"I'm giving you my seat as the Head of the household."
Yeriel grew speechless. Her lips had stopped cursing me entirely. I found it adorable, the way she blinked in confusion, her mouth puffing as she tried to make sense of what I just said and reply to me at the same time.
"You…you're lying!" Ariel spat the words out, barely managing to compose even that short sentence.
"Your manner of speaking still has no class or elegance to it."
"…That's a lie!"
"That's a little better."
"…See! That's a lie as well!"
I shook my head at her reply. She still seemed unable to believe me.
"I don't lie."
"…"
Only then did her hands start to shake. Her eyes began roaming around the room, seemingly looking for something.
"Pen…I-I need a pen and paper…memorandum…write a memorandum right now."
"You have no dignity."
"See, that's…"
"A lie? I'd have already cut off your finger before you could point it at me and say that. Would it not be better if I just take an oath?"
"…"
An oath was far more significant to a wizard than to ordinary people. Simply put, it was no different from applying a memory-based magic spell that would bind their souls to the promise they took. Breaking it would either result in their death or the loss of their power.
"Really…will you really?"
"Yes."
"No, this doesn't make any sense. Why? Why are you suddenly doing this?"
Naturally, I couldn't say that it was to soothe her anger and remove future death variables. Yeriel found my decision too sudden, making it hard for her to trust my words. However, it wasn't that big of a deal. I would one day turn over my position to her anyway; all I did was push forward that event's date.
"From now on, I'll be focusing on my research on magic. I won't have time to attend to my duties as the head of the household. Hence, I deduced that this is the best possible move for everyone's interests, considering you've already mastered the art of lordship anyway, at least to some extent."
"You only realized that now?"
"I've known about it for a while. I was just testing you."
Deep in thought, she wiggled and soon shook her head with a scream.
"Test?! I'm the one who should be testing you!"
"If you don't want to believe me, don't."
"…"
Ariel moistened her lips, then, still in doubt, slowly looked at me.
"The…the succession ceremony…w-when are we doing…it?"
She stuck her tongue out at the end, like an actual little sister, which I found cute. I hadn't given any thought to that event at all yet. Hence, I just made up an answer on the spot.
"You'll know when the time is right."
As if she understood my point immediately, she nodded along.
"In three years. Exception Day."
"…"
I didn't know what she meant, but I just went along with it since she looked so serious. Pondering to herself, she gathered the things she brought with her. On the bed were a dagger and a pistol, which I thought meant, 'Today was going to be the day I murdered you.'
"You're leaving already?"
"Of course! A certain someone spent 200 million at an auction, after all. I have to go earn back what we lost."
She often screamed at me out of nowhere, but the embers from her voice had died down now. The Yukline Household would one day transcend 200 million. I was certain of that.
Our territory was called Hadekain, which was a continent rich with fertile soil. Its location had mountains surrounding its borders with rivers running along the middle, making it worthy of being called a Holy Ground. On top of that, our political position was ridiculously good.
We weren't high enough in the system to reach the Imperial Family, but we also weren't so far that we lacked any means of communication either. This Holy Ground continued to develop with those advantages, attracting both local wizards and knights. Only the Iliade and the Leviron households could become our opponents, but Iliade's area was too small, and Leviron was too far.
The Head of Yukline was a position far above everyone around us.
"Oh right, you…" As she was about to leave, Yeriel stopped by the door. "…better not change your mind later."
"What?"
"…I'm not making you take an oath because of my little…faith…in you…" Barely finishing the sentence with her diminishing voice, she stopped abruptly at the door.
"If you're lying, then even I don't know what's going to happen next…this moment can make or break our family. You know that, right? I'm already considered a lord by the people, after all."
I knew that all too well. She'd probably poison my food or drink if I went back on my word.
"Believe me. It's not a lie."
"…Hmmph."
Ariel put her dagger and gun in her bag.
"…"
She then continued to stare at me, this time in silence, but I didn't avoid her gaze. Yeriel soon grabbed the door and turned to glance at me one last time as she was about to leave.
"I still don't believe you. I doubt you'd do it. I mean…"
"I'll take an oath right now."
"…Don't need it."
She turned the doorknob, opened the door, and walked out of the room.
"Yeriel."
I caught her just as she was about to go down the stairs. Turning around, she looked like she was curious about what I had to say and seemed almost afraid that I might go back on my promise.
"…What is it?"
I didn't know what I was supposed to say to her. I just impulsively called out to her. However, I didn't feel satisfied with just eliminating the death variable. I wanted to take it a step further. I didn't want to live like Deculein using the system's [Personality] as an excuse. Although it certainly bound me, it wasn't a shackle I couldn't escape.
Hence, to reach my goals, at the very least, and for me to remain as Kim Woojin and not become Deculein, I had to personally mend this character's already damaged relationships…
"You should at least eat before you leave. You'll grow hungry on the road otherwise."
…I felt goosebumps all over my body as I affectionately said those words, which took courage to do. That act alone deviated from the character's core itself. Yeriel flinched upon hearing them, her round eyes shaking as if she saw a ghost.
"No! No way! No! Don't spout such weird things out of the blue! I don't know what happened to you, but I have to go now!"
Yeriel was screaming.
Ting tang, ting tang—!
She rushed down the stairs like an eager elementary school student.
"I'm going! Get the car ready!"
Eventually, her clamor reached the first floor.
"Hmmm."
[The Villain's Fate: You have overcome a Death Flag.]
And I, after received money from the store as a reward. The total amount I had in it was now six won. The System Store was currently accessible, but…
"…I feel like a mess."
I was out of my mind. Only about fifteen minutes had elapsed since I had arrived home, but I felt like I had been here for hours. What kind of storm just went by? I closed the door and stretched my arms out in the air.
"That's interesting."
I was about to sit with a glass of wine in hand when a strange voice came out of nowhere. I felt flustered, but at the same time, I felt strangely calm.
"I know I've said this before, but no matter how surprised I internally am, I just can't express it externally. It's such a mysterious yet efficient disposition."
"…Just saying that I'm here," The voice replied, sounding a little sharp.
Not long after, a breeze entered the room through the moonlit window frames. Unable to stop me, I looked in the direction it came from.
"So something like this happened."
Ganesha, a beautiful woman with unraveled fiery-red hair, looked at me with a playful smile. I frowned faintly at her in reply.
"An uninvited guest appears."
"I'm sorry. I am, but the Professor is handing over his seat as the head of the household? Are you trying to change?"
Why was this adventurer sticking her nose in another household's business?
'Oh, that's right. Yukline isn't my household.'
I calmly answered her.
"I just think she'll do better than me."
Still in doubt, Ganesha murmured, "Really? I can see where you're coming from, but…the fact that she's not your real sister still exists."
"…"
Her words disconcerted me for a moment, but according to the setting, Yeriel was my half-sibling, so she had a point.
"She doesn't have a drop of Yukline blood in her."
"…"
I didn't know what she was talking about.
…Seriously, what did she mean? I didn't think there was a setting like this, but if there was, then when was it added? Or was this what writers called a minor twist?
"Are you going to keep acting like that?"
I felt blessed to have Deculein's personality whenever I was in situations like this. No matter how shocking the words he heard were, even if someone held a knife to his neck, not even a single drop of cold sweat would roll down his forehead.
"You solicited me first, Professor. You and your sister…are you in that kind of circumstances?"
Silently, I looked at Ganesha, and she smiled naively at me.
"Didn't I tell my men to let you know three months ago?"
I looked for the right words inside my head, repeating the process of creating and dismantling sentences over and over again.
Boom—boom—boom—
Letters flew between my left and right brains. I had no obligation or responsibility to tell her anything or explain anything to her, but I didn't want Yeriel to lose her lordship. I had to shut Ganesha up.
"Even so…"
With that purpose, I haphazardly spewed out words.
"…Yeriel is still Yeriel."
…I had not such a reason in the first place, after all.
"…"
Silence fell upon us for a moment, followed by a suffocating sound. Ganesha suddenly exclaimed.
She looked at me with her eyes wide open and simply said, "Wow."
Ganesha brushed her bangs back, and I noticed goosebumps on the back of her hand.
"I didn't know you'd react like this, Professor…."
That was because I didn't even know it would be like this. I didn't know at all.
"Fine. I'll keep your secret."
As I was buzzing mentally, Ganesha clenched her fists. It made her look adorably small.
"Oh, and I'll tell you this, too. Yuksadoo is mindful of you, Professor. You know him, right?"
Yuksadoo was the head of the Sixth Snake, one of the most notorious criminal gangs in the continent, with bounties in the millions.
"They're after what you bought at the auction house. Of course, Routen will deliver it safely since if the item is taken while it's still in their possession, it'll also be a huge problem for them. However, you best be careful after it arrives."
Ganesha put her forefinger up.
"I don't think you've been putting up sufficient magical defenses these days. That's extremely careless of you. Make sure to put up more powerful ones and rebuild the mansion's magical security system as reliable and impenetrable as it used to be."
"…I understand."
Ganesha clasped her hands together after I replied.
"I truly do apologize about today. I didn't mean to eavesdrop…I won't let this happen again."
"…Ganesha," I called her name and looked at her with unwavering eyes.
"Yes? Why?"
"If, and only if, someone is after Yeriel…"
I had to do this as a precaution. If Deculein tried to do something to Yeriel three months ago…if I did something I wasn't aware of…I had to ask Ganesha to cover it up.
"Ah…"
Ganesha smiled abruptly, her lips resembling the moonlight. The mystery that surrounded her left me speechless.
"…Don't worry. That's not going to happen."
Whiiiing—
The wind blew, causing the curtains covering the window frame she was leaning against to flutter. When the air settled down, she had vanished.
"…Ha."
My upright posture grew disheveled as soon as her presence disappeared. I haphazardly brushed through my hair. Yeriel. I thought she was my half-sister, but we weren't even blood-related. I clasped my hands at the back of my neck and looked up at the ceiling.
"It was a truth I didn't have to know."
Nothing would've changed even after I learned of it, after all. Now that I thought about it, there was no such thing as a twist for me. It was unexpected, but I didn't find it that big of a deal. I wasn't Deculein in the first place, so whether or not Yeriel was his real sister wouldn't be enough to make me alter my attitude towards her. I decided to bury this information deep in my mind.
For me, Yeriel was still Deculein's little sister, whom I held sentiments for. She was a pretty cute kid. Ganesha was tight-lipped, ensuring that this secret would be kept for a long time…
*****
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a housing complex in the outskirts of the system…
"Professor…changed a lot. How can a person change so much? Or perhaps…is someone using the Professor's face as a disguise?"
Ganesha reminisced about the scene as she sat on a slanted crimson brick wall. It was an intense and memorable meeting that she wouldn't be able to forget.
"You were right. The Professor has a human side to him."
Her henchman, Lohan, answered.
"…You treat him differently just because he's handsome. The whole world knows how much of a dimwit you are now. Even back when the first mission came, you fell for him the moment you saw his face."
"Can I rip your ugly face off, then? I just didn't have enough money then. The debt collector took it, so I had no choice."
The 'Red Garnett Adventure Team,' the group she was currently with, had five members: three men and two women. The other woman in their party had set off on a long journey to book a residence for them.
"Ah, right. You know this is a secret, right? You have to keep your mouth shut about this until you die. Disclosing this will equate to betraying my faith in you as an adventurer. I also won't consider you my colleague anymore, and I will kill you with my own hands."
"Of course! We're human too. Anyone who'll spill our secrets is no better than a dog."
"Dozmu? I need you to promise, too."
The man wearing a hoodie nodded with a yawn.
"In any case…"
Ganesha scowled at her cheeky subordinate and stared at the far-off Yukline mansion. The curtain already blocked the window where she entered. Regardless, Deculein still looked attractive. He was so human.
'Yeriel is still Yeriel…'
She recited it in her head exactly like a poem…
…If it were in the past, she would've dismissed it as a funny play. Now, however, Deculein had no less than promised the seat to Yeriel. It puzzled her how he could give it to someone who wasn't even related to him by blood and had entirely no connection to the Yukline household. It was a progressive decision that he couldn't even be proud of.
"…Anyway, Deculein doesn't have to be on guard anymore. I don't think he's obsessed with the 'children.'"
"Yes. That's right."
"What has he been doing secretly, then?"
Ganesha held on to the chimney on the roof as she saw a wild boar wailing. Lohan pointed it out.
"It's crying."
"I know. We're looking at the same scene, aren't we?"
"It's crying because he's emotional."
"…Phew. He looks like a big bandit."
After letting out a sigh, Ganesha laid on the roof and looked at the dark and bright sky. The moon was always notably larger during nights like this. A clear and cool breeze brushed by her, and she soon found herself looking at a landscape that seemed like it would disappear without a moment's notice. She went as far as going through the trouble to look for Deculein. No, she was still keeping watch on him.
It was to confirm if she still had lingering attachments for the 'Archipelago's Talent.'
Of course, she couldn't ask if he was still looking for magic slaves directly, but depending on the answer she'd get, she might have to turn against Deculein. He seemed intent on changing his ways, though. She didn't know what the change of heart was for or where it came from, but it wasn't so bad.
"What did Reylie say? Has she found a place to stay with the kids?"
Soon, the children would arrive by boat. Ganesha was looking forward to it, but at the same time, she was worried. The children's talents were needed to fight against 'them,' but if 'war' was the main purpose of their training, then she wondered if training them was the right choice in the first place.
From a moral point of view, it wasn't. They were still kids, after all. However, if doing so would allow them to save tens, hundreds, even millions of lives once they had grown up, then it was undoubtedly the right option.
"Yes. That's why we don't have any more money." Lohan replied.
Ganesha's veins nearly popped out of her temple when she heard his words.
"What? Stop joking around."
"It's the truth."
"No, how on earth are we still broke despite the number of missions we've already completed? Did you embezzle? Just be upfront about it."
"Have you forgotten that we canceled the Deculein mission and paid a huge amount to compensate for it?"
"Oh. Right…"
Ganesha clicked her tongue and shook her head in disagreement.
"Hoooo…I think it's time to go back."
"Let's go. Hang in there, guys."
Lohan called the boar and Dozmu over. They huddled together, and as soon as Lohan knocked on the ground, the four turned into blue particles and were 'transmitted' somewhere.