047
Class leader Leviwood appeared.
Dragging something in one hand.
His face was bruised, one eye was swollen shut, and he was covered in cuts. It also seemed like his leg might have been broken.
“I’ve captured the one who was creating the golems, so everyone can relax now.”
So—
‘An invader!’
But looking at the state of him, it was hard to tell who the real bad guy was.
The one who created the golems was definitely in the wrong, but still…
Seeing how badly they’d been beaten made me feel a little sorry for them.
“Well done, everyone. Elzen, take everyone back to Pellun. I’ll handle things here and finish up.”
At class leader Leviwood’s gentle instruction, brother Elzen nodded.
‘Huh? Where did that sister go?’
She was definitely here, but now she was gone.
I wanted to say goodbye!
“Let’s go, youngest. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Okay.”
Brother Elzen gave me a sharp look and picked me up. Resting my soft cheek against his shoulder, I let out a yawn.
‘For what it was, this picnic was kind of fun…’
Zzz.
A tired baby only needs a warm embrace to fall asleep.
***
After everyone had returned to Pellun.
Leviwood, now alone, sat atop the unconscious Goliath.
“Come on out. We have things to discuss.”
His deep blue eyes glinted as he looked down at the shadow beneath him.
Eventually, as if the shadow began to boil, bubbles formed, and from it emerged a girl.
It was Diorose.
“I wanted to watch you struggle a little longer. But then that adorable baby bunny displayed some unexpected abilities.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Just as Elzen and Diorose knew each other, so did Leviwood and Diorose.
Since their families were sworn enemies, it couldn’t be said they got along well. However, it couldn’t be said they hated each other either.
At the very least, they were capable of having a conversation.
To be precise, Diorose was the only person in the Velarion family who could be reasoned with.
“As expected, you’ll keep Shupetty’s abilities a secret, right?”
Leviwood brushed her silver hair behind her ear and smiled warmly.
It was a fake kindness, only for appearances, but it was so smooth and convincing that it seemed real.
Diorose matched his act with a dazzling smile of her own.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe if you grant me a small, trivial favor?”
“A request made by a lady who came all this way in person? Of course, I’ll oblige.”
“In that case, could you pull out that idiot’s tongue for me? I don’t even want to touch him.”
Still smiling, Diorose pointed at Goliath. The supposedly unconscious body flinched.
He had, in fact, been awake the entire time.
“Just a tongue? Is that enough payment for keeping the secret?”
“Well, you see, he’s the second son of Velarion. It’s more than enough.”
Hearing his sister’s words, Goliath struggled desperately to escape.
‘If I can just slip into the shadow…!’
Eyes wide with panic, Goliath used all his strength to try to flee into the shadows.
But in the next moment—
Thud!
A sound like something striking a metal plate rang out as Goliath was thrown back.
‘What… what’s going on? Why… why can’t I escape?!’
First, a baby was flying through the air; then whirlwinds appeared, destroying an entire army of golems.
Something was strange about Pashayen.
This was different from what he knew. Something had changed.
If he returned and reported everything to the family head, maybe he could avoid taking responsibility for this situation…
“Oh dear, where do you think you’re going, looking like that?”
“Ahhh!”
Crunch.
Diorose stomped down on Goliath’s injured hand with force.
Shadows, as thin as threads, extended from Diorose’s body, pinning Goliath in place.
Shadow Binding.
It was a technique used by Velarions against each other.
“You’ve saved me the trouble of chasing after you. How thoughtful.”
Leviwood, who had been silently observing, dusted himself off as he stood up.
“No, no, ahhh!!”
With a loud flap, a few crows flew past Goliath’s wide eyes as he finally fainted.
For the rest of his life, he would never be able to speak again.
“Leviwood, you’re planning to become the family head, aren’t you?”
“It’s not a plan; it’s inevitable. Just like it is for you.”
Moments later, Diorose and Leviwood faced each other.
Both had set their sights on becoming the heads of their respective families in the future.
The only difference was that Leviwood was already on the path, having secured his position as the heir, while Diorose kept her ambitions hidden for the time being.
“Leviwood, if you want to safely ascend as the head of your family… be wary of your mother.”
“……….”
“The only person who can bring you down from your position is Cecilia Pashayen.”
With those words, Diorose used her shadows to grab Goliath and disappeared.
Watching her vanish, Leviwood clicked his tongue softly.
“Ah, there’s no need to state the obvious—I already know that.”
His mother was greedy.
When the current head of the family eventually passed away, and Violet Pashayen rose to the leadership, his mother would undoubtedly use him, as the heir, to strike down the family head. Then, she would aim to take the position herself.
‘Not just that. She’d likely try to take control of all of Pashayen and turn me into her puppet.’
The problem was that his dear mother was hot-tempered, short-sighted, and lacked good judgment.
If things went that way, it would take just five years for the family to fall apart.
Moreover, Violet Pashayen wasn’t someone to be underestimated either.
‘Though she’s not bold enough to start something big, she’s not someone I can let my guard down around.’
Why did Diorose Velarion go out of her way to give him such a warning?
“This is troublesome. I’ll need to look into this…”
Leviwood trailed off as he muttered to himself.
No matter how much she was his mother, he couldn’t let her actions jeopardize his future.
“Brother, I’m here to pick you up!”
Before long, Elzen returned.
It was time to head back to Pellun.
Chapter 6. The Reason I Need to Become Stronger
After returning home, the first thing I did was sleep soundly.
Then I had a thorough examination by the doctor.
Once it was confirmed that I was completely fine, I was taken to the family head’s room, where the Admiral, Mister Carmen, and Teacher Cedric were also present.
“So, can you summon the Air Spirit King again?”
“Nope, I can’t. I need to grow a lot more.”
Honestly, I wanted to summon the Spirit King right away and show off, but the Air Spirit King didn’t even appear as sparkling text this time.
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ advises that after a hundred nights of sleep, you’ll regain the strength needed to summon the Air Spirit King again.]
‘That’s okay!’-
I wasn’t feeling down at all.
Destroying those golems back then was so thrilling!
[The Water Spirit King ‘■■■■’ mutters.]
[My child… It’s good that you’re healthy and strong, but is it really okay to teach you like this…?]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ defends you.]
[Kids need to get into a few fights while growing up. It’s better than being a trembling mess, especially for someone with awakened abilities.]
As I stared blankly at the sparkling letters, Mister Carmen stroked his chin thoughtfully before speaking.
“I’d like to recommend ancient language lessons for the youngest miss.”
“Hooh?”
“Since the Spirit King’s name is a combination of ancient words.”
There was one fascinating thing.
Not only could no one but me see the Spirit King’s form, but no one else could even hear their name.
It was as if the part where I called out the name was erased from their memories.
Even when I tried to tell them the name, all that came out were chirping sounds.
‘It must be prohibited.’
It’s something you have to discover on your own.
“While we could hypothesize the name based on its structure in ancient language, calling out various combinations didn’t elicit any reaction. This suggests that only someone with the aptitude of a spiritist, and enough affinity to form a contract with a Spirit King, can give meaning to the name.”
Wow, Mister Carmen is so smart.
The Admiral listened to him with a serious expression, while the family head looked thoroughly intrigued.
“We’ll have to invite a renowned professor of ancient languages. Perhaps we should also bring a professor of spiritology from Mondal.”
At the family head’s suggestion, the Admiral slowly nodded.
“Yes. However, we must ensure that Shupetty’s contract with the Spirit King is kept absolutely secret.”
“Hmm. How do you suggest we handle it?”
“To hide a special needle, you must place it among other needles.”*
🍓; *Means that to conceal something unique or important, you should hide it among similar objects so it doesn’t stand out. It reflects the idea of blending in to avoid detection.
