Chapter 11: The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony (1)

"Is it true?"

The moment they arrived at the annex after leaving the main house, Gargith, who had been keeping his mouth shut so far, turned to ask Eugene a question. Then, as if she had also been waiting for this moment, Dezra turned to look at Eugene as well.

"What is?" Eugene asked in return.

"You, did you really duel with Cyan Lionheart... and win?"

"Yep."

Gargith's eyes shook in surprise at this honest answer. He scanned Eugene from head to toe with a look of disbelief in his eyes.

Gargith Lionheart, at fourteen, was a year older than Eugene. His family had only split off from the main family during the time of the previous Patriarch. Additionally, his family lived in the middle of a forest infested with monsters. Due to this, starting from a young age, Gargith would often play in the forest by crushing the heads of small monsters such as goblins. In other words, his family could be selected as one of the best among the collateral branches in terms of military might, a true martial family.

That went for Dezra as well. Although her family had branched off from the main family several generations ago; since her grandfather's time, it had become a highly prestigious martial family whose members were known to enter the empire's military forces.

As it turned out, the two of them had had a lot of contact with each other ever since they were young. Even though they shared the same family name, the degree of kinship between them was pretty far apart, and they were around the same age. Because of these factors and how close their families were, talk of them getting married in the future was often brought up as a joke.

Naturally, their two families had also exchanged various opinions about this year's Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. Nothing much was expected from the other collateral descendants. So, in the end, it was predicted that Gargith and Dezra would be competing against the children from the direct line. Instead of pointlessly fighting against each other, the two had agreed to preserve their strength and join forces to try and obstruct the children from the main house.

Thus they had headed to the main house, having received their parents' encouragement. However, upon their arrival, they found out that a bumpkin from a collateral line had appeared out of nowhere and dueled with Cyan Lionheart of the main family. He had even managed to defeat Cyan in a single blow to boot, catching the attention of the Lionheart Patriarch.

'Who is Gerhard anyway?' they wondered.

These two couldn't even recognize who Eugene's father was. This was understandable, as there were a whole bunch of collateral families who all bore the name Lionheart. Among these Lionhearts, the only clan members whose names had become widely known were those closely related to the direct line and a prestigious few among the collateral lines.

'He wasn't at the birthday party three years ago either,' Gargith and Dezra exchanged intent looks as they communicated with each other.

"Are you done with your questions?" Eugene asked.

"Uh... yes?"

"Then I can go, right?"

Eugene didn't wait for a reply. As he passed between the two, they turned to watch him leave with confused expressions. They were left wondering where he was going, and they saw him head for the nearby gymnasium instead of entering the annex.

"You've returned already?"

Among all the annex's servants, Nina had emerged the fastest to greet them. As if she had been waiting for him in particular, she immediately handed Eugene a thick towel.

"What's this for?" Eugene asked.

"You're going to go train, aren't you?" Nina confirmed.

"I appreciate this," Eugene said with a grin and a nod to her.

Although only a day had passed since they first met, Nina had already learned most of what she needed to know about Eugene. She just needed to plan as if her thirteen-year-old master had somehow been possessed by a ghost that had died because it wasn't able to train; before a meal, he needed to train to build up an appetite, and even after a meal, he also needed to train to help his digestion.

"When would you like to take your bath?" Nina inquired.

"A couple of hours later."

"Will you be fine with cold water?"

"Of course, that's fine."

Nina trotted along behind Eugene. She had just recently finished her apprenticeship. So under the usual circumstances, Nina was supposed to take care of the annex's lowliest chores. However, the servants of the annex were wary of Eugene, so they didn't assign Nina even a single task. Thanks to this, Nina could focus entirely on adjusting her routine to Eugene's habits.

'Now, what are they up to?' he thought as he caught two voyeurs.

Eugene had finished a full-body workout earlier that day, and since the night air was so refreshing, he had planned to swing his wooden sword a few times, but... Gargith and Dezra were now staring at him from a distance. Then, having reached some sort of conclusion, Gargith began striding up to him.

"..." Eugene observed him wordlessly.

Without any hesitation, Gargith pulled off his top and tossed it aside. His body showed an unbelievable level of muscle development for a fourteen-year-old. Not only that, his entire body was also covered in small scars.

"..." Without saying a word, Eugene continued to stare at Gargith.

Gargith proceeded to take a big gulp of air and flexed his chest, showing off his broad pectoral muscles and the twitching abs below.

While putting on an air of arrogance, Gargith pounded his chest muscles and asked, "Want a touch?"

Eugene had just been wondering to himself, 'What is that bastard up to?'

But as he stared at Gargith, Eugene realized that Gargith seemed to have fallen into some kind of stupid delusion that they were competing with their muscles.

"No," Eugene replied without hesitation.

With a disappointed expression, Gargith slowly deflated his pumped-up pecs. Then he also headed into the corner with the gymnasium's storeroom. After some time, Gargith emerged carrying a wooden sword.

With an expression that was full of dissatisfaction, he said to Eugene, "The weapon selection in this storeroom is really too poor. It feels like it has less than a quarter of what a storeroom at my family's home has."

"Is that so?"

"I mean, I graduated from this sort of ordinary wooden sword when I was about six years old. At home, I even have a huge greatsword that I custom ordered. Of course, since it's meant to be for training, I didn't get the edge sharpened, but since it has an iron core running through the center, it's extremely heavy."

"How impressive."

"It looks like you've also had a lot of training before coming here, but...." Gargith glanced at Eugene's forearm with which he was holding his sword.

It definitely couldn't compare to Gargith's own thick forearms, but Gargith could clearly tell that Eugene's arms had undergone a long period of training.

"What type of training do you usually do?" Gargith asked.

"Why do you ask?" replied Eugene with a question of his own.

"I heard that you defeated Cyan, right? Just how on earth did you train that enabled you to beat Cyan Lionheart, a child of the direct line?"

"I just trained hard."

It was too annoying to explain, so, with this casual reply, Eugene resumed swinging his wooden sword. Each swing was a basic motion that rose and fell through the air. As Eugene silently repeated these movements, Gargith, who had been standing there stunned, also raised his wooden sword.

Whoosh!

The sound produced by Gargith's swing was so loud that it seemed absurd to think that it could have come from an ordinary wooden sword. It was a sound produced solely by pure muscle strength, without any assistance from mana.

Gargith glanced at Eugene proudly, but Eugene didn't even spare him a single glance in return.

"...How many hours do you train in a day?" Gargith finally asked when there was no response.

"Apart from eating, going to the toilet, and sleeping, all my time goes to training," Eugene explained.

"How long do you sleep?"

"At least six hours."

"I only sleep five hours."

"How impressive."

"The truth is, I want to sleep even less, but my father told me that sleep is like medicine. He said that you need to sleep if you want your muscles to grow...."

"Is that so."

"The difference in size between my muscles and yours isn't just because I trained longer than you do. We actually have a revolutionary muscle growth supplement that we use in our family."

"How impressive."

"We made this drug with the help of a famous alchemist from Aroth... If someone hasn't accumulated any mana in their body, the drug promotes their muscle growth when taken alongside training. Any interest in trying it?"

"None."

"There is a limit to the amount of muscle that can be developed with basic training. Usually, this kind of muscle growth supplement is favored by mercenaries, but the quality of their cheap supplements can't compare to our family's revolutionary drug. Ours doesn't come with any side effects."

"Oh."

"Just look at me. Although I might have the advantage of training an hour more than you do, your muscles still wouldn't be able to compare to mine regardless. And what about our difference in height?"

Gargith definitely had reason to sound proud as he asked this question. Gargith was only one year older than Eugene, but he was already a head taller than Eugene. Even considering his still-youthful face, he didn't look like a fourteen-year-old.

"As if there are no side effects. Where do you get off with your lies?"

The person who shouted this in a sharp tone was Dezra, who had returned after changing her clothes. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail, and it looked as if she was wearing an oversized training uniform.

"About that drug. Once you take it, you start growing facial hair," Dezra complained.

"So what if it does that? It's natural for men to grow facial hair. I like the fact that I can grow a beard. Doesn't it make me look like an adult?" Gargith said proudly.

"But it grows on women as well, you fool!"

Dezra glared at Gargith with narrowed eyes. Though she was only twelve, it might have been because they were childhood friends, but she spoke to him in a pretty rude manner.

"You. I heard that you used a spear during your duel with Cyan. Why are you using a wooden sword now?" Dezra asked.

"I can use both a spear and a sword," Eugene replied simply.

"That's ridiculous... You can use both interchangeably? And through self-study at that?"

If it were anyone else who had claimed this, she would have given them a disbelieving look. However, Dezra didn't dare to do so and instead just stared at Eugene in assessment. After all, didn't they say he had defeated Cyan in one blow?

"...I am a spear specialist," Dezra finally admitted.

"It suits you," said Eugene.

Eugene wasn't lying. Dezra was tall for her age, and her limbs were especially on the long side.

"Just swinging your sword isn't any fun. So why don't you spar with me?" Dezra said.

"Fine."

Eugene nodded his head. He preferred Dezra, who had coolly asked for a spar, over Gargith, who kept saying this and that about his muscles. Moreover, he was curious about the skills of these children, who were considered elites among the collateral lines.

"You should use a spear as well since I'll be using a spear," Dezra said.

"Do I really need to do that?" Eugene asked.

"Rather than your swordsmanship, I want to see your spearmanship."

Without waiting for a reply, Dezra raced off to the storeroom. Soon, she returned, carrying two long spears by her side.

"Take this," she said, thrusting one of the spears into his hands.

The two children were soon standing across from each other, holding their spears at the ready. Gargith stood in the center, still topless.

"What are you doing?" Dezra asked Gargith.

"I thought I'd serve as the judge," Gargith answered her.

"What kind of spar needs a judge?"

"Spars should also be fair," as Gargith said this, he raised his hands into the air.

Even though Eugene had no interest in seeing another man's fully exposed armpits...

'This bastard. His actions keep reminding me of a certain fool.'

His size played a role in this as well. If his last name wasn't Lionheart, Eugene would have seriously suspected that Gargith was descended from Molon instead of Vermouth.

"You may begin as soon as I call 'start,'" Gargith announced.

"Just hurry it up already, idiot," Dezra shouted.

As commanded, Gargith dropped his raised arms with a quick leap backward.

"Start!" he shouted.

Although Eugene had ended his confrontation with Cyan in a single blow, he had no intention of doing the same thing this time, as he wanted to see Dezra's full range of skills.

Instead of rushing in immediately, Dezra slowly moved in a few steps at a time, trying to find a gap in Eugene's defenses. Eugene held his spear in both hands and refused to move from the spot. However, the spearhead alone showed slight signs of motion as it traced Dezra's movements.

'...Ugh...'

Dezra's eyes twitched in frustration. Although she was pretty confident in her spearmanship, at the moment, she really wanted to question if she was genuinely holding a spear in her hands or just a harmless branch.

'There are no gaps....'

She had made all sorts of movements and feints, but she still couldn't see any cracks in Eugene's defenses. With a spear in her hands, she should have been able to see something by now, but.... Dezra chewed her bottom lip in worry. If she kept waiting for an opening, she would end up being unable to do anything. Convincing herself of this, Dezra boldly stepped forward.

The distance between the two was shortened in an instant. Just the slightest bit slower than her first step forward, her spear shot straight out.

Clack!

A slight movement from Eugene's spearhead sent Dezra's spear flying to the side. At that moment, Dezra rotated her body along with the movement of the spear. The tip of her spear thus swung around in a circle and once again sped towards Eugene. However, the result was the same as before.

Clack!

As her second attack was blown away, Dezra's eyes wavered.

"Haah...!"

She bit her lips and tensed her arms as she thrust with her spear — thrust forward, withdraw, and thrust forward once more. Mixed in between each motion of her spear was the muffled sound of their wooden weapons clashing. Each of her decisive and piercing thrusts was smoothly parried away by Eugene.

'She knows how to incorporate rotation, and she even knows how to make use of recoil and momentum,' Eugene observed.

If you considered that she couldn't use mana, it was a pretty impressive performance. On top of that, her potential for future growth was limitless with how young she was. But that was all talk for the future. Right now, she still wasn't Eugene's opponent.

The shaft of her spear suddenly slid through Dezra's hands. She purposefully lowered her grip on the length of her spear to extend the spear's attack range for a single blow.

Whoosh!

The attack slashed down on Eugene from above. With a smile, Eugene twisted his body to the side.

After parrying for so long, this was the first time he had actually dodged. Dezra drew confidence from this fact. If she could just pull back for another attack... Although her thoughts had gone in this direction, reality didn't turn out the way Dezra had imagined.

The moment her spear had gotten close to the ground, Eugene stepped on top of it. Then, at that same moment, he stabbed his spear at Dezra. She flinched as the spear flew towards her face, and she threw her head backward with a yelp.

The spear stopped right before it could touch the tip of Dezra's nose. She pursed her lips and looked over the tip of his spear to see Eugene's grinning face.

'...Why is he so heavy...?!'

Dezra had tried to extract her trapped spear with all her might, but no matter how much strength she used, the spear wouldn't budge. Even though he was only stepping on it with one foot.... Holding back tears, Dezra let go of her spear.

Rather than being unable to extract her spear, it was the fact that Eugene's body hadn't even shaken, despite her pulling with all the strength she had, that convinced Dezra of her defeat.

Gargith, who had been standing by as a judge, put on a serious expression and said, "Eugene Lionheart is victorious."

Dezra, who was already feeling disappointed and sorrowful, furrowed her brows and glared at Gargith.

"Shut up, you fat bastard!" she yelled at Gargith.

"I'm not fat. Fat only refers to someone like Hansen."

"I told you to shut up!"

Gargith shook his head in disappointment, "Dezra. So you didn't learn anything from the Lionheart Patriarch's impressive speech earlier. You shouldn't consider your defeat shameful, and you should be able to respect the honor of your opponent."

"Ugh...." with this groan, Dezra staggered a few steps back, unable to say anything in her own defense.

After exhaling a weary sigh, she turned and bowed her head towards Eugene, saying, "...I've lost."

"That's right," Eugene replied with a happy grin. "But you're quite good with a spear."

"Are you making fun of me?"

Even though he was being sincere, Dezra shouted at him angrily. It was only then that Eugene once again remembered that he was a kid who was about the same age as Dezra. So Eugene decided to cover for his mistake by acting his age instead.

"But I'm just better," Eugene smirked.

"This son of a bitch...!" Dezra hissed from between gritted teeth.

"That's the reason I won, isn't it? If it upsets you so much, you should have won instead."

"Shut up!"

Eugene snickered mockingly, "Kekeke, says the one who lost to me without even landing a hit."