Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Became the Greatest Genius in History
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Felix was suppressing his rage alone in silence.
'Now that it's time to leave, looks like there's no point in seeing you.'
He never imagined he'd suffer such humiliation at the hands of his youngest brother, who hadn't even rebelled once before.
Felix glared at Ester, enduring the throbbing pain in the back of his numb head.
The kid had always been passive and timid.
Compared to his other siblings, Ester possessed utterly pathetic talent, making him the perfect prey for Felix.
There was always a bottom beneath the bottom.
Felix didn't have any remarkable talent himself, but he was superior to Ester.
-Hey, trash!
-It's a wonder we're even in the same family. Can a guy who hasn't even learned basic magic strut around with his shoulders back, calling himself a Tristy star?
-Don't go around introducing yourself as a Tristy outside. It's embarrassing.
-You scum!! You retard!! Stay at the very bottom forever!!
Every time Felix bullied Ester, the other siblings watched and laughed.
-He might cry.
-Fitting treatment for trash.
-I agree.
Only Haniel refused to go along with the bullying atmosphere.
-Felix, stop it right now.
They say a lobster sides with crabs.
It was ridiculous seeing children from the same mother taking sides, but Haniel wasn't an opponent Felix could take lightly like Ester.
Her magical talent was the real deal.
On the level of comparing to Etilla, the academy's all-time genius.
She was intelligent and wise, possessing a soft yet strong charisma.
If she hadn't been born with a frail body, she might have held a higher position than Uriel now.
Well, even so, that was as far as Haniel could go.
The sickly Haniel wasn't always by Ester's side.
Felix filled his inferiority complex and sense of superiority by tormenting his younger brother.
His usually cold older siblings paid attention whenever he bullied Ester.
It overshadowed his own pitiful existence compared to the other siblings.
Ester was the bottom.
A stepping stone he could stand upon.
That fact would never change.
That's what he had thought....
"The mana environment required for recreating Hellfire was studied in the 531-FR lab implemented 30 years ago. In regions where mana with special properties generated during the process of dismantling highly concentrated mana is distributed......"
What in the world am I seeing right now?
Why is Father looking at that kid with interest?
Why is that kid meeting Father's expectations?
Why are his siblings listening to Ester's presentation with wide eyes?
Ester Tristy is worthless.
Ester Tristy is incompetent.
Ester Tristy should be an inferior existence compared to Felix Tristy.
It felt like he was dreaming.
Ester was that amazing?
'I can't believe it....'
"...That's all."
Ester's presentation only ended after 30 minutes.
It was impossible without vast knowledge.
Everyone present, even Haniel, struggled to understand Ester's explanation.
......
The room fell silent.
Porto wore a satisfied expression.
"Yes. Excellent."
Ester received praise that Felix had never heard before.
It was a clear anomaly.
Porto took a deep breath.
He spoke to Felix in a voice as cold as ice.
The reason he had scheduled Felix after Ester.
"Felix."
"Yes...."
"You're at 0%. You brought a complete wrong answer. What you have couldn't even light a match, let alone recreate Hellfire."
Felix felt his heart sink.
"Th-that can't be... I-I clearly got it from the flame school mage introduced by Second Brother...."
Zephyr subtly avoided Felix's gaze.
"Br-Brother!! You definitely said you'd share the answer with me!!"
"Did I? My memory's been fuzzy lately."
"There's no such law!! This contradicts the promise from two days ago!!"
Felix's reputation was poor.
His skills and talent were better than Ester's, but his rotten personality made even the mansion servants dislike him.
If his reputation among those living in the mansion was in the gutter, what about outside?
Lacking both martial prowess and magical aptitude, he had paid a fortune to buy an answer from Zephyr.
But what Zephyr gave Felix was a paper with a perfect wrong answer, worth less than blank paper.
"F-Father...... I-I'm innocent!!"
"Credit, reputation, and judging those around you are also qualities required of a Family Head!!"
Divine punishment fell.
Felix's body trembled at Porto's fury.
"You're the only one among the children gathered here who got 0%!! How dare the most ashamed one raise his voice like that!?"
"F-Father!!"
"Drag this one out right now!!"
Porto called the soldiers waiting outside.
'Am I the fallen one...? Are they sending me to the battlefield like this...? Telling me to die on the battlefield fighting vicious demons...?'
Felix reached a state where rational thought was impossible.
Naturally, his gaze turned to Ester.
Malice and hatred boiling from the depths of his chest fueled his rage.
"Ester!! It's you!!"
Felix lunged at Ester.
"You scum!! How dare you!!"
Even his cold siblings were startled by his voice, choked with fury.
"Die!!"
Felix reached to grab Ester's throat.
Though his skill was pathetic compared to Kenneth and Uriel, he was a man with enough strength to snap the frail Ester's neck.
"Ester!!"
Haniel's scream rang out.
『Executing Automatic Protection Program.』
『This will take actions allowing the owner to act optimally in the current situation. Anything beyond that is impossible.』
Felix's vision spun in an instant.
Ester had used Felix's own momentum to slam him straight to the floor.
A clean, seamless motion.
"Oh...."
"Perfectly executed."
Uriel and Kenneth let out small exclamations of admiration.
......
Ester looked down at Felix.
As if he didn't even deserve to converse with an insect.
"Ah, ahh......"
That was the end of Felix's outburst.
Guards who rushed in dragged him away in an instant.
It wasn't the treatment for a young master, but closer to guards escorting a criminal.
Porto spoke as he watched his departing son.
"Ester."
......
"Why did you hide your power until now?"
Ester remained silent.
No answer came from him for a long while.
Porto tried to interpret Ester's silence in his own way.
And the conclusion he reached.
'There was no reason to reveal his power until now.'
It was the confidence that he could seize the Family Head position anytime he wanted.
The most promising heir to Tristy had just been born in this Family Head's chamber.
The stars gathered here glared at the newly emerged rival.
'I thought the succession would be a fight between Kenneth and me, but this is unexpected.'
'...Did he hold back today just to firmly imprint himself as a successor in Father's mind? Scary guy.'
Ester Tristy looked up at the ceiling.
'Fuck, that scared me.'
Modern AIs are impressive.
I thought my heart would stop.
***
The Tristy family of six siblings became five as of today.
Brother Felix was dragged off to the hellish battlefield.
Honestly, it felt great.
Like watching a school bully who tormented me endlessly fall into ruin—it was utterly refreshing.
'Past me, are you watching?'
The Felix you hated so much has vanished from the Tristy mansion.
"Whew, that took some energy...."
The scuffle with Felix, the conversation with Porto—it had drained quite a bit of mental energy.
And as I left the Family Head's chamber, I even received ominous stares from my siblings, making my shoulders heavier than intended.
Who would've thought this would be such a big deal.
I had no idea Nob AI was this high-performance.
"But really, I'm so glad I'm not becoming a soldier...!!"
I didn't have big ambitions.
Unlike my other siblings, I had no intention of becoming Family Head.
I just wanted to laze around the mansion forever, freeloading off meals in leisure.
Nob AI's potential was limitless.
Seeing it solve difficult magic problems effortlessly, I could trade with mages using it.
If I got involved with scholars researching tough fields like math or science, I might even become filthy rich.
"Young Master."
"Dalphy."
Dalphy was waiting in front of my room.
"You don't need to tell me about what happened in the Family Head's chamber."
"Yeah?"
Well, Felix had made quite the commotion.
Even the servants outside the mansion had peeked through the windows.
No one might know who got the highest score in the successor exam, but the failure was obvious right away.
"Young Master, I have a question."
"Yeah?"
"Have you been acting like a complete idiot this whole time?"
Honestly, anyone else maybe not, but I could trust Dalphy.
She was the only one in this mansion I was certain was on my side—the cheeky maid right in front of me.
I could tell Dalphy about Nob AI.
"Oh, about that......"
Before I could open my mouth, Dalphy held something out.
Shwaa-!!
I looked at the neatly unfolded newspaper.
The text caught my eye.
『Monthly Justina – February Issue』
『The Millennium Problem that tormented mages has finally been solved!! And the solver is none other than Tristy's 15-year-old boy!?』
I blinked.
"Huh?"
What in the world am I looking at right now?
No way... that's about me...?