Chapter 13
***
The hot summer sea breeze blew through Ryan’s white hair.
It had already been 30 minutes.
After leaving the room without saying a word, Ryan stood on the deck, just staring out at the sea. I stood at a distance, wondering whether I should go comfort him or not.
“Leave him alone. He must be really shocked,”
said Ryan, who was next to me.
“He’s an orphan. The professors raised him like real parents.”
“You mean those professors?”
“Yeah. One couple even gave him their family name. They were kind people. Imagine how shocking it must be to learn they were doing human experiments.”
“…Do you believe everything I said?”
“To be honest, I have no choice but to believe you.”
Ryan let out a sigh.
“There were always some weird things. Even when the professors were about to die, they didn’t curse or complain. It was strange how calm they were.”
“…”
“But if what you said is true, everything fits. My crazy father destroyed an entire territory just to test something. He wouldn’t do that without a reason.”
Ryan looked back at me and added,
“And you knew stuff from way before you were even born. You must’ve heard all this at home somehow, right?”
I nodded. Ryan stared at me for a moment.
…Do I look suspicious?
“You think I’m shady, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“I have a lot I want to ask you right now. But I’m not going to. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because yelling at a young girl like you would be cowardly.”
Wow. That’s… oddly considerate.
“With my size, if I tried to scare you or force you to talk, that’d be like child abuse. I can’t do that. I’d get arrested twice over.”
“O-Okay.”
I laughed a little.
Honestly, I had started talking because I trusted Ryan wouldn’t try to bully me.
“Please take me with you. I’ll tell you everything slowly.”
Actually, if I wanted to avoid questions, I should probably keep quiet.
But there’s no time for that.
Now that we’re on the same team, we need to share information. And if I want him to keep me around, I need to be useful.
“What, were you scared I’d ditch you or something?”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I’m keeping you by my side so I can watch you. You’re clearly hiding something and know way too much. I’m sure you’re my father’s spy.”
“What?!”
I panicked, but Ryan just scratched his head.
“…Well, more importantly.”
He looked a bit embarrassed as he continued,
“Your Blessing… I really, really need it right now.”
“Oh…”
“I needed it so badly, I even thought about kidnapping my third sister who has the same Blessing.”
“That’s… a crime.”
“I know. But instead, you just showed up out of nowhere with that same blessing.”
“…”
“Saying I’ll use you sounds cold. So let’s say we’re helping each other. I’ll take care of my young and powerless daughter, and you’ll be a good daughter to your dad. Deal?”
“Yeah! That sounds great!”
“Then we’ve got a deal?”
Ryan smiled and held out his fist. I made a fist too and bumped it against his.
“Deal!”
Yes!
Plan A:
- Pretend to be powerless and get kicked out of the family → ✅ Success!
- Meet Ryan and go with him → ✅ Success!
- Find out what Ryan really wants → ✅ Success!
- Form an alliance with Ryan → ✅ Success!
I did it! I finally completed all the steps of Plan A!
I was still smiling when I nervously asked,
“By the way… back at the inn, you asked if I was a mutant?”
“Yeah.”
“You said Blessings don’t overlap.”
That’s what Ryan had said.
He saw me use the Blessing of Light Healing and was suspicious, saying there shouldn’t be two people with the same Blessing.
Actually, he seemed pretty sure about it.
I was curious why he was so certain.
“Well, since you don’t have powers, let me tell you how it works from my experience. One day, I just suddenly realized, ‘Oh! I can use a Blessing now!’”
“Hmm. Yeah, that’s how it usually happens, apparently.”
…He’s pretending not to know.
“And I just knew that my Blessing was for healing, and I instinctively knew how to use it.”
“Right. That makes sense.”
“I also knew my third sister had the same Blessing, but I didn’t think it was weird…”
I glanced at Ryan and carefully asked,
“Is it weird?”
“…”
He was quiet for a moment, touching his chin. Then he looked at me and said,
“Yeah. To me, it is. Blessings don’t overlap.”
“Can I ask… how do you know that for sure?”
“You curious?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Ryan nodded, then waved me closer. Nervously, I leaned in.
He whispered in my ear,
“…If you want to know, give me 500 gold.”
“Ugh!”
***
August 5, Year 922 of the Empire.
A heavy rainstorm fell that early morning.
Twelve-year-old Ryan, the fifth son of the Bassenberg family, suddenly woke up from a deep sleep.
“Ah!”
A short gasp. Then joy.
He jumped out of bed, breathing heavily, but smiling.
“I… I have power now!”
He looked at his shaking hands and felt an overwhelming thrill.
“I’m Awakened now!”
It was something Ryan had just realized, like lightning striking during the storm.
***
“Blessings just appear one day,”
“You’ll know instantly what kind of power you have, how to use it, and how strong you can become.”
That’s what his uncle had told him.
Until then, Ryan hadn’t shown any powers and was being pushed away by the family. But his uncle still treated him kindly.
And what his uncle had said… was true.
Even more amazing:
“It’s the same power as Uncle’s!”
Ryan felt certain: now the family would welcome him back.
His father wouldn’t ignore or scold him anymore.
Full of excitement, Ryan ran down the hall.
He wanted to tell everyone—he wasn’t useless after all!
“Fath—!”
He froze.
His father, who had supposedly gone out on a territory inspection, was already home.
So were his two older brothers.
All three were soaked in blood… and standing over something.
“…Ah.”
Lying on the ground, lifeless, was his uncle’s body.
“AAAAAAAH!!”
Ryan screamed and fell to the floor, trembling.
His father looked at him like he was nothing.
“Why… why… Why did you kill Uncle?!”
He asked, voice shaking.
It was such a foolish question.
He already knew what kind of person his father was.
“Little brother, why do you always ask such pointless questions? Isn’t it obvious?”
It was his second brother, Elliot, who answered.
“He kept going against Father’s orders. That’s why.”
While Ryan sat frozen in shock, his father and brothers talked like nothing happened.
Ryan could only stare at his uncle’s lifeless body.
Then, suddenly—
Oh…
He understood everything, like a lightning bolt in his brain.
“It’s because Uncle died.”
He figured it out.
“That’s why I woke up.”
Why had his power appeared so suddenly, after 12 long years?
Why did he have the same power as his uncle?
The answer was clear.
“Blessings can’t overlap.”
Ryan instinctively knew it.
Even the people with powers didn’t fully understand where they came from. But this much was clear:
Blessings must be passed down, like a legacy.
If Uncle hadn’t died, Ryan would’ve gone on thinking he was powerless.
***
“By the way, Father. You destroyed Conrad territory without a reason. That’s going to be hard to cover up.”
“Yeah. Normal people couldn’t do that kind of damage. We at least need a believable excuse for killing all the villagers…”
His two brothers were discussing something Ryan didn’t understand.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Then his father spoke.
He pointed to Ryan, who sat pale and shaking on the ground.
“We’ll just say he did it all.”
Good gravy. That’s rough