While most people in the cultivation chamber were buried in tension, April suddenly stifled a laugh.
'Kyah~ He's really, totally crazy!'
If no one was looking, she would have jumped for joy. The country bumpkin was the first to approach the head of Lutentus? In this place where boring humans are teeming, it felt like she had met a ray of light.
'Better than I expected! This is so much fun!'
Kyle had everyone's attention, but he didn't seem nervous at all. He smiled at Zahar, and even though he was just standing there, his confident posture stirred up April's impure thoughts.
Meanwhile, Bipar, who was standing right in front of Kyle, frowned. How dare he, a nobody from the indirect branch. I knew it from the moment he started causing trouble in the training hall. He's a fool who can't even tell when to step up and when not to.
The indirect branch, where Bipar himself is a mere shadow, is different from the core. The cores are the 'real' children that Zahar loves. To interrupt that moment and to call him 'father'? He must have lost his mind.
As if to confirm Bipar's thoughts, Zahar opened his mouth to speak. Now, the scolding will begin······.
"Yes."
The commanding voice...
"So you are Kyle. Leya's... Leya's child, aren't you?"
Shouldn't he be keeping his distance...?
Kyle was clearly a first-time liberator this time. But Zahar smiled gently as if he knew him or had been waiting for him. It was a face that had never been shown to Bipar, who is now in his third year of liberation.
"They say you shattered Miley's sword with a single blow. Is that true?"
"Yes."
Bipar couldn't understand the situation. The story was very different from the rumors he had heard from a maid who had passed by the training hall.
'They said that the ignorant child from the indirect branch broke it by accident!'
Even if it was made by a good blacksmith, as is customary for those from the center, a rapier is still fragile. That's why he thought it was just an accident. It shattered? How in the world do you stab something so hard that the sword shatters? Kyle continued speaking as if nothing was wrong.
"It's not a big deal that would require my father's attention. The sword wasn't worthy of the name Lutentus."
April repeated Kyle's words to herself, making sure no one could hear her.
'Oh my God... He's bringing up the family name in front of Dad?! He's crazy, I swear! What am I going to do!'
If only she could cut Kyle's head in half to find out what he was thinking. She hid her burning cheeks in her hands. She had never been so bad at hiding her emotions!
"I see. Han-ya, what do you think?"
"The child is right. As you know, that rapier was a sword meant to break."
"Then why couldn't Miley break it?"
Miley clenched his fists and trembled. It was a gift from his proud mother that he had been using for three years. He felt like he was going to cry, but he held it back. The aftermath of Hanya's "training" still felt like it was piercing his entire body. He knew that if he made a small mistake here, he might have to go through that training again.
Hanya gently smiled while looking at her younger sibling, who was hanging their head in shame.
"Miley himself will know better than I do."
"What?!"
Of course, Miley didn't know. What on earth did it mean for a sword to be made to break? But if he backed down here, he would be dead.
"It, it must have been almost broken! Yes, yes. It definitely must have been... just when that guy luckily stabbed it...!"
"Miley."
Zahar, who had called her name, still had a smile on his face. His voice didn't change, but somehow the air felt heavy.
"I taught you that making excuses is not the right attitude. What did I tell you to do in this situation?"
"······I need to get stronger and prove myself."
"You know your stuff."
Zahar stroked Miley's head.
Kyle rolled his eyes as he watched the extremely simple and crude education that didn't even care about the manners of a duke's son.
Zahar, who looked like he was a messenger of God who only worshipped strength, was somehow twisted, even though he wore the disguise of a kind father.
'What's the fuss about that crappy sword in the first place?'
Zahar, with his hairy chin, looked at Kyle.
"Well done. Thanks to you, this will be a good motivation for Miley."
"Is that so."
Zahar's eyes were looking at him with a strange hint of interest, but it wasn't the kind of look a father would give his son. It was more like the look of someone who had found a useful tool in an unexpected place. He didn't think about fatherly love at all, but he wasn't feeling very happy either. Seeing people as "tools" reminded him of some bad memories.
"How did you manage to achieve such a feat, training in Nava?"
This could be interpreted as, "How did someone like you emerge from a worthless land with no training environment or teachers?"
"I just worked hard. That in itself is enough for me."
His voice carried a provocatively rising tone at the end. At that moment, April swayed, unable to steady herself, but Zahar didn't see it. He just threw his head back and burst into laughter, his eyes even slightly moist with mirth.
"What a foolish question I asked. Yes, that's exactly what a Lutentus should say."
Kyle kept his eyes on Zahar, but his attention was on those around him. He wasn't provoking them for no reason. Even though everyone wasn't there, it was rare for Zahar's children to be gathered together like this.
Although it wasn't intentional, Kyle drew the attention of the "Core" due to a series of events with Miley. After being liberated, he is no longer a seed that can be protected. Now that safety measures are in place, he needs to figure out who is showing hostility towards him.
April had been covering her mouth and shaking her shoulders for a while, but Edwin, standing next to her, was staring blankly into space.
Most skilled people reacted similarly to Edwin, while the weak, including the seeds, were still tense and stiff.
The only one who took the bait was the one who was thrown without any risk.
Kyle thought to himself, "He can hide his presence well, but he can't hide his true nature."
Han-Ya was smiling, but he couldn't hide the subtle hostility emanating from his body. It was so small that Kyle wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't developed his discernment from his time with Yuriel. But there was no doubt that his eyes were filled with hostility towards Kyle.
"Even if it's a Lutentus, it's very rare for a seed to leave a scratch on a Redwood. You should be proud."
"Wow! A seed scratched a Redwood?"
At that moment, a voice that had no weight to it at all rang out in the incubator. People's attention turned to the entrance. A man in a well-tailored suit was walking towards them, carrying a briefcase in one hand.
-What's with your fashion? It's so lame.
A voice, presumably April's, could be heard in a low voice, but Kyle couldn't agree.
'He has excellent aesthetic sense.'
The black and white outfit fit his muscular body perfectly, and the intricate tailoring was flawless. It was a refined and elegant look, neither too much nor too little. It would be an insult to compare it to Levido's outfit, which was focused on showing off his muscles.
"Lord, who! Who is that?"
If only he would change his casual tone, he would be perfect.
"Where is he!"
His jerky movements as he turned his head around. Zahar laughed as he watched him.
"Hah. Finelli, you're too impatient. Is it because you're from the west?"
"That's regional discrimination!"
"Is that so? Well, let me introduce you first."
"Yes, sir. But you have to tell me later."
Finelli smiled brightly.
April frowned as if she didn't like it.
"Stop it. Dad. Who is he?"
"He's someone who can help our April too."
"I told you not to call me that in front of other people. And he doesn't look like he's needed."
"Don't worry. If he's not helpful, I'll give him a good scolding."
The word 'scolding' had a cute sound, but a threat was hidden within it. If the one threatening to scold was Zahar, it would be frightening. Yet, Finelli maintained a cheerful expression throughout. Removing his black bowler hat, he bowed.
"Greetings, Lutentus! I am Finelli from Andoria!"
Finelli's exaggerated gestures, reminiscent of a clown, seemed to loosen the atmosphere a bit, and a few seeds began whispering quietly.
"What's Andoria? Is it something to eat?"
"You ignorant brat. Are you stupid? It's in the history books."
"What? You actually read books? That's why your skills are so bad."
Kyle was slightly surprised. Andoria? Wasn't that a place that forbade external activities? He knew they were a stubborn people who didn't believe in coexistence. As far as Kyle could remember, they had only appeared a few times in history.
That doesn't mean they never showed up. Kyle had met them a few times during his time as the headmaster of the tower. For example, to steal the ownership of a high-quality magic stone mine or to steal the tower's secret research data. According to the testimony of those who had captured them, it was just a few cases of deviation. Andoria was a place shrouded in mystery.
"It's been 150 years. It wouldn't be strange if they've changed."
As he was trying to convince himself of that, he heard the following.
"Now, on behalf of the Andorian multinational corporation, Lucidus..."
"Lucidus?"
An unfamiliar person uttered a familiar word. Kyle couldn't help but blurt out a word. Interrupting someone's speech was something he would never imagine doing under normal circumstances. But now, it didn't even register.
Finelli's head tilted to the side.
"...I am scheduled to be the branch manager of the Lutentus region. But, you there, seed. You must not interrupt my speech!"
Kyle was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
"I made a mistake without realizing it because the word sounded unfamiliar. I'm sorry."
"Attention!! Now, let me continue. The Chains you are wearing are also our Lucidus'..."
As Finelli's words continued, Kyle's past life memories began to consume him. Lucidus. It was a long-lost language from the past, but Kyle knew what the word meant.
"It means the remnants of light that remain after dusk. Isn't that too grandiose?"
The word was written in a book that was so dusty it could have been turned to ash. It was a word that she had translated for him after visiting an ancient ruin in the west.
"I'm not going to include this word in my paper. I want to keep it for myself for some reason. Let's just keep it a secret between us, okay?"
One day, she suggested that they keep the word a secret.
"If I die tomorrow, please write this word on my tombstone. That's how I want to be remembered."
With the end of the war with Seleratus looming, she left this early will.
The hint was already there. The [Chains] shared the same magic circuit as the [Weakness] she created. Even though it had been modified, the minor flaw that did not interfere with the manifestation of magic was the same. This was simply her habit. If anyone else had touched it, there would have been no way this flaw would have remained until now.
However, she was now just a person from his old memories. It was a residue that he had put aside and neglected in a corner of his heart.
He didn't want to believe that she, who loved people, created a curse like the [Chains].
What happened there?'
Celine. Her legacy still remained, even after 150 years had passed.
Author's Note
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