At Duke Seid’s unexpected question, Lloyd hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say, before opening his mouth.
“……We are simply close, like siblings.”
Who the “younger sibling” referred to could be understood differently depending on the listener.
Lloyd naturally meant Yuria, but Duke Seid did not take it that way.
“Oh? So our Yuria throws herself into the arms of a mere close younger brother while crying?”
“…….”
Unable to think of an appropriate response, Lloyd closed his mouth and chose his words carefully.
In a way, it could have seemed disrespectful in front of a Duke, but Duke Seid liked it instead.
‘It is far better than filling the air with long-winded excuses and pointless explanations.’
Duke Seid despised craven nobles whose mouths were all they had, so Lloyd pleased him all the more.
‘At first, I had no intention of letting the fellow who made Yuria cry get away with it…….’
But Lloyd was different.
He possessed considerable Mana, had connections with the Master of the Hertina Guild, and was a man of few words. Was that not suitably manly?
Furthermore, Duke Seid considered connections to be one of a person’s abilities, so he was rather pleased that Lloyd had a friendship with his daughter.
“I will listen carefully to the details of your relationship with Yuria later, ha ha!”
As though something pleased him greatly, Duke Seid laughed heartily. Then his expression became serious, and he stepped closer to whisper.
“By the way, I have a favor to ask of you. Will you hear it?”
“I will decide after hearing it.”
“It is good that you are cautious. Then come to my study later.”
“Understood.”
Perhaps pleased by Lloyd’s straightforward answer, Duke Seid smiled.
“Then I will go ahead and wait.”
Duke Seid patted Lloyd on the shoulder before turning away.
***
The moment Duke Seid left, numerous nobles nearby crowded around Lloyd.
“I heard the rumors. I wished to meet you, but I did not expect we would meet like this. Ah, I am from House Frio……”
“Wait, are you trying to cut in first? I have been waiting to greet Young Lord Lloyd for quite some time.”
“The same goes for me.”
The atmosphere grew somewhat hostile.
The one who stepped in then was none other than Eden.
Eden skillfully dealt with the nobles as he spoke.
“Please calm yourselves, everyone. We, too, have met Sir Lloyd again after a long time and have much to discuss. Would you mind waiting for a moment?”
No noble dared refuse the legitimate son of a ducal house to his face.
“Of course.”
“Ho ho, then enjoy your time. We will excuse ourselves.”
With a bright smile, Eden gave the nobles a small bow before guiding Lloyd to a balcony.
“I am sorry for bringing you somewhere like this, Leader. It was the only quiet place I could think of where we could talk…….”
Lloyd was the leader Eden had always admired.
Since they had met again after so long, Eden wanted to have a slow conversation somewhere nice, but he could only regret the circumstances.
“This place is enough. By the way, you looked quite like a noble.”
At Lloyd’s praise, Eden broke into a wide grin.
“Ah, it feels good to receive praise from the Leader!”
“Then you should act like a noble too.”
As Lloyd watched the two bicker, a smile formed on his lips.
He had thought that Eden and Yuria had escaped the dungeon safely, and that he would never meet them again.
Who could have imagined that they would reunite in this world?
“I regret that you two could not escape the dungeon, but I am glad to meet you again like this.”
Eden and Yuria replied with bright smiles Lloyd had never seen from them at the Institute.
“Thinking about it now, I believe it was fortunate that we did not escape the dungeon.”
“I also prefer meeting our comrades again to escaping the dungeon. By the way……”
Yuria looked at Lloyd with a playful expression that was exactly like Duke Seid’s.
Lloyd tilted his head in confusion.
“Hmm?”
Unable to hold it in any longer, Yuria suddenly began laughing at Lloyd.
“The Leader is smaller than me now. You are so cute!”
“…….”
Lloyd rarely showed his emotions, but even he could not hide his wounded pride at that moment. His face twisted.
His small build, which refused to grow no matter how much he trained his body, had already been bothering him.
A short sigh escaped Lloyd’s lips.
“I think the gift Sister Hye-mi sent was the Leader. As expected of Sister Hye-mi!”
“She is not Sister Hye-mi now. She is Sister Iriana.”
“Tch, fine. Ever since you became my real older brother, your nagging has only gotten worse.”
“What? You little…….”
The two had always been like siblings.
And now they were blood siblings in this world.
‘It may be a coincidence, but it worked out well.’
Perhaps because they had been among the younger members of their comrades, the two had particularly longed for familial affection.
“Come to think of it…… House Seid is a renowned magical house, so you two must know a lot about magic as well?”
At Lloyd’s question, Eden and Yuria shrugged confidently.
“Of course!”
“Naturally. We may not be geniuses, but people do call us gifted!”
“Then does this world have magic similar to Enchant Skills?”
Eden understood what Lloyd wanted to ask and nodded.
“Of course. But why do you ask about Enchant Magic?”
“I obtained a core from a dungeon.”
Lloyd told them that he had been training by traveling back and forth to an Instance Dungeon using the Dungeon Key he had acquired from Mad Dragon Icarus’s Dungeon.
“Hmm, then you will certainly need a Magic Scholar.”
Unfamiliar with the term, Lloyd asked in confusion.
“A Magic Scholar? Are they different from mages?”
“They are similar, but Magic Scholars mainly research and create Artifacts rather than magic.”
“Hmm, Artifacts…….”
Even Lloyd, who knew little about magic, knew what an Artifact was, but he had never once seen one in person.
Artifacts were extremely expensive items.
They were not something an illegitimate child who had been ignored as incapable could touch.
“I would like to see one in person.”
As Lloyd murmured quietly, Yuria seemed to decide that this was the moment. She handed him the pendant around her neck.
“Please take this, Leader.”
“What is this?”
“It is an Artifact inscribed with Healing Magic and Detoxification Magic.”
It was a luxurious pendant with a blue gemstone set in the middle of its ornate decorations.
At a glance, it appeared no different from an ordinary pendant, but a closer look revealed a magic circle engraved into the gemstone.
“I do not know how Artifacts are structured, but it resembles accessories obtained from dungeons.”
“That is right. You can only use it once per day, but it will be helpful.”
“It will certainly be helpful, but…… is it all right to give this to me? You need it too.”
Yuria smiled brightly as though telling him not to worry.
“It is fine. I can ask the house’s mages to make another one for me!”
“I will select skilled Magic Scholars soon and send them to House Bled.”
“Thank you, both of you.”
When Lloyd thanked them, Eden and Yuria gave him broad smiles.
Until then, they had only received Lloyd’s help because they were young.
But now, they finally had a chance to help him. How could they not be happy?
“If you need anything else, please tell us anytime.”
“Now that we are adults, we will help you!”
“Very well.”
Lloyd decided to gladly accept their goodwill.
“Ah, Vector…… I mean, Jinseok, is waiting in the knights’ hall. Go and see him.”
“Brother Jinseok is here too?”
“I miss Brother Jinseok too!”
The two showed their delight.
If Lloyd had been the most dependable person among their comrades, Vector had been like a friendly older brother.
“Go on. Jinseok is probably waiting with his neck craned for you to come.”
“What about you, Leader?”
“I have something else to do.”
After saying that, Lloyd began walking away.
A servant nearby, as though he had been waiting, led him to Duke Seid’s study.
***
Following the servant’s guidance, Lloyd arrived at the study, where Duke Seid welcomed him.
“Come in. I have been waiting.”
“The favor you wished to ask of me is……?”
“Tut, you are more impatient than you look. Let us slowly discuss it over a cup of tea.”
There was no need to hurry.
Lloyd had no reason to refuse Duke Seid’s offer, and he thought refusing would be impolite. So he sat down and drank the tea.
Sip.
The warm tea seeped into his body, clearing his mind. He felt the fatigue that had quietly built up from the unfamiliar party easing away.
“What do you think? It is a special tea made by House Seid.”
“……I do not particularly like tea, but this is fairly good.”
“The more exhausted your body and mind are, the better this tea tastes. If you like it, I will have some specially prepared for you.”
“Thank you.”
Duke Seid set down his teacup and got to the point.
“I will be direct. I need your help…… No, more precisely, the help of the Master of the Hertina Guild.”
“May I ask about the details?”
“Hmm…….”
After stroking his beard and considering for a moment, Duke Seid seemed to reach a decision and spoke.
“Yes, you should know the circumstances as well. Actually, a Chimera appeared not long ago, and I want to submit a request to the Master of the Hertina Guild.”
“A Chimera……?”
Duke Seid nodded heavily, his face serious.
“Yes. It was a powerful creature that most magic could not affect. It was fortunate that there was only one. If there had been several…….”
As though he did not even wish to imagine it, Duke Seid shook his head and let his words trail off.
Lloyd’s expression also turned serious.
He had not expected a Chimera to appear in Duke Seid’s territory as well.
‘Then there is more than one mage creating Chimeras?’
After considering several possibilities, Lloyd spoke.
“Actually, a Chimera appeared in our territory not long ago as well.”
At Lloyd’s words, Duke Seid’s eyes widened. He sprang to his feet and asked loudly,
“Is that true!?”
“The Chimera that appeared in our territory possessed astonishing regenerative abilities. No matter how much we cut it, it recovered immediately. It was an annoying creature.”
Lloyd explained the characteristics of the Chimera he had defeated in detail.
After hearing Lloyd’s story, Duke Seid could not help being shocked once again.
“Y-You defeated a Chimera with only three people!”
It was difficult to believe.
They had barely defeated one with seven mages of the Third Circle or higher and five Low-Rank Sword Expert knights…….
“Perhaps it was a failed creation. Aside from its regenerative ability, it was nothing special. Furthermore, there was an Intermediate Sword Expert knight in the group.”
Lloyd also knew well how terrifying a Chimera was.
Even if it had been a failed creation, it would have been far stronger than ordinary monsters.
‘People often struggle against even Goblins in their first real battle because they fail to remain calm…….’
Yet Lloyd, who was only fourteen, had not lost his composure in his first real battle, even against a Chimera, and had performed admirably.
It was hard to believe that Lloyd had been known as incapable until now.
“I understand that the Hertina Guild has begun investigating the Chimeras as well. Once the results are available, I will inform you.”
“Hmm. I would appreciate that.”
“Understood. Then I will take my leave.”
Lloyd gave a deep bow and was about to leave the study when Duke Seid stopped him.
“Wait. You accepted my request, so I cannot simply send you away. Is there anything you want?”
“I cannot think of anything in particular right now. If I think of something later, I will tell you.”
After Lloyd left, Duke Seid remained alone, drinking the rest of his tea as he sank into thought.
‘Lloyd…… The more I see of him, the more I like him.’
At first, Duke Seid had merely thought that Lloyd was better than the rumors suggested. But after speaking with him directly, he was even more impressive than Duke Seid had expected.
A calmness and cool-headedness rarely seen in a fourteen-year-old, along with considerable martial prowess.
Duke Seid thought very highly of Lloyd.
‘He does not seem to share an ordinary relationship with Yuria…… Should I push it along?’
Not knowing the true nature of Lloyd and Yuria’s relationship, Duke Seid thought they would make a good match and smiled to himself.