Chapter 2
Kain Siers doubted his own ears.
'Fire... magic?'
It was more shocking than being told to his face that he would be expelled from the clan.
Kain's mouth fell open involuntarily.
'From the Siers clan?'
What kind of clan was the Siers clan?
It was a clan that had tenaciously survived in the frontier since the days when ice magic was scorned, maintaining its lineage, and had begun to rise in prominence with the emergence of Sein Siers, eventually proudly placing its name among the four great houses.
Moreover, it had done so by ousting one of the fire magic houses that had occupied two of the existing four great positions.
'Could it be that it's not the Siers clan I know...?'
With a sliver of hope, he hurriedly shifted his gaze to the clan head's waist.
However, the emblem engraved on the clan head's insignia perfectly matched the Siers clan crest that Sein knew.
'How in the world did this happen?'
Just moments ago, Sein Siers' consciousness, which had fought a desperate battle with Desmond and ultimately met its end, had awakened in the Siers clan a full 200 years later.
The fact that he had processed and accepted this in such a short time was remarkable in itself.
It was likely impossible for anyone other than Sein Siers, who had calmly assessed the situation and always found the best course of action no matter what unfolded on the battlefield, to do so.
However, even Sein Siers couldn't maintain complete composure upon hearing the words "fire magic" from the ice magic clan he had built up his entire life.
'What happened to the clan...?'
Numerous thoughts raced through his mind, but only for a moment.
"Ahem."
Blake Siers cleared his throat as Kain stared at him with his mouth open.
"My apologies. I understand."
Kain immediately lowered his head.
'Right, expulsion.'
He had momentarily forgotten, his mind preoccupied by the shocking words "fire magic."
Kain Siers was now being expelled from the Siers clan.
'To be kicked out of the clan penniless right after regaining my memories... the timing is truly something else.'
Perhaps it was better than regaining them later.
If Kain Siers, unable to use even basic magic, were expelled empty-handed from the Garil Snowy Mountain, he would likely lose his life before long.
'Since the clan head has officially declared it, it's irreversible.'
The weight of the 'clan head's declaration' in the Siers clan was as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold.
The head of the Siers clan was always cool-headed, fair and just never reversed a decision once made.
An iron-blooded disposition.
This was a fundamental quality that the head of the Siers clan was expected to possess.
Kain Siers, who knew this better than anyone present, calmly lowered his head, offered his final respects to the clan head, and was about to step back.
"Then..."
And at that moment.
"Wait."
"......?"
Kain paused.
Wasn't the declaration over?
Could it be that Kain Siers before regaining his memories had caused yet another incident?
Just as complex thoughts began to cloud his mind again.
"Well, I will expel you, but..."
The clan head cleared his throat a couple of times before continuing in a slightly softened tone.
"I will grant you a final one-month grace period. If you fail to show results by then, you will truly be expelled, so be aware. That is all!"
Blake Siers finished his declaration in that manner, then, with a deliberately solemn face, passed Kain and left the open space.
"......"
"......"
A moment of silence hung in the open space.
Once the clan head had completely disappeared, the gathered people began to whisper amongst themselves.
"See, what did I tell you? He said he'd give him another month, didn't he?"
"The Lord is really... despite how he looks, he's soft-hearted."
"You can say that again."
...An iron-blooded disposition?
***
While Kain stood there blankly, the whispering people also began to leave the open space one by one.
"Well, still, it's fortunate for the young master for now."
"Fortunate? If it were me, I'd rather leave on my own two feet than be called out again in a month and be humiliated."
"Shh, be careful what you say. He's still the young master. He might hear you."
"He can't hear this much anyway. Have you only seen the young master for a day or two?"
He could hear it. Very clearly.
It seemed that Kain Siers before regaining his memories had been pretending to be a little hard of hearing.
Perhaps it had been better for Kain himself to pretend not to hear the harsh words spoken around him.
'Anyway, a grace period for expulsion...'
Of course, receiving a grace period was fortunate in itself.
To be expelled from the clan he had raised and built up right after regaining his memories – what a ridiculous situation.
However, since Kain believed that the clan head's declaration was irreversible the moment it was made, he was immediately considering alternative plans in his mind.
'Once I retreat and learn magic, reapplying as an initiated disciple rather than a direct descendant is also one way.'
It was probably rare for someone to go back to the clan that expelled them and request re-entry, but in terms of procedure, it wasn't impossible.
'After all, I don't need a position as a direct bloodline.'
Most of the Empire's families valued ability over lineage.
Of course, direct descendants had the inherent advantage of a higher probability of inheriting mana circuits or talents in specific attribute lines, but if someone possessed skill that surpassed that, lineage itself didn't matter at all.
In the first place, the meritocratic system of the families had naturally formed as families that valued lineage more had fallen.
'And... I lived without such things in my previous life too.'
-Lord! We found a child abandoned in the snowy mountains and brought him back, but what should we do with him...?
-Who would abandon a child in this harsh snowy mountain? Bring him in for now. If he has any innate talent, he will survive.
In his previous life, Sein Siers was taken in by the clan at such a young age that his memories were hazy, and he grew up as an initiated disciple.
Sein, the youngest with no peers, fortunately showed tremendous talent in ice magic, and although there were direct descendants who disliked Sein for his unprecedented rapid progress, he eventually won the clan head's selection as his successor with his overwhelming skill.
And finally.
-Sein. I know you've suffered much since you came to the clan. I'm sorry I couldn't have paid more attention to you. It's a little early, but I entrust the Siers clan to you.
-Please, stop talking. You're bleeding!
-Cough. That way of speaking of yours never changes. It's alright. The children of the clan will understand the true meaning of your words now.
-Lord!
-Hehe, a child who never shed a tear even in his younger days... cough. Don't worry too much. You'll do well. Sein.
After the clan head was killed in the battle against Desmond's followers in the north, Sein inherited the position and led the Siers clan ever since.
From the snowy mountains on the border to entering the Empire's capital, he had accomplished so much, as if he had ten bodies, single-handedly raising the clan's prestige.
That was partly due to the request of his benefactor and teacher who had taken him in, and partly to prove that the ice magic he had taught was by no means inferior.
'I can't give up on the Siers clan, not after all I've been through.'
Kain, possessing the memories of his past life, could actually learn magic sufficiently and stand on his own even if he were expelled from here.
No, rather, it might have been much better for his well-being to escape this chaotic clan as soon as possible, where he was relegated back to the border's snowy mountains and was expected to use fire magic of all things.
However, even so, Kain needed to know what in the world had happened to the Siers clan over the past 200 years.
So, not being expelled immediately was definitely a good thing.
He wouldn't have to go through the complicated and troublesome process of re-entering after being expelled.
However.
'To declare expulsion and then grant a grace period... for someone who is supposedly the head of the Siers clan to show such weakness.'
The clan head's prestige was directly linked to the clan's prestige.
'At this rate, I worry if he can properly lead the clan.'
Between the fire magic talk and everything else, Kain shook his head, thinking that something was terribly wrong.
"...I should go back for now."
Before he knew it, only Kain remained in the open space.
Kain slowly took a step.
He didn't exactly remember where his residence was, but he followed where 'Kain Siers'' feet led him, surveying the interior of the clan estate.
'It's desolate.'
The way back was bleak.
There were no glittering buildings to be seen, only old structures sparsely scattered about.
Outside the low castle walls, the rugged Garil Snowy Mountain surrounded all sides.
That aspect was the same as his memories from his previous life.
'To think I'd come back to this place.'
To return to the place where he first learned magic as a child, 200 years later.
And with the clan half-ruined.
'The feeling is... overwhelmingly new.'
On his way to his residence, he heard some clan members whispering as they looked at Kain.
"Tch, even if you do that, he'll never come to his senses... The Lord is too kind to even give him a grace period."
"You can say that again. He'll probably just say he's training again and lock himself in his room to slack off."
"Exactly. It's a waste of a personal training room. If he's going to be like that, he should give me the training room... It's tough being a disciple who isn't a direct descendant."
But Kain, as 'Kain Siers' would have done, pretended not to hear this either and walked past.
'Is this it?'
He entered the West Wing where the disciples resided, specifically the separate building used only by direct descendants.
[Kain Siers]
Opening the door with his name faintly inscribed on it, a somewhat musty but familiar smell stung his nose.
The bed, furniture, and daily necessities were not even close to the quality of those used by Sein Siers, the master of ice magic, but Kain didn't care and slowly walked to the corner.
Then, he picked up a small mirror placed on the table and looked at his face for the first time.
"Hmm..."
Hair as white and soft as the first snow of early winter.
Red and beautiful eyes that seemed to hold the colors of a deep sunset. And skin as fair as white jade.
"Not bad-looking. Though my previous life was better, I think."
With that highly subjective assessment, Kain put down the mirror.
Kain soon sat on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell into thought.
'The most immediate inconvenience is, as expected, not being able to clearly recall Kain Siers' memories.'
If he could only bring back Kain's original memories, it would help in understanding the clan's current situation, and communication with the clan members would also come naturally.
However, he had tried several times on the way back, but it was like reaching into a fog and flailing his arms – the memories were difficult to grasp.
Just as Siers Blake's face had felt familiar earlier, he had hoped that looking in the mirror might help him recover his memories from this life even a little, but unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any effect.
'It seems this will take some time...'
There was a more important issue than that right now.
'First, the matter of expulsion. A one-month grace period, and I have to show results within that time.'
What did 'showing results' with magic mean in the Siers clan?
'At the very least, I'd have to be able to hunt down a snow leopard that inhabits the northwest of the Garil Snowy Mountain on my own.'
It wasn't easy for a mage to hunt a snow leopard, agile and skilled in close combat, alone.
It was only possible for someone who had reached the 3rd Circle, or at the very least, could freely use all the magic of the 2nd Circle.
'Especially since its hide has considerable resistance to ice magic.'
That was why the Siers clan often designated hunting a snow leopard alone as a 'test'.
'My disciples used to struggle quite a bit with snow leopards around this time of year.'
Of course, Sein Siers in his previous life had achieved the astonishing feat of hunting three snow leopards alone not long after reaching the 2nd Circle, but objectively, snow leopards were not easy opponents for lower-circle ice mages.
'To hunt a snow leopard within a month with a body that hasn't even learned basic magic... even for me, starting with a completely different body than my previous life, the timeframe is a bit tight...'
As Kain thought this, his eyes suddenly snapped open with a realization.
'Wait. A completely different body?'
