NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 9
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 9
Frey Salvatore’s room.
She sat lightly on the edge of the bed, leaving her underlings stationed outside the door.
“How insolent.”
Frey’s cheeks puffed out slightly.
It was because she was thinking of Yuri, who had recently become her exclusive butler.
-May I make one request?
-What is it?
-I would like a private audience with Lord Clark.
For a mere butler to request a private audience with a noble—how utterly insolent.
-Fine.
Even so, Frey nodded her head.
-You’re the best, Young Lady!
Because she liked seeing him smile.
“…Am I losing my mind?”
Frey hastily opened her eyes.
Whenever she closed them, even for a moment, the events from a few days ago at the Clock Tower would resurface.
The moonlight that blanketed the night sky.
The scent of flowers drifting in from the garden.
The cool touch of the Clock Tower and Yuri, smiling brightly as he handed her a rose.
Every moment was etched into her memory, but above all, his voice stood out vividly.
-Because I like you so much, Young Lady.
Whoosh.
Her pale face flushed instantly. She flapped her right hand to cool her heated face.
“O-Of course, that’s how it should be.”
Yuri is a butler, and not just any butler, but one who willingly chose to serve as my exclusive butler!
It’s only natural for an exclusive butler to like the master they serve!
“…So, isn’t it only natural for me to like Yuri too?”
Grin.
A shy smile spread across the villainess’s face.
While she was grinning to herself for a while,
“Ah!”
She belatedly checked the time. The 15 minutes she had promised Yuri were almost up.
“I guess it’s about time to head back.”
She quickly got up from the bed and smoothed out the crumpled dress with her palms.
As the master, she couldn’t afford to show a disheveled appearance.
“Still, it’s truly fascinating.”
How did someone who was a beggar until recently manage to connect with the eldest son of a Count’s family?
“Could he be from a fallen noble family?”
His refined tone, his clean appearance after being washed, and his knowledge of all the duties of a noble.
Yuri felt more like a noble from some family than a mere beggar.
Frey thought to herself.
If Yuri really was of noble origin, wouldn’t it somehow be possible to marry him?
“Hehe.”
The mere thought made her laugh. Suddenly, a conversation she’d had with Yuri came to mind.
-Yuri, why did the Frog Prince fall for the Stinky Princess?
-Well, everyone has their own tastes.
-…What’s your taste?
-I like strong women.
His answer had been without the slightest hesitation. She found it immensely reassuring.
After all, being strong was a specialty of villainesses.
Frey’s lips curled into a smirk.
“A duel like that? I’ll win it easily.”
And after that, Yuri would…
She stopped mid-thought and shook her head.
“First, let’s win and think about it later.”
Frey Salvatore now had a reason to defeat Clark, no matter what.
2.
Madness.
What Clark glimpsed in Yuri was a madness rarely seen even on the battlefield.
“First, the shin.”
A fist imbued with red energy struck down toward Clark’s right leg.
Crack…!
It was a blow delivered with no wasted force, aimed solely at breaking the shin bone.
“Ugh!”
Clark bit down on his lip.
Even though the killing intent pressing down on him made it hard to move a single finger, he was still a knight. It was unthinkable to groan disgracefully in front of an enemy.
He used a minimal amount of aura to inspect his right leg. It wasn’t a fracture, just a hairline crack.
However, Yuri’s punches didn’t stop.
“You’re holding up well.”
With a chilling smile, he clenched his fist again.
“You’re right-handed, aren’t you?”
“…I’m left-handed.”
“But you drink tea with your right hand.”
Clark remained silent. That silence led to a crack forming in his right arm.
He gritted his teeth, clutching his arm.
“The last one.”
“W-Wait! You said just two hits…!”
“That was a broken clock.”
“What?”
“And you’re a broken Clark.”
“You son of a b*tch, that’s the same damn thing—!”
Crack! Thud! Crunch!
The brutal sounds continued for a while.
This guy’s insane.
He wasn’t just crazy—he was completely unhinged.
“Don’t worry. You’ll look fine on the outside.”
No, this went far beyond that. Even demonic nobles would lament such a wicked personality.
“Phew, now I feel refreshed.”
The one-sided beating ended roughly five minutes later.
“Ugh…”
Only then did Yuri release the mount. He slowly stood up and extended a hand.
“Get up.”
It was an utterly unreasonable demand.
Even a Sword Master wouldn’t be able to move for a while after taking such a beating.
“Don’t you want to see your younger brother?”
Those words made Clark force himself to rise.
“Grrgh…!”
Flailing pathetically, he pushed himself off the ground, using his arms to lift himself up.
“…Where is Vernon?”
“You got up without even using aura?”
Yuri was impressed.
Those who had manifested Mana and Aura were inherently much sturdier than those who hadn’t.
Even with broken and torn bodies, as long as they could wield Mana or Aura, they could still move.
Conversely, it meant that without the use of Mana or Aura, even standing upright would be difficult.
It wasn’t exactly appropriate to say after beating him senseless, but Clark’s condition was severe.
Nearly every bone in his body had hairline fractures.
In particular, the key areas needed for wielding a sword were on the verge of full fractures.
“I asked where my brother is.”
And yet, he had stood up.
Had he not joined hands with the Demon God Cult, he could have become an excellent knight someday.
What a pity.
At the very least, he had the potential to cut down a noble or two. Yuri sighed and took a seat.
“He’s in the Deep Blue Forest.”
“The Deep Blue Forest…?”
“There, he was beheaded by Moonlight.”
Clark’s face stiffened.
Moonlight.
The crescent-shaped mark engraved on the recovered corpses came to mind.
“What exactly are they…?”
“A group aiming to harm us.”
“…Wait.”
Clark’s expression froze for a moment.
“When you say ‘us’…”
Yuri nodded.
“You’re thinking correctly.”
He placed a hand on his chest and lifted his head, revealing a wicked smile.
“For the Black Sun.”
It was a secret phrase known only to the Demon God Cult.
This confirmed it. That butler was undoubtedly someone dispatched by the main cult.
Even revealing Vernon’s corpse’s location must have been for the cult’s benefit.
Beating him senseless was likely his way of shouldering the blame for his brother’s sins, sins that had endangered the cult due to his twisted lust.
With sharp insight and the ability to easily overpower both himself and his guards, he was at least a mid-level priest or higher.
Above all, that wicked expression and vile nature. There was no way he wasn’t part of the Demon God Cult.
Having finished his thoughts, Clark bowed his head.
“I apologize for failing to recognize you.”
“As you should.”
Yuri inwardly celebrated. Who would have thought he’d be deceived this easily? He placed a heavy hand, emanating killing intent, on Clark’s shoulder.
“Moonlight has caught on to my identity.”
“What should we do?”
“Do nothing.”
“…Is that really alright?”
Clark asked, as if concerned.
Yuri responded with a smile.
“They predicted everything—the message they sent you, the fact that you would come. I am already above them.”
He offered a teacup to Clark. Enduring his pain, Clark poured the tea.
After sipping the tea, Yuri spoke.
“Hear the words of the Demon God’s son.”
Only then did Clark manifest Aura. He hurriedly knelt on one knee and looked up at Yuri.
“Return quickly and prepare the banquet. On that day, the sun will erase the moonlight.”
“I will follow the will of the Father.”
Yuri scrutinized Clark.
Even just moving his body consumed a significant amount of Aura.
‘That should suffice.’
If half of his Aura was used to maintain his body and the other half for swordsmanship, he’d be around lower-tier Expert level.
Perhaps a bit stronger than Vernon, but the Young Lady would surely surpass him.
The moment the Young Lady broke through the wall of the 3rd Circle, the plan would begin.
“Wait.”
Yuri slowly extended his hand. Clark, who had been preparing to leave, stopped in his tracks.
“How many children have you captured?”
Clark’s expression hardened. The children were the last shred of his remaining conscience.
Though he couldn’t save the children taken by his brothers and father, he had hidden away all the others.
The children had been scattered to various places.
Brothels, illegal arenas, slave markets, organ trafficking, human experiment labs, and so on.
The one thing certain was that neither the creators nor the users of those places were normal.
Clark had come to his senses when he learned of their ultimate fate.
-…You want me to retrieve the children?
-They’ve served their purpose. Isn’t it time to offer them to the Father?
He had brought back children barely clinging to life and offered their hearts to the cult. That day, he had personally delivered a child he had taken.
Looking down at the broken boy, Clark recalled the first time he had captured him.
-My mom is sick! Please, let me go home, big brother!
In the end, the boy was sent to a brothel and shattered by nobles with grotesque tastes.
The boy who had been retrieved smiled brightly at the high priest of the Demon God Cult.
-Finally, I can die…!
Even as his heart was ripped out and he lay dying, the boy chuckled to the very end.
It sent shivers down his spine.
Clark stood frozen like a statue, staring at the dying boy. Perhaps he had looked at him with worry in his eyes.
-Huh…?
The boy, locking eyes with Clark, let out a sigh. It was because he saw his mother in Clark’s gaze.
The boy looked down at the hole in his chest and reached out a frail hand toward Clark.
-Mom…?
A final flicker of life.
At the brink of death, he had regained clarity and thought of the most important person to him.
-Save me, please save me, okay?
The boy crawled across the floor.
Everyone else was engrossed in the ritual, so he managed to reach Clark’s feet.
-Why…! Why us…?
Urgh, cough!
The boy trembled. He barely lifted his head and asked Clark.
-Why? Why on earth?
Indeed.
The boy eventually took his last breath.
Since that day, Clark had been rescuing children. It felt like something he had to do. Finishing his recollection, Clark responded to Yuri’s question.
“I don’t know about the children.”
Though he was already an irredeemable villain, he still felt the need to protect the children.
“…Understood.”
Yuri nodded without resistance.
“You may leave now.”
“And the Young Lady Frey…?”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“…As you command.”
Clark hoisted the unconscious Diallo over his shoulder and stepped out of the drawing room. There was a slight commotion, but Clark handled it skillfully.
Yuri clicked his tongue as he watched Clark’s retreating figure.
“What a waste of a man in many ways.”
Even though he recognized Yuri as a high-ranking member of the Demon God Cult, he hadn’t betrayed the children.
He already knew everything.
That Clark had secretly smuggled the children away and was protecting them in secret.
“Still, he’s a Demon God’s Cultist.”
Yuri checked the time.
The Young Lady would be returning soon.
“Now, what excuse should I come up with?”
A crumpled butler’s uniform, bloodstained white gloves, and Clark limping away—he needed a reason that the Young Lady would find convincing.
“If I say a righteous thief came by… she’ll never believe it, will she?”
Yuri felt a headache coming on.
3.
“A righteous thief came by.”
“What?”
“Thanks to Lord Clark, I chased him away, but I got beaten up because I can’t fight.”
And with that, the incident was settled for now.
Even Clark, who had initially kept silent, ended up agreeing with the excuse after reading the letter I had sent him.
“I’m a 7th Circle mage… a Sage… and I even set up a proper barrier at the villa….”
Only Vasello, the owner of the mansion, fiddled with the barrier as if he felt wronged.
After that, life returned to its usual routine.
The only difference was that the Young Lady had started magic training.
“How’s this, Yuri!”
“Wow! Better than the neighborhood dog, at least!”
“…Do you want to die?”
Frankly, her skills were terrible.
She had an enormous amount of mana, but the amount she could control was limited.
It was like trying to draw water from the ocean with just a straw.
The fortunate thing was that I, a Sage and Sword Master, was by her side.
Since tomorrow was the day of the banquet, I decided to teach her one thing.
I feigned ignorance and asked a question.
“Why are you trying so hard to control it?”
“What?”
“If you can’t control it, isn’t it also an option to just let it all out?”
“…Explain in detail.”
“Well….”
I continued my explanation.
Mages manipulate mana.
Even if the amount is limited, they can easily handle as much as they possess.
It’s like scooping out all the water in a puddle with your hands and then refilling it.
However, the Young Lady could manipulate far less mana than she possessed.
And yet, she tried to handle it like an ordinary mage, which is why she couldn’t activate it.
That was akin to trying to scoop ocean water with just a spoon.
But what if you dug a channel for the ocean water to flow through with that spoon?
“…I think I understand what you mean.”
The Young Lady’s eyes sparkled.
She opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it, crouching down to scribble something on the ground instead.
Her focus was extraordinary.
She filled nearly half of the villa’s sandy training grounds with a complex magic formula.
When she started, it was noon.
When she finally lifted her head again, there were only thirty minutes left until dinner.
“Thank you, Yuri. Thanks to you, I’ve realized something.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll show you now.”
The Young Lady extended her right hand.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind began to blow.
To be precise, the mana that had been residing within her surged out like a storm.
It was an inefficient method.
The mana flowed toward its target but didn’t stay there, scattering in all directions.
Crunch.
This time, she raised her left hand.
She used the mana she could control to envelop the released mana, blocking its dispersal.
“Normally, you gather mana in your hand, pass it through a magic circle, and then activate it, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But I can’t gather it in my hand, can I?”
“So?”
Smirk.
A conqueror’s smile appeared on the Young Lady’s face.
“What do you think will happen if I first spread oil and then throw a match onto it?”
It’ll explode. And in a big way.
Unfortunately, there was no time to respond.
Because the Young Lady had imbued the mana she spread with the Fire Attribute.
KABOOM!!
RUMBLE!!
A massive explosion occurred. And it didn’t stop at just one.
Bang! Boom! Crackle!
The flames even captured the mana that had been scattering, causing it to explode and turning the surrounding area into a wasteland.
Glittering embers, gusting winds, acrid smoke, and scorching heat.
If not for Vasello’s barrier, the Guardian Knights might have mistaken it for a terrorist attack and rushed over.
“An explosion! There’s been an explosion in the training grounds!!”
“Security Team! Prepare for a possible terrorist attack!!”
In reality, the mansion’s guards were already in chaos.
Drip, drip….
After all the explosions subsided.
“How was it, Yuri!!”
The Young Lady ran toward me with her arms wide open.
“This is what you were talking about, right!?”
I smiled and answered.
“I don’t know what that is… but it’s terrifying…”