The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law Chapter 16

16. Ground Puppy

The forest was so dark that no light could enter. The snow falling through it looked gray rather than white. It looked like falling ash.

“It feels like there might be a monster.”

Galahad smiled contentedly and put the tobacco in his mouth.

“Oh, I brought torches here. Take one each.”

Tom handed out torches to each person. The smell of burning oil was thick in the air.

“I will take the lead.”

Gilbert drew his sword and stepped forward.

“It’s okay, it’s annoying so just step back.”

“yes.”

“Hey, aren’t you giving up too quickly?”

Gilbutton shrugged.

Galahad smirked and spread his palms. He compressed and released his mana, compressed and released it. It was a preparatory movement.

As I snapped my fingers, a tiny arrow of mana floated above my finger.

gulp-.

“Wipe your spit, Gwen.”

Gwen wiped her mouth in surprise. Her urge for magic seemed to be growing stronger. This was a desirable phenomenon.

Galahad walked, checking the size of the mana arrow.

Mana always flows from weak to strong concentration.

Even if the mana arrows were slightly smaller, it meant that the surrounding density had become thicker than before.

I went forward, estimating its size and setting my direction.

“Gyaaaah!”

Gwen was in a hole.

“I found it!”

Gwen, covered in dirt, smiled brightly.

“This is a ground puppy monster.”

Tom said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“A ground puppy monster?”

“Yes, they are the ones who dig holes, and that is how they leave holes.”

“How do you know that?”

“Ah, to survive on the front lines, you need to memorize the basics. The ground puppies are such a pain that once they appear, you’ll want to give up on the area.”

“Do you know anything more about the ground pup monster?”

“It’s not easy to find them because they dig holes. They hide underground and then pop out to bite and carry people away, so they’re quite a nuisance.”

Galahad nodded and jumped into the pit.

“You came to save me!”

Gwen pushed her outstretched hand aside and poked everywhere. They were all blocked.

‘There aren’t any clues.’

He clicked his tongue slightly and came back up again.

“Me!? This is too much!”

Gwen came up, holding Tom’s hand.

“Gilbert, don’t you know anything?”

Gilbutton looked down at the pit with a serious expression. Still, he was a veteran of the front lines. I thought he might know something.

“This monster digs the ground.”

“Okay, I guess it was wrong of me to ask you.”

“Oh, puppies are very sensitive to sound.”

Tom added awkwardly. Gilbert glared at him. Tom seemed too nervous to notice.

“Sori-.”

Galahad looked at Gwen. Gwen, who was shaking the dirt off her body, opened her eyes wide.

“······A fart?”

“No, sing a song.”

“Ah! A song?! Loud!”

Gwen started singing right away without fail.

It wasn’t that Gwen couldn’t sing. The problem was that she tried too hard. It had a heavy metal feel.

“Ah! In the beautiful garden! The wonderful prince! With you, my lord! Beautiful! Down!”

Gwen, who was quickly absorbed, began to sing. Damian squinted his eyes.

Galahad walked along the road, paying no attention to the mana. How long did he walk like that?

When the prince and princess in Gwen’s song get married and their daughter takes the throne from the neighboring king-.

“They’re coming.”

“coming.”

The response came. Gilbutton stepped forward.

“I am succeeding to the throne······ Euaaaak!”

Tom took up the shield and took care of Gwen.

The ground split open and dirt splashed up roughly. Dark brown carapace filled the field of vision.

“Kyaarruruk!”

It was a giant crustacean with red eyes. Sand was sprinkled all over its wings.

“Ground puppies are weak to bright light!”

Tom shouted, hiding Gwen behind him.

‘Light-.’

At that moment, Gilverton swung his sword diagonally. The blue aura contained in the sword cut the monster’s chest. Blood sprayed out roughly, but the monster did not fall because its shell was thick.

The monster swung its large, stubby forelegs at Gilverton. Gilverton caught it with his sword. Kwung! A heavy impact sound was heard, and Gilverton was pushed back.

Galahad stretched out his left hand and unleashed his mana. The mana, focused on light, burst out powerfully.

As the intense light burst out, its red eyes blinked wide. Whether it was really weak to light or not, the monster’s movements suddenly stopped.

At that moment, Damien, with a sword in his mouth, rode up on a four-legged creature. It looked like an insect.

Damien, who had reached the head, raised his rusty sword in a flash.

Kyarruruk-! The sharp sound of the snout, like a bundle of daggers, shook.

Damian thrust his sword. It was clearly a dull sword, but it lightly sliced ​​through the carapace. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to have aimed for the fine points between the carapace. It was a great concentration.

At that moment, Gilverton’s sword cut off his foreleg. The severed foot rose into the air and landed in front of Galahad.

Hot blood sprayed from the clump and soaked his feet. A small puddle formed beneath. Galahad dipped his hands into the puddle.

‘The demon’s mana concentration isn’t that high.’

Compared to a normal wizard, it was high, but much weaker than a demon.

If it was a monster of that density, I could easily deal with it without the monster’s blood.

However, Galahad insisted on using the blood of a demon.

Because it’s more efficient and more fun.

In an instant, fire burst out from Galahad’s hand.

‘The demon’s blood is a bit rougher.’

It was a mana that was less refined than the Demon Race. Because of that, there was a small error in the formula.

A drop of sweat ran down his forehead and dripped down the bridge of his nose.

Even though his hand was about to burst, the corners of Galahad’s mouth were still turned up.

‘It’s still fun.’

The tension made me tense up. My head was spinning.

A large crescent-shaped fireball flew from Galahad’s hand.

The flames aimed for the wound Gilbutton had carved.

The monster tried to avoid it, but Gilbutton blocked it from below.

The flames filled the deep wound in the monster’s chest.

Kyarruruk! The monster quickly turned yellow.

“I lived happily!”

The monster fell forward to the beat of Gwen’s song. Fire flickered behind Gwen. It was a splendid ending. She didn’t seem to know it, though-.

Clap clap clap clap!

“Wow! You can deal with a ground puppy so easily! You’re really amazing!”

Tom clapped enthusiastically. Gilverton shook his sword and took a stance. He seemed weak to praise. Gwen scratched the back of her head as if embarrassed.

“Tom, do you have any spare water bottles?”

“Yes! What size would you like?”

“Is there a certain size?”

“Yes, just in case.”

Tom held out four canteens. Galahad chose the largest one.

“Why do you drink the blood of a demon?”

Gilbutton asked with narrowed eyes. He felt a slight antipathy. It seemed that he was concerned about collecting the blood of the monster.

“There was a boy who was beaten by a blacksmith.”

“yes?”

“The boy who was beaten by the blacksmith stole the sword while the blacksmith was away. Then he stabbed the blacksmith with the sword. Phew- very deeply.”

Gilbert’s eyes narrowed further. He didn’t understand. Then, Gwen raised her hand.

“Gwen, tell me.”

“Ah! The blacksmith is a demon and the boy is the captain! The sword is magic!”

“That’s correct. Gwen got it right, but you didn’t get it.”

Gilbutton opened his mouth with a trembling expression.

“It’s not that I don’t understand-.”

“It’s okay! I was just lucky!”

Gilbert sighed at Gwen’s consolation.

“Hey, would you mind coming over here? There’s something strange here!”

Tom called out as he was examining the monster’s corpse. Tom pointed to the belly of the ground pup monster.

“Isn’t this similar to what the captain did to the carriage earlier?”

There was something that shouldn’t be on the monster’s stomach.

It was a magic circle.

A magic circle engraved on a demon.

The weight was not light.

That was one of the reasons why wizards were treated as filth by the demon race.

***

“This-.”

Gilbert’s eyes crumpled. His hand gripped the hilt of the sword.

“It’s not his. He’s not officially dead.”

“Isn’t that something you don’t know?”

Gilbutton let out a ragged breath. His breath blew out in long puffs.

Galahad could not answer with certainty.

The information agency officially recorded his death, but-.

‘I can’t be sure of that anymore.’

There was a demon inside the information agency. I couldn’t figure out where the confusion came from.

‘Somehow, information about the North seems to be particularly lacking.’

Galahad clicked his tongue slightly.

Maybe there were demons in the Information Agency headquarters. Or maybe even in the Imperial Palace.

‘I didn’t feel it at all.’

If only he hadn’t noticed it – Galahad’s mouth was dry.

Somehow, there was a tendency to look down on the demon race too much.

“Who is that guy?”

Tom’s question broke my thoughts.

“When the old demons crossed the north and threatened the empire, there were those who betrayed them and sided with them. They are the ones who became the beginning of magicians.”

“Among humans?”

“Yes, they were humans. Among them, there was a magician who handled monsters, and the monsters he handled had this kind of magic circle engraved on them.”

“then!”

Tom jumped away from the creature. Galahad laughed bitterly at the noisy reaction.

“Isn’t it possible that the demons wrote it?”

Gilbutton asked in a hushed voice.

“The Demons don’t use magic circles or spells. They can’t use them, and they don’t use them.”

“What is that···.”

“Just as the people of the Empire do not bother to use the Imperial language, the Demons do not bother to use magic circles or magic. Their breath and hand gestures are the source of magic.”

Galahad coughed slightly.

“But if a human were to imitate the power of the demons, they would need spells and incantations. Translation- Yes, like translation. So much time has passed since then that magic and demons have become completely different things now-.”

Galahad clicked his tongue slightly at the dull look in his eyes. He seemed not to understand.

“So you’re saying there are human wizards who help the demons?”

“That’s right! Tom, you’re quick to catch on.”

Tom smiled awkwardly as she snapped her fingers and pointed at him. Gwen looked disappointed, saying, “I almost got it right!”

“So it’s his? This is serious.”

“Don’t rush me. I’ll find out from now on.”

Galahad folded his hands and crouched down in front of the monster’s corpse.

“This-.”

Galahad’s eyes widened as he examined the magic circle. The magic circle was too crude.

“It’s poor work. You used the mana contained in the demon’s blood, but you don’t know exactly what it does. You just copied what you saw. And you didn’t copy a proper magic circle-.”

Tom brought the torch closer to see better.

“Oh, thank you, Tom. You mixed the blood of a superior monster with that of a human. Did you use your soldiers for this kind of garbage? I offer my condolences.”

“Please speak in Imperial language.”

“You’ve been speaking in the Imperial language so far. So it’s not yours. To be exact, you copied a magic circle that was copied from another magic circle of yours—that’s about it.”

Gilbert squinted his eyes.

“Can’t it be simpler?”

“Well, our first mission is going to be bigger than we thought. It’s right to be happy because the stakes are going to be bigger. Everyone, give a round of applause.”

Gwen, Tom, and Damian applauded. Gilbert did not.

‘If it’s a magic circle of this size, people around me must be watching.’

Galahad cleared his throat slightly after finishing his calculations.

“What kind of trash is this magic circle? The person who drew this is a magician who can’t even draw. I wonder how he became a magician.”

Galahad, who had been muttering, turned his head.

From beyond the place filled with darkness, a very small sound could be heard.

“There you were.”

Galahad smiled broadly and waved his hand.

Even the most trashy wizard would get upset if someone insulted his magic.

“Who… who are you calling a retard! Go away! Bite me!”

The ground shook after the dull shout. Galahad waved his hand and scattered mana.

It was a method that took advantage of the fact that low-concentration magic power did not work on demons or monsters. There was a vacancy in the mana that swept through space and returned.

There will be a monster there.

The number is-.

“Three of them. Sir Gilbert, can you do Damian?”

“Yes, bro.”

“······Where are you going?”

“You, you’re being particularly obsessive today. I have a woman I’m going to marry.”

Gilbert’s face was scrunched up. That expression was back as it was before.

“I have to catch the blacksmith. Oh, in this case, it would be the blacksmith’s assistant’s assistant.”

At that moment, the ground split open and larger monsters than before emerged.

“Yes, I understand. I will open the way. I must catch the bastard.”

Gilbert said, raising his sword.

“Don’t worry. This is my specialty.”

****

“Knife! Knife! Knife!”

Bern ran desperately with trembling legs. His feet were heavy and he was out of breath, but he couldn’t stop.

Bern couldn’t stand seeing people calling his magic trash and stepped forward.

What wizard would tolerate someone insulting his magic with strange logic?

There was a brief moment of hesitation. Then the thing looked at Bern through the darkness on the street.

The corners of Bern’s lips went up and he realized that he had been tricked by the bastard.

How far had he run? Bern glanced around. All he saw was a dark forest.

‘Yeah, I sent three ground puppies, there’s no way they’ll be okay.’

Bern leaned back against the tree and let out a deep breath. Then he vomited out the nausea that had built up. His heart felt like it was going to burst.

You idiot! Who are you calling trash? You don’t even know!

“Why are you stopping? This doesn’t seem like the right place. Oh, are you tired? I’ll wait. Get some rest.”

A monotonous voice was heard. Bern raised his head and his eyes widened as if they were going to tear.

A man was standing a little way away, waving his hand with a cigarette in his mouth.

The ground puppies-.

“Your eyes look like you’re asking how you managed to shake off the monster. It’s written on the magic circle that magicians are not to attack. Are you preparing for an attack on you?”

“How about that······.”

“It’s all written in the magic circle.”

Not all magic circles are the same. It’s not something you can know just by looking at it. If you could know everything just by looking at it, who would use a magic circle?

Even the magic circle used on the ground puppy was a magic circle for demons.

If you don’t know about demons, you wouldn’t know-.

“You… You…! You studied demons!”

“To be exact, I studied the Demon Race. I started it recently.”

“Then we are on the same side! I studied the Demons too! We are friends! Friends!”

“Really? Are you thinking of stabbing the blacksmith too?”

“Blacksmith? What is that-.”

At that moment, Bern met the man’s eyes and his lips trembled slightly.

He had eyes like a demon.

Something is missing-.

He wasn’t a man who could communicate well.

“Empty, thirst, bones, child, scream-.”

Bern hurriedly recited the spell. In a wizard battle, it was important to recite the spell first.

Bern held out his staff with both hands. Mana gathered quickly.

“Oh my god-, a cane! Are you serious? This is driving me crazy.”

The man let out a strange groan. Why the cane? Bern, whose concentration was momentarily lost, hurriedly concentrated.

“Mana is the power of the soul and the weight of knowledge. But you rely on a material wand! And you are a wizard?”

The man continued to get angry, wondering what was so upsetting about him.

Bern raised the corners of his mouth. I don’t know what kind of confidence it is, but he made them recite the spell first in a wizard’s showdown.

The match was virtually over.

“Pain, lust!”

“Oh my god! Why are you putting s*xual desire in there! That breaks concentration! If you screamed out pain, you should add something like a burn or a headache to make it easier to associate!”

“······Headache! Burning!”

“Now you’re making sense. No, isn’t the mana flowing? Focus!”

Bern briefly considered whether he was a good guy, but shook his head.

“Burning teeth-.”

“Are you serious? You prepared for so long and all you get is a burning tooth? Ha-.”

Bern chuckled at the sighing man. He was clearly crazy. How pitiful to see the burning teeth belonging to the third tier.

The completed flaming tooth was shot at the man. Its speed was faster than that of a bow.

The fireball that reached in front of the man opened wide like a monster’s mouth.

The man snapped his left fingers as he shook out the cigarette. There was a strange power to the gesture that naturally drew attention.

In an instant, a large chunk of ice shot out from the man’s finger.

‘How is it so fast-.’

Bern was shocked when he realized the true nature of the magic.

Ice Pick-. It was a third-tier magic, just like Burning Tooth.

‘what-.’

Using third-tier magic by snapping your fingers? That was a feat I had never heard of.

When the burning tooth and the ice pick collided head-on, the burning tooth was completely destroyed.

Bern blinked in disbelief at the situation.

“If I were you, I would use thick roots and ice arrows instead of flaming teeth. The spells are short and easy to counter. Instead, you used the biggest spell you know. That’s a common mistake for wizards who are not used to wizard combat.”

The man clicked his tongue and spoke in a monotonous voice.

“I understand. It’s okay to make mistakes. Isn’t making mistakes a human virtue? The important thing is not to make the same mistake again. Okay, let’s start over again.”

The man snapped his fingers leisurely, as if to tell her to try again.

“This… profit! Are you making fun of me?!”

Bern’s face was completely crumpled. He couldn’t stand being ignored.

“But what if you use thick roots? You should have done that the first time.”

An ice skewer was stuck into Bern’s leg. Focus! The man shouted. Bern suppressed his scream and continued his order.

“Huh, you’re going to shoot fire arrows at me? At this distance? Are you serious?”

Another one was stuck in the other leg. Focus! Bern screamed in fear.

At the man’s urging, Bern recited the spell with tears in his eyes.

“At least try to speak your orders quickly! Faster! I feel sorry for the soldiers who died because of you!”

How on earth can it get any faster than this-.

Bern’s knees slowly went down.

An ice skewer was stuck in his thigh, but it wasn’t fatal and he still had mana left.

But my knees bent because my will to resist was broken.

The man was playing with Bern.

why-.

“You drank the blood of the demons, but why are you looking so different?”

The man crouching in front of him spoke. Bern nodded his head with difficulty.

“The answer is simple. I’ve used up all my mana every day since I was three. Without missing a single day. Do you think that gap can be filled by drinking some demon blood? If you expected it, you have no conscience. Oh, you expected it? You really are a shameless person.”

Why would you do something like that-.

The man spoke simply, but it wasn’t that easy. Using up all of the mana was like training a knight to the point of exhaustion every day… no, it was harder. Magic consumed mental power.

“Why? I don’t understand you. Isn’t magic fun? Don’t you get itchy because you want to use it?”

Crazy guy.

The man chuckled at Bern’s insult.

“Thank you for the compliment. Now, I have a few questions for you. Where did you get that magic circle? Are there any other wizards with you? Or demons?”

Bern chewed his lip. He couldn’t say anything even if it meant dying.

“Oh, you just shook your head? You’re mistaken. You have no choice.”

The man raised the corners of his mouth.

“Do you know what magic the Information Agency wizard is best at? The answer is-.”

It’s a matter of persuasion.

The corners of the man’s mouth were visible through the smoke.

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Fantasy, Fusion,