Episode 37: Loyalty and Pride

The Kreving Earl’s mansion, enveloped in the silence of the night.

The butler, Evan Easton, was in his private quarters. The meticulously arranged room seemed a direct reflection of Evan’s own personality.

Sitting in a chair tucked into the corner of the room, Evan closed his eyes.

He inhaled slowly, exhaling quietly. At a glance, he might appear to be asleep, but his perfectly straight posture told a different story—part of his consciousness was undoubtedly awake.

That awakened fragment of his mind gazed upon an endless expanse of pure white.

In the center of that space, Evan stood alone.

After a moment, another figure materialized before him—a shadowy illusion of himself, cloaked in dark mist.

The two faced each other in silence. And then, the battle began.

A fierce exchange, back and forth—but after a few minutes,

The black phantom’s dagger thrust forward, piercing Evan’s chest deeply.

“Gah…!”

Snapped back to reality, Evan’s eyes flew open.

Reflexively clutching his chest, his trembling fingers confirmed there was no wound, and he finally let out a breath.

What… an overwhelming, visceral sense of ‘death’…!

Sweat beaded on his forehead.

This training method was something Siegfried had taught him.

A special practice combining a form of meditation with mana manipulation—a deranged exercise where one waged a deadly battle against their own illusion.

The old Evan would never have endured it, but as a vampire, his stamina and mana had increased dramatically, making it finally possible to attempt.

Evan’s primary role was to support Siegfried in political matters.

Yet, as long as he remained at Siegfried’s side, danger to his life was inevitable.

That was why he had pleaded with Siegfried to teach him this training.

“To think, just one session leaves me in this state…”

The trembling in his hands still hadn’t subsided.

That pain, that shock.

The sensation of his heart being pierced was an undeniable ‘death,’ far too real to be a mere illusion.

Unbearable agony, terror, and despair—

Honestly, it was a hell so excruciating he never wanted to experience it again.

Lord Siegfried… does he endure this every night?

Clashing countless times with his own illusion, dying over and over—

And doing so every night, an unfathomable number of times, as if it were routine.

“You can train until you die. That’s the greatest advantage of this method. In real training, you can’t push yourself to the point of death.”

That’s what Siegfried had said.

And perhaps he was right.

But that suffering, that terror of death, would break an ordinary person’s spirit after just one taste.

Ten times would be enough to drive anyone mad.

“…”

Evan stared at his own hands. The trembling hadn’t stopped. But… steeling himself, he closed his eyes once more.

I know I can never become like Lord Siegfried. I understand that well. Even so…

Even so, as someone who stood by his side, he refused to be a burden.

Evan’s consciousness sank back into the pure white expanse.

There, his own illusion appeared once again.

“I hope… I can at least manage a slightly better ‘death’ this time.”

With a wry smile, Evan began his battle with his illusion anew.

◇

Near the settlement of the Ashwolf beastmen… in the dungeon where Celestina had once been sealed, in its middle layers.

“Man, I never would’ve guessed there was a dungeon like this so close to our settlement. …Whoa, this is incredible.”

Seeing the glint of light on the dungeon’s rugged rock walls, a middle-aged Ashwolf beastman let out a gasp of awe. A burly man with a bearded face, he looked more like a bear than a wolf.

His name was Dolgan. Rumored to have a trace of ancient dwarven blood, he was an Ashwolf beastman and a father of two.

“Seriously, this is some high-purity mana ore.”

Mana ore—stone altered by the influence of mana, capable of storing magical energy. It was a key material for creating ‘magic tools’ powered by mana.

For example, the chandeliers in the Kreving Earl’s mansion utilized mana ore.

“But there’s way too much of it. Even if we mobilize everyone waiting up top, we won’t be able to carry it all.”

The woman addressed as ‘miss’ turned around. Gray ears, gray eyes, and a lithe, agile body—it was Fen.

“I told you to stop calling me ‘miss.’ I’m the chieftain now.”

“Sorry, miss. …Ugh, I did it again.”

Dolgan scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

Fen was the daughter of the previous Ashwolf beastman chieftain. She had inherited the role a year ago after her father’s passing, but those who had known her for years still called her ‘the chieftain’s daughter’—hence the ‘miss’ nickname.

Fen herself disliked it, but for those who used it, ‘miss’ was a term of affection.

“Tch…”

Muttering under her breath, Fen explained to Dolgan.

“We don’t need to haul it all out today. As long as we get it done before winter’s over, it’s fine.”

“Won’t other adventurers or whoever swoop in and steal it in the meantime?”

“It’s fine… that’s what he said.”

By ‘he,’ she meant Siegfried, of course.

“Hardly any adventurers know about this dungeon, and this valley will be snowed in soon. Probably no adventurers will come until spring, he said.”

Until then, transporting the mana ore was the task Siegfried had entrusted to the Ashwolf beastmen.

If they could extract the mana ore from this dungeon, the Kreving Earl’s household would buy it at wholesale prices.

Selling this much mana ore would bring in a fortune.

“Still, is this really okay? The monsters in this dungeon were all wiped out for us, and all we have to do is haul out the mana ore…”

The only reason they could mine the mana ore was because Siegfried had eradicated the dungeon’s monsters. Furthermore, with the dungeon’s core—Celestina’s coffin—removed, no new monsters would spawn here.

In other words, it was an extraordinary job: mining rare resources in complete safety.

“Well, knowing him, he’d probably say something like, ‘I gave you this job because you’re suited for it. I didn’t do it for your sake.’”

Living in a valley surrounded by rocks, the Ashwolf beastmen were indeed skilled at mining mana ore.

But still…

Fen recalled Siegfried’s smile—cool, yet so striking it was almost ferocious, impossible to look away from.

Sure, Siegfried was likely acting for his own purposes. But it was an undeniable fact that his actions had protected the lives and future of the Ashwolf beastmen.

Someday… we’ll repay the debt we owe.

Of course, Siegfried would probably snap, ‘Don’t get cocky. I didn’t do you any favors.’ She knew that.

Hmph, whatever he says, I don’t care. If that’s his path, I’ll walk mine. No matter what he says, I’ll make sure we repay this debt…!