Chapter 14
Alice asked Kain several times,
"Are you sure it's okay if I'm really honest?" before finally answering.
"Really, ugh... I shouldn't say this about a supporting clan, but they're just... bad... people."
Alice seemed to have toned it down a lot, taking a long time to choose each word.
"Even while you were just in your personal training room, Young Master, every time they came to visit, they acted so haughty and caused so much trouble... Honestly, the amount of support money is decreasing every year, no, now it's every month. According to the servants working in the North Wing, the financial situation is getting more and more serious."
"Even so, the main building doesn't look like it's in such bad shape financially."
Alice replied with sad eyes.
"That's all because the clan Head is using the money that should be used for the North Wing for the East and South Wings. He says he can't make the disciples who are receiving education and training use inadequate facilities. He also says that the servants have protected the clan, trusting in it until now, so he can't just cast them out... The amount of money going out is the same, but the amount of money coming in is decreasing."
"I see."
Kain rested his chin on his hand.
'Blake Siers... I've gained a new perspective on him. To use money meant for himself and use it for the East and South Wings.'
Caring for the clan's people was a model behavior that a clan head should rightfully possess.
However, you can't keep robbing Peter to pay Paul forever.
If the fundamental problem wasn't solved, something would eventually go wrong.
"And more than anything, when I think about what happened three years ago..."
Alice shuddered as if she was still angry just thinking about it.
"Three years ago?"
Alice's eyes widened as Kain tilted his head in confusion.
"Don't you remember? That's when you punched Hayden...nim in the face. I still remember it vividly. You were so incredibly cool back then, Young Master... Ah, you're cool now too, of course!"
Alice quickly added.
"Back then, you said protecting those under you was natural and not a big deal, and told us to forget about it and focus on our work since it was something that happened, so don't worry about it... So you really did forget. You keep your word, Young Master, you're so cool!"
"Ah..."
Listening to Alice's words, some of 'Kain Siers'' memories from a few years ago surfaced.
-How dare you try to touch our Alice? You insolent son of a...! Take this!
-Aaaaaah! You crazy bastard! Fire Ball!
Kain had endured the Fire Ball with his body and continued to the end, finally landing a punch on Hayden.
After that incident, he had been pressured with expulsion, using the fact that he hadn't mastered magic as an excuse.
'No wonder they gave me a grace period while expelling me; there was a reason.'
Blake Siers hadn't wanted to expel Kain in the first place.
'Kain Siers... he did such a thing.'
The method was a bit extreme, but caring for those under him was definitely a model behavior for someone who would become the next clan head.
'It wasn't something I did, well, it was something I did. Anyway, that's commendable.'
On the other hand, he now understood the affection and loyalty that Alice had shown Kain until now.
He had thought that even though they had always been on good terms, was it to the extent that she would vow to follow and serve him even if he was expelled?
'And I can somewhat guess why even the servants used to badmouth me or give me unpleasant looks.'
Kain, who couldn't even use magic but was clinging on as a direct line member, had coolly turned the cheek of Hayden, the clan head's particularly beloved son from the supporting clan, and incurred their displeasure, so they couldn't have looked favorably upon him.
'If the amount of support money decreased even more after that incident, making the clan's situation difficult, then they would probably hate me for causing it.'
Of course, they were the ones who crossed the line first, and everyone probably knew in their heads that Hayden was wrong.
However, if Kain's actions resulted in reduced support and endangered the place where they lived, it was unavoidable that they would have a hard time thinking well of him.
He had no intention of blaming the servants for such trivial matters.
'Of course, that doesn't erase the fact that the servants badmouthed a direct line disciple. When I become the clan head later, I'll have to cut the salaries of the servants who badmouthed me by one level.'
Kain, who had already planned for the distant future over such a trivial matter, cleared his throat.
"Ahem. I remember now. Hayden definitely did something to deserve punishment first."
"Exactly! And as a father, he should have scolded his son for his mistake, but instead, the Bederman clan head protects Hayden...nim, so there's definitely a problem."
Alice clenched her fists as if she was resentful, and then Nefty came out as the door inside opened.
"Sister, even so, he's the head of the clan that supports us, so you shouldn't say such things out loud."
"R-really?"
As Alice faltered, surprised, Nefty continued calmly.
"Just in case anyone hears, come inside quickly and talk as quietly as you want. Then I'll help you too."
"......"
***
Alice and Nefty recounted in detail the various wrongdoings and high-handed behavior of the Bederman clan over the years.
"So, even though half of our third-floor disciples were away on missions at the time, they didn't even consider that and just tossed out a request for us to subjugate the monsters that appeared in the Solem region..."
"There was also the time they forced us to sell the incredibly rare Snow Bear hide at a ridiculously low price..."
Most of it didn't deviate greatly from what Kain had expected.
"I hear the support keeps decreasing, so wouldn't it be better to just cut it off altogether? I hear they're even taking things from our side."
"Well, even though it's decreased, it seems to be an amount we can't afford not to receive. Honestly, they cross other lines so easily, but they're so good at adjusting that particular line."
Alice said with a displeased expression.
Then Nefty added,
"And the Bederman side already tightly controls the distribution routes and commercial districts of local industrial products, so it's difficult to see it as just a problem of the support money. Moreover..."
Nefty's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"I know that the clan Head once tried to cut it off completely, even considering all the losses, but they went ballistic. They said, who saved you right before your clan was destroyed and has been supporting you with magic books and allowing you to inherit fire magic all this time, how dare you be so ungrateful... Young Master? Are you alright?"
"...I'm fine. I just felt a bit dizzy."
As Kain touched his forehead, Alice jumped up.
"Oh my goodness, are you hungry? Come to think of it, you should have eaten dinner! I'm so sorry. Please eat quickly, Young Master!"
"The preparations are done. I'll check if it's cold and reheat it for you right away."
"Yes, thank you."
Kain ate his dinner while organizing and synthesizing the information he had just heard from Alice and Nefty in his mind.
'Just as I thought, those bastards are definitely not supporting us out of goodwill. And after hearing their story, the possibility that it's related to the Siers clan becoming a fire-based clan has become very high.'
Judging from the fact that they provided magic books, most of the magic books currently in the East Wing must have come from the Bederman clan.
'No wonder even just looking at the titles, there are many magic books that emphasize firepower.'
Unlike the Flameforce clan, where Harman belonged, the Bederman clan pursued a method of unleashing strong firepower based on explosive mana reserves.
The Bederman clan was the one that stubbornly adhered to the theory of firepower supremacy, believing that nothing was impossible with firepower, and if something didn't work, it was because of insufficient firepower.
'So they were bound to remain in eternal second place.'
Magic involves more than just mana reserves; there are countless other factors to consider.
Fire magic, being relatively versatile and effective in combat, could have its efficiency improved by increasing firepower, but misinterpreting that to mean firepower is everything would inevitably lead to limitations.
'The fact that it worked to some extent must be seen as having invited disaster.'
If it hadn't yielded results, they might have given up early and changed direction, but since they had caught up right below the Flameforce clan, it must have seemed like the goal was just within reach.
However, the Bederman clan ultimately couldn't surpass the Flameforce clan.
'Anyway, the statement that they 'provided all the magic books' conversely means that 'there were no magic books related to fire magic before that'.'
One could interpret it as the existing fire magic books being lost due to being on the verge of destruction, but Kain knew very well that wasn't the case.
Above all, the 'Sein Siers' personally written ice magic codex, which was solid evidence, had been discovered inside Kain's training room.
Kain recalled his previous life.
'At that time, our side was annihilated in the Heren Plains, but the same goes for Desmond and all his skilled followers.'
When he had left for the Heren Plains, his disciples' skills had already risen to a considerable level.
It wasn't to the extent that they would be completely defeated by the Desmond followers remaining on the continent and brought to the brink of destruction.
'But what if someone deliberately put the clan in danger? Or, what if they let it fall into a crisis?'
At that time, Kain and all the heads of the four great clans had engaged in a fierce battle with Desmond in the Heren Plains.
However, the head of the Bederman clan, which hadn't made it into the four great clans, had remained on the continent, claiming to stop the followers who were disrupting it.
'Even if they were those bastards, they wouldn't have been able to directly attack us while being conscious of the imperial clan's eyes. But if they put their minds to it, isolating us would have been possible.'
Among the magic clans remaining on the continent, Bederman was the most powerful.
They would have tried to destroy the Siers clan without dirtying their own hands if possible.
'There are various methods. Pretending to send combat support to our side first while preventing other clans from approaching, and creating an environment where Desmond's followers could launch a combined attack on our isolated forces, for example...'
The fact that the Siers clan didn't end up being completely destroyed meant that the disciples must have fought fiercely to the end and defeated Desmond's followers.
However, they must have been in a nearly irrecoverable state, and if Bederman had pretended to extend a helping hand to the unfortunately surviving Siers clan, while actually putting a leash on them...
'I doubt any other clan would have gone that far, but the Bederman clan are the kind of bastards who would do that and more.'
Of course, all of this was just one of many hypotheses.
There was no way to know what actually happened at that time for the current Kain.
There were records stored on the upper floor of the archives that the current Kain couldn't access, but he couldn't be sure if the records from that time were even there.
'Would the clan heads know? Both our clan head and their clan head, I mean.'
Even though various things had happened, in the end, over 200 years had passed.
He suddenly wondered how much the current Bederman clan head knew about the Siers clan, and how much Blake Siers knew.
But Kain soon shook his head.
'For now, raising the clan is the priority.'
And escaping the clutches of the Bederman clan was the immediate task.
Even if Blake Siers knew about the Siers clan's past, he wouldn't be able to reveal it to anyone while being under the thumb of the Bederman clan.
Kain called for Alice after finishing his meal.
"Yes, Young Master!"
"Alice, do you happen to know when the Bederman clan's next regular visit is?"
"Hmm, they'll probably arrive as early as tomorrow. Ugh, to think I have to see those people again."
Alice's expression darkened again at the thought of the Bederman clan.
But then, as if a thought had struck her, she added with a slightly brighter expression.
"Still, now that you've reached the 2nd Circle, Young Master, they probably won't be able to say anything, right? Hehe. Hayden might even faint from surprise if he sees you. It took Hayden almost two years to reach the 2nd Circle, you know."
She seemed to be in a good mood, imagining Hayden being astonished by Kain's rapid achievement.
"Tomorrow, huh..."
Looking at the date, he could tell how much Blake Siers had delayed his expulsion until the very last moment.
Kain nodded.
'First, I should probably take a look at the faces of the Bederman clan's descendants.'’
