"What kind of hospitality is this? We made an appointnt four days ago," Ella complained, tapping her foot impatiently.
We had been at the mansion for a whole three hours, and yet the owner of the mansion had not shown her face. When we inquired about the situation, all we received were repeated requests to wait.
"In my next life, I better be born as a noble. Seriously," Ella muttered, not caring that one of the maids was listening.
Her purpose was to show that she was angry from the start.
But no matter how much she frowned and grumbled, to others, it looked like nothing more than a cute tantrum from a young girl.
"Just a little more patience, miss. I believe they will arrive shortly," the maid replied calmly, causing Ella to have no more words to say, except to scratch her head awkwardly.
No wonder she seed just like a petulant child to others.
The maid seed to share the sa thought and let out a small laugh.
***
Ella raised an eyebrow. "Uh, is there sothing funny?"
"Hehe, my apologies."
Ella checked her watch and said, "...At this rate, lunchti will be over."
"Should I bring so snacks then?"
"Never mind. What about the master... no, never mind."
She seed like she wanted to press further, but when she looked at , she quickly dropped her head.
As the head of the group, it wouldn’t be easy for her to say more in this situation.
Of course, I wasn’t always easy-going either.
I was getting bored and irritated just sitting in this room. It wasn’t as if I enjoyed being cooped up here.
But I couldn’t get angry.
I couldn’t even furrow my brows.
I was the smiling man.
A unique trait of Wonderstein.
Thanks to this absurd trait of always maintaining composure and only smiling, I could appear composed even when I wanted to scream inside.
"Anyway, can you tell us what the plan is?" Ella asked. "What’s the sche?"
"Sche?" She made a displeased expression at my simple reply.
"What are you going to do now? You said we might find so money here when we ca."
"The Vergsong heiress is quite wealthy."
Ella raised her head. Her short black hair swayed slightly.
"If she’s wealthy, so what? Judging from the way we’re being treated; it doesn’t seem like there’s much chance of getting anything."
"We won’t know until we ask."
"If she were a proper noble, she wouldn’t just give money to a wandering magician who asked for it."
At that mont, another voice interjected.
"That’s right."
The reply ca from the entrance of the parlor.
A woman with long hair that seed to emit a green light entered. Her slender fra made her pale skin look almost fragile.
"I apologize for making you wait. We had an unexpected important guest."
A completely aningless apology.
I felt my mood sour as soon as I heard it.
Gee, does that an we’re unimportant guests then?
"I am Anais Vergsong, the lady you ntioned. Are you the person who could cure my illness?"
"...Yes. I am Frank Wonderstein. Nice to et you, Lady Vergsong."
I stood up and offered a friendly handshake, but Anais stared at , completely ignored the gesture, and walked past to take her seat.
"It seems you may not know etiquette, but Charlotia nobles do not engage in physical contact lightly."
At tis like this, I was truly grateful for being the "smiling man."
If it had been my usual self, my face would have turned bright red from unexpected provocation, and my expression would have crumbled.
I would have felt self-conscious about reacting to the other person’s provocation.
But now, I was not my usual self.
I am Wonderstein.
I am a smiling man.
"Haha, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry."
I sat opposite her with a relaxed smile.
She looked at with a surprised look.
I confidently raised my head and looked at her.
Her appearance reminded of the one I saw in the ga.
The upper body of a person protruding like a tentacle from the head of a giant frog-like monster.
The monster and the person were entangled, as if their skin, veins, and muscles were intertwined, making them seem like one organism.
The person attached to the monster was tearing at her hair, sobbing as if in agony.
I just wanted to be free... to wander the world.
The entire mansion trembled as her cries resonated throughout.
The entire mansion pulsed as if it were a living creature.
The knight drew their swords and prepared themselves, the thieve raised their bows and took a combat stance, and the mage bit down on his staff.
The battle turned the entire mansion into a stage.
With the strength of the knight, they broke through stone walls, the thieve used their bows to bring down decorations, and the mage used his magic to obstruct the monster’s path.
The frog-like monster chased the three of them and followed them to the mansion’s entrance.
Victory was within reach now.
The frog took a deep breath, and its cheeks swelled.
The monster tried to bury the three heroes under the collapsing mansion with an explosive blast of air.
At that mont, the ghost butler appeared on the chandelier in the ceiling.
He struck the chandelier with his staff.
The ornate chandelier adorned with sharp golden decorations and jewels.
It fell onto the monster’s head.
Crash! Thud!
The central axis of the chandelier pierced through the monster’s head, and the chandelier’s decorations and jewels pierced into the person’s body without rcy.
Aah!
Black blood spurted out, and the woman who had rged with the monster let out a sharp scream and crumpled forward.
The ghost butler slowly descended from the ceiling to the floor.
The lower part of the woman’s body, which had been rged with the monster, beca loose.
The ghost butler held the fallen woman’s body.
Vergsong smiled faintly at the ghostly figure that caressed her cheek.
Her eyes, which had been filled with madness and bathed in red, returned to those of an ordinary person.
"I’m sorry... I’m sorry, everyone. Thank you, Butler..."
"Now you can rest, Lady Vergsong."
Vergsong closed her eyes.
The ghost butler bowed to the three heroes.
Soon, his body faded and disappeared.
With that, the prologue stage of TT3, Vergsong Estate, was cleared.
The woman in front of was not a monster, but a fragile and delicate woman.
"Is the show over now?"
It seed she misunderstood my gaze.
Her expression beca cold.
Next to her, Ella gave a disdainful look.
I thought I had a serious expression, but the "smiling man" forced to have only one expression.
A slightly artificial and insincere smile.
I tried to make so excuses, but Anais intervened, extending her hand to stop .
"Well, it’s over, rude magician. So, what do you think? I heard you have a lot of knowledge about dicine, but can you tell sothing just by looking?"
"Well, it seems like you have so respiratory problems."
"Wow, you noticed that I have a respiratory illness just by looking at my appearance? You truly are an amazing person."
Sssss...
The sound of a pump filled the quiet room.
Anais’s words were filled with sarcasm.
She glared at with a probing gaze.
"Excuse , but may I ask which university you studied dicine at?"
"I didn’t attend a university."
"Then what do you do now?"
I replied with a broad smile.
"I lead a small circus troupe."
"Ah."
That "Ah" held a lot of aning. I could tell from Anais’s expression change.
She let out a loud sigh.
"Another wasted day."
"Ma-Master..."
The butler looked awkward.
A smirk played on Anais’s face.
"Until now, I’ve been accommodating to the butler’s wishes, but please stop bringing in people like this now. Traveling circus perforrs... what do they know about anything?"
For a mont, I seriously considered planting the seed of a monster in her. Her words had crossed the line, even considering the difference in status. While I was ignorant of the customs of this world, I could tell from Ella’s reaction that her comnt was excessive.
"What’s wrong?"
Ella suddenly stood up.
I quickly raised my hand to stop her.
"Ella, calm down."
"...Okay."
She bit her lip and sat back down roughly.
Anais Vergsong.
She was just as I expected.
As I read through the records left behind while investigating Vergson Estate stage, I could learn quite a bit about her. She had been fragile since childhood, surrounded by people who worried about her, spending most of her life within this small estate.
Thanks to her exceptional intellect, she grew up hearing terms like prodigy and genius, and while handling the affairs of the estate, she gained confidence in her abilities. As a result, she never learned how to build proper human relationships. To her, a friend was soone kind and devoted, and the world was just words and numbers written on paper.
Her cynical and sarcastic nature stemd from there.
Of course, I had no intention of backing down now. I had promised to clear this stage confidently just this morning. If I couldn’t even accomplish a quest like this, how would I endure the next two and a half years?
"Your impatience is quite evident, huh? Well, I do have a way to cure Lady Vergsong’s illness."
She stared at intently.
There was a hint of surprise in her eyes.
Well, considering how she had been reacting so far, most people would have found her comnts unpleasant.
But I didn’t show any reaction.
My inherent trait, "The Smiling Man," ensured I never lost my smile regardless of the situation.
Did she find sothing interesting about my attitude?
After hesitating for a mont, she sat back down.
"Fine. Fool ."
She gave a sidelong glance with a pout.
"What’s this thod then?"
"It’s my magic."
"Magic?"
Anais let out a scoff.
"Quite a believable thod, I must say. So, what kind of magic is it?"
I smiled at her and replied, "I will replace Lady Vergsong’s lungs. With healthy ones."
I was quite confident.
In front of , there was a status window.
The [Evolution Research Lab] showed a quote for the conditions I had requested.
Trait: Healthy Respiration
Applied Area: Lungs
Effect: Replace with normal lungs.
Cost: [Debulroots x8]
"Replacing the lungs... Are you serious? There’s no way sothing like that is possible!"
The looks they gave were full of disbelief. Even I, having experienced modern dicine, found it hard to believe that you could simply swap out human organs like spare parts.
Ella, the only one who seed nervous, nodded slightly.
She must have seen Wonderstein’s power up close and knew what it was capable of.
Anais, after scrutinizing for a while, finally spoke.
"So, what do you need? Can you use that magic right now?"
"Of course. I can do it right now."
Anais stood up and placed her hands on her hips.
She looked down at with a haughty expression and said, "Alright. Go ahead and try it. If you can really cure my illness, I’ll grant the conditions you requested from the butler."
That was surprisingly easy!
For my first quest, at least. It was practically a freebie.
I thought it would be over with just a few words exchanged.
I extended my hand. Activating the Biomancer skill was simple. I didn’t even need to morize any spells.
Just...
Just...
...Damn it.
I stopped my actions.
"What’s the matter? Do you need to charge mana or sothing to use it, is that the pattern?"
I couldn’t bring myself to respond to her teasing.
Wonderstein’s ability.
To use it, there was a condition.
A very simple condition, but...
"Lady, my magic requires physical contact with the target... their... bare skin..."
My words made Anais furrow her brow slightly.
’Weren’t Charlotia’s nobles cautious about physical contact?’
Fortunately, she obediently extended her hand.
But I wasn’t pleased at all.
It was just that much, not enough to make flustered.
I nodded.
"You need to touch a location close to the affected area."
"Affected area? Where should you touch..."
Anais couldn’t continue her sentence.
The expressions of everyone in the room stiffened.
It’s a serious situation.
This is about treating an illness.
I tried to maintain my composure by putting myself under a trance.
But my efforts were in vain.
"May I touch you?"
The smiling man smiled.
Reviews
All reviews (0)