Overpowered Extra Noble in a Novel

137.

***

The fountain jets water powerfully into the air.

The garden is lush with a variety of flowers and robust trees.

Beyond that splendid garden stands an imposing ancient manor, completing the picturesque scene.

The noble manor, bathed in warm sunlight, bustled with various people.

The gardener wipes his sweat with a cloth around his neck. A maid sweeps the dust from the entrance. And ladies enjoy tea at a table set amidst the magnificent garden.

For a young noble lady, such a scene was rather commonplace.

Bright and beautiful.

Pesaha Devalleta bowed her head.

A solitary teacup rests atop the table, filled with a crimson liquid that emits a gentle wisp of steam.

“Is something the matter?”

“Does the tea not suit your taste?”

In response to the concerned voices, Pesaha briefly raised her head.

Across from her sat two ladies.

The face of the lady adorned in a lavish dress was as dark as if it had been painted over—no features visible at all.

Could she even be called a lady?

Based solely on her figure, attire, and voice, Pesaha presumed her to be a woman.

It was a sight that might astonish others, yet Pesaha replied calmly to the question.

“No, it’s just that a sudden worry came to mind.”

Reassured by her words of no concern, the two ladies sighed in relief and lifted their teacups once more.

The tea-drinkers resumed their lively conversation.

Stories of exchanging letters with a noble met at a previous gathering. Tales of a knight who triumphed in a tournament hosted by a certain domain and proposed to the lord’s daughter.

There were also mentions of an upcoming negotiation with the nobility of a neighboring country.

And the two nobles who, after being caught in an affair, fell in an honor duel.

Pesaha lifted her teacup, nodding while listening to the ladies’ anecdotes.

‘It is a dream.’

It was an astonishingly vivid dream.

However, this was also a scene unfamiliar to her memory.

The old-fashioned manor and its splendid garden.

Even the teatime shared with other young ladies in the garden.

Long ago, someone had said that dreams were manifestations of one’s most fervent desires, taking unstable forms.

So, was this warm and serene landscape her desired wish?

Pesaha closed her eyes, ignoring the incessant chatter of the two ladies.

‘When I was young, it might have been.’

When she was little, nestled in her father’s arms as they strolled through Devalleta Castle.

At the castle, she could hear diverse tales from visiting pilgrims and merchants.

One of the interesting contents she listened to was about life in other regions.

To the east of the empire lay an immeasurably vast and briny lake.

To the south were perilous terrains and mist-covered plains; beyond them, a lush, giant forest, and even further, the land of the human-beasts who bear the blood of beasts.

Crossing the western borders of the empire were countries filled with various people, costumes, and foods.

Even the castle of Devalleta, which she once thought was vast, was nothing compared to the astounding and mysterious world beyond its walls.

And it was said that at the heart of the empire, in the north, there were numerous nobles and young ladies like Pesaha.

The northern nobles enjoyed tea in gardens in full bloom while engaging in formal discussions under the warm sun, and it was common for them to make vows of marriage amid everyone’s blessings.

It was a thrilling and exciting story indeed.

Someday, when she grew up, wouldn’t she too step into that vast world?

‘…It was an empty dream after all.’

Pesaha turned her body backward with a self-mocking sigh.

Thereupon, Devalleta Castle spread out before her eyes.

The pale sky from which white snow descended. Gray walls towering high with plumes of black smoke rising here and there.

The gaze of the townsfolk throwing the deceased into flames was indifferent.

A cold and dry space that infused melancholy into her heart.

That was the northern Devalleta Castle.

“Pesaha-sama?”

“Your demeanor has been strange lately. Could it be the tea doesn’t suit you?”

Upon hearing the restarted calls of the two ladies, Pesaha turned her body.

When her eyes moved away from the gloomy scenery of Devalleta, the vibrant and warm garden unfolded once more before her.

Unlike the perpetually gray northern sky.

This garden was brimming with colors of all kinds.

Clatter.

She looked down at the teacup in her hand.

Despite the passage of time, the tea still emitted a warm wisp of steam.

This was a dream. But still…

“Wouldn’t it be better if it were a dream?”

The reality that awaited her upon awakening from the dream was horrifying.

For the reality was brimming with darkness.

Nothing but endless darkness awaited her, no matter how much she tried to come to her senses.

Her eyes had long ago lost their sight. Thus, describing it as seeing darkness was inaccurate.

There was nothing at all.

Wouldn’t now be better than returning to such a reality?

“Even hearing was lost.”

The things she had since birth were disappearing.

The gap caused by their loss was utterly horrifying.

But in this dream, everything could be seen and felt.

If one fell into an eternal slumber, would one endlessly dream such dreams?

Then her father must have, in his final moments, left this world while dreaming of happiness.

“I don’t want to wake up.”

Pesaha tilted the teacup.

It had no taste, yet it was truly heartwarming and beautiful.

***

Plunk.

A hand tinted blue gently dug into the dirt floor.

As the dirt was scooped out in large chunks, it was immediately tossed aside to form new supports for the debris piled above.

Scoop and toss, and scoop again and toss again.

For some time, the earth was carefully excavated to prevent the piled debris from collapsing.

“Hey!”

She scattered the dirt on her hands and dissipated the residual mana.

As the bluish light faded, the darkness closed in. After blinking her eyes a few times, the objects obscured by the dark slowly revealed themselves.

“It’s coming back.”

The dark floor remained unchanged.

Thanks to the mana core, the mana she had expended was rapidly replenished through her breath, restoring enough to summon a small amount of mana to her palm.

Feeling restless sitting still, she began digging the dirt.

Pesaha remained unconscious with no signs of waking up, and she had to continually cradle her to keep her temperature regulated. However, this didn’t feel inconvenient for a superhuman.

With the focus on emptiness and without any particular thought, she dug the dirt out, continuously using her senses to ensure that the debris wouldn’t collapse, and then created new pillars from the dug-out dirt to support it.

Isn’t it a decent enough method—simple yet effective?

Her body didn’t get tired since she wasn’t an ordinary person.

I started digging through the dirt like a madman and realized for the first time that there are more tedious things than swinging a sword ten thousand times.

“Exactly how far down did we fall?”

Though the fall had felt pretty long,

Seeing how my senses spread widely and still couldn’t detect the ground above, perhaps we fell not just through the earth but through the mantle?

A foolish thought made me burst out laughing.

“The mantle or what?”

The upper mantle maintains a temperature of around 100 degrees Celsius.

It gets uncontrollably hotter as you descend. If we had fallen into the mantle, Pesaha would have melted long ago.

She doesn’t seem to feel heat or melting from the heat either. Looks like she still has no intention of opening her eyes.

“Hmph…”

I regulated my breathing and slowly leaned back.

Mana has recovered enough that I no longer feel the cold.

Neither heat nor cold can kill me.

That’s why having a superhuman body is truly wonderful.

Briefly checking the status of the blessings, I then quietly closed my eyes.

With vision out of reach, other senses gradually came alive.

Two faint sounds – the air and the breathing.

The breaths belong to me and Pesaha, whereas the air sounds are the tiny gaps created between the tangled debris.

“I need to find water.”

My body, which escapes the human limits, can survive for a long time without water or food.

Still, I can’t sustain indefinitely, so I need to secure food and water.

“Let’s assume rations can be handled with dried meat…”

Water.

How can I secure water in this dirt floor?

“By colliding cold and heat…”

It’s a little ambiguous.

It seems like a huge explosion might just occur from the collision.

“…I moved quite far from the original spot. Let’s broaden my senses.”

Even compared to an average mana user, my current senses had already transcended into a realm of something non-human.

If I focus all my nerves on ultra-sensitive perception, I can grasp up to a radius of about three kilometers as clearly as looking with my own eyes.

I might find a water source if I explore the surroundings.

“Ugh.”

Even the information about the ground beetles tickling my ears is delivered thoroughly.

It made me feel a bit uneasy, but I endured it.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about bugs anyway.

“Water source. Water source. If I can just hear even a small sound of water…”

As I explored my surroundings while training my senses,

…tick.

A faint but refreshing sound was detected.

The sound came from my upper left.

It was a sound as small as tapping a desk with a needle, but nevertheless, it was the sound of a droplet hitting a surface. It was quite obvious for such a sound to be heard in this earthen floor.

“The heavens haven’t forsaken me.”

“The heavens”…

Perhaps referring to the Goddess Sora?

I did get scolded harshly by Keltarren about something Cain-related, so I must be someone the Goddess cares enough to notice.

“He even descended and gave me a sign… Hmm. Could my real life finally be starting?”

Who would have thought I could steal the heart of a goddess too?

No sooner did I become a married man than I got entangled with so many women.

“First Iris, then Myna, and now a celestial entity?”

It was a fearsome level of charm, indeed.

“…Ha.”

Being buried down here, I keep talking to myself. A conversation partner would be nice, but Pesaha remains unresponsive, perhaps touched by Keltarren’s power.

It’s said that a sound mind dwells in a sound body.

A superhuman body could possibly be considered the ultimate sound body. Therefore, my mental state should be at its peak, right?

Why is my spirit so weak then?

“It’s probably impossible to avoid being buried in this dark underground.”

This is the result of focusing solely on physical training and neglecting spiritual cultivation.

I need to add mental training to the practice routine when I escape.

“Once the unit gets on track, they should be thrown into the spirit training process.”

After all, a minimum of mental cultivation is needed to master the mana breathing technique.

To develop one’s breathing method with a personal touch, one must introspect. To elevate oneself and reach a peak in personal cultivation requires high-level concentration.

Strengthening one’s spirit would also help resist the mental interference of beings like Keltarren.

A brief contemplation about the future adds a lot of work unexpectedly.

Plunk.

First of all, I’ll start digging towards where the water sound was heard.

There’s no point in planning endlessly if we can’t escape. Now it’s time to focus on survival. Since we finally see a way to solve the greatest problem of finding a water source, let’s finish it first.

Plunk Plunk Plunk.

The hand digging through dirt was unfaltering.

From time to time, solid rocks or veins of ore appeared, but…

Bang!

Nothing can stop the mana hands!

When the faint water sound became increasingly distinct.

Whoosh—

“…What?”

A piercing cold emanated from Pesaha’s body.

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