148. The Siblings' Dream
148. The Siblings' Dream
Does he know I'm Ronan's Reincarnation?
No way. The speech pattern is from four hundred years ago, but the tone is off. It's not how he naturally talks. Which means he's putting on an act...
With that way of speaking, he said he wanted to resemble Ronan... to resemble me.
So... maybe he's not a bad guy after all?
That's what I thought.
"Though I have set aside the sword I wielded for so long and begun walking the path of the great and valiant Hero, Martial Artist Ronan, this humble one still has a long way to go."
Until I heard that.
"...Is this motherfucker insane?"
Insane motherfucker.
No other words came to mind for this male student. So I said it out loud.
Eurasia, apparently in agreement, simply stared at the male student standing before us without any reaction.
"Hm, this humble one hears that often."
But the male student nodded as if he genuinely didn't care.
"It is something I prepared myself for from the moment I cast aside the sword I wielded and insisted on the martial path."
You gave up a perfectly good sword to choose martial arts?
"Did you suffer a major head injury, by any chance?"
"I have not."
"Is there some reason you can't wield a weapon?"
"...There is no such reason."
"Does it have something to do with having no hair?"
"It has nothing to do with that. This humble one shaved this head himself. I tend to it every morning."
Calling him an insane motherfucker is too generous.
A bald head and a Martial Artist, all in one place.
And he chose it himself!
He's not human. He's not even a beast.
A Monster? Even Monster is too much. This is... something unknown that should never have been born, structurally wrong from the very beginning.
Anyway, giving up the sword and insisting on being a Martial Artist.
I'd thought the shape of his muscles looked strange for some reason.
No matter how I look at it, those are sword-wielding muscles, with other muscles awkwardly layered on top.
His finger joints too—ambiguous for a swordsman, ambiguous for a Martial Artist, truly neither one nor the other.
Like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit being forcibly crammed in.
"Ah, if you were calling me that because you did not know this humble one's name, then the fault is mine."
Thumping his chest with a hand the size of a pot lid, the male student proudly announced his name.
"This humble one's name is Hudd van Chaser."
"...Van Chaser? As in House van Chaser in the north? Grand Duke Betias's family?"
"Hm, that person is this humble one's father. Do you know my father?"
Good lord. He's one of Grand Duke Betias's twins?
I didn't recognize him because he lacks the silver-blue hair that's the symbol of House van Chaser, and I couldn't see any red eyes either.
Is he from the main line? Since he called him father, he is.
Not a collateral branch—he's from House van Chaser's main line!
I remember him boasting that both of his twin son and daughter were the finest talents in the family. Is this insane motherfucker really that talent?
"Crazy senior, do you not know me?"
"Hmm... I have told you this humble one's name, yet you seem unwilling to use it. No matter. However, this humble one does not know you. We have never met, after all."
"Ah... well, sorry about that."
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
Until now, everyone recognized me just from my hair color... so I'd assumed he would obviously know me.
"I'm Eliarnes Eustetia."
"Ohh... Eustetia! Descendant of the Hero! Heir of Arisa Eustetia! It is an honor to meet you!"
No, he's not. Looking at this bastard's reaction, he already knew.
He knew and pretended not to.
Why? For what reason?
Four hundred years ago, there was this stupid culture of saying your name and acting surprised like that... as some kind of soldier's etiquette? Custom? Whatever. A dumbass culture like that existed.
Seems like he was imitating it.
"Hm, hm..."
When I glared at him with cold eyes, the insane bastard... Hudd's gaze shifted to Eurasia.
"And what might your name be?"
"...I am Eurasia Espirot, Lady Eliarnes's dedicated knight."
"Oh, pleased to meet you. Your weapon is... a sword, I see. The fact that you openly show your status as a dedicated knight even within the academy speaks to your great loyalty."
"Enough with the pointless talk. What was that you said earlier?"
I drew Hudd's gaze back.
Maybe because of his massive frame, the eyes of the surrounding students were gathering on us.
Well... with an inhuman build like that in front of me, and me standing there much smaller than most kids, it's bound to stand out even more.
"Ah, right. That is why I stopped walking. Eliarnes. I wished to tell you that your answer was excellent."
"You already told me that."
"Also, I wished to say that I want to learn."
"Learn? What? Theory? Aren't you a second-year, crazy senior? I'm a first-year."
"Not merely theory. To write such an answer, one's very way of thinking must first change. This humble one wishes to possess such a perspective."
"Why?"
Hudd put on a solemn expression.
"Because... that is the path of Hero Ronan."
At that moment, his bald head gleamed—flash!
"What the... fuck."
I couldn't hold back a curse at that unbearably cringeworthy line.
Was this how Luna felt when she cursed at my technique names... at my naming sense?
No... no.
My naming sense is... never cringeworthy.
It's just... Luna is just, uh... anyway, no.
"Sir Crazy Senior Bastard... do you want to resemble Ronan?"
"Your name for me has... grown longer. The answer is... yes. Even if resembling him is impossible, I wish to walk that great path. That is why I set down the sword and shaved my head."
Hudd clenched and unclenched his pot-lid-sized fist, smiling happily. His bald head gleamed again.
Why the fuck does that thing keep sparkling?
"But... Hero Ronan wasn't bald like you, Sir Crazy Senior Bastard."
And he wasn't a Martial Artist either.
Ronan—I—knew how to wield a sword.
Hammers, axes, spears, bows, even a random rock lying on the roadside—I used them all extremely well.
"You never know."
"There's no 'never know' about it. It was very lush. No, it would have been lush."
"A rough, tough, macho Hero Ronan like that surely would have shaved his head like this. Or, who knows. Perhaps all his hair fell out from intense training."
"No."
"You never know—"
"I said no, fucker."
Hudd closed his mouth.
Eurasia also flinched in surprise and stepped in front of me.
"...Hm."
"What."
"You... seem to have convictions of your own. Convictions that do not bend even with this humble one before you."
"What's your point? Why the hell would Ronan be bald? You're spouting nonsense."
Hudd clenched his fist.
Me? Back down? Don't cause trouble?
Bullshit. From the moment he slandered me as bald, this bastard became my enemy.
I clenched my fist as well, and Eurasia reached into the subspace pouch I'd given her.
In that hair-trigger situation.
"Magnificent."
Hudd said.
"Magnificent! Outstanding! Eliarnes—no, Lady Eliarnes! I have come to think that the path you walk is the closest to Hero Ronan's! Could you not bestow your teachings upon this humble one?"
"Wha, what? Teachings?"
Thud, thud! Hudd, his face brimming with emotion, approached. The closer he got, the bigger he looked.
He has to be over two meters tall.
His body looks like three people stuck to each side of mine, with one more stacked on top.
There'd be plenty of places to hit, so he'd be good for beating on.
Hm... sometimes when I'm stressed, it might not be bad to pound on him a little and call it mental training.
What should I do? Say I'll teach him?
But... then I won't be able to face Grand Duke Betias. How could I look him in the eye after beating his only son every other day?
With Grand Duke Betias's level of experience... he'd see at a glance whether his son got beaten up in a spar or as stress relief.
I need to maintain an amicable relationship with Grand Duke Betias. To reach the "Grasslands" in the north, I absolutely have to pass through the grand duchy.
Hmm, what to do. While I was agonizing over it.
"You crazy bald bastard!"
A sharp voice rang out from behind Hudd.
Then—smack! A satisfyingly crisp sound echoed through the hallway.
Who's that? What's that? What did she hit?
I want to see, but Hudd's bulk blocks the view.
And I didn't need to bother looking.
"Ugh...!"
Because along with a crunching sound, Hudd's knees buckled.
"What kind of bullshit are you pulling now?!"
And from behind him, a female student with bright silver-blue hair revealed herself.
For a girl... she's tall. But not bulky. Her long limbs and sleek, lean muscles stand out.
Her face is a cold, sharp beauty.
But even that looks youthful because of her age, giving her a strangely captivating presence.
But... she's carrying a sword.
Of course, it's not drawn from its sheath, but she's carrying a personal weapon inside the academy.
That means Student Council.
And as if to prove it, she wears a shield-shaped brooch on her right chest.
Her chest is... extremely large, so it's very noticeable.
"Are you kids okay?"
And her necktie is deep blue.
Same as Hudd, a second-year.
I raised my head and looked into her eyes.
Red eyes.
I turned my head and looked at Hudd's eyes too.
I couldn't see them before because he's so tall, but now I can see them clearly.
His eyes are red as well.
Grand Duke Betias also had red eyes.
If the symbol of Eustetia is pink hair and eyes, then the symbol of House van Chaser is silver-blue hair and red eyes.
"Oh? Cherry blossom color... are you Eliarnes, by any chance?"
"Yes. I'm Eliarnes. Then you must be Senior Ashtar van Chaser."
"Oh my...? You know my name?"
"Of course I do."
I'd heard all sorts of things about House van Chaser from Dad, and a great deal from Grand Duke Betias too.
On top of that, the name Ashtar is famous within the academy. Like Fabiana, she's a student who has reached Tier 6.
I didn't know before, but it's information I picked up recently while browsing the community.
"Aha! My name is kind of famous. So, are you okay? Did that bald bastard do anything weird?"
"Well... he said some strange things, but he didn't do anything weird."
"If that's not weird, what is?"
Ashtar furrowed her brows and grumbled, then smacked Hudd on the head—slap!
"Ugh..."
"Ugh my ass. Hey, you. I told you to stop saying that shit in public because it's embarrassing."
"It is not... embarrassing. The path of Hero Ronan must not be insulted, even by my own father—"
Smack—!
The same incredibly crisp sound from before. So the sound I heard earlier must have been her smacking the back of his head.
"Insult? What insult?"
"Ashtar. Is what you are doing right now not an insult to Ronan...!"
"Don't talk nonsense. I like Sir Ronan more than you do, so why would I insult him? And you, you keep saying 'Hero Ronan, Hero Ronan'—how many times have I told you to put 'Sir' before his name?"
"Calling him 'Sir' makes him feel too distant, so I don't. That is my conviction...!"
"...I'm seriously so embarrassed because of you."
Blink, blink.
I blinked stupidly, replaying what Ashtar had just said.
"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but... Senior Ashtar, do you also respect... Sir Ronan?"
At my question, Ashtar whipped her head around.
And with a face turned bright red, she whispered.
"No. I love him."
"Uh... that's impressive."
Seeing the siblings both so remarkable as a pair, the future of House van Chaser seems very bright indeed.