Ch.154Chapter 154: A Long, Long Day (5)

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After hearing Father’s bombshell announcement through my sister’s words,

I couldn’t help but feel both bewildered and dazed by the gravity of the situation.

That’s only natural, isn’t it?

Even when I returned from the future and meticulously mapped out how my choices would alter various situations,

I never once considered that I might be designated as the heir to the Ranos family.

How could I not be shocked when such an absurd situation actually materialized?

At first, when I entered the cafeteria, grabbed my tray, and started selecting food from the serving counter,

My moderate hunger commanded me to empty my plate as soon as I sat down.

But now, with a storm raging in my mind, even the savory aroma rising from the food on my tray no longer stimulated my appetite.

The main reason was that my brain was too busy trying to resolve the doubts arising from the current situation, making it impossible to focus on anything else.

And the question that emerged from my actively working mind was as follows:

Why?

Why was I classified as a candidate for family succession?

No matter how carefully I traced my thoughts, I couldn’t even begin to grasp why this was happening.

Before my regression, there had never been any unexpected developments regarding my sister inheriting the family headship.

So why was this situation suddenly confronting me now?

No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t come up with a plausible reason, and my suspicions were only deepening when—

[“Do you realize what an enormous privilege your special ability grants you to become the head of a family that stands at the pinnacle of numerous martial houses?”]

Thanks to Fafnir’s words that instantly awakened my cluttered mind, I began to understand the reason somewhat.

Super-regeneration.

This special ability—the decisive factor distinguishing between my past self who barely survived as a mercenary with a sturdy body that surpassed most special ability awakeners, and my current self who attends Yoram as an awakened student—

It seems this ability has also transformed me from merely a direct descendant with concentrated Ranos blood into a candidate eligible for family succession.

But… when my thoughts reached that point, another question arose.

How did Fath—no, the family head know that I had awakened my special ability?

Since my regression, I’ve been spending busy days training myself with the goal of creating a better future, while simultaneously being caught up in Yoram’s rigorous academic schedule.

I wouldn’t have sent letters home after my regression when I hardly sent any before regressing.

So my family shouldn’t know yet that I’ve awakened my special ability…

“Father is still as impatient as ever. I didn’t expect him to communicate this in writing when he could have confirmed things slowly before making a decision.”

Ah.

The culprit was right here.

Now I see. It seems my sister visited Yoram during the subjugation festival participant selection and, upon confirming my awakened special ability, informed the family head about it.

-How could you not tell me, your sister, about something like this! You didn’t inform the family either, did you? Oh, I can’t believe this.

Only then did I recall what my sister had said when she visited Yoram to evaluate subjugation festival participants and saw my awakened ability.

From my sister’s perspective, who firmly believed her only brother would have fallen from special ability student to ordinary student after his 18th birthday as she remembered,

She must have been dumbfounded to discover that her long-unseen brother had awakened the rare special ability of super-regeneration and hadn’t properly informed the family.

So it seems my sister informed Father about my special ability awakening at that time.

‘…Still, that was fast.’

The action taken by Father after learning this fact through my sister was nothing short of radical, even beyond what could be defined as “swift.”

As Fafnir just revealed through my mind,

Is this ultra-rare special ability of super-regeneration

Valuable enough to reconsider an already-determined successor from scratch?

And not just any successor—even though this remains only in the timeline that I alone remember—

My sister is the successor who has built achievements rivaling the prestige of the founding head among all the family heads in the thousand-year history of our family.

I couldn’t help but shake my head at the question of whether my awakened special ability was worth disrupting my sister’s stable foundation.

Even though I haven’t fully experienced the true value of this ability yet,

I didn’t think for a moment that it qualified me to succeed as the head of Ranos, who must stand tall as the master of swordsmanship.

‘To think that someone like me, who hasn’t even perfected the sword style I aspire to in my heart, would be qualified for family succession…’

With such thoughts, I couldn’t help but form a bitter smile. What more needed to be said?

To become the head of Ranos, standing at the pinnacle of imperial swordsmanship alongside Proxian, someone like my sister—

A young genius who is said to have recreated the legendary sword technique “Radiance” used by our ancestor Lumen Ranos, who was said to have created miracles with a single sword, after a thousand years—

Someone with the character to embrace people and the practical abilities required of a family head—would be incomparably superior to someone like me.

So after the initial shock of hearing that the succession would be reconsidered from scratch,

‘Well, the outcome is obvious.’

In my mind, I could only muster a slight bitter smile as I thought about my future self facing the predictable result.

Though a considerable amount of time had passed since the start of lunch at a table that could seat four people,

I still hadn’t touched the food I had picked up to eat.

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…Am I the strange one here?

Having finally cleared the storm that had raged in my mind and able to slowly continue my meal,

I now had the leisure to look around, and what I saw was so ordinary that it made me wonder what I had been so worried about.

…Though “ordinary” might be a somewhat misleading word as there was something odd about it, but compared to me, everyone else was so calm that calling it peaceful would be no exaggeration.

“Sister, you’re as elegant as ever even when eating. When I first visited the Ranos mansion and saw you, we had dinner together, and this Excel is reminded of that time.”

“…Your flattery is so obvious it’s embarrassing.”

Excel, sitting next to my sister and inexplicably excited as he showered her with compliments, made me wonder if he had even properly heard the contents of the letter my sister had recited.

“I’m really happy to be able to eat face-to-face with Cal after so long.”

“…Didn’t we just miss eating together yesterday, and haven’t we been eating together almost every day lately?”

“Not seeing you for a whole day counts as a long time.”

“…I see. Let’s have dinner together later too.”

“Really?”

Though not as overtly expressive as Excel, Shizu, who was clearly happy just to be with me, also didn’t show much agitation regarding what my sister had recited about the Ranos family succession.

This was understandable since these two, despite being my friend and fiancée respectively,

Were not members of the Ranos family, so they were far removed from the matter in terms of vested interests.

“…Hmm, I thought the food would be subpar since the kitchen staff might be relaxed after the subjugation festival, but it’s better than I expected.”

But my sister’s behavior—not mentioning a single word about the succession after reciting the letter and instead commenting only on the food—was far beyond my comprehension.

“Indeed, the north’s cold climate calls for strongly roasted coffee with well-roasted beans rather than spirits.”

After finishing her meal, she leisurely sipped coffee from a mug with such nonchalance

That she seemed completely unrelated to the family succession matter, which naturally made me feel perplexed.

Was my sister truly unbothered by such news?

After confirming my peculiar constitution known as a “broken vessel”—a condition considered a heavenly punishment for martial artists—

Unlike me, who was completely excluded from family succession due to the difficulty of normal activities as the head of a martial family that should stand at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, though I could enjoy what was available to direct Ranos bloodline,

Even without adhering to the absolute principle of primogeniture where the eldest inherits regardless of gender,

My sister, who was so perfect that she was called a prepared successor by those around her, had grown up receiving strict education befitting the next family head since childhood.

That period would easily account for about two-thirds of her life until now, just past her coming of age.

She endured that harsh education and training without a single complaint.

As a result, she obtained the position of successor that no one doubted,

Not even she herself doubted she would inherit the family headship.

Yet now, receiving news that this could be shaken to its roots, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how my sister remained more composed than I was.

Wasn’t my sister afraid?

The life she had lived for nearly a decade as the next owner of Ranos,

Now faced with a situation where that very premise could be shaken by a single letter.

If I were in my sister’s position, how would I have reacted to such a situation?

The reactions of my past self before regression and my current self after regression would have been quite different.

Before regression, when I could have been described as the embodiment of inferiority complex,

I would have certainly displayed my agitation by tearing the letter containing such news into shreds.

Blindly pursuing strength and engaging in all sorts of activities to gain power without discrimination,

When my life was about to fall apart, I suddenly became a puppet of a transcendent being,

Only to meet my end by being pierced by the trajectory of a holy sword and turning to ashes.

But now, with the abundant life experience accumulated through all that,

After careful consideration, I would certainly give the following answer, reflecting my rich life experience:

‘No, I won’t do it. I think it suits you perfectly, so I’ll gladly step aside.’

From the perspective of my current self, who has achieved some self-objectivity through a harsh life,

I firmly believed that if someone like me became the family head, the noble house of Ranos, which had continued for a thousand years, would collapse in an instant.

‘No. Absolutely not.’

I reaffirmed my resolve with these words to myself.

Literally speaking,

I have no intention whatsoever of struggling to claim the position of family head just because the opportunity has arisen.

I’ve had more than enough experience of falling flat on my face by trying things beyond my capacity in the previous timeline—why would I forget my place and act recklessly just because I’ve regressed?

As I made this resolution, I realized that my difficult and painful life before regression was actually helpful in times like these.

[“To think you’d plan to do nothing when given the chance to challenge for such a position. This goes beyond lack of ambition to excessive passivity.”]

Though Fafnir stirred my mind with a voice tinged with puzzlement and teasing after reading my resolution,

‘I simply know my place.’

I calmly answered his question as it was within the range of responses I had anticipated.

[“There’s a certain pleasure and sense of achievement in facing a formidable opponent you thought you couldn’t overcome and managing not to die while doing so.”]

Once more, words with a hint of testing me flowed from his mouth, but,

‘I have no desire whatsoever for worldly status. Though I still harbor the desire to defeat my sister and Shizu in swordsmanship.’

This too was within the range I had considered, so I answered to ensure he understood the extent of my passion.

Whether he accepted my answer or not,

[“…Well, that’s fine then.”]

After saying this, Fafnir no longer expressed doubts about my decision.

Perhaps regardless of whether he accepted it or not, he gave up on testing my resolve due to the firmness he sensed in my words.

Anyway, I have no intention of becoming the head of Ranos, even if threatened at sword-point.

I calmly organized my thoughts while focusing solely on that.

Come to think of it,

If I express my unwillingness to participate in the succession competition,

Wouldn’t that prevent my sister’s stable succession structure, achieved through her own abilities, from being shaken?

With that thought in mind, I was about to happily express my intention not to interfere with the succession to my sister, but,

From the mouth of my sister, who had already finished her meal and emptied her coffee,

“If it’s proven that you’re better than me, I can gladly hand over the position of next family head.”

Thanks to this bombshell statement, I was left speechless.

…What’s going on? Sister, are you teasing me?

I know my place well—how could I possibly be better than you… hehe.

I tried to interpret my sister’s bombshell statement in a positive light to dispel the confusion swirling in my mind.

Well, my sister probably doesn’t feel threatened even if I were to interfere with the succession, which is why she can speak so casually.

…That must be it.

But contrary to my hopes,

“Tomorrow.”

From my sister’s mouth, who had gently placed her empty coffee mug on the table, came a voice filled with dignity that contrasted with her gentle gesture.

This is one of my sister’s peculiar speech habits when she wants to emphasize something important.

“…Tomorrow?”

So I played along appropriately while waiting for the words to fall from my sister’s lips.

Firmly believing that those lips would express objection to Father’s notification regarding the family succession.

[“…You know this is an absurd idea even by your own standards, right?”]

‘I know that already, so please don’t emphasize it.’

I desperately ignored Fafnir’s nitpicking and continued my earnest prayer, but,

“Tomorrow, the report writing related to the subjugation festival will be finished, and I’ll have some free time work-wise, so I plan to take a vacation.”

From my sister’s mouth came unexpected words about vacation.

As soon as the word “vacation” was mentioned, I could see Excel’s expression brighten beside my sister, but his bright expression wasn’t important to me right now.

What mattered was my sister’s true intention in taking a vacation.

And vaguely in my mind, I anticipated that the next words from my sister’s mouth, which brought up the vacation, would be related to something I didn’t want.

“If that is Father’s will, it’s only right as his child to accept it without complaint, so I plan to visit the main house during my vacation to pay my respects to Father. You should come along too.”

“…Yes.”

“…Why is your voice so small?”

“Yes! I’ll reserve the train tickets to the main house.”

“Don’t be so fussy… I already booked the tickets the moment Professor Grace delivered this to me, so you just need to come along.”

…Bad premonitions always come true.

My sister had already made all the plans and was now presenting them to me directly.

I ended up visiting the main house much earlier than I had planned after my regression.

And getting involved in something as unimaginable as family succession, no less.