Chapter 9

Eugene had never choked even if he chewed meat fast every morning. He didn’t think he’d be able to just by drinking tea. Eugene coughed as he tapped his chest.

It was surprising.

There are five towers in Aroth, the kingdom of Mado.

Red, blue, green, white, black.

Three hundred years ago, there was no black tower. But hundreds of years have passed since the promise of the warrior and the devil.

There were more than a hundred black wizards that Eugene killed in his previous life. After the promise of the warrior and the demon king, the Black Magician was treated as another type of magician and gained enough power to build a tower in Aroth.

Anyway, the red tower has been there since 300 years ago.

“Are you all right?”

Robertian looked at Eugene with astonishment.

“Oh, yeah, it’s okay… Yes, I’m fine.”

He just spits it out in surprise while drinking tea, but he felt embarrassed because everyone was looking in his way. Eugene caught the towel while spitting out a cough.

But even before cleaning the table, Robertian flicked his finger. The wet tablecloth was cleaned up.

It was magic.

“You must be very surprised.”

“Yes…”

Eugene smiled awkwardly as he laid down his stretched hand. It was good at times like this to be young.

‘If he’s the Red Tower Master… He must’ve been a student of Senya.’

Strictly speaking, Eugene was not a student himself.

As Eugene remembered, the teacher of the Roman Empire was Senya’s disciple.

Although the line is quite different, the red tower Master, Robertian, and the green tower Master serve the wise Senya as their master.

It was understandable. Three hundred years ago, Senya became the youngest person in Aroth’s history to hold the position of a Green Tower Master.

A companion of the great Vermouth.

A great wizard who can kill even the devil and the dragon.

Countless wizards visited the Green Tower to become Senya’s disciple.

In addition, Senya has done many other feats. She revamped Aroth’s public magic books and advised other Tower Masters on magic.

In her later years, the wizards who had been taught by Senya sat at the top of the tower. The teachings continued to the present day, and the two great masters who claimed to be wise Senya’s disciples became the red and green masters respectively.

“Teacher’s Master’s Master…”

No matter how hard Eugene thought about it, he didn’t think that Robertian would have met Senya in person. Still, he didn’t expect to meet someone related to an old colleague here.

‘If it’s a red tower… Summoning magic is their specialty.’

Summoning magic was also Senya’s Magic. The house where most of the trip was lodged was also a summons from Senya.

“…You said your name was Eugene, didn’t you?”

Guillard opened his mouth. He was pointed out, but this time he wasn’t surprised or drinking tea. Eugene nodded slightly and turned to Guillard.

‘I was wondering when I’d be called by you.’

When he saw him in front of the house, he felt Guillade’s secret gaze.

“I heard from Theonis.”

The loser, Cyan, chewed his lips tight. However, Guillard pressed Cyan’s shoulders with his slow hands.

“My son… He insulted you and your parents.”

“Yes, but now there are no hard feelings left.”

Eugene sat upright in her posture.

“I was fighting to get rid of my feelings about him.”

“You won.”

“Even if I lost, I wouldn’t have left any feelings behind. I’m weak and I couldn’t keep my honor, so I have to endure insults.”

“You’re better than my son.”

Guillard grinned. He continued by tapping Cyan’s shoulder one more time.

“Cyan.”

“…yes.”

“I`m not ashamed of your defeat. But I’m ashamed of you being ashamed of your defeat and looking at your father.”

“…”

“I heard it was a duel that started with your insult. But you lost the duel and didn’t apologize to Eugene.”

“That… that’s…”

“Cyan, your last name is Lionhart. The great Vermouth is your forefather. If you were his blood, you should know how to respect not only yours but also your opponent’s honor.”

“I don’t think he respected my honor.”

Eugene looked at Cyan’s face with unkind thoughts. Eugene thought their father would have a different personality because the twins’ personalities were so bad. Guillard seemed more mentally embedded than he thought.

‘He said he’d been away from his home for three years.’

Three years is a long time for a 10-year-old kid, long enough to be one-third of his life.

“…sorry.”

Cyan twitched his nose and blushed. He was not crying because he’s sorry, he’s crying because he thought it was unfair. Eugene knew it right away, but he had never expected a sincere apology in the first place.

Guillard also felt his son’s dissatisfaction. However, if he were to point out here, the discussion will become too long.

“…Not that I am being rude. Eugene, I don’t know who your father is.”

“I understand. My family came from the back of the countryside.”

“Did your father teach you skills?”

“He taught me the basics, but most of them I trained by myself.”

“What kind of training did you do?”

“The sword or the spear… We used training weapons, which are not as good as what I found here.”

“No one taught you otherwise.”

“There were some knights in my family, but they weren’t good enough to ask for instruction.”

“Is that so?”

Guillard was lost in thought for a moment. Cyan chewed on his lips with humiliation, and Ciel’s eyes shone as if they were funny.

Iokim saw Eugene with blank eyes.

‘He won a duel against Cyan?’

‘Who’s Jehard?’

Gargis and Dira glanced at Eugene with astonishing eyes. Other children from other branches were watching Eugene in dismay.

“…I think this blood ceremony will be fun.”

“I think so, too.”

Guillard smiled and said, Robertian, who was listening to the story with interest, also nodded his smiling face.

The dish began to come out. However, they did not touch the dishes because they were looking at Guillard.

“I don’t know if the dish will suit my taste.”

Guillard began to eat with such a good cry. Only then did the children catch the tableware. Eugene cut a large piece of meat as if he had waited.

“Are you that hungry that you need a big portion?”

“I’m hungry because I kept moving after lunch.”

The atmosphere is a little relieved when the meal begins. Ciel giggled and put vegetables such as bell peppers and carrots on Eugene’s plate.

“Then eat mine, too. I’m not hungry.”

“It’s because you don’t want to eat vegetables.”

“No, I like vegetables.”

Ciel looked at Guillard’s expression and quickly continued.

“I’m really not hungry.”

After everyone’s plates have been emptied. Guillard opened his mouth by putting down his glass of wine.

“As you might have guessed. I’m setting up a table to give you the details of the blood ceremony.”

The utensils that were moving, slowly stopped one by one

“I also wanted to keep an eye on my relative’s children who are participating in the blood ceremony.”

Guillard’s eyes move. His eyes stayed with Gargis, Dira, and Eugene for a long time. Three people, who Eugene defined as “shots,” also knew about it, but did not feel dissatisfied.

Decon, Hansen, and Julse.

The three were well aware that they could not make any significant difference in the blood ceremony.

“…a ten-year-period system of blood ceremony. The contents are organized by the family Lord. I organized the last blood ceremony. As you may have heard before you came to the main house, the last generation allowed twelve children to wander in the middle of the forest.”

Guillard shook his head with a bitter smile.

“The last bloodline ceremony was held only by children of the Branch Family. But in this blood ceremony… Three of my children are participating. It’s funny to say, but I think the tradition of the blood ceremony itself is so discriminatory.”

Guillard’s three children looked surprised.

“The blood ceremony is a tradition for the main house. Children in the branches can’t hold a real weapon or train Mana until the blood ceremony. If the blood ceremony is carried out in such a state, the results will be obvious. A child in the branch can never beat a child from the main house.”

“…”

“But it’s impossible to eliminate long-standing traditions at once.”

It is a gap that has been divided between the main house and the main house for hundreds of years.

Guillard’s younger brother, Gilford, also had a son. When the child was five years old, Gilford left his home and now belonged to the branch.

Descendants of the great Vermouth.

The home of Lionhart, who claims the legitimacy of blood.

Only the blood with great purity is recognized as the main house. Lionhart’s home has been in such good shape.

“No matter how light the blood is, no matter how light it is. Don’t you all have Lionhart as your last name? But the significance of the blood system is to identify the qualities that would claim to be descendants of Lionhart, the great Vermouth. The depth of blood doesn’t matter.”

Vermouth.

Eugene chewed the meat and thought.

‘I think your descendants are nicer than you.’

“What’s the point of competition with obvious results? I want to confirm not only my children but all of you who succeeded with Lionhart’s last name.”

Guillard turned his head.

“So, unlike the previous one, we decided to get outside help.”

“That’s why I’m here. Kids.” Robertian smiled broadly.

“Wasn’t the speech too long? I understand you’re sleepy, but please stay alert and pay attention.”

Guillard smiled bitterly. Robertian didn’t care about him and kept talking.

“We’ll know once we get started, but the blood ceremony will start in four days at the latest. So what it’s like is. I’m going to summon a maze in the forest.”

Robertian raised both hands. The mana gathered between the palms of his hands rose and made a huge maze on the table.

“You’re going to go into different entrances and explore the maze. There’s a whole bunch of traps in the maze… Oh, oh, you don’t have to worry too much. You won’t need to hurt anyone in the maze.”

“Why?”

Ciel asked with a tilt of her head.

“That’s because everything in it is a magical fantasy. Whatever you go through in the maze, it’s not real. But… you’ll have a realistic experience.”

Robertian’s smile thickened.

“The monster you encountered in the maze could cut off your arm. It doesn’t really cut your arm, but in the maze, you would think you really have your arm cut.”

“Wow…”

“Magic is fascinating, isn’t it? If you’re interested, come to Aroth. The great Vermouth was also a great wizard.”

In addition to summoning magic, it was also a combination of higher mental magic.

‘If I can do that, I’ll make it.’

Eugene listened silently to Robertian’s explanation.

“The labyrinth will have many other traps besides monsters. Of course, it’s not really dangerous.”

“Yes.”

Ciel was the only one who giggled while listening to the Robertian story. The shiverers looked terrified.

“What you have to do in the maze is very simple. Go to the center of the maze and knock down the captain monster there.”

“How can I knock him down?”

“You just have to knock it down. Has anyone ever caught a monster?”

“Me.”

Three members of the main house raised their hands. In the room, only Gargis, Dira, and Eugene raised their hands. Eugene also beat orcs with a wooden sword when he was about ten years old.

“It’s the same as it was. The blood ceremony ends when someone out of the nine of you reaches the center of the maze and knocks down a bad monster.

“Is it okay if I can’t get out of the maze?”

“Of course, if you’re scared to go in front of you, you can stay still. But don’t expect to get good grades…”

Robertian answered kindly as he stared at Hansen with plump cheeks.

“If you catch the Captain Monster.”

What’s a captain monster? No matter how handicapped those opponents are, their opponents are 10-year-olds, isn’t it too childish? Eugene rolled his eyes thinking about it.

‘So, what are the rewards when we get him?’

If Eugene could, he’d like to ask him so openly…

“…what can I get?” In the end, Eugene just asked straight away.

“I’ll let you get out of the main house’s underground treasure trove with one thing you want.”

It was Guilard who answered.

Eugene smiled brightly and nodded.

“Wow.” These were the children’s responses.

‘What should I choose? Sword? Spear? Bow?’

Although the blood ceremony had not yet begun, Eugene was confident that he would break through the maze for the first time.