Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Zephyr Tristy
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Zephyr Tristy.
He was the second son of the Tristy family, my second eldest brother.
Just like my other siblings, I didn’t have any good memories with this brother either.
To begin with, aside from my second sister Haniel, they all treated me like a bug.
Zephyr wasn’t as persistently malicious as Felix.
He’d never bullied me directly and was more of a bystander.
That said, this brother had hurt me plenty, knowingly or not.
The biggest wound among them that came to mind...
-I have nothing to say to you.
It was when Kenneth took my most valuable possession—my mother’s necklace—claiming he needed quick cash.
When I’d begged him, “Could you please just ask Kenneth to return it once?” about something truly precious to me, and he’d ignored it, standing by.
“......”
Hmm, still, my second brother was far better than the eldest son or eldest daughter.
He wasn’t on my side, but he wasn’t my enemy either.
So what could he possibly want with me?
I left the letter sorting to Dalpi and headed to where he was waiting.
Zephyr was in the flower garden.
It was the Tristy family’s treasure, filled with amaranths symbolizing eternity.
A so-called garden of five colors, meticulously tended by skilled caretakers.
They said Porto’s second wife—our mother Fria—had it made when she gave birth to Haniel. It was my favorite spot in the mansion.
“Ah, there you are.”
Zephyr waved lightly.
He’d never even responded when I’d spoken to him before, so I guess I really had accomplished something noteworthy.
The fact that he was flashing me the business smile he usually reserved for our older siblings was proof.
“Why did you call me?”
A cold tone slipped out before I knew it.
“Get to the point.”
“......”
Even with my memories of my past life.
Even with my petty bourgeois personality, shitty was still shitty.
Who could smile when a sibling who’d never given me a single good memory suddenly summoned me?
Zephyr’s expression hardened instantly.
“Don’t be so stiff. We’re brothers.”
“Even brothers aren’t close enough for soft words.”
I glared at him.
“You’re the one who ignored me all this time. You let my words go in one ear and out the other, and even holding your hand felt unpleasant to you, didn’t it? It’s strange that you suddenly have business with me now.”
I thought I’d stated the plain truth.
Since Zephyr didn’t open his mouth easily, my thinking seemed spot on.
“I’m sorry...”
“You’re apologizing now, of all times?”
I tilted my head.
“No matter what I say now, it’ll sound like an excuse to you.”
You know it well.
But then why did a guy like that call me?
He didn’t look like he’d come to fight.
“I won’t drag this out since you don’t want a long talk. Let me get straight to it—there’s something I want to tell you, my little brother.”
He dropped a pretty shocking statement.
“You know I tricked Felix, right?”
“You caused a scene calling out your brother, so of course.”
“What if that was for your sake? Would you believe it?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly?
“Felix is incompetent. Without his siblings’ help, he’d fail the successor exam outright. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
The next most incompetent after me was Felix.
I agreed.
“Why bother taking down someone who’d fail anyway?”
“To win Father’s favor?”
“Really? Wouldn’t it hurt more if your siblings started guarding against you after eliminating Felix?”
Hearing it that way, it made sense.
It was undeniable fact since I couldn’t rebut it.
“You’re speaking as if you predicted I’d solve the Millennium Problem.”
“I’ll be frank again. I’m acquaintances with Professor Aria, who came as the exam proctor last time. I heard about you from her. I couldn’t believe it at first. You’d always seemed even weaker than Felix up to then.”
A breeze blew, making the flowers in the garden dance.
I pressed down my freely swaying hair and listened closely to Zephyr.
“But reality always brings twists more incredible than dreams.”
“......”
“You said earlier, ‘Why apologize now, of all times?’”
Zephyr bowed his head.
“The Tristy family is defined by ruthless meritocracy. My goal is to become family head. I wasn’t born with the overwhelming martial prowess of our eldest sister or Kenneth. I don’t have Haniel’s exceptional magical talent either. And I’m no genius like you who can solve the Millennium Problem. I’m thoroughly mediocre.”
I already knew that.
Zephyr Tristy wasn’t incompetent, but his talents were middling.
That’s why he’d schemed to survive, honed his social skills, and scraped together money ruthlessly—to catch up to his other siblings.
That’s why he’d consistently ignored me.
I’d been a brother of no value to Zephyr.
“Yeah. The reason I’m apologizing now is because I only just realized how amazing you are. If I’d known a bit sooner, I’d have apologized earlier. If I’d known from the start, I’d have stopped the bullying against you right away.”
Zephyr pulled a necklace from his bosom.
It was an expensive treasure: a gold chain with a red diamond embedded in the center.
It sparkled brilliantly, proving it was born from a master craftsman’s hands.
A unique accessory, one of a kind in this world.
Even I, who didn’t care for luxury, desperately wanted it back.
“It was hard to get.”
The necklace he was handing me now was my mother’s keepsake, the one Kenneth had sold to a merchant for a pittance.
I received my mother’s possession back from my second brother.
It had taken so long for this necklace to return to me.
This time, I wouldn’t lose it again.
I let out a sigh and said,
“Haah, Brother, you’re such a materialist.”
Zephyr looked up.
“I know.”
As if he wasn’t even expecting forgiveness, he said,
“Think I’m shameless if you want. Just know this: these actions are my way of showing sincerity toward you.”
I blinked.
In the flower garden where bugs and petals fluttered, Zephyr seeking forgiveness wasn’t exactly a beautiful sight, but his honesty was refreshing.
It felt like some recompense for Ester Tristy, who’d only cried as a child. In the end, this meant Zephyr acknowledged me too.
“I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Aren’t I ultimately just another rival you need to take down? Why not team up with the other brothers and sisters to keep me in check nicely?”
Zephyr pondered that for a moment.
“Someday.”
He looked up at the sky.
“If the day comes when I become family head, wouldn’t it be the worst obstacle if I’m on bad terms with the genius who proved the Millennium solution?”
Zephyr gave a bitter smile.
From start to finish, all his answers were consistent, so I didn’t mind.
Maybe Zephyr was the one among us most like Porto.
I watched Zephyr’s departing back intently.
This is something I learned later, but apparently Zephyr had held onto this necklace for quite a while.
***
“Your eyes are gonna pop out. Dalpi, how many letters are left?”
“You’ve read 153 so far, so just 658 more.”
The letters seemed endless no matter how many I read.
The Millennium Problem was such a bombshell that the repercussions were huge.
Some wanted to sponsor me, others wanted to work with me.
The rewards were all great, but... tsk, what can I say.
‘They just don’t sit right with me.’
It felt like moments with sleazy bosses trying to exploit me using salary as bait.
Nob AI, I’m sooo exhausted!!
『What can I help with?』
Sort these letters into ones I don’t need and ones I might!!
『Does ‘letters’ refer to the 811 letters currently in the room?』
Yes!!
『Please spread all the letters out so I can check their contents.』
“Dalpi.”
“Yes.”
“Open the envelopes and lay them all out on the floor.”
“?”
Dalpi scratched his cheek.
“Shall I fetch some cold water? It might not be a bad idea to rest if your mind’s foggy.”
“I have a way. The same one I used to solve the Millennium Problem.”
It was using Nob AI!
“I heard back then that a super smart friend handled everything for you. Seems pretty capable. Even sorting letters...”
“Yup, yup.”
The most competent friend in this world.
Dalpi and I tore open the letter envelopes and spread the papers across the floor.
Once the letters covered the floor completely, Nob AI got right to work.
『Commencing learning process.』
『.......』
『Learning complete. Based on the current situation of Ester Tristy, I will list the letters that could benefit you in order.』
『1. Letter from the Red Tower Lord.』
『2. Letter from the Blue Tower Lord.』
『3. Letter from the Steel Lion Knight Order Captain.』
『.......』
『.......』
『881. Letter from Wonderland.』
『That concludes the sorting of all 881 letters.』
“Solid performance.”
“Already done?”
Dalpi looked amazed.
And rightly so—reading this mountain of letters was grueling.
It was more volume than a thick textbook.
Reading, organizing, and ranking them would’ve taken a full three days.
“Yeah, go ahead and collect all the letters now.”
“Understood.”
I lay down on the bed.
Looking at the holograms felt just like scrolling on my phone before sleep.
If Nob AI grows and can play music later, that’d be amazing...
Anyway, I eyed the very last letter.
『881. Letter from Wonderland.』
The one with zero benefit for me.
No gain, so do I even need to read it?
Still, something about the last one made me curious.
I opened the letter.
『Wonderland is watching you, who solved the Millennium Problem. Aren’t you dissatisfied with this world? Don’t you want to create a better one? Then join us. If you build a new world with us.......』
『*Wonderland is the worst criminal organization. (See last year’s January issue of Monthly Justine)』
Huh?
Suddenly, criminals are inviting me to join them.