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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Silver's Birth and the Silvermont Contract
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A week had passed since Jeon was invited to the Silvermont Family estate.
During that time, he had spent days so comfortable that he wondered if this was really okay.
'Even counting my past life, I've never lived more comfortably than this.'
Whenever he told the maids at the estate about food, they provided meals and snacks.
They even prepared clothes for him to change into, and he was free to go out.
Moreover, whenever he returned from an outing, his room was perfectly cleaned.
He lived a life where he didn't have to lift a finger for food, clothing, or shelter.
"...But I haven't actually met Lena or Risar."
However, over the past week, he hadn't met the very people who had invited him here.
He had vaguely heard that it was delayed due to the previous runaway incident and various other matters.
Still, he hadn't expected to be left alone like this for an entire week.
"Well, they must have their reasons."
As always.
Jeon didn't dwell long on matters that wouldn't resolve just by worrying or thinking about them right now.
He knew that doing so only brought more stress and frustration.
He simply focused on what he could do now.
For example, in his hands right now were the silver bracelet Lena had given him and a carving knife.
"Still, after a week, it's starting to look pretty good."
The reason was to create an artifact.
With his food, clothing, and shelter taken care of even when idle, he naturally had a lot of time on his hands.
And Jeon poured all that time into making artifacts.
At first, he asked Bolton to procure a high-quality carving knife and the ore samples mentioned as examples in the magic book.
Since he had fully memorized the magic book during the trip to Celleron, his theoretical knowledge was nearly perfect.
So, from the first day, he dove straight into practice.
'...And I failed spectacularly.'
He failed countless times.
Carving the ore as desired and inscribing letters on it was no easy task.
Still, after days of repeating those numerous failures.
Exactly two days ago.
He succeeded in creating a perfect artifact—small enough to fit in his palm, beautifully shaped, with not a single mistake in the Magic Language inscription.
'It's on a whole different level from what Jefferson made.'
From the speed of mana accumulation to the storage capacity.
It was completely superior to what Jefferson had made.
Among what he could currently produce, it was undoubtedly the best.
Anyway.
Having succeeded in creating such an artifact, Jeon turned his eyes to the next step.
The basic function of an artifact is mana accumulation and storage.
He wanted to add a rune to it.
And so, now.
He was inscribing the necessary additional Magic Language onto the bracelet that already had a rune engraved.
Of course, since the basic artifact shape was different.
The arrangement of the Magic Language was different, and he had to cut away or carve some parts of the bracelet.
'That's no big deal.'
If it were an area he couldn't yet implement magically, that would be one thing.
But for anything implementable, he could easily adapt it based on his understanding of the magic book and Magic Language.
After focusing intently on the bracelet for a long while.
"Phew."
Finally inscribing the last bit of Magic Language onto the bracelet, Jeon took a breath and checked its condition one final time.
It no longer had the smooth, pristine feel from when Lena first gave it to him; the circular neatness was gone after carving and shaping here and there.
But the Magic Language wrapped around the entire bracelet and the somewhat rough, carved appearance actually looked aesthetically pleasing.
In conclusion, no major failures in appearance.
Now, only the final step remained.
Squeeze.
Grasping the finished bracelet tightly in both hands, Jeon closed his eyes.
In this state, as long as there were no major mistakes, it would accumulate mana little by little.
But that alone wasn't enough to call it a proper artifact.
To truly deserve the name artifact, inscribing mana circuits inside was essential.
Bzzz.
Mana flowed from Jeon's hands into the bracelet.
Already prepared to accept mana, it smoothly entered and began slowly inscribing mana circuits inside the bracelet.
The process sounded simple, but it required intense concentration.
Sweat beaded on Jeon's forehead.
And when Jeon's closed eyes opened.
Vrrr!
The bracelet, now stably formed with mana circuits, vibrated.
Along with that, the Magic Language inscribed on the bracelet began to glow faintly one by one.
Soon, the lights converged on the rune at the center of the bracelet.
Flash!
And with a single flash, what appeared was.
-Kyaeng?
No other than a silver fox the size of Jeon's pinky finger.
The newly manifested silver fox looked around in bewilderment before locking eyes with Jeon.
"Success!"
-Kyaeng? Kyaeng!
Seeing the bracelet—no, now an artifact worthy of the name—Jeon let out a cry of joy, and the silver fox tilted its head for a moment before happily yipping in response.
Succeeding in inscribing a rune into a standard artifact.
Any other mage would have been shocked.
Simply casting magic and creating it as an artifact were entirely different realms.
Without exceptional understanding of Magic Language and runes, no one would even attempt it.
Of course, Jeon had tried it on a whim and succeeded, so he was simply delighted.
In any case, Jeon looked at the artifact he had created and the silver fox with very satisfied eyes.
"Can it always exist at this size?"
-Kyaeng!
The silver fox nodded as if to say yes.
One might wonder what use such a small form had.
But the very reason Jeon chose the Guardian rune over Compression was for this purpose.
This silver fox was connected to the artifact.
In other words, it was equivalent to always using the Guardian rune.
When needed, it could consume the artifact's mana on its own to perform its function.
Of course, this was possible only because the silver fox created by Guardian rune magic had its own will, and Jeon had focused on that point to create an artifact with the Guardian rune.
"Maybe because it's small, it can't speak."
-Kyaeng, kyaeng.
He clearly remembered it speaking, albeit briefly, the first time he used it.
Apparently, due to the difference in supplied mana, the small silver fox couldn't speak.
Still, some communication was possible.
The silver fox nodded in agreement to Jeon's words.
It looked so cute.
"Feels like I just got a pet."
Jeon chuckled as he slipped the completed artifact onto his left wrist.
-Kyaeng, kyaaaeng!
But the silver fox kept yipping at him.
As if demanding something.
Wondering why, Jeon looked at it.
"...Do you want a name, by any chance?"
-Kyaeng!
It was a hunch, but.
Seeing it nod, it really wanted a name.
'It's magic... but should I name it?'
Still, since they'd be together constantly in a way, it probably needed a name to call it by.
Moreover, since rune magic manifested a portion of an existence through mana.
The body was made of Jeon's mana, but the existence and will were separate, so naming it seemed right.
"Uh... but what to name it."
The problem was that Jeon had no talent for naming.
The mana storage artifact he finished recently was casually named something like 'Manastone.'
But that was just an object without a will, so he could name it anything.
The silver fox before him had a will, so he couldn't just slap any name on it.
In fact, it was looking at him with expectant eyes.
"Silver... how about that?"
After much deliberation, he chose the most straightforward name.
It looked like a silver fox, and the artifact was based on a silver bracelet.
What could be more fitting?
-Kyaeng!
And the silver fox seemed to like the name, nodding happily with a grin.
"Phew, glad you like it."
After finishing the naming, Jeon sighed and stood up from his seat.
"Ahhh!"
Stretching, the stiffness from sitting hunched at the desk melted away, leaving his body languid.
"I need a break..."
-Kyaeng!
As Jeon rose and headed to the bed.
The silver fox—no, Silver—hopped up and nestled into his arms.
Jeon chuckled at the sight and lay down on the bed.
Or rather, tried to.
Knock knock.
"Master Jeon."
"Ah, yes?"
Right when he was about to rest, a knock came from outside, and Jeon froze in an awkward position to reply.
"Sir Risar wishes to see you. Is now a good time?"
He wanted to say he was tired and needed rest.
But Risar, one of the inviters, was calling after a week.
He desperately wanted to lie down, but he couldn't refuse.
"...Yes. That's fine."
Maintaining his half-reclined pose, Jeon replied in a deflated voice and slowly got up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Over the past week staying at this estate, he had learned a few things.
The Silvermont Family was a prestigious house in Langley Kingdom, second only to the royal family in influence. Lena was the only daughter of that family.
And Risar was a high-ranking knight of the family, captain of the guard knights protecting her.
"Sir Risar, I've brought Master Jeon."
"Mm. Bring him in."
Guided to where Risar had summoned him, it was a grand office.
Jeon's room was impressive enough, but this was on another level.
'Wow.'
While Jeon admired Risar's office inwardly.
"Please, have a seat here."
Risar rose from his desk and guided Jeon to a sofa on one side of the office.
"How have you been over the past week?"
"Ah, yes. Very comfortably, thank you."
"I'm glad. I apologize for not being able to attend to you."
What was there to apologize for?
Honestly, it had been more than comfortable—pure bliss every day.
Of course, he didn't say that.
"I wanted to see to you sooner, but... I've been quite busy. Besides Miss Lena's matters... preparing this took longer than expected."
With those words, Risar pulled out a few sheets of paper.
Handed to him as if to read, Jeon took it and scanned the contents.
"A contract... right?"
"Yes, exactly."
The paper detailed an employment contract.
Moreover.
"We would like to hire you, Master Jeon, as Miss Lena's dedicated translator and interpreter."
The Silvermont Family's only daughter's personal translator and interpreter, no less.
"It took time over the past week to recommend you to the Silvermont Family and verify there were no suspicious aspects about you. Please understand."
With that, Risar bowed his head slightly.
"Ah, sure, whatever."
It was basically a background check done without permission, but Jeon didn't mind.
Nothing would come up even if they dug into him.
His personal info had been scraped in every way imaginable in his past life—banks, texts, apps, you name it.
More importantly, what mattered was the contract's contents.
"500,000 credits per month as salary, plus separate provision for lodging, meals, and a dignity maintenance allowance... Is this right?"
"Yes. Correct. You can continue living as you have the past week."
Unbelievable.
To Jeon, who had tasted such comfort for a week, it was an irresistible temptation.
Full support for food, clothing, and shelter, plus a separate salary of 500,000 credits a month—equivalent to 5 million won in his past life.
'Can I find a better job than this?'
Whether in his past life or this world, better jobs were rare.
"Don't feel burdened by it being a contract. The term is only as long as Miss Lena stays in the Empire—at most three months."
Risar spoke as if not to worry, but to Jeon, even just three months felt regrettably short for such an attractive offer.
Of course, he didn't sign blindly.
"I'm grateful for the offer, but honestly, it feels overly generous just for translation and interpretation."
There was always a reason for high pay.
And Risar didn't deny it.
"Yes. We're not offering it solely for translation services."
As expected.
Jeon nodded, his guess confirmed, and waited for Risar's next words.
"While in the Empire, if Miss Lena causes another commotion like last time, we'd like you to help prevent it."
"...Can I stop Miss Lena?"
"I believe you can. And even if not, just trying to dissuade her would suffice."
"Hm."
"That duty ultimately falls to our guard knights, so no responsibility will fall on you. No need to worry."
Looking at Risar, Jeon pondered slightly.
It was certainly attractive.
Honestly, despite the words, he didn't think he couldn't stop her if she tried running again.
'And no responsibility either.'
But that alone wasn't enough.
"Then, may I add a condition?"
"What do you desire?"
"Yes."
Over the past week, Jeon had succeeded in creating artifacts.
Not just standard ones, but even those inscribed with runes.
Yet, he still had a lingering regret.
Not accumulating mana through artifacts or tools, but by his own will.
"I want to learn the Silvermont Family's mana cultivation method."
"Hm."
Risar fell into brief thought at the bold request.
Mana cultivation methods were the foundation of each magic school's mages or families' magic.
Unlike general spells, they were rarely leaked outside.
'...To request this.'
Risar was inwardly surprised but didn't deliberate long.
'She said to bring him no matter the cost.'
Recalling the family head's instructions when assigning him the task.
Risar soon nodded.
"Very well. However, learning from a book will be difficult. For outsiders, a family mage can only transmit it orally."
"That'll suffice."
The key deal was accepted.
Jeon no longer needed to hesitate.
Of course, accepting meant they wanted him that badly too.
'If I can get the mana cultivation method, I can bear some risk.'
Having decided, Jeon signed the contract.
Of course, after carefully adding a clause exempting him from responsibility for anything beyond translation and interpretation related to Lena.
"Thank you. It's reassuring that a reliable person will be Miss Lena's dedicated translator."
"Thank you for trusting me with this."
With the contract sealed, the two shook hands briefly.
Suddenly recalling something, Risar checked the watch on his wrist.
"Speaking of which, I need to start preparing soon."
"Prepare? For what?"
"Yes. Miss Lena has an external schedule in five days, so preparations must begin now to make it in time."
"Uh... external schedule meaning?"
"A social party hosted by Viscount Celleron, running from morning to evening. It's a long one, so prepare thoroughly."
"Thoroughly... prepare?"
Feeling a twinge of unease, Jeon asked cautiously, and Risar smiled lightly at him.
"Attending noble social parties requires learning much."
Having just signed the contract, Jeon already dreaded work.