What Was Bound to Come… a Bit Too Soon?
What was bound to come had finally arrived… but a bit too soon, no?
Lear and Lea had claimed the indoor training hall as if it were their own home in the blink of an eye.
And then they uttered a single line that, from Kyle’s perspective, was enough to send chills down his spine just hearing it.
“Since we’ve come all this way, little brother, I was thinking we might as well do a bit more training with you before we leave.”
Please, big brother. I’ll be good. I’ll train harder and cut back on the snacks.
So please don’t say something that terrifying. I really can’t do things John Nassen style here.
I mean, I could if I had to. But if I did, everyone here would faint from the shock.
Kyle prayed and prayed in his heart. These were not the sort of people who could be reasoned with through words.
Better to pray to a god with a long track record of ghosting him than to these two standing right in front of him.
“But that’s not why we came. And little brother, I trust you. So I decided to leave it be.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much, big brother.”
There really is a god! Damn it, I knew it!
“…You seem a little too happy about that, little brother. Do you not want to train with me?”
“Of course not! I’m just overjoyed that you trust me, big brother.”
At Kyle’s cry, Lear allowed a faint smile and muttered, “Is that so.”
Training together was such a joy—surely his little brother couldn’t possibly think otherwise.
Just as the boy had said, it seemed he was genuinely happy to have his older brother’s trust.
With that thought, Lear picked up the barbell once more and began his squats.
“I-Is that even human…?”
“How is he even lifting that?”
Whispers from the students drifted over from a distance.
They had clearly lost their minds over the weight Lear was currently shouldering.
Don’t even go there, you guys. Big brother’s actually bummed right now because there’s no more weight to add.
This wasn’t John Nassen territory, so there was no reason to load plates like they would back home.
Naturally, the available weight plates fell far short of what they had at John Nassen.
That was why Lear wore an expression that said, “This weight is way too light,” even as he squatted.
“Kyle.”
From the opposite side, Lea—who had been doing push-ups—called out to her little brother.
For the record, she was powering through those push-ups on a single finger, going absolutely wild.
“Yes, big sister.”
“On the way in, the Minister said something interesting. You saved the Academy, he claimed?”
Whether I saved the Academy or just couldn’t stand the sight of those roiders is still up for debate.
What was certain was that subduing those guys had greatly reduced the damage.
“So they say. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I did much of anything.”
“Were they strong?”
She froze mid-motion—.
Whoa, she’s holding it right there like that. And she’s the same species as me? Terrifying.
With her upper body lowered, supporting herself on one finger, Lea casually got to the point.
“…”
Lear also slowed his squat pace, focusing on Kyle’s next words.
“By anyone else’s standards, they were ridiculously strong. Of course, compared to John Nassen they were nothing special, but still—they showed potential. If they go further with whatever that was, if it actually works… people who were nothing could suddenly become powerhouses.”
Even Kyle himself wasn’t sure why he was speaking so seriously.
He’d meant to keep it light at first, but as he talked, sudden rage boiled up inside him.
Those who gained strength through methods that were anything but normal—those who spat on the sweat of honest effort.
Just thinking about it made the flames of anger smolder and rise even now.
“Truly despicable scum.”
Lear set down the barbell and frowned slightly.
The faces of the students watching them turned blue, or paper-white.
It didn’t usually show, but when Lear twisted his face like that, he looked like a literal demon.
“I never intended to overlook them to begin with, but hearing your story makes me realize just how serious this is. Denying legitimate effort and passionate training… something that must never be allowed to exist in this world.”
“I agree, big brother. We should probably stick with the decision we made.”
Lea suddenly mentioned a “decision.” Just as Kyle was about to ask about that—
A man quietly appeared among the students and called Kyle’s name.
“Kyle John Nassen, student?”
“Yes, I’m here. Excuse me, but who are you?”
“I’m from the Magic Department. I heard the request you made a few days ago has been roughly finished, so I came to deliver the news.”
A request? This time Lear and Lea turned to look at Kyle.
The John Nassen barony was a place with almost no connection to magic.
Kyle himself was a complete novice at magic. He couldn’t use it at all. And yet the Magic Department?
“Ah, well, there was something I wanted to check for myself.”
“Something you wanted to check. May I ask what that is?”
At Lear’s question, Kyle went “Hmm,” hesitated a moment, then scratched his head.
“Actually, those invaders did something stupid to their bodies that also caused their mana to run wild. After a certain amount of time, they couldn’t hold it anymore and just… exploded.”
“Utterly cruel bastards. To dare ruin the sacred body like that. And so?”
“I suddenly got curious. What it would be like to take that explosion at point-blank range.”
Anyone else—especially mages—would have cursed him out with “You lunatic!” if they’d heard that.
No matter how outstanding a warrior you were, a mana explosion was never something to take lightly.
After all, the very source of that strength was the mana flowing through the body.
And a mana explosion didn’t just shock the outside—it delivered the full impact internally as well.
One wrong move and your insides could be pulverized, leaving you looking fine on the outside while you died instantly.
Even the Magic Department that took the request had given him looks that said, “Have you lost your mind?”
Since Kyle had saved the Academy and received a commendation from the Minister, they would grant the request—but they made it crystal clear that any consequences afterward were entirely on Kyle’s head.
But Kyle didn’t seem to care about any of that.
He simply wanted something as close as possible to the mana explosion the invaders had caused.
Once he clearly stated his request, he said he would wait.
“Oho.”
“Heeeh?”
The funnier part was that both Lear and Lea wore expressions of deep interest.
Something as close as possible to the mana explosion those bastards caused? Wouldn’t that be incredibly fun!
“Little brother. Would it be all right if this big brother of yours took one with you as well?”
“Me too! Kyle, I want in too.”
“Do as you like. Just don’t complain that it was too boring. Promise me.”
At Kyle’s words, Lear and Lea nodded as if that went without saying.
What the hell kind of crazy request is this, damn it.
The senior teaching assistant of the Magic Department scratched his head in irritation.
As if it weren’t bad enough that the professors were hounding him like mad over thesis issues.
Now some bizarre request had come in and was eating up his time.
No matter how hard he tried to look on the bright side, he simply couldn’t.
Why the hell do they want me to set off a mana explosion all of a sudden? This is driving me nuts.
And on a scale similar to the mana explosions from those Academy invaders, no less.
It wasn’t terribly difficult, but it was extremely tedious and required meticulous fine-tuning.
First, he reconstructed the mana based on the traces left at the site of the original explosion.
It was only an estimate, not perfectly accurate, but still matched over eighty percent of the time.
That way, they could recreate the mana explosion.
The problem was that there was nothing to gain from recreating it, so there was zero need to do so.
Moreover, Kyle John Nassen was a complete amateur when it came to magic. He had no reason to take interest in mana explosions.
So why make this request? The senior assistant had no idea.
“Senior Assistant. I’ve brought them.”
The errand-runner he’d sent out had returned just then.
Seeing Kyle trailing behind, the senior assistant was about to speak in a somewhat grumpy tone when—
“Kyle… John… Nassen…”
A man radiating an oppressive aura stepped in behind Kyle.
A figure almost none of the current Academy students would recognize—but the senior assistant knew him.
He had seen the man a few times from a distance during his own student days.
Lear John Nassen? W-Why is that monster here…
Then the woman who entered next made the senior assistant start hiccupping on the spot.
Compared to her, Lear was practically an angel.
At the very least, he hadn’t half-destroyed the Academy or anything similar.
The memory of that day still painted itself vividly in his mind.
Under a truly beautiful sky, the Academy tower that had stood so proudly had been smashed to pieces.
It hadn’t been struck by lightning. No one had accidentally set off a magical explosion.
It certainly wasn’t shoddy construction. And the Empire’s enemies hadn’t targeted the Academy either.
One single female student, one single punch she threw—that had been the reason.
“Assistant?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Where is it? The thing this person requested.”
“H-Here. Tell them to take it quickly. And tell them to leave quickly.”
At the assistant’s words, the man tilted his head, then nodded as if he understood.
He took the large blue orb sitting on the desk and held it out to Kyle.
“We’ve configured it as closely as possible. The moment this orb is dropped and breaks, a collapse reaction will begin, followed by the explosion. Needless to say, you can only use it in the observation room managed by the Magic Department. Shall I guide you?”
“I’d appreciate that. Come on, big brother. Big sister.”
The two—Lear and Lea—trotted after Kyle and vanished.
The senior assistant rubbed his still-prickling arms as he watched the pair leave.
In the meantime, the three John Nassen siblings entered the observation room.
A kind of laboratory built because mana could cause who-knew-what if mishandled.
It was an extremely sturdy place, more than capable of withstanding a mana explosion.
“Well then, shall we check?”
With those words, Kyle applied a light squeeze of force—and a crack split across the orb with a sharp sound.
It was built to withstand being dropped with all one’s might or any kind of impact.
Yet a single flex of his hand had put a crack right through it.
“Everyone! Get outside the observation room immediately…”
Saying so, the man headed for the exit and let out an “Huh?” of dismay.
A massive mana explosion was about to go off, yet none of the three men and women showed any intention of dodging.
“W-What are you doing?! Evacuate at once…”
“Close the door and get out. We’re fine.”
Shaaaaa!!—
As pure white light burst from the cracks in the orb, the man hurriedly slammed the door shut.
And right after, a tremendous roar and a shock strong enough to set every bit of mana in his body trembling.
Th-This is bad. They got caught in that mana explosion…
Once the shock subsided and the world grew still, the man hastily threw open the door.
Please don’t die, please just still be breathing, he prayed—and the scene that greeted his eyes was:
“How was that, big brother, big sister?”
“I thought Father had just sneezed really hard.”
“Right?! Same here, big brother.”
“…So I wasn’t the only one who thought that.”
The three siblings were casually chatting away.