Did I just got slapped in the face…? is probably what Ken was saying inside his head as he looked at me with that deranged and desperate face of his.
He looked so much in pain after receiving that slap that I almost wanted to burst out of laughter.
"Heh,"
Ken's face turned reddish as it looked like veins were popping off his head.
"You shit! You interrupted our duel!"
He lunged forward, raising his sword upward. His eyes were filled with madness and his whole attention was solely on me.
Did he really think I cheated my way into their duel when he was the one doing it in the first place?
However, the only reason I interrupted is because it is becoming more dangerous.
'This shit head…'
And does he think I'm a pushover?
Whoosh—!
Ken brought his sword down, thinking he had a clean hit.
That was until I seized the sword from his possession with a clean tap from his wrist then used the same weapon like a bat and hit the arrogant relative of mine.
And keep hitting him still.
There was no mercy on my spanks.
Tak—!
My family and relatives could only watch in shock.
After all, I have always been the inconspicuous and boring person in this family. I appeared to be always a dolt and docile.
And was never been violent to anyone else.
So of course, registering this in their heads as they watched me beat up an arrogant relative was going to take a few moments before finally concluding.
"Cillian, stop!"
Reo was the one who shouted while approaching me to stop the already half-unconscious Ken.
Following him were my mother and Ken's parents before the rest soon stopped the controlled madness I was displaying.
At least, that's what they think.
Just right before I got fully controlled, I sneaked my hands into Ken's pocket to steal the star pendant he possessed.
It looks very expensive, but at the same time, he wanted the knowledge it contains to remain hidden from us.
Not to me, though.
'I had to grab it no matter what…'
Hence before everything settled in, I managed to finish my primary and secondary objectives at this useless duel.
First, I grabbed the sinister energy that the star pendant kept oozing out faintly. Second, beat up this arrogant Ken.
Beating up my relative is the primary objective.
…
Dangling the star pendant with my hand, my gaze fell upwards to the starry night as a small sigh escaped from my lips.
"I knew it…"
"It's not Forbidden Magic, Evil Magic, or Unholy Magic…"
I knew it was mana oozing from this item but… I don't know where it is coming from.
Me, the Supreme Arcane Emperor, aren't aware of where this mana originated from? Me, who boasts knowledge regarding magic out of all the living people, couldn't distinguish the mana inside this pendant from an arrogant relative of mine?
I guess during five hundred years of my disappearance, much had already changed.
'Maybe I should've studied more about the current occurrences in the world? I'm literally just reading literary works in my free time… like those light novels,'
Welp, there goes my free time and peace of mind waving me goodbye.
Tak—!
Suddenly, I heard an accidental step from the rooftop after trying to sneak her way towards me.
It was no other than Yana.
Well, I have always been aware of her presence right from the very start she started to see the chance of closing with me on our house's rooftop.
Or maybe she deliberately made that step to make me aware of her presence?
What an adorable sister.
"Something wrong, Yana?"
Yana got closer to the spot where I was sitting and sat down beside me.
"You always do this once in a while, you know? Gazing at the night sky alone,"
"…"
Oh, my cute and adorable sister.
She definitely wanted to talk about my uncharacteristic behavior in the basement.
Yana always does this when talking about something to me or someone, but she wanted to get the conversation smooth first before coming straight to the point.
I haven't been pampering you for seventeen years to not know your quirks and disposition.
But I'll go along with it.
"Yes, I do. I love starry night the most. The still, tranquil stars motionlessly hang around, and the calming air makes me refreshed, in a kind of way,"
I do have this kind of habit in the past as well.
But I would not be telling you that.
"I didn't know you have that kind of… hobby,"
"Hobby? Well, I guess you could say it that way,"
Come on now, sis. Ask whatever that is concerning your mind.
Yana looked at the starry night with me as well, and for a while she was quiet.
"I have to thank you for what you did,"
She paused.
"I would've beaten the shit out of that arrogant bastard if you hadn't done it instead,"
Eh?
Looking at the side with a surprised expression, Yana continued as if she was amused by the face I was making.
"I know you're the one who saved me from Ken's plan… and I know it involves the sinister energy from whatever pendant he tried to use while I was caught off guard… That darkness that tried to encroach on me felt so… wrong that I almost cried,"
Yana then looked at me with a smile.
"Thank you, brother,"
Those words seemed to echo through my heart.
It felt satisfying.
I laid down on the roof and retorted to make it not awkward.
Yana isn't the type to say those words after all.
"Don't worry, the reason I was only able to do that is because I sensed the mana from that pendant. If I was a bit too late to act or notice, it would've gone worse,"
A smirk plastered on my lips.
"That's why that shithead deserved some of my beatings,"
I tried to look at my sister to see her reaction since it was clear that we were mocking Ken, but she had a different kind of reaction.
She had a look of enlightenment in her expression.
"Wait, you sensed the mana from that pendant even without proper training in what mana is? Now that I think about it, you've never attended classes related to it yet you've seen it better than me, who has at least knowledge of mana and all that. Do you know what that means brother?"
Uh, what could she possibly imply?
Yana's eyes seemed to be glistening with hope.
"Brother, you might be a genius when it comes to mana,"
A genius when it comes to mana… I'm already one.
"BROTHER,"
She got closer to me as she smiled proudly.
"You can become a mage. A great mage in fact,"
W-why do you want me to repeat the same achievement I've already done in my past life?
Yana began to grab my arms and shook it violently.
"This is more reason to come with me to the Academy to enroll! Let's go, please! We'll get admitted there and learn a lot!"
While letting her shake me, flailing on the rooftop like a ragdoll, a thought came across me.
'Ugh, even if I was already convinced to come with her to the Academy to enroll, this gives her more reason to trust me that I'll truly get admitted. She's really an excited girl…'
Giving her a nod, Yana became even more fervent.
"Yesssss! Sword and Magistry Academy, here we come! Me and my brother will become number one!"
There could never be two number ones, sister.
But whatever makes you happy, I guess.