Chapter 174: Tournament

Elina's heart skipped a beat.

Were they supposed to know? Absolutely not. It was well known that the people who had riches often resorted to recruiting a few "irregular" employees to serve them. For many reasons, it was necessary for some. Her brothers were the same. Still, their secrets hardly ever leaked, and even if they did, that was only in the form of rumors.

At first, it was confusion: Elina struggled to ask her brother what he meant. Then, it was desperation: With jerky movements, she tried to either deny or justify "it." Lastly, it was contempt: With dark eyes, she managed to shut her younger brother's trap as he laughed, and sighed a sharp sigh.

"Y-Your Grace, O-Older Brother, won't you tell my sister?"

"...True, maybe we should address this topic, too."

That was the first bullet in Elina's legs.

She had messed up. Well, she wasn't especially dumb, but she wasn't experienced. Where and how did she mess up and leak her own secret? She couldn't even tell. Still, she kept her composure. The way her younger brother mentioned the monster-type's existence—I bet they would be shocked to know I was just here—was too calm for the irritated boy. That meant they must have known for a long time. Yet, no penalties or sanctions were pursued against her. That meant only very few people know. She was safe.

"We should, Older Brother! This is what we talked about, weeks from now. With Father's visions, can we trust any party even remotely dangerous?! And she dares—" The older brother nonchalantly held a hand to his brother, and the latter shut up.

"Elina."

"Yes?"

"We talked about this."

"..."

"You won't ask about it? For how long do you think we know—"

"I made a mistake."

"And how many people do you think are aware? You made a mistake. That much is clear. ...Or, is it? Tell me about your mistake, Sister."

"I... I let it leak."

"Your mistake wasn't about recruiting such an irregular servant in the first place?"

"Brother, with all due respect, it is not. Had you been there with me, at the time, you would understand. In fact, you would have done exactly as I did. 'Seize it.' You taught me to seize it. Seize it, yes. Your words. And... one day, I could show you. My... boy is so... My servant is so... well, peculiar. With him, everything—I mean it: absolutely everything—will be possible. And I did seize the opportunity... but I bet you wouldn't understand..."

"Oh... I'm curious to hear more about your irregular, now. Also, I do understand, actually." The older brother smiled at his sister and lifted the tense atmosphere all at once. After he glanced at the king, the latter nodded. "Even Father does. You're free to do as you please. Well, as long as you have gold—it is fair to assume you will always have it—you can entertain the idea of having even more of your own servitors, if that's what you desire."

"I... I must say, I didn't expect... that, Brother. Am I not being let off too easily?"

"Your life will be politics, politics, and more politics. Use your gold wisely. Before long, you will be a successful woman. In the end, we both serve the same crown."

"Brother..."

"Besides, I put the idea in your head. Would it be fair to—"

"Thank you very much!"

"Ha-ha-ha."

The girl bowed her head to both her brother and father. This was the end of that.

In the end, the king wisely pointed out that the way his children chose to make him proud was none of his business. As the eldest son had said, they all served the same king, so their interests were all just one interest.

Despite all that, I still noted that, from the younger brother's perspective, Elina was still the subject of much hate and irritation. Maybe I had better keep eyes on this one. It seemed the aversion the arrogant young boss felt for his sister was growing bigger by the day.

Thus, the girl who only wanted her father to call her his daughter took her first hit. She was "let off easy." Tonight, a second bullet would lodge itself in her leg, though. And then, only she knew how drastically bad her situation was. For now, things were quite calm.

A minute passed. As unkingly and improper the king might have been, he still, sometimes, appeared to his children as a father. And the father rejoiced to see the children he left in this world getting by so well.

From the precedent topic, the gathering naturally drifted to talking about other matters. Heroes from the other world were mentioned. The heroes' country also came up: New Japan. ...I know. Anyway, and they mentioned more politics, too.

After much discussion, Elina reaffirmed her will: She desired to be given full responsibility with the heroes. "To serve you, Your Grace, to the very best of my ability, entrust it all to your daughter; I will not disappoint." Also, the Summoning Ceremony was still unofficial. Haruto, Kimon, and the other two's identities were still kept a secret.

Ever since the country of New Japan rose as one of the most powerful nations of the continent, it was declared a violation of the Non-interference Treaty of High Oak (the continent). Naturally, so as not to attract more conflicts with a rival nation in a time of crisis, the heroes weren't officials. The owners of the "Hero" Title couldn't, for now.

At any rate, their education and training was still lacking. Elina was quick to fix the grimacing faces that seemed to ask, "Aren't heroes supposed to be, like, way powerful, though?" by saying that they indeed grew up extraordinarily quickly compared to your average person, but that, after roughly three weeks of combat training and studying the magic arts, they still were below level 50.

That was only natural. For reference, the generic mana-wielder is normally required at least a year to reach level 50, and that was only if they had all the resources necessary to progress.

From talking about the heroes, their training, and how it was all coming along together so that Roerden could start using them as very powerful war-ending assets, the tactical conversation naturally drifted toward some event they called the Youth Tournament. "Will the heroes partake in it, Sister?" Elina's answer was that, surely, the heroes could.

The upcoming Youth Tournament was held by the Guild Bureau and the Academy Federation. That was also promoted and backed up by several powerhouses of High Oak, including the Reinred Empire of the West. All for the sake of unearthing the polished-to-be young diamonds among the talents of the new generation.