Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 301
>Chapter Title: Bluey and the Stray Cat
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At Leodis's meaningful remark, Evelyn bit her lip hard.
Bringing him home.
The words themselves weren't strange, but Leodis's gaze that had lingered on the sleeping Aster and herself.
Considering all the circumstances, it was an unsettling comment.
Meanwhile, the conversation between Leodis and Damian continued.
"Home? I wanna play more."
"We can play all we want and then take him home."
"But we'll end up going home anyway after playing, right?"
"Hmm... It's a little different."
"How?"
Leodis's gaze drifted upward as if pondering the answer. Even for the emotionally distant Leodis, he couldn't bring himself to say something cruel in front of his son.
This was the last line remaining in Leodis's heart—a line he had no desire to cross, even as Leodis himself.
Thus, the silence stretched on for quite a while, but fortunately, Leodis found an answer without much trouble.
"We'll keep him at home all the time. Ah, do you remember? The canary we raised when you were little."
"Bluey?"
"Yeah. Bluey. We'll keep him at home just like Bluey."
Only then did Damian let out an "Ah" of understanding. But soon, his head tilted to the side.
"But Bluey ran away from home."
"Right. That's true. But how do you think he got out?"
"Honestly, I let him go."
"You let him go? Why?"
At Leodis's question, Damian answered as if it were the most obvious thing.
"He wanted to leave, so I let him. It's sad to keep him locked in a cage."
"Ah, he must've been happy."
"No. Ransi said he saw Bluey get eaten by a stray cat. I wish I hadn't let him go."
"That's too bad."
He said it was too bad, but the words lacked any soul. In truth, Leodis felt no emotion whatsoever about Bluey's tragic fate.
The objects of his emotions were extremely limited, after all.
Anyway.
"So think of it like Bluey. We'll keep Aster at home like Bluey. So the stray cat can't take him away."
Once more, Damian tilted his head.
He couldn't understand.
"Aster isn't Bluey, though? He won't get taken by a stray cat."
"Hmm... Is it the family education that's off? Or is it the academy? Son, this is a metaphor."
Even in that moment, Leodis didn't think there was any issue with his son's level of understanding, and at the question, Damian flashed a bright smile.
"I know. I was just saying it."
"If you weren't my son, I'd have smacked you hard on the head."
"Violence is bad."
"You've learned that well."
Rarely, a smile formed at the corners of Leodis's mouth. He was genuinely enjoying the banter with his son.
Just as Leodis savored this emotion he hadn't felt in so long, Damian posed a question.
"But are there stray cats?"
In other words, were there people tormenting Aster?
"Yeah, there are."
"Then can't you beat them up, Dad?"
"Not right now. Maybe when you're all grown up, Damian."
"Why?"
"Because Dad only gets strong once you're all grown up."
"Ah."
Damian nodded as if he understood. In truth, it was just a gesture he made when he had no idea what was being said and wasn't interested.
"Anyway, son. So should we take Aster home? What do you think?"
"Hmm..."
Damian pondered.
Truthfully, his heart was already half decided.
If bad cats were trying to bully his friend, wouldn't it be better to keep him home? It seemed preferable to letting him meet a miserable end like Bluey.
But there was a question.
"But friends aren't birds, right?"
"Huh?"
"You're putting him in a cage?"
"Ah, that."
At Damian's sharp question, Leodis took a moment to gather his thoughts. How exactly should he explain this to his son?
The deliberation was brief.
Leodis decided to tell it like it was... Of course, softened a bit.
"Home is safe, right?"
"Yeah."
"And Aster might run away."
"Yeah."
"So we'll gently persuade him that he can't use magic. And just in case, we'll cover his eyes too."
"Why the eyes?"
"If you couldn't see, could you get around, son?"
"It'd be hard."
"Yeah, that's the reason."
"Ah."
"So, what do you want to do?"
At Leodis's question, Damian smiled brightly. Truthfully, it was an answer that required no thought.
"No."
"...Yeah?"
Leodis tilted his head.
No?
Not "I don't like it," but no?
"Can I ask why?"
Rarely, Leodis asked with genuine curiosity, and in truth, he couldn't comprehend Damian's response.
Did "no" mean it was impossible regardless of Damian's will, or that he couldn't allow it?
But why?
"Dad."
Instead of answering, Damian called out to Leodis.
Leodis responded to the call with a faint smile. It was always a call that brought him joy. "Dad." Now, it was one of the few words that reminded him he still had emotions.
Thus, Leodis replied gladly.
But Damian's voice rang in his ear, somehow sharp-edged.
"I'm not stupid."
"...Yeah?"
Leodis didn't understand what Damian meant. No, he understood the words but not the reason.
Had he made it sound like he was belittling his son? He hadn't...
But more incomprehensible than the question was Damian's expression.
He was clearly smiling innocently, but it wasn't a smile. Leodis, who struggled to empathize with others' emotions, could always sense Damian's. And the emotion he sensed from Damian now was...
"Are you angry, son?"
"A little."
"Why is my son angry?"
"You're bullying my friends, Dad."
"I said earlier, Dad hasn't done anything."
This was sincere.
If need be, he was prepared to cross that "line" even if it meant earning his son's hatred, but up to now, he hadn't done a thing.
But Damian shook his head as if that weren't true.
"Evelyn was scared."
"Hmm... I guess it looks that way."
"Chenbi's starting to get scared too."
"My son has a keen eye."
"And..."
Damian's gaze fell on Aster.
"Why's my friend sleeping?"
"Hmm."
"Did you hit him, Dad?"
Leodis hesitated for a moment. Because calling it "hitting" didn't quite fit—he hadn't struck him directly. ...Just with magic.
So, in that case, was it hitting, or...
Damian's voice echoed in Leodis's ear.
"Dad, don't bully my friends."
"Hmm."
"Don't take my friend home either. He's not Bluey. Even if there are bad cats, you can't take him if he doesn't want to come to our house."
At the firm words, Leodis's eyes darkened.
Had Damian ever expressed his will so strongly before? No, more than that... had he ever spoken while thinking of someone other than himself?
...No.
He could say with certainty that he hadn't.
In a way, this was Leodis's own fault.
From the moment Damian was born, Leodis had already been using "Ignoramus," and by the time Damian could communicate, those emotions had largely faded.
It hadn't been as severe as now, but children grow by watching their parents. Thus, Damian's emotional line differed from other kids'.
Yet here was Damian thinking of others.
"...Good."
It was sincere.
But.
"I don't like it."
"Because Dad's bullying friends?"
Damian nodded.
"Then if Dad stops bullying friends, is that okay?"
"Yeah."
"...I see."
Leodis felt a twinge of disappointment at his son's gaze but also a strange sense of pride.
He hadn't even paid proper attention, yet when had he grown so much?
But.
That was that.
Leodis was certain.
"Friends are... really precious to you, huh?"
A kindly smile.
It was right then that Damian stood from his seat and took a step forward.
Leaving Chenbi and Evelyn behind, Damian pouted sulkily, narrowed his eyes, and spoke.
"Don't."
"Haha, that's my boy."
"I said don't."
Fsssh... Fssssh—
A faint aura settled around Damian. Mana surged from his core, manipulating the ambient mana. At the same time, wind flowed out from him.
Whoosh—
The campfire flickered precariously in the wind.
Roooar—
From the darkness beyond, the sound of receding waves faintly spread. Then again... splash.
Leodis glanced calmly at Evelyn and Chenbi before shifting his gaze to the sleeping Aster.
"It's a bit different from what I pictured, but that's fine. Son, can Dad ask one thing?"
"..."
Damian didn't respond. Instead, countless ice crystals formed around him. It was quite a threatening sight, but Leodis asked nonchalantly.
"If Dad does something, can you stop him, son?"
"..."
Damian didn't respond.
Because.
...He couldn't.
But.
"I'm really scary when I'm mad."
Yeah, he definitely was scary.
The ice crystals forming around him. Leodis emitted mana in response, interfering with Damian's magic, and Damian read the subtle flow and countered.
An invisible but fierce battle of techniques was already underway, and the smile on Leodis's lips deepened because of it.
Damian, who had once been helplessly overwhelmed, was now shaking off his interference from some point on.
If he increased the intensity in response...
Crackle, crackle—!
Damian dismantled his moves as if it were natural.
...In other words, Damian was growing in real time.
How many times did the ice crystals bloom and fade, only to bloom again?
Leodis thought.
He's this strong already... If I gouge out Aster's eyes and shatter his core, how much will Damian grow? No, if I go further and do the same to Chenbi and Evelyn...
Leodis toyed with Damian's magic like one would with a child, while gauging how much his actions would spur Damian's growth.
And the result filled even the emotionally faint Leodis with a sense of fulfillment.
...There was no reason not to.
No reason not to do it.
But it was then.
"Um, excuse me..."
"...?"
Leodis tilted his head and looked toward the voice.
"Yes, Chenbi. What is it?"
"Um, I... I don't know what's going on, but... Patriarch, could you talk with us too?"
"Talk? What about?"
Chenbi swallowed hard, his face pale.
The situation had turned strange, so he'd jumped in hastily, but now facing the head of the Blandoga Family, his mind went blank. Just then, a voice chimed in from the side.
"If I may offer my brief thoughts... It seems Chenbi and I aren't entirely uninvolved in this situation, right?"
At Evelyn's question, Leodis tilted his head. He was still dismantling Damian's magic, but he sorted his thoughts as if it were nothing.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, you're right. Ah, but not that it has to be."
Evelyn furrowed her brow slightly. It felt like a familiar, utterly unfunny joke... but that wasn't important now.
"Then, like Chenbi said, shouldn't you talk with us too? If you're okay with it, Patriarch."
"Talk, hmm... talk..."
Evelyn swallowed hard.
Truthfully, she had no real expectations.
Just...
'...Dangerous.'
She'd only backed Chenbi up because she had to do something.
As Evelyn watched Leodis with bated breath, someone approached.
"Patriarch, may this humble servant speak?"
It was Alfredo.