"You bumbled around, made clumsy, foolish moves the whole time… and yet you still won?"
"Ruine, you can be honest with your mother. Tell me properly."
Both Father Kavel and Mother Daisy sat before Ruine with very serious faces, questioning him as if holding a hearing.
"What on earth were you thinking, agreeing to a duel?"
"But somehow you still managed to swing the sword in the right direction, didn't you?"
Of course, their lines of questioning were quite different.
Mother Daisy's words carried the sharp tone of scolding him for acting on his own, while Father Kavel's questions seemed born more from curiosity about how things worked out—even if by accident or sheer luck.
And to both of them, Ruine responded with a gentle smile, explaining calmly step by step.
"As I said before, I just swung my sword wildly, then rushed in with an 'oh well, whatever happens' attitude, and then it just sort of…"
Trailing off for a moment, Ruine made a hesitant expression before speaking again in a firm, decisive tone.
"I'm sorry for acting on my own. But since Mother didn't want to return to the main house, I believed the only way to honor her wishes was to fight that duel."
"What? Ruine, that's…"
For a moment, Daisy's face showed bewilderment at her son's words. Then she sighed softly and added,
"Ruine, I appreciate the thought, but you didn't have to go that far. There are plenty of ways to avoid going back there without risking yourself like that."
"Daisy, wait."
Kavel's voice cut in, halting her words. His gaze grew deeper, his expression heavier than ever, as he muttered,
"So, Ruine… you acted like that to fulfill your mother's wishes, is that right?"
"…Yes. I'm sorry."
Ruine lowered his head, wearing his most apologetic expression. But Kavel shook his head gently, a faint smile on his lips.
"No, you don't need to apologize for that, Ruine."
"Honey?"
At his reaction, Daisy widened her eyes, staring at him. But Kavel only reached out, ruffling his son's hair as he continued.
"Daisy, this was an action our child took for the sake of his parent. Even if it was reckless and dangerous, isn't that feeling something to be proud of?"
"No, Kavel!"
Daisy's expression made it clear she understood his meaning, but she still fixed him with a sharp glare. With an awkward smile, Kavel nodded.
"Of course, Ruine also has to remember never to act like that again. You understand what I mean, don't you, son?"
"Yes, I understand."
With a firm nod, Ruine answered. Kavel seemed satisfied, smiling warmly.
"Good. Then I suppose that settles it…"
Casting a sidelong glance at Daisy, he muttered in a sly, eager tone,
"Still, the fact remains—our boy defeated Kaftalen's prodigy with a sword!"
"Kavel, enough!"
"No, Daisy. Ruine has the blood of the Laingrime flowing in him. You saw it yourself—how he overcame that prodigy, Palton! Yes, there was some luck and a skilled blade helping him, but still…"
"Sorry to remind you, Kavel, but Ruine also carries Kaftalen blood. And didn't you hear what that Palton boy said? He claimed our Ruine has talent for magic."
"Of course he does! He inherits from both of us, after all."
"Then how about we take this chance to properly teach him magic?"
"No, no, it has to be swordsmanship. He's already passed the Sword Sequence trial!"
"And what does that matter?"
"He already defeated magic with a sword, that's what matters!"
The conversation suddenly veered into an unexpected direction.
'Uh, hmm…'
Watching his parents' heated argument, Ruine couldn't help but think to himself,
'The one who's supposed to eat the bread isn't even hungry, so why are they fighting to shove it down my throat?'
Whether swordsmanship or magic—
to Ruine, who had already mastered Heaven's Unfettered Flow (Cheon-e-Mubong), both could be learned quickly whenever he wished.
'Why are they fighting all of a sudden?'
And so, for the first time since his reincarnation as Ruine, he found himself watching his parents' quarrel—sparked by nothing more than a dispute over their child's education. He couldn't help but smile.
"Ruine is a Laingrime. My son. That means he must learn the sword!"
"If you want to put it that way, then he's also the child I carried and gave birth to. Which means he should follow his mother and learn magic!"
Their voices rose, faces reddening, but in truth, both Kavel and Daisy were only arguing out of love and pride for their son.
'So… this is what a real family is?'
Ruine knew this better than anyone. In his previous life, he had never felt such a thing.
Back then—
'We only fought over who got the easier missions.'
Recalling the squabbles of his fellow shadows and seniors, who were the closest thing he'd had to "family," Ruine shook his head and let the memory fade.
Then he spoke softly.
"Mother, Father."
"Hm? Anyway, the sword is clearly—oh, right. Did you call us, Ruine?"
"What? Are you belittling magic again—oh? Ruine, what is it?"
Both parents turned their heads toward him.
Ruine reached out his hands.
"Oh my, Ruine?"
"Eh? Hahaha…"
Taking both of their hands at once, he smiled gently and said,
"Thank you, both of you. So please, don't fight anymore."
"Fight? No, no, it was just a difference of opinion."
"That's right. Why would your mother and father fight? Especially with such a wonderful child like you."
They answered with touched expressions, moved by their son's words. And Ruine, thinking back on what he had just done, smiled to himself.
'…Something I'd never have done as Number 1872.'
Yet somehow, it felt warm. His heart, strangely enough, was at peace.
Of course, the old Sword Soul had to ruin the moment, clicking his tongue and intruding noisily.
[Tsk, tsk. What nonsense. Who's teaching who here? They can't even manage themselves. Don't worry, Ruine. Now that you've met me, your path is already set. You've stumbled upon a fortune unheard of in history, and from now on you'll receive my teachings—]
'What is he rambling about now?'
Ruine brushed off the old man's words as usual.
After leaving [Vanafen], the heart of the Laingrime clan, and returning home, Ruine's life didn't change much.
Sometimes he accompanied his father on hunts, but usually he stayed home, helping his mother or dedicating himself to training Heaven's Unfettered Flow.
And as for that heated dispute over his education, it had been settled—thanks to his surprise "hug attack."
'We'll teach Ruine what he wants, when he wants it.'
Since then, his parents had occasionally hinted at swordsmanship or magic, but each time Ruine shattered their hopes with a bright smile.
"I'm not interested yet. I'll let you know when I want to learn."
Even then, the Sword Soul would interject impatiently.
[When, exactly, are you going to accept my training? Time is short! Even if we begin this instant, there are mountains of things you need to learn!]
'Later.'
[Later? Later when? Why waste time? Even now you're already far behind! At your age, Belion had already mastered the Seven-Star Sword Forms and moved on to the next stage! Why are you so stubborn?!]
Hearing that the founding patriarch had mastered the Seven-Star Sword Forms at barely ten years old, Ruine thought, As expected of the man who built the Laingrime clan.
But even so, he felt no urgency.
'It's not time yet.'
He thought firmly,
'First, I have to complete Heaven's Unfettered Flow. Only after that will I study other martial arts or magic.'
Of course, after their brush with the Kaftalen clan, his parents clearly had other ideas. But Ruine's will was unshakable.
Then, one day—
"Ruine, from today you'll be receiving at least two hours of basic education every day."
"Education?"
"Yes. You're the child of a noble house. You can't go around ignorant and embarrass yourself."
With an uncharacteristically strict expression, Daisy declared this. Ruine almost laughed to himself.
'So Mother intends to teach me personally?'
He could clearly feel her worry—ever since the Sword Sequence, she feared her son would be judged poorly when facing others of high birth.
[Ignorant? Hah! Calling this boy ignorant is laughable. How blind can a mother be… tsk, tsk.]
Ignoring the Sword Soul's scolding, Ruine answered brightly.
"Sure, I'll do it. Basic education!"
"Good! Then let's begin properly."
But Daisy was quickly in for a shock.
"What? You already know about the Four Heavens and Nine Pillars?"
"Yes. Four Heavens, Nine Pillars—the strongest powers on the continent."
"And you know about the empire that once ruled the land?"
"Yes, the Elration Empire. Its imperial family now makes up one of the Four Heavens—the Southern Emperor."
"My goodness. Our son… And here I thought this would be a challenge. Alright then, let's see just how far you can go."
With the memories of Number 1872 intact, Ruine found the children's basic curriculum laughably easy.
Of course, he held back, so as not to stand out too much.
'Still, this pretending-not-to-know business is harder than I thought.'
Playing dumb wasn't easy—not when he had to do it believably.
Even so, Daisy pressed forward, astonished again and again by his quick learning.
By the end, she could only mutter in awe,
"…As expected, my Ruine really is a genius."
That evening, over dinner, she shared her overflowing pride with Kavel.
"Honey, our Ruine is incredible. Teach him one thing and he understands ten—no, a hundred, even a thousand!"
"Of course! Whose son do you think he is?!"
"My son, naturally."
"O-ur son!"
Their strange rivalry resurfaced, but it didn't harm their affection.
"This tastes especially good today."
"That's because the meat you hunted was in such good condition. Thank you, Kavel."
"No, I should be thanking you, Daisy."
As they laughed together, their table filled with warmth. Ruine had to work hard to hide his blushing face.
[Well, well. Looks like we've got ourselves a grand little genius.]
'Quiet.'
To Ruine, who still carried the memories of a grown man, receiving praise for solving children's lessons was just embarrassing.
[Now that you mention it, Belion was called a genius too. Everyone made a fuss about him back then.]
When the Sword Soul drifted off into more stories of the past, Ruine blocked him out.
Months passed.
Then one day, Daisy burst in, face alight with excitement.
"Ruine, it's done! Finally!"
"Huh? What is it, Mother?"
"Here, look at this!"
Beaming, she handed him a long letter.
The contents, summarized:
'I was planning to visit soon for my research anyway, but since I hear my former student's son is so exceptional, I would like to test him myself.'
What stood out most was the signature at the end.
[…Renovan Versaten of the Tower of Wisdom, one of the Three Stars.]
'Wait… Renovan Versaten?!'
Stunned, Ruine lifted his gaze to his mother. Daisy smiled at him playfully.
"What's that look? Surprised that your mother has such impressive connections?"
"Uh… yes."
Renovan Versaten.
If Ruine's memories as Number 1872 were correct, he was one of the Nine Pillars—an honorary elder of the Serion Mage Tower, one of the fabled Three Stars.
Though the Tower lacked military strength compared to other powers, they were among the Nine Pillars because of their unparalleled knowledge and research. They had even pioneered the entirely new field of magi-engineering.
The title of Three Stars was reserved for the pinnacle scholars of the tower, masters of research and magic alike.
And Renovan Versaten had held that title for over thirty years.
Some called him the Sage.
But to Ruine, who knew his true power as an 8th Circle mage, the word that came to mind was—
'This old monster… was my mother's teacher?!'
"Most likely, he'll arrive tomorrow to test you himself."
"Test me?"
"Yes. To be honest, I started feeling my limits teaching you myself. So I thought—why not try a normal, ordinary education for my son, like other parents do?"
'Wait, what? How is bringing in one of the Three Stars anything close to "normal" or "ordinary"?!'
Ruine could only stare in disbelief. But Daisy looked so proud, he didn't have the heart to object.
And so, the next day, Ruine found himself face to face with a sharp-eyed, frail old man.
"This is your child?"
"Yes, Teacher Renovan."
[What is this aura? Who is this old man?]
Even the Sword Soul, usually disdainful, was unsettled.
Ruine dared not say a word.
The small, wiry man sighed deeply.
"Haa… I wanted to enjoy a sabbatical for once, but here I am…"
"Oh, come now, Teacher. Isn't it a favor for your beloved student?"
"Beloved student? More like a nuisance!"
"Oh, Teacher. You said you'd be visiting anyway for research. Just one year. Please, just one year. My child truly is a genius."
"Hmph. I've met all sorts of so-called geniuses, and they were nothing but tricksters with parlor tricks. Not one real one among them."
"Our Ruine will be different."
"We'll see. I'll decide after testing him myself—whether he's worth teaching or not."
The prickly, exacting old man fixed his sharp gaze on Ruine.
"You. Come with me."
"…Yes, sir."
Suddenly about to be trained by one of the continent's greatest sages, Ruine bowed his head respectfully, hiding his mixed feelings of confusion and dread.
And behind him—
"Good luck, Ruine!"
Daisy, blissfully unaware, cheered her son on with a bright smile.
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T/N:
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