Later that night, Dezra and Gargith barged into Eugene’s room with a demand.
“We need to combine our strengths.”
And right when Eugene had just gotten into bed. Having washed and changed into a fluffy set of pajamas, he’d been about to go to sleep with the satisfied feeling that he’d made full use of his day.
“You disturbed someone who was about to go to sleep, just to say that?” Eugene responded without getting up from his bed.
“I want to hear your thoughts on this,” said Gargith stubbornly.
Dezra, standing next to him, had an expression full of dissatisfaction. Although she was now convinced of Eugene’s skills, his teasing after she hadn’t even been able to hit him once during their spar still lingered in her ears.
“And how exactly should we combine our strengths? You were also there listening to the Patriarch explain how this year’s Bloodline Continuation Ceremony will be held. Remember? This year we’ll have to enter a labyrinth through separate entrances and try to break through to the center of the maze.”
“But aren’t our goals still the same? The center of the labyrinth and the evil boss monster.”
A big guy like him was seriously using the words ‘evil boss monster?’ Eugene kept his amusement hidden.
“The boss monster should be extremely strong,” Gargith continued his argument.
“That might be the case,” Eugene half-heartedly agreed.
“The Patriarch and the Head of the Read Tower said there would be many traps and monsters in the maze. However, if it’s the three of us, we should still be able to make it through to the center of the maze.”
“That’s something we’ll have to try to know for sure,” Eugene cautioned.
“I have never lost to any monster,” Gargith proudly threw back his shoulders, “and besides, they said that the monsters in the labyrinth aren’t going to be real and will instead be illusions created by magic. So there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“If that’s the case, why do you want to join forces to hunt the boss monster anyway?”
“It’s for safety. Didn’t they say that even though it’s an illusion, getting struck will still hurt?”
“But you just said that you’ve never lost to a monster.”
“For a monster to deserve to be called a boss monster, it has to be a strong one,” Gargith replied with a confident expression. “As such, we’ll need to combine our strengths. Since the twins from the direct line will be working together as well, we should also join forces.”
“So you want to meet up in the center and fight the boss monster together?”
“That’s right.”
“But I think I’ll be able to kill it even if I’m on my own,” Eugene replied with a grin.
“How annoying,” Dezra muttered from between pursed lips.
Meanwhile, Gargith nodded in agreement with Eugene’s words.
“Then let’s do this. If you try to fight it and don’t manage to kill it, we can join you in the fight,” Gargith offered.
“And if you’re not there?”
“You can just run away and wait for us to get there.”
“Is there a need to even go that far? You’re already a pair, aren’t you? So just leave me out of this and work together yourselves,” Eugene exasperatedly argued.
“Depending on the circumstances, we might do just that,” this time, it was Dezra who replied. “However, three people are still stronger than two. You might be unpleasant, but… you’re stronger than me. With your help, we’ll definitely be able to kill the boss monster.”
“But why are you so invested in killing it?” Eugene questioned.
“Don’t you want to defeat the main family?” Dezra asked with narrowed eyes. “Though you’ve already defeated Cyan in a duel, if you beat him in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony as well, the Patriarch will even give you a present.”
“In a Bloodline Continuation Ceremony where members from both the direct and collateral lines are participating, the collateral lines have never once been victorious,” Gargith added. “However, this time, we have a chance at winning. There’s Dezra, me, and then there’s you, who has even defeated Cyan.”
“If I defeat the boss monster by myself, that’s still a win for the collateral lines, isn’t it?” Eugene asked.
“If you’re able to fight it alone and win, then I’ll be thrilled. Isn’t it more impressive for the monster to be defeated by a single person from the collateral lines instead of three collateral descendants?” Gargith replied while nodding.
Eugene had been reminded of the foolish Molon after seeing how big Gargith was, but after listening to him speak, he realized that Gargith actually knew how to use his head and had quite a broad-minded side to him.
“Ok, I’ve got it, so just go already. I’m going to sleep,” Eugene shooed them away with his hands while still lying down.
Dezra looked extremely dissatisfied, but Gargith just nodded and started dragging Dezra out by her wrist.
“I’m going to sleep five hours today as well,” Gargith called out as he left.
“I’m going to sleep for six hours,” Eugene repeated.
Even though Gargith knew how to use his head and was surprisingly broad-minded, it looked like he was still just an idiot.
“You fool, do you really think it will make any difference to sleep a little less than him?” Dezra asked scornfully.
“After all, the early bird gets the worm,” Gargith said cheerfully.
“So you plan on catching worms tomorrow morning?”
“Since you’re two years younger than me, it looks like you still don’t know what the proverb means.”
“I said get out!” Eugene shouted as he threw a pillow at the two talkative intruders.
* * *
Ancilla had been plagued with worry all through the night.
It was all because of the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. She had expected it to be the usual sparring competition between the participating children, but suddenly, it had become a labyrinth challenge instead.
‘On top of that, to have personally invited the Head Wizard of Aroth’s Red Tower?’
The Wise Sienna had left an indelible mark on Aroth’s magical community. As descendants of the Great Vermouth, Sienna’s close companion, the Lionheart’s main family had always had a close relationship with the Archwizards of Aroth.
In particular, the current Head Wizard of the Red Tower, Lovellian, who had always claimed to be a follower of the Wise Sienna, was someone who had attended several events hosted by the main family.
‘Although he hasn’t even shown up at my childrens’ birthdays even once.’
Ancilla chewed her lip. Of course, the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony was a traditional Lionheart family event, but… no matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t seem like he had come here just for that.
In the back of her head, she could just see the main wife, Tanis, smiling.
‘...There’s a possibility that he’s here to make Eward his disciple.’
It was a plausible idea. From a very young age, Eward had always preferred reading a book over moving his body. He held a particular interest in magic and had even been practicing various forms of magic for a while now. However, he had never accepted a master.
One of the titles given to the Great Vermouth was that of ‘Master-of-All.’ Vermouth had received this title because he wasn’t just good at martial arts, but was also supremely capable of using magic.
However, following Vermouth, there hadn’t been many among the Lionheart’s main family who had decided to delve into magic. There was a simple reason for this. It was challenging to make any progress with magic.
The competition to succeed the Lionheart’s direct line would begin at an early age. So for those who chose to focus on learning magic at this age, by the time it had come for the successorship to be decided, they would be unlikely to have learned enough magic to gain an advantage in their bid to become the Lionheart Patriarch.
‘Eward is fifteen… Although he’s been learning magic since he was young… How much could he really have learned through self-study.’
Would Eward’s skill really be able to make rapid progress just because the Head Wizard had shown up now to take him as a disciple? Ancilla pressed her hands to her cheeks to stop them from twitching with laughter.
‘The truth is that they’ve probably given up on making him the Patriarch. If Eward really becomes the disciple of the Head Wizard of the Red Magic Tower, then he has no choice but to leave the family estate. In the meantime, Cyan and Ciel will have a chance to grow up and….’
When the body is far away, the heart also grows distant. If Eward were to leave for Aroth, Ancilla was confident that she would be able to take complete control over the family estate.
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