The Bet and the Merchant's Table
"Yes! I won!"
Eli threw his fist into the air triumphantly. Bayul and Aidan, having no idea what was going on, could only blink blankly, while Quinn fished five kuna out of his wallet and tossed them at Eli.
"What? You two made a bet?"
"Yep! And I won, didn't I?"
"A bet about what?"
"Who'd run over and hug who first! Muahaha, see — I'm closer to Bayul than you are, Quinn. Obviously!"
Eli waved the bills at Quinn in a deliberately teasing flourish.
"Lai, why would you bet on something so pointless! I was just going to come over because you were right there—"
"How is that pointless? Quinn was so rock-solid certain you'd come to him first, Bayul, it was almost pitiful to watch."
"...Was that true, Quinn?"
Only then did Bayul notice the frozen expression on Quinn's face. As Bayul turned to him with an apologetic look, Aidan suddenly yanked Quinn around the waist.
"Quinn, you're *my* favorite. You know that whatever Lai says is a lie, right?"
"Get off."
"Aww, why? It's been ages — we should catch up!"
Not even Quinn's icy glare could cow him. Aidan only squeezed him tighter.
"I distinctly remember telling you to let go."
"This is pure happiness, honestly. You have no idea how lonely I was all break."
"Well, it *was* break. No wonder you forgot your water arrows. Right?"
Quinn flashed a sweet smile, then slowly drew the water from a nearby cup upward. It twisted into the shape of an arrow and rose into the air, training itself precisely on Aidan.
"Why do you say things you don't mean? Are you seriously going to shoot that arrow at me?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Quinn, everyone knows by now that you're all talk — I'm not the only one."
"...I am NOT all talk! You've all got some serious misunderstanding about me. Fine. Good. You can be my first victim. Your family's one of the richest in the empire, after all — you'll have priests and healers on call, won't you?"
Quinn forced down his flustered embarrassment and lifted the water arrow even higher — an intimidating gesture that made it very clear he intended to fire it with full force.
"What is all this racket?"
Had Count Leonett not appeared at precisely that moment, Aidan really might have taken that water arrow to the face.
"Aidan, you must be quiet at the dining table. What is this commotion?"
The Count's rebuke was followed by Ace's. Quinn had whisked the arrow away so quickly that neither the Count nor Ace seemed to have seen it at all.
"Good to see you, my lord Count."
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Eli."
Bayul and Eli stood side by side and bowed politely to the two men.
"We hadn't seen each other in so long that I got carried away joking around, and we caused a disturbance. I apologize."
"At sixteen, you're old enough to know better. I trust you'll behave with more care in the future."
"Yes, my lord. I'll keep it in mind."
"You must be hungry. Come, let's sit."
Count Leonett took the seat of honor, with Aidan and Ace seated along one side of him and Bayul, Eli, and Quinn lined up opposite.
It would have been nice for Death and his brothers to join the meal, but sharing a table with Count Leonett made that impossible. There were few who could sit beside brothers who weren't even nobility.
Of course, the demon brothers couldn't have cared less. Such things were entirely beneath their notice. They were perfectly content to sit quietly as long as the promised food was delivered in adequate quantities. Aidan had made a special request on their behalf today, so they were in for a rare and glorious feast.
Whoa, now THIS is a banquet.
Before long, a lavish spread covered the table. As befitted Carrington's status as a port city, the dishes leaned heavily on rich seafood, though fresh vegetables and cuts of meat arrived in equal variety, delighting the eyes and noses of everyone present.
"Aidan, would you introduce your friends?"
Scooping a spoonful of food into his mouth, the Count made the request of his grandson. He'd spoken with Bayul before, but this was his first time meeting Eli and Quinn.
"Of course, Grandfather."
Where the so-called 'Demon Number One' was concerned, Aidan's speech did a complete about-face.
"Since you've already met Bayul, I'll pass over him. This is Eli, from the Magic Department. And this is Quinn — as you can see, he's from the Mermaid Kingdom. The son of the King of the Mermaids, which is to say, royalty."
So don't you dare pick a fight.
Not one word of nonsense out of you.
His friends might not have noticed, but that was the thought running beneath every syllable of Aidan's introduction.
"Everyone, you already know this, but this is my grandfather, Count Leonett. And this is my older brother, Ace. He's eighteen this year — can you believe how ancient he looks? It's all because of his workaholism, apparently."
"Workaholism?"
"Yeah, he absolutely *loves* working. Isn't that wild?"
Ace shot his brother a look that said enough was enough, but as always, it didn't land.
"By the way, Lai — I've been meaning to ask. What happened to your hair? Your whole style has changed."
"Isn't it cool?"
The boy who had stubbornly kept his long bob had suddenly split his hair down the middle, braiding one side into thin, tight strands that hugged the scalp. Interspersed with threads of brilliant color, it was a style none of them had ever seen before — strange and striking in equal measure.
"I needed a change of pace, so I tried it. It's called dreadlocks. It's going to be all the rage soon, so just wait and see. Trendsetter that I am, you know."
Eli struck a haughty pose with his chin lifted high, but in truth, no one could have argued with him.
How could anything fail to suit that handsome face? Whatever he wore, whatever he did, his looks carried it off flawlessly.
The only annoying part was that he knew it better than anyone. Beyond that, there was simply no rebuttal — from anyone except one person.
"If a hairstyle like that becomes fashionable, I suppose downtown Carrington will be quite the noisy sight for a while."
"...What is that supposed to mean?"
Say it to my face instead of talking in circles, why don't you.
At Eli's challenging stare, Ace met it head-on without flinching.
"The way I see it, it's just chaotic."
"This hair, you mean?"
"Yeah. How on earth do you even wash it?"
"Worry about your own concerns, my lord."
It wasn't even his own hair — an utterly pointless worry, if ever there was one.
"Quinn, did you come because of my letter?"
Before Demon Number Two could go on a rampage, Aidan hastily changed the subject.
"Letter?"
"Yeah. I sent a special letter to the Mermaid Kingdom — you didn't come because of that?"
"No. I just had some business, so I came early, and I ran into Sir Ian, who told me Bayul was here. So I came to see."
"Aw, so you missed me!"
"How on earth do you hear THAT in what I just said?"
Quinn was genuinely curious.
"You would never say it yourself, not even on pain of death. It's all right. I understand."
Aidan chuckling to himself swept a fistful of vegetables into his mouth.
"Watching you all bicker, you must be very close indeed. In that case, I'd like to ask just one thing."
"Yes, my lord. Please ask away."
As Bayul accepted, Count Leonett raised the question he'd been holding back the longest.
"Is it truly all right for Aidan to keep attending the Academy as he is?"
"...I beg your pardon?"
"He doesn't listen to a word I say about quitting. I'm curious what his friends think of it."
Bayul had never imagined the Count would ask such a thing, and for a moment he was at a loss for how to answer.
"Grandfather! Why do you keep bringing up something that's already been settled? I said I'm staying!"
"That's your opinion alone. How do I know whether you're doing well or not? I'm asking because an outside perspective is needed."
"Why would you need an outside perspective? I told you, I'm doing what I want to do! How many times have I said I have no interest in the trading company!"
"Aidan, mind your manners. You're shouting."
"Can you butt out for once?"
"As your brother, I have every right to point out your conduct."
"Sure, always the brother when it's convenient."
Aidan scowled with genuine irritation. At that moment, Quinn, who had been quietly waiting, spoke up.
"Are you aware that Aidan took first place in the entire department on both the midterm and final exams last semester?"
"Of course I'm aware. I did brag about it a little. What of it?"
"Carrington Academy is famous for the exceptional drive of its students. Taking first place there is no small feat. What's more, Aidan enrolled a year ahead of his peers and still has a smaller frame than others his age. Yet in armed combat, he gives up nothing to anyone. Wouldn't you say that speaks of genuine aptitude?"
"Aptitude?"
"Yes — the aptitude to become a knight."
Throughout it all, Quinn's eyes and voice remained cold and hard. The strange thing was that, despite that, his words were oddly convincing.
"Since you said an outside perspective was needed, allow me to add one more thing. His gift for communing with animals — his Tamer ability — could only ever be an asset, never a flaw."
"So he's told you about that, too?"
The Count's expression betrayed his surprise; he'd clearly believed it was something only family knew.
"It came up, more or less."
He deliberately said nothing about the affair with Jared. If the Count learned that Aidan had been accused of theft, a lecture about quitting would surely follow. For now, staying quiet was the best course.
"He may be nothing more than a young student now, but that boy will without question grow into an outstanding knight. I do happen to have a good eye for these things."
Eli jumped in as though he'd been waiting for his cue, lavishing praise on Aidan.
"Oh ho, is that so?"
"Which brings me to my point — couldn't you perhaps support him a little?"
"What did you say?"
"I can't help feeling sorry for him, watching him work himself to the bone at the Academy without a single moment of rest. You have plenty of money — isn't this a bit stingy of you?"
"Lai."
Honesty was no bad thing, but taken too far it became rudeness. Bayul shot Eli a warning glance to restrain himself, but predictably, the boy didn't spare him so much as a glance.
"It's break time and he can't even rest, just working and working. It breaks my heart. You ARE paying him generously for it, aren't you?"
"Haha! What a brazen fellow. They said the Chairman's son was silver-tongued, and they weren't wrong."
"I never said that. No misunderstandings, please."
Aidan said nothing about that particular subject. In fact, he was the most startled of anyone to learn his grandfather already knew.
"It's hardly a secret worth misunderstanding over."
"I don't get along very well with the Chairman, you see."
"...I take it you don't much care for your father?"
"I'd say we're well past that point."
Eli replied with the smug air of someone who had just ascended some sacred peak, leaving them all to wonder what on earth had happened between them.
"Well, that's none of my affair. Which leaves just you, Bayul. Have you something to add as well?"
"...You mean me?"
"Yes. I'm curious whether you, too, believe Aidan truly must attend the Academy. I want that boy to succeed me."
"...Succeeding Count Leonett would be both an honor and a blessing for Aidan."
"Bayul!"
What are you saying?!
The utterly unexpected remark drew strange looks not only from Aidan but from Eli and Quinn as well.
"I occasionally heard stories about you from my father, my lord. In those stories, you were always magnificent, upright, and warmhearted."
"Duke Randert certainly does wrap a package beautifully."
"You are an honorable knight, my lord, and at the same time a successful businessman who steers many enterprises. If I may presume to suggest it — why not have Ace succeed you in the business, and Aidan succeed you in the knighthood?"
"So that's why you were flattering me earlier?"
"There was not one word of falsehood in anything I've said."
Bayul met Aidan's eyes and went on.
"I don't know when it will be, but as Lai said, the Aidan of the future will be a knight famous and extraordinary across the empire. Worthy of Count Leonett's name. Wouldn't you agree, Aidan?"
"Obviously! Grandfather gives me a little credit now, but give it a few years — it won't even be close. He won't be able to touch the soles of my feet!"
"WHAT did you say? You insolent whelp!"
"Anyway, just drop it already! We're eating, for crying out loud — what is wrong with you? The food's going cold. No amount of this is going to make me quit the Academy, you know."
"Hah, as if you would."
"Then why do you keep at it? Old people, honestly. I will never understand you."
"Y-you—! You cursed brat!"
Whatever Count Leonett bellowed, Aidan paid it no mind and started eating. After a moment of exchanging wary glances, his friends followed suit and picked up their forks.
"Grandfather, please eat while it's warm."
"All right, all right — you eat up too, lad."
Throwing a glare at Aidan, the Count brought a piece of meat to his mouth. He looked for all the world like a man angry, but there was a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
The boy certainly picked his friends well.
It was the first time Aidan had ever brought friends home, so the Count had more or less conducted his own interview(?).
Birds of a feather, indeed — every last one of them seemed to have a bit of a temper — but Count Leonett genuinely liked his grandson's friends.
That affection, of course, was an entirely separate matter from what they'd said to his face. His conviction that a child must be raised strong remained unchanged.
Their devotion to his grandson had been quite touching — but there would be no additional allowance for the boy anytime soon. None at all.