Everything is in place
Vasco Grayer looked between the sword and the boy with fiery eyes.
“Will you leave it to me?”
“I would rather be grateful if you take care of it.”
“Instead, I would be grateful if you help me restore magic tools. I’m leaving for the continent of Meridis, so it would be useful to my niece to be able to restore the magic tools in the warehouse.”
Kleio smiled brightly. It was the response he had been waiting for.
“I will try my best. I may not always be successful, but it will be a great experience.”
‘If you pay the fee well, I’ll work hard. You in the previous manuscript taught me how to restore magic tools.’
Dione glanced over at Vasco and laughed.
“Always! Did you say it won’t always be successful? Some people can’t recover a legacy or relic-grade magic tool even if they studied their entire lives. You’re such a talented child.”
Vasco turned to Gideon Asel, who was surprised as well.
“Baronet Asel, you will have nothing to worry about. The first child is an outstanding successor, and the second is a child who can be called a magical genius.”
“You compliment me too much.”
Gideon seemed rather happy as he spoke. If his usual expression was -20 degrees, now he looked to be at -5.
“Is it? Surely this child will be the greatest wizard of our generation. It is difficult to master one field of magic, but he is talented in both attack and repair. Even Professor Zebedee wasn’t that skilled. I feel like I should give you something more.”
Gideon, listening to Vasco’s review, motioned Kleio closer.
“Even so, I thought I should reward you. Kleio, is there anything you want to receive?”
“It may be a little too much… May I say it?”
“Tell me.”
There was only one thing Kleio wanted from Gideon. With this good timing, he had to take his shot.
“Give me this mansion.”
He glanced at Baronet Asel’s hands as he gave that answer. Baronet Asel’s real estate in the capital wasn’t just a mansion. He also had a building for the capital branch of his building, located near the Royal Circus, and an employee apartment nearby, as well as warehouses used the most valuable property he had there was this mansion.
“Aren’t you just coming of age? It’s too early to hand over your mother’s mansion. Besides, even if you take it over, you don’t have the resources to maintain your garden, pay taxes, and pay your servants.”
“That’s…”
Mrs. Canton, the best-paid servant in the mansion, earned 40,000 dinars a year. Even counting how generously he paid the other servants or maids, it wouldn’t amount to much more than that. He had plenty of enough resources to run the mansion, but he couldn’t tell Gideon about his real estate. Kleio clenched his fist tightly.
‘I’m preparing that fortune to live according to my own will, but I can’t reveal all the groundwork here.’
Of course, if his judgment were correct, Gideon wouldn’t take such a classy approach. The cold eyes of Baronet Asel gazed at Kleio as he hesitated.
“The pension that comes with the medal isn’t enough, and the allowance I give you will be cut off when you graduate. You’re not going to rely on Viscount Grayer in the future, right? If so, by what means will you maintain this mansion? If you can suggest a plan, then please inform me.”
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t project an attitude that seemed to know all about land purchasing and paying taxes. Katarina had found out who owned the land in the Orails district, but Gideon couldn’t say that. Gideon would keep an eye on his actions in the future and be involved in his affairs if he were told about it. This test shook his desire between owning the mansion and his unwillingness to have Gideon Asel interfere with his business. Then, unexpectedly, Vasco intervened.
“So, how about this? The second son of Baronet Asel received the title of a knight when he was only seventeen, so one day he will rise to a higher position. Wouldn’t it be better to give the mansion a congratulatory gift in the hopes you could receive a title in the future?”
“It’s worth considering. Vlad, what do you think?”
It was a fantastic trick. The studious little wizard had changed the direction of the story. However, even if Gideon changed his mind, it would be difficult for Kleio to insist he take the property if Vlad, the confirmed successor, opposed it. Albion didn’t have a tradition of letting the firstborn inherit everything, but many families followed the custom of allowing their most qualified child to inherit the lion’s share of their fortunes. Kleio glanced at Vlad, recalling the he had read about when he bought the land.
‘The surname and everything else will be inherited by you, but could you give this much to your brother?’
After facing Kleio for a few seconds, Vlad finally smiled.
“Haha, everyone’s looking at me! As long as Kleio feels comfortable in this place, isn’t it fine?”
“In that case, it would be fine. The question of the mansion will be discussed later, depending on your achievements Kleio.”
“Thank you, father.”
“You’ve given me many surprises this day.”
“Did that surprise go against your planning?”
Gideon, hearing his second son’s bold answer, had no coldness in his expression for just one moment.
“…Such a surprise is gladdening. Those who want to step on the paved stone can only go to the places where the road has been laid, but those who go off the road will walk further. You’ve grown a lot.”
Then, the warmth was hidden once more. For a moment, Kleio regretted that his heart had wavered.
‘I’d rather be angry… I don’t want him to put any weird expectations on me with these things. Anyway, I’ll have to ask Arthur for the title.’
Vasco struck Kleio’s back as he was stuck in his thoughts. The middle-aged sorcerer was terribly strong despite his small stature. He let out a laugh as he steadied Kleio, who stumbled forward from his strength.
“Kleio, you gave a cool answer, as if getting a title was guaranteed! It’s a personality that’s totally different from your appearance.”
“Uncle, I’ve told you many times about the young master. Did you not believe it?”
“No, I did. I did, but he was a better master than I heard!”
***
By the time Kleio was fully healed, an early frost had fallen on Lundane. The forecast was that this winter would be colder than usual. Worried, as usual, Mrs. Canton packed all kinds of goods into Kleio’s luggage so that he wouldn’t get sick. Two large bathrobes, a thick duvet stuffed with down feathers, a cashmere shawl as big as him, several warmly woven wool sweaters, a wool shirt, and a new school uniform. She even packed two snack baskets to share with his friends. Kleio’s own luggage was relatively small. He had Beg’s Sword, which Vasco had prepared with a lovely leather sheath, stowed in a long box, as well as some ore that he had purchased cheaply from both Asel and Grayer. He also had a box containing an adequate supply of strong alcohol so he could withstand the winter. As a result, two carriages stopped in front of his dorm. In one, Kleio rode with Behemoth, whereas the other was packed entirely with his luggage. Even with two servants helping, it took quite some time to unload it all.
The first to find Kleio as they unloaded were the twins who had returned from their afternoon swordsmanship practice.
“Oh! Lei!”
“Lei! You’re back now?”
“Yes. How are you two?”
The twins ran up to Kleio and clung to him.
“We’re always strong.”
“Your face looks better now!”
“Good thing!”
He began to fall over under the weight of the two girls, but two thin but firm arms caught him from behind. It was Isiel.
“Are you okay?”
“Thanks to you. It’s been a while; how are you?”
As Kleio balanced himself, Isiel faced him. Really, it had felt like quite a while.
‘Her hair’s even longer now.’
Months had passed in the interim, but he only properly realized the passage of time when he noticed Isiel’s long hair. Her response came bluntly as he stared at her.
“Is it time for you to ask about me? After what you went through?”
Even though she spoke roughly, he could feel that she was worried. She was always a girl who was insufficient at expressing her emotions.
“It’s not as big of a deal as the newspaper made it out to be…”
“If it wasn’t a big deal to kill a demon, building a school like this wouldn’t have been necessary. Alright, I hate hearing your subtle words.”
Isiel stopped speaking and quietly picked up the two boxes on the floor. As she did, Behemoth was quick to wrap around her legs.
“Meooow-.”
‘Ooh, what a pretty smile.’
Isiel, who had turned stiff, struggled for a bit before lowering the luggage back down. Behemoth moved his enormous body with a surprising amount of agility to sit atop the boxes she held.
“Meow (I’m going too, good job).”
“Oh, we’ll help too!”
“Let’s move together!”
The twins quickly picked up boxes as well. Their bodies were small, but their muscles were evident under their rolled-up sleeves. The two dormitory servants looked happy when the two girls pitched in. It seemed like they didn’t want to move all that baggage themselves.
.
.
.
The twins, Isiel, Cel, and Arthur, who had appeared after hearing of his return, and Nebo, who had just returned home, gathered together in the dorm room’s parlor. Because of the lack of chairs, he had to pull some out from his bedroom. The twins were sitting on the floor and poking at Behemoth. After the staff had brought tea, they opened the snack baskets. The twins shouted as they sweets that filled the two large baskets.
“The tea time at Kleio’s house was the best I’ve ever been to.”
“There’s also that Victorian cake!”
“The toffee nut tart looks good too!”
The twins swiftly arranged the desserts on the table.
“Uh, give me a piece of the tart too.”
Nebo snapped up the tart, and Cel picked a pale pink macaron to hand over to Isiel before picking up another one for herself.
“Isiel, do you like roses? The rose cream of this macron is delicious. Thanks to Kleio, I’ve been able to try all the great desserts.”
“If I tell Mrs. Canton that the child of the De Neju hotel praised her, she would be ecstatic.”
Cel and Kleio chatted idly while Isiel, having cautiously tasted the macaron, seemed to be relaxing.
“Delicious…”
Isiel closed her mouth reflexively as if she were surprised by the sound that had come out of her own mouth. Cel looked at her and laughed openly.
“Ahahaha. Eat more, Isiel. Try these ones too.”
“Do it!”
“I thought you didn’t like sweets!”
“Nebo, you stop eating. There are only two pieces of the tart left.”
“Oh, hey, but it’s so delicious…”
Even Arthur, standing in front of the centerpiece with a teacup, held onto a second olive cookie. Everyone seemed to have found what they liked amongst the idle chat, the sound of teacups, the whispering cat, and the laughter of children, Kleio felt an odd sense of calm.
‘In this world, when I don’t know when the dungeon will open, and war is nearing.’
It was a new sensation for him in this world, this realization that this was his place, and the calm that came with it. It felt a bit absurd to have this sense of security only after losing his body and his name, but Kleio just laughed with them. The tea time came to an end as the Tempus River was soaked in the vermillion sunset. The twins got up first, with a content look after eating so many sweets. They were off to eat dinner, which was incredible given the number of snacks they had consumed, but considering the amount they practiced, it made sense.
“I ate well!”
“Thanks, Lei!”
“No, thanks to you guys, unpacking was easy.”
“Because Lei is skinny, his strength is weak! You have to eat well!”
“But I’ll help you next time.”
“How reliable.”
Arthur and Isiel were the last to leave the parlor as everyone headed back to their own room or the restaurant. Kleio, who had been waiting for that moment, caught Arthur.
“Arthur, wait a second.”
“Yes, why?’
“Let’s go to my room.”
“What is it?”
As Arthur stopped, Isiel did as well.
“Well… did you tell Isiel?”
The two were quick to notice what he meant. They shared a silent glance before following Kleio into his room.
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