Chapter 10: Gilead(2)

After having never gotten sick after gorging himself on meat every morning, was he really about to choke on some tea? His throat burning, Eugene coughed violently as he pounded on his chest.

However, this revelation was something that he really couldn't help but be surprised by.

The Magic Kingdom of Aroth had five Magic Towers—the Red, Blue, Green, White, and Black Towers.

Less than three hundred years ago, there was no such thing as a Black Magic Tower. However, it came into existence following the mysterious oath between the Hero and the Demon Kings, and hundreds of years had flown by since then.

Even though the number of black magicians that Eugene had executed in his past life went far beyond a hundred, it was now seen as a respectable profession. Following the Oath between the Hero and the Demon Kings, the black magicians had also made their own special deal with the Hero, and in time, they amassed enough influence to erect their own Magic Tower in Aroth.

In any case, unlike the Black Tower, the Red Tower had been in existence since three hundred years ago.

"Are you alright?" Lovellian asked as he looked at Eugene with alarm.

"Ah, yes. I'm fi- I mean, I'm alright," Eugen coughed out.

He had only accidentally inhaled some tea out of surprise. However, now that everyone was looking at him, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Eugene cleared his throat and grabbed a nearby napkin. However, before he could start cleaning up the mess he had left on the table, Lovellian tapped his finger, and the damp tablecloth was instantly dried clean.

This was magic.

"It looks like you were very surprised."

"Yes, well...." Eugene lowered his outstretched hand as he pasted on an awkward smile. At times like these, being young, once again, proved to be an advantage.

'If he's from the Red Tower... that means he's Sienna's disciple.'

Though strictly speaking, Lovellian wasn't Sienna's immediate disciple. If Eugene recalled correctly, Sienna's immediate disciple should be Lovellian's master's master. But although they were far apart in terms of generations, both Lovellian and the Wise Sienna had served as the master of their respective Red and Green Towers.

It was only logical that, three hundred years ago, Sienna had risen to become the youngest Head Wizard of the Green Magic Tower in all of Aroth's history. She was Great Vermouth's companion and an Archwizard who could slay both dragons and Demon Kings. Countless wizards had found their way to the Green Tower, hoping to become Sienna's disciple.

On top of that, Sienna had accomplished many more feats during her time as Head Wizard. She had torn through all the common magic texts in Aroth, fixing mistakes, and proceeded to rewrite them all. Moreover, she held nothing back when teaching the disciples of other towers, and even her colleagues, the Head Wizards of the other towers, received her guidance.

By the end of her tenure, the wizards who had been taught by Sienna all sat in senior positions in their respective towers. Her teachings had carried on to the present day, and two famed wizards who considered themselves disciples of Sienna had become the Head Wizards of the Red and Green Towers.

'His master's master's master....'

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn't seem likely that Lovellian had met Sienna in person. Still, Eugene hadn't expected that he would meet someone related to another old buddy of his here.

'If he's from the red tower... that means his specialty is summoning magic.'

Summoning magic was also one of Sienna's specialties. The house that the hero and his companions had stayed in during most of their adventures was also one of Sienna's summons.

"...You said that your name is Eugene, right?" Gilead spoke up.

Although he had been singled out, Eugene didn't seem too alarmed this time around, and he didn't choke on his tea either. Eugene simply turned to look at Gilead and nodded slightly.

'I was wondering when he'd call on me.'

From the moment they had met in front of the mansion, Eugen had felt Gilead's subtle gaze rest on him.

"I heard quite the story from Tanis," Gilead said consideringly.

At these words, Cyan started violently chewing on his bottom lip. However, Gilead raised his hand and gently patted Cyan on the shoulder in comfort.

"My son... He insulted both you and your father," Gilead stated.

"Yes, but there are no hard feelings left," Eugene said, sitting up straight in his seat. "I was able to vent all of my feelings towards him during our duel."

Gilead pointed out, "And you won the duel."

"Even if I had been defeated, I wouldn't have held a grudge. That would just mean I was too weak to protect my honor, and as such, I would be obliged to endure the insult," Eugene explained

"You're much more mature than my son," Gilead said with a grin.

Pat.

With a final pat on Cyan's shoulder, Gilead resumed speaking, "Cyan."

"...Yes," Cyan meekly replied.

"I am not ashamed of your defeat. However, I am ashamed of you for avoiding meeting your father's gaze because of your shame in your defeat."

"...," Ciel remained silent.

"I heard that the duel started because you insulted him. But, even though you lost the duel, you did not apologize to Eugene."

"Th-that's...."

"Cyan. You bear the surname Lionheart. That means you are descended from the Great Vermouth. To live up to the blood that you both share, you have to be able to respect the honor of others as well as your own."

'But Vermouth, that bastard, never seemed to respect my honor.'

While thinking such a nonsensical thought, Eugene looked at Cyan's face. Because of how messed-up the twins' personalities were, he had thought that their father would also have the personality of a scumbag. But Gilead seemed to be someone who unexpectedly had his head on straight.

'They say that he's been away from home for three years.'

Three years is a long time for ten-year-old kids, about a third of their entire lives.

"...I'm sorry," Cyan admitted, his nose sniffling as tears shone in his eyes.

He wasn't crying because he was sorry, but because he felt that apologizing was unfair. Even though Eugene realized this truth right away, he didn't point this out as he had never expected something like a sincere apology from Cyan in the first place.

Gilead also felt his son's obvious reluctance. However, if he were to point it out here, their conversation would end up taking far too much time.

Gilead changed the topic, "...I'm sorry to say this, but Eugene, I'm not familiar with your father."

"That's only natural. Even I admit that my family is from deep in the countryside," Eugene conceded.

"Did you learn your skills from your father?"

"He taught me the basics, but the rest I learned through training by myself."

"What kind of training did you do?"

"I just trained with wooden swords and spears... Due to the prohibitions set by the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, I could only use those training weapons after all."

"That means you must not have had anyone who could teach you."

"Although we have a few knights at our estate as well, none of them were really good enough to qualify as my instructor."

"Is that so?"

Gilead was lost in thought for a few seconds. Cyan kept chewing his lips as he brooded, while Ciel's eyes were lit up like she was having fun. Eward was looking at Eugene with an absent-minded gaze.

'...He got into a duel with Cyan and won?'

'Who was Gerhard again?'

As these thoughts flashed through their minds, Gargith and Dezra glanced at Eugene with astonished eyes. Beside them, the other children from the collateral branches were also looking at Eugene in shock.

"...It seems that this year's Bloodline Continuation Ceremony will be fun," Gilead finally broke his silence with a grin.

"I think so too," Lovellian who had been listening to their conversation with interest now nodded along with a smile on his face.

The food started arriving from the kitchen. However, no one touched it as they were waiting on Gilead.

"I don't know if these dishes will suit your tastes, but please enjoy the meal." After this blessing, Gilead started eating.

Following suit, the children also grabbed their cutlery. Then, as if he had been waiting for this, Eugene immediately sliced off a large chunk of meat for himself.

Once the meal began, the atmosphere of the room relaxed a bit.

"Even though you ate all that for lunch, you're still hungry?" Ciel asked Eugene.

"I may have eaten lunch, but I kept moving around afterward, so of course I'm hungry," he replied.

Giggling, Ciel moved some vegetables, like bell peppers and carrots, off of her plate and onto Eugene's.

"If that's the case, then eat some of mine as well. I'm not that hungry."

"You're just doing this because you don't want to eat vegetables."

"No way, I like vegetables," Ciel quickly excused herself, glancing up at Gilead's expression. "It's really because I'm not that hungry."

After everyone's dishes were just about empty, Gilead put down the glass of wine he had been drinking and started speaking, "As you may have already guessed, the reason we have arranged to hold dinner like this is to explain the contents of this year's Bloodline Continuation Ceremony."

At these words, the movements around the table began coming to a stop, one by one.

"In this year's Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, apart from the traditional goals, I also wanted to give all the participating family members a good opportunity to show what they can do," Gilead said as his eyes ran over the listeners.

His gaze rested on Gargith, Dezra, and Eugene a lot longer than the others. Although the three people that Eugene had classed as 'the dropouts' definitely noticed this fact, they didn't feel any dissatisfaction from this. Deacon, Hansen, and Juris were well aware that they didn't possess the qualities needed to stand out during the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony.

Gilead continued, "...the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony takes place every ten years. The contents of the ceremony are decided by the Lionheart Patriarch. I was also the one who administered the last Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. As you may have heard before arriving here, the last Bloodline Continuation Ceremony had the twelve participating children wander around in the middle of the forest."

Gilead shook his head with a wry smile.

"Only the children of collateral bloodlines participated in the last Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. However, in this year's ceremony... three of my own children will be participating. Although it might sound ridiculous coming from me, I believe that the tradition of the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is far too discriminatory."

Gilead's three children all looked surprised at this admittance.

"The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is a tradition that favors the direct descendants. Collateral descendants are not allowed to wield real weapons or even train with their mana until the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is over. Taking part in the ceremony under such conditions, wouldn't the results be obvious? The collateral descendants have never been able to defeat the direct descendants."

"..." Everyone was listening silently.

"However it is impossible to get rid of a long-standing tradition all at once."

This rift had been dividing the direct line from the collateral lines for several hundred years.

Recently, Gilead's brother, Gilford, had also been blessed with a child. When that child turned five, Gilford would be forced to leave the main estate and become the head of a new collateral branch.

Although they were all descendants of the great Vermouth, only the Lionheart Clan's direct line could boast the true and direct bloodline. Therefore, the direct line could only be inherited by the Lionheart Patriarch's own children. That was how the legacy of the Lionheart estate had been passed down for generations.

"Those of the collateral lines, no matter how thin their bloodlines have become, don't they all still bear the name of Lionheart. The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony's main purpose has always been to confirm that those who inherit the name of Lionheart possess the same heroic qualities as the one they claim descent from, the Great Vermouth. Therefore, the concentration of the bloodline holds no importance."

'Vermouth,' Eugene thought as he chewed on his meat, 'your descendant seems like a better man than you were.'

"What meaning is there in a competition where victory has already been decided? I want to confirm the heroic qualities of not just my own children but the rest of you who have inherited the name of Lionheart as well."

Gilead turned his head to the side.

"As such, unlike with previous Bloodline Continuation Ceremonies, I've decided to get some outside help for this year's ceremony."

"And that's why I'm here. Nice to meet you all, children," Lovellian smiled broadly. "The Patriarch's sermon was a bit too long-winded, wasn't it? I understand if you might be feeling a bit sleepy, but please rouse yourselves and pay attention now."

Gilead smiled sourly. Lovellian didn't pay him any attention and continued speaking.

"We need to get started with preparations first before we'll know for sure, but the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony should begin in four days at the very latest. If you want to know what we'll be doing during that time, I plan to conjure a maze over there in that forest."

Lovellian raised his hands. Mana gathered between his palms like a mist before forming into the image of a giant maze hovering over the dinner table.

"All of you will enter the maze through a different entrance and begin exploring. Various monsters will be wandering inside the maze, but... haha, there's no need to worry too much. None of you will be getting hurt or actually hurting anyone inside the maze."

"How is that possible?" Ciel asked, tilting her head.

"Well, that's because everything inside will be an illusion created by magic. So whatever happens to you all inside the maze, it won't actually be real. However... it will still seem like an extremely realistic experience." Lovellian's smile widened. "A monster you encounter inside the maze might even chop off your arm. So although your arm won't really be lost, inside the maze, you'll feel as if your arm really was cut off."

"Whoa...," was the shared response.

"Isn't magic so amazing? If you have any interest in it, come visit me in Aroth. The great Vermouth was also an awesome wizard, you know."

So he was saying that, in addition to summoning magic, even advanced mental manipulation magic would be involved in this project.

'Well, you need to be able to do this much if you want to make it as the Head Wizard of a Tower.'

Eugene quietly listened to Lovellian's explanations.

"In addition to the monsters, we will also be preparing all sorts of traps inside the maze. Of course, they also won't truly be dangerous."

"Yes," Ciel cheerfully called out.

Ciel was the only one giggling as she listened to Lovellian talk. The dropouts' expressions were instead filled with fear.

"Once everyone enters the maze, there is only one simple thing that you all need to do. Head to the center of the maze to defeat the boss monster there."

"How do we defeat it?" someone asked.

"You just need to kill it. Who here has hunted monsters?"

"Me," this time, multiple voices spoke up.

All three from the main family raised their hands. Of the collateral descendants, only Gargith, Dezra, and Eugene held their hands up. Eugene was about ten years old when he first killed an orc by beating it up with his wooden sword.

"This will be similar to then. The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony will end when one of you nine participants reaches the center of the maze and defeats the evil boss monster."

"Will it be okay if we can't make it to the center of the maze?" asked Hansen.

"Of course it is. If you're afraid of moving forward, then it's also fine to just stay where you are. However, you won't get a very good score by doing so...." Lovellian responded kindly as he looked at Hansen and his chubby cheeks.

"If I kill the boss monster...." Eugene asked.

'What's with the 'boss' monster? No matter how young your audience is, isn't that name too childish?' Eugene shook his head as he thought this.

Still, whether it's a boss or a commander, what's the point of killing that bastard?

His first impulse was to just ask that out loud, so...

"...do I get anything for it?" He decided to follow his impulse and ask a straightforward question.

"I'll let you pick one item you desire from the main house's underground treasure vault."

The one who answered his question was Gilead.

Eugene smiled brightly and nodded his head while exclaiming in childish delight, "Wow!"

'What should I take, a sword, a spear, or a bow?'

Although the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony hadn't even started yet, Eugene was sure that he would be the first one to break through the labyrinth.