Chapter 25: Cafeteria 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: Cafeteria 4
The Adelian family was a prestigious house of magic.
This was an undeniable truth recognized by everyone in the Croa Empire—no, by everyone on the entire continent. Every single person who carried Adelian blood was born with a natural talent for magic.
While the timing of mana awakening varies, ordinary people usually awaken around the age of ten. However, members of the Adelian family awakened their mana at an average age of six or seven.
Because of this, both the family and the rest of the Empire watched with keen interest to see exactly when a child born into the Adelian house would awaken.
When the current head of the family, Bakumo Adelian, awakened his mana, the family and the Empire were struck with shock. He had awakened at the age of eleven—an age significantly later than the family average.
‘The son of the family head awakened at eleven? He cannot be considered a true Adelian.’
For a member of the Adelian family, and a direct descendant at that, to awaken as late as eleven was the ultimate fodder for gossip throughout the Empire.
The collateral branches went so far as to spread rumors that Bakumo Adelian’s mother had an affair and that he was a bastard. They spread these lies for one reason: to install their own children as the next head of the family.
In an absurd situation where the collateral branches were looking down on the direct line, a young Bakumo Adelian issued a declaration of war.
"You want the position of family head so badly you'd spread such foul rumors? If you're so confident, try and take it from me."
Several members of the collateral branches attempted to defeat Bakumo to seize the title, but Bakumo simply coated his body and his fists in magic and beat them to a pulp.
When it became clear they couldn't defeat him in a fight, the collateral branches began to nitpick, pointing out that Bakumo Adelian was not a "normal" mage.
"Bakumo cannot be considered a normal mage. We cannot allow such a strange sorcerer to become the head of the family!"
"You're only spouting that bullshit because I kicked your asses. Shall I show you once more whether I'm qualified to be the head or not?"
Following that, Bakumo Adelian, along with those who followed him, assisted a prince—who was a concubine's son—in staging a rebellion.
"Bakumo Adelian! To start a rebellion... what is the meaning of this?!"
Initially, the collateral branches tried to eliminate Bakumo for his involvement, but once the rebellion succeeded and the Adelian family was elevated to a Ducal Family, they shut their mouths and said nothing.
The first thing Bakumo Adelian did upon becoming a Duke was a "cleanup." He swept away the numerous pieces of trash within the family—those who had insulted his mother and those who had tried to eliminate him.
Once the purge was over and the family had settled down, Bakumo Adelian married and had children. At first, the family members were secretly worried. They feared his children might fight in the same peculiar, brutal way Bakumo did.
However, those worries vanished instantly. Both of Bakumo Adelian’s children were born with unprecedented talent as mages.
When Clara was born, everyone present was stunned. She had awakened her mana the moment she entered the world. Even searching through the history of the continent, let alone the Empire, there was no case like Clara’s.
Furthermore, she possessed an overwhelming amount of mana, leading family members to scramble to become her mentor. They believed that if Clara became famous, they would gain fame as her teacher.
But none of them got the chance. The Tower Master himself stepped forward and took Clara as his disciple. The Empire was thrown into an uproar once again when the Tower Master, who had never taken a disciple before, accepted Clara.
"My son happens to be around the same age as the Adelian Lady, perhaps they could meet..."
"My daughter wishes to be friends with the Lady, so at the tea party I'm hosting this time..."
Nobles with sons tried to link them with Clara just in case, while those with daughters did everything they could to make them her friends.
Usually, when one sibling possesses such extraordinary talent, the other is compared unfavorably, but Joden was never once compared to Clara.
Because he, too, was a genius.
Three. That was the age he awakened his mana. Until Clara was born, no one had been able to break his record.
While his mana capacity wasn't quite as infinite as Clara's, it still far exceeded the average.
Looking at it this way, he was excellent in every regard but perhaps a step below Clara—except for the fact that Joden possessed something no other Adelian had.
an Innate Magic.
Those who possessed one were extremely rare, and among them, less than one-tenth had an Innate Magic that was actually useful.
The Innate Magic Joden used was specialized for combat. He was self-taught in magic, believing it was the most comfortable way to learn. If there was anything he had learned from others, it was the practical combat experience he gained from sparring with Bakumo Adelian.
The brilliant magical talent inherited from his lineage.
The practical experience gained from fighting Bakumo.
And finally, his Innate Magic.
During his first year at the Academy, he became the strongest among all students. The meaning of this was simple: as a first-year, he had defeated the top-ranked third-year student.
And during his two years at the Academy, he had never once lost his title as the strongest.
.
.
.
"Weren't you looking for the one who did it? It was me."
Crimson eyes, the symbol of the Adelian family, turned toward Vermin and his subordinates. Their bodies froze, unable to move, like frogs before a snake.
Every student in the cafeteria was watching this scene. Perhaps because of the audience, Vermin forced a relaxed smile and spoke to Joden.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding. Why don't you release this magic?"
The man who had pointed a blade at me earlier was groaning in pain, his hand completely frozen.
"A misunderstanding? I saw with my own eyes that a sword was drawn. What part of that is a misunderstanding?"
"The reason he drew his sword was simply to discipline an insolent junior."
Hearing Vermin's words, Joden let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"Ha. And who gave you that authority? If there's a professor who granted you such a right, feel free to call them here."
As Joden ignored him with a sneer, anger began to seep into Vermin's voice.
"If you keep acting like this, I won't be able to hold back anymore."
"And what exactly can someone like you do if you don't hold back?"
Without any warning, Vermin and his subordinates were halfway frozen. No mana was felt, no incantation was uttered, and no signal was given.
As if they had been frozen from the start, no one sensed the slightest hint of the magic taking hold of Vermin and his lackeys.
Even seeing it again after a long time, I still have no idea how to counter that.
"Gah! What is this?!"
"Undo this right now, Joden!"
From what I knew, that Vermin trying to struggle out of the ice was strong enough to be ranked within the top ten of the third years. But his opponent was Joden.
Even if the second through tenth ranks of the current third-year class attacked together, they couldn't beat Joden.
Back when I was learning from the Duke of Adelian, I had sparred with Joden a few times at the Duke's suggestion. No, calling those encounters "fights" was a stretch.
If the Adelian Family Head and Joden fought, the Family Head would obviously win.
However, when it came to fighting me, Joden was always the one who finished me off faster. No matter how many illusions I created or tricks I set up, Joden would simply freeze everything.
"Don't act out with such pathetic skills. Just stay quiet."
Leaving them with those words, Joden vanished the ice in an instant.
As his body was freed, Vermin’s face turned beet red from the sheer humiliation. One of his subordinates, lacking any sense, drew his sword and lunged at Joden.
"How dare you be so rude to the Prince!"
Come to think of it, was that Vermin a prince of some kingdom? I couldn't quite remember which one.
Joden watched the man charging at him with eyes full of contempt.
"Stop, you idiot!"
Vermin shouted, seemingly shocked by his subordinate's moronic decision. That man wouldn't be able to get near Joden anyway. He'd be frozen before he could.
Joden had been able to control his emotions while dealing with Vermin. Right, there wasn't enough justification to kill that Vermin just yet.
But I could certainly manage a small prank.
The man charging at Joden tried to stop upon hearing Vermin's shout, but he couldn't kill his momentum instantly.
"Man... my body feels so stiff from sitting down for so long."
I stretched my arms wide and casually stuck a leg out to the side. As a result, the man tripped over my leg and slammed his head into the ground at full speed.
Thud!
I approached the man, feigning total ignorance, and reached out a hand.
"Oops, are you alright? You shouldn't be sleeping in a place like this."