Chapter 101

Chapter 101. The Scoundrel of the Ryu Family (2)

“Th-these bastards dare…!”

*Crackle, crackle!*

With Rios’s furious shout, blue sparks erupted around his body.

‘This is…’

Feeling the fierce magic power within the blue sparks, I urgently grabbed Berald by the nape and pulled him back.

*Rumble!*

With the sound of thunder, a blue lightning bolt struck where Berald had been standing.

“Kuh…!”

Perhaps he couldn’t completely avoid the lightning.

Berald let out a pained groan and curled up.

On his arm, as thick as a thigh, a wound from the lightning strike was etched.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh… I’m fine.”

As Berald pressed his scorched skin with his hand and stood up.

“Haa, haa. How dare this lowly scoundrel…!”

*Grind.*

Rios, grinding his teeth fiercely, stretched out his hand.

His Holy Mark emitted light, and an enormous amount of lightning gathered.

“Spear of Thunder!”

With a short incantation, a spear made of blue lightning shot towards Berald.

And then.

‘Berald Martial Arts.’

Splitting the Sea.

*Whoosh!*

The Burning Ash Fire gathered on his palm fiercely split the blue lightning spear in half.

The split lightning spear was engulfed by the ash fire and disappeared.

“What…?”

Rios stared with wide eyes at the lightning spear that vanished into thin air as if “swallowed.”

He looked at me with trembling eyes, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You, you bastard… What did you do?”

I shrugged towards Rios, who was making a flustered expression.

“That’s what I should be saying, senior. Violence within the school is clearly against the rules, don’t you know?”

“Ha. If it’s violence, that bastard used it first, didn’t he?”

Rios pointed at Berald with his chin.

I smirked and tilted my head as if to say, “What are you talking about?”

“Huh? Violence? From what I saw, Berald only ‘accidentally’ harmed you, senior. He had no intention of attacking at all.”

“…Are you kidding me? How can you call that an excuse…!”

“It’s not an excuse, senior.”

I crossed my arms and spoke leisurely.

“Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?”

“Evidence…!”

“Ah. Well, if that battered face is evidence of violence, then I guess it counts.”

*Snicker.*

I sneered.

“A second-year candidate… and a ‘scoundrel’ from a lowly branch family beating you up… Pfft! Well, fine. If that’s what you want, go ahead and call it evidence.”

“You…!”

*Grind.*

Rios glared at me fiercely, grinding his teeth.

But only for a moment.

The light emanating from Rios’s Holy Mark faded, and the fierce blue sparks gradually dissipated.

“Ha, fine. An accident? Okay, let’s call it an accident.”

Rios narrowed his eyes and glared at Berald as he continued.

“Accidents come with consequences.”

Rios smirked.

“There will be no more funding for the branch family.”

“……!”

Berald’s eyes widened.

“Wh-what does this have to do with the funding?!”

“Well, that’s not my problem.”

Rios shrugged and gave a bitter sneer.

“Anyway, from now on, not a single gold coin will go to the branch family, so you better remember that.”

“W-wait, brother… no, senior! If the funding is cut…!”

“Why? Don’t have money to take care of your dementia-ridden father?”

“My father was injured fighting for the Ryu family! The funding is a right we deserve!”

“Who says it’s your right?”

Rios flicked his ear with a bored expression.

“Isn’t it natural for someone from the Ryu family to fight for the family? Or what… is the branch family not part of the ‘Ryu’ family?”

“…Senior!”

“Ah, so noisy. Anyway, the funding cut will be formally proposed at the next family meeting, so you better remember that.”

“Kuh…!”

Berald clenched his fists, trembling.

I placed a hand on Berald’s shoulder and spoke.

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll give you the money.”

“…Brother?”

Berald blinked his eyes as if to say, “What are you talking about?”

“Brother, what money do you have to give me…?”

It was a well-known fact that I received state funding to attend school.

As he said, I didn’t have much money on hand.

“What are friends for?”

I had a reliable money source… no, a friend, so I didn’t need to worry about money.

‘Well, if Juliet doesn’t work out, I can always squeeze it out of Rozanna.’

Even though the Helios Family had declined over the years, the vast wealth they had accumulated as a high-ranking noble family of the Empire hadn’t disappeared overnight.

“Anyway, don’t worry about the money.”

“……”

Berald clenched his teeth and bit his lip.

After a moment of contemplation, Berald shook his head.

“No, this is my problem. I can’t rely on you, brother.”

With that, Berald stepped forward towards Rios.

*Thud.*

Berald knelt before Rios.

“If I’ve offended you, senior, I apologize. I lost my temper and my fist moved on its own.”

Berald bowed his head so deeply that his forehead touched the ground.

“I’ll accept any punishment for the violence. Please, forgive me.”

“…Ha.”

Rios looked down at Berald, who was bowing, and let out a hollow laugh.

“Where did all that bravado go?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What? You can’t even make a single Magic Power Orb, and you think you can use magic?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Haa. You could’ve just quietly gone and bought some bread, but you had to make such a big deal out of it… huh?”

“I’m sorry.”

Berald repeated his apology like a broken machine, his head still bowed.

As much as I wanted to turn Rios into a bloody mess, regardless of the Ryu family.

-No, this is my problem.

“……”

I had a feeling that if I stepped in now, my relationship with Berald would be ruined forever.

“Well, then let’s do this.”

Rios crossed his arms and looked down at Berald.

“If you beat me in a duel, I’ll withdraw the funding issue.”

“…A duel?”

Berald raised his head and looked up at Rios.

Rios smirked and nodded.

“Yeah. But, you can only use ‘magic.'”

“That’s…”

Berald made a flustered expression.

“You haven’t forgotten what family we’re from, have you? Huh?”

The Ryu family, the most prestigious magic family in the Republic.

There’s probably no one in the Empire or the Holy Kingdom who doesn’t know their reputation.

‘Look at this bastard’s cunning.’

I frowned and glared at Rios, who was smirking sinisterly.

He knew full well that Berald couldn’t use magic, yet he made this proposal. It was clear that his intention was to use the duel as an excuse to legally inflict violence on Berald.

“Alright.”

At Berald’s answer, a bitter sneer formed on Rios’s lips.

“Good. Then, three days should be enough time to practice magic, right?”

“……”

How could someone who couldn’t even properly use a Magic Power Orb after a lifetime of effort possibly learn to use magic in just three days?

Even Berald, who knew better than anyone how insufficient that time was.

“Alright.”

Berald nodded with a calm expression.

Rios turned around with a bright smile.

“Then, see you in three days… ‘little brother.'”

Rios walked away, laughing.

“Phew.”

Berald let out a deep sigh and stood up.

“…Berald.”

“Huh? Hahaha! Why are you making such a scary face, brother?”

Berald laughed heartily and smiled brightly.

“Anyway, it’s just a duel, right? Even if I get hurt, we have Iris noona to take care of it!”

Berald thumped his chest as if to say not to worry.

It was as if he had already accepted his defeat.

“……”

I frowned as I looked at Berald.

‘No.’

The Berald I knew wasn’t someone who would give up so easily.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

I grabbed Berald by the collar.

Suddenly, memories of my past life flashed through my mind.

Memories of when I was learning ‘Berald Martial Arts’ from him.

-*Haa, haa! I-I can’t do this anymore. I can’t go on!*

-*Giving up already, brother?*

-*What do you mean giving up already? Do you know how many days we’ve been training without rest? No, not days, weeks, you crazy bastard!*

-*I know.*

-*I can’t do it anymore. This is my limit. You know how untalented I am at martial arts, don’t you? No matter how hard I try, I can’t do it.*

-*……*

-*What? Are you going to lecture me again?*

-*No.*

Berald smiled faintly and sat down next to me, who had collapsed from exhaustion.

-*I was just like you, brother.*

-*…What do you mean?*

-*My limits. Thinking that no matter how hard I tried, it was meaningless. I gave up on everything and lived like that.*

-*You?*

Giving up.

It was the word that least suited Berald.

-*As you know, brother, I had no talent for magic. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even make a single Magic Power Orb.*

-*……*

-*So, I gave up.*

-*But now…*

-*Have you ever seen me use magic?*

-*…No.*

-*Hehe. I still can’t use magic.*

But.

The ‘Berald Martial Arts’ he created was ironically a martial art that couldn’t be perfected without learning magic.

-*I regret it.*

-*…What?*

-*If I hadn’t given up on magic back then… if I could have at least made a single Magic Power Orb properly.*

Berald clenched his bandaged fist roughly.

-*At the end of all the martial arts I poured my everything into… I wouldn’t have had to feel the despair of never being able to reach it myself.*

His voice was filled with deep regret.

I tilted my head and asked him.

-*Then why don’t you learn magic now? I’m learning magic from Sophia senior these days, why don’t you join…*

-*No, it’s useless.*

Berald shook his head and continued.

-*Among the various martial arts I’ve learned to perfect my own, there was one that had the side effect of blocking the manifestation of magic. The moment I learned it, using magic became impossible forever.*

Come to think of it, Berald could only release magic power externally but couldn’t use it to cast magic.

To put it metaphorically, it was like having fuel but no tool to light the fire.

Thus.

Berald could never reach the ‘pinnacle’ of the martial arts he had devoted his life to perfecting.

Even until the moment of his death.

-*Don’t worry. The martial arts I taught you don’t have that side effect. You won’t lose the ability to use magic.*

Berald smirked and continued.

-*So, don’t give up, brother.*

As if it were nothing.

As if it were insignificant.

He said that.

-*You’re the most ‘persistent’ person I know, aren’t you?*

No.

No.

Contrary to his words, I was not a persistent person at all.

The one who taught me the persistence to never give up was none other than Berald.

‘Berald.’

Because of you.

I could exist.

So.

“Hey.”

“Huh? What is it, brother?”

I grabbed Berald by the collar and said.

“You, learn magic from me.”

This time, I won’t give up on you.