Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Gibson's Coming-of-Age Ceremony
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"Lord Elwin Frontier enters!!"
Splendid decorations.
Beautiful music.
The aroma of delicious food.
All sorts of sensations flooded in through my senses.
'This is nothing like Elena's or my ceremonies.'
To go this far for Gibson's coming-of-age ceremony.
Step. Step.
I took my seat at the table with my subordinates.
Rare delicacies not often seen on the island filled the table.
'These ingredients... brought from the continent?'
I slowly ate while surveying the room.
The standout figures were
the Frontier Viscount,
Brilda,
Gibson,
Benia Vampiris,
Alensia Vampiris.
Most people flocked to Gibson, the star of the show.
'I can't let Brilda have her way.'
I signaled Russell,
and my subordinates struck up conversations.
The topic?
The ballista.
Islanders can't get enough of one thing.
Weapons.
Once the ballista talk began,
people gathered one by one.
"Was the ballista at the South Castle entrance yours, Lord Elwin?"
"It was."
"Ooh... Where did you get it?"
"I made it myself."
At the words "made it myself,"
disappointment clouded their faces.
It's not hard to craft a plausible model ballista.
The key is the string.
Its sturdiness and elasticity determine the ballista's performance.
"Oh dear. Oh dear."
"The performance must be lacking."
"What a shame."
As people began to drift away in disappointment,
I dropped a single name.
"Dve. Dve made it."
"Dve?"
"Who's Dve?"
Their eyes turned back to me.
"A slave I bought from the continent."
"Oh..."
"A slave..."
"No skilled craftsman would be a slave..."
They were disappointed once more.
"But here's the thing. That Dve... isn't human."
"Not human!?"
"What do you mean by that?"
I doled out information bit by bit,
keeping them from leaving.
As more people lingered around me,
curiosity drew even larger crowds.
"Dve is..."
"Dve is?"
"Who the heck...?"
"A half-human, half-dwarf."
"Ooooh!!"
"A dwarf!!"
Those who had been disappointed by "made it myself" now cheered.
At the mere word "dwarf."
"Lord Elwin, could we see the ballista's performance?"
"Lord Elwin, how many ballistae do you have?"
"Lord Elwin, how many can you produce in a month?"
"Lord Elwin..."
"Elwin..."
"El..."
It was like being at an auction house,
people chattering nonstop.
I slowly shifted my gaze
to Brilda in the center of the hall.
'That bastard...'
Crash.
In a surge of strength, I shattered the glass.
"Madam, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Clean it up."
"Yes, Madam."
I told the maid,
then lifted my head to glare at Elwin again.
But.
'He's smiling? How dare he find this amusing.'
Whose banquet was this?
Who was the star?
Why had I poured time and money into preparing it?
'No manners, no honor, no dignity.'
Banquets have basic rules.
Respect the host's intentions.
The purpose was Gibson's coming-of-age,
and Gibson's...
"Huuuuh... Hoo..."
I took slow breaths.
Anger wouldn't solve this.
Anyway, Elwin's status as heir ended today.
He wouldn't get to act so arrogant again.
Or he'd die.
Brilda forced a smile.
For Elwin to see.
The people around Elwin weren't important.
The key was the two ladies and the heirs.
She leisurely shifted her gaze.
To Benia's table.
But.
'Why... is she looking at Elwin?'
Benia was watching Elwin.
Not Gibson, but Elwin.
Next, she looked to Alensia on the other side.
Alensia sat quietly, seemingly uninterested in the proceedings.
Yes. That was better.
At that moment,
Alensia slowly raised her eyes and glanced at Elwin.
Then she stared blankly ahead again, expressionless.
'What was that? Just annoyed by the noise?'
"Huuuuh. Hoo..."
I took a deep breath to calm myself.
Obsessing over Elwin made even simple actions seem exaggerated.
"You'll never be lord anyway."
Elwin as lord?
Impossible.
Even if Elwin farmed with the goddess's blessing,
bought slaves to expand the land,
brought in mercenaries for military might,
developed mines.
Never.
Elwin
as heir?
Impossible.
It came down to blood.
Bloodline.
With that thought,
my racing heart settled.
Brilda slowly raised her glass and drank.
Bloodline.
Magical talent passes through the blood.
She looked once more at the two ladies.
Benia and Alensia, with their blue hair.
The Vampiris Duke Family's hair was originally red.
Over generations, it turned blue.
Along with that, their powerful magical talent faded.
So what about Elwin?
Blond, true to the Frontier bloodline.
'Not all blonds are the same.'
So what if the color matched.
No real magical talent.
The bloodline hadn't passed to Elwin.
If it had, he could use magic.
Hand the lordship to Elwin?
When the bloodline was broken?
When Elwin's children couldn't use magic?
Brilda glanced at her husband beside her.
She thought he felt the same.
The Frontier Viscount wasn't used to banquets.
He preferred solitary reflection over mingling.
What was a Frontier?
Was spending one's single life on the battlefield what it meant?
He looked at his son Gibson.
If Gibson became lord, he'd live the same life.
Learning magic as a child,
fighting monsters as an adult.
Until the moment of death.
Was this alright for the Frontier family?
Were they on the right path?
300 years ago,
when humans settled Monster Island,
the First Vampiris Duke selected four mages.
First Frontier Viscount (Earth)
First Aquano Baron (Water)
First Aer Baron (Wind)
First Kent Baron (Fire)
Excluding the First Vampiris Duke, they were the strongest human mages.
300 years later, what now?
The Vampiris family can't use magic.
Nor the Kents.
Did that ruin them?
The Vampiris hold their territory with vast inherited wealth.
The Kents honed swordsmanship instead of magic.
Bloodlines weaken over time.
As long as men and women meet and bear children, it's inevitable.
The Frontier family too.
The shrinking territory stemmed from declining magical talent across generations.
Perhaps today decided the Frontier's next century.
He organized the thoughts he’d mulled over dozens of times on the way here.
'While others think ten years ahead, I must see 100, 200 years.'
He shifted his gaze
to Elwin, surrounded by people.
Looking 100 or 200 years ahead,
Elwin's farming skills held little value.
A goddess-blessed gift, not etched in blood.
But population was different.
Growing numbers would enrich the Frontier Viscounty for generations.
The same for the newly developed mines.
If the Frontier must change,
now was the chance.
The Frontier Viscount rose from his seat.
And ascended the stairs where all could see.
"I thank all the honored guests for attending my son's coming-of-age today."
The noisy hall quieted.
"I know what meaning islanders attach to this ceremony."
Rumors of the next Frontier heir
had reached even the front-line battlefields.
"Thus, I shall announce it clearly here among honored guests."
He looked sequentially at Brilda and Elwin.
Brilda's face lit with joy.
Elwin remained composed.
"The Frontier heir is Elwin. This was decided long ago, and it shall remain so."
'What? Why?'
I first checked Brilda's expression.
In case it was some scheme of hers.
But no.
Brilda's face was indescribable.
'Father promised not to change heirs at Gibson's ceremony.'
He'd emphasized it wasn't set in stone.
Yet,
'I'm the heir, and I will be going forward?'
After Father's firm declaration,
the Frontier retainers moved first.
They came to congratulate me.
"Congratulations, Heir."
"Heir, we look forward to your leadership of the viscounty."
"Heir, now return to South Castle for successor training..."
Next came Benia.
She approached with the Aquano and Aer heirs.
"Congratulations, Lord Elwin. Must have been stressful."
"Thank you."
At Benia's glance, the baronial heirs chimed in.
"Congrats either way."
"Not bad for us. Breaking off the engagement and keeping heir status."
And finally, Alensia.
She came only after the banquet ended.