After ending the secret struggle with the Ornament Duke family.
Kurtz and the others had succeeded in reclaiming the former Eisenhud territory, the land of Felmund.
That was only one beginning, and Kurtz’s purpose had not yet been fulfilled.
To rescue his beloved master, Artesia-Eisenhud, he would need to resolve various situations and problems going forward.
For that purpose—
“…………Lucia.”
“Yes yes, what is it, young master?”
“Isn’t that enough already?”
“No no, these things need to be done thoroughly.”
Standing in front of Kurtz, Lucia stared at him with serious eyes.
“Hmm hmm……the color and luster of your hair are good, and your complexion is better than before. The small scars from your time in the slums have disappeared or faded, so this should be perfect.”
“That aside, why do you keep pressing my cheeks?”
“I’m checking the elasticity of young master’s cheeks.”
“What’s the result?”
“Squishy and soft, extremely good condition.”
“If you’re satisfied, please release me quickly.”
While having both cheeks kneaded by Lucia, Kurtz gazed into the distance.
“Now young master is a proper noble too. Even though officially you became the adopted child of an elven noble, because of your origins, they’ll probably scrutinize everything down to your appearance and mannerisms.”
“It’s rare for a human to become an elf’s adopted child. Even though Feiyu made sure unnecessary investigations wouldn’t be conducted, if we want things to go smoothly, it’s better not to give them even the smallest ammunition for attack.”
Kurtz now was not just one nameless pauper.
[Kurtz-Achimenes, Viscount’s Son]
The [Green Forest Nation of Sylvayu], governed by elves—for his achievement in rescuing Feiyu, who was related to the royal family, Kurtz received recognition from the Sylvayu royal family.
However, since they couldn’t directly grant a title to Kurtz, who was both human and a child, they gave the family name Achimenes and viscountcy to an elf named Wombur who had volunteered to be his adoptive father.
That was the official story, at least.
“Speaking of which, didn’t we need to prepare a [father figure]?”
“It’s unnecessary. Increasing the personnel who appear publicly would mean corresponding increases in trouble and processing. That’s why we took the convenient approach of having a [legal adoptive father on paper].”
The person called Wombur-Achimenes who became Kurtz’s adoptive father doesn’t exist.
More precisely, an elf named Wombur does exist, but he resides outside Sylvayu and, while granted a title and family name, holds no land or authority whatsoever.
Everything has been transferred to the [guardian] visiting the estate today.
“Besides, if we needed a stand-in, I could just ask you to do it, right?”
Just as Kurtz said that—
“—Ah, that’s absolutely right.”
A heavy, low voice that wasn’t that of a girl could be heard from behind Kurtz.
Visible through the mirror was a middle-aged male elf with pointed ears.
Seeing that figure, no one would call out the name of the girl [Lucia-Dienes].
“Looks like you’ve gotten used to handling [Inherent Unique Magic] properly.”
“Yeah. Kurtz-kun taught me how to handle my [Faceless] ability. I can do various other things now too, so it’s become much more convenient and helpful.”
With her tone changed, Lucia, disguised as an elf, smiled.
A power that could be called a supernatural ability, deviating from normal magical systems.
“However……I never thought that just giving it a [name] would improve the ability. I could change faces, voices, and body shapes before, but I couldn’t change clothing.”
“There’s a big difference between handling something without knowing anything about it and giving it a [name] to clarify the image and purpose of your inherent unique magic. In your case, the precision of its applications improved as a result.”
[Iron Blood], [Paradise], [Other World], and—Artesia’s [Time] inherent unique magic.
This was knowledge known only to the Eisenhoods, who researched inherent unique magic, and part of what Kurtz had heard from Artesia about [inherent unique magic] in his previous life.
“You made it sound easy, but carelessly assigning a [name] can either fail to fix the image or fix it too strongly, greatly narrowing the ability’s range. That balance can’t be measured by others, and it’s one of the reasons why the nature of inherent unique magic varies greatly between individuals.”
“I see. So the name [Faceless] had good compatibility.”
“That nickname was given to you by others during your time as an assassin, so it was easy for you to visualize. By the way, Lucia.”
“What is it, Kurtz-kun?”
“How long do you plan to stay in that form and tone?”
“Until Kurtz-kun calls me [Papa] and hugs me with a smile.”
“……I didn’t teach you how to handle inherent unique magic to increase your toys.”
“Yes yes, since young master is angry, I’ll change back.”
After placing her hand on her face and pulling, a membrane of light peeled away, returning Lucia’s appearance and voice to their original form.
Lucia’s [Faceless] was useful not only for infiltration and espionage but had high versatility for various purposes, so he had taught her to improve the ability. However, judging by this behavior, she would probably use it for mischief too.
“Hehe, well, young master prefers being hugged by big sister maids anyway, right?”
“Please stop making statements that could cause misunderstandings in multiple directions……”
Held in Lucia’s arms, swaying back and forth, Kurtz sighed in resignation.
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About a month had passed since moving to the Felmund estate, and he had been spending peaceful days with just Lucia for a while, so he had gotten used to these kinds of exchanges.
“Lucia, if you’re satisfied, please put me down quickly.”
“Oh? Your resistance is weak today? Did you surrender to the sensation of big sister’s generous chest?”
“It’s because my clothes will get wrinkled. I can’t keep our guests waiting by struggling unnecessarily.”
He had confirmed that guests had arrived through the estate’s windows, after which Lucia had received them and they were now waiting in the reception room.
“It’s going to be busy from today. I’ll need you to move too, so be prepared.”
“Of course, as my master commands.”
After Lucia put him down and bowed deeply, Kurtz nodded in return and switched his expression.
The two left the private room, and when Lucia lightly knocked on the reception room door before opening it—
“Oh, it seems your preparations are finished, Kurtz.”
“Kurtz, it’s been a while. Since the auction venue.”
“It’s been a while, Feiyu, Edel.”
Kurtz called the names of the two people he had invited while bowing his head.
Feiyu-Blaskas, daughter of the Blaskas family, a branch of Sylvayu’s royal family.
Edel-Mercator, the talented woman of the great Mercator merchant group famous in the northern countries.
Even though his status had changed, Kurtz remained a powerless, feeble existence with no real strength.
To advance his future plans, their cooperation was absolutely essential.
And they weren’t the only collaborators—
“—This is the first time we meet face to face, Viscount’s Son Achimenes.”
An aged, raspy voice.
However, the speech was so powerful it didn’t feel aged at all, with each word carrying weight and a strong core.
A white-haired, red-eyed elderly elf.
His appearance suggested someone over seventy in human terms, but while his skin had lost its moisture, his body hadn’t weakened, and his spine and back remained perfectly straight.
Kurtz bowed respectfully to the elderly elf.
“I am deeply grateful for your trouble in coming from afar. Please forgive the discourtesy of calling upon your honored self despite knowing your advanced age.”
“Hoh……a human brat dares to use the term [honored self] toward his elder?”
Narrowing his drooping eyelids, the elderly elf fixed sharp red eyes on him accusingly.
However, Kurtz responded with a smile.
“Yes. That is our way of propriety.”
“Kaka……I see. I was half-skeptical based only on my granddaughter’s words and the documents she gave me, but if you can respond like that, then it would be discourteous to [a comrade] to deny it outright.”
After letting out a restrained laugh, the elderly elf smiled with satisfaction.
Among [comrades], there were no racial barriers or hierarchical relationships.
That’s why, no matter what the situation, [comrades] had thoroughly maintained treating themselves and others as equals in the past.
“Then let me hear your story anew—[comrade] Kurtz.”
His use of the word [comrade] carried more weight than anyone’s except master Artesia herself.
From the time when the Eisenhud Duke family still existed, over three hundred years ago.
A person who could be called a living witness to history, who had once stood shoulder to shoulder with Eisenhud as a comrade in the past—
“—[Comrade] Trakia, could you lend me your strength?”
Looking straight back into those red eyes, Kurtz answered with determination.
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