The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 104

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 104

Chapter Title: Randell's Transformation

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Randell had changed a lot over these three years.

Or rather, he had regained his true self.

His soft, rounded features were gone, replaced by a sharper impression.

His distrust of people was razor-edged, and whenever he started grinning like that, everyone in the lab would frantically search for what they'd done wrong.

Randell's voice rang out.

"Oh dear, extracting essence through steam? Vietra discovered the alcohol distillation method three years ago, yet you're still clinging to the old ways. Is your mind stuck in your boyhood?"

The content was bad enough, but that sarcastic tone was masterful.

"Sorry to burst that little boy's dream, but how about opening your eyes to reality? One, two, three."

He snapped his fingers right in front of the apprentice's face.

"Awake now? Hmm? How old are you?"

The apprentice's face flushed beet red. Nina hopped lightly down from the windowsill.

"That's enough now."

Her sudden appearance made the apprentice's eyes widen. A flash of relief crossed his face.

Randell waved him off, then turned to Nina.

"Enjoying the superiority of being the only one who can pull that idiot out of my grasp?"

Nina let out a snort.

"Is my sense of superiority that cheap?"

"The only one who can calm the great archmage Randell? Sounds pretty cheap to me."

Randell chuckled and pulled Nina toward him. She settled lightly into his arms.

He looked down at her in greeting.

"Hello, Nina."

"Hello, Randell."

Nina greeted him back and added,

"What a grand welcome."

Randell gave a light laugh.

He no longer used the title of Sage.

We are wielders of magic, so 'mage' is title enough.

That was what he said.

"'Sage' is laughable anyway. They love their Sages."

He had discarded his Sage title along with his long-sleeved hood.

Short-sleeved hoods, emphasizing practicality, had become the symbol of mages.

Of course, the Isle of Sages had thrown a fit, posting denunciations of Randell and announcements stripping him of his Sage status first.

Randell had made his stance clear by attaching a drawing of his middle finger to that announcement.

And the uproar that followed.

It had gone on until Adrian declared, "The great archmage Randell is under the protection of the Rubaenu family, and attacking him is tantamount to attacking the ducal house itself."

"You just pick your words carefully. Why would I feel superior over the position you assign me?"

Nina said that and glanced at the apprentices carefully gathering herbs nearby.

"Not in the lab?"

"Teaching them how to gather herbs properly. One idiot botched the distillation and ruined the essential oils."

"Oh dear."

"The one you saved, in fact."

"Oh dear."

Nina widened her eyes again and repeated in the same tone.

Even for an idiot like that, it didn't matter—her tone implied. Randell laughed again.

Ah, yes.

Regretting such a small choice wouldn't be Nina Randel.

Nina unwound her arm from his and asked,

"Everything else okay?"

Randell hesitated a moment, then pointed to a garden path.

"Shall we walk?"

"Gladly."

Nina started walking first, and Randell fell in step beside her. The garden path was wide and beautifully tended, plenty of room for two.

Pure white pebbles, carted in from the river, crunched underfoot.

Brilliant blue delphiniums and hazy aquamarine ones bloomed in profusion.

"Nina, what if I said we should go far away?"

Randell asked, and Nina answered brightly.

"If it's necessary, we'd go."

Randell paused, then laughed.

"Can the Ebony Knight Order's captain say that so easily?"

"Anyone can take the captain's seat, but you're the only one I'd travel with, Randell."

Make some more friends, why don't you.

Randell laughed again at her words and said,

"From the barren northern islands all the way to southern Arakil. Even if I said we should roam freely?"

"Sure."

To places where the Rubaenu Duke's word doesn't reach? Where even Adrian's doesn't?

Randell didn't voice that, saying instead,

"Wouldn't that trouble His Grace the Duke?"

"I'd come back anytime the Young Master was in trouble."

"Even if I said not to go?"

"Any reason to stop me?"

"Who taught you to answer questions with questions?"

"Vivian did."

Nina shrugged and asked,

"So, you really want to leave? But not right now. I want to meet the Saintess first."

"Saintess?"

Randell scoffed at the bizarre word.

No such thing as holy humans existed.

"You didn't go to the meeting today, so you wouldn't know."

"Busy cleaning up after those idiots. Kiril skipped it too, didn't she?"

"True enough."

Those two were always like that.

Nina explained about the Saintess, and Randell made an inscrutable face.

"Remember what that heretic said back then?"

"Who?"

"The heretic your 'Young Master' tenderly stroked a few times until he burst into grateful tears and spilled everything about the cult."

"Ah."

The one released from the Ice Maiden—he'd thought it was idiotic hearing that title from her mouth—and then captured alive by Adrian.

"Artificially creating corrupted spirit fragments?"

"Yeah."

Of course, completely different from true spirit fragments.

Randell pulled out his Taruk. A starry cascade spilled from his sleeve, and a small celestial globe settled into his palm.

"Do you know how Taruks are made?"

"No clue."

"Ignorance isn't a virtue."

"No one is wiser than someone who knows their own ignorance."

"Good answer."

There was nothing more annoying than someone half-assuming knowledge and thinking they knew it all.

Randell explained.

"The Isle of Sages hands out special crystals called Taruks to each person. You infuse them with mana, and they transform like this."

Nina's eyes sharpened.

"You mean..."

"Yes. Maybe the corrupted spirit fragments are made the same way with those special crystals. I don't know what connection the Isle of Sages has to the heretics, but a research-obsessed maniac could hand them out."

Nina stared at the slowly rotating celestial globe in his palm for a moment, then said,

"So you're saying we should head to the Isle of Sages now? We'd get stoned the moment we arrived."

"We'd sneak in."

At his casual words, Nina's mouth fell open before she closed it.

"And bring back one of those crystals?"

"Ideally, the manufacturing method too. The Rubaenu family has the continent's finest artisans gathered, so they could make better ones."

"And use them for what?"

"To train new mages, obviously. To build a mages' tower and start a new movement, we'd need that method."

"Wow."

"What?"

"You're saying you want to found a new school of magic?"

"What did you think I meant by using the title 'mage' and making that city our base?"

"I didn't realize it went that far. So ambitious."

"You like ambitious people, don't you, Nina?"

"True."

Nina grinned. That was why she had taken a shine to the Viarrentil princess too.

Though lately, not so much.

Revival of the imperial house.

Revival of the empire.

Nice if they aligned, but they didn't have to.

"Why a tower, though?"

Randell answered,

"Because mages overlook the world from on high."

Nina burst into loud laughter.

Truly obnoxious, truly...

Would it be weird to say it's very protagonist-like?

After a long bout of laughter, Nina said,

"Fine, then let's go. Isle of Sages. Our Randell has to overlook the world. Yeah, yeah."

I'll have plenty of chances to tease him from now on, Nina thought, mentally checking her schedule.

"Hmm, too tight to go before the grand ball?"

"Still two months left."

"It takes forever to get to the Isle of Sages. Round trip alone is at least forty days if we're tight."

"Who said anything about walking?"

He shook the Taruk. It spun, warping space into a ripple.

"We have magic."

Nina burst out laughing again.