Chapter 07
I wondered for a moment if he’d caught on to my obvious little ploy, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. He soon burst into a hearty laugh.
“Well, it’s not that amazing, but if you say so, I’ll take it as amazing!”
Baratheon tilted his chin up, puffing himself up with exaggerated pride.
This guy is simple, I thought.
He was almost childlike in that way.
Not that someone who’s literally a child in this life should be saying that…
Still, I had memories of my previous life, so I wasn’t exactly an ordinary kid.
That gave me the right to judge, didn’t it?
Baratheon: simple and easy to use.
While I was neatly filing away my impressions of him, a new visitor arrived.
“…What’s going on here?”
It was my eldest brother, Lucas, holding a large basket in his hands.
“You don’t need to know, big brother. Did you bring what I asked for?”
Maybe embarrassed about being so pleased with my earlier compliment, Baratheon quickly changed the subject.
Lucas nodded and gave the basket a light shake.
“I brought it, yes.”
“Then we’re set. Let’s go!”
“Go where?” I asked.
This time Lucas answered instead of Baratheon.
“To the rose garden. The flowers are beautiful this time of year.”
“Oh, is it a picnic?”
“That’s right. A rather humble one.”
“Humble…?” I trailed off, staring at the enormous amount of food packed in the basket.
If that’s humble, what does an extravagant picnic look like?
Lucas tilted his head at my wide-eyed stare.
“Why? Think it’s not enough? Should I pack more?”
There was easily enough food for ten people already.
If he brought more, a “humble picnic” would turn into a grand banquet.
I’ll burst from overeating long before this family collapses.
I quickly waved my hands.
“No! It’s plenty.”
“Alright, if Dana says so,” Lucas replied with a gentle smile and a nod.
Being the eldest of the three brothers, he seemed the most mature.
Careful and thoughtful. The kind I need to watch the most.
“But is it just the three of us going on this picnic?” I asked.
If it was meant to strengthen family bonds, shouldn’t Sise come along too?
Not that he’d sulk about being left out, I guessed.
Still, leaving out just one person felt uncomfortably like exclusion.
A good kid doesn’t leave friends behind.
Seeing me think of Sise so considerately, Baratheon shook his head with a disinterested look.
“He’s busy right now.”
I wanted to ask busy with what, but both Lucas and Baratheon seemed oddly evasive, steering the conversation elsewhere.
No need to poke a sore spot and earn their dislike.
“Shall we go, then?” Lucas asked.
I smiled and nodded.
“Wow!”
I let out a pure gasp of awe at the sight of the rose garden in full bloom.
The fragrance from the blossoms was so strong I could smell it just standing still.
“So pretty…”
I’d seen flowers back in the countryside, but such lush, gorgeous blooms were rare.
Of course, in my past life I saw even more spectacular flowers…
…but those were man-eating plants with a stench so foul you couldn’t get close.
Unlike me, marveling at the scenery, Baratheon just looked bored.
“What’s so pretty? They’re just plants’ reproductive organs.”
“…You have no sense of romance, Teon.”
I snorted and buried my nose in a rose.
The scent grew even richer, making me feel lazily content.
“Dana, come here and have a sandwich. We haven’t had lunch yet,” Lucas called.
“Okay!”
While I was happily exploring the garden, Lucas had spread out a perfect picnic.
On a neatly laid cloth sat an array of delicious food: chicken-breast sandwiches, cheesecake, chocolate cookies…
Everything I loved.
“Here, sandwich.”
Lucas handed me one neatly wrapped in a napkin so my hands wouldn’t get dirty.
So considerate.
I took a bite and studied him.
He was completely different from childish Baratheon or prickly Sise.
Lucas, Baratheon, Sise…
How had three people with such different personalities all ended up adopted into the Ashinov ducal family?
Sensing my gaze, Lucas tilted his head.
“What is it?”
“I just got curious.”
“About what?”
“How did the three of you come to be adopted by the duke?”
“No one’s ever asked that before. Our adoption is pretty famous—everyone knows.”
“Famous?”
“Among nobles.”
“But I wasn’t a noble.”
“True,” Lucas said with a smile, stroking his chin.
“Let’s see… we were adopted ten years ago. I was ten, and Teon and Sise were eight.”
Ten years ago—I would have been only three.
“You know about the magical barrier in the Mist Mountains weakening around fifteen years ago, right? That caused a lot of problems. Monsters started appearing everywhere, and many villages were destroyed.”
Monsters were powerful.
It took an entire elite knight squad to defeat just one.
The mercenaries who stayed at my foster parents’ inn mostly hunted such beasts—said it paid better than any other job.
“My village was destroyed by monsters. I barely survived and was sent to an orphanage…”
“You were exceptionally gifted,” Lucas continued. “Word spread, the old duke heard, and he adopted you.”
Baratheon jumped in before Lucas could finish.
“Gifted, huh?”
“Yeah. Lucas can remember anything he sees even once. He can memorize a whole thick book on the spot.”
“A whole book… all of it?”
“Yep! Scary, right?”
Baratheon and I stared at Lucas with slightly alarmed faces.
Lucas protested with a sheepish look.
“But Teon, you’re a Sword Master. And Sise is a Sage of the Magic Tower. The duke adopted you both for your abilities too.”
“Sword Master? Sage of the Magic Tower?” I echoed.
A Sword Master meant he could wield aura, and a Tower Sage meant using the highest class of magic.
Well, Sise always did seem extraordinary.
I’d sensed a faint mana from him and had already guessed he was a mage.
That’s why I listed him as the number-one person to watch for the ‘Family-Downfall Project.’
But Teon, whom I’d dismissed as merely strong, was actually a Sword Master!
I’d used both magic and aura in my past life, sure—
but right now I’m just a weak little kid!
I shot Baratheon a betrayed glare. He flailed his hands.
“B-but I’m still a dummy! I’m your comrade!”
“Teon, are you calling me a dummy now?”
“Uh—no, that’s not what I meant, I—uh…”
As I stared icily at his sputtering, a familiar face appeared behind him.
It was Sise, looking a bit more tired than usual.
“Sise!”
I leapt to my feet and ran to him.
His eyes widened slightly, surprised at my enthusiastic welcome.
“Show me some magic!”
Let’s see how strong you really are!
Sise frowned.
“So you’re not happy to see me—you just want a show?”
“Quickly! Magic!”
I bounced impatiently, and Sise sighed before flicking his hand lightly.
Fragrant rose petals rained from the sky in a sudden shower.
I gaped as I was instantly covered in petals.
Wow. Silent-cast magic!
Only mages of the highest caliber could perform such a difficult spell.
Definitely the number-one watch target!
It seemed magic hadn’t declined as much as I’d thought.
But why has the barrier weakened?
Grand Magus Pamel’s magic was legendary despite his foolishness in misjudging targets.
The mages who’d worked with him were just as skilled.
If their knowledge had truly been passed down, repairing the barrier should have been possible.
Yet it weakened, and monsters began to appear.
My parents in this life were caught up in that chaos and died…
Thinking that, I realized the three adopted siblings and I shared similar pasts.
“How was it, Sise?” Lucas asked while I was lost in thought.
Sise only shook his head with a frown.
Lucas and Baratheon’s expressions darkened as well.
What’s going on?
