Chapter 75
75
Paimon frowned at me, then clicked his tongue and looked around.
"There's no music here, and it's not even a place to march. You must be out of your mind to summon me to such a wretched place. What are you doing? Prostrate yourself and pay your respects at once!"
Bune, the first demon I summoned, was a bit clueless but gentle and kind, but Paimon was nothing like that.
'But he's a really pretty lady.'
It was an elegant beauty, like Javelin. As I was thinking absentmindedly, Paimon's eyes widened.
"I'm a man!"
Then, startled, he corrected himself, "No, I'm a guy!"
'He feels a bit clumsy.'
"What? How dare a mere human!"
Clang!
A sharp wind swirled around. It was a blade-like wind, like those used in combat magic, so I instinctively closed my eyes tightly and covered my head with my arms, but I didn't feel any pain even after time passed.
'Huh?'
"D-Damn it..."
'Paimon, can't you attack me?'
"No!"
He shouted, but his face said, "Oops." I laughed, humming.
'I see. If you're summoned by me, even a demon can't hurt me.'
Bune was gentle and cute, calling me "Baby" and doting on me. I didn't know because there was no risk of being attacked, but it seemed there were such restrictions on summoned demons.
'Anyway, I understand. First, I have a few questions.'
"Why should I answer a human's questions?"
'Because if you don't, I won't grant your wish.'
"What?! You have to grant it since you summoned me, what kind of rule is that! Do you think you can keep me here forever? You won't be able to last long either."
'If you don't like being summoned like this, you can just go back, right? But why aren't you leaving?'
"T-That's..."
'It's not that you're not going back, but that you can't, right?'
Paimon's eyes trembled slightly.
The reason he couldn't return was easy to guess.
His wish is so desperate that he can't return unless I grant it.
Granting the demon's wish and the demon using his Special Ability for me are both conditions for returning.
Paimon isn't as kind as Bune, so I can't ask which one is right, but one thing is clear.
'I'm the one who has the upper hand in this deal.'
"Y-You, you, devilish...!"
I shrugged and smiled.
'Thank you for the compliment.'
"What do you want to ask!"
'First, Veronica couldn't see Paimon earlier. Why is that? Bune could be seen by people when he manifested in human form.'
"That guy is hopeless. If you tell him to manifest, he just manifests, he doesn't even think about making sure the creatures of the human realm can't perceive his body."
Ah...
I recalled Bune's silly smile and fell silent.
'Then what's your wish?'
Paimon's eyes lit up as he said,
"High-purity mana."
'You already have plenty of mana, though. You're a high-ranking demon.'
"Musical instruments made with human mana make a more beautiful sound than demon mana. I'm going to make a lot of trumpets and have them play a grand entrance theme when I'm summoned to the human world. So it absolutely has to be high purity."
With that, Paimon hugged himself, looking ecstatic. I stared at Paimon with hazy eyes before shaking my head.
'Then third, what can you do for me if I give you high-purity mana?'
He grinned and raised his eyebrows.
"I'll make all humans look up to you. The most brilliant honor in the world will be yours."
'Not really...'
The Valua family had been a family of scholars for generations and was the most honorable of the Five Great Aristocratic Families, but they struggled to maintain that honor.
Despite being an aristocratic family, their fortunes were declining day by day because they only tried to maintain their honor, saying that nobles shouldn't covet money, which eventually led to the warehouse being completely empty.
In the end, they were so desperate for money that they took out loans to try to catch the Emperor's eye and obtain the tea trade rights.
To me, honor was meaningless.
"Then I'll make you the most outstanding musician in the world."
'Not really...'
"I'll make you a writer who can create countless masterpieces. So that your Emperor will say, 'I can hand over the country, but I can't hand over you.'"
'Not really...'
Bune's ability would be more helpful. With that, I could show Louis to the Chairman one more time.
As I thought absentmindedly, Paimon's face contorted.
"How dare you compare me to such a guy! I am skilled in all arts, and the most outstanding demon in science and Magic tool-!"
'Magic tool? Then can you make special Magic tools too? For example, something like a Long-Distance Teleportation Array.'
When I looked at him with wide eyes, Paimon let out a snort.
"Of course."
I jumped up and hugged Paimon. He panicked and shouted, "W-What are you doing!" and his face turned red, but my eyes had long since turned into francs.
"B-But even if I tell you how, it's useless if you don't have a technician. Honor would be better."
'I have a technician.'
"What?"
I know where the peerless genius who swept through the Northeast but was not executed because his skills were too precious is.
I smiled and looked at the door. To be exact, at Veronica's room outside that door.
'If I make Veronica my person and get Paimon's knowledge...'
I recalled the words Mina used to say at times like this.
'It's the second lottery.'
I made sure Paimon couldn't be seen by people and had him follow me quietly.
Then I went back to Veronica's room, and she smiled brightly at me.
"Young Lady! I've finished all the preparations you asked for."
It seemed that Paimon had been summoned and the fossil of the ironclad dragon had returned to normal. Veronica had beautifully polished the stone that my Divine Power had flowed into.
She threaded the stone onto a thin string and carefully wrapped it around my wrist.
When I looked in the mirror, my teeth were in place in exactly the same shape, as if they had never fallen out.
'This skill, this speed.'
I smiled as cutely as possible and grabbed Veronica's hand. She looked at me with a shy face, saying, "Oh my."
"I want to be friends with Veronica."
Very, very, very much.
Hiding my true feelings and blinking my eyes, her face brightened at once.
"M-Me too! It was my wish to have a strong and cute friend like Young Lady! All the other children are afraid of me, calling me a monster...!"
"Let's be best friends from now on."
Veronica, who was holding my cheeks, moaned hazily, "Haaah..."
"Thank you so much for the teeth. I'll invite you to the castle next time. Let's play together!"
"R-Really? Then I'll bring a lot of fun Magic tools too!"
"Yes!"
I took Veronica's hand and left the room. And I listened intently to her excited Magic tool stories.
"The mana conductivity, hardness, and purity are different for each mineral that serves as a medium, so the calculation formulas are different, which is really tricky..."
Veronica was very moved to see me shining my eyes without showing any signs of boredom.
I said goodbye to Veronica and came down the stairs. Just in time, Yohan was getting up from his seat, apparently having finished his conversation with Viscount Dubois.
"Did you see everything?"
He asked, and I nodded quickly.
"Yes, now let's go back..."
At that moment, I felt a slight vibration in my body. It was because Paimon, who was connected to my soul, was excited.
[That's him!]
'Huh?'
[Look at that purity and depth. He's the best I've met in the last few hundred years. I can make a wonderful trumpet.]
I was startled by his sparkling eyes.
'Calm down. There are a lot of other people's mana, why does it have to be Yohan's? Veronica, who used to be the Magic Tower Lord, has amazing mana too.'
[It's contaminated.]
'Contaminated... Is it because of the failed research?'
[That too, but she's too old. Originally, mana (the source of mana and Divine Power) is purest when you're young.]
I groaned. Then it would be difficult to obtain the powerful, high-purity mana that Paimon wanted.
Humans are all born with mana, but only a few have a channel to release it.
A channel is like a faucet. Hot water only comes out of a faucet with hot water, and cold water only comes out of a faucet with cold water.
When you're young, you don't know how to release it, so naturally, the older you get and the more you train, the easier it is to release power.
We call those who can freely control the faucet at a young age, like the Dubled brothers or Adrian, geniuses.
'There's no way there's another genius like Yohan.'
There was one, but he was a possessor of Divine Power. I'm talking about Adrian.
As I was groaning and worrying, I asked Paimon.
'Then how can I receive mana?'
[Someone like me can receive it very easily.]
'That's a relief! How do you do it?'
After hearing the answer, I wanted to grab Paimon by the collar and shake him.
'How is that easy!'
A few days later, the Duke's office.
The three Dubled sons gathered in the office stood side by side in front of the Duke with indifferent expressions.
"Yohan, what is your plan?"
"I plan to stay in the territory for a while and track down those who attacked me. I will return to the academy when the vacation is over. Please assign Viscount Dubois as my aide."
"Okay. Henri, what about you?"
"I have graduated from the Academy for Gifted Children, so I plan to enter an academy in the Empire. I will live in the dormitory during the semester and receive education at the Capital mansion during the vacation."
When Isaac said, "Same here," the Duke gestured to Noth.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"As soon as Yohan graduates..."
In the middle of his speech, the Duke's gaze turned to the window in the hallway.
Following his gaze, Henri and Isaac's eyes softened.
A light brown crown of the head was sticking out.
The Duke watched the little eavesdropper by the window with his arms crossed.
He seems to be moving carefully, but the fluffy hair sways whenever he tiptoes.
The child, who was close to the corner, boldly put his hand on the window frame this time. And he gently raised his head.
"...!"
As soon as he made eye contact with everyone in the room, his eyes widened and he quickly hid below.
Yohan narrowed his brows.
Doing that doesn't make it like he wasn't caught.
He's a strange guy, just like I felt at first.
Even though he became a noble Young Lady, he tries to do everything himself, and he smiles brightly even at words that would have hurt someone else's pride.
But what's really strange isn't that child.
"Oh, the weather is nice today! I wonder what the little one is doing."
"He's probably taking a nap."
"Noth, check if LeBlaine is kicking off his blanket."
"Yes, sir!"
They made eye contact with the child, but they're desperately trying to pretend they don't know.
They're the strangest.
'Are they crazy?'
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