Bound to Come... Too Soon?
What was bound to come had finally arrived… but wasn’t this a little too soon?
After finishing a round of human experimentation that would have sent the entire Magic Faculty into a collective faint, the three siblings were, at last, having a normal conversation.
“Father and Mother are doing well, I hope?”
“They’re fine. Aside from Mother occasionally saying she misses you, her youngest.”
“Last time she even teared up out of nowhere.”
“Mother did?”
“Yeah. She fretted over whether you’d fallen in with bad friends and started neglecting your training.”
“….”
The reason for those tears was a little strange, but Kyle decided to let it slide. All of it came from worrying about her child, after all. They might be a bit too obsessed with working out, yet they were genuinely good parents.
“Nothing’s happened back home. Everyone’s just living well.”
“That’s a relief.”
Of course, “living well” really meant “everyone’s lifting like mad,” but still.
“Come to think of it, we built a new piece of equipment recently, and it feels even better than expected. Father loves it, and Mother seems delighted too. When you come home for break, youngest, you should give it a try. I think you’d—”
The only topic that ever made the extremely taciturn Lear talkative. Anything related to training—especially new equipment—turned him into a child again. His usual clipped sentences had vanished; now he spoke without pausing for breath.
“…Anyway, don’t worry about home.”
Kyle had never worried and had no intention of starting, but there was no need to say so out loud. He simply nodded.
“More importantly, I expected this place not to have changed much, yet a lot of the buildings look different.”
“You think so too, brother? Same here.”
At Lear and Lea’s words, Kyle could only let out a breathless sigh of pure disbelief.
Why would the scenery have changed? Why were the buildings rebuilt differently from before?
The reason was none other than Lea’s wrath having slammed straight into the Academy!
At first he’d thought the Minister and the Dean were just overreacting, but once he looked into it, he understood. She had demolished things so thoroughly that no one could even begin repairs, racking up astronomical costs. And of course it had happened right when the Ministry of Finance was finalizing the budget and seeking approval.
Truly a filthy, cursed timing—no wonder everyone was ready to explode.
Yet even Lea, who had done the demolishing, was looking around as if she had no idea why anything was different. Thanks to that, Kyle finally grasped why Imperial officials frothed at the mouth the moment they heard the name “John Nassen.”
If you smash the place yourself and then cheerfully say, “Wow, it’s all different!” of course people want to die inside.
“How long will you two be staying, Brother, Sister?”
“We’ll head back as soon as the business is finished.”
“Like Big Brother said, we’ll probably leave right away.”
“Really? I thought you’d stay a bit longer.”
Lear and Lea answered almost in unison, boiling the reason down to something painfully simple.
“Muscle loss is coming.”
“Muscle loss, you know!”
“….”
Ah. Yes. Of course. Kyle simply nodded again. Nothing surprised him anymore; he just accepted it. Honestly, even he thought it would be better to train than to run around all over the place. Was this the famous John Nassen willpower… or rather, the John Nassen curse?
“Of course,” Lear added in a quiet voice, “that’s only after the ‘business’ is finished.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that, Brother? Business?”
“Exactly what it sounds like, Kyle. Big Brother and I have something we have to do.”
“So coming all this way just to see me wasn’t the whole story, huh?”
“What? Is our Kyle feeling left out? Did you think big sis and big bro came just to see you?”
With a cooing “Aww!” Lea suddenly scooped Kyle into a crushing hug and vigorously rubbed her cheek against his. “Did you miss your big brother and sister that much?!” she cried for good measure.
Kyle flailed, forced to shout, “Sister, I’m going to suffocate!” It wasn’t a joke—her grip was far too strong. He genuinely felt like he was about to black out. If he was lucky he’d only asphyxiate; if not, his neck would snap with a clean crack and he’d end up looking exactly like those invaders from earlier.
“Sister, please… I-I’m going to die here…”
“Lea. That’s enough. The youngest is struggling.”
Thanks to Lear’s intervention, Kyle barely survived.
“Actually, we received an invitation to the Imperial Palace a short while ago.”
Still coughing and rediscovering the preciousness of air, Kyle froze at his brother’s words and let out a startled “Huh?”
“The Imperial Palace… You don’t mean His Majesty the Emperor himself?”
“Convenient, isn’t it? I had something I needed to report to him in person anyway.”
“So that must be the ‘business’ you mentioned just now.”
Lear nodded, then muttered, “We should get going.”
Kyle’s face filled with genuine shock. “You’re leaving already?” He even added a disbelieving, “You’re joking, right?”
“We’re really going. Did you honestly think Big Brother and I would hang around here for days?”
Honestly, yes—he had expected exactly that. At the very least until tomorrow, he figured they would stick to him like glue, force him to train, and monitor every bite he ate. This was the same brother who made him work out even when he claimed to be sick. This was the same sister who shoved a barbell into his hands even when he said he couldn’t. And now those two were claiming they would leave after only a short meeting, despite admitting their bodies were already fried?
Kyle thought that was even less believable than a decade-long diet failure declaring, “Starting tomorrow I’m really dieting!”
Yet as if they could read every one of his suspicions, Lear and Lea did not head back toward the indoor training hall. They walked straight toward the Academy’s main gate.
“…Youngest.”
In the distance the Minister and his subordinates waited with anxious faces. Gazing at them, Lear parted his lips.
“Yes, Brother.”
“…Well. I’m not going to tell you not to eat at all.”
“Pardon?”
“It isn’t a short stay. Seeing new things in a new place and still holding back is hard for anyone. I understand that completely. I’m not saying you should ignore everything, pretend nothing exists, or reject it all.”
Kyle immediately understood the real meaning. We’re leaving without a fuss, so we’ll trust you. Just keep it under control. You’re training hard, so don’t overdo the food.
“Big Brother’s right. It’s actually pretty tough. Training’s one thing, but unlike back home, every single food here is something you have to be careful about.”
Even Lea, who had only spent a year here, nodded in deep agreement. That was when a sudden thought struck Kyle, and he decided to ask directly.
“Um, Brother? Sister? This is just a ‘what if’ kind of question…”
Hope and dread mixed together. Which one would win?
“Did you two also… you know… at the Academy, maybe…”
“I had a few drinks. Was curious what they tasted like.”
“I had ice cream and snacks. About four times, I think.”
“Ah…”
“Keep it secret from Mother and Father.”
“You got that, Kyle? Especially Mother.”
In the end, all three siblings had secretly committed their own little crimes.
“Have you finished everything you needed to do?”
The question carried the clear subtext of You’re never coming back, right? Given how much earlier than expected they were leaving the Academy, the Minister of Education felt perfectly justified in asking. He’d hoped they wouldn’t stay long, yet now he had to worry that they were leaving too quickly. Once again the name “John Nassen” settled over him like a soft, lingering dread.
Please say you’re done. Please say seeing your little brother was enough!!
Perhaps the gods actually heard the Minister’s desperate prayer.
“Yes. We’re finished here.”
Lear’s voice emerged low and heavy. The Minister flinched for a second, but the fear was immediately replaced by sheer relief.
“That’s… I mean, excellent. Then will you be heading straight to the Imperial Palace?”
“Is there a problem if we don’t go immediately? His Majesty said it didn’t matter when we arrived.”
Of course that was what had been said. But who in their right mind would keep the absolute ruler of a vast empire waiting? Not even a petty lord of some tiny fief would enjoy that, let alone the Emperor.
Afterward the Minister smiled while sweat poured down his back, patiently persuading the two of them. Yes, His Majesty had said those words, but that was pure consideration—leaving them an escape route in case special circumstances prevented them from accepting the invitation. Kindness should be answered with kindness.
…It’s enough to make a man cry.
The secretary sitting beside the Minister wiped away imaginary tears. Who knew his usually fierce, irritable superior had this side to him? At first it was surprising, then it was satisfying, and finally it was simply pitiful. No matter how high a departmental minister ranked, there were still far too many things beyond his control.
In the end the Minister successfully convinced the John Nassen siblings. The expression he wore the moment Lear finally said, “Then let’s go today,” looked exactly like a low-ranking clerk who had just escaped a month of consecutive all-nighters.
In truth both Lear and Lea already had “business” they needed to handle, just as they had told Kyle. That was why they had left after only a few hours with their little brother. And that business absolutely required an audience with the Emperor. The Minister’s earnest persuasion had never been necessary.
“Shall we? To the Imperial Palace.”
At Lear’s words the Minister immediately ordered the carriage toward the Imperial Capital. If they made good time they would arrive just before evening.
“….”
Leaving the beaming Minister of Education behind him, the heir of the John Nassen barony, Lear John Nassen, quietly gazed out the window.
“I considered leaving it to others. But for a matter like this, it’s best that you two handle it yourselves. I’m entrusting it to you—bring back good news.”
Those had been the words of their father, Baron Dagon John Nassen, when he sent them off. Just as he said, this was something the direct bloodline needed to settle in person.
“And everyone else refused to go because they were terrified of muscle loss from all the traveling.”
Somehow that part felt like the real deciding factor.