STEP. STEP.
Kemen moved forward.
His steps were headed straight toward Began.
GULP.
Began swallowed at the sight.
The anger of a 3rd Circle mage was terrifying to him.
Moreover, even though he was one of the family's heirs, he knew very well that what had just happened couldn't simply be overlooked.
'I'm finished….'
With every passing second, Began's face grew paler.
To make matters worse, the person who had witnessed everything was none other than Kemen, Wirn's personal butler and guardian.
Silencing him was practically impossible, so it was only a matter of time before the Family Head heard about this.
“This….”
Began opened his mouth, but he couldn't continue.
He had used magic against a younger brother two years his junior, and Kemen had witnessed the scene.
The successive disasters left his mind completely blank.
The only fortunate thing was that Kemen was merely a 'butler.'
If he had held a position higher than that—
Began would've had to endure anger far worse than this.
“Young Master Began. Have you forgotten the Family Head's command?”
Kemen asked sharply after approaching right in front of him.
“I….”
“Young Master Wirn is your brother from the same family. Moreover, unlike you, he possesses only a single Circle….”
Despite being nothing more than a butler, Kemen continued without even waiting for Began's answer.
However, Began didn't point that out.
“That's….”
After all, he had crossed the line with Wirn as well.
“And yet you used magic against him.”
“…Sorry.”
Began apologized in a dispirited voice.
But Kemen's expression remained cold.
He didn't react to the apology either.
This wasn't something that could be settled simply by apologizing to him.
“Young Master. Are you injured anywhere?”
Kemen passed Began and approached Wirn.
Then he dropped to one knee.
His expression resembled that of a sinner who had committed some grave offense.
It was the complete opposite of how he had looked at Began.
“If you are injured, I have a potion….”
“I'm fine.”
Wirn swung both arms around to show Kemen that he was perfectly all right.
Because of his delicate skin, one of his hands had been lightly scraped, but other than that, he had no injuries whatsoever.
“That is a relief.”
Realizing that, Kemen let out a sigh of relief.
Then he once again turned a cold gaze toward Began.
“Young Master Began. I will report this matter to the Family Head. Even if it was you, Young Master Began, you crossed the line.”
“….”
Began squeezed his eyes shut.
This matter would be reported to the Family Head?
'I'm finished.'
He probably wouldn't be expelled from the family, but he would no longer be able to compete for the position of the next Family Head.
He would undoubtedly fall out of Ganderf's favor.
“Kemen. There's no need to do that.”
Just as Began thought that—
“I was the one who asked Began to spar with me first.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I was reading the book you gave me when Began came over and asked what I was doing. I was bored, so I suggested we have a spar.”
Wirn covered for Began.
“Is that really true?”
Of course, Kemen wasn't someone who would simply believe him without question.
If anything, Wirn's explanation only deepened his suspicions.
“You don't believe me? Do you think I'm lying?”
“…Understood.”
But at Wirn's response, Kemen eventually raised both hands in surrender.
No matter how suspicious Wirn's story sounded, Kemen was ultimately only a butler.
Strictly speaking, even cutting Began off earlier had been quite disrespectful, but he had been able to do so only because Wirn had nearly been injured.
“Now that the misunderstanding's cleared up, apologize to Began.”
“But….”
“Are you going to make me repeat myself?”
The surrounding air instantly grew heavy.
At the same time, a chill settled over Wirn's face.
His entire body seemed to ask—
You dare disobey me?
'What…?'
At that moment, Kemen unconsciously swallowed.
It had lasted only an instant, but he had just seen an image of Family Head Ganderf in Wirn.
Thanks to that, however, Kemen remembered exactly what he needed to do.
“Young Master Began, I apologize. I dared to misunderstand the situation.”
Kemen bowed his head toward Began, who was staring blankly at Wirn.
“Huh? Uh… No. It's fine. I can understand.”
Began was flustered.
He was the one who had done something wrong, yet somehow he was the one receiving an apology.
'Is that guy… really twelve?'
Still, it wasn't as though he couldn't understand why this had happened.
It was true that Wirn held a higher position than Kemen.
What Began hadn't expected was for Wirn to use that authority to move Kemen as he wished.
Doing something like that required more than simply knowing how to command a butler.
'He's scary.'
Perhaps because of that—
Began felt a different kind of fear toward Wirn than he had during their spar.
It wasn't the submission that came from a simple difference in strength.
It felt as though he were facing someone who had been born fundamentally different from himself.
STEP. STEP.
At that moment, Wirn passed Kemen and approached Began.
Then he extended his right hand toward the boy sitting on the ground.
“Get up. If you keep sitting there, you'll get your backside dirty.”
“….”
Began blinked at Wirn.
“Th-Thanks.”
GRAB!
He took Wirn's offered hand and stood up from the ground.
'Maybe this guy's actually pretty kind once you get to know—'
Just as he was about to be moved by Wirn's kindness—
“I saved your life.”
“?”
“Bring me one more thing later. There are quite a few things I want.”
“….”
At those words, Began realized something.
He had been completely mistaken.
After the spar ended, Wirn returned to his room with Kemen.
“Young Master. There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“What?”
“Young Master Began's magic… How did you stop it?”
Kemen asked him about his ability.
“Hmm.”
But Wirn wasn't shaken.
No.
He had actually been certain Kemen would ask.
There was no way a mage who had reached the 3rd Circle would've failed to notice such an abnormal phenomenon.
And it hadn't been just any attribute.
It was wind magic, the type Began handled best.
There was no possibility that the spell had simply disappeared because Began made a mistake.
“You want to know, huh? Well, I'd be curious too if I were you.”
“….”
“But what a shame. Giving you that information for free feels like a bit of a waste.”
Wirn knew that as well, so he didn't try to hide what had happened.
However, the word free didn't exist in Wirn's dictionary.
If someone wanted something from him, they had to pay an appropriate price in return.
That was one of Wirn's principles.
'He understands the value of the information he possesses.'
Kemen swallowed at Wirn's words.
Children around this age normally wanted to boast whenever they obtained something special.
They usually had no idea how valuable such information could be.
“If you don't want to, forget it.”
But Wirn was different.
Instead, he was trying to profit from it like a seasoned merchant.
“What do you want?”
Kemen had no choice but to make a deal with Wirn.
It showed just how curious he was about what had happened during the spar.
“What do I want….”
Wirn rubbed his chin at Kemen's words.
Then, staring directly at his face—
“When I turn seventeen, I'm supposed to receive all kinds of instruction from an accomplished mage, right?”
—he asked a question.
“That is correct. From the moment you turn seventeen, Young Master, you will begin studying the deeper knowledge required of you as a member of the Daylin Family and as one of its heirs.”
“I want you to take that role.”
“Pardon?”
“I want you to become my teacher.”
Wirn asked Kemen to become his teacher.
“But….”
Kemen froze at those words.
He was serving as Wirn's personal butler under Ganderf's orders.
But that was only because Ganderf had commanded him to do so.
'Choosing to become his teacher of my own will is a different matter.'
This time was different.
Being made his butler by order of the Family Head was one thing.
Voluntarily choosing to become Wirn's teacher—
That would essentially mean Kemen had chosen Wirn's side.
“You don't have to answer right now.”
Seeing Kemen struggle over what to do, Wirn continued.
“You'll accept eventually anyway.”
He spoke with complete certainty that Kemen would become his teacher.
“I will think about it.”
Kemen bowed his head to Wirn.
“Good.”
Wirn chuckled at the answer.
At the same time, he yawned and stretched.
“I should get some sleep. Maybe it's because I moved around so much, but I'm a little tired.”
“Then I will take my leave.”
Wirn nodded at Kemen's words.
―CREAK.
Kemen gave Wirn a small bow and left the room.
…THUD!
And the instant the door shut completely—
“Absorbing magic through the Mark and Darkness….”
The exhaustion that had covered Wirn's face disappeared as though it had never existed.
SWISH.
He looked at the Mark engraved on his right hand and smiled.
“This is pretty interesting.”
It was the Mark he had received in the Mana Forest.
He was delighted to have finally discovered its true ability.
'If I can get the High-Grade Elixir and the remaining materials on top of this….'
CLENCH.
Wirn tightly clenched his fist in excitement.
A High-Grade Elixir wasn't simply something used to heal injuries.
It was like a hammer knights used to break through a wall.
'That's when it truly begins.'
And Wirn knew better than anyone how to use that hammer.
***
It was a volcanic region where neither humans nor even animals and plants could survive.
―WHUMMM….
In such a barren place, Ean, the eldest daughter of the Daylin Family, sat cross-legged.
FWOOSH!
She was devouring the heat radiating from the volcano.
To her, a wielder of fire, a volcano was no different from a warm bedroom.
“…What?”
After spending quite some time amid the fiery energy, Ean opened her eyes.
Then she turned toward the mage who had come to find her.
“I came because there is something I must report to Lady Ean.”
The mage answered Ean politely.
He himself was powerful enough that most ordinary mages couldn't compare to him.
But compared to Ean, the eldest daughter of the Daylin Family, he was little more than a child.
DRIP… DRIP.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, proving as much.
“Speak.”
But Ean didn't care about the mage's discomfort.
There was no reason for her to show kindness to someone like him.
“The youngest Young Master defeated Young Master Began, who is directly above him in age.”
“…What?”
Ean's body twitched at the report.
“Is there any chance the information is wrong?”
“None. We cross-checked it several times.”
“Hmmm.”
FWOOSH!
She gathered back the fiery energy that had been spreading around her.
TAP.
Then she abruptly rose to her feet.
―FWOOSH!
At that moment, the flames wavering around Ean instantly turned to ash and disappeared.
“I suppose it's time I saw my little brother's face again.”
A red glow flickered in her eyes as though she had discovered an amusing new toy.