Chapter 68 – Reward

Kerian Eustetia.

He’s the ‘only remaining’ younger brother of Turrius Eustetia, the head of the Eustetia family and my father, and the vice-commander of the Nameless, a secret unit.

The phrase, “only remaining brother,” had a complicated backstory behind it. To briefly summarize, it’s said that a lot of blood was shed for my father to rise to the position of family head.

And the majority of that blood, was spilled by Kerian and my father.

Direct lineage and collateral branches.

And even the elders who had held their positions for a long time were not spared, and were all killed off.

Of course, it’s not like my father and Kerian wanted the family head position and resorted to murder for their own selfish desires.

It was merely about cutting off the rotting parts of the cherry blossom tree.

One by one, they removed the rot, and in the end, only the collateral branches who renounced succession, Kerian, and my father remained.

And Kerian also stepped down from that position.

Kerian had no ambition for the family head position.

Perhaps it was because he felt he had talent with the sword, but not as the family head.

Or maybe it was because he couldn’t defeat my father.

This part is not in the Eustetia family history, so I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s more likely the former.

Perhaps from the beginning, the position of family head was never meant for him.

It certainly wouldn’t suit him, nor would it fit his personality.

Actually, on the surface, I think he’d be pretty good at it.

Light pink hair and eyes.

A friendly personality with a mysterious, always-half-closed eyes.

He’s always smiling, but there are no openings.

The Eustetia family’s signature large build and long limbs.

And… well… not as much as me from my past life, but he’s still quite handsome and articulate.

His relationships are fine, and if you pay attention, all you hear is praise for him.

Even among the family servants, there are women who secretly admire him, and when he walks down the street, he attracts quite a bit of attention.

Even so, he never married and gave up his position as family head.

The reason was simple.

‘It creates weaknesses.’

He was a born hunting dog.

A hunting dog of the Eustetia family with an inescapable scent of blood.

And he’s the vice-commander of the Nameless.

And that man…

The very Kerian who is feared by all the nobles of the empire, and who even the imperial family is said to have trouble dealing with lightly…

“Ellie!”

Is here now, at the academy.

“…Uncle?”

I was told the knight order was coming.

Why is Kerian here?

I blinked and stared blankly as Kerian approached me.

“I heard that you weren’t hurt, but seeing you like this in person makes me feel at ease.”

Kerian approached with a bright smile, crouched in front of me, and ruffled my hair.

Even crouched down, his eyes were level with mine.

“Ugh…”

Feeling a strange sense of defeat, I roughly tidied my hair and looked around.

“Where’s the knight order?”

“Ahaha… the knight order will come later tonight.”

“Oh…? Then what brings you here, Uncle?”

Sensing the gazes around us, Kerian quickly closed his mouth and stood up.

“I think it’d be better to talk in the drawing room.”

“Uhm… okay.”

“Do you want anything to eat? Since I’m here, I’ll get it for you.”

“Hmm… Then a mint chocolate latte. Iced.”

Kerian’s expression turned strange.

“Ellie, you… actually drink that?”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with a mint chocolate latte?”

“It tastes like toothpaste mixed with chocolate.”

“Toothpaste and mint are completely different.”

“What? Haha! You really are a girl.”

“…No, I’m not.”

Kerian ruffled my hair again.

“Okay, I’ll go get it for you, so wait in the drawing room first.”

I glanced up at Kerian, who was still chuckling.

How old is Kerian?

I wasn’t sure, but I think he was in his early to mid-thirties.

“Uncle, do you know how to use a kiosk?”

“A kiosk?”

Kerian’s expression turned strange.

“Yes. Here, everything, from restaurants to cafes, is ordered through a kiosk.”

After a moment of silence, Kerian, with his usual smile, said,

“That’s troublesome. I’m not good with those things.”

“…Really? If you don’t know how, should I help you?”

“I’d appreciate that.”

At that moment, Kerian’s lip twitched slightly.

Something… felt off.

“…You’re lying.”

“Huh?”

“You know how to order at a kiosk.”

“N-no, I don’t.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Kerian.

After a moment, Kerian gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“Wow… Ellie, your intuition has gotten very sharp… It makes me a little sad but also proud…”

“Proud of what…? Why lie?”

“I thought that you wanted to help me. Haha… sorry, my bad.”

“…Whatever.”

“Did you worry about me? Were you worried that I’d get embarrassed in front of others? You’re such a good girl, our Ellie.”

“…That’s not it.”

Kerian chuckled and opened the door to the drawing room for me, before heading to the academy cafe.

For some reason, I felt a strange sense of defeat as I tidied my messy hair.

…No, right? There’s no need to feel defeated.

Even I can use the kiosk now… though I am a little slow.

And today, I even sent a message with the device.

So… there’s no need to feel inferior. Yeah.

***

Slurp-

Sipping the mint chocolate latte Kerian bought, I glanced at him as he asked me about my well-being, my health, and what had happened at the academy.

I’m still not over it.

How dare he try to tease me?

“Still, can’t you let it go? It’s been a long time since we last met.”

Unable to resist my glare, Kerian gave a troubled smile, and handed me a familiar candy.

“It’s candy from the North. You had it before, right? Kairiel candy.”

I still have trouble saying ‘Kairiel,’ but I do remember the candy from the North.

The candy that Yurasia raved about, saying something about how amazing it is when you put it in your mouth.

I wasn’t too keen on candy before, so I ate just one and gave the rest to Yurasia…

But seeing it again does bring back memories.

Still, if I were to take the candy now, wouldn’t it look like my anger subsided for just a piece of candy?

But Yurasia really likes it… um…

I’m the type who doesn’t refuse a gift, so.

Reaching out, I pulled the glass jar full of Kairiel candy towards me. It was even bigger than the one I received before.

Jingle jingle, I shook the jar a few times and relaxed my frown.

“…It’s not like I let it go because of the candy. I wasn’t that mad to begin with.”

“Sure, sure.”

“I mean it.”

Kerian nodded, his smile still present.

I don’t like this feeling at all.

Well, what can I do? No matter how maturely I try to act, to Kerian, I’m probably still just a 17-year-old niece.

I sighed and brought up the topic I had been putting off.

“So… why did you come here, Uncle?”

“I came because I was worried about you, Ellie.”

At that response, my eyes were drawn to the medal on Kerian’s right breast.

A plain white mask.

Without any patterns, or special shapes, just a plain white face.

The symbol of the Nameless.

Seeing that, I looked back at Kerian. He was smiling bitterly.

“Haha. It’s true that I was worried. You were caught up in a special-grade labyrinth ‘incident,’ after all, so of course I’d be concerned, right?”

He emphasized the word ‘incident’.

It means that he knows information similar to mine, or maybe even more than I do.

I nodded and flailed my arms and legs to show that I was fine.

“As I said earlier, I’m fine. There are no injuries.”

“Yeah, I can see that, I’m glad.”

Kerian leaned back in his chair as if finally relieved, and rubbed his eyes.

Looking at him, I was lost in thought.

How much does he know?

Should I tell him the information I know?

I wasn’t hesitant because I didn’t trust Kerian. It’s because what I want to say raises an unresolvable question about me, that I’m hesitating.

If this were my past life…?

I don’t know. I didn’t have family back then, so this kind of worry was meaningless.

But now… I do have family.

My uncle, who was often dispatched to different regions and whom I couldn’t see often, but whenever he returned, he always bought me a gift.

And… It’s Eustetia.

The name of the ducal family Arisa obtained after beating up the Emperor.

And The Nameless are affiliated with Eustetia.

‘Slurp.’

After I finished the mint chocolate,

“Uncle.”

My worries were gone.

“You’ve heard about the incident where Silina, the Second Imperial Princess, was almost assassinated, right?”

From his languid expression, Kerian’s face turned sharp and he snapped his fingers.

And then – whoosh! a sound barrier was formed around the table I was sitting at.

“Whoa, you scared me… It’s dangerous if you do that so suddenly.”

“I made sure no one was around. Anyway, so you’ve heard up to that point, right?”

“Yeah. And I also heard that our Ellie had snuck into the labyrinth.”

“…What.”

I blinked.

“Ellie. You really want a scolding, don’t you?”

“…H-how did you know?”

“Is that what matters right now?”

Kerian’s voice lowered.

“Ellie. Do you know how dangerous what you did was?”

I roughly made my assessment and thought I wouldn’t die so I went in.

If I said that, I’d probably just get scolded even more, so I kept quiet.

“It was special-grade. Of course, I heard it was nothing compared to the labyrinths in Gevihennum, but there was a Black Magician inside. And not only that, there was a demon too. Do you… understand how dangerous that was?”

“…It was a half-demon. And the Black Magician… was already dead.”

“Does that make it any less of a demon?”

“…Ugh… it was a demon… I guess.”

In my time, that wouldn’t have been considered a demon.

Just something a bit stronger than a normal monster. A bit stronger than a high-level monster but far weaker than a calamity-grade, just… something around a demon.

But still, how did he know?

Fabiana had made a vow.

Silina… isn’t the type to spread things like that. And that kid has no ties to The Nameless.

Then, could it have been Yurasia?

No way. Yurasia wouldn’t have ratted me out.

Then who could it be?

…Adelia?

Unlikely. The Nameless are a force that rejects Black Magicians.

Even in this era of peace, they wouldn’t ally themselves with one.

Could it be that there’s someone with the same information gathering ability as Adelia?

The perceived power level of The Nameless increased instantly.

Meanwhile, Kerian was staring at me with eyes that were slightly cold but also full of concern and worry.

No matter how much I was Ronan in the past, to Kerian, I’m still just his 17-year-old niece.

So… well, yeah.

I suppose he has a right to be angry.

If I heard that Yurasia, Stella… or even Pina, those kids recklessly charged at a demon, I’d be angry too.

So, I bowed my head.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Ha… no, it’s my fault. Still, I’m glad that you’re fine, and came out without any injuries.”

But Kerian sighed as if apologizing, as if it were his fault.

“I was planning to just praise you, but not sleeping for four days has made me a little sensitive. Can you understand?”

“…Yeah. But you really haven’t slept for four days?”

“Yeah. As soon as I heard the news, well, it was early this morning, I dropped everything and rushed over. So that makes it four days now.”

“What kind of… job do they have you doing?”

“You’re right. The commander is a bit much.”

Kerian’s face returned to his usual relaxed smile.

“So, how about you give them an earful on my behalf.”

“…Well, I’d have to meet them to give them an earful.”

Kerian chuckled softly.

“If you do meet them, will you give them an earful?”

“…Well… I mean… I wouldn’t be incapable of it… they wouldn’t kill me, right?”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Those were just four words.

But there was something meaningful about them.

…Could it be?

“By any chance, is the commander of the Nameless here to―”

Bang!!

But my question was cut short.

“Ellie!!!”

A very, very familiar voice echoed through the room.

“My daughter! My treasure!! Ellie!!!”

Turrius Eustetia.

My father appeared, breaking down the door to the drawing room.