Chapter 9
“That’s strange… I caused trouble, so why…?”
In the North, inside Airi’s room.
Airi recalled the historical dramas her grandmother often watched.
Perhaps because her grandmother loved them so much, Airi remembered the dramas almost perfectly.
“Your Majesty has arrived!”
“Everyone, serve His Majesty with utmost care!”
“We will obey your command, Your Grace!”
Yes!
The way the servants treated Airi looked exactly like the way the palace servants treated the emperor in those dramas.
Airi rolled her eyes and looked at them, and then her hair twitched slightly. That’s all that happened…
“You naughty wind!”
“How dare you move our precious baby’s hair! Worthless thing! You shall die at once…!”
Airi muttered skeptically:
“Uh… you can’t kill the wind.”
“Oh, baby! How did you know that the wind can’t be killed? Clever indeed. But I can kill the wind!”
Bang!
A loud sound echoed as the window slammed shut.
The protection seemed a bit too extreme…
At that moment, the head maid had sent a formal message to Duke Ortezo.
Airi could see a faint mist surrounding the maids.
Wide-eyed, she heard Cookie whisper:
“They’ve finally opened their hearts to you.”
To use her purification power, she needed to be close to them.
In other words, by getting close to them, she could see their accumulated negative energy and absorb it.
“Wow… I can finally save Grandma!”
Thinking about helping her grandmother escape death, Airi’s head spun as the mist around the servants became clearer.
Looking into their warm eyes, the faint murky haze around them slowly vanished.
The negative energy accumulated in their bodies was being purified.
“Wow, this is amazing!”
Airi clenched her fists.
“This is so easy!”
The maids’ faces brightened completely. Cookie, watching nearby, whispered:
“Wow… it’s such a shame they don’t realize you’re cleansing them.”
But as the mist cleared, the eyes of the head maid and chief butler…
“Huh? What’s this?”
They sparkled.
Their expressions resembled how a grandmother would look at her grandchild or a local woman enjoying noodles.
“This feels… strange.”
“Huh? Strange how?”
“Being near Airi feels happy and peaceful.”
“It really feels like she brings sunlight to our castle.”
Had they noticed?
Airi’s purification ability!
Feeling proud, she raised her chin slightly.
The head maid and chief butler cautiously offered their hands:
“Lady Airi, you wished to meet the Duke, right?”
“We prepared this to help you when you meet His Grace! Hehe!”
“Ah… thank you!”
Airi accepted the items with trembling hands.
[We’ve prepared a list of things Duke Declan Ortezo likes:
Sword: He values his Ego Sword. Monsters should be torn apart with a sharp blade!
Food: He likes delicious, hearty meals. Filling the stomach seems enough!
(…etc…)
p.s. Hope you become friends! Good luck!]
Airi’s eyes widened.
“Wow… I’ve got the answer sheet!”
This was amazing!
“The notes are a bit odd, though…”
Airi was a hero who grew by interacting with others, so having a guide would make things much easier.
She held the paper to her chest and said:
“I will study hard!”
***
Meanwhile, at the monster base near the northern border where Declan stayed.
The speed at which monsters were being wiped out had increased.
After clearing them for a while, Declan’s expression grew even fiercer.
As his bloodshot eyes glowed red, his chief advisor, Raspen, cautiously spoke:
“It seems we’ve cleared most of the monsters in this area.”
“….”
“They will reappear after some time, so purification must be done soon.”
“…Purification of mana?”
“Yes.”
Declan noticed that his body was being filled with dark mana faster than usual.
“I can see that your condition is already worsening. You should go to the waterside immediately.”
“Right, fine.”
Declan wiped the blood off his face and headed to a small tent near the water.
This was where those affected by fighting monsters were purified.
Inside, Harroz, an elderly three-star purification mage with white hair and beard, was dozing off, then suddenly straightened.
“Ah, Your Grace… your condition…”
The Duke’s condition looked severe even at a glance.
If dark mana reached five stars, it was said that the person would walk like a zombie…
‘At that level, purification is nearly useless.’
Seeing Harroz hesitate, Declan casually said:
“Enough talk. Start the purification.”
“At once, Your Grace.”
Even being near a five-star purifier could heal people around them, but in this era, three-star purifiers were the highest level.
Many had already died trying to purify dark mana or had lost their powers and left the north.
Now, only a few, including Harroz, remained to assist, even weakly.
Ancient letters appeared on his hand as the purification began.
Harroz’s expression was grim.
“Your Grace, the dark mana is overflowing.”
“I know. They said it’s five-star infiltration.”
An incurable condition by modern purification.
Harroz lowered his gaze, careful not to offend.
Declan smirked wryly:
“I know. I’ll die soon anyway. Doesn’t matter if it’s fast or slow.”
The evil energy that three-star purification could not remove had built up in his body indefinitely.
It flowed endlessly from his fingertips.
Declan gritted his teeth.
“So, I don’t care. Soon or later, it’s the same anyway.”
He ignored the worried mage.
After finishing purification, Declan left the tent.
Raspen, who had been anxiously waiting, approached him.
“Your Grace, an urgent message arrived from Ortezo Castle.”
“From the castle? Why?”
“Lady Airi caused a big incident.”
“A round little thing causing trouble… how bad could it be?”
“She hit a friend.”
Declan’s brow furrowed immediately.
“Say that again… my daughter hit someone?”
“Yes, she hit them.”
“So you’re telling me my daughter’s fist landed on someone?”
