After a while, my hunger gets quenched, and I stop eating. But I can't get up from the table; according to Ustos, the ending of the family meal is represented by the head of the family getting up from his seat and departing from the meal. If another member of the family gets up first, they show great disrespect to the head.
Well, of course, this role is incredibly stupid. It's not like I have anything better to do in the first place; I just pass the time away by practicing my mana manipulation.
After some time, the family head gets up from his seat and leaves the room, signifying the end of the family meal. After a minute passes, I also get up, bow once again to everyone, and leave the room.
Walking through the hallway, out of sheer annoyance at being forced to stay in one spot for 50 minutes, I curse the annoying amount of time it took Bigil to get up. That man just ingested so much food and wine; it's no wonder he's considering his successors at an early age. He'll probably get a heart attack or suffer some form of liver failure within the decade. Whatever, I don't really care. I'll be done with the academy and already fled this stupid city before that happens.
While returning to my room, I hear footsteps approaching me at a fast rate. Reflexively I turn around and see the youngest sister, who was sitting at the table, running towards me with a big, dumb smile on her face.
"Hello, brother!" she screams out with the pitch of a dying cat.
I suppress a frown and say, "Hello to you too, Stella."
She runs up to me and lifts her hands up in a grabbing gesture.
I bend down, and she gives me a hug. "Brother, I've missed you. You were gone for so long!" she shouts into my ears.
Ustos did not tell me this would happen. I specifically remember asking him about his youngest sister, and he answered that she would not be much trouble and that I should not think about her. I swear, when I return, I will–
I don't have time to finish my train of thought as the gremlin currently invading my personal space damages my eardrums with her voice once again.
"Ooo, brother, you were learning magic, right? Show me, show me a spell, please!"
"I'm in my first year; I can't perform magic yet. Maybe next year." I answer the two-dimensional idiot.
"That's what Big sister said when she returned too last year, but when she came back yesterday, she said that it would be too dangerous to show me." she said, imitating her sister's tone.
I sigh and try to think of some sort of magic, anything to get her to leave me alone.
I think of something and show her my empty hand.
"All right, what do you see?"
"Uhh, nothing."
Then I reach into my spatial ring and take out a bandage I made with Marfont's clothes. To her, it just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Apparently, showing her magic had the opposite effect of calming her down and making her leave because, when she saw the object appear in my hands, she got excited and started running around.
"Wow, that's so cool! Do it again!"
Thankfully, before I have to think of another plan to deter her, I see her mother approach.
When she comes near, she looks at the idiot bothering me and looks at me with a disapproving frown. She then grabs her by the wrist and starts pulling her off. While walking, she berates her for approaching me.
Finally free to go on with my walk, I continue returning to my room. I enter and take a seat.
The break passes without much event; my great disguise stands tall as always, and the family, as predicted by me, is so focused on which of the brothers would inherit the family that no one really paid attention to me.
I mostly sat idly in my room, practicing my mana manipulation. Now, instead of three seconds to create and close a mana breach, it takes me two, which is quite a good achievement as far as I am concerned.
I hired a person to kill Marfont, as I did with my first captive. I'm not risking him being found by the wizards of the academy. So the plan will be to return to the mercenaries I hired and give them their payment. After that, bring Marfont to the poor chump that I hired to kill him at a certain time, then make Ustos put back on the wizard robe and soul-bound necklace, then sneak him back in. After that, throw away all the items, so I don't get caught. It's perfect.
My only real concern turned out to be the younger sister, but concerning the fact that she's five, she only turned out to be a miner annoyance, not anything else.
And now I'm standing outside the estate with my three bags.
*sigh It's time to sneak Ustos into the academy.