Some time after Gilead and Gion had left, Eugene called out, “Nina.”
“Please allow me to go and prepare your meal,” Nina offered.
“Good, but before you do that,” Eugene said as he got out of bed and picked up Wynnyd. “Keep whatever happens from now on a secret between the two of us.”
“...Yes, sir?”
“Even if I collapse again, don’t tell anyone.”
“...Do you really need to try to do something like that now?” Nina asked in concern.
“I just need to check something, so I probably won’t fall unconscious again,” Eugene reassured her before infusing mana into Wynnyd.
Luckily for him, there wasn’t a repeat of the previous incident. But Eugene’s brow still furrowed at this as he felt a slight dissatisfaction. Instead, a spirit that was only the size of his palm began hovering around him.
It was a sylph, a lesser spirit of the wind. Composed of a mass of wind, it didn’t even have a proper shape. However, with Eugene's small amount of mana, it was normal for him to have summoned a sylph.
Just in case, Eugene tried to mentally ask the sylph, ‘Hey, have you heard anything from your king?’
However, there was no reply. It seemed that it was impossible to converse with a spirit that had such low intelligence. With a click of his tongue, Eugene brandished Wynnyd.
Eugene began his test by calling out an incantation in his head, ‘Wind-blade.’
Once he had done so, an opaque stream of wind formed around his sword. Eugene glanced down at this wavering blade-shaped wind before giving it a swing.
Schick.
The eerie sound that the blade made as it swung through the air caused Nina’s body to tremble. After swinging Wynnyd around a few more times, Eugene released the sylph back to the Spirit World.
Before doing so, he attempted to mentally communicate with it once more, ‘Pass this message on to Tempest, “If you were lying to me, I’ll kill you.”’
But the Sylph still didn’t reply. However, it appeared to sense that its king had been insulted, as it sent a gust of wind to ruffle Eugene’s hair before returning to the Spirit World.
‘...Though Tempest shouldn’t have any reason to lie about that,’ Eugene admitted to himself.
It was just that Eugene couldn’t quite understand what he was feeling, so he felt like he had to say something. While feeling a mix of complex emotions, Eugene sat down heavily on the bed.
‘...I need to think about this rationally,’ Eugene told himself, ‘without letting any useless emotions get in the way.’
Three hundred years ago, Hamel died. His companions, Vermouth, Sienna, Anise, and Molon, continued to make their way to the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration.
It had to have been a tough journey. The second-ranked Demon King of Incarceration was strong enough that none of the previous Demon Kings of Fury, Cruelty, and Carnage could compare to him. Just getting to his castle was as difficult as slaying one of the previous Demon Kings.
‘...And with me dead….’
Speaking objectively, Hamel had been strong. Although he wasn’t as strong as Vermouth, he was easily the next strongest in the party. So with Hamel dead, the remaining four may have found it impossible to deal with the remaining Demon Kings.
They would have already been exhausted from making the torturous trek to the Demon King of Incarceration’s castle, and Hamel had perished before the battle. In such a state, it was questionable whether they would have even been able to defeat the Demon King of Incarceration. In that case… wouldn’t it have been better for them to retreat for the moment and reconsider their plans?
‘...So did everything really end there?’
With only Hamel having perished, Vermouth and the other four had returned from the Devildom of Helmuth after making some kind of mysterious promise. However, the only ones who knew the details of this promise were Vermouth and the remaining Demon Kings.
‘But really, what was in that Oath?’
That was what bothered Eugene the most. For the Demon Kings who lived to cause the world suffering, what on earth could have made them change their minds and swear to uphold the peace? Who exactly was the one who proposed such an oath in the first place? What were the contents of the Oath?
‘...It all comes back to Helmuth.’
Just thinking about it by himself wouldn’t bring him any answers. The memories of his past life clearly ended when he had died in the Demon King of Incarceration’s castle three hundred years ago. As for the events after that… most of what he knew came from the contents of the fairy tales that the young Eugene had read.
‘I need to find some time to go to Helmuth,’ Eugene finally decided.
Three hundred years ago, Helmuth was a horrifying place. Demonic beasts whose only purpose in life was to catch and eat humans roamed the land, and the demonfolk inhabiting that land were constantly marching out to invade human territories. Fallen Wizards — now known as Black Wizards — hunted humans to offer them as tributes to their masters, the Demon Kings. These evil wizards wanted to become demons themselves, so they sought the truth of the Demonic Path[1] even if it meant bending the knee to the Demon Kings.
Helmuth had been a twisted hell of such vicious and ugly desires.
However, that was no longer the case. Since two hundred years ago, Helmuth had begun accepting human visitors, and the Demon Kings and the demonfolk showed such hospitality to their visitors that it seemed as if they were trying to overcompensate for their past cruelty.
Nowadays, people didn’t think of Helmuth as a hellish place. Instead, they thought of it as a tourist destination where one could experience unique, seductive, and decadent entertainment that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
The demonfolk, who had once taken the initiative to invade human territories, were now volunteering their services in neighboring countries as reparations for the war. And the black magicians, who had been wagging their tails for the Demon Kings, had cast themselves as victims and, after managing to sway public opinion, they had even managed to eventually erect the Black Tower of Magic in Aroth.
In Eugene’s opinion, all of this was complete bullshit.
The demonfolk were volunteering to work? They were definitely siphoning off human souls behind the people’s backs. The Black Tower of Magic? It would be better to call it a Black Swamp of Corruption.
Even though they said it was for the sake of promoting the study of magic, it was apparent why those crazy bastards in Aroth had welcomed the Black Wizards and averted their eyes from these same wizards’ past crimes. Although the truth hadn’t been revealed, Eugene was sure that there must be all sorts of ugly things hidden behind the construction of the Black Tower of Magic….
‘Helmuth, Aroth, Yuras, and the Ruhr…,’ as Eugene recalled each of the places where his former life’s companions had left their traces, he clicked his tongue in irritation.
Of course, he couldn’t just set off immediately. With his young body, it was impossible to head off alone on a journey to such distant countries.
‘But someday,’ Eugene told himself with determination before letting out a deep sigh and patting his stomach.
His empty stomach was rumbling in hunger.
* * *
What exactly should he say to Eugene?
After leaving the banquet, this worry had kept Cyan up for most of the night. Although he had barely managed to get some sleep, that damn dream had ruined his rest. In that dream, Cyan had dueled with Eugene and lost once more.
Except this time, Cyan was a minotaur instead of himself.
Within the dream, he had personally experienced the scene he had witnessed during the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. After becoming a minotaur who couldn’t use sword-light, Cyan was brutally dismembered by Eugene.
Torn into pieces mercilessly.
As he emerged from the gymnasium, Cyan attempted to shake off the last vestiges of his dream with a shudder. However, the frown on his face remained as heavy as ever. As he rubbed his eyes, which had been skewered multiple times during his dream, Cyan bit his lip in frustration.
“What’s going on, brother?” Ciel suddenly asked.
“Nothing is going on. Why are you asking?” Cyan responded defensively.
“Your expression looks like it belongs at a funeral, and you didn’t have much for breakfast either.”
“I’ve always had this expression, and I ate just as much breakfast as I usually do.”
“Liar,” accused Ciel, sticking her tongue out at him with a smile. “I know what’s really going on with you. It’s because of Eugene, isn’t it?”
Cyan bristled, “What does any of this have to do with him?”
“They said that we will be learning together with Eugene starting from today. I know that you’re really bothered because of this.”
“I said that it doesn’t have anything to do with him!”
“See, see, you’ve lost your temper quicker than usual. Why are you taking your anger with Eugene out on me?”
“...I haven’t lost my temper.”
“But you don’t deny that something is bothering you?”
“That’s…,” hesitating, Cyan clenched his fists as he glared at his cheeky younger sister. “...Honestly, it does bother me.”
“But mother said you need to become friends with him,” reminded Ciel.
“Do you think I can really do that just because she tells me to?”
“I did. Would you like me to put a word in for you with Eugene?”
“...What are you going to tell him?”
“I’ll just ask him to be friends with my brother.”
Cyan’s shoulders slumped at these words, and his fists started trembling in embarrassment. Although he might be able to ask his mother to do something like that, Cyan definitely couldn’t allow his sister, who was a few seconds younger than him, to make such a humiliating request….
“I’ll do things my own way,” Cyan spat out before immediately clamping his lips shut.
He had just caught sight of Eugene walking over from the far-off annex. Cyan’s eyes widened as he caught sight of Wynnyd hanging from Eugene’s waist. Even at this distance, he could make out all the tiny details of that famed weapon.
“They told me that he’s already a First Star in the White Flame Formula,” Ciel chimed in beside him.
“I know,” Cyan gritted out.
“Didn’t it take us a really long time to reach the White Flame Formula’s First Star?”
“It wasn’t that long. Since it took us around a month, that means only a handful of our ancestors in the direct line were as fast as us.”
“But Eugene didn’t even take a day to reach the First Star. Doesn’t that mean he’s the fastest in history?”
“Just be quiet.”
“I heard this from Uncle Gion, but apparently, Eugene was able to feel the mana as soon as he sat down on the leyline. It took us more than four days, right?”
“So what,” Cyan responded in a sharp voice as he turned to stare at his younger sister.
Ciel just giggled in amusement at her older brother’s reaction.
Instead of continuing to tease her brother, Ciel waved at the approaching Eugene and called out a greeting, “Hi!”
“Why do you plan on staying in the annex? You should just live with us in the main family’s mansion,” Ciel said to Eugene once he got closer.
Cyan immediately replied in Eugene’s place, “That’s a terrible idea.”
After glancing at Cyan with hooded eyes, Eugene nodded and said, “I also think that would be a terrible idea.”
“But I think it would be great,” Ciel insisted with a grin before pointing to Wynnyd. “So, I’ve heard that you were able to summon the Wind Spirit King using Wynnyd?”
“That has to be a lie,” just like last time, Cyan replied instead of Eugene.
Although his heart was slowly opening up to Eugene, Cyan absolutely couldn’t bring himself to change his hostile behavior. Cyan was too young to understand his feelings of awe for Eugene, and it was even harder for him to identify the dawning sense of respect that he felt because of this.
“Except for the Great Vermouth, none of our ancestors could summon the Wind Spirit King while wielding Wynnyd,” Cyan cited as evidence.
Eugene snorted at these words and drew Wynnyd. This startled Cyan into leaping backward, away from him.
“W-what do you think you’re doing?” Cyan demanded.
Instead of replying, Eugene infused his mana into Wynnyd. Soon after, wind gathered into the form of a sylph. Seeing its appearance, Cyan inwardly felt relieved and burst out laughing.
“What is that? The Wind Spirit King?” he asked mockingly.
“Nope,” came the simple reply from Eugene.
Eugene held up Wynnyd so that it could be seen clearly and the sylph proceeded to wrap itself around the sword. Cyan’s jaw dropped as he took in this blade of wind.
“Sw-Sword-light?!” Cyan exclaimed in shock.
“Does this really look like sword-light to you?” Eugene asked mockingly.
Cyan’s face reddened as he felt the tables being turned on him. While swinging Wynnyd around a few times, Eugene stared firmly at Cyan.
“Shall we spar?” Eugene offered.
“...W-what?!” Cyan choked in panic.
“You can feel free to use sword-light, because I’ll be using this.”
“....”
When Cyan remained silent, Eugene coaxed, “Why don’t we just have some fun? Or if you’d like, we could bet on it? If you win, I’ll—”
“I-I won’t,” Cyan immediately stepped back while shaking his head. “I’ve… come here today… to learn from Uncle Gion. I’m not here to spar with you.”
Eugene grinned, “Are you scared?”
“...I’m not scared,” Cyan replied hesitantly while urgently sending Ciel a pleading look.
He was hoping that his sister could somehow salvage this situation. However, Ciel just ignored Cyan’s glance and smiled in amusement.
‘That evil bitch.’
Fortunately, before Cyan was forced to make any excuses, Eugene backed down and gave him an out.
“Let’s not argue pointlessly,” Eugene said with a sigh.
Cyan couldn’t think of anything to say, “....”
“We’re brothers now, so we should try to get along,” said Eugene with a broad smile as he offered Cyan his hand.
For a few moments, Cyan alternated between staring at Eugene’s hand and face.
Eugene eventually asked, “Don’t you know what this handshake means?”
“...Huh?” Cyan seemed confused.
“It means that I want us to get along well as brothers.”
“...Oh, well… that’s…,” after some hesitation, Cyan eventually took Eugene’s hand with a grateful nod.
“Shake hands with me as well,” Ciel demanded, cutting into their conversation from her position at their side.
This request forced Eugene to cross his arms so that he could hold both Cyan and Ciel’s hands simultaneously.
“Since I was born earlier than you, you should call me your big sister,” Ciel brought up once more.
Eugene refused, “Would you shut up about that?”
Didn’t that mean he was Eugene’s big brother? Although Cyan felt this thought pop up in his head, he decided to keep his mouth shut when he saw Eugene’s narrowed eyes.
He definitely didn’t have the audacity to claim Eugene as his younger brother.
1. What makes a demon a demon. ☜
