Chapter 165. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
We shared a simple breakfast and caught up on the bits of news we hadn’t finished talking about.
Ah, and by the way, Chenbi hadn’t started eating dirt purely as a joke to mess with me.
“Sir Tohoman taught me that method. He said it’s the best way to deepen your understanding of earth-attribute mana.”
“……Tohoman?”
“Oh, he’s one of the Nine Star. He’s looking after my training for a while right now.”
The Nine Star were a status comparable to Lortel’s Ten Swords or House Deculan’s Seven Mages.
In other words, you could call them the nine mages who represented Brando.
Among them, Sir Tohoman was the Third Seat of the Nine Star.
At that point, I couldn’t help but be stunned.
‘They even gave him a Nine Star?’
It was a glimpse of just how far Brando was willing to go in supporting Chenbi.
Apparently, he hadn’t become Tohoman’s direct disciple, but he’d been granted personal instruction during the vacation.
In Lortel terms, it was like assigning one of the Ten Swords to you.
And that wasn’t all.
“Way more than I deserve, but… I even got Elixirs.”
“Elixirs?”
“Yeah, high-grade Elixirs. I’ve already received three.”
“……”
Not just Elixirs.
“I even got assigned a top-class training chamber. Aster, you should come with me later. I’ll ask if you can share the room I was given.”
“……Huh.”
He’d even been allocated a top-class training chamber.
And what was a top-class training chamber?
It was a facility equipped not only with mana-gathering formations, but with every cutting-edge magic circle that could help with training.
I didn’t know exactly how efficient Brando’s top-class training chambers were, but generally speaking, the efficiency increase was at least double.
Of course, for blood relatives it wouldn’t be anything special, but considering Chenbi was an outsider, it was astonishing.
Listening up to that point, I found myself staring at Chenbi’s forehead.
“Mind brushing your bangs aside?”
“……?”
Looking puzzled but not complaining, Chenbi lifted his bangs.
I narrowed my eyes at his smooth, unmarked forehead, contrary to my expectations.
‘…What? No slave brand?’
Why was Brando pouring this level of support into Chenbi? I couldn’t make sense of it.
Of course, in terms of talent, Chenbi was above average.
He hadn’t stood out much at the academy, but the fact that he’d gotten into Genion Academy with practically no backing at all was proof enough of his ability.
But if you asked whether that level of talent justified this kind of treatment from Brando…
‘It really shouldn’t.’
As I was puzzling over it, the one who provided an answer was Demian.
[I asked them.]
[…You did?]
[Yeah. I have two “cards.” I used one of them.]
I had no idea what these “cards” were supposed to be.
But if I had to guess, they were probably one of the special privileges he could exercise as the young head.
Even so, it was shocking.
‘Even if it’s Demian, Gamo actually approved that?’
No matter if it was a young head’s privilege, this went far beyond the level of special treatment you’d give just because someone was a friend.
As I thought that far, Demian’s message spell echoed in my ears again.
[Chenbi’s going to get strong. Adversity makes people stronger. If he plays with us, he’ll get strong no matter what.]
[……]
I had no idea what he meant.
Fine, adversity making people strong I could accept—but what did that have to do with playing with us?
Still, there was one part I could agree with, ridiculous or not.
‘Adversity makes people stronger, huh…’
He was right.
Training in Brando had been nothing short of adversity for Chenbi.
Just hearing it, it sounded like he’d been relaxing and training in luxury, but Sir Tohoman’s training methods were anything but normal.
‘Feeding him dirt was the least of it…’
He buried Chenbi in the ground.
Even now, apparently, whenever night fell, Chenbi didn’t sleep in his assigned room but crawled into the earthen burrow Tohoman had built for him.
And that wasn’t all.
Most of Chenbi’s magic training with Tohoman happened underground. To be precise, with only his head sticking out of the earth.
Listening to it, it sounded less like training and more like abuse, but oddly enough, Chenbi seemed to accept it calmly.
No—calm was an understatement.
“Sir Tohoman said so. If you don’t have the talent, then you at least have to pour in time and effort—but everyone puts in time.”
“So?”
“So you need to increase effort instead. And that’s hard to do with normal methods, he said.”
“And the result of that was…”
“Yeah.”
Chenbi actually looked rather pleased.
As if harsh training were nothing at all.
Looking at him, I realized I wasn’t the only one who’d changed during our time at the academy.
When we first met, Chenbi had been fragile and somewhat crushed.
Now he too was becoming a proper mage in his own right.
Anyway, we traded various updates like that, but sadly that time didn’t last long.
“Young Master Demian, it’s about time for you to get up.”
“Already?”
“Yes, the guests who wish to see you are waiting.”
“Huum, I should go now, right?”
“Yes, that would give you enough time.”
Surprisingly, Demian readily followed Ransi and stood up.
“Friend, see you later! You have to come to the banquet!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there.”
I waved lazily and watched Demian walk out with Ransi.
To be honest, it was a bit of a shock.
Demian, who had always struggled just to get out of bed in the morning, was now heading off without complaint for the sake of the family’s business?
In the old days, it would’ve been unthinkable.
As I watched Demian, Chenbi suddenly smiled, looking somehow proud.
“He’s gotten a lot more mature, hasn’t he?”
“Mm.”
I wasn’t so sure.
The dictionary definition of “mature” was to have dignity and weight in your words and actions, and neither “dignity” nor “weight” matched Demian in any way.
Maybe Chenbi picked up on what I was thinking.
“Haha, you don’t see it when it’s just us. Watch him later.”
I nodded at Chenbi’s cheerful face.
To me, he didn’t seem all that different… but Chenbi was one of the leading Demian experts. If he said so, then that’s how it was.
Anyway, after Demian left—
“Aster, if you’re free, do you want to go see my family?”
I readily agreed to Chenbi’s tentative suggestion.
I had nothing to do until the banquet anyway, and this was something he’d been talking about since before the break; I had no reason to refuse.
So, biting into the dessert cake they’d brought out after the meal, I followed Chenbi out—and a thought came to me.
‘This is… way too peaceful.’
It was a strangely fresh start to the day.
An absolutely peaceful morning, but for some reason… it felt like a huge storm was drawing closer.
Just as the night before a storm is calm, real incidents have a way of exploding out of that kind of quiet.
“Aster?”
I stood there staring at the sky, then started walking again when Chenbi called me.
‘It’s probably just in my head.’
Most likely.
Because today, I wasn’t going to cause any kind of trouble at all.
And even if something did happen, how big could it really be if it was just inside Brando?
We’d walked for who knows how long.
It was then that Chenbi suddenly spoke up, as if he’d remembered something.
“Oh, right, Aster.”
“……?”
“Have you ever heard of the Fairies’ Group Dance?”
“Fairies’… Group Dance?”
I had.
No, there was no way I wouldn’t have.
Even now, the Wyvern in the depths of my soul was roaring toward the Amera region, thrashing around in petty bravado.
Which is to say—
‘If something does happen, it’s going to be big.’
Of course, that was just intuition.
But given the bad luck I’d had in this life, it wasn’t something I could just ignore.
But why bring up the Fairies’ Group Dance?
A bad feeling flashed across my mind and I furrowed my brow, but Chenbi just smiled innocently and went on.
“They say the Fairies’ Group Dance appeared in the Amera region this time. Sir Tohoman said that for mages, it’s…”
And that was when it happened.
“Oppa!”
“Ah, Chensla!”
At the far end of the hallway, a girl came running toward us, calling to Chenbi with a bright smile.
Chenbi stopped mid-sentence and turned to me, introducing her with a smile.
“Aster, this is my little sister, Chensla. Chensla, this is Aster.”
“Ah! Hello!”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Okay, the greeting is fine and all.
But what about Sir Tohoman?
I shot a look at Chenbi, telling him to finish what he’d been saying, and he went, “Ah,” and continued.
“So, the Fairies’ Group Dance, for mages, it’s…”
But then—
“Mom! Dad! That guy’s friend is here!”
Chensla shot off like an arrow, and the moment after she ran ahead to announce my arrival, a middle-aged couple appeared.
“Aster? You’re Aster?”
“It’s a pleasure. We’ve heard so much about you from Chenbi.”
“……Ah, yes. N-nice to meet you.”
Stammering, I answered Chenbi’s parents as they welcomed me warmly.
But my mind was still on the words Chenbi hadn’t finished.
‘So what about the Fairies’ Group Dance!’
…Finish your sentences, damn it.
In the end, I didn’t manage to hear what Chenbi had been about to say, not until the very end when I parted ways with his family.
“So, Aster, I hear you helped Chenbi a lot at the academy?”
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you during the Hall of Trials incident, I don’t know what would have happened to him…”
Chenbi’s mother wiped away tears as she brought up the Hall of Trials.
Little sister Chensla was also dabbing at her eyes, and there was no way I could slip in a question about the Fairies’ Group Dance.
So I spent time with Chenbi and his family all through to after lunch, and then had to leave when Ransi came calling.
“The tailor’s sent word. They say you need to come by to check your measurements one last time.”
“…Ah, okay.”
I went to the tailor’s with a servant Ransi had assigned to me, did a final inspection of my outfit, then returned to my room.
I’d intended to call Chenbi over afterward, but there was no time.
Both I and Chenbi’s family were busy preparing for the banquet that evening.
But what was this unease?
‘Tch, what is it?’
The Fairies’ Group Dance, for mages… what? An interesting phenomenon? Or a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle you absolutely had to see?
Either way, my gut was pointing in a bad direction.
Around the time I’d finished getting into my tailcoat with the servants’ help, I finally ran into someone who could answer my questions.
“Aster! Long time no see, hoho! Haven’t seen you in a while and your height… hmm, your height. Well, anyway, it’s good to see you!”
“…Sir Alfredo.”
The one who’d come looking for me was none other than Butler Alfredo.
He was making rounds through the manor with a clipboard so thick it looked criminal, and when he spotted me, he beamed and grabbed my hand.
“I heard you’d arrived, but I was so busy I only got to see you now. I gather there are some issues with academy life…”
“No, not issues, exactly…”
“You’ll be continuing at the academy, yes?”
“I… should, yes?”
“Bwaha! Then that’s all that matters.”
Alfredo laughed for some reason.
With a faint smile, he gave my shoulder a hearty slap. I had no idea what he was so pleased about.
“If you ever run into trouble, you can always come to Alfredo. For example, if it’s about tuition… or monetary concerns…”
“Sure. Right.”
Who knows how long that one-sided conversation went on.
“Sir Alfredo, it’s about time for you to move on.”
“Hmm, right. Go on ahead.”
After sending off the squad of under-butlers trooping along behind him, Alfredo turned back to me with a smile and said goodbye.
That was about when I stopped him.
“Aster, we can reminisce later. I should really…”
“Um, there’s something I wanted to ask.”
“What is it? Are you perhaps curious about the butler curriculum…”
“No, not that. Is there, by any chance, an outing scheduled involving Demian and Chenbi… say, a field trip to see the Fairies’ Group Dance in the Amera region…?”
My heart was in my throat.
‘No way. Right?’
No matter how spectacular the Fairies’ Group Dance in Amera was, or how valuable a phenomenon it was for mages, sending the young head and his friend on a sightseeing trip?
There was no way.
No—there shouldn’t be.
And yet…
I could only let out a hollow laugh at Alfredo’s breezy reply.
“Ah, you hadn’t heard? Demian and Chenbi’s trip to Amera is the day after tomorrow.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Ah! You were worried they might go without you! Don’t worry! When I heard you’d arrived, I already took care of your preparations as well.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Hohoho! It’s nothing, Aster. It wasn’t easy, but Butler Alfredo has already…”
I didn’t hear a word Alfredo said after that.
All I heard was—
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek—!
Only the Wyvern’s roar from the depths of my soul echoed in my ears.
