The People of Blue (5)
At the Head of House's words, everyone swallowed hard.
The Head of House Eshua.
What kind of position was that, exactly?
It was a duchy of the Empire, yes — but the Five Great Families were the houses that led the Five Faiths.
The Cardinal who stood at their apex was the leader of every priest and holy knight who followed the faith. In a sense, it meant he commanded military power greater than that of an entire nation's army.
And the head of House Eshua — the ones who exorcised demons — carried an even loftier value across the continent.
The moment the word succession left the Head of House's lips, the light in every eye in the room was bound to shift.
The elders and councilors wore the faces of men who had been waiting for this decision for years.
"It took you long enough."
"At last, you've made up your mind!"
By all rights, this seat should have passed on years ago.
But Eli had kept putting off the succession, claiming there was 'no one worth handing it to.'
Noel let out a hollow laugh.
'A remarkable man, sure, but he's finally reached his limit.'
However mighty Eli might be — the strongest Head of House in the family's history — the man was still old. The time had come to think about the family's future.
And that was precisely why Noel harbored quiet expectations at the Head of House's declaration. After all, the pool of candidates in this household had always been a narrow one.
Sure enough, the councilors and elders exchanged worried glances.
"As things stand, the next Head of House will essentially be Rillai or Noel."
"Kaliya has the talent, but given his condition…"
They clicked their tongues as they looked at Kaliya, who was on death's doorstep. Then again, Kaliya had never shown the slightest ambition for the seat in the first place.
Which left Rillai and Noel as the leading contenders — except Rillai had abruptly traded the priesthood for the life of a holy knight, all to avenge a dead friend and hunt down the Skeleton King.
'He's talented enough that it'll probably be fine, but priests and holy knights are worlds apart…'
The divine arts each path mastered were fundamentally different.
A priest learned every divine art in pursuit of their ultimate depths, while a holy knight learned only half and devoted the rest of himself to the sword.
Could a man who had spent ten years as a holy knight truly master the Cardinal's secret arts in full?
In other words, the advantage lay with Noel.
Noel couldn't hold back a burst of laughter.
"This should have happened ages ago! Every time you delayed the succession, Father, the lesser branches kept getting ideas above their station!"
"…!"
At Noel's laughter, the councilors frowned, visibly indignant.
'If only the Pope's bloodline hadn't carried on in him.'
'Honestly, Isaac was the perfect candidate.'
'If only Isaac had been born a little sooner.'
Noel, apparently unable to contain himself, raised a hand to cover his mouth.
"Well, better late than never. I'll see to it that discipline is properly restored."
Whose discipline he meant needed no clarification.
The other Eshuas had no choice but to furrow their brows.
'Isaac. That brat is as good as dead.'
Sure enough, Noel's imperious, master-of-the-house gaze swung toward Isaac.
"Well then, I thank you for this wise and—"
But that was the moment.
"I never said I was giving it to you."
"…I beg your pardon?"
Silence fell in an instant.
Noel stared at the Head of House, bewildered. The others turned to him as well, equally puzzled.
"You won't give it to Noel, then…"
Noel's sharp eyes soon caught on to something and narrowed toward a single point.
"Don't tell me you mean to give it to Rillai? To that man who can't even hold a candle to me?!"
The elders were about to warn him against crossing the line — but someone beat them to the punch. Someone entirely unexpected.
"Is this bastard out of his goddamn mind?"
"…?!"
"Keep calling your uncle a eunuch, you mangy dog, and see what happens!"
Iii-saaac!
Everyone stared at Isaac in open horror.
"Eunuch or not, there are things you say to a man's face and things you don't!"
Rillai, the subject of it all, simply smiled serenely in silence.
…Isaac? Thanks, but no thanks.
And I keep telling you — your uncle is NOT a eunuch?
"Ah, my apologies. I got worked up seeing my uncle slandered like that. I'll reflect on my behavior. And Uncle Noel, sir. Keep insulting my uncle, and next time I'll make you exactly the same way."
"…"
No, you idiot! This isn't a problem you fix by adding an honorific!
Shuri trembled from head to toe, and the others could only gape at the Head of House — but the Head of House himself looked entirely unbothered.
"Isaac. Sit down."
That's it?! THAT'S all you have to say?!
"And fix that habit of yours of cutting sentences short."
I don't think that's the problem here!
Soon the councilors broke into smiles.
"A wise decision, Head of House. Rillai will surely accept the seat gladly—"
"No. Not Rillai either."
What?! Not him either?!
"Then who in the world are you giving the Head of House seat to…"
The Head of House's eyes glinted.
"As of today, the rule restricting heir's authority to the senior generation is abolished."
…I'm sorry, what?
"In other words, the line of succession now includes the grandsons and granddaughters as well."
What on earth for?!
You're brushing aside the senior generation and handing eligibility to a bunch of fluffy chicks?!
Noel shot to his feet in alarm.
"Surely you mean it must pass through us first? That after it's passed through us, only then—"
"No."
"…I beg your pardon?"
The Head of House cast a sidelong glance at Isaac.
"Right — to put it simply, it means Isaac could become Head of House directly."
The instant the words landed, Isaac beamed.
Yes! Grandfather, you magnificent man!
THIS is how you do it!
It made sense. He'd known his grandfather acknowledged him, but the seat was such a hidebound, traditionalist position that he hadn't dared hope for much.
His most realistic plan had been for Rillai to become the next Head of House and for himself to be adopted as Rillai's heir — but that path was riddled with uncertainty.
This, though? This was ideal.
Contracting with the Supreme God had paid off after all!
[I beg your pardon, Master, but that contract was never actually YOURS, was it?]
Puhet! As expected, everything goes according to MY plan!
[It is NOT according to your plan!!]
Naturally, the Head of House's proclamation drew a storm of outrage.
"Father! That boy is eleven years old! You'd let a fuzz-faced brat leap over his uncles?!"
"Is there a law saying he can't? There was once a youngest Cardinal at sixteen."
Noel was speechless with indignation.
You do NOT put that legend in the same category as this!
"That happened because the entire senior generation had… ahem, because there was no one else left to inherit!"
And more to the point — the Head of House seat, handed to Isaac?
You're saying I'd have to take orders from that snotty little brat?!
"What's the problem? I'm offering the opportunity to whoever qualifies."
Opportunity? You call THIS an opportunity?
"I am saying that whoever wields 9th-Tier secret arts and earns the recognition of the God of Blue first may become Head of House — youngest or not."
Noel scoffed, as if the sheer audacity had left him breathless.
"An eleven-year-old reaching the 9th Tier? Are you planning to dangle the seat of Head of House for another twenty years?!"
"There was once a Saintess who was eleven. And there's no rule a Cardinal can't be eleven either."
"WHAT?!"
The Head of House looked at Isaac.
If his eyes did not deceive him, Isaac would undoubtedly reach the 9th Tier before he even came of age.
"I, for one, can keep at this for another five years."
Noel — no, all the adults — grasped his father's intent at once, and the looks on their faces were a sight to behold.
'…This is practically announcing he's putting Isaac on the seat itself!'
Under Noel's glare, Isaac grinned the same way he always did.
There-there, looks like somebody's about to cry.
It's frustrating, isn't it? Keep trying, by all means.
"I never imagined the Head of House would come out that strongly."
House Eshua had been thrown into utter upheaval.
"The grandchildren, you say? They're nearly twenty by now, conveniently enough."
"Allowing for the period of instruction in the secret arts, it's a touch early, but workable. Worst case, it falls back to the senior generation."
"Ah — so that's why he made a point of mentioning five whole years."
But amid the chatter, Benyamin alone disagreed. As the finest mind in House Eshua, he had grasped the Head of House's true intention immediately.
'Opportunity? No. Father is, for all practical purposes, announcing he's raising Isaac up.'
The other adults present would have read it the same way.
'Father means to wait for Isaac, in other words…'
Even so, the other Eshuas were hardly to be underestimated.
The Pope's bloodline, once they caught on to the old man's intent, would never sit still — and once the field opened down to the grandchildren's generation, every one of them was a formidable contender.
All the more so, since nothing said a Saintess couldn't become Head of House.
'Well, personally, Isaac is the one I'm most excited about.'
But Benyamin made no show of it. He had no wish for Isaac — a boy of rare talent — to grow arrogant just because Benyamin had decoded the old man's heart for him.
'Isaac is still young.'
Granted, in truth the boy was several hundred years his senior and an incorrigible old codger besides.
'Right. Can't have a gifted child wandering down the wrong path.'
Never mind wandering down it — the boy had already bulldozed past the fork and built a mansion at the bottom of the wrong path, as the Skeleton Demon King with no road back.
"In any case — recognition from the God of Blue is the condition for becoming Head of House."
At those words, Whisper clicked his tongue, muttering that his master was in for serious trouble now.
[By that logic, Master, you are thoroughly doomed.]
Why, exactly?
[Because the Gods of Blue only answer the devout and the upright. Any ordinary Eshua might scrape by, but you, Master…]
Why, exactly? And so what if I am?
[Good grief. In any case, to earn the God of Blue's recognition you'll have to keep faithful to the Blue doctrine — which means even you will need to pray to the god… The Head of House really thought this through, hasn't he.]
But at that, Isaac burst out laughing. Puhet!
Why in the world would I study doctrine?
[…I beg your pardon?]
The God of Blue's recognition?
Didn't Kim Shuri already sign a contract with the Chief God of Blue?
I'll just summon the God of Light, beat him into submission, and that measly Head of House seat is mine!
[I'm sure the God of Light will be only too happy to grant that recognition…]
Simple! If he doesn't want to watch House Eshua be annihilated, he'll acknowledge me as Head of House!
[…That is extortion, is it not?!]
Whatever. I've got a debt to collect from the God of Light anyway.
But that was the moment.
"So all it takes to become Head of House is recognition from the God of Blue, yes?"
"…!"
At the voice he'd never heard before, Isaac's head snapped around, sharp with wariness.
There stood a silver-haired adult man.
At the sight of him, Shuri flinched for some reason.
"You're Isaac, are you? The one who's been teaching Shuri."
"…?"
"Pleased to meet you. I'm your older cousin, Joseph. My, has Shuri grown this much while I was away?"
"…"
Isaac gave Shuri — who was very deliberately avoiding his gaze — a look of pure disdain.
Who the hell is this guy?
What's with that reaction, Shuri-boy?
Come to think of it, this bastard was conveniently absent back when I blew Noel away, wasn't he.
"Grandfather extending succession rights all the way down to us — I couldn't be more delighted. Isn't that right, Shuri?"
…Look at this bastard?
Something about him rubbed Isaac the wrong way — but that wasn't the important part. Joseph, as if he had business with Shuri, slung an arm around his shoulder.
"Shuri, you contracted with the God of Light, didn't you? Go on, call your god out. I need to get recognized by the God of Blue here."
"What? But what Grandfather said was—"
"You're not about to call it a loophole, are you? If a stray stone rolls in, it ought to make itself useful to House Eshua. Ah, come to think of it, this works out great for you too, doesn't it — a brown-haired whelp getting a shot at the Head of House seat."
Shuri flinched.
Watching him, Isaac let out a long, slow sigh. Phew.
Ha. Some stray nobody I've never even heard of wants to get in my way, huh.
At Isaac's shift in bearing, Shuri and Joseph stiffened.
And no wonder — Isaac's hand was sliding into his shirt, reaching for his rattle… No. Stop it! NOT the rattle!
Isaac smiled brightly at the sight.
Yes, yes, relax. I've matured. The rattle is retired now.
He transformed the rattle's shape.
Into something else entirely — a viciously wicked-looking whip.
"Ha. And here I was trying to be patient."
Blue brats — let me teach you some discipline.
"I'll beat it into you until your heads are on straight."
Shuri's face went rigid.
…You know what? On second thought, I'd take the rattle.