Dear Diary.
It's been a week since the Wolgram invasion of Arlem and the first entry to my new diary!
After promising Emilia, I would follow her orders to the T, she fell asleep in my bed from exhaustion. Puck told me she spent every waking moment healing me, crying when I didn't wake up. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I chose to become her knight. At the very least, my boss is very caring. I was worried she might send me off on dangerous missions worldwide, but she only wanted a friend to rely on (for now).
It's pitiful, though. She's stunning. A ten out of ten, for sure. Even her racks are pretty impressive. But her father is a 400-year-old magic cat spirit with telepathic abilities, strong enough to destroy an entire town (or so I've been told). Not to mention, my advances would lead to nowhere with my sagging buddy down South.
No, never mind. After Eris and Sara, I don't think I'm emotionally ready for that anytime soon, even if I could under-stand.
Though, she is kind and caring. Maybe she'll give me a tease if I ask nicely enough? Maybe she's the key to fixing my problem. No, no. You're getting ahead of yourself. The cat would never stand for that. Make a move, and you'll be frozen alive. I love women and their features, but I also like living. Well, I think I like it. I certainly don't like death.
Anyways, getting back on track to what happened. After Emilia brought me back to the village, Puck cast an intense snowstorm to calm the forest fire. After the fire was out, Puck and Beatrice went to work. They healed and broke their curses, saving every single one of them.
The children tackled me the day I woke up and wandered the village. Apparently, this was their way of showing appreciation. I would have fought back but was too tired to do so. I let them pile up on me as they shouted thanks and gratitude. Their parents went pale when they saw this. They muttered something about disrespecting a knight. I couldn't care any less about titles and nobility. I made sure to let them know I was ok with my situation. They're just children, after all.
Speaking of curses, I have a few dozen, maybe hundreds of them. They all work to siphon mana from me. Thankfully, my mana pool was large enough to handle the strain, so I wasn't in danger of dying. Later that day, Beatrice told me the curse was too complicated to break alone. So, I'm banned from using magic until we find a healer. Emilia was adamant about the "not using mana part." My mana reserves were still decent enough to launch a few spells, but she didn't seem convinced. She just looked me in the eye and said.
"That is an order, Rudeus."
I swear that was the hottest thing she's ever done.
Still, no reaction from my buddy.
After another day of mandated recovery ordered by Emilia, the villagers held a big party to celebrate the occasion. They invited everyone from the mansion to participate, but Rem and Ram were the only ones that came. It would have been nice to share a drink with my employer, but oh well—next time.
The party wasn't anything lavish like Eris' tenth birthday. They had a large campfire in the village square and set up tables with drinks and food. I was reluctant to indulge, but the village chief, Twyla, insisted. He told me the villagers wouldn't feel right if they couldn't repay their savior. I didn't save the children for a reward, so it didn't feel good, but I obliged anyway. I'll just have to spend extra care protecting the village.
The villagers welcomed Emilia with wide arms. Of course, they would! She was the one who brought Meili and me back to the village and repaired the barrier crystals. She was just as much of a hero as I was.
As Twyla bowed down at Emilia, she began crying in tears. They weren't sad tears, that's for sure. She was happy. Very happy. She was so glad she cried out in front of the village. At this point, I had no clue what was going on. I didn't try to pry. We barely know each other. Knowing my luck with relationships, I probably would have screwed up somewhere. I just lent her a handkerchief and let her emotions flow out. If my time with Zoldat taught me anything, letting your feelings out is better than bottling them up.
I mostly stayed with Twyla and Emilia during the party. I've gotten close with the villagers, but not too tight. Though, the children had different plans. At every moment they got, they tried to drag me away to play. They were particularly enchanted with my earth magic. They made me sculpt all kinds of stone figures. I would have gone for hours until my mana reserves bottomed had Emilia not stopped them. She gave me an earful after, though.
Those fiends. I'll show them who's boss the next time I visit.
Of all the children bullying me, Petra was the only one that looked weary. She'd look away when I turned to face her, and when called, she turned red and ran behind her mom.
Was I that scary to her?
Well, it made sense. I had just destroyed the entire forest and the Mabeast infestation plaguing the lands. It was only natural to be afraid of me. Hopefully, she can see me in a different light one day.
The party died down as nightfall came. Emilia and I helped with the cleaning. After everything was wrapped up, we returned to the mansion for rest.
Dear, Diary,
It's been a week since the Wolgram invasion.
Roswaal and the maids welcomed me back to the mansion. Roswaal was particularly happy with my success. He muttered something about me exceeding his expectations. Well, I say mutter, but he just gave an unexpected employee evaluation on the spot. Isn't it considered rude to do so in public? I thought those kinds of talks were done in private. Well, it can't be helped. He decided to hire a random mage off the street, and not even a week later; he fought off a pack of Wolgrams under the orders of his liege. Anyone would be happy when their investment struck gold.
We went over the details of my employment over lunch. Ultimately, we agreed that I'd receive an education in reading and writing from Beatrice. She wasn't too enthusiastic when we broached the topic but relented when Emilia promised to let Puck spend extra time with her. In the words of Emilia, she was bewildered by that cat.
The Roswaal Inc employment benefits were quite astounding for their time! I'd be paid ten silver coins weekly. It wasn't anything lavish, but since my current position was technically a servant. I'd get a raise after my official knighting ceremony. It was 20 times more than my job as Eris' tutor, so I couldn't complain. Besides, my employer would take care of lodging, meals, and clothing.
Rem warmed up to me. She doesn't seem happy or enthusiastic about my existence but appears to be tolerating me, at the very least.
Apparently, they're from the Oni tribe, a race of demi-humans with incredible magical strength. On a complete tangent, it felt weird categorizing them as demi-humans. It almost felt like they didn't treat them like "full" humans if that made sense. Discrimination happens wherever you go. All that matters is how you overcame it. Besides, Lord Roswaal seemed like an eccentric yet open-minded person. He didn't seem to care about race, at the very least.
Speaking of bosses, let me talk about Roswaal here for a sec. At first, I thought he was an eccentric pervert like the Asuran nobles I've known. I was scared of the guy. What sane person walks around like a clown and talks like that? My pack was fully stocked in case the man was evil incarnate. Thankfully, he seemed like a decent fellow.
Sure, his mannerisms shouted perverted sex deviant. That hasn't changed, but it's not like Paul, or myself would fare any differently without my condition. I knew what kind of person I was. But the rest of my assumptions were plain out wrong. He was a surprisingly wholesome and caring guy, working to satisfy the needs of his people and staff. I've never seen the man raise his voice or scold his employees or villagers. He seemed to be a lot closer to Ram in some ways. It's nothing to gossip about, but how they looked at each other... Yeah, they fucking. It was a pair straight from a story, and I'm in the middle of this scandal!
Did I mention we got a new occupant at the mansion?
The newest resident in the Roswaal mansion, Meili! As it turns out, my initial suspicions were correct. According to Roswaal, she has a blessing, like a blessed child, that gives her absolute control over the resident Mabeasts. After her capture and questioning, which happened while I was unconscious, she conceded her crimes and expected punishment, and by punishment, the little girl meant execution.
But clearly, we can't just kill a little girl. Even with the medieval culture of this world, child slaughter is off the table. Since the incident was localized within Roswaal's domain, and nobody was killed, we swept it under the rug. Meili is now imprisoned in the mansion dungeon until we can figure out how to deal with her.
As horrible as locking up a little girl may sound. I say dungeon, but Rem and Ram made arrangements. Instead of a cold, damp metal cage, the cell resembles an inn. It's well-furnished and decorated for a child's liking. That said, the door is locked magically. Even with her innocent looks, you must remember she almost wiped out the entire village that day.
This world is scary.
It is strange, though. Meili has cooperated the entire time, yet she refuses to give her employer. The most we've managed to get was muttering about "mother". It's nothing to go by, so we've stopped questioning her.
For now, the maids are on warden duty. While I'm not obligated, I've been visiting her every other day or so. As a former hikikomori, I can't help but imagine how pitiful it feels to be locked up in a room all day. Under the strict supervision of the local mage knight(myself), we go on walks through the mansion or sometimes through the yard garden. Again, she's completely docile, returning to the convenient orphaned girl. When Roswaal isn't present, I stay in her room and make Mabeast sculptures. Though, I've only seen Wolgrams with my own eyes. As a result, whenever I try to make something from Meili's descriptions, I always get something wrong. The tail is too long, the eyes are too wide apart, the ears are crooked, and so on. With that said, Meili seems to enjoy it, so I bear with the annoyance and work with it.
That's about it for today. I don't want to get zapped by that loli again. I hope my lessons tomorrow go fine.
Lessons with the Librarian
"We will begin with I-glyphs. You can already speak, so memorize the letters by today, I suppose."
With a flick of her wrist, Beatrice slammed the boy's head with a notebook and pen, letting a profound slap echo across the forbidden library.
Today was the first day of Rudeus' lessons with Beatrice. After his morning routine of exercise and prayers, he entered the library to face his teacher for the next few weeks.
"Understood, master. But that seems like an impossible task, even for me. Could I get an extension for the deadline, please?"
"Don't talk back at me, human! Betty is only doing this for Bubby. Be grateful for what you get, I suppose."
He whimpered at his words but didn't complain. She was the teacher. If this was how she taught, then that's how it was.
'Or, I can ask for more if I give her something. What would a rude bookworm spirit without regard for human empathy want?'
"Alright, but maybe I can sweeten the deal? If you help me with my studies a tad more, I'll happily do something in return."
"Hmph. What could a human possibly offer to Betty?"
"Umm, you like books, right? Maybe I can tell you stories from my world? I know a few of you might be interested, and I'm the only one who can tell you about them."
'Take the bait. I'll happily share my entire library of light novels with you! I was a shut-in with nothing to do but watch and read.'
Beatrice hung her head over the black book she was reading. She pressed her lips together in deep thought. From fairy tales to research reports of magical implements, Beatrice knew the contents of her library by heart. It's been a while since she added any stories to her collection, partly since her trove was very advanced for its time. There were few discoveries worthwhile to add. But stories from another world, exclusive tales from beyond the great waterfall? She was interested. The boy would tell her every tale he knew.
"Hnngh, you drive a hard bargain, but I'll accept, I suppose."
Rudeus smiled back. His plan worked! He always wanted to talk about his passion for manga and anime, but of course, nobody knew about the stories of his previous life.
With this deal, he got a proper tutor and someone to geek about Berserk!
"Alright! Let's finish today's lesson, and I'll tell you my favorite manga!"
He couldn't hide his excited goofy smile. For once, his destructive lifestyle proved helpful in this world.
"No, you will tell me your stories. Betty will teach you after."
With a closed-lipped smile, Beatrice countered with a condition of her own.
"Each session will begin with a story. Do your best to motivate Betty to teach you after, and if you don't..."
She gently placed her book on her tea table and extended her left arm like their first encounter.
Rudeus flinched at the problem child's actions. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He thought he had the upper hand with exclusive access to his stories, but no. He was at the mercy of his abusive employer. He gulped down audibly as he tried to force a composed smile.
"Ah, of course. Story first, story first."
He went pale as she inched closer, she didn't hold her arm up, but her presence was enough to threaten the young man. He took two deep breaths to calm down, recollecting the greatest tale he's ever read.
"All right, let me tell you the story of the Band of the Hawk."
"...And that's how Griffith betrayed Guts to ascend as a member of the God Hand."
After an hour, the Golden Age's story finished, leaving the scent of anger, despair, and sadness around the forbidden library. Beatrice didn't respond. She'd never heard of such a tragic story for as long as she had lived. How could someone come up with such a tragedy? What kind of life must they have lived to imagine such misery?
"So... how was it?"
"That was... tragic, I suppose."
As much as it was Rudeus' desire to talk about his favorite story, he also chose this story to see if Beatrice felt emotions. He didn't intend this to be an indirect psychological analysis. It was more like hitting two birds with one stone. He'd learn under her wing from now on. Best to know the limits of her temper.
"Yeah. It's pretty sad. But there is a lot to appreciate there. Gut's story isn't over. He'll continue to struggle and get back up. He's as human as anyone can be and will learn to struggle through all of it."
"..."
"..."
The drastic change from absolute hopelessness to the quiet, peaceful library made it too awkward to speak up. The two stood silently in the lonely forbidden library until Rudeus finally spoke up.
"Well, that's my end of the bargain. Let's start with the lessons!"
He held the notebook and cheerfully spoke up. It was studying time, not sulking time. They needed to move on from the sadness in the room.
Beatrice only sighed. She brought a small children's book from a nearby bookshelf and placed it on the coffee table in front of them.
"Very well. I'll read out each line from this fairy tale. Write down my words phonetically, then rewrite them into the I-glyphs shown on the chart."
With a slight smile, Rudeus nodded, pen and paper in hand.
His morning ritual.It was a bright sunny day at the Roswaal mansion. In the middle of the massive front yard, a light-brown-haired man struggled to stand up, holding white marble objects on his back.
This was part of his daily routine. Every day he'd wake up, exercise, clean, and pray. After a year of regular exercise, he found his natural body weight wasn't enough to stress and grow his muscle. Naturally, he stepped up to using magically conjured stone weights, barbells, to aid his gains.
After his eighth rep on his final set, he dissolved the weights to dust and plopped down on the cold grassy ground.
"Ha... ha... that was incredible right boys? Oh, where would I be without you guys."
During his stay with the adventuring group Counter Arrow, Rudeus named his leg and arm muscles. Only he knew why he did, but the pride in growing his powers gave him solace when he most needed it. The added weight training helped him cultivate them to their max.
"Rudeus, what are you doing here?"
The soft bell-like voice of Emilia called out behind him. He turned around to see an extra adorable-looking Emilia. She wore a teal-colored cardigan over an embroidered white blouse. Intentional or not, the combination amplified her figure in his eyes. It was outstanding beauty.
Without realizing it, he had been staring at her for some time now.
"Ehh, Rudeus? Are you ok?"
"Ah, ah, Emilia. Sorry, I must have blacked out there. What were you asking?"
"Well... I saw you making some weird moves holding that... thing. Is it some sort of magical training from your homeland?"
The concept of weighted strength training was rare in his past world. With a similar time frame, it was natural to think this world's people weren't familiar with strength training.
"That was part of my exercise, not magic training. If you pick up a heavy thing, your muscles become stronger."
He summoned his usual barbel as he explained the concept of strength training. He boasted how his progression allowed him to use heavier weights as he deadlifted a 120kg load.
"Rea~lly? You can get stronger doing that?"
"Yeah, that was called a deadlift, which trains your back muscles. After that, I start my practice swings with my stone sword. It's much heavier than a normal sword, perfect for my daily training."
She looked in awe as Rudeus swung his sword in the sword god style, just as Ghislaine taught him. He might not be a swordsman, but that was no reason to stop training. More so now that his position was a knight.
Rudeus dropped the weight and fell to the ground. In his efforts to boast to Emilia, he'd exhausted himself too much to continue. She bore a curious gaze as she walked up and lifted the barbel with one hand, shocking the man on the ground.
"Wha...?"
Just now, his liege, the woman he was hired to protect, held what took him years of daily training to handle like nothing. He couldn't believe it. Just why did she need the protection of a knight? Was she strong enough to take down Elsa on her own?
'She might be stronger than Eris...'
Emilia looked at the awe-struck man with confusion. This didn't seem right to her. Sure, she could feel the weight on her arms, but with her Elven strength, it wasn't too tricky. She focused on his expression. She eyed him harder and harder. What was missing here?
Then she noticed.
Her knight looked utterly depressed!
"Ha... all that weight, and you lifted it like nothing..."
Emilia realized her mistake. Her knight wasn't a swordsman or a warrior. He was a mage. Mages were never strong-muscled people. They were intelligent and tactful individuals using mana to defend themselves. Of course, Rudeus wouldn't be physically strong! Yet, he worked so hard daily to achieve this, and she walked right over it!
'Oh, Emilia. You clodpoll!'
"Ah, Rudeus, this is nothing! No, it's not nothing. It's my elf blood. It makes me rea~lly strong, even if I don't mean it. I know it's unfair to you. You must have worked rea~lly hard to achieve this, right? There, there. You worked hard. You're a good boy."
She dropped the weights on the ground and began petting the jaw-slacked boy. It took him a while to register what was happening. Emilia was significantly stronger than he was, and she was now petting him like a saddened dog begging for a meal.
He dropped down the food chain to a quadruped in a short few seconds.
"Ah! It's all right, Emilia. You don't have to pet me for that. Ha ha."
"No! You worked hard to train with a handicap, and I ran over your work."
"I'm telling you. I'm fine. You don't have to ke- wait. What did you mean by handicap?"
'Handicap? What handicap? What did she mean by that? I gave my all to lifting that thing. What was she talking about?'
"I mean your mana enhancement. I read from a book that knights and fighters use mana to strengthen their bodies instead of spells. You wanted to work on your body, so you didn't use mana enhancement, right?"
The revelation came down hard on the boy. He always wondered why everyone he knew was capable of incredible physical feats. Paul slashed a boulder in half with a wooden sword, Ghislaine could run at inhuman speeds, and Ruijerd could stop a red Cobra with a single arm.
'They all used mana enhancement. That's it! That's the missing puzzle piece I've been searching for so long! This must be what Orsted meant with the Touki stuff!'
Rudeus was afraid of his fragile and weak human body for his entire life. He was confident his attack spells were adequate but was constantly reminded of his bodily limitations. He never understood why normal humans like Paul and Eris could take and deal with so much physical punishment, but now he knew.
'Mana enhancement. With this, maybe I can be as strong as Ruijerd and run as fast as Ghislaine!'
"Emilia!"
Forgetting the crushing fatigue weighing his body, he jumped on his two feet and grabbed Emilia by her shoulders. He had to learn this technique.
"How do you use mana enhancement?"
"Eh?"
"I don't know what it is, but it's what I've been missing my entire life! I need to know how it works and use it for myself!"
Emilia stared back with a bewildered look. She thought he purposely didn't use it for training but did her knight really not know how?
"Rudeus, you don't know mana enhancement?"
"Yep, not a clue. So teach me!"
He replied so desperately without skipping a beat. Where others may have hesitated, he did not. There was no need for pride in the face of improvement.
"Well, most people do it from birth. It's an automatic process, so it can't be taught... If I had to explain, I just wrap myself with mana tightly, and it works..."
'Ah! It's like voiceless incantations. It's done by feeling and can't be taught!'
The revelation broke the man to his knees. He felt like crying. He finally found the one link missing in his repertoire, only to learn it couldn't be learned.
Or could it?
'Wait, there's no reason to back off now. If it's just wrapping yourself with mana, then there's no reason I couldn't do it.'
As he lowered himself onto the soft blades of grass, the man closed his eyes. Placing his arms gently on his lap, he released his tension and began concentrating on the mana within him. He drew upon the mana meditatively, siphoning an endless stream and encasing himself in its warm embrace, just as Emilia had instructed.
Emilia was puzzled as she noticed her knight's focus. She understood he was practicing a spell and did not want to be disturbed. She was eager to see what magic he would perform, as she could sense that it was potent due to the amount of mana leaking. She patiently waited, feeling the power flowing through him.
Ten minutes had passed, and nothing had happened. Emilia was about to question Rudeus when he fell on his back, panting for air.
"Ha, ha. I can't do it. I tried so hard, but I can't do anything."
For the past ten minutes, Rudeus continued to enhance himself by wrapping his body with mana. He really wanted this to work. He didn't want to remain the same fragile human being he was. Even with the curses still active, he thought he had plenty to try this experiment. Alas, he gave up as his mana reserves were critically low.
He lay there for several more minutes as a worried elf watched him from above.
Otherworldly recipes."Deru-us, what are you cooking?"
Within the grand kitchen of the Roswaal Mansion, a well-tailored servant held a large carbon-steel skillet in one hand and a wooden spatula in the other. With a skillful flick of his wrist, he mixed the various ingredients over the heat stones.
"Ah, Ram-san. I apologize for using your kitchen before asking, but it couldn't be helped. I talked with Emilia a week ago about food, and she asked about the food I grew up with. One thing led to another, and I'm cooking a small meal I used to have."
Since last night, Rudeus was seen cooking a pot of white grains and drying them overnight in a chilled box. It was all for the chance event when his time with Emilia made him make egg-fried rice in this new world.
Fried rice is a simple dish to prepare. With its simplicity and malleability, fried rice was often cooked as a fridge cleaner—a way to use unused old ingredients in a tasty filling meal. Since almost every Japanese person had rice, there was always leftover chilled rice for the occasion.
Despite his subpar cooking skills, Rudeus was somewhat confident his food would be edible. The ingredients were high quality, and the cooking equipment was the best this world could offer. Despite the lack of soy sauce or seaweed extract, salt and pepper were enough, so long as a healthy variety of vegetables and meats was included.
"Hm. Is that so? Then Ram will be the one to judge your food. Your sorry cooking skills would only sour Emilia-sama's appetite."
"Ehh, I guess that's ok."
'If you think about it, Ram works in the kitchen daily. Naturally, she's a good cook. Even if Rem is in charge of the food, there's no way Ram would be a bad chef. Considering I'm cooking for Emilia, it's only natural she wants to know what I'm cooking. Yeah, that makes sense. There's nothing wrong with indulging her curiosity. What could possibly go wrong?'
Yes, there was nothing wrong with Ram tasting his cooking. She might even give him some pointers to improve!
With his newfound motivation, he vigorously stir-fried his vegetables over the hot flame.
"Rudeus? Are you here?"
It was past four in the afternoon, around when Rudeus would join Emilia in her studies with his language studies. Today, however, Rudeus did not appear in her library. It was unusual for Rudeus to run late. He was always punctual. Curious about what her servant was up to, Emilia ventured through the mansion in search of her knight.
Eventually, her exploration led to the kitchen of all places, where she found Ram patting her stomach with a satisfied grin and Rudeus crying on the floor in the fetal position with his hands covering his face.
"No... No more! Please. I've been cooking for four hours now! I've run out of rice. I can't cook anymore. Please, just let me go!"
Ram did not answer. She just stared at the man menacingly. Had this been a cutscene of a particular video game, she'd be t-posing on the man's body, imposing her dominance.
"Eh... Ram, what's going on here?"
Her words broke the maid's death glare. Immediately, her imposing figure returned to the usual well-mannered elegant maid. She bowed at the sight of her liege.
"Greetings Emilia-sama. There's nothing to worry about. I was educating this sorry excuse of a man in his cooking. His food was so terrible that Ram had to devour it all, lest it could reach any of the resident's mouths."
And before Emilia could put a word in, Rudeus spoke up against the tyranny he endured.
"Lies! All Lies! I could see it in your eyes! At first, it seemed like you were giving me advice. You added ingredients here and removed some here. But it was all a ploy! An insult met every change, then you gobbled up the entire thing! You wouldn't even let me leave! I was stuck here for hours, repeatedly cooking the same dish!"
Meeting his cries were the cold glares of Ram. Rudeus instantly shut his mouth tight and backed up to a corner. Tears were streaming down his eyes at this point.
"Ignore the words of that fool, Emilia-sama. Please allow me to accompany you to your room."
"Eh. Is he okay?"
As Ram tried to guide Emilia away from the kitchen, Emilia pointed at the cowering knight in the kitchen corner.
"First diced carrots, scallions, peppirs, onions, minced garlic... day-old rice. Stir-fry for the wok hay. Shout, Fuiyo, for every flip you make..."
The delirious monologues were unheard by the half-elf, though. They went through one ear and out the other. She didn't understand a single word he said.
"There's no need to involve yourself with such uncultured swine, Emilia-sama. Ram will correct him to his usual state."
With her final words, Ram pushed Emilia away from the kitchen, leaving the traumatized cook on the ground, weeping in his tears of fear.
Search for a cureA few months have passed since the Wolgram invasion.
Apart from some extreme climate change, the mansion has been peaceful without incident. With nothing to help with and nothing to work for, Rudeus searched through the main library's medical records. He tore through each book, hoping to find salvation. He's been at it for a week now but still no luck. No matter how much he's researched, he can't find the cure for his condition.
In short, he's trying to find the cure for impotency.
The medical knowledge of this world was primitive compared to Earth. Like his old world, with the advancement of healing magic, there was little need for traditional medical technology outside of first aid. Furthermore, psychological and mental health study was barely in its infancy.
With a deep sigh, he rested the heavy tome in its place and headed to the dining area, only to be greeted by the eccentric clown blocking him in the doorway.
"My~my, Ru~deus-kun, you've been researching for qu~ite some time. What could you po~ssibly be searching for? Hmm?"
With a left wink and suggestive tone, the Roswaal entered the library, eyeing each medical record Rudeus had returned.
Despite his lack of healing magic, Roswaal still knew the healing mechanics. He was the greatest mage of the Kingdom of Lugunica. Even glancing, he could tell that Rudeus was searching for some cure for an ailment. But what could it be? Months after the invasion, Rudeus showed no signs of physical degradation from the Wolgram curses. Yes, it was strange when the curses lingered, even after the Wolgram's death, but besides the constant mana drainage, Rudeus had no worrying symptoms. All he needed was a thorough examination from Blue, and he'd be back to normal.
"Ah, Roswaal…-sama. It's… nothing. I've just been looking for something to read."
"Ohya~, is that so~? But from the contents of your inventory, it seems you are searching for a highly specific genre~. More specifically, trea~tment of some kind. Yes?"
Yes, the clown had seen through Rudeus and hit him right where it hurt. While Rudeus wasn't so secretive about his condition during his time with Step Leader, he's only known the mansion's people for a few months. They weren't strangers, but definitely not close enough to confide about this stuff.
'No… maybe I'm thinking this the wrong way. As weird as the clown is, he's clearly an intellectual individual. You can't be an idiot and make your way up the social ladder. He is supposed to be the court wizard of the kingdom. Could he…?'
"Yep, you caught me right there. I've been searching for a cure… for a friend."
His last words came out quieter than usual. Only after did he realize how stupid his excuse was. He's been spending most of his time at the mansion. Just who else would he be referring to as "friend"?
"Oh~ho! A friend, you say! Might you indulge me in my in~terest?"
Whether he noticed or not, Roswaal didn't question who this friend was. He instead went straight for the jugular, opting to tackle the main issue.
With bullets of sweat beading down his forehead, with reddened ears and cheeks, Rudeus spoke out about his friend's issues.
"Ah… well, you see. My friend has a problem when standing up to the occasion. He's been searching for a cure for a few years but hasn't found anything that worked. Do… do you know of a way to cure impotency?"
The clown's manners froze for a split second, just the tiniest moment, then quickly returned to usual. No, it was not the usual clownish face of Roswaal. Replacing the over-joyous makeup were the eyes of pity. His lips remained curled up in a smile, but there was no mistaking it. Roswaal was wallowing in Rudeus' pain.
The awkward silence continued for another ten seconds before Roswaal clapped his two hands. He placed one hand on Rudeus' shoulder and looked him in the eye. Devoid of his clownish figure of speech, she spoke word for word.
"You have my condolences, Rudeus. I do have the means to cure such human cruelty. Perhaps our soon-to-be medical doctor, Blue, could help. But for now, I can do nothing for your friend."
His hands remained firm on his shoulders. His eyes stared down into his soul. The only thing out of place was his clown makeup and costume. Otherwise, this could have been a heartfelt moment between two heartbroken men.
"I..see… well, it was worth the shot…"
Rudeus mumbled as he left the confines of the library, half embarrassed and half terrified of his employer.
It seems today will not be the day he cures his condition.