Melanie quietly watched Derek’s helpless body as it lay right next to her feet. Complex emotions flashed in her gaze for a moment, but they vanished as quickly as they manifested. "The hell are you doing?!"
Klein walked close to the unconscious body while fuming.
"Get up!" He yelled, massaging his wrist in the process. "Don’t think you’re going to get off easy after that stunt you just pulled."
Emma also neared the scene, sporting a rather peculiar gaze. She wasn’t her usual talkative self and instead passively watched as her brother kicked Derek’s body with higher and higher intensity while urging him to get up.
"You... It seems you have a death wish!"
Klein raised his foot and was about to stomp on Derek’s face when Melanie finally stepped in with a loud sigh.
"That’s enough."
"W-what?!" Klein, flustered by the unexpected interruption, couldn’t help but let out a stutter. He quickly caught himself and took a few steps back.
As for Melanie, she knelt next to Derek and closely observed his body while keeping a neutral expression.
"He is extremely fatigued. Although his condition is currently stable, injuring him at this juncture could lead to complications that may threaten his life."
"So what?" Klein barked, enraged even further. "I should just let him off for injuring my wrist?"
"You can postpone whatever you have in mind for when he wakes up. That is... unless you intend to kill him." Melanie’s cold gaze pierced through Klein’s bravado.
It forced the young man to finally back off while scoffing.
"Whatever..."
"I’ll take him to his residence. The two of you should get settled in the manor."
"Why not have a servant do that instead?" Emma grumbled. "We just arrived after a whole year away. Won’t you show us more hospitality?"
"A lot has happened recently. I believe it’s best I take care of this myself." Melanie shook her head in response.
Her words elicited surprise from both Klein and Emma.
Before they could say anything, however, Melanie had already begun to cast a Spell on Derek.
"Spell #10: Lift."
Magia was dispersed all over his body, allowing it to defy gravity as it slowly rose from its position on the ground.
He floated right next to Melanie, who turned to her siblings and smiled.
"Don’t worry, I won’t be long. In the meantime, the shadow guards will keep you company and explain what has happened this past week."
"Okay..."
"Alright then."
Emma and Klein watched as Melanie walked away.
However, she hadn’t even taken a few steps forward when she slowly turned around and fixed her eyes on Klein.
"He wasn’t joking, you know?"
"What?"
"About his Talent Grade... what he said wasn’t a joke."
By the time he finally regained some semblance of composure, Melanie had already left the two.
Needless to say, Emma was also shocked by the news.
She looked at her brother with a slightly worried expression while repeating the words Derek had uttered.
"A Plus Grade Talent."
It was inconceivable that an Inept with no hope waiting for him would have such results.
But Melanie had just confirmed it.
Having known their older sister all their lives, they knew the last thing she did was make jokes or use her words carelessly.
Thus, they were convinced.
Derek Lewis had truly shot up from a nobody to the status of a genius!
.....
[Two Days Later]
"I’m screwed..."
Derek’s teeth clattered once he heard from Max everything that happened after he lost consciousness amidst his conversation with Klein.
Apparently, the Magus Codex had briefly taken over his body before it finally shut down.
During that period, it protected Derek from harm and ended up injuring Klein.
This was already bad enough.
However, Klein didn’t even get his chance at revenge, which meant his rage had to be piling up and would have reached new heights at this point.
’Worse yet, I slept for nearly two days instead of the estimated one-day period.’
Derek sighed loudly.
So many problems seemed to be piling up at once, but he didn’t even have the time to dwell on them.
Now that he was no longer Inept, and more importantly, he was an A+ Grade genius, he had to take advantage of all the new perks.
One of the most important ways to do this was to regain access to all the information that was kept from him. With Max’s help, he would be able to grow by leaps and bounds just from studying those materials.
’Of course, all of this is for the purpose of eventually passing the upcoming Academy Entrance Exams.’
A slight feeling of unease crept upon Derek’s heart when he thought about it.
The Lucia Magus Academy was the real deal. Merely passing the Entrance Exams would be several times more difficult than anything he had ever done in his life.
However, that wasn’t his immediate concern.
’I need to register first...’
This was where the problem truly was.
As a general rule, he needed a seal of recommendation from his family or an extremely trustworthy source to even participate in the exams.
Essentially, his attending the Academy relied heavily on Melanie’s blessing.
’But will she be willing?’
Derek felt a strong inclination towards a negative response from not only her, but the rest of his siblings.
As for the reason why, it was obvious.
’I’m a bigger threat now.’
Unlike before, when they could ignore his existence, his presence in the Lewis Family threatened their privileges.
Melanie wasn’t very talented, but since she was the oldest and became an official Magus, she was able to assume the position of Interim Head of Household.
However, this was not a permanent position that belonged solely to her.
Once Klein graduated and finished his mandatory one-year service period, he would definitely take on the role, since he had an A Grade talent, unlike her.
As for Emma, it had long been decided that she would be used for a political marriage with another Magus Household.
Derek had never been a concern in the equation before.
But now?
’My potential is higher than even Klein’s. Not only is my talent grade A+, but I also don’t have his Speech Impediment. My future as both a Spellcasting and Runegrafting Magus is bright.’
This wasn’t something his siblings wanted to see.
If they allowed Derek to enter the Academy and successfully graduate, he would be the most favored choice for not only interim, but official Head of Household.
Once that became the case, everyone in the Lewis Family would have to answer to him.
’I don’t really care about any of that stuff, to be honest,’ Derek sighed after concluding his thoughts. ’I just want to study and practice Magecraft. Revenge isn’t even on my mind.’
Unfortunately, his siblings would never see it that way.
’So how do I go about this?’
[Host, the way I see it, there are only three options to compel the Interim Head of Household to use their seal for your benefit. The first is to have the entire Lewis Family cast a majority vote in your favor. The second is to have your siblings unanimously support you. The third is to overcome a challenge set by the Interim Head of Household, with the reward being the seal.]
Derek nodded with a loud sigh.
"I’d like to avoid the first option at all costs. The last thing I want to do is involve the minor families in my matter..."
When he recalled the memories he had of his cousins, uncles, and aunts, he felt his stomach twist.
In certain ways, they were even worse than his siblings.
"The second option is not happening. Those two will never support me entering the Academy, Klein especially." Derek shook his head this time.
[Indeed. If you are out of the picture, he is the most likely to become Head of Household.]
"Which means the only choice I really have is to complete a challenge issued by Melanie..." With an uneasy expression on his face, Derek clenched his fist with determination.
"There can be no room for failure."