Denise (3)
"Young Lady Denise. A, are you really serious?"
"I was the one who discovered that mage's location first. We're in the most advantageous position in this competition. We have to quickly persuade him before other houses catch the scent and come looking."
"B, but.... to say you'll stay in a place like this.... if the lady of the house hears about the situation, she might become very angry."
"I'll handle things carefully so it doesn't cause trouble for the servants, so don't worry. Just say this is all my own decision."
After being rudely kicked out by Derrick, Denise had no choice but to return to the entrance of the cave.
Bella thought she would at least get on the carriage and return to the mansion to report the situation, but Denise shook her head while brushing down her silver-gray hair.
Then she sent people out to gather various supplies before sunset and ordered them to set up a simple camp at the cave entrance.
After bringing in high-quality firewood, thick tents, the finest carpets, and soft portable beds, the sun was already setting. Each item was so luxurious that it was hard to even call it camping, but in any case, it was absolutely not a place suitable for a noble Young Lady to stay.
However, Denise did not seem to care in the slightest.
*
The next day, as soon as the morning sun came in, Young Lady Denise once again entered the cave where Derrick was training.
As always, Derrick was alone in the vast open area, refining his mana. With an elegant smile, Denise approached him, set down all kinds of food and supplies, and spoke.
"Training is good, but it's not good to push your body until you look that haggard. I'll support you well so you can focus on your training, Mr. Derrick!"
Derrick looked at Denise with a dumbfounded expression.
Denise blinked her eyes with the purest look in the world, then twisted her hands together with a bright smile.
"There isn't that much I can do for you, but at least I can help you focus on training magic."
".... Even if you do this, my opinion will not change."
"When I watch Mr. Derrick train magic, I get inspired in my own way, and I think it will also help my own magic achievement. I'm doing this of my own accord, so please don't worry too much!"
Denise smiled with her fists clenched tightly.
There are many ways to gain someone's favor, but giving things away outright is one of the most basic.
One might wonder whether such an obvious strategy to win favor would work on someone like Derrick, but Denise was somewhat confident in her own judgment.
When you want to persuade someone, making them feel sorry first is the most efficient method.
Even if all generosity has ulterior motives and reasons, the one receiving it cannot help but feel at least a little gratitude, even while knowing it. That is how business works.
'I should tell the servants at the mansion to bring everything needed for magic training.'
It was a strategy commonly used by merchants who supplied goods to the mansion. Whether the intention was obvious or not was not very important. What mattered was having a thick skin.
If you keep maintaining contact like that, just like clothes getting wet in a drizzle, the heart will inevitably be moved little by little. A person's heart cannot stay hard forever.
"Then I will gratefully accept."
Derrick had been wondering whether he should go out to get supplies anyway, so he did not attach much meaning to it. In truth, with a noble Young Lady bowing her head and approaching him like this, it was also a bit burdensome to push her away any further.
Thus, for a while, Derrick casually accepted the supplies that Denise brought every day.
However, Derrick was stubborn in his own way.
"Today I brought some food and magic stones."
"Thank you. However, working for the Beltus family is a bit difficult."
"Good morning! Some precious fish came in from Ebelstein. The mansion's cook prepared it, so please have a bite!"
"Thank you very much. However, even so, I don't think I will work for the Beltus family."
"Mr. Derrick. Look at this. It's a light crystal stone. They say it helps you observe the surrounding mana more efficiently."
"Such a precious thing.... thank you. But this is separate from working for the Beltus family.... "
"Mr. Derrick! I brought some things you can use to wash yourself. You should take care of your hygiene while training!"
"Thank you for your consideration. However.... "
One day passed, then two days passed, and even though she came to see Derrick every time, forcing herself to do so if necessary, Derrick built such a thorough wall that one might wonder if he even had a human heart.
Honestly, by this point, he should have felt at least a little burdened or sorry, but Derrick kept accepting all the kindness Young Lady Denise gave him without a second thought, and calmly focused only on his own magic training. He was not the type of person to refuse kindness that came his way.
After a little more than five days, it just felt like she was swinging an axe at a tree that would not fall.
'I, I didn't think it would take this long.... '
A noble Young Lady of the Beltus family had thrown away her pride, come every day, made conversation, given supplies, and even bowed her head, yet he was still sticking to his own convictions.
She would think, what kind of person is this, and yet at the same time, she would think that maybe this is why he can teach magic to noble Young Ladies without being intimidated.
'If I had known it would get this troublesome, I would have just let it slide appropriately.... ! '
Young Lady Denise was sitting in a corner of the camp, clutching her head.
Her policy was to finish whatever she did quickly and then rest comfortably in the remaining time.
However, over the past week, she had tried all kinds of ways to persuade him, tried flattering him, tried pushing with authority, but that man, like a mountain of stone, was only immersed in magic training all day long.
It felt as if he just recognized Young Lady Denise as nothing more than background scenery that periodically came to the cave. Not just anyone, but the most noble Young Lady of the Beltus family, at that.
–He was just a madman obsessed with magic. Derrick was the kind of person who could throw everything away if it meant raising his own realm of magic.
'Come to think of it.... Drest isn't showing his face at all. If he really met that mage called Derrick, they should be training together.... '
Derrick said he had encountered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that right now he wanted to devote himself solely to magic training.
It was obvious that the opportunity he mentioned was his meeting with Drest. Even so, that mage called Drest never once appeared before Denise.
In truth, Drest Wolftail was not someone you could meet just because you wanted to.
His relationship with nobles was not particularly good either, so it was not strange that he did not show himself before Denise.
'If he has Drest as his magic master, he should know where I am and when I'll come to see him.... and yet he isn't deliberately avoiding me. That might be good news, in a way.'
Thinking about it, it was strange.
If he really wanted to avoid Denise, with Drest's help, he could avoid her to the point that she could not even meet him at all. The labyrinth inside that cave was quite complex, after all.
'So meeting me itself isn't that much of a burden.... then it's not hopeless. At least it means I'm not at the level of getting on his nerves.'
How to persuade Derrick had already gone beyond being just a family matter and had become a matter of Denise's own pride.
Still, the strategy of pushing with authority would not work. He was in a position where, if he wanted, he could go to the Belmiard family or the Duplein family instead.
A way to bring him into the Beltus family to teach Young Lady Denise, while not irritating him as much as possible.
She had to come up with that method quickly before other families caught the scent. She had already wasted quite a bit of time, so she did not have much leeway.
That was when Denise was deeply lost in thought.
"Young Lady Denise! The head butler from the Duplein family is at the cave entrance!"
"W, what.... already?"
Denise was the first to pinpoint Derrick's location, but compared to other families, she was just faster.
Now that enough time had passed, even the advantage of having contacted him first was starting to fade.
However, another thought crossed her mind.
'He's someone who won't be persuaded even after I've pushed this hard with both material and effort, so do other families really have any better method?'
He was a person mad about magic.
Until he was at least satisfied with his own training situation, he would not teach anyone.
Even if it was the Duplein family, it did not seem like they would have any special way to break that stubbornness of his.
His iron-man-like obstinacy was, for now, actually putting Denise at ease. Until a method was found, he would not be persuaded by any family.
"Young Lady Aiselin personally sent a letter? Hmm.... "
'….. Why are you hesitating?'
Following Delron, the head butler of the Duplein family, while hiding her presence as much as possible, she bit her lip hard.
Derrick, who had been sitting on a rock, seemed to already know Delron, because he greeted him warmly and then began to carefully read the letter he brought.
She thought he would firmly reject the Duplein family's request just like he did with her, but he was in thought, stroking his chin even while gathering his tired body from training.
Aiselin, Ellente, Denise.
Among the trio of the Rosea Salon, the one Derrick evaluated the highest was Aiselin.
She was someone who had already reached 2-star at an age just before her coming-of-age ceremony, and a girl with exceptional understanding of magic of the Discipline School line.
From teaching Ellente, Derrick had felt that the act of teaching others itself greatly helped his own magic achievement. If he were to have magical exchanges with someone like Aiselin, who had a firm field of her own, he himself would also gain many realizations.
"You also have a record of producing results when teaching Young Lady Delia magic, so His Grace the Duke has high expectations. And as you know well, His Grace gives rewards commensurate with the achievements of those who produce results."
Derrick also knew well of the Duplein Duke's character.
He was a person with such generosity that he could casually bestow even a precious 3-star Magic Book to a mere commoner. Of course, that was only possible if one produced results worthy of it.
"From my standpoint, it is a great honor, but as you can see, I am currently absorbed in magic training. I have seized an opportunity that may come only once in a lifetime, so I am completely immersed in training."
'As expected....! '
He was speaking in a much more polite tone than with Denise, but Derrick was still expressing his intention to refuse.
As expected, Derrick was a person for whom his own magic achievement was the most important. He would not be persuaded so easily.
However, what Derrick said next was different from what Denise had expected.
"So, would it be all right if we discuss it after the training is finished? It will also benefit Young Lady Aiselin. The realm of the magic master who teaches must first be higher, so that the realm of the disciple receiving the teaching can rise faster, is that not so?"
"Ho.... if that is the reason, His Grace would probably accept it. From the family's standpoint, what's most important is to attach a good magic master to Young Lady Aiselin."
It was clear that Derrick was showing a much more favorable attitude toward Young Lady Aiselin.
He had not even brought up things like discussing it again after training with Denise.
Even though she had taken care of all his training needs and humbled herself like that, he had never shown such goodwill, yet he was offering it to Aiselin without any hesitation.
Denise pressed her brow and groaned.
Indeed, filling that gap would not be easy. No matter what, she needed a trump card.
*
"Mr. Derrick's location has been identified?"
"Yes. As far as I know, the head butler personally went to deliver a letter. I heard it is near the Laspa Cave."
"Training in such a dangerous place.... well, Mr. Derrick is that kind of person."
Quite some time had passed since the tariff agreement of Ebelstein ended.
Young Lady Aiselin, who had returned to the Duplein mansion and was chatting with the family members, was brightened by the report from head maid Katarina.
Since the last magic spar, the thought of wanting to learn magic from Derrick had suddenly sprung up. It had already been quite some time since she said they should try making a request to Derrick.
"I've heard that other families are also inquiring, so it's hard to be sure whether that mercenary will really come to the Duplein family. However, head butler Delron is excellent at persuasion in these matters, so let's trust him once and wait."
"No, actually, it's hard to just keep waiting. I've been busy with High Society activities, but since I finally have some time, I think it would be better to move personally."
"Yes?"
Young Lady Aiselin was in a unique position even within the High Society of Ebelstein. Her schedule was full every day, but at least while she was staying at the Duplein mansion, she could spare quite a bit of time.
"Actually, if you're going to ask for instruction, it's only right to go in person, isn't it? If it's the Laspa Cave, you can easily stop by by slightly diverting the carriage on the way to Ebelstein."
"Ah.... it's a bit dangerous for you to go there personally, Young Lady."
"I'm already a 2-star mage. I'm not at a level where I'd be defeated by simple monsters, and I'll bring plenty of Guards with me, so what's the problem?"
Aiselin had already sensed it in her own way.
Right now, Derrick did not seem to have much intention of teaching people, but it was clear that he would eventually make a big name for himself centered around Ebelstein.
Later, when his abilities were recognized even more, more competitors would gather.
Not only Delia and Ellente, but even the Young Ladies who had once received his teaching might be accepted as something like verified individuals.
And before all that, she simply wanted to learn more about magic. If you want to ask for instruction, going in person is common sense in the world.
"Prepare the carriage. I'll go to the Laspa Cave myself. The faster we move, the more advantageous it will be.... first, I should greet my family and then leave quickly."
It was rare for Aiselin to move this busily.
Before Katarina could even nod, she had already risen from the tea table.
"First.... should I greet Delia separately before leaving?"
"It will be difficult for Young Lady Delia to exchange greetings right now."
"Is she very busy? I heard she started preparations for her debutante ball."
"That too, but.... once she immerses herself in magic training, she doesn't want to be disturbed."
After being taught by Derrick, Delia's mastery of magic was skyrocketing at a pace that was almost strange.
The blood of the Duplein family was known as the greatest Bloodline that had produced countless high-ranking mages, but even considering that, her growth rate was at a level that was hard to understand.
"Then.... I suppose it can't be helped.... "
Aiselin would sometimes watch from afar as well.
Sitting quietly on the terrace of the annex, that young mage, looking down at the world with eyes filled with mana, gave off a strangely extraordinary aura. Perhaps she might one day threaten Valerian's or even her own achievements.
Delia Catherine Duplein.
The world did not yet know that name well, but her older sister Aiselin was watching her from the closest position.
She was Derrick's first disciple.
Soon, she would go through her debutante ball and come to the High Society of Ebelstein.
She was, in a way, the first work that magic instructor Derrick had presented to the world.
The second was Ellente, but at least for the third, Aiselin wanted to put her own name there.
Before the world fully realized the value of the magic instructor named Derrick, she wanted to secure him faster than anyone else.
When one discovers an undervalued treasure faster than others, one inevitably becomes excited.