I Already Know My Magic Power Is Ridiculously High! Now I Just Need a Cute Wife... - Episode 57

Roa agreed to persuade Nephthys.

For a moment, I wondered—what am I even doing?

Just a few weeks ago, I was enjoying a peaceful life in my territory, dreaming about a future wife I had yet to meet.

Now, I’m struggling with how to turn my little brother into an accomplice.

At this rate, I’m practically dragging him into crime.

Roa may not have the same mental resilience as I do.

I’m sorry, Roa.

I wanted to keep you pure, but that’s no longer possible.

Please forgive your useless older brother.

Once we get through the ceasefire negotiations, I’ll even help you find a fiancée…

“Uh… Nephthys?”

Roa’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

It seemed I had been lost in self-reproach.

Roa looked puzzled, probably because I had been calling Nephthys so casually.

“Ah, my mistake. After two weeks of persuasion, I’ve grown rather fond of him. You should be careful too, Roa.”

“H-Huh…”

“Nephthys is from the Bartolucci Knight Family, which is quite famous in Naia.”

“The Bartolucci Knights? Aren’t they known for producing civil officials? If their officers are supposed to be in Goldasht, the heart of Naia’s administration, why was Nephthys under Barbato’s command?”

Unlike Geraldo, who comes from a knight family skilled in combat, Nephthys is not from a warrior lineage.

Yet he served as Barbato’s aide, which seemed rather odd.

Of course, there’s always a chance he had exceptional talent as a commander, but it’s difficult to say for sure.

“So, Nephthys, why were you working under Barbato?”

“Mmmph! Mmm—Mmmph!”

“Oh, right. You can’t talk with that gag in your mouth.”

I removed the gag from Nephthys.

Since I had interrogated him several times before, we had a certain… familiarity.

Maybe now he’d be willing to talk.

“Ugh! You filthy Ortenos scum! Don’t think for a second that I’ll give in to you! I will never submit to you bastards!”

“……”

Under the dim glow of the magic lantern, Nephthys shouted defiantly, his bald head reflecting the light.

We had been interrogating him to learn more about Naia’s internal affairs, but he refused to speak.

He had remarkable resolve.

However, that only reinforced my belief—if we could break him, we’d obtain valuable information.

“Just kill me already, Ortenos! I will curse you wretches until my dying breath! That will be my only solace for my fallen comrades!”

“Keep your voice down. You’re scaring Roa.”

Snap.

I dislocated Nephthys’ arm in the opposite direction.

For a knight of only satellite-class strength, his arm snapped as easily as a twig.

“Aaaaaagh!”

“Eek!”

Nephthys’ scream made Roa flinch in fear.

“Nephthys, I know you weren’t the mastermind behind this invasion of Ortenos. Who’s pulling the strings behind you? Why did they target Grandfather?”

“Ugh… I have nothing to say to you!”

A red curse seal surfaced on Nephthys’ forehead.

It seemed that the moment he tried to talk about the one who cast the curse, the seal activated.

“This is… a type of curse seal I’ve never seen before. It looks similar to the ‘Hypnosis Seal,’ but it’s much more complex. It could be a composite type…”

Roa leaned in to examine the curse seal on Nephthys’ forehead, his earlier fear completely gone.

“Composite type?”

“Yes. High-level curse seal magic users can engrave seals with multiple effects. At that level, they might even create original seals, and breaking them isn’t easy.”

“So, curse seal magic varies greatly depending on the user.”

Since curse seal magic isn’t my forte, I could only offer a generic response.

If I ignored the effort required and trained for it, I might eventually become proficient, but for now, it’s a low priority.

Besides, I have a natural resistance to curse seal magic.

Right now, I’m focusing on learning ‘Puppet Magic,’ the technique Aquila used.

“According to the few remaining Ortenos texts, ancient races wielded even higher-level curse seal magic. They could rewrite seals or even use them as a trade for life itself—some were considered forbidden sorcery.”

Just hearing about it was terrifying.

Curse seal magic was clearly different from other forms of magic.

Even my ‘Magic Quantum Theory’ couldn’t fully explain it.

Since most seals are easy to create once you understand the basics, the system itself lacks proper organization.

Perhaps Roa can see something I can’t.

“I see. You’ve studied well, Roa.”

I praised him and ruffled his hair.

“Hehe.”

Roa had a researcher’s mindset.

Once something piqued his interest, he pursued it relentlessly.

Due to the Ortenos Usurpation Incident, most historical records were lost, so researching this topic must have been an enormous challenge.

Compared to other noble families, Ortenos is woefully uninformed—just a bunch of battle-hardened muscle heads.

A noble like Roa, who specializes in intelligence, is rare within Ortenos.

“So, if this is a high-level curse seal, do you think you can handle it, Roa?”

“Hmm… It seems to contain ‘Forgetfulness Seals’ and ‘Encryption Seals’ as well… This is quite tricky—”

Roa scratched his cheek, looking slightly troubled.

The person who engraved this seal on Nephthys was likely a master of curse seal magic.

From what I had heard from Barbato, Naia was undoubtedly involved in some shady dealings.

If we failed to extract information now, it would impact the upcoming ceasefire negotiations.

(If Roa can’t do it… I may have no choice but to break not only Nephthys’ will but his very soul.)

I began considering the possibility.

However, Roa didn’t look discouraged.

“—No, I think I can handle this much.”

His voice carried confidence.

It seemed he had found a breakthrough.

Gathering his magic, Roa pressed his index finger against the curse seal on Nephthys’ forehead.

A vast amount of stellar-class magic began flowing smoothly from Roa’s magic gates.