Chapter 163. Crack and Tight
The first morning in Brando.
I woke up in a good mood, ran through one cycle of my breathing technique, then had a servant bring me a cup of tea.
A leisurely tea time.
I was savoring that leisure when a commotion suddenly broke out beyond the door.
“Ahhh, here it comes.”
The disaster, Demian, has come—
Bang!
But the one who burst in as the door flew open was an unexpected face.
“The scum?”
The first graduate of the rehabilitation program since Ivelin, the scum of House Tulk—Pi-something von Tulk—was the star of the show.
“As expected, his rehabilitation wasn’t enough…”
…Or so I thought.
Apparently, that wasn’t it.
His complexion was deathly pale.
He’d flung the door open and was panting so hard he looked like a guy who’d just barely escaped becoming a dragon’s nutritious snack in the mountains—completely out of his wits.
But why had he come here?
My eyes naturally sharpened, and right then, the scum, who’d been gasping like a dying man, opened his mouth.
“S-s-s-s-s…!”
“You lunatic?”
“N-no, not that. No! I-I came to say I’m sorry! I came to apologize. I was rash yesterday. I’m sorry. I was truly discourteous to the one who pointed out this body’s wrongdoing.”
I frowned slightly at the sudden apology.
‘Did this guy eat something wrong?’
Technically, “morning” was pushing it—it was just barely dawn.
The manor servants would be bustling about right now, but for the scion of a noble house, this was a bit early to be starting the day.
Yet he’d shown up at the crack of dawn just to say… sorry?
The killing intent leaked into my gaze as I wondered what he was scheming, and the scum flailed, frantically waving his hands.
“N-no, I don’t have any other intentions. I really just wanted to say I’m sorry. I thought it over last night and I… I realized I committed a truly mortal sin against you.”
Well, I mean. It wasn’t mortal.
I was just puzzled.
‘A guy who didn’t show a single hint of remorse yesterday, suddenly?’
If he were the sort to repent in a single night, that disaster yesterday wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
I’d even been quietly planning some after-service for him…
Then, suddenly, one thing I’d forgotten came to mind.
‘Don’t tell me… Henji?’
Yeah. The only one who could make this scum show up like this was Henji.
He’d said he’d “take care of it,” but this fast?
‘What the hell did he do?’
Seeing the scum transformed overnight, I couldn’t help being amazed. Maybe the greatest rehabilitation expert on the Eastern Continent wasn’t me but Henji.
Well, anyway.
“So. You’re really sorry, is that it.”
“Y-yes. W-would you… would you believe me if I knelt before you?”
This bastard still hadn’t fully come to his senses.
At the word “kneel,” he lowered his voice and darted glances all around, like there was still some lingering shame.
But.
I didn’t bother nitpicking that part.
If that high-nosed guy was willing to kneel, it meant that somewhere deep in his heart, a desperate feeling was welling up.
A truly virtuous Great Sage would never use someone’s crisis to humiliate them.
Before I knew it, I’d grabbed the shoulders of the guy who’d come all the way up to me and was about to tremble his knees and kneel.
“No, there’s no need for that.”
“Th-then…”
“Listen carefully. Knees aren’t something you just drop whenever. You may be the worst scum under the heavens, but I don’t want to humiliate you that badly.”
“Sc-scum…”
There was something like emotion in the scum’s eyes.
I answered it with a benevolent smile.
“Fine, not ‘scum.’ Let’s at least not throw ‘bastard’ and ‘punk’ around. Our first meeting wasn’t exactly pleasant, but we’ve got a chance to reconcile like this, don’t we?”
“Th-that’s true.”
“Then let’s be like brothers from now on. How about it?”
“…All of a sudden?”
A wary light crossed the scum’s face.
Ah, maybe that was a bit fast.
But it was fine.
It’s not like I’d only shaken people down once or twice in the back alleys of the Black and White Zone.
I’d been shaken down hundreds of times and shaken others down a few dozen. Why only a few dozen? Because by the time I was old enough to do the shaking, I’d already been sold off to House Deculan.
Anyway, I calmly took a step back and watched the scum.
“Come on, hyung. You said you’re sorry, didn’t you? Or are you not really sorry?”
“I-I am sorry, but…”
“Hyung, how old are you. Twenty? Twenty-one?”
“E-eighteen.”
“Then you’re definitely my hyung. Aren’t you? You are. How old was I again… anyway, Demian and I are the same age, so that makes you my hyung, right?”
“That… sounds about right.”
The scum hyung, who seemed to have calmed a bit, nodded obediently, and I smiled, satisfied.
Ah, right. My head.
“Hyung, sit down first. What are you doing, seriously. Anyone seeing this would think I’m bullying you.”
“S-should I sit?”
“Yeah, you should.”
After fidgeting awkwardly, the scum hyung sat down in the chair across from me.
His tension seemed to ease, and there was even a hint of relaxation on his face. But maybe I’d let him relax too much.
“S-so, little bro. Right, you’re the younger one. Haha! But, little bro, if your hyung comes all this way, you should at least offer him some tea…”
“Come on, hyung. You think we’re here to sit all cozy and have tea?”
“……”
“How about some bread instead? I’ve got a lot of ‘ppang,’ you know? Take your pick. Our specialties are the Knockout Ppang and the Knife Ppang. If you want something else on the menu, I can let you sample them one by one.”
“Hic.”
Ah, maybe I scared him too much.
Our scum hyung tensed up again.
But looking at him now, this level of tension actually suited him quite well.
So I didn’t ease him up. I just leisurely sipped my tea alone and opened my mouth.
“Hyung, let’s settle accounts now.”
“Set…tle?”
“Yeah. You said you’re sorry, right? Then there should be some show of sincerity.”
“……”
“What, don’t tell me you’re trying to stiff your own little brother? I really thought you were genuinely sorry, you know?”
“N-no, that’s… that’s not it. I really am sorry.”
Our scum hyung frantically waved his hands again, face going pale.
I didn’t know what exactly Henji had done, but he’d rehabilitated this guy properly.
Right then, the scum hyung cautiously watched my face and spoke.
“Th-then what… what should I give you? J-just say it.”
“Tch. ‘Just say it,’ huh?”
“……No, I mean, just tell me.”
Yeah. That’s more like it.
‘All right, what should we take from our scum hyung?’
From the side getting shaken down, this is the most painful moment. But from the side doing the shaking, it’s one of the most enjoyable.
With a generous smile, I rested my elbows on my knees and laced my fingers.
“So, hyung. How much did you come prepared to offer?”
“……?”
“I’m curious about your sincerity.”
“……”
The scum hyung’s pupils trembled violently.
I smiled brightly into those eyes.
And I sent my sincere thanks to some nameless vagrant from the Black and White Zone who once shook me down. Thanks to you, I could be who I am today.
This must be why childhood experience is so important.
Nameless vagrant—respect.
After securing a pretty decent amount of money… no, a token of sincerity, I personally walked my newly made scum hyung to the door.
“Hyung, you’re not going to go blabbing about this anywhere, right?”
“……”
“No answer. Why’s that? Weren’t we going to be close from now on?”
“……I won’t talk.”
Our scum hyung nodded with a stiff face.
Honestly, I didn’t feel entirely at ease.
We’d ended things on good terms, found a mutually agreeable resolution, and yet he still looked like he’d just eaten a pile of crap.
“Hyung, smile.”
“……”
“You said you’re going to see Lord Gamo now, right? You’re not planning on greeting him with that crap-eating face, are you?”
“That’s…”
“You’re not, right? Yeah, you better not. If Lord Gamo sees that face, he’s going to feel uncomfortable. People will think I threatened you. Come on, repeat after me. Chee~ese.”
“Ch-chee~ese.”
“Good. Remember that cheese. Unless you want to be quietly buried in the ground to ferment where neither rat nor bird will know.”
“……”
Our scum hyung’s face froze over again.
But I believed in him.
I believed that in front of Lord Gamo, our scum hyung would manage his expression beautifully.
“Th-then… can I go now?”
“Yeah, you can go now. Oh, and don’t forget to bring the money… I mean, the token of sincerity by the time of the banquet.”
“B-but no matter what, having it ready by the banquet is a bit too tight…”
“Do you know what sound bones make when they break?”
“……?”
“Crack.”
“……”
“So what do you prefer? Things being tight, or things going crack?”
“…Got it.”
“And what happens if you skip the banquet?”
“M-my little brother will be hurt.”
“And if my feelings get hurt?”
“…My body gets hurt.”
“Exactly. All right then, off you go.”
After carefully drilling the precautions into our scum hyung’s head, I waved at his retreating back.
His shoulders drooped as he trudged away.
There’s this sad beauty in a backside that knows when it’s time to leave and actually leaves.
Still, he was coming out ahead.
Where else was he going to find such a brilliant little brother as me? I’m not just bragging—well, I am—but if there’s anyone else my age who’s reached transcendence and holds a platinum badge from Lortel, let them step forward.
Well? There isn’t.
Anyway, after seeing my scum hyung off.
I headed back to my seat and resumed my leisurely tea time.
It was a rather fulfilling morning.
Why fulfilling?
It wasn’t just because I’d gotten a token of sincerity.
The biggest reason I was pleased was that I’d smothered the lingering embers of conflict between me and the scum hyung.
“The world has taken one more step toward peace today.”
A mage who works for world peace.
Great Sage Aster.
If that doesn’t stir the heart, I don’t know what does.
I was savoring that utterly trivial peace when, along with the sound of footsteps outside, came a knock.
Knock, knock.
“Aster, are you awake?”
A familiar voice.
Ransi.
“Yes, I’m awake, but…”
“Good. I’ve brought Young Master Demian and Chenbi. May we come in?”
Ah, so this is life.
One leaves, two arrive.
‘If I say “no” here… that’s how it’ll really become “not okay,” huh.’
I never had a choice anyway.
“Yes, come in.”
“Yes.”
At my reply, Ransi opened the door and stepped in.
Behind her, familiar platinum-blond hair and brown hair followed, and I smiled in resignation, preparing myself.
It’d been a while since I’d seen the disaster.
I had to brace myself before facing it—
“…?”
Wait. Something was off.
‘What the… is that really Demian?’
What had happened in the last few weeks?
The kid who used to be a bit shorter than me had shot up nearly a handspan taller. And more than that, there was his whole atmosphere.
Let’s set Chenbi aside for a moment.
He’d always been a calm one.
But Demian…
Step, step.
Demian walked into the room with a noble’s gait. The smile spread across his face was still bright and innocent, but the baby-faced softness was gone.
And above all—
‘What is with this presence…’
Was he really the same person?
I quietly looked up at Demian as he stood in front of me, looking down.
Even before, Demian’s presence had far outstripped others his age, but now he was radiating the full presence of a mage.
His easy, natural breathing, his eyes, the subtle aura that seeped out of him—all of it.
No matter how much of a genius Demian was, this…
Right when my thoughts got that far—
Demian gave a small smile.
“Friend, how have you been?”
He gave a dignified greeting.
I just stared at him for a moment and then blurted out, almost reflexively.
“You little bastard, you’re not Demian, are you.”
“Friend, forget first-semester Demian. Right now I am New—Demian. The newly evolved Prototype Demian.”
What the hell.
Judging from the nonsense, he was Demian all right.
‘…What happened while I was gone?’
I turned my eyes to Chenbi to look for an answer.
But—
“Aster, it’s been a while. By the way, have you ever eaten dirt? I didn’t know this either, but the taste changes a little depending on the geology. My favorite is yellow earth…”
“……”
I looked from Chenbi, who was sharing his tasting notes on dirt, to Demian, who was exuding a kind of lofty foolishness.
Demian’s intelligence had gone up.
Chenbi’s intelligence had gone down.
‘Brando… what have you done.’
