'I must not kneel!'
GRRRIT!
Chloe clenched her teeth hard enough to shatter them.
She planted both hands on the ground.
She braced against the earth with knees and feet.
And then.
"Gyaaaah!"
With a scream she pushed against the ground with all her strength.
"Pfff!"
In the end a mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips.
But Chloe did not collapse.
Her elbows did not bend.
She pushed against the earth with both arms.
She took the back-breaking pressure with her whole body and held.
"Khk, cough!"
She kept retching up blood.
But Chloe did not stop.
"Haaah!"
No more screams came from her mouth.
Only battle cries, only shouts.
And at last her hands and knees left the ground.
Standing firm on nothing but her two feet, she raised her head and looked at Neik Renhardt.
"House Facial, second child and eldest daughter of Summer Castle....... Kgggh, C-Chloe....... offers her greetings to the Patriarch of Renhardt!"
In that instant the immense pressure crushing Chloe vanished all at once.
And Neik Renhardt spoke.
"Proof is to be made wholly by one's own strength."
Words that might have been a warning or advice.
But Chloe could be certain of one thing.
The terrible weight that had lived in his voice was gone.
'A softened voice.......'
She felt that even his voice had become considerably gentler.
But that was the limit of what she had.
"Cough!"
THUD!
Chloe vomited blood once more and collapsed to the ground.
Neik spoke to Alden.
"Move them into the mansion and treat them."
"By your command!"
Alden answered loudly and directed the guard.
And Neik's gaze turned to one other person.
Kalian Facial, standing blankly inside the grounds with a hand clamped over Aizel Renhardt's mouth.
***
Ah, I'd forgotten.
That's right.
That man had a personality like that.
He doesn't permit those who lack the qualification even to exchange words with him.
But for someone who qualifies, he looks after them fairly well with that utterly blunt face.
That doesn't mean he ever shows warmth.
That man is incapable of it.
Anyway, Chloe Facial.
Wow, she's tough.
She wasn't called the Witch of the North for nothing.
Father's.......
Father.......
Father?
Hm....... He is my father. By the identity of my soul, Aizel Renhardt, he's my father.
But my body now is Kalian Facial.
And the identity I have to live under from here on is Kalian Facial.
So I must not think of him as Father any longer.
To keep that title from slipping out by accident, I have to think about it differently from the start.
Right. That man is Neik Renhardt.
He is not my father.
Honestly....... even in my past life before the regression, I had no particular memories with Father, no, with Neik Renhardt.
We never even managed an ordinary father-and-son relationship.
Neik Renhardt could not, however generously you looked at it, be a good father, and I didn't have the temperament to be a good son either.
But he was an excellent superior and commander.
So long as you weren't craving warm family affection, there was no better man.
An outstanding superior who embraced even inadequate, lacking subordinates as they were.
Anyway.
To pass a test from that Neik Renhardt.
Chloe Facial really is something.
That's a test you can't pass without skill, grit, and the courage to stake your life.
Passing it earns my respect. It does.
Ah!
But why is he glaring at me?
I quietly followed Neik Renhardt's gaze.
"A-agh!"
I let out a yelp despite myself and quickly let go.
Of the hand clamped over Aizel's mouth.
It had happened as we crossed the garden and were about to pass the main gate.
Every one of the Facial people had been crushed by Neik's technique.
Seeing it, Aizel had reacted reflexively.
'S-si.......'
Anyone could see he was about to shout 'sister', so I'd covered his mouth first.
If he'd called Chloe his sister in that situation, what would we have done about the mood?
Neik looked between me and Aizel.
He made a subtle expression, then stared at me again.
Normally he would ask who I was.
But he didn't.
Instead.
THOOOM!
"Nkk!"
A pressure strong enough to crush every joint in my body bore down on me.
The same pressure that had crushed the Facial people.
Precisely, a signature technique by the name of [Coercion].
Originally a technique made to sweep away low-level enemies on the battlefield in one stroke.
Neik made good use of it for handing out trials.
Like now.
-Master!
Velkarion cried out in alarm.
'Tell me what you see.'
In truth I'd been curious for a while.
The basis of any technique by which a martial artist projects power outward is the Aura Blade.
So with a technique that acts on the outside, you can naturally confirm the aura's presence with the naked eye.
But Neik's [Coercion] did not follow that rule.
To the one on the receiving end it simply feels like pressure.
And yet it's strong enough to crush a Fifth Circle knight.
There was no way not to be curious.
And right now Velkarion, who can see energy with his eyes, was with me.
A perfect chance to confirm the true nature of [Coercion].
"GRRRIT!"
Under pressure fearsome enough to grind my teeth, my mind felt ready to scatter.
But I held.
"Hoo, hoo!"
I wrung out every bit of Ether in my body.
Without discharging it outward, I ran the activated Ether along the Ether Circuit inside my body.
HMM, HMMM!
The Ether whirling through my body resisted the pressure of [Coercion].
And in that moment I heard an unbelievable shout.
-I-i-it's Ether?
'What is?'
-The force pressing down on you, Master.
'Eh?'
A stupid noise escaped me.
'Ether? Neik Renhardt handles Ether?'
-Uh, that doesn't seem to be it.
'What do you mean?'
-What extends out of that man's body is definitely mana. But that mana suddenly changes into Ether and wraps around you, Master.
"Kgggggh!"
The strengthening pressure drew a groan from me on its own.
But Ether, is it?
I don't know by what means Neik handles Ether.
But if what's pressing me is Ether, then I have methods of my own.
"Hoo, hup!"
I steadied my breathing quickly, accelerated the Ether whirling inside me further, and expelled it out of my body.
If it's a pressure of Ether, I cancel it with the same Ether.
"Haah!"
The pressure wringing my whole body suddenly vanished.
Breathing became far easier.
And then.
The corners of Neik Renhardt's eyes trembled.
A reaction of that size meant he was astonished enough to faint.
Not that it mattered to me.
I rose to my feet and spoke.
"Kalian Facial offers his greetings to the master of House Renhardt."
As I finished the greeting, the pressure wringing me vanished as well.
"Hooo!"
Another long breath escaped me.
Canceling the pressure only works so long as the Ether inside me holds out.
And then an absurd sight unfolded before my eyes.
What is that?
Am I seeing this correctly?
Neik Renhardt.
The corners of his mouth were turned up.
He was smiling.
A smile of Neik's I had never once seen in my past life before the regression.
He spoke.
"You use an interesting technique."
I'd thought he would sense something. But he wouldn't guess it was Ether.
Humans cannot handle Ether.
Almost no one can easily deny a proposition branded as absolute truth for thousands of years.
Not even a monster eyeing the Eighth Circle.
"It is a secret art of my House."
"I see."
If it's a House's secret art, what can you do?
"The reason a Facial came out of my mansion?"
"I have been staying in the capacity of Aizel Renhardt's friend."
Neik's gaze went to Alden, who was staring at me wide-eyed.
"T-that is....... He was certainly Young Master Aizel's attendant......."
For Alden, my identity could only be astonishing.
Then Neik's gaze returned to me.
A look demanding an explanation.
"An application of the rules to simplify a cumbersome procedure."
This time Neik's gaze went to Aizel.
"Is that true?"
"Y-y-yes, sir!"
"Once the guests are gone, you will confine yourself for one month."
"What?"
Horrified, Aizel looked between me and Neik.
What could be done? You can't punish a person from another House, so Aizel had to take it in his place.
Deep resentment settled into Aizel's eyes as he looked at me.
What? Why?
The problem of concealing an outsider's identity and bringing him into the house had already occurred.
From a Patriarch's standpoint, a problem within the House must be brought to a conclusion.
So the most reasonable outcome is for Aizel Renhardt, who created the problem, to take responsibility and be disciplined.
From Aizel's side, knowing I was the one who told him to do it, it must feel unjust.......
So what of it?
"Kalian, was it?"
"Yes, Patriarch Renhardt."
"I will see you briefly this evening."
"I will come."
With that, Neik strode inside without a backward glance.
And Alden came up beside me.
"Well....... Really....... Isn't this rather a problem?"
The man whose duty it is to control who comes and goes from the mansion is the guard captain, Alden.
In my past life we'd had no particular friendship.
Merely the businesslike relation of a House knight and a member of the House's direct line.
No, come to think of it, everything in this damned household is businesslike.
That my brother and I had something like brotherly affection strikes me anew as strange.
"My apologies."
I apologized quickly and threw a glance at Aizel beside me.
Aizel looked aggrieved for a moment, but what could be done?
"My apologies. I was rushing things and broke procedure."
He had some social sense after all; he tidied it up well.
While glaring at me, of course.
This is a bit awkward.
At times like this, an evasive maneuver is a good method.
"I'd like to stay by my sister's side and look after her. Would you show me the way?"
"Follow me."
Alden nodded and led the way.
***
Chloe, Jane, and the escort knights were given an annex of House Renhardt.
Handing over an entire annex to a troublemaker who had raised hell at your front door.
Being one of the Three Great Houses played a part, but above all it must have been that Chloe had earned recognition.
Because Neik likes outstanding people more than anything.
"Kai!"
The moment I entered the room, Chloe sat bolt upright.
"S-s-si......."
I stepped in and opened my mouth.......
The word wouldn't leave my lips.
"Si......."
"Hm?"
Chloe looked at me quizzically.
In Kalian's memories lodged in my head, I called Chloe 'sis'.
But the word simply wouldn't stick to my tongue.
So in the end.
"Sister, are you all right?"
Chloe looked at me with an expression of profound shock.
No, not simply shock.
Her eyes reddened in an instant and looked ready to spill tears at any moment.
Wait, why?
"Kai, 'Sister,' all of a sudden? It feels so distant. Call me 'sis' warmly, the way you used to."
Wow, this is driving me crazy.
Warmly? S-s-siiis?
Gooseflesh rose all over me.
At this rate I might turn into a plucked chicken.
I never dreamed of it.
That the witch, the Mad Mage, no, just the crazy bitch Chloe Facial, would wear such a tender, pitying expression toward me.
Compared to my past life, isn't that more violent?
"T-that won't do. I'm fifteen now, so I shouldn't act spoiled any longer."
"Are you really going to be that way? You see your sister for the first time in a month and you have to put that distance between us? After you were suddenly kidnapped, do you know how worried I was....... Hnngh!"
At last a tear dropped from Chloe's bloodshot eyes.
Wow, seriously.
Isn't this too much?
Watching that, my body, no, my soul, recoiled instinctively.
Suddenly I felt drained, nauseated, and dizzy.
'Hey, I'm in bad shape right now, aren't I?'
It felt so strange that I asked Velkarion.
-No. You're perfectly fine, though?
'What? Don't lie to me.'
-Come now, I may talk nonsense, but I don't lie.
Right. A skull-head with excellent self-awareness.
If the one who can see the flow of Ether in my body says so, it must be true.
Just my imagination, then?
"Sob, sob sob!"
At last Chloe buried her face in both hands and began to weep.
Is this the same Chloe Facial who endured Neik's Coercion and proved herself?
Ah, somebody please save me.