Chapter 84: Heirloom

After all the tests in preparation for academy admission were over, the children of the Gardener families, who carried the collateral bloodline, gathered to review the past exams.

Perhaps because the structure was now focused on cooperation rather than competition.

Instead of checking on each other, they were strengthening their family bonds by sharing the strengths and weaknesses they had observed in one another.

“Hilverta, I think you had a tendency to rush ahead a bit.”

“Is that so?

“Hmm, looking back, I think you might be right.”

They were all connected by the single name of Gardener, and at most, there was only a two or three-year age difference between them.

Most importantly, unlike the children of other families, they could communicate more effectively and speak their minds freely, so it was practically a foregone conclusion that they would become close.

“That aside.

“Real combat is really different….”

“Well, strictly speaking, it was all a hallucination, so we can’t really call it real combat.”

By order of the previous emperor of the Empire.

With the exception of a portion of the north, monsters were no longer to be found on the mainland of the Empire.

Of course, monsters that inhabited mines or underground tunnels,
the so-called dungeon-dwelling monsters, remained in small numbers due to the nature of their environment.

However, even those were mostly being exterminated as a top priority by the lords of each territory, so over time, monsters became increasingly rare.

This was true not only for the ordinary citizens of the Empire, but also for the noble children residing on the mainland.

Dangerous areas where monsters lived had long since disappeared.

By now, monsters were not beings that inhabited a specific area, but rather like dice on a table, appearing unpredictably.

In other words, in this environment, it was inevitably difficult for noble children born on the mainland to experience real combat.

The occasional catastrophic outbreak was a ‘job’ that needed to be resolved as quickly as possible.

It was not a target that could be used for the training of their children.

The average strength of the underground monsters that had survived until now likely also played a part.

Against this backdrop, it was impossible to proceed step by step.

All they could do was strike the shoulders and waists of sturdily built wooden dolls.

And receiving lessons from professional fighters armed with spears and swords was about the limit.

Of course, this alone was not a major problem for steadily accumulating skills.

However, to say that it was on par with the weight of real combat was still a stretch.

“By the way, it was amazing.

“Lord Rio and Lady Lin….”

“Yes.

“They were on a completely different level from us.”

The Gardeners spoke of the direct bloodline, the legitimate children of Rosegarden.

They recalled how both Lin and Rio possessed a composure and strength that was incomparable to their own.

That’s right.

Unlike the noble children of the mainland, those who had hunted actual monsters in the Abel Forest were beings of a completely different experience.

In particular, Lin was a person who not only hunted them but also built the entire environment and even created a large business out of it.

Her achievements, which they learned about one by one over time, were enough to make the Gardeners’ jaws drop even further.

“The head of the family summons you.”

“Pardon?”

At that moment, a maid approached the huddle of Gardener children.

Upon hearing that the current head of the Rosegarden family, Richard von Rosegarden, had summoned them, they scrambled to their feet.

Not just anyone, but the head of the family?

Summoning us, the collateral branches?

Given who the summoner was, everyone was bustling about.

They walked in line behind the maid of the main house, showing the utmost courtesy.

“Lord Head.”

“Oh.

“You’ve come?”

The maid reported that she had brought the Gardener children as commanded.

In response, Richard slowly rose and greeted them with a benevolent smile and open arms.

The Gardener children quickly bowed their heads and showed sufficient respect.

Seeing the tense young children, Richard gestured for them to relax.

“The test couldn’t have been entirely easy.

“You all did very well.”

“Th-thank you.”

Richard praised them for their past results.

They beamed inwardly with the pride of being acknowledged by the head of the family.

“Therefore, I wish to bestow upon you a suitable reward.”

“…!”

“One for each of you.

“To all of you.”

Before their young minds could fully grasp the meaning of the head of the family’s words, he called for his close aide, the butler, and gave him an order.

“Now then, follow me.”

He led the collateral children beyond the small garden behind the castle.

They arrived in front of a shining emerald lake amidst the overgrown grass.

“Here you are, Lord Head.”

“Mm.”

The butler handed his master a certain jeweled necklace that had been brought from inside the castle on the head’s orders.

When Richard, the current head, pointed the ‘key’ that had been passed down through the family for generations towards the lake, it soon split apart, and a small waterfall cascaded down.

The collateral children simply stared in a daze as the lake parted.

Between the two parted waterfalls, a small stone staircase leading underground was revealed.

“It may be slippery, so watch your step.”

“Y-yes…!”

And so.

The children followed the back of the head of the main house, descending one step, then another.

After they had descended a certain distance.

They soon came to a small cave inside the lake.

They faced a steel door engraved with a magic circle, blocking the cave.

Shing—

In front of the firmly shut, large steel door.

Richard took a small dagger from his bosom and lightly cut his palm.

Drip, drip. As a few drops of blood fell onto the holy grail placed in front of the door, a loud roar engulfed them.

Rumble, rumble, rumble…!

The magic circle engraved on the door responded brightly to the blood of Rosegarden.

The door slowly opened its arms, revealing its inner self to its master.

By the time Richard confirmed the door was opening, he had already healed his palm.

Thud…!

“Now, let’s go inside.”

The door opened, and Richard led everyone inside.

And within,

“…Huh?”

He came face to face with his granddaughter, who was intently observing one of the heirlooms passed down through the Rosegarden family for generations.

“Lady Lin?”

Naturally, the collateral children who had followed the head of the family inside were also bewildered by Lin’s sudden appearance.

“Don’t tell me.

“You were still choosing…?”

It turned out that Rio and Lin had already entered the Rosegarden family’s treasury before the collateral children.

However, unlike Rio, who had picked an heirloom that suited him and left immediately, Lin was still in the treasury, pondering her choice.

“Hmm, I’m not sure if I should say there’s nothing I like.

“To be more precise, shall I say there’s no weapon that fits my stature?”

In response to her grandfather’s question, Lin casually placed the heirloom she was holding down nearby and spoke.

Having deliberated for so long, even Richard, who had briefly left for another appointment, was momentarily at a loss for words, not having expected this.

“My apologies, Lord Head.

“It seemed Lady Lin wanted to choose carefully, so….”

“No.

“It’s fine.

“You’ve done well.”

A butler who had been left with Lin just in case bowed his head.

Richard patted his shoulder a few times and told him he understood and could return to his duties.

Lin, in the meantime, had picked up another heirloom and was tilting her head this way and that.

With familiar steps, she placed a sword that still sparkled despite the passage of many years neatly on an old anvil inside the treasury.

Then, she rolled up her sleeves, took the hammer she had entrusted to Exia, and raised her arm high into the air.

Simultaneously, her grandfather, anticipating the future, hastily extended his arm towards his cute granddaughter.

Clang!

With all her might, Lin struck the heirloom.

A clear sound echoed and filled the cave.

“Hmph~….”

Invisible to the astonished gazes of her grandfather and the collateral children,

Lin crossed her arms with a dissatisfied expression and leaned her body far to the side.

“…This isn’t it either.”

Thwack!

“Ouch!”

“You little rascal!”

Lin casually tossed the heirloom she had just struck with the hammer nearby again.

At that moment, the head of the family, Richard’s, affectionate fist lightly fell upon his granddaughter’s head.

That’s right.

No matter how cute a granddaughter she was, there were lines that should not be crossed.

“What in the world are you doing to our precious heirlooms!”

“Hic….”

Struck by her grandfather’s ‘kkulbam’ (a flick on the head) for the first time in her life, Lin crouched down and whimpered.

Richard, even while scolding her, quickly became anxious and worried, wondering if he had hit her too hard.

“……Are you alright?”

“You didn’t have to hit me so… hic, hard….”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care…!

“I hate you, Grandpa!!”

“Wh-what….”

Crash!

A huge bolt of lightning struck down at Lin’s shout, who was just spouting random words in pain.

And behind them were the children, silently watching the pitiful display of their respected head of the family and Lin.

“Choose a weapon that suits you, one for each of you.”

“…Pardon?”

“B-but….”

“You don’t need to mind the Lord Head and Lady Lin.”

In the end, the head of the family’s aide proceeded with the long-standing tradition on his own.

He distributed a portion of the heirlooms to the children of the collateral bloodline as well.

“Wow….”

“We can choose any one of all these…?”

“Amazing….”

After hesitating shyly, one by one, the children each picked up a weapon their hands were naturally drawn to.

The tradition, created by a head of the family from long ago who questioned the meaning of keeping weapons meant for use locked away in a damp treasury like this.

It had been somewhat controversial at the time, but in the present day, it had yielded the beneficial result of increasing the loyalty of the collateral branches and making them into one big family.

And so, their already steadfast loyalty was further heightened.

The children left the cave inside the lake one by one, clutching the weapons they had chosen themselves dearly in their arms.

“Huuuuumph…….”

Even after all that, Lin remained in the cave, tilting her head.

‘…Yes.

‘Of course you’d be conflicted.’

Richard looked at Lin with a compassionate gaze, as if he understood her feelings.

The heirlooms of the Rosegarden family.

Most of the top-quality weapons, forged with magic, could only display their full performance under the premise that the user could wield magic.

Of course, there were many heirlooms that did not require the ability to use magic, but most of them were melee weapons that demanded physical prowess, so this was also not a good fit for Lin.

Swords, spears, wands, staves.

No matter which weapon she held, one after another, no weapon resonated with Lin.

“Grandfather.”

“Yes.

“What is it?”

“I can take anything from this cave, right?

“One thing?”

“…That’s right.”

After much deliberation,

Lin reconfirmed the words she had been told, as if she had finally made a decision.

“Alright! I’ve decided!”

Lin, having finally decided what she would receive, exclaimed with a smile.

Presented before her grandfather’s warm face, which seemed to understand everything, was the warhammer that boasted the largest and heaviest weight in the repository.

“Are you really… sure about this?”

“Yes! Of course!”

As anyone could see, as expected.

Richard asked again, seeing his granddaughter struggling to move it, even with the clumsy physical enhancement borrowed from the spirits due to her broken circuits.

He asked again… but Lin’s decision seemed far too firm.

“I’ll let you change it later.

“If you feel it’s not right, tell me anytime.

“Do you understand…?”

“Fufu, it’s fine.

“That will never happen!”

‘…This is driving me crazy with anxiety.’

Fearing that Lin would take three days and nights to get out of the cave if she tried to move it herself, Richard eventually lifted the warhammer and placed it on his back.

A weight that was by no means light, even for him.

He couldn’t understand why his granddaughter had chosen such an ultra-heavy weapon, but he decided to respect her wishes for now.

“Here! Put it here, please!”

“Alright, alright.

“I understand.”

Thump!

And so, Richard delivered the warhammer to Lin’s alchemy lab.

He left the room, telling his granddaughter one last time that she could exchange it for a refund at any time if she changed her mind.

And a few days later.

“…It should be about time for her to have a change of heart.”

After finishing all his accumulated work, he went to see his cute granddaughter’s face with a mixture of worry and….

Sizzle—

“Ah, Grandfather!”

“Wh-what in the…?”

Inside the blazing hot furnace.

“Wh-what are you doing right now…!?”

“Yes! I’m melting down the weapon I received from you, Grandfather!”

“What did you say?

“W-why….”

“Because, well, there wasn’t really a weapon in that treasury that suited me, you know?”

Being reborn as a top-grade iron ingot filled with mana,

“In other words, if there’s no weapon that suits me….”

He, who was faced with what ‘used to be an heirloom,’

“Then I just have to make one myself!!”

For the first time in several decades, it is said that the back of his neck was very, very stiff.