Chapter 103
That night.
Otto had spent a very tiring night at the party, harassed by the Northern Grand Duke Giancarlo and his fiancée Elise.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Giancarlo. I’m this child’s grandfather.”
“I met the Grand Duke of the North.”
“Hahaha. I apologize for this unexpected visit.”
When Otto heard those words, he thought to himself
‘If you’re sorry, then maybe you shouldn’t have come.’
Otto was appalled by the shameless, condescending Northern Grand Duke.
‘You’re trying to kill me right now!’
Elise was a person whose path to marriage had been blocked for one reason or another.
That’s why he rushed to this place to try to set her up with Otto somehow.
After all, what kind of man would want to marry Elise?
Especially when the strongest candidate for world domination threatens to kill him if he doesn’t get stronger?
“Your grandfather, Brother Conrad, and I have a long and deep bond of friendship.”
“Ah, yes.”
“So feel free to call me old man, haha. You are the fiancé of my granddaughter.”
“Yes.”
Otto glanced back at Conrad.
‘What is this?’
‘Uh, I’m sorry.’
Conrad averted his gaze.
He didn’t know what to say, even if he had ten mouths to spare, that a promise he’d made so long ago had put Otto through this.
‘We’ll talk about it later.’
‘Yeah, sure.’
Kairos, meanwhile, was the only one who seemed pleased to see Elise.
‘That’s some real power.’
Kairos recognized Elise’s strength at a glance.
As someone who had once risen to the heights of continental power, he recognized her true worth.
‘He’s still weak, but he’s got it covered. This man is the real deal.’
Elise recognized Kairos, too.
“I’ll pour you a drink.”
“However many you like.”
Recognizing each other, Kairos and Elise downed their drinks in unison.
“When do you think we can cross swords?”
Elise couldn’t resist and asked Kairos.
Instinctively, she recognized Kairos as strong, she was unable to suppress the desire to win.
“You’ll be dissatisfied, I haven’t regained my strength yet.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Hmm?”
“Just purely clashing swords without using mana is enough.”
“Oh.”
Kairos marveled at Elise’s answer.
“To that point already?”
“It sort of started to happen at some point.”
“That’s great, to reach such a level at your age. Maybe we won’t have to cross swords later on.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re a quick learner for someone your age, so if you keep practicing, you’ll eventually realize it.”
Kairos said with an uncharacteristically benevolent look on his face, even smiling wryly.
‘What’s wrong with him all of a sudden, ewww!’
Otto frowned at the 180-degree shift in Kairos’ attitude toward Elise.
That wasn’t all.
‘What the hell are you guys talking about? How do you two know each other is strong without ever fighting? It’s bullshit.’
Otto was unable to understand Kairos and Elise’s conversation at all.
“Thank you for your guidance.”
Elise stood up from her seat and bowed to Kairos.
“Hahaha! Is this person really authentic? Hahaha!”
Kairos laughed heartily at her, as if that were a good thing.
“I… I have to get out of here, there are only crazy people here!’
Unable to keep up with the conversation, Otto tried to bolt out of the room.
But he couldn’t.
“Fiancé.”
“Yes?”
“My glass is empty.”
“I’ll refill it!”
As soon as Otto heard Elise’s words, he reflexively poured the strongest whiskey he could find into her glass with a flourish.
*Thud!*
Elise gulped it down in one smooth motion.
‘If you drink like that, you’ll die, I swear, it will kill you!!!’
Otto watched in astonishment as Elise one-shotted a 45-proof whiskey from a glass that must have been 300 ml.
A normal whiskey is around 750 ml.
With a glass that full, it would take her just three shots to empty a bottle of whiskey.
To an ordinary person, it wouldn’t have been strange to die of acute alcohol poisoning.
“Hahaha! You’re a strong drinker, aren’t you? Here, let me pour you a glass, too.”
Otto couldn’t believe his ears.
He couldn’t believe she’d just downed that strong drink in one breath, and now Kairos was offering her another.
But Elise was not drunk, and her expression did not waver.
A natural born monster.
Not only was she a sword prodigy, but her physical abilities were many times greater than those of ordinary people.
* * * patreon.com/SchattenTranslations * * *
The next afternoon.
“Mmm. Ugh.”
Otto struggled on the bed, unable to stand up.
‘These bastards… it’s not enough that they’re up all night, they have to drink until 11am?
Otto shuddered as he remembered the previous night.
For a normal person, it was a huge burden to have a drinking party with severe alcoholics who drank alcohol like water.
In fact, thanks to his <Divine Body> status, Otto was also a very strong drinker….
‘If I drink that much alcohol, I might get sick. Ugh.’
In annoyance, Otto tried to pull himself out of bed.
But it wasn’t easy.
*Screech!*
His head felt like it was going to crack from the hangover, so even getting himself up was a challenge.
“Are you awake?”
Camille came over and helped Otto to his feet.
“How are you feeling?”
“How do you think?”
“Yeah, well…”
Camille gave Otto a sympathetic look, as if he knew.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The lady has left.”
“Huh?”
“She said you must have a bad hangover, so she gave you a gift.”
“A gift? What kind of gift?”
“I think you’d better see for yourself.”
“…..”
“There.”
Camille pointed to the garden outside the window.
“That, uh, What’s that.”
“That’s the one she caught herself earlier in the day. She insisted that you eat it, since you seem to be weak.”
“No…”
Otto was dumbfounded and at a loss for words.
In the garden lay a huge bear that must have weighed a ton, dead with its tongue hanging out.
There was no wound on it, so it was obvious that it had been beaten to death, not struck by a blade or something.
‘What kind of fiancée brings a bear down from the mountains and gives it to her soon to be husband to eat!’
That was not all.
“She wants you to eat this, too.”
“What’s this?”
Otto scratched his head at the bundle of rolled parchment that Camille held out.
“Did she wrap this up?”
“I think so.”
“…….”
“There’s even a ribbon if you look here.”
He felt like a butcher in the ’70s, being presented with a hunk of meat wrapped in newspaper.
‘She’s giving me a gift wrapped in crumpled parchment and tied with some sort of rope?’
‘How clunky….’¹
“Let’s open it.
When he unwrapped the parchment, he found damp soil and moss inside.
“Hey, isn’t this precious?”
Tearing off the wrapping paper, Otto was surprised to see the value of the gift inside.
Inside were three grass-like roots of some sort, but the faint sheen on them made it clear that they were no ordinary weeds.
[Hundred years old Knotweed]
Description: A centuries-old herb. This elixir is so powerful that it can even save a critically ill person.
It’s rumored to be good for stamina, but it’s a rare plant, so it’s unconfirmed.
Type: Consumable (Plant Root)
Durability: 1/1
Effects:
– Mana: +500
– Vitality: +500
– Stamina: +500
– Vigor: +2,500
“Huh, she gave me this as a gift, a hundred-year-old knotweed?”
“She dug it up from the mountain herself.”
“….”
“Is it valuable?”
Camille asked Otto while staring intently at the grass.
“Extremely.”
“Are you so surprised by how precious it is?”
“One sprinkle of this will turn any middle-aged man with a bowed head into a young man of thirty.”
“What?”
“People who can’t do it once will be able to do it at least three times.”
“……!”
“In the mountains, a hundred-year-old knotweed. I slept all night. I have no use for it.”
Otto shook his head and said to himself.
‘What should I do to thank her for this?’
Otto really appreciated Elise’s gift.
Even though the packaging was shoddy, the value of the gift and the sincerity behind it was genuine..
But Otto knew it wasn’t a free gift, so he didn’t enjoy it.
‘You’re going to be so nice to me, and then you’re going to try to kill me if I don’t live up to your expectations, Haa.’
Elise’s expectations were incredibly high as far as force was concerned.
In particular, her expectations of her fiancé, Otto, were even higher.
So letting her down could mean death.
The only way he could survive his fearsome fiancée was to become deadly strong.
* * * patreon.com/SchattenTranslations * * *
Since Otto has been given a gift, he decides to consume it.
Even though he felt overwhelmed and wanted to return it, he realized that Elise might get angry, so he decided to accept it.
“Older Brother, you should take one too.”
“I’m fine.”
“Come on, just eat it, it’ll help you get stronger.”
“Thanks.”
Otto took two roots.
Camille took the other root.
*Crunch!*
*Thump!* *Thump!* Otto and Camille chewed the Hundred-Year Knotweed that Elise had gifted him raw on the spot.
[Notification: Mana has been increased by 500! (×2)]
[Notification: Vitality has been increased by 500! (×2)]
[Notification: Stamina has been increased by 500! (×2)]
[Notification: Vigor has been increased by 2,500! (×2)]
The effect was immediate.
His entire body felt energized and revitalized, and his hangover naturally disappeared.
But that wasn’t all.
*Sizzle!*
Thanks to the two roots of Hundred-Year Herb, which increased his Vigor by 5,000, he could feel a hot energy rising from the depths of his stomach.
And then suddenly….
“AAAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Unable to contain his boiling blood, Otto threw up his arms in a fist and roared at the sky.
And then he broke into a run.
After chewing two roots raw at once, he was so full of energy that he was about to explode, so he had to sprint and run.
* * * patreon.com/SchattenTranslations * * *
Three hours later.
“Your Majesty, the lady asks you to come to the training grounds.”
Camille reported to Otto, who had just gotten out of the shower.
“Huh, to the training grounds?”
“Yes.”
“Why…?”
“She wants to get an accurate measure of your level.”
“…..”
“I think it’s better for you to go quickly.”
Camille was familiar with the rumors about Elise, so he gave Otto the best advice.
“Can’t I not go?”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
“I need to get changed quickly.”
Without hesitation, Otto changed into his training clothes and headed for the training grounds.
Kairos and Elise were the first to arrive at the training center, and they stood facing each other, each holding their respective weapons.
Apparently, when they were drinking last night, they decided to cross swords, and couldn’t resist.
“Huh. Why are they like that?”
Otto tilted his head.
For more than five minutes since the duel had begun, Kairos and Elise had stood there, neither making the first move.
When a few more minutes passed.
“I’ll go first.”
Elise made the first move.
“Come.”
** ** **
TL/N:
1. awkwardly solid, heavy, and outdated.
Chapter 103
That night.
Otto had spent a very tiring night at the party, harassed by the Northern Grand Duke Giancarlo and his fiancée Elise.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Giancarlo. I’m this child’s grandfather.”
“I met the Grand Duke of the North.”
“Hahaha. I apologize for this unexpected visit.”
When Otto heard those words, he thought to himself
‘If you’re sorry, then maybe you shouldn’t have come.’
Otto was appalled by the shameless, condescending Northern Grand Duke.
‘You’re trying to kill me right now!’
Elise was a person whose path to marriage had been blocked for one reason or another.
That’s why he rushed to this place to try to set her up with Otto somehow.
After all, what kind of man would want to marry Elise?
Especially when the strongest candidate for world domination threatens to kill him if he doesn’t get stronger?
“Your grandfather, Brother Conrad, and I have a long and deep bond of friendship.”
“Ah, yes.”
“So feel free to call me old man, haha. You are the fiancé of my granddaughter.”
“Yes.”
Otto glanced back at Conrad.
‘What is this?’
‘Uh, I’m sorry.’
Conrad averted his gaze.
He didn’t know what to say, even if he had ten mouths to spare, that a promise he’d made so long ago had put Otto through this.
‘We’ll talk about it later.’
‘Yeah, sure.’
Kairos, meanwhile, was the only one who seemed pleased to see Elise.
‘That’s some real power.’
Kairos recognized Elise’s strength at a glance.
As someone who had once risen to the heights of continental power, he recognized her true worth.
‘He’s still weak, but he’s got it covered. This man is the real deal.’
Elise recognized Kairos, too.
“I’ll pour you a drink.”
“However many you like.”
Recognizing each other, Kairos and Elise downed their drinks in unison.
“When do you think we can cross swords?”
Elise couldn’t resist and asked Kairos.
Instinctively, she recognized Kairos as strong, she was unable to suppress the desire to win.
“You’ll be dissatisfied, I haven’t regained my strength yet.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Hmm?”
“Just purely clashing swords without using mana is enough.”
“Oh.”
Kairos marveled at Elise’s answer.
“To that point already?”
“It sort of started to happen at some point.”
“That’s great, to reach such a level at your age. Maybe we won’t have to cross swords later on.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re a quick learner for someone your age, so if you keep practicing, you’ll eventually realize it.”
Kairos said with an uncharacteristically benevolent look on his face, even smiling wryly.
‘What’s wrong with him all of a sudden, ewww!’
Otto frowned at the 180-degree shift in Kairos’ attitude toward Elise.
That wasn’t all.
‘What the hell are you guys talking about? How do you two know each other is strong without ever fighting? It’s bullshit.’
Otto was unable to understand Kairos and Elise’s conversation at all.
“Thank you for your guidance.”
Elise stood up from her seat and bowed to Kairos.
“Hahaha! Is this person really authentic? Hahaha!”
Kairos laughed heartily at her, as if that were a good thing.
“I… I have to get out of here, there are only crazy people here!’
Unable to keep up with the conversation, Otto tried to bolt out of the room.
But he couldn’t.
“Fiancé.”
“Yes?”
“My glass is empty.”
“I’ll refill it!”
As soon as Otto heard Elise’s words, he reflexively poured the strongest whiskey he could find into her glass with a flourish.
*Thud!*
Elise gulped it down in one smooth motion.
‘If you drink like that, you’ll die, I swear, it will kill you!!!’
Otto watched in astonishment as Elise one-shotted a 45-proof whiskey from a glass that must have been 300 ml.
A normal whiskey is around 750 ml.
With a glass that full, it would take her just three shots to empty a bottle of whiskey.
To an ordinary person, it wouldn’t have been strange to die of acute alcohol poisoning.
“Hahaha! You’re a strong drinker, aren’t you? Here, let me pour you a glass, too.”
Otto couldn’t believe his ears.
He couldn’t believe she’d just downed that strong drink in one breath, and now Kairos was offering her another.
But Elise was not drunk, and her expression did not waver.
A natural born monster.
Not only was she a sword prodigy, but her physical abilities were many times greater than those of ordinary people.
* * * patreon.com/SchattenTranslations * * *
The next afternoon.
“Mmm. Ugh.”
Otto struggled on the bed, unable to stand up.
‘These bastards… it’s not enough that they’re up all night, they have to drink until 11am?
Otto shuddered as he remembered the previous night.
For a normal person, it was a huge burden to have a drinking party with severe alcoholics who drank alcohol like water.
In fact, thanks to his <Divine Body> status, Otto was also a very strong drinker….
‘If I drink that much alcohol, I might get sick. Ugh.’
In annoyance, Otto tried to pull himself out of bed.
But it wasn’t easy.
*Screech!*
His head felt like it was going to crack from the hangover, so even getting himself up was a challenge.
“Are you awake?”
Camille came over and helped Otto to his feet.
“How are you feeling?”
“How do you think?”
“Yeah, well…”
Camille gave Otto a sympathetic look, as if he knew.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The lady has left.”
“Huh?”
“She said you must have a bad hangover, so she gave you a gift.”
“A gift? What kind of gift?”
“I think you’d better see for yourself.”
“…..”
“There.”
Camille pointed to the garden outside the window.
“That, uh, What’s that.”
“That’s the one she caught herself earlier in the day. She insisted that you eat it, since you seem to be weak.”
“No…”
Otto was dumbfounded and at a loss for words.
In the garden lay a huge bear that must have weighed a ton, dead with its tongue hanging out.
There was no wound on it, so it was obvious that it had been beaten to death, not struck by a blade or something.
‘What kind of fiancée brings a bear down from the mountains and gives it to her soon to be husband to eat!’
That was not all.
“She wants you to eat this, too.”
“What’s this?”
Otto scratched his head at the bundle of rolled parchment that Camille held out.
“Did she wrap this up?”
“I think so.”
“…….”
“There’s even a ribbon if you look here.”
He felt like a butcher in the ’70s, being presented with a hunk of meat wrapped in newspaper.
‘She’s giving me a gift wrapped in crumpled parchment and tied with some sort of rope?’
‘How clunky….’¹
“Let’s open it.
When he unwrapped the parchment, he found damp soil and moss inside.
“Hey, isn’t this precious?”
Tearing off the wrapping paper, Otto was surprised to see the value of the gift inside.
Inside were three grass-like roots of some sort, but the faint sheen on them made it clear that they were no ordinary weeds.
[Hundred years old Knotweed]
Description: A centuries-old herb. This elixir is so powerful that it can even save a critically ill person.
It’s rumored to be good for stamina, but it’s a rare plant, so it’s unconfirmed.
Type: Consumable (Plant Root)
Durability: 1/1
Effects:
– Mana: +500
– Vitality: +500
– Stamina: +500
– Vigor: +2,500
“Huh, she gave me this as a gift, a hundred-year-old knotweed?”
“She dug it up from the mountain herself.”
“….”
“Is it valuable?”
Camille asked Otto while staring intently at the grass.
“Extremely.”
“Are you so surprised by how precious it is?”
“One sprinkle of this will turn any middle-aged man with a bowed head into a young man of thirty.”
“What?”
“People who can’t do it once will be able to do it at least three times.”
“……!”
“In the mountains, a hundred-year-old knotweed. I slept all night. I have no use for it.”
Otto shook his head and said to himself.
‘What should I do to thank her for this?’
Otto really appreciated Elise’s gift.
Even though the packaging was shoddy, the value of the gift and the sincerity behind it was genuine..
But Otto knew it wasn’t a free gift, so he didn’t enjoy it.
‘You’re going to be so nice to me, and then you’re going to try to kill me if I don’t live up to your expectations, Haa.’
Elise’s expectations were incredibly high as far as force was concerned.
In particular, her expectations of her fiancé, Otto, were even higher.
So letting her down could mean death.
The only way he could survive his fearsome fiancée was to become deadly strong.
* * * patreon.com/SchattenTranslations * * *
Since Otto has been given a gift, he decides to consume it.
Even though he felt overwhelmed and wanted to return it, he realized that Elise might get angry, so he decided to accept it.
“Older Brother, you should take one too.”
“I’m fine.”
“Come on, just eat it, it’ll help you get stronger.”
“Thanks.”
Otto took two roots.
Camille took the other root.
*Crunch!*
*Thump!* *Thump!* Otto and Camille chewed the Hundred-Year Knotweed that Elise had gifted him raw on the spot.
[Notification: Mana has been increased by 500! (×2)]
[Notification: Vitality has been increased by 500! (×2)]
[Notification: Stamina has been increased by 500! (×2)]
[Notification: Vigor has been increased by 2,500! (×2)]
The effect was immediate.
His entire body felt energized and revitalized, and his hangover naturally disappeared.
But that wasn’t all.
*Sizzle!*
Thanks to the two roots of Hundred-Year Herb, which increased his Vigor by 5,000, he could feel a hot energy rising from the depths of his stomach.
And then suddenly….
“AAAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Unable to contain his boiling blood, Otto threw up his arms in a fist and roared at the sky.
And then he broke into a run.
After chewing two roots raw at once, he was so full of energy that he was about to explode, so he had to sprint and run.
* * * patreon.com/SchattenTranslations * * *
Three hours later.
“Your Majesty, the lady asks you to come to the training grounds.”
Camille reported to Otto, who had just gotten out of the shower.
“Huh, to the training grounds?”
“Yes.”
“Why…?”
“She wants to get an accurate measure of your level.”
“…..”
“I think it’s better for you to go quickly.”
Camille was familiar with the rumors about Elise, so he gave Otto the best advice.
“Can’t I not go?”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
“I need to get changed quickly.”
Without hesitation, Otto changed into his training clothes and headed for the training grounds.
Kairos and Elise were the first to arrive at the training center, and they stood facing each other, each holding their respective weapons.
Apparently, when they were drinking last night, they decided to cross swords, and couldn’t resist.
“Huh. Why are they like that?”
Otto tilted his head.
For more than five minutes since the duel had begun, Kairos and Elise had stood there, neither making the first move.
When a few more minutes passed.
“I’ll go first.”
Elise made the first move.
“Come.”
** ** **
TL/N:
1. awkwardly solid, heavy, and outdated.
