Inside the mansion in the daytime, as I was watching Angel study his magic, the maid Amelia came to report to me.

"Alec-sama, a visitor is here to see you.
"Customer?　To me, not to my father?
"Good-bye.

　Amelia nodded clearly.

　How unusual ...... is.
　Here at the Carlisle mansion is officially your father's house, and I'm just the son of the duke.
　So most of the visitors are your father's guests, and it's very rare for them to visit me.

　Anybody but your father-in-law or the nearest people like Hossen and Eliza.

What's he like?
"I'll take your business card.

　Amelia said and handed me a golden plate.

　Noblemen's business cards are often given mainly to first-time visitors.
　They are used to prove or "assert" one's identity and position.
　So the business cards are often ornate and ostentatious.

　This is exactly the type of business card Amelia gave me.
　It's made of solid gold, a plate of gold so heavy that a normal child can't carry it in one hand.

　I take the business card and read the inscriptions.

"Albert Miller Earl. ......
"Count Miller, Master Alec.
Yeah, I guess so.

　Angier, who accompanied me the other day, noticed right away.

　Yes, that frontier village.
　A remote village that was impressed by my skills and asked to be incorporated into the Carlisle Territory.
　That's Count Miller's territory--the territory of the owner of this card.

The timing is not entirely unrelated.
What do you want to do?
"Of course I'll see you. Show me in person. I'll be there in a minute.
"I'll get right to it.

　After Amelia left, Angier looked at me with a frightened face.

"Mr. Alec, are you ...... going to be angry?
"I don't know. ...... Yeah, I think they might be a little pissed off.

　I tried to avoid destroying Count Miller's men and women by taking a roundabout way to save them, but some people don't like that way of doing things.
　What you do for the good of the world often has the opposite effect.

　Now, let's see what happens.

　　　　　I'm going to have to go back and look at it.

　When I came with Angier into the parlor (I didn't hear him say he was coming), there was an old man inside.

　His hair and beard were pure white, his eyes were thread-thin, and he had a gentle smile on his face.
　Old man. Such words came into my head.

"Ho-ho-ho, so you're the vice-president.

　His voice was calm and friendly, like a nice old man.
　I could feel Angier next to me relieved and clearly patted his chest.

　I walked over to the sofa where the old man was sitting and bowed.

I'm Alexander Carlisle. It is a great pleasure to meet you, Earl Miller.
"Ho-ho-ho, you are very polite. How is your daughter?
Oh, Angelica Silva!　I am Alec's bride.
Oh, so you're Bowes' wife. Yeah, it's a good thing I brought more than one.
"Prepare more?

　What does that mean?　Then, out of nowhere, Miller pulled out a paper box, put it on the table in front of the sofa, and opened the box, and inside the box was a cake.
　Inside the box was a cake.
　A delicious-looking cake with lots of strawberries.

Wow. ......

　Normally, he may be a strong person, but he is still a nine-year-old child.
　Angier's eyes lit up at the cake.

"Ho-ho-ho, do you like cake?
"Yes, I love it!
It's good to hear. I hope you enjoy it.

"...... Amelia, go carve this up.
"I'll get right to it.

　Amelia, who had led us to this point, received the cake in a paper box.

Angel went with Amelia. Have them cut it into pieces. Oh, and some tea to go with the cake.
"Yes, what about you, Mr. Alec?
"As in Angers.
"I see!

　Angel nodded happily and walked out of the parlor with Amelia holding the paper box.
　As they walked out, the door slammed.

You're a smart boy, aren't you?

　Miller's tone suddenly changed, and his threadbare eyes widened.
　It felt as if the temperature in the room suddenly dropped nearly ten degrees.



What's that?
"Don't play games with me, you just realized that I was right on the mark and you sent your maid and wife away...
"......

　Yes, the panicked Miller is right.
　The moment he said, "Bon appétit," a tremendous amount of pressure fell on me.

　The pressure was pinpointed, pure, unadulterated life energy.
　It's what masters call chi.
　So, as they pushed, I resisted with equal magical power and moved them away from the parlor. .

　Ki and magic, we are now arm wrestling tightly together and waiting to start.

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden?
"Don't ask the obvious, boy. I heard you tried to steal my territory.
It's--
Oh, boy, don't tell me you don't know my second name.
"...... Murderous Mirror

　After the incident in the village, I thought it necessary to hear from the Philosopher's Stone about Count Miller's knowledge.

　Albert Miller. Like Horsen, he was a renowned warrior in the Empire.
　If Horsen's military strength was 100, he was about 99, second in the empire in terms of pure strength.

　However, when in battle, Horsen would crush his enemies without a trace, while Miller would kill everyone, friend or foe alike, earning him the nickname.

　He used to be a nameless soldier, but one day he became so strong that he went on a rampage, regardless of who was on his side.
　His lifetime achievements rivaled Horsen's, but he killed so many allies that he was made a duke or even a baron.
　After a life of fluctuating titles, he finally settled on his current count.

　A literal rabid dog, someone everyone shuns and doesn't want to get involved with.

You know him well. You're meddling in my lands, so let's see if you can't make up for it.
Mmm.

　The pressure became stronger.
　The mirror's chi instantly became nearly twice as strong.

　I was forced to resist.
　If she lost control, her body would be crushed. In arm-wrestling, the arm would be knocked down and snapped off.

　So I cranked up my magic and resisted.

"Futile, futile, futile!　It is useless for the blue arse bowling to resist me.

　The enraged Miller.
　He is no longer the same person he was when they first met, no longer has any trace of his good-natured demeanor.
　With bloodshot eyes and a mouth full of slobber, Miller presses in further.

　A black, dark, obviously murderous air.
　We'll be killed if this continues, I scooped up a wave of magic with my mupapato style, looking for the peak output and trying to push it back in one fell swoop.

What?

　I was feeling the waves and picking up the waves of chi over there at the same time.
　It was strange. It was very strange.
　The mirror's qi was very weak in places.

　If its normal output was 100, every few seconds it would drop to zero at the level of a few tenths of a second.

　That's usually impossible.
　Both magic and qi are affected by the human body's energy, which comes from the human body.
　As long as you're alive, it can't go to zero, even for a moment, as long as you keep giving it out.

　There is no such thing as a perfect zero unless you are dead or close to it.
　It's that unlikely a situation.

　Analyze the situation while resisting.
　Ask the wise man's stone about the situation.
　Soon after, it said.

"Don't stare at me, boy!　That's a daredevil thing to do!
"Huh!

　It was even more of a rush, twice as much as before, all at once.
　I scooped up 99% of the output with my mupapato and pushed out all the magic at once.

Haha!

　Miller's spirits were broken.

　Plop!　The old man staggered backward and fell on his back in a heap.

　The old man staggered backward and fell on his back in a heap.
　The mirror, which had been overwhelmingly huge and covered the room just before, shrunk in time, and now became a frail old man himself, almost the same as he looked.

　Having completely pushed through, it has temporarily (!) weakened.

Kaaka. Way to go, boy! I guess it's time for me to pay my tribute. Okay, kill him.
"Does it still hurt anywhere?
"--What?　What are you talking about?
"Is there anything else that hurts?

　I heard it again.
　Miller stared for a moment, then popped his head up and, in a cross-legged position on the ground, held his head down, rubbed and patted it.

Hey, hey, nowhere to be seen!　The headache that's been going on for fifty years is nowhere to be found!

　Miller's voice had a hint of surprise in it, but there was also a hint of obvious joy in it.

'There was some kind of weird curse that I had to break, and I'm glad I was able to do it.


"Curse!　Was it a curse?
"Yeah, I didn't know ......
"I don't know!　Any doctor or magician has ever spoon fed me, 'I don't get it. Bowls!　How did you know?
How? That's how you know, because that's how you know.

　When he replied, Miller went pokey.
　But it was only for a moment.
　He immediately breaks his face and looks up at the sky and smiles broadly.

"You not only beat me, but you cured me in that one second?
"Yeah--

　I was aghast.
　This flow, I know.
　I have a sense of déjà vu, I've done it many times (、、、、、、、).

Ka-ka-ka-ka. That's great, boy!

　Sure enough, an overjoyed Miller.
　His reaction echoes that of his father, father-in-law, and Hossens.

"I like you, boy!

　Ah, I knew it was the same trend.