you and loves you passionately.

◆This person will make wholehearted sacrifices for you and is willing to give you everything they have.

◆If they are of the opposite sex, that includes not just their heart, but their body too!

In short, it was a state close to love.

Not just close. It was love, plain and simple.

Of course, there were many kinds of love. But the love described here apparently included “physical love.”

In that sense, Seraphia could never enter the [Affection] state toward me.

◆Affinity obstacles - Older brother, family, incest.

◆The [Affection] state cannot be reached unless the affinity obstacles are removed.

There was an insurmountable wall between Seraphia and me: <incest>.

Of course, we were stepsiblings with no blood relation. Even so, incest was incest.

“So that's what it meant when it said some people could never reach Affection, no matter what I did.”

Apparently, this was what it had meant.

In a way, that was a relief. Seraphia feeling Affection toward me?

... The very thought was utterly horrifying.

After all, my own affinity was at [Hatred]. I was firmly determined to kill and destroy Seraphia. I was merely holding off on dealing with her because of what Ian had said.

“Pointless.”

Just as I dismissed the messages floating before my eyes, another appeared.

◆Kai's affinity toward you rises dramatically!

“What's his problem now?”

Had they all gone mad together?

* * *

Kai's mind was in utter turmoil.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of homes throughout the county. People sat around fires, eating warm soup. Children's delighted laughter rang out.

It was all thanks to Adrian. These were the things his trading expedition had earned them.

With the runaway success of a single trading expedition, he had completely solved the county's chronic problems.

'How...?'

Kai simply couldn't understand it.

Of course, Kai had tasted monster meat himself. He knew it would be highly valuable as a product. But wasn't it the stone that stuck out that met the chisel?

It would have been no surprise if the established merchants had driven him out of business to protect their turf.

Granted, the quality of his merchandise might have earned him some measure of success. But from what the soldiers were telling Kai now...

“When we went to buy supplies, the merchants from the merchants' guild couldn't have treated us better.”

“They even piled on extras for free, asking us to put in a good word with Lord Adrian!”

Apparently, Adrian had won over the merchants' guild instead—and with it, all of Frecce.

All in a single trading expedition.

'How could he...?'

Kai couldn't believe the count's wastrel had accomplished all this.

He hadn't made a scene like some troublemaking lout. He had found his place in Frecce, prospered alongside its people, and naturally won their loyalty.

He hadn't solved everything through force alone. Sometimes he had cooperated; sometimes he had struck a bargain.

That was... something Kai couldn't do.

He could swing a sword and cut down the obstacles before him better than anyone. But he didn't know how to build what came afterward.

That was why he couldn't protect Seraphia.

Why he couldn't protect anyone.

But Adrian was different. He knew how to persuade people and live alongside them.

His growth wasn't confined to martial strength. He also possessed the talent of a great lord.

He was... different.

The sheer capacity of this man Kai had dismissed as a mere wastrel was simply different. It was immense—so vast and far-reaching that Kai could scarcely fathom it.

He could no longer call Adrian “the count's wastrel.”

And Kai's astonishment didn't end there.

“How did you make it back to the county?”

Heavy snowfall had completely cut Whitewolf county off from the outside world. And northern snowstorms were not to be taken lightly.

This was already an environment where vegetation couldn't grow. Once heavy snow fell, everything lost its original color. The whole landscape was swallowed by white.

The slightest strong wind would whip the snow into a blizzard, making it impossible to see even what lay right ahead. Bernard, the head steward, hadn't been exaggerating at all.

The county had to be prepared for prolonged isolation.

Yet Adrian had returned. That meant he had pushed through the heavy snow—and with several wagons loaded with relief supplies, no less.

“Ah, about that...”

One of the soldiers answered Kai's question.

“Well...”

But he kept trailing off with a perplexed look. Judging by his expression, he seemed unable to believe what he himself had seen.

What on earth had he witnessed...?

“Lord Adrian used magic.”

“... Magic?”

Kai, too, wondered what kind of bullshit he was hearing.

Adrian? Using magic?

“To be honest, we thought the snow would keep us from returning to the county too.”

“The snow was piled almost as high as we were tall, so we couldn't tell where anything was...”

“And then a whiteout hit, and we lost all sense of direction.”

The soldiers gave their accounts one after another. In other words, this wasn't some mistaken impression shared by just one or two witnesses.

“But when Lord Adrian touched the snow, it suddenly vanished.”

“The snow vanished?”

“Yes, sir! It went whoosh, and the snowdrifts were sucked away somewhere...”

“It looked to us like he was using magic!”

Recalling the moment, the soldiers murmured among themselves.

“That was incredible,” one marveled. “I'm telling you, he was like an Archmage parting the sea!” said another.

Not one or two witnesses, but more than a dozen. Every one of them gave the same account.

Clearly, they weren't mistaken. It was extremely unlikely they were lying, either.

“What are you...?”

Even so, Kai found it hard to believe. Adrian had used magic?

That was... impossible. Adrian's talent for mana was practically zero.

Mana, the energy underpinning the world.

As energy existing in nature, mana was the fundamental force that constituted the laws of the world. As such, it could be said to hold almost limitless energy.

That made it far too much for a single being—a human—to handle.

Put simply, a human who used mana would die, unable to withstand its energy.

But humanity's hunger for power eventually found an answer. In the distant past, a person known as the Great Sage devised a method for refining mana into a usable form.

This was what was now called “available energy.”

There were two broad types of this available energy:

Magical power.

Aura.

Mages wielded magical power, while knights wielded aura.

However, the mechanisms of these two usable forms of energy didn't merely differ. They clashed.

Those who used magical power couldn't wield aura. Those who wielded aura couldn't use magical power.

A mage could not become a knight, nor a knight a mage.

But whether magical power or aura, both were ultimately energy refined from mana. In other words, both had their foundation in that same force.

To use either, one first had to be able to sense and harness mana.

And Adrian's talent for that very mana was practically zero.

Mana sensitivity: zero.

He could neither feel nor perceive mana. Consequently, he could wield neither aura nor magical power.

There was no way Adrian would use magic.

More accurately, he couldn't.

'Then what are they talking about...?'

Of course, it wasn't certain that Adrian had used magic. It had merely looked like magic to the soldiers; whether it actually was remained unclear.

But one thing was certain: Adrian had performed a miracle akin to magic.

Just like when he had slain the Gelu Drake.

He had taken its Ice Breath head-on, lured it into lowering its guard, and delivered the final blow.

'Something... '

There was something special about Adrian. Kai couldn't tell what it was. But something special, something like magic, had awakened within him.

During the week Adrian had spent away after fleeing Whitewolf county, something dormant within him had awakened.

That would also explain how he had removed the Madness from monster meat—something no one in the continent's history had ever accomplished.

Through countless studies, humanity had found a way to convert mana into usable energy. Yet no one had found a way to remove the Madness within monsters.

They had firmly declared it “impossible.”

'The power to make the impossible possible... '

That was how Kai defined whatever resided within Adrian.

Just look at the county now, brimming with life and energy.

Look at the smoke rising from every chimney, the savory smells drifting through the air, the children who no longer went hungry.

What if Adrian hadn't been here?

What would have happened if Seraphia had accepted House Veneron's proposal as a result?

Would the soldiers, the residents, and the county as a whole have found hope as they had now?

Would Kai have seen Seraphia shed tears of overwhelming happiness?

... They wouldn't have.

It would have been the opposite. The county would have been filled with despair, not hope. The tears running down Seraphia's cheeks would have been tears of misery, not joy.

Adrian had made this possible.

And in doing so, he had protected them—Seraphia and all of Whitewolf county.

Kai quietly closed his eyes.

There was roughly a month and a half left before the royal decree arrived. He had intended to kill Adrian afterward, once Seraphia's position as lord was secured beyond doubt.

But perhaps...

It suddenly occurred to him that he might not need to kill Adrian. Perhaps the county actually needed him.

More than that, if he wanted to protect Seraphia, perhaps the one who could truly keep her safe wasn't Kai, but Adrian.

And so, for the briefest moment...

[“Kai! Look at this! I'm really good, aren't I?”]

[“Please be careful! You'll hurt yourself!”]

Perhaps he and Adrian could be as they once were—

“...”

For one brief moment, Kai couldn't help thinking it.

* * *

Translucent affinity messages suddenly appeared before my eyes.

◆Kai's affinity toward you has entered the [Conflict] state!

◆A person in the [Conflict] state clashes with your opinions, actions, emotions, and goals, causing disputes.

◆This person is likely to create friction when interacting with you.

◆But fear not!

◆There is only a fine line between Affection and Hatred!

◆Resolving conflict amicably can strengthen your bond with this person and lead to a more creative, change-oriented relationship!

◆Remember, a relationship without conflict is merely static, uninspiring, and resistant to change!

First Seraphia, and now Kai. Both their affinities had risen.

Granted, Kai was only at [Conflict]. But considering he'd previously been at [Loathing], that was a full two-stage increase.

In other words...

“Have they lost their minds?”

Apparently, the two of them had gone off the deep end while I was away trading in Frecce. There was no other explanation.

“Was there something wrong with the Gelu Drake meat?”

It was possible, considering how strongly the creature had been imprinted with dragon genetic material.

In any case...

“Pointless.”

I waved these messages away too.

My affinity toward Kai was also at [Hatred]. I was firmly determined to kill and destroy him, so I blithely ignored their affinities, whatever they might be.

The residents' affinity would have been another matter. Seraphia's and Kai's were none of my concern.

More accurately, I didn't have time for them.

“Time to go hunting.”

I needed to evolve my abilities and grow stronger as quickly as possible. I needed to gain experience and make full use of Ian's abilities. And I needed to secure merchandise for the next trading expedition.

I had no time to worry about affinity, nor any time to dawdle.

Every moment I wasted delayed the spread of the Predator Merchant Company's name. That, in turn, delayed finding Ian. It delayed him learning that I was in Whitewolf county—and that only gave the Emperor more time.

Ten years.

I had to finish all my preparations within that time.

With that in mind...

“Their numbers keep dwindling.”

The declining monster population in the snowy mountains posed something of a problem.

No creature had an infinite population. The monsters of the snowy mountains had survived a harsh environment, but that certainly didn't mean there were many of them.

It wasn't a major problem just yet—

“And having to do all the hunting myself is a problem too.”

There were limits to the current method of supply.

The Predator Merchant Company wasn't a tool I would discard once I found Ian. It was a valuable trading company that would become a reliable source of funding for the allied army.

I intended to make it the greatest trading company on the continent.

So I thought it over and found the beginnings of a solution.

Ironically, it came from a memory of my previous life—from none other than the Emperor.

“An ice troll might...”

I could make use of an ice troll's regenerative ability.

Ice trolls quickly regrew severed limbs. And not just limbs: belly flesh, or any other body part, regenerated just as readily.

If I put that ability to good use, couldn't I supply an unlimited amount of monster meat?

“Why not go catch one right now?”

I headed straight for the snowy mountains.