episode_0052

“…I can’t believe you were actually here.”

“Brother?”

The person who appeared before Seraphina Serrion, who was swinging her sword in doubt, was her younger brother, Rinardo Serrion.

Meeting him after a long time since he suddenly came to see their father last time, she felt a little sense of welcoming him.

“Yes, it’s me, Seraphina. I’ve been busy with work, but the news came late, so I’ve come to find you now.

…I hear you’re sparring over the succession of the family.”

“…That’s how it turned out.”

“That opponent, Mark Vissas… was it? That man seems to be quite famous already even at the Academy.

I knew from rumors that he personally subdued the instigator of the terror incident that happened during the entrance ceremony.

But I didn’t expect that he even resolved the dungeon rampage situation of the Academy.

…He certainly seems to be a strong person.”

“Yes, he is strong. I have already exchanged swords with him countless times, but from the middle of the semester, I reached a point where I absolutely couldn’t win.”

“Indeed… Father wouldn’t have designated someone not of the Serrion bloodline as the successor for no reason.

When I first heard that fact, I even doubted my ears, wondering if it was some groundless rumor.

So… what are you going to do?”

“…I have no intention of giving up.”

“Yes, that’s the kind of answer I’d expect from you.

The reason I came to find you today was to hear that answer.”

“But Brother, how did you…?”

In fact, Seraphina’s biggest question right now was this.

That her brother, with whom she sometimes exchanged letters but didn’t meet often, had found the place where she currently was.

This was because the place where she was located was where she swung her greatsword alone at a time too early or too late to enter the training ground.

It was her own secret place where, even if not for training, she would briefly stay to clear her head if she had something to think deeply about alone.

How could he have found such a place?

“…A man told me.”

“…? What…? If you mean a man…?”

“Lopel Teufel, was it?

I met him before coming here.

Before it was decided that the successor would be determined by a spar between you and that guy Mark, I heard that this person named Lopel had challenged Mark to a duel in the form of a sparring test.

I had never heard the name Lopel, nor the name Teufel.

If my guess is correct, he probably had no particular connection to you either.

So I was truly curious as to who on earth, and why, protected you.

Consequently, I went to the infirmary where the fellow was resting due to injuries from the spar.

Honestly, I wanted to talk to you first if possible, but I simply couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Lopel…?”

No matter how you look at it, that doesn’t make sense.

This is because he also had never mentioned that he trained in this secret place.

How could someone like him?

“I was suspicious at first too.

Well, since he’s the kind of guy who would even directly challenge someone to a reckless duel for you, I did think maybe you were somewhat close, but the words he added at the end were too untrustworthy.

While saying that if it were you, you would definitely be training in this place, he himself couldn’t even explain how he knew this fact.

Saying, ‘I don’t know why, but it feels like it’.

I thought that was a truly irresponsible answer.

And yet, it was the truth.”

“What kind of conversation did you have with him?”

“We didn’t talk for very long. It was just a brief meeting in the afternoon, so it was all just casual greetings and expressing gratitude for fighting for you.

That person Mark, who was his sparring opponent, must have been quite strong, his physical condition was truly terrible.

No matter who I was, I wanted to let an injured person rest as much as possible.

Not only when I was in the family, but also on various battlefields, and when I was with mercenary groups and dungeon explorers, I had never seen an injury of that degree.”

“Did you ask him that too?

Why he extended a hand in a situation where everyone was pointing fingers at me and turning their backs.

About the reason why he… why he helped someone like me.”

“Of course I asked.

If he was the kind of guy who was just looking at the Serrion name and aiming for the crumbs that would fall beneath it, I thought I should nip that in the bud, even if I have left the family now.

But he answered like this.

Saying, ‘I just wanted to save you.’

It’s a statement that provides no explanation, but I had no choice but to accept it.

In his words and actions, there was nothing but purity, without a trace of ill will or deceit.

He was just a man who was foolishly upright and firm to the point of being reckless.”

“Lopel…”

“…Honestly, I was a little surprised too.

I didn’t expect to feel the scent of my deceased elder brother from someone I was seeing for the first time in my life.”

“…Huh? Lopel and… my elder brother…?”

That doesn’t make sense.

Before losing his life, her elder brother had a high reputation as the first-in-line successor.

He was so talented that he was probably at a similar or even better level than herself.

But for such an elder brother to feel similar to Lopel, who is an average person among average people, perhaps even less talented than that?

“Ah, I see. You were only following after Lord Sargus at that time, so you wouldn’t have known.

Seraphina, how much do you know about your elder brother, your hyungnim?”

“Surely… he was a genius of the century, superior to me, and the first-in-line successor who was confirmed as the next head of the family just by the sight of him holding a sword?

His talent was similar to mine, or even superior…”

“That’s wrong. None of that is true. You could even say it’s the exact opposite.”

“..?”

Seraphina’s head naturally tilted.

This is because her elder brother, Richard Serrion, who lost his life early before she came of age, had his achievements and reputation still recorded in the main house even after losing his life.

In her memories too, whenever she saw him, it was always just the sight of him swinging his sword every day or going in and out of the mansion.

Since all the elders of the family only spoke words of praise about him, she naturally thought he must have had a level of talent similar to her own.

“Your elder brother, that is, my elder brother Richard Serrion, was… a person without talent to an extent unprecedented in the Serrion family…”

“..What!?”

“Father opposed it, but all the elders of the family wanted to hide that fact.

Father also had no choice but to eventually accept this.”

“…If so, does that mean all those achievements and reputation are false?

Even the fact that he hunted high-level magical beasts and conquered a considerable number of dungeons from a young age?”

“No, that is true.”

Seraphina’s doubt could only grow larger.

The achievements her elder brother had, which she had heard about so much her ears hurt.

This was because it meant all those great reputations came from a person who had absolutely no talent.

“My elder brother was truly reckless.

Father advised him not to overexert himself since he had no talent, and even said he would look into paths for him in scholarship or politics instead, but my elder brother refused this.

And then, stubbornly, he swung his greatsword alone and trained, slowly but surely building his skill.

He even said strange things every single day without fail.

What did he say again? That skill isn’t determined by absolute height, but by focusing on what you’ve built up, not the current height.

Even while doing that, whenever his growth stalled, he would suddenly go out on horseback saying he would subjugate a high-level magical beast, or conquer a dungeon and come back.

As a result, he achieved those great achievements and reputations that you also know about.

Well. What remains recorded are only the successes, and there were quite a number of failures too.”

Rinardo Serrion gave a slight bitter smile.

“But conversely, Father’s opposition grew more severe day by day.

Saying not to walk a dangerous path without talent.

It might be hard to believe, but Father cherished my elder brother quite a lot.

Well, my elder brother didn’t listen at all, but…”

“..Father…?”

“Then one day, that incident finally occurred.

It was the day my elder brother left to first enroll in the Academy.

Because Father strongly refused my elder brother’s enrollment in the Academy’s Knight Faculty, he left stubbornly towards the Academy to submit the application himself.

But my elder brother couldn’t even arrive at the Academy, let alone enroll.

The Serrion carriage, that is, the one my elder brother was riding in, was found overturned on the roadside, and scattered around it were the corpses of people wearing black robes and… Richard Serrion, my elder brother’s corpse.”

…Father investigated the scene without saying a word.

Although it wasn’t his jurisdiction, it seemed he used some means to obtain the right to investigate.

But only skeletons remained of the corpses of the people wearing black robes, making it impossible to know who they were, and there were no traces around.

We could only know that the scene had been cleared using some magic, but conversely, we couldn’t know anything beyond that.”

Rinardo let out a deep sigh.

“…Come to think of it, that’s when it started, the day Father began to become particularly strict.

He always emphasized that damned talent, and his education towards us became thorough.

And eventually, I became fed up with Father’s actions and left the family.”

“..My elder brother and Father were like that…”

“Well, that’s how it happened.

Oh, now that I see, I should get going soon too.

There’s not much time left until the next job I was commissioned for.

Please give my regards to that person named Lopel.”

“Yes… I will convey your message well to Lopel.

“…Indeed, I should meet that person named Lopel one more time before returning.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“…You also know what happens to those who walk the path of Serrion, don’t you?

The family’s harsh training methods soon cause their emotions to freeze coldly.

Not only Father and I, but you too, at some point, became unable to distinguish expressions.

I didn’t think. I didn’t know I could still see your smile.”

“..Hah…!”

“Have you noticed now?

The fact that when you talk about that man named Lopel, the corners of your mouth unconsciously turn up?

Now that I have left the family, I dare not say this, but if you win the spar with Mark and inherit the family, don’t let that man go.

Even when I met him during the day, it seemed like he had quite a few rivals.”

“..! Th-That’s not it…!”

“Anyway, I’ll be heading back now.

And Seraphina, pay close attention to these words.

‘Focus on what you’ve built up.’

They are merely words imitating my elder brother, but I think they are definitely important words for you right now.

Leaving Seraphina, whose face had quickly turned red, behind, Rinardo quietly left.

“..But…”

‘Focus on what you’ve built up.’

Her elder brother had been like that,

Lopel also was like that.

…Indeed, there might be some clue in these words.

…

Although she didn’t know it yet, Seraphina finally began to slowly gain enlightenment about something new.