Chapter 224: Waiting for the Start of Classes (2)

“Haha! Very typical of Shirone. Why is a letter so long?”

Seeing his son smile so innocently was something that rarely happened at home. In the end, declaring his defeat, he lowered the newspaper and asked Eruki.

“Is that the boy you were talking about?”

“Yes, he sent me a letter. He writes very well.”

“If you’re that close, invite him home. An Unlocker… I would like to meet him.”

“…Alright. I’ll tell him.”

Eruki’s response lacked spirit. Introducing Shirone was not a problem, but introducing his eccentric father to his friends was a huge problem.

‘In 6 days, father.’

***

The central city of Sadia is the region where the most regional nobles live in Tormia.

As a famous agricultural zone, it had a solid economy. There were few forces expanding outward, but internal competition for territory was fierce, so the order of hierarchies changed frequently.

The West family, to which Neid belonged, was no exception.

During the vacation, Neid practically lived in the workshop. He had already gone 2 days without sleep, and his eyes were sunken.

The workshop looked like an expanded version of a paranormal research society. Tools of unknown use were scattered across the floor, and on the table were parts of mechanical device engines.

“Huff… should we stop here for today?”

Although the season had turned to autumn, the workshop was stifling. When he removed the upper part of his clothing, scars crossing his back diagonally were revealed. They were old wounds, but sometimes they hurt unbearably.

Neid dragged a tarp and covered the table. If his family found out, they would make a scene about spending money on useless things.

Although they were now in decline, three generations ago half of Sadia’s agricultural zone belonged to the West family.

Neid had never heard the reason for their decline. But after living 17 years, he thought there was no special reason. They had simply spent everything.

“Neid, Neid.”

Upon returning to the mansion, he heard a voice that chilled his heart.

Ironically, that voice belonged to his mother, but for Neid she was the most terrifying existence in the world.

“Yes, mother.”

“You said you’re good with machines, right? Go to the Jones family and fix something.”

“Let me sleep a bit and then I’ll go.”

His mother’s expression twisted like a monster’s. It was like a lock that left Neid completely immobilized.

When he was a child, he once stood up to her. But she injured herself, and he ended up being seen as an ungrateful son.

You cannot defeat a mother who harms herself. In this world, no child can defeat their parents.

“I’m tired. I’ve been awake for 2 days.”

“What are you doing with your life? You don’t go out to earn money, nor do you help at home. I didn’t tell you not to sleep, so why do you say you can’t go?”

Neid restrained the muscles of his face that were twisting. He did not want to have the same face as his mother.

“Don’t you see how hard it is for your mother to live like this? Do you know how much it costs to send you to that prestigious magic academy? If that’s the case, you’d better disappear from this house. I can’t keep supporting you anymore.”

Neid thought about when he had ever been supported by her. He could not remember anything. Only the sharp pain of the horrible scars on his back.

No one in the West family even tried to start a small business with what they had. They did nothing. Because they had never done anything.

“I’m sorry, mom. It’s fine. I’ll go.”

A burning pain ran through Neid’s wounds. But he could not show it. His family could not oppose her. Or rather, they avoided her because they did not want to confront her.

And when she harmed herself, all the family’s frustration fell on Neid.

When he was a child, he did not understand why only he had to suffer it. But as he grew up, he understood that there was no reason.

Neid’s family always delegated everything to others, and he was the only one who knew he should not.

“Go before it gets dark. The Jones family is looking for someone to check the boiler. Don’t you want to work as a repairman?”

“I think I’ll be able to graduate soon. Please let me finish the academy first.”

“That damned academy? It teaches nothing and just sucks money like a parasite. I’d rather die.”

Neid wanted to understand his mother.

She had married into a wealthy family, but everyone spent money recklessly, so her desperation was understandable.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he found no reason why he had to become a boiler repairman for them.

When his mother returned to the mansion, a hot breath escaped between Neid’s teeth.

He felt as if every cell in his body filled with killing intent. Just a little more just a little more and he would explode.

“Young master, a letter… Hik!”

The butler who came running turned pale. Then Neid came to his senses and shook his head.

Realizing that his mother’s face also lived within him, a second wave of pain washed over him.

“Ah, it’s just that I haven’t slept. What is it?”

“A-a letter… from Shirone Arian.”

“What? Shirone?”

Neid’s face lit up immediately. He took the letter and began to read the words written in Shirone’s handwriting.

Upon seeing the phrase “I want to see you,” a suppressed emotion burst out and his eyes filled with tears.

“Wait a moment, Shirone! I’m coming right away!”

Neid clenched the letter and ran out of the mansion. From now on, the Jones family would not need to repair the boiler for 10 years.

***

“Fortress,” Cerielle’s family, had its main house in the city of Creas, just like Amy.

Although their noble rank was not very high, it was a prestigious family that had produced numerous outstanding doctors, so it had high recognition in the kingdom.

At the academy she was Amy’s best friend, a model student, but at home she was a wild colt who put her younger brother, an aspiring doctor, in front while she hid behind.

Today as well, she had been hiding for three days, avoiding her mother’s scolding. Her younger brother’s room, who was expected to become a great doctor in the future, was a scolding-free zone where the family did not enter.

“Sniff, sniff! What should I do…? It’s too moving.”

Cerielle, who was reading a romance novel under the covers, finally could not hold back and burst into tears.

Her younger brother, Bale, who was sitting at the desk, was on the verge of madness.

“Ah, what a racket! I’m studying! Go to your room! Or stop crying already!”

Cerielle hugged the novel, which had a tragic ending, and savored the remaining emotion. If she had to evaluate it, it was one of the best she had read during the vacation.

“It was such a sad love story… Ah, isn’t there a man like Joseph somewhere?”

Bale stopped writing and raised his head.

“There is.”

“Really? Who?”

“Joseph.”

“You’re going to get scolded! Are you making fun of your sister?”

“So what? If he doesn’t exist in reality, you should at least cling to a fictional character and live with that, je.”

Cerielle looked at the back of her brother’s head with a crooked smile.

Since she had been taking refuge there for days, she had not gotten angry with him, and now he seemed to want to push his luck.

At that moment, the door opened and, along with her mother’s scolding, a letter fell with a “thud”.

“A letter arrived! I won’t tell you to study, so stop bothering your brother and come out. If you’re going to waste time, at least wash yourself. With that attitude, I don’t even know if you’ll be able to get married. Tsk, tsk.”

Cerielle pouted and crawled under the bed.

She thought the letter was from Amy, but when she saw the sender, it turned out to be someone unexpected.

“Huh? It’s Shirone! Shirone!”

Cerielle quickly opened the envelope and began to read. Her expression immediately softened. Sensing the fragrance embedded in the paper, she hugged the letter to her chest and murmured.

“Ah, isn’t there a man like Shirone somewhere?”

Bale’s eyes, who was reading intently, went blank.

‘Shirone is a real person, idiot. Just go and date him.’

That sentence reached his throat, but he knew she would not listen.

After days obsessed with novels, she was clearly not in her right mind.

***

Municipal Training Field of Creas.

Mark paid an expensive entrance fee and entered the training field.

After having achieved an early promotion along with Maria, starting next semester he would be assigned to Class Six, and his heart was already pounding with excitement.

‘At last I’ll have juniors from the advanced group.’

If he had not met Shirone, that day would never have come. After being defeated at the impossible-to-cross bridge, he took Shirone as a role model and worked tirelessly, thus achieving his goal.

“Hey, Maria.”

“You’re here? Today you came earlier than yesterday.”

Maria, who was already waiting for him at the training field, threw him a teasing remark with a hint of reproach, and Mark smiled.

Although before she had been so depressed that she endangered other students by activating the mechanism of the impossible-to-cross bridge, after becoming Sade’s disciple, her personality had become much more cheerful.

“Sorry. My father was pressuring me. He says there are good teachers in the Magic Association, so why do I have to train outside.”

“Well, it’s true. The Slider family is within the Magic Association. Is it really okay for you to keep training with me?”

“No problem. You know that when I say I’ll do something, I do it.”

Mark winked and raised his thumb. In reality, he had barely escaped that morning after going hungry.

At some point, in the eyes of that fifteen-year-old boy, his nineteen-year-old senior had begun to look like a woman.

‘I’m completely crazy. To think I wanted to bother such a cute senior…’

“Hey! Did you wait long? Sorry for being late.”

When Sade came running from the entrance of the training field, Mark’s expression darkened. It was none other than his greatest rival.

Although it was ridiculous for teacher and disciple to compete over a woman, the age difference between a twenty-six-year-old man and a nineteen-year-old woman was acceptable, and the problem was that Sade did not seem uninterested either.

Without knowing what Mark felt, Maria greeted Sade with a warmer smile than anyone else.

“No, we just arrived too.”

“I see. I was a bit delayed saying goodbye to the director.”

“Oh? Where did the director go?”

“Yes, something came up. Anyway, sorry for making you wait.”

Mark, who had been left out of the conversation, did not feel good. He already knew Sade’s personality of liking women too well, but seeing him especially kind to Maria bothered him.

At that moment, Maria clapped and took out a letter from her bag.

“Oh, right. Have you seen this? I received a letter from senior Shirone.”

“Huh? From senior Shirone? I didn’t receive anything.”

“You probably did. I received it on the way here. I haven’t even read it yet.”

Maria waved the envelope proudly and then took out the letter to read it. Her expression melted as she read the content filled with kindness in every line.

“Ah, he really is an incredible person. He’s strong and also kind. I wonder how happy senior Amy must be dating senior Shirone.”

Sade’s face stiffened slightly.

If he was honest, he was 70% sure that Maria was completely in love with him. But hearing her now, he thought that maybe it was only admiration.

Seeing Sade discouraged, Mark felt satisfied.

Most girls talked about Shirone like Maria did, so he did not feel jealous.

Above all, because next to Shirone was Amy, an impossible barrier to overcome.

‘Good! My goal of following in senior Shirone’s footsteps has grown even stronger!’

Sade, nervous, tried to recover ground.

“Haha, yes. Shirone is great. But usually they prefer someone older, right? And if not, at least someone the same age. Younger men aren’t interesting.”

Mark responded immediately.

“Who says that? They say love has no boundaries, what does age matter?”

“More important than boundaries is age. Then let’s ask Maria. Do you prefer someone older or younger?”

Maria rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, then stuck out her tongue playfully, avoiding answering.

“Hehe, who knows.”

Mark and Sade, who had been waiting eagerly, were left disappointed. Maybe she was truly an expert at playing hard to get.

In any case, they could not stay chatting after paying such an expensive entrance fee. Before starting formal training, Mark and Maria warmed up their minds with numerical sequences. Meanwhile, Sade looked at the sky and thought about Shirone.

‘The vacation is already about to end. When he returns, what trouble will he cause now?’

Since Shirone entered the magic academy, his trajectory had undoubtedly been unique in the entire history of the school.

But precisely because of that, it was unsettling.

Everything would depend on the answer his teacher obtained, but if they received approval, his school life would change completely.

‘This time won’t be easy, Shirone.’