Chapter 411

411 Every deed can bear good consequences

The more Vincent absorbed the traces of mana left in the ice wall, the less of a mana coat remained. The ice wall began to crack little by little, and the area where his hands touched the ice began to melt.

After enough mana was gathered for two charges, Vincent uttered, “Shatter, ” and cracked one of the four ice walls.

The five shivering thugs became happy one of the ice walls was finally brought down. They could now escape the ice hell, but what they saw next almost gave them a heart attack.

The only way out was foggy from the heated gauntlets and the ice reaction. In the fog were two green dots and a creepy wide smile. Vincent’s shining eyes and green steam escaping from his mouth made him look like a demon in their eyes.

“N-n-no! A-another demon!” One of the thugs shouted.

*~Crack~* A sudden ominous noise of a whip sounded, and it soon appeared heading towards them. After it wrapped itself around one of the thugs like a living snake, they heard a sinister hoarse voice say, “Get over here.”

*Whoosh* The roped thug was pulled out of the ice prison. They heard a thud and an eerie snicker. *~Crack~* The ominous noise of a whip sounded again, and the second thug was soon pulled out.

Shortly, five fainted thugs lay on the ground. Not only did they faint, but they soiled themselves.

Leonis looked at Sofy strangely after she pulled out a whip from under her skirt and swung her whip once to capture each thug without seeing them. Leonis began to worry Vincent had strange fetishes to have a maid like her in the mansion.

.....

Vincent smirked as he turned his gaze back at the remaining three ice walls.

‘What if I asked Maria to cast her spells and I absorbed them? I could train Overflow and increase my mana at the same time.’ The plan Vincent thought of made him thank the five thugs for giving him this idea.

.

[The Host refined and assimilated 1 mana. Mana stat is now 36.]

[The Host refined and assimilated 1 mana. Mana stat is now 37.]

[The Host refined and assimilated 1 mana. Mana stat is now 38.]

[The Host refined and assimilated 1 mana. Mana stat is now 39.]

[The Host refined and assimilated 1 mana. Mana stat is now 40.]

[The Host refined and assimilated 1 mana. Mana stat is now 41.]

.

“Shatter.” Vincent used all the charges he gathered in his gauntlets and destroyed the remaining three ice walls. A smile was on his face from the bountiful harvest as it saved him hours of meditating.

Vincent doesn’t want to ask this kind of ten-minute training from his wives. Firstly, he worried they might get hurt because of their low mana pool and no projectile-type spells. Secondly, he doesn’t know if absorbing mana from close contact could lead to future complications.

The twins with the soldiers arrived half an hour later. They saw Vincent waving his hands while Leonis looked furious. He was trying to calm him down, it appeared.

“You, vice-captain!” Leonis pointed at a city guard vice-captain. “Take these five and interrogate them! No one trespasses into the Lionheart family property. I, Barron Leonis Lionheart, hope to hear good news.”

Leonis turned around and went to his wife and daughter while mumbling angrily, “Another generation of those rat bastards is in the academy and has already set his eyes on my little angel. I will need to tell Darwin to keep an eye on that little rat for me.”

Vincent presented his golden noble identity card and said, “I am Vincent Lionheart, and I have special permission to leave the academy to visit my home.”

Vincent showed his status to show how he wasn’t a person to be taken lightly, and his plan to show his stature as a noble with backing worked. The vice-captain and the soldiers became bewildered to see a golden cardholder and an academy student who was given the almost impossible permission to leave the academy.

“These five men came to attack us while spouting how one of their gang members disappeared and how they think it is our fault. Furthermore, the missing member of the thug group lost a bet. He was asked to pester the twins behind you who guard the Lionheart family property’s gate.” Vincent explained.

Vincent approached the vice-captain and patted his shoulder. “I think this matter needs a lot of attention because I fear someone is conspiring against a noble from the shadows.” He said in a serious tone.

“Most certainly, my lord.” The vice-captain signaled the soldiers to take the five thugs away. Afterward, the vice-captain continued with a respectful tone, “We will deliver a written interrogation report.”

After the soldiers left, Lenn and Renn apologized for letting the thugs enter. The two of them decided to leave the gate open since it was going to have a lot of traffic that day. It was going to open and close many times. But the thugs took the opportunity to surprise them and rush inside.

Fortunately, the twins didn’t get hurt physically. Their pride was hurt, while the thought of letting their mother and sister experience danger because of their negligence terrified them. This experience would be the catalyst to their determination to become stronger.

“Life evolves because we adapt to the failures we experience. ” Vincent placed his hands on the twins’ shoulders and continued, “Don’t apologize and learn from this failure.”

[Vincent. One of the soldiers that took the thugs is running toward us. But his expression isn’t showing signs of anger or aggression...]

[Don’t tell me one of the thugs escaped or died?]

Vincent looked at the soldier, and he looked more worried than hostile.

*Huf, Huf* The soldier arrived, and he lowered on his knees suddenly. He raised his gaze at Vincent and respectfully asked, “My lord. This disrespectful servant requests to ask one question. I will accept being reprimanded if I am being disrespectful.”

‘Now, this is making me curious. Why is he alone, and his manner of speech is akin to asking for a favor. But at least he doesn’t have a mark on his armor. A family doesn’t sponsor him.’ Vincent thought.

“Okay. What do you need to ask?” Vincent let the soldier ask to figure out his mysterious behavior.

“One of the thugs woke up, and this servant heard him mention being frozen by an ice demon wench. This servant asks if there is a female mage with ice magic in this property.” The soldier asked respectfully.

[This sounds fishy, I say. Is he a spy?]

Vincent had a similar thought, but he wanted to make sure because the soldier’s gaze was quite different from a sly spy looking to gain information. This gaze looked honest and warm. A faint smile appeared while mentioning ice mage as well.

“Tell me the reason, and I might decide to offer a response.” Vincent crossed her arms and acted a little bit arrogant to intimidate the soldier.

“Y-yes, my lord. This humble servant was looking for a woman. She saved my sister’s life.” The soldier said with a tear and a faint smile.

“My sister was about to die when it was the hottest of the summer, and my family couldn’t afford to buy a lot of the high-priced water. My sister was born a frail girl, and she needs medicine to feel better.”

“I was in charge of taking care of my sister when she suddenly fainted and fell on the floor on that horrible scorching day. I thought she had died... but after I went out to find help, I overheard how the fountain was frozen, and it was cold.”

“I lifted my sister and carried her, hoping for a miracle to happen. Fortunately, a miracle really did happen, and the cool temperature made my sister regain her senses. I later heard how soldiers had taken my sister’s saviors, so I joined the soldiers when I came of age.”

The soldier explained. He wiped his emotional tears and hoped his explanation would make the noble answer the question of a humble commoner like him.

Vincent, Kazumi, Sofy, Lenn, and Renn didn’t expect to hear this kind of story. His story touched their hearts.

“Can you keep what I say a secret?” Vincent asked.

“Y-yes, my lord. I will take anything told to me to my grave.” The soldier respectfully said. He looked happy to hear Vincent’s response.

“Come, follow me. ” Vincent said.

[Wait, Vincent. Are you going to tell more people about Maria? Now she will really feaze you to death.]

-I have a plan.-

[Heh... I hope you know what you are doing.]

Lenn and Renn went to guard the gate. They close it this time. On the other hand, Vincent, Sofy, and the soldier headed for the mansion.

Vincent soon stood near the entrance door. “Lupa. Bring Ester and teacher Maira.” He shouted for Lupa to hear.

Shortly, the door opened. Ester, Lupa, and Maria exited the mansion and looked curiously at the soldier. He was looking at them with a strange gaze. It wasn’t a perverted gaze, but he looked at them from head to toe as if he was looking for something.

Vincent winked at Ester before he told her, “Ester, this soldier would like to thank you for freezing the fountain many years ago. He became a soldier to search for you after the soldiers took you away. You saved his sister’s life from the selfless gesture, and he wants to thank you.”

The soldier didn’t wait for anyone else to speak. He dropped to his knees and respectfully bowed while thanking Ester with all his heart.