Tears of Family Reunion
Elena's ears perked up in disbelief.
“Magic…? Really?”
“Yeah.”
It wasn't a hallucination.
She was taken aback by the unexpected request and took a moment to respond.
Teaching the basics wasn't hard; Elena could explain it fine.
But the student was none other than Rian Marque.
From what Elena knew, he was the type who learned something and then built walls around himself.
He'd changed magic teachers three times, and she knew he hadn't properly attended magic classes before giving up.
For him to suddenly want to learn magic?
He seemed off today. Definitely something was wrong with his food.
And most importantly.
Amazing.
A casual remark.
But Rian's expression was different from usual.
It wasn't the habitual praise or something said to match her mood.
It sounded like he truly meant it.
That was why.
That one word kept lingering in her mind.
It felt good when someone acknowledged your efforts.
“Ah, was this too much to ask?”
Rian tilted his head slightly.
“No, if it's okay with you, I can teach you anytime.”
“Really?”
His face lit up noticeably.
No attempt to hide his joy; his reaction was genuine.
Elena couldn't help but curve her lips slightly.
“Of course.”
Earlier, she had casually mentioned that the matchmaking could be dropped.
Now, with just a few words about teaching magic, he was overjoyed.
Strange person.
Still, she thought this side of him was a bit cute.
“Today was fun.”
“Me too.”
I saw Elena off to the entrance as she left.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time today to start learning magic right away.
Elena mentioned she had something to prepare, so we agreed to meet again next week to learn properly.
As Elena boarded the carriage, she waved her hand lightly through the window.
I waved back in response.
Thanks to this, finding a magic teacher was easier than expected.
People need connections, after all.
Especially if the person is pretty.
Field: Social Etiquette
Current Proficiency: 3%
Experience points for Unique Trait 'Third-Rate' are increasing.
“Young Master.”
“……”
I slowly turned my head, and the butler stood there with a blank expression.
When did this guy appear?
“How long have you been here?”
“Just now.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Sigh, this isn't like him.
From appearance, he looks like a kind old man with white hair, but in the past week, he's popped up several times like this.
And usually, these old men are insanely strong.
If ranking people by who you shouldn't mess with, he'd be in the top five fingers.
“So, what's the matter…?”
The butler looked at me for a moment.
Upon closer look, he seemed to be smiling faintly.
“The Count has returned.”
“Father?”
“Yes, and the Countess as well.”
Suddenly?
He was quiet for a week, and now there's an event?
“Was something wrong?”
“Both of them finished their schedules in the capital.”
Nothing special, just a normal return from work.
“It's almost dinner time, so prepare for that.”
“Got it.”
After dinner, I headed to the dining room.
I don't know why, but my memories of family were hazy, like through fog.
My brain was rejecting it, perhaps.
Forcing myself to recall only made the inside of my head even blurrier.
So, I was a bit worried about what kind of people they might be.
The only memories I had were the settings from the game and the tragedies that would befall the Marque Count family.
I couldn't just let this slide.
My lifeline was about to vanish, and I couldn't ignore it.
It was still in the distant future, so no rush.
First, put out the fire.
The first thing I saw was a man sitting at the end of the long table.
Neatly combed black hair.
Shoulders slightly spread.
Even while sitting still, there was a strange pressure.
Was this the aura or whatever?
The moment I saw him, I knew.
That man was my father, Count Caron Marque, one of the Empire's Seven Swords.
First, he was insanely scary-looking.
No, the way he looked at his son was like he was about to carve him up.
On the right side of that father sat a woman.
Probably the mother.
The moment I thought that.
“Rian!”
With a bright voice, Mother approached quickly.
And before I could react.
—Thud.
She pulled me into her arms.
“Our son, did you miss Mom?”
M-Mom?
“Let me see. Why is your face so pale? Did you eat properly?”
Mother examined my face with a worried expression.
“Uuuu.”
This was unexpected.
Up close, she was a beautiful woman with a soft impression. Dark brown hair and warm eyes.
No matter how I looked, she didn't seem like the same person as that scary old man from earlier.
“Hmph.”
I turned my head, and Father was still glaring at me with a scary face.
“Let's start eating.”
“Just a moment. It's been a while since I've seen my son's face.”
“……”
Father didn't say more, and Mother didn't seem to care.
I didn't need to ask who the real power in this house was.
“It's good that you're doing well.”
Mother stroked my hair once more and let me go.
“Come on, sit down. Aren't you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
How did this kid come from such a mother…
It seemed the family environment wasn't the issue.
It was just that this kid was the problem.
It didn't seem like my parents were neglecting their children just because they were busy.
I sat silently in my seat, and the meal proceeded with little conversation for a while.
Mother would occasionally scoop food onto my plate, and Father ate in silence.
After a bit of getting used to it.
“Rian.”
Father called my name for the first time.
“Yes.”
“Recently, I heard you started picking up the sword again.”
I straightened my posture unnecessarily.
“Yes, I'm doing it a little at a time.”
“A little at a time.”
Father looked at me quietly.
It was burdensome.
When you're one of the Seven Swords, you probably have the skill to cut people with your eyes.
“Why did you start again?”
“Um…”
What to say.
I couldn't say “If I don't enter the academy, my head will explode from the Demon Lord.”
“Turns out it was more fun than I thought.”
It wasn't a lie. My body felt lighter than before, and most importantly, the numbers were visibly rising.
Who doesn't hate grinding experience points in a game?
“I see.”
“Yes…”
The answer was too short, making me wonder if I had said something weird.
“It's not a bad reason to pick up the sword. Forcing yourself to hold it won't last long.”
Hmm. I get it.
The reason for low swordsmanship and magic proficiency.
Changing magic teachers three times was probably in the same vein.
If it didn't match, you'd pair them with someone else, and if even that was disliked, you wouldn't force it anymore.
So, how could proficiency rise?
“Are you planning to continue learning?”
“Yes.”
This time, I answered without hesitation.
“Then I'll teach you myself.”
“Eh?”
I thought I misheard.
Myself? That guy? One of the Empire's Seven Swords?
This suddenly made the difficulty too high.
“I am…”
“Ah! That's great!”
Before I could refuse, Mother smiled brightly and interrupted.
“You teaching him personally would be perfect. Rian will like it too.”
No.
I didn't say that.
A private tutor is way too much. Even if you teach well, in the end, it's third-rate.
“Then let's start tomorrow morning.”
Fast.
This was the Seven Swords?
I didn't get a chance to insert my opinion even once.
“Be at the training ground early in the morning.”
“Yes…”
The next morning.
I was standing in the middle of the training ground.
And opposite me, Father was holding a wooden sword.
The problem was that we weren't alone.
At the edges of the training ground, knights who had been doing morning training had gathered.
At first, only a few, but now quite a few.
“What did the young master say he was doing with the sword again?”
“I don't know.”
“Apparently, the young master is being taught by the master himself?”
“That's why we get to watch.”
They were chatting too much.
They were excited about someone else's business.
“Our son, fighting!”
Upon closer look, Mother had come out to watch with the maids.
Flinging hearts with her hands.
M-Mom...
That's a bit embarrassing.
“Are you ready?”
“…Yes.”
Yeah, when will I see a teacher like this again.
When I can learn, I should extract as much as possible.
Some incredible training method or something.
A family-transmitted over-the-top secret sword technique or something.
I thought they might show some of that.
“Then come at me.”
“Eh?”
“Full power.”
This was different from the lesson I thought.