Awakening (3)
After the swarm of bugs appeared, Shabrilla Petaconia's hot spring was rechristened the Bug Hot Spring and subjected to endless mockery. The capital's newspapers went berserk like nephews hyped up for the holidays.
"…"
Shabrilla Petaconia trembled with rage as she dialed the newspapers.
"Um... could you please take down those articles..."
"Aigoo~ We in the press have a duty to provide the stories the public craves~"
"...I'm willing to increase the sponsorship amount, but..."
"Heh heh. It's not like we're doing this just for a few coins~"
In truth, it was all about the coins. The articles quietly vanished.
Shabrilla blew a furious blast from her whiskey bottle.
I'm ruined! Totally, utterly screwed!!!
It would be over a decade before Shabrilla's hot spring regained its honor.
But there was an even bigger problem.
"Are you really going to take that child?"
"…"
The woman who had gone to her friend's hot spring for fun and inexplicably picked up a newborn baby. Her name was Elena White, baroness-to-be.
The other young ladies had fled in the blink of an eye. On the surface, they claimed they couldn't stand even a minute in the Bug Hot Spring... but deep down, they all felt the same.
She found a random baby. Now what the hell do we do with it?
Send it to an orphanage? These 'kind-hearted' noble young ladies?
"Oh my oh my~ We couldn't possibly~"
"Exactly~ The poor baby~!"
Fine, then have the young ladies take it into their own families and raise it?
"...Isn't that a bit rude to an unmarried virgin like me?!"
"W-We’re too young... We'd have to ask the elders in the family..."
Just imagining it was a headache. Sending it to an orphanage felt immoral. Raising it themselves was a burden.
So... the young ladies bolted as a group. Run meant exactly that—they ran away.
Everyone who discovered the baby had scrammed. So who was left to take responsibility?
"Me, of course! Oho ho ho ho ho!"
Shabrilla blew another mournful whiskey trumpet. She needed this just to cope...
"My life... sob sob."
Right then, one young lady who hadn't run appeared.
"Lady Shabrilla Petaconia."
"...Lady Elena White?"
Elena White. The girl who had rescued the baby from the swarm.
"Can I take that child?"
"?!"
Shabrilla grabbed her friend's hand. She was incredibly grateful... but it felt like an enormous imposition too!
"Wh-What are you saying! This isn't your responsibility!"
Elena shook her head.
"I want to do it."
"…"
"I'm getting married this year anyway. I'll have kids in a few years. What's one more a little early?"
"Lady Elena...!"
Tears streamed from Shabrilla's eyes.
Aah. From today, you and I are sisters...!
"If you need money, just say the word! I'll sell every stock I have! I'll make sure you get it, no matter what!"
"Thank you. Lady Shabrilla."
Elena returned home with the baby. Then she called her fiancé—her boyfriend.
"Ah, Elena? How was the trip?"
Elena said,
"Lennon."
"Yeah?"
"I have a baby now."
"...?!"
Her future fiancé, Lennon Aision, plunged into profound shock. It was a miracle he didn't faint.
Lennon met Elena immediately. They questioned, argued, and reconciled. It was a fight straight out of a scripted play.
"Lennon. Let's break up."
"!"
"I brought home a baby without your permission. I don't want to burden you... so let's just end it."
"Elena. You're such a brutally selfish woman...!"
"I'm sorry... but..."
"Why do you always only think about yourself?"
"That's..."
"Don't you ever consider how much I love you?!"
"Lennon...?"
"Break up? Don't even say that crap. I'd die before letting you go. Don't try to run from me with some lame excuse like that, Elena."
"!"
Elena had arbitrarily brought home a baby and suggested calling off the engagement... but Lennon? Well, naturally, he wasn't letting her go.
He was one step away from going mad with the desire to marry Elena.
"Whether it's two kids, three, or four. We'll raise them all."
"Lennon...!"
"Don't underestimate the Aision family's wealth."
Lennon showered gold coins at Elena's feet.
Ching ching ching!
Gold was precious—but his fiancée was more precious!
"I'll give you anything you want. You just come to me."
"Sob sob... Lennon...!"
They yelled and fought. But neither Elena nor Lennon really minded.
...Because both had expected it to end this way.
"And so~!"
Elena beamed as she cradled the newborn.
"I'm your mommy~ Baby~"
The baby beamed back.
It was the moment Dante Aision was adopted into a noble family.
"Name the baby yourself."
Elena left the naming to Lennon. Just in case he got pissy about it later, she could yell, 'You even named the kid yourself!' It was a defensive measure for the child.
"...Dante."
"Dante?"
"My late master's name. When he was alive, he always asked when I'd bring him a grandson."
"…"
A bit old-fashioned, but it was her husband's choice, so she didn't argue.
"Your name is Dante! Dante Aision of the Aision family!"
The couple's first child was Dante Aision.
Less than a year later, the second child was born. A beautiful girl with silver hair like her mother.
Having to raise two kids at once didn't faze Elena. She treated it like having twins. With only about ten months' age difference, it was close enough.
"Your name is Sara! Sara Aision!"
A few years later, Elena gave birth to another child. Another silver-haired girl.
"You're Valentina, okay?"
A few more years passed. Elena had yet another child. A boy with black hair like his father.
"You're Eric!"
Dante, Sara, Valentina, and Eric. Surveying her four children lined up in a row, Elena tilted her head and muttered,
"Should I have one more...?"
Dante shook his head vigorously inside.
Please stop having kids... Mom...!
Growing the family was great, but she needed to think about her own body.
"Oppa!"
"Dante oppa~"
"Dante hyung..."
And another one. There were too many siblings!
As the eldest, it was his fate. Dante had to trail after them constantly to prevent mishaps.
Dante sighed.
Aah—! Why did heaven birth me—! And Sara, Valentina, Eric too—! (Mom birthed them)
"No choice now."
Dante's eyes sparkled.
"I'll run to the forest."
Dante suddenly sprang to life and bolted. Sara, left alone, shrieked.
"Th-That damn Dante oppa! He ran off again!"
"Sara unnie... I'm tired..."
"How can you call yourself a big brother—!!!"
His little sister's screams echoed, but Dante didn't look back.
This was how the eldest son of the Aision family survived...
"Good luck, siblings."
Dante dashed lightly toward the forest.
The Aision couple already knew Dante had a peculiar talent. They'd been periodically examining his body.
Elena cautiously suspected he might have some bug-related gift. It was unavoidable—the baby had been left behind by a swarm of bugs...
And her guess? Spot on.
"Erk..."
"What do you think? Teacher?"
Mages had come to give Dante a checkup. Most just said he had basic mage aptitude.
But Elena wasn't satisfied. She wanted the link between Dante and the bugs.
So she brought in every famous mage for tests.
"It's peculiar."
"Peculiar...?"
"A truly unique mana property."
"!"
Finally. A mage who could properly diagnose Dante.
"Normally, mana is drawn to entities with matching wavelengths."
"Wavelengths?"
"Like how elves are naturally close to spirits."
Every race has innate wavelengths. Elves excel at wind and spirit magic. Humans shine in holy magic and summoning.
Of course, that's on a racial level. Individuals vary wildly in talents.
Humans have aptitude across all magics, making them the most versatile learners.
"Your son seems to have talent in bug magic."
"Bug magic...?"
"Also called insect arts or bug sorcery."
Elena had half-expected it, but Lennon was mildly surprised.
"I've never heard of bug magic."
The mage nodded.
"That makes sense. Lizardmen are the ones who typically learn and master it."
"…"
"Lizardmen innately feel affinity for bugs. They often keep pet cockroaches or pet beetles."
"Pet cockroaches..."
Lennon instantly got the vibe.
Humans just don't vibe with bugs from birth. They feel disgust and chills.
So talent in something like bug magic? Unlikely.
But swamp lizardmen? Totally different. They eat bugs, breed them, even befriend them.
Prime breeding ground for master bug tamers.
"Well... humans can show talent in all sorts of magics. It's our racial trait."
"…"
"But bug magic... truly, extremely rare."
Humans have potential for every magic. Dante having bug magic talent wasn't impossible.
Lennon asked,
"So, what should we do?"
The mage chose his words carefully. A child's future was at stake.
"As a mage, I'd recommend learning other magic over bug magic."
"Why?"
"No one knows or practices it."
"…"
"Finding a teacher is hard. Grimoires are incredibly scarce."
No practitioners. That explained everything.
Why bother with an ultra-obscure magic without textbooks?
"Even if he learns it, its value is questionable."
Bug magic wasn't highly valued. No practitioners meant no evaluation.
"Bug tamers themselves are so rare, maybe one per century."
"...That rare?"
"What's the odds of a human born without bug disgust? Someone who strokes cockroaches barehanded and lets them crawl on their arm."
"…"
"Plenty of humans can hug puppies. But only those with magic talent and beast affinity can use beast-summoning magic. Same principle."
Love insects and have magic talent. Odds are brutally low.
A once-in-a-century gift, literally.
Thus, bug magic is treated as lizardmen-exclusive. Other races 'could' learn it, but practically impossible.
"If your son insists on the bug tamer path..."
"…"
"It'll be very, extremely tough and treacherous."
"…"
"That's why I don't recommend it."
The couple debated the child's future at length. And reached a conclusion.
Let the kid decide everything.
"Dante."
"Yes?"
"Do you like playing with bugs?"
Little Dante nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
From that moment, the answer was set in stone.
Dante walked the path of the bug tamer.