68. Reward

Kerion Eustetia.

The younger brother—the only one left—of Turius Eustetia, the head of House Eustetia and my father. And the vice-commander of Nameless.

The phrase "the only one left" carries a very complicated history, but to put it briefly.

Quite a lot of blood was spilled before my father took the position of family head.

And most of that blood, it is said, was drawn by Uncle Kerion and my father.

The main line and the collateral line.

And even the Council of Elders, which had held its seat for a very long time—they killed them all, without distinction.

Of course, it wasn't that my father and Kerion wanted the position of family head and committed murder out of ugly ambition.

It was nothing more than cutting away the rotten, festering parts of the cherry blossom tree.

And so, one by one.

Once the rotten parts had been cut away, all that remained were the collateral line who had given up the succession, Kerion, and my father.

And Kerion, too, stepped down from that position.

Kerion had no greed for the seat of family head.

Perhaps he felt that, though he had confidence in his sword, he lacked the qualities of a family head.

Or perhaps he simply could not defeat my father.

These details weren't recorded in the history of House Eustetia, so I couldn't know for certain, but I thought it was probably the former.

Perhaps he'd thought from the very beginning that the position of family head didn't suit him.

It certainly didn't seem like it would have suited him, and it probably hadn't matched his personality either.

Actually, just looking at him from the outside, I got the feeling he might have done quite well.

Soft pink ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hair and eyes.

A gentle, easygoing personality and narrow eyes that hide what he's thinking.

Always smiling, yet never showing an opening.

The large build and long lines characteristic of House Eustetia.

And... well... not compared to my past self, but.

Anyway, he was quite good-looking and well-spoken.

His relationships with others were perfectly normal, and if you listened, you heard only praise about him.

Among the servants of the main house, there were even women who secretly admired him, and when he walked the streets, his appearance drew quite a lot of attention.

And yet he never married, and he gave up the position of family head.

The reason was simple.

"You'd have a weakness."

He was a born hunting dog.

A hunting dog of House Eustetia, from whom an indelible stench of blood seeped out.

And the vice-commander of Nameless.

That man.

Kerion, whom every noble in the Empire feared, whom even the imperial family was said to find difficult to treat carelessly.

"Eli!"

Was now here at the academy.

"...Uncle?"

They said a knight order was coming.

Why was Kerion here?

I blinked and stared blankly at Kerion as he approached.

"I was told you weren't hurt anywhere, but seeing you like this definitely puts my mind at ease."

Kerion came over with a bright smile, crouched down in front of me, and ruffled my hair wildly.

Even crouched down, his eyes were level with mine.

"Ugh..."

Feeling a strange sense of defeat, I roughly straightened my disheveled hair and looked around.

"What about the knight order?"

"Ahaha... the knight order will come tonight."

"Is that so...? Then what brings you here, Uncle?"

Kerion, sensing the gazes around us, quickly closed his mouth and rose from his spot.

"I think it'd be better to talk in the reception room."

"Mm... okay."

"Is there anything you want to eat? Since I'm here, I'll buy it for you."

"Hmm... then, a mint chocolate latte. Iced."

Kerion's expression turned strange.

"Eli, you... drink that stuff?"

"What do you mean, 'that stuff'? What's wrong with a mint chocolate latte?"

"It tastes like chocolate mixed with toothpaste."

"Toothpaste and mint are completely different."

"What? Ahaha! So you are a girl after all."

"...No, I'm not."

Kerion's hand ruffled my hair wildly once again.

"Sure. Then I'll go buy it, so go wait in the reception room first."

I glanced up at Kerion, who was grinning.

How old was Kerion again?

I don't know exactly... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but I think he was in his early-to-mid thirties.

"Uncle, do you know how to order from a kiosk?"

"Kiosk?"

Kerion's expression turned odd.

"Yes. Here, whether it's the dining hall or the cafe, you have to order everything from a kiosk."

Kerion, who had fallen silent for a moment at my words, smiled his usual smile and said.

"That's a problem. I'm not very good with those."

"...Really? If you don't know how, should I help you?"

"I'd appreciate that."

At that moment, the corner of Kerion's mouth twitched.

Somehow... I sensed something suspicious.

"...You're lying."

"H-huh?"

"You do know how to order from a kiosk."

"N-no, I don't?"

"Don't lie."

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Kerion.

After a moment, Kerion smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Wow... Eli, your intuition has gotten incredibly sharp... I'm a little sad, but also proud..."

"Proud of what... why did you lie?"

"Because you looked like you wanted to help. Ahaha... sorry, sorry."

"...Whatever."

"Were you worried about your uncle? Afraid I'd be embarrassed in front of the kids? How admirable, our Eli."

"...That's not it at all."

Kerion chuckled, opened the reception room door for me, and headed toward the academy cafe.

I... felt a strange sense of defeat as I straightened my disheveled hair.

...Wait, no. Why should I feel defeated?

I can handle a kiosk now too... I'm a little slow, but I can manage it fine now.

I even sent a message on my Device today.

So... there's no need to feel defeated. Yeah.

*****

Sluuurp—

I wet my throat with the mint chocolate Kerion had bought me and glared at him as he asked about my well-being, my health, and everything that had happened at the academy so far.

I still hadn't gotten over my anger.

How dare he try to tease me.

"Still, it's been a while since you've seen your uncle. Can't you let it go?"

Kerion, unable to withstand my scowl, offered a familiar candy with a slightly troubled smile.

"It's candy I bought from the north. You've had it before, right? Kaiyer candy."

The name Kaiyer still doesn't roll off my tongue, but if it's candy bought from the north, I remember it clearly.

It was the candy Eurasia had raved about, going on and on about how it tasted once you put it in your mouth.

Back then, I didn't like candy that much, so I ate just one and gave the rest to Eurasia...

Seeing it again after so long, it is nice.

Still, somehow... if I accept the candy now, won't it look like I got over my anger over a mere piece of candy?

But then again, not accepting it is hard too, since it's a candy Eurasia really likes... hmm...

Well, I'm not the type to refuse something that's given to me.

I reached out and pulled the glass jar filled with Kaiyer candy toward me.

It was a bigger glass jar than the one I'd received before.

Clink-clink— I shook the jar a few times and relaxed my furrowed brow.

"...It's not because of the candy. I wasn't even that annoyed in the first place."

"Sure, sure."

"I'm serious."

A smile still hung on Kerion's face as he nodded.

It was... really irritating.

What can I do... no matter how maturely I act, in Kerion's eyes I'm just a seventeen-year-old little niece.

I let out a sigh and brought up the topic I'd been putting off.

"So... what brings you here, Uncle?"

"I came because I was worried about you, Eli."

At that answer, my eyes fixed on the medal pinned to Kerion's right chest.

A pure-white mask.

A pure-white mask in the shape of a human face, with no pattern and no special design.

The symbol of Nameless.

I looked at it, then looked back at Kerion.

Kerion was smiling bitterly.

"Haha. It's true that I came because I was worried. You got caught up in a special-class Labyrinth 'incident.' There's no way I wouldn't be worried. Right?"

He put emphasis on the word "incident."

He knew as much as I did—maybe even more.

I nodded and waved my arms and legs about.

"Like I've been saying, I'm fine. No injuries, either."

"Yeah. I'm glad you look fine."

Only then did Kerion lean back in his chair as if a weight had been lifted, rubbing his eyelids.

I sank into thought as I watched him.

How much does he know?

Should I tell him the information I have?

It wasn't that I couldn't trust Kerion, so I hesitated. It was because... this was something that would raise questions about me that could never be resolved.

If this were my Past Life...?

I don't know. In my Past Life, I had no family, so this kind of worry was meaningless.

But now... he is family.

An uncle I couldn't see often because he was always dispatched to various regions, but who always bought me a present every time he came back.

And... he is Eustetia.

The name of the ducal house that Arisa obtained by beating the Emperor senseless.

Nameless belongs to that House Eustetia.

Sluuurp— just as the mint chocolate ran out.

"Uncle."

My deliberation was over.

"Silina... I mean, you've heard about the Second Princess nearly being assassinated, right?"

Kerion's expression, which had been relaxed until now, instantly turned sharp, and he snapped his fingers.

Then—whoosh! A barrier that blocked sound formed around the table where I was sitting.

"You startled me... saying something like that so suddenly is dangerous."

"I checked that there was no one around before I said it. Anyway, you've heard up to that point, right?"

"Yeah. And I also heard that our Eli snuck into the Labyrinth."

"...What."

I blinked.

"Eli. Do you really want to get scolded?"

"...H-how did you know?"

"Is that what matters right now?"

Kerion's voice sank.

"Eli. Do you know how dangerous what you did was?"

I went in because I roughly estimated it and figured I wouldn't die.

If I said that... I'd probably get scolded even more, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I just kept my mouth shut.

"It was Special-class. Of course, I heard it was pathetic compared to the Labyrinths that appear in Ge Vihenum, but there was a Demonized Human inside. And not just that—there was a Demon, too. Do you... do you know how dangerous that was?"

"...It was only half a Demon. The Demonized Human was... already dead."

"Is that not a Demon?"

"...Ugh, well, it is a Demon..."

In my day, we didn't treat those as Demons.

Just something a little stronger than a Monster.

Something slightly stronger than a high-grade Monster but absurdly weaker than a Calamity-class—just... something on the fringes of being a Demon.

But seriously, how did he find out?

Fabiana swore an oath.

Silina... isn't the type to go around talking about that.

In the first place, that brat has no connection to Nameless.

Then Eurasia?

No way. There's no way Eurasia spilled everything.

Then who in the world?

...Adelia?

No way.

Nameless was a faction that rejected Black Wizards.

Even in an age of peace, there was no way they would have joined hands with a Black Wizard.

Could it be... is there someone with information-gathering capabilities on par with Adelia's?

My mental assessment of Nameless's level shot up in an instant.

Meanwhile, Kerion was looking at me with eyes that were a little cold, yet full of worry and concern.

No matter that I had been Ronan in my Past Life, in Kerion's eyes I was just his seventeen-year-old niece.

So... well, yeah.

I thought he had every right to be angry.

If I heard that Eurasia or Stella... well, Pina.

If I heard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that these brats had recklessly charged at a Demon, I would've been angry too.

So, I bowed my head.

"...I'm sorry."

"Haa... no. I'm the one who's sorry. Still, I'm glad you came out without any problems, without getting hurt."

But Kerion actually sighed and said he was the one who was sorry.

"I meant to only praise you, but I haven't slept in four days, so I'm a little on edge. Will you understand, Eli?"

"...Yes. But you haven't slept at all in four days?"

"Yeah. Yesterday... no, not yesterday. I ditched work and ran over as soon as I heard the news at dawn today. Today makes four days."

"What kind of... work do they make you do?"

"That's what I'm saying. The commander is a bit too much."

A relaxed smile returned to Kerion's face.

"So, say something to him for me, Eli."

"...Well, even if I wanted to say something, I'd have to meet him first."

Kerion giggled.

"So if you meet him, you'll say something?"

"...Well... it's not like I can't...? It's not like I'd kill him."

"I'll look forward to it."

It was only a short phrase.

But within them... there seemed to be some meaningful intent.

...No way?

"Is the commander of Nameless also here today—?"

BANG!!

But my question was never resolved.

"ELI!!!"

Because a very, very familiar voice rang out.

"My daughter! My treasure!! Eli!!!"

Turius Eustetia.

My father appeared, smashing down the door of the reception room.