Clatter clatter. Clank.
“Ugh, my backside… What kind of road is this rough?”
The one grumbling was Hayden Bederman, the fourth son of the Bederman family head.
Hayden had been wearing a displeased expression throughout the carriage ride up Mount Gahril.
“Why does Father even support such an insignificant family in this remote place…”
Hayden clasped his hands behind his short wine-colored hair.
Then Ray Bederman, who was sitting right next to him with his long black hair tied back, spoke in a calm, low voice.
“Hayden. The Sears family is a distinguished house that has survived since the ‘War’ of the past. You should stop speaking so carelessly.”
“Come on, brother. What ancient history are you talking about? Now they’re a completely ruined family that can barely maintain itself without our support. Well, it seems they’re having trouble even with support these days.”
Hayden said with a sneer.
“Still, you should choose your words carefully. And if you talk like that, Father who decided on the support will…”
Just as Ray was about to lecture him with a small sigh, a somewhat rough voice came from up front.
“Haha. It’s fine, Ray. Hayden isn’t exactly wrong.”
The owner of the voice was the family head, Richter Bederman.
He stroked his thick but well-groomed beard that connected to his sideburns and looked back at Ray and Hayden.
“My lord, I thought you were sleeping.”
Ray bowed his head to Richter Bederman.
Richter waved his hand dismissively.
“As Hayden said. The Sears family is now just a fallen house that can’t even stand on its own without our help. Our continued support of the Sears family is more like an old tradition passed down from previous family heads rather than my own will.”
Richter continued.
“But even if the Sears family is of no help at all, if it’s the will of the previous family heads who firmly established our Bederman family as one of the four great magical houses, then showing magnanimity to such a small family isn’t difficult. That’s why we support the Sears family.”
Richter smiled slyly.
Then the butler sitting upright beside him added:
“And with the lord’s wise and astute judgment, recently we’ve appropriately adjusted the support amount and utilized trade routes within our sphere of influence to create efficient cash flow, minimizing losses and maximizing profits.”
In simple terms, they were cutting support funds while monopolizing trade routes to sell received tributes at high prices for profit.
“Yes, exactly that.”
“As expected of you, my lord.”
The butler quickly chimed in agreement.
Richter laughed heartily and glanced at Ray and Hayden sitting in the back.
‘Well, there’s one more important reason… but it’s not time to tell the children yet.’
The most fundamental reason the Bederman family supported the Sears family.
This was a story passed down only to family heads through generations.
When Hayden grew up and officially became the successor, he would need to know, but it wasn’t time yet.
‘Hayden is a child with sufficient potential to become the family head. No, he must become the family head. Not just any child, but a child born between Selina and me.’
Hayden and Ray, who were currently accompanying him.
Both were Richter’s sons, but Ray was a concubine’s child while Hayden was the legitimate child Richter had long desired.
Richter cherished Hayden greatly and spared no effort in raising him to be the next family head.
He provided the best environment for magical training and even obtained precious elixirs for him to consume.
Even a family head couldn’t designate an inadequate mage as successor.
“Tch, but I still don’t like the Sears family.”
Through this process, Hayden’s personality had been formed this way, but Richter didn’t mind.
Ray, the third son of a concubine, knew this fact and kept his words to himself.
“Especially that Cain bastard… I still get irritated when I think about what happened then. Over some mere maid…”
Hayden frowned as he recalled Cain, who had rushed at him with half-rolled eyes and managed to land a punch on his jaw. Soon, as if remembering something, he raised the corners of his mouth.
“But this time I won’t have to see Cain’s face, right? Father said so. If Cain doesn’t learn magic by age fifteen, he should be expelled.”
“That’s right. And that deadline was yesterday. Isn’t that so, Ramon?”
“Yes, absolutely! My lord.”
As the butler quickly answered, the smile on Hayden’s lips deepened.
“Hehe, it’s a bit disappointing I couldn’t see that bastard get expelled directly.”
“You might still get to see it. Blake Sears seems to care quite a bit for that Cain fellow. If he’s shamelessly holding on despite not learning magic, then I’ll make sure he gets expelled.”
Hayden looked ready to cheer at any moment.
“I heard he still hadn’t learned it even two months ago, so there’s no way he learned it in the meantime! Thank you, Father.”
“Haha, naturally the one who dared oppose our Hayden should pay the price.”
Using Cain hitting Hayden as an excuse, Bederman had cut support funds, and Cain had been stuck in a small room since around that time.
‘And now his time of leeching off the family while sitting around is over.’
Naturally, his treatment within the family would have been poor, and Cain would have either been expelled after suffering or would be expelled soon.
This was enough revenge to satisfy being beaten up.
“Now that the bastard will be expelled…”
Just as Hayden was about to continue.
“M-monsters!”
An urgent shout from the coachman came from outside.
Neigh!
With the panicked cry of horses, the carriage stopped with a clatter, and the carriages carrying servants and luggage also stopped one after another.
“Monsters?”
Ray was the first to react, opening the carriage door.
Through the falling snow, multiple white forms could be seen charging toward them.
“…Snow rabbits?”
They weren’t dangerous monsters, but snow rabbits’ habitat was quite far from here.
Why were snow rabbits here?
While Ray tilted his head at this natural question, Hayden from behind confirmed the monsters’ identity and jumped down confidently.
“Ha, I wondered what monsters they were talking about, but it’s just snow rabbits? Brother, step aside. I’ll handle them all.”
Hayden clenched his fist tightly.
“Squeak!”
“Squeak!”
Then he spread his hand wide and extended it toward the charging snow rabbits.
“I was already annoyed thinking about that bastard Cain’s parasitic face, so this works out well. I’ll sweep them all away. Fire Ball!”
With Hayden’s incantation, dozens of fireballs were instantly created in the air.
“Haa!”
The fireballs shot indiscriminately forward, bombarding the snow field, and the charging snow rabbits fell screaming.
“Haha, come at me more!”
Hayden now leisurely walked forward, freely creating and launching fireballs.
“Squeak!”
“Squeak!”
Several snow rabbits that nimbly dodged the fireballs rushed at Hayden, but.
“Fire Wall.”
They became charcoal without even properly screaming as they hit the wall of fire that rose before them.
“Hahaha! Fire Ball! Fire Wall!”
No matter how much snow rabbits were theoretically monsters that even a 1st Circle mage could defeat, that was assuming a one-on-one direct confrontation.
Fighting dozens of agile charging snow rabbits alone as a mage was an entirely different level of difficulty.
Even a 2nd Circle mage could handle at most about ten Fire Needles at once, and dealing with all the swarming snow rabbits would be too much.
‘But not for me.’
Having received various support and even elixirs, Hayden had reached the proficient stage of the 3rd Circle in just three years.
With his frost mana quantity abundantly rich thanks to the elixirs’ effects, probably no one in the same circle could match him in firepower.
Boom.
Crackle.
‘But why are there so many snow rabbits?’
Hayden frowned as he easily roasted the charging snow rabbits with Fire Wall.
And Ray, who had been watching Hayden from behind, had been thinking similarly.
“Wait… those snow rabbits, could it be.”
Feeling something was off, Ray carefully observed the snow rabbits.
‘The direction is… subtly different.’
At first, he thought the snow rabbits were coming to attack the carriage.
But that wasn’t it.
“Squeak…!”
“Squeak!”
The snow rabbits’ behavior wasn’t a charge to attack, but closer to fleeing from something.
And the next moment, Ray spotted a massive form appearing beyond Hayden’s Fire Wall and shouted.
“Hayden! Fall back!”
Only then did Hayden cancel the Fire Wall that was blocking his view.
And he witnessed the identity of the massive figure before his eyes.
“…I-Ice Troll?”
There stood a pure white troll with very thick skin, easily twice Hayden’s height.
‘Crazy… why is an Ice Troll here?’
A mutant monster that lived deep in snowy mountains, several times more powerful than regular trolls.
He’d only heard about them in stories; this was Hayden’s first time seeing one directly.
‘What kind of size is that…’
The overwhelming presence emanating from its massive build.
Faced with those eyes full of murderous intent, Hayden froze in place.
He thought he should gather frost mana quickly, but couldn’t concentrate.
“Ah…”
The Ice Troll raised the massive club in its hand.
And the next moment.
“Flame Cannon!”
Whoosh—
A brilliant pillar of fire cleanly pierced through the Ice Troll’s chest.
The Ice Troll with a cylindrical hole in its chest collapsed with a thud in front of Hayden.
“Hayden!”
Ray, who had fired the Flame Cannon, came running.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah…”
Only then did Hayden come to his senses.
Embarrassed by his failure to respond calmly and instead freezing up, his face turned bright red as he brushed off Ray’s hand.
“O-of course I’m fine!”
Hayden returned toward the carriage, glancing at the family head who was watching him from the window.
And as if for everyone to hear, he got angry instead.
“J-just now, even if brother hadn’t stepped in, I could have blocked it with Fire Wall! Brother unnecessarily interfered…”
Whether he heard this, when the two returned to the carriage, Richter slowly opened his mouth.
“Right. With your skills, Hayden, you could have easily blocked that much. However, this isn’t a test or competition situation. It doesn’t matter who dealt with the Ice Troll. You shouldn’t get angry at your brother over something like that.”
“I’m sorry, Father.”
Though it seemed like he was lightly scolding Hayden, it was actually dismissing Ray’s achievement in defeating the Ice Troll as unimportant.
“Enough. Judging from the battle, your firepower has increased since last time. That’s praiseworthy.”
“…Thank you!”
Hayden’s expression immediately brightened.
The family head glanced at Ray and added:
“And Ray… implementing 5th Circle magic accurately in a short time wasn’t bad, but your firepower is still lacking. For a disciple of the Bederman family to use such bland magic… Since you’re naturally lacking in magical power, you need to train harder.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, my lord.”
Ray silently bowed his head.
Then butler Ramon, who had been quietly hiding in a corner since the monsters appeared, spoke up.
“Sheesh. But how is the Sears family managing monster habitat subjugation that an Ice Troll appears here?”
“Right. We’ll need to take this up with the Sears family later.”
Hayden also chimed in as if he thought so too.
‘The Sears family really…’
Hayden leaned back against his seat, thinking he now had one more thing to find fault with.
________________________________________
With the visit from the supporting Bederman family, the interior of the Sears family had been very busy since morning.
“Hey! Sweep over there too!”
“I swept it earlier but snow has piled up again!”
“Then sweep it again!”
The weather conditions were unfortunately poor, so the servants had to run around the castle interior even more busily cleaning.
“Wow, young master! It suits you so well!”
Meanwhile, Cain stood in front of a mirror wearing a cleanly designed suit that Alice had dressed him in.
Alice continuously looked at Cain from various angles, adjusting his attire.
“…I can do it myself.”
“Having a personal maid is for doing things like this. Wow, with that handsome face and how well clothes fit you… It’s really like a painting, absolutely like a painting. Wow!”
“This is why I’m telling you to stop making these useless comments.”
But even from Cain’s perspective, his reflection in the mirror looked quite presentable.
‘Not as much as during Cain Sears’ time, but I do have some bearing.’
Cain nodded.
“Good. All done. Young master, I’ll say it again, but you absolutely don’t need to feel intimidated in front of the Bederman family!”
Alice, having perfectly finished adjusting his appearance, showed her clenched fist.
“I’ve never once felt intimidated in front of the Bederman family, so don’t worry.”
In his previous life or this life, Cain had never been intimidated by the Bederman family, nor had any reason to be.
“That’s right, young master didn’t hesitate to give Hayden… sir a good hit back then. Good. I believe in you, young master!”
Alice smiled brightly at Cain’s answer.
After Alice left the room, Cain sat briefly until the Bederman family arrived, regulating his breathing and organizing his frost mana.
Whoosh.
‘Hmm. It’s definitely starting to slow down.’
The work of solidifying lower circles before advancing to higher circles.
Of course, compared to other disciples, it was an absurd level of accuracy and speed, but not for Cain.
‘I know rushing won’t solve the problem, but I can’t just sit still when the family is in this state.’
Cain had grasped that the family’s recent situation was more serious than expected.
Now he needed to find a way to shorten time within the range where he could perfectly accumulate frost mana.
‘It would be good if the purity of frost mana in the air itself was a bit higher.’
Taking a high-grade elixir would be perfect, but looking at the family’s current state, they might need to worry about meal expenses rather than elixirs.
‘I’d like to go to the snowy mountains for a while if I could.’
Deep in Mount Gahril, there were several places where particularly pure frost mana naturally flowed out, and Cain naturally knew the locations of those places well.
But unfortunately, right now there was no justification to go to the snowy mountains, especially alone.
‘I already took the test recently… there’s too much time left until the next test.’
As Cain was pondering methods.
“Young master. The Bederman family has arrived.”
“Understood, I’ll be right out.”
The Bederman family had arrived.
