The Villainess Who Was Dumped Got Married into My Family, a Mob Noble from the Frontier, and Turns Out, She's an Amazing Capable Wife? - Chapter 105: The History of Kurogane – Encounter

Chapter 105: The History of Kurogane – Encounter

The corridor of memories plunged straight down, seemingly endless, as if it led to the very depths of the abyss. 

Yet, in this darkness, images were projected with the clarity of a movie shown by a projector.

This was the blood-stained history of the Brave family, documented by what seemed to be an exceptionally high-ranking demon.

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“Hey, you in trouble? You look like you’re in trouble.”

A black-haired man, holding a blood-soaked single-edged sword on his shoulder, extended his hand to a tall blond man. 

The black-haired man bore a striking resemblance to me. 

His clothing was simple, not the attire of nobility but rather the kind worn by commoners.

“I’m Ragna. Ragna Brave.”

It was me.

No, considering this was the memory of the Brave family, there must have been someone in the past who resembled me closely.

“He’s the first one.”

“So, this is the man they called the Hero.”

The more I thought about it, the more impressive it seemed. 

He looked just like me, after all.

“I can’t ignore someone in trouble, so I came to help.”

The first Brave said with a laugh.

“Tsk, no one asked for your help.”

Before a massive monster that had been cut down, a blond man, who looked remarkably like Edward, was sitting down, having lost his nerve. He clicked his tongue and brushed away the offered hand.

“What’s with you? Can’t you even say thank you?”

“Why should I thank you for something you did on your own?”

The blond man turned away with a snort, while the first Brave, a vein throbbing on his forehead, glared at him.

“I’ll rip out all your hair, you jerk.”

“In that moment, you’ll be executed for insulting me. Consider yourself lucky I’m being lenient.”

What am I even watching here?

The blond man looked a lot like Edward. If that baldy had said something like that to me, I would’ve punched him without a second thought.

“That’s the Ancient Sage, Edward gran Aetherdam.”

“Seriously…?”

Not only did he look exactly like him, but he even had the same name. 

The only difference was whether he had hair or not.

Without that smug look, the ancient sage seemed somewhat more tolerable. However, the first Brave was quite bold to speak so informally to a noble.

“This is where the Ancient Sage and the Hero first met.”

“I see, but where is this place?”

I couldn’t tell which forest it was, but since the Aetherdam family had a mansion in the capital, it must be a nearby forest.

The creature the first Brave had cut down was a rare sight, even in the Brave territory. It had the head and body of a lion with curved horns like a sheep, bat wings on its back, and a snake for a tail—a chimera.

“Did creatures like this really appear around the capital in the old days?”

“It was said that during their time, the areas outside the capital were almost uninhabitable for humans.”

Nowadays, the territories connected by trains and bustling with noble tourists were once overrun by goblins and orcs, reversing the roles of humans and monsters. Even back then, the capital was already overcrowded.

The fear of a chimera, a monster that even multiple tactical-class magicians couldn’t defeat alone, appearing near human settlements was incomparable to the fear of bears in Hokkaido.

“But you did admit you were helped, even if it was unasked for.”

“Ha!? Absolutely not! I do not accept charity!”

“Well, whatever, I’ll let you think that.”

“You, I’ll kill you with my own hands. Execution right here!”

“I want to eat meatballs. Chimeras don’t taste good.”

“As if I could be delayed by something as insignificant as a chimera.”

Watching the projected images of the two bickering, Sebas spoke.

“Ho-ho, despite being a noble and a commoner, their ways of thinking are likely never to align, wouldn’t you say?”

“I think so too.”

While the sage pricked and burned the chimera’s corpse with his sword and magic, boasting about his power like a child, the hero stared blankly, drooling.

“Hey, was this really a dangerous time?”

It looks pretty peaceful from what I’m seeing.

“I think you can sense the ‘danger’ in various ways.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Maybe they had a different sense of danger compared to ordinary people.

It’s certain that chimeras appeared around the capital back then. 

The people were likely much more cornered than they are now.

“Let’s get back to the story.”

“Okay.”

“These two were brought together by a woman.”

“The Ancient Saint, right?”

While we were talking, I heard a woman’s voice.

“Ragna! Is Lord Edward safe?”

When I looked back at the scene, I saw a woman running toward the two who were still bickering about being helped or not.

“He’s fine. In fact, he’s too lively.”

“Ohh, thank goodness…”

Seeing the woman breathe a sigh of relief at the first Brave’s words, I was surprised. 

The woman had beautiful blue hair like the sea, but her face resembled Patricia more than Mariana Ocean, whom I knew. 

She also had a flat chest.

“Lady Ocean, why are you here? This place is dangerous!”

“I could say the same to you, a noble.”

She faced Edward directly, unlike the modern Mariana. She looked a lot like Patricia.

“So… you sent this man to help me? I didn’t need any help at all!”

“No matter how skilled you are in magic, it’s too dangerous for someone who has always been in the capital to suddenly go alone to investigate the forest.”

Something feels off, very off.

“A noble being helped by a commoner is unacceptable! Sending such a patronizing man, Lady Ocean, is just mean!”

“He was the only reliable person who could come immediately. I had no choice.”

“That’s right, you should thank me.”

“Ragna, you should know your place!”

“Sure, sure.”

“What if this man takes advantage of the situation? What if he claims to be my savior? This man might actually do it!”

“Wow, now I’m really tempted to do it…”

“Come on, both of you! I knew you wouldn’t get along, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad…”

Despite meeting for the first time, the ancient sage and the hero started arguing.

As the conversation became chaotic, the saint sighed and said, 

“Sigh… but I’m really glad you’re safe. Truly, I am.”

At her words, the sage stopped arguing, looked at the saint, blushed slightly, and bowed his head.

“Lady Ocean, in truth, I was saved. I appreciate your arrangement. How about a meal sometime to thank you, my lifesaver?”

“Ahaha, maybe another time.”

“I’m always available though. If you have free time, let’s do it. I could even suggest to the king to grant you a higher title for saving a noble’s life—”

“Well, maybe another time!”

“…I doubt he would have died even if I hadn’t helped.”

Seeing the sage pressuring the confused saint, the hero was exasperated.

“People with strong desires survive any situation—Patricia.”

“P-Patricia!?”

They continued to bicker as they left the dangerous forest, but I was too shocked to care about the scene. 

I thought they looked similar, but this was a startling revelation.

“Yes, she is the one who will be called the Saint, Patricia von Ocean.”