I Was Reincarnated as a Duke as a Matter of Course, So I Bought a Slave on a Whim and Now There’s No Turning Back - 46

Chapter 46: Ignition

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The Noctire family’s mansion was quieter than usual. No. To be precise, it was too quiet. There were no footsteps or conversations that should normally be heard. Only the sound of Yuka’s shoes echoed faintly through the halls.

“……”

The front door was half open. Along with the cold wind, a bit of snow had blown inside. And on the floor, a man in a black robe lay collapsed. Blood was flowing from his throat. Yuka glanced at him once and walked past. From deeper within the mansion, footsteps could be heard.

It was Tarinuka.

“…Is it finished?”

“Yes.”

Yuka answered briefly. Down the hallway, several bodies in the same robes were scattered. There were more than ten. Yet there were hardly any traces of battle left in the mansion. Only the result, the corpses, remained. Tarinuka let out a sigh.

“The entire royal capital is in turmoil. The whole city has become a battlefield.”

Yuka looked out the window. Smoke was rising in the distant sky. At that moment…

“…Yuka.”

A voice called out. When she turned, Fia was standing there. Her complexion was slightly pale.

“What is it?”

Fia spoke while pressing a hand to her chest.

“There’s a lot of magic power.”

“A lot?”

“The whole royal capital is getting polluted.”

She shook her head slightly.

“But the academy is the strangest.”

Yuka narrowed her eyes.

“…Can you understand the situation?”

Fia fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“…Probably, Master is going to die.”

With that one sentence, the air changed. Yuka thought for a few seconds.

“Tarinuka-dono.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Tarinuka picked up the spear leaning against the wall.

“I will watch over the mansion and Madam.”

Yuka nodded. She crouched in front of Fia.

“Can you make it to the academy?”

“Yeah.”

Fia nodded slightly. Yuka stood up. Outside the door, snow continued to fall heavily. In the front garden of the mansion, the corpses of the Ash Apostles lay scattered. But Yuka did not look back even once.

She walked straight toward the gate. The moment she passed through it, her figure disappeared into the snow. In the next instant, she had already advanced far ahead.

Fia murmured softly.

“…Master.”

Across the snow-covered royal capital, a single shadow raced forward. There was only one destination.

The academy.

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Hello, this is Luka, currently feeling a serious threat to my life.

The obviously unhinged guys in front of me were talking about something. The gray-robed one who had defeated Cedric carried him to the center of the plaza.

…Cedric probably wasn’t dead, but he looked severely injured.

“This one should be enough for noble blood.”

“Please wait. We were told that the higher the rank of the noble, the better.”

“…Right. There are this many of them. There should be someone higher than him.”

Yeah, that sounds dangerous. I’m seriously scared, my mood is getting weird. From what they’re saying, are they looking for a noble higher than Cedric, like a marquis or a duke?

“Is there any noble here of higher rank than this one?”

A question I kind of expected.

Of course, since we all value our own lives, none of us answered.

“…Well, it doesn’t matter. We’ll offer all of them anyway.”

“N-no, please wait! That child over there…”

My eyes met with what looked like a low-ranking member.

…Please let this be a lie.

“Isn’t he from the ducal family listed?”

Bad news, I guess I’m famous to them.

“…I see. Then you will do.”

…You want me to come? Like hell I will! I’m not accepting a death like this!

“…Can I ask what you’re planning to do?”

Just trying to buy time for now. Not sure if this even means anything.

“You don’t need to know.”

“I’d at least like to know that much—”

“Shut up!”

A sudden impact.

Looks like I got hit. …Damn, that hurts.

“Y-you will just quietly serve us!”

The one who hit me was an unfamiliar woman who stepped out from the group of captured nobles.

…When I realized that… Honestly, it hurt more in my heart than my body. Just that, only that, was enough for a self-destructive part of me to surface.

“…Understood. Then could you at least let that person go for now?”

I turned and said that to the gray robe.

“…How unsightly. Humans…”

I wanted him to answer my question, but honestly, I think the same. In the end, I just wanted the self-satisfaction of helping someone before I die. I pulled at the rope binding my hands and was led to the center. I was pushed into the center of a massive magic circle carved into the stone pavement where the snow had been cleared away.

Gray lines glowed faintly, rising to the surface.

“Here.”

I was kicked in the back and dropped to my knees.

Everything hurts. Seriously, I hope they all stub their toes.

“Write it.”

As the gray robe said that, another black robe took out a knife. The next moment—

Slash.

My arm was cut open.

“—!”

A burning pain. Blood scattered across the snow and spilled onto the stone pavement. The man gestured toward the ground with his chin.

“Write with that blood.”

“…Write what?”

“It’s carved there, isn’t it?”

I narrowed my eyes. At the center of the magic circle, faint lines were engraved. They had been hidden under the snow, but there was something like a frame of strange characters.

…Characters? No.

“…What is this?”

It was a shape I had never seen before. It was slightly different from the symbols used in magic circles. More distorted, more unnatural lines.

“Hurry up.”

I was kicked in the back again.

Please stop doing that.

At this point, I had no will to resist. Clenching my teeth, I pressed my bleeding hand against the ground. And traced it.

One stroke.

Two strokes.

Three strokes.

I filled the lines with blood. At that moment, the magic circle pulsed faintly.

“…?”

For an instant, a chill ran down my spine. It was as if something was about to awaken. But the others didn’t seem to notice. They just watched me with curiosity.

“Keep going.”

I let more blood drip and traced the lines again without knowing anything.

“…It will be born. The flames…”

In the next moment, the magic circle emitted a faint light and then everything in my vision was engulfed in gray flames.

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