Chapter 15
Thump! Clatter!
"Ugh, my butt... What kind of road is this rough?"
The one grumbling was Hayden Bederman, the fourth son of the Bederman clan head.
Hayden had worn a displeased expression the entire time in the carriage going up Mount Garil.
"Why on earth does Father support such an insignificant clan in this backwater...?"
Hayden interlaced his fingers behind his short, wine-colored hair.
Then, Ray Bederman, who sat right next to him with his long black hair tied back, spoke in a calm, low voice.
"Hayden. The Siers clan is a venerable clan that survived the 'War' in the past. You'd better stop speaking carelessly."
"Come on, Brother. What ancient history are you talking about? Isn't it a completely ruined clan that can't even sustain itself without our support now? Well, it seems they're having a hard time even with our support these days."
Hayden chuckled derisively as he spoke.
"Even so, you should choose your words carefully. And if you say that, what would Father, who makes the decision to support them..."
Just as Ray sighed softly and was about to reprimand him, a somewhat rough voice came from the front.
"Hahaha. It's alright, Ray. Hayden isn't exactly wrong."
The owner of the voice was the clan head, Richter Bederman.
He stroked his thick but well-groomed sideburns that connected to his beard and looked back at Ray and Hayden.
"Clan Head, I thought you were asleep."
Ray bowed his head to Richter Bederman.
Richter waved his hand dismissively.
"Hayden is right. The Siers clan is now just a fallen clan that doesn't have the strength to stand on its own without our help. Our continued support for the Siers clan is closer to an old tradition passed down from our previous clan heads than my own will."
Richter continued.
"But even if the Siers clan is of no help whatsoever, if it is the will of our previous clan heads who firmly established our Bederman clan in the position of one of the four great magic clans, then showing generosity to such a small clan is not a difficult task. That is the reason why we support the Siers clan."
Richter grinned.
Then, the butler, who was sitting upright next to him, added.
"And with the clan Head's wise and astute judgment, we have recently been appropriately adjusting the amount of support money and using trade routes within our sphere of influence to create efficient cash flow, thereby minimizing losses and maximizing profits."
Simply put, they were cutting the support money and making profits by monopolizing the trade of the tributes they received and selling them at high prices.
"Yes, that's exactly it."
"As expected of the clan Head."
The butler quickly chimed in.
Richter laughed heartily and glanced at Ray and Hayden, who were sitting in the back seat.
'Well, there's one more very important reason... but it's not time to tell the children yet.'
The most fundamental reason why the Bederman clan supported the Siers clan.
This was a story passed down only to the clan head for generations.
He would have to tell Hayden when he grew up and officially secured his position as the successor, but it wasn't the right time yet.
'Hayden is a child with enough potential to become the future clan head. No, he has to become the clan head. Not any other child, but the child born between me and Celina.'
Hayden and Ray, who were accompanying him now.
Both were Richter's sons, but Ray was a child from a concubine, and Hayden was the child from his legal wife that Richter had long desired.
Richter cherished Hayden greatly and spared no effort to raise him as the next clan head.
He created the best environment for his magic training and even obtained and fed him precious elixirs.
No matter how powerful the clan head was, he couldn't appoint a mage who lacked ability as his successor.
"Tch, I still don't like the Siers clan though."
Hayden's personality had been formed like this in the process, but Richter didn't care.
Ray, the third son from a concubine, knew this and kept his mouth shut.
"Especially that Kain brat... Just thinking about what happened back then still pisses me off. All because of some measly maid..."
Hayden, who had been scowling as he recalled Kain rushing at him with half his eyes rolled back and stubbornly punching him in the jaw, suddenly smirked as if he had thought of something.
"But at least this time, I won't have to see Kain's face, right? Father told them to expel Kain if he didn't master magic by the time he turned fifteen."
"That's right. And that deadline was yesterday. Wasn't it, Ramon?"
"Yes, that's correct! clan Head."
As the butler quickly replied, the smile on Hayden's lips deepened.
"Hehe, it's a bit of a shame I couldn't see that brat get expelled myself."
"Perhaps you might see it. Blake Siers seems to care quite a bit for that Kain fellow. If he hasn't mastered magic and is shamelessly holding on, then I will make sure he is expelled."
Hayden looked like he was about to cheer.
"I heard he still hadn't mastered it even up to two months ago, so there's no way he could have done it in the meantime! Thank you, Father."
"Hahaha, isn't it natural that he pays the price for daring to go against our Hayden?"
Bederman had cut off support money using the incident of Kain hitting Hayden as an excuse, and Kain had been holed up in his room ever since, he had heard.
'And now, his time of leeching off the clan and just sitting around is over.'
Naturally, his treatment within the clan wouldn't have been good during that time, and Kain would have either been kicked out after suffering or was about to be.
This was a satisfying enough revenge to soothe the pain of being punched.
"Now that that guy is going to be expelled..."
Just as Hayden was about to continue speaking.
"M-monsters!"
The coachman's urgent shout came from outside.
Neigh!
With the panicked cries of the horses, the carriage lurched and stopped, and the carriages carrying the servants and luggage followed suit.
"Monsters?"
Ray reacted first, opening the carriage door.
Through the falling snowflakes, he saw several white figures charging towards them.
"...Snow rabbits?"
They weren't dangerous monsters, but snow rabbits' habitat was quite far from here.
Why are snow rabbits here?
While Ray tilted his head, naturally wondering, Hayden, who was behind him, identified the monsters and confidently jumped out.
"Heh, I thought it was some kind of monster, but it's just snow rabbits? Brother, step aside. I'll take care of them all."
Hayden clenched his fist tightly.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Then, he spread his hand wide and pointed it towards the charging snow rabbits.
"I was already annoyed thinking about that pretty boy Kain's face, so this is perfect. I'll wipe you all out. Fire Ball!"
With Hayden's incantation, dozens of fireballs were instantly created in the air.
"Haaah!"
The fireballs, shot indiscriminately towards the front, bombarded the snowy field, and the charging snow rabbits screamed and fell.
"Haha, come at me!"
Hayden now leisurely walked forward, continuously creating and launching fireballs.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Several snow rabbits agilely dodged the fireballs and lunged at Hayden.
"Fire Wall."
They couldn't even let out a proper scream before turning into charcoal against the wall of fire that rose in front of them.
"Hahaha! Fire Ball! Fire Wall!"
No matter how much snow rabbits were theoretically monsters that even a 1st Circle mage could catch, that was only the case in a one-on-one frontal fight.
For a single mage to face dozens of agile charging snow rabbits was a battle of a completely different difficulty level.
Even a 2nd Circle mage could at most handle about ten Fire Needles at once, and it would be impossible to deal with all the incoming snow rabbits.
'But it's different for me.'
Having received various support and even elixirs, Hayden had reached the proficient stage of the 3rd Circle in just three years.
With his mana reserves incredibly abundant thanks to the elixirs' effects, there probably wasn't anyone in the same circle who could beat Hayden in firepower.
Boom! Crash!
Whoosh!
'But why are so many snow rabbits coming out?'
Hayden frowned, easily roasting the snow rabbits charging from the front with his Fire Wall.
And Ray, who had been watching Hayden from behind, had already been thinking something similar.
"Wait a minute... those snow rabbits, could it be."
Feeling a sense of unease, Ray carefully observed the snow rabbits.
'The direction... it's subtly different.'
At first, he had thought the snow rabbits were coming to attack the carriages.
But that wasn't it.
"Squeak...!"
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The snow rabbits' actions weren't a charge to attack, but closer to fleeing from something.
And the next moment, Ray spotted a huge figure that appeared beyond the Fire Wall Hayden had created and shouted.
"Hayden! Step back!"
Only then did Hayden cancel the Fire Wall that had been blocking his vision.
And he witnessed the identity of the massive figure that appeared before him.
"...An ice troll?"
There stood a pure white troll with incredibly thick skin, easily twice Hayden's height.
'Crazy... why is an ice troll here?'
A mutated monster several times stronger than ordinary trolls, said to inhabit the very depths of the snowy mountains.
Hayden had only heard of them; this was his first time seeing one in person.
'What a size...'
The overwhelming pressure emanating from its massive physique.
And Hayden froze on the spot as he met its murderous gaze.
He knew he had to gather his mana quickly, but he couldn't concentrate.
"Ah..."
The ice troll raised the massive club it held in its hand.
And the next moment.
"Flame Cannon!"
Whoosh!
A clear pillar of fire cleanly pierced through the ice troll's chest.
The ice troll, with a cylindrical hole through its chest, collapsed with a thud right in front of Hayden.
"Hayden!"
Ray, who had fired the Flame Cannon, rushed over.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah..."
Only then did Hayden come to his senses.
Embarrassed that he had frozen instead of calmly responding, Hayden's face turned bright red, and he shook off Ray's hand.
"O-of course I'm alright!"
Hayden turned back towards the carriage, glancing at the clan head who had been watching him through the window.
And as if to be heard, he retorted angrily.
"B-brother, even if you hadn't stepped in just now, I could have blocked it with my Fire Wall! You unnecessarily interfered..."
Whether Richter heard him or not, he slowly opened his mouth as the two returned to the carriage.
"Yes. With your skills, Hayden, you could have blocked it easily enough. However, this isn't a test or a competition. It doesn't matter who dealt with the ice troll. Why are you getting angry at your brother over something like that?"
"I apologize, Father."
It sounded like a light scolding of Hayden, but in reality, it dismissed Ray's contribution in defeating the ice troll as irrelevant.
"Alright. Judging from the battle, your firepower has increased since last time. That's commendable."
"...Thank you!"
Hayden's expression brightened instantly.
The clan head glanced at Ray and added.
"And Ray... achieving 5th Circle magic accurately in such a short time wasn't bad, but your firepower is still lacking. For a disciple of the Bederman clan to use such bland magic... Since your innate mana capacity is insufficient, you must strive harder."
"I will keep that in mind, clan Head."
Ray silently lowered his head.
At that moment, the butler Ramon, who had been quietly hiding in the corner since the appearance of the monsters, spoke up.
"Hoo. By the way, how is the Siers clan managing the extermination of monster habitats that an ice troll is appearing here?"
"You're right. We should definitely hold the Siers clan accountable for this later."
Hayden chimed in, as if he had just realized that.
'Honestly, the Siers clan...'
Hayden leaned back against his seat, thinking that he had found another reason to find fault with them.
***
With the visit of the supporting Bederman clan, the Siers clan's manor was bustling with activity from the morning.
"Hey! Sweep over there too!"
"I already swept there, but the snow has piled up again!"
"Then sweep again!"
Unfortunately, the weather conditions weren't good, so the servants had to clean the manor grounds even more busily.
"Wow, Young Master! It suits you so well!"
Meanwhile, Kain stood in front of the mirror, wearing a neatly designed suit that Alice had dressed him in.
Alice tirelessly looked at Kain from every angle, adjusting his attire.
"...I can do it myself."
"That's what personal maids are for. Wow, with your handsome face and the way the clothes look on you... It's truly a sight to behold. Hyaa!"
"I'm only saying this because you keep talking such nonsense."
However, even to Kain's eyes, his reflection in the mirror looked quite presentable.
'It's not as good as when I was Sein Siers, but it has a certain flair.'
Kain nodded.
"Okay. All done. Young Master, I'll say it again, you absolutely don't need to feel intimidated in front of the Bederman clan!"
Alice, having perfectly finished arranging his attire, clenched her fist.
"Don't worry, I've never felt intimidated in front of the Bederman clan, either in my past life or this one, and there's no reason for me to be."
"True, you even landed a punch on Hayden...nim without hesitation back then. Alright. I believe in you, Young Master!"
Alice smiled brightly at Kain's reply.
After Alice left the room, Kain sat down for a moment to catch his breath and regulate his mana until the Bederman clan arrived.
Whoosh!
'Hmm. It's starting to slow down after all.'
The work of firmly establishing the lower circles before moving on to the higher ones.
Of course, compared to other disciples, his accuracy and speed were unbelievable, but it wasn't the case for Kain.
'I know it's not a problem that can be solved by rushing, but I can't just sit still when the clan is in this state.'
Kain had realized that the clan's situation was even more serious than he had thought.
Now, he needed to find a way to shorten the time within the range where he could perfectly accumulate mana.
'It would be nice if the purity of the mana in the air itself was a bit higher.'
Taking a high-grade elixir would be ideal, but looking at the current state of the clan, they might have to worry about food expenses rather than elixirs.
'If I had my way, I'd want to go to the snowy mountains for a while.'
Deep within Mount Garil, there were several places where particularly high-purity mana naturally flowed out, and Kain naturally knew the locations of those places well.
But unfortunately, he had no justification to go to the snowy mountains right now, especially not alone.
'The exam was just recently... and there's too much time left until the next exam.'
Just as Kain was pondering a solution.
"Young Master. The Bederman clan has arrived."
"Alright, I'll be out shortly."
The Bederman clan had arrived.
