Episode 69

The House of Seryas.

Though it started as a mere branch family derived from the House of Pendragon, after hundreds of years, it has come to be regarded as one of the greatest martial families in the Empire.

While the House of Pendragon wields enormous influence in the central political arena, the House of Seryas has seized the military power of the Empire itself and projects its influence strongly from that position.

Some scoff at the movements of the House of Seryas, claiming, “Pendragon is so fearsome that they fled to the military,” but rather than dismiss such mockery, the House of Seryas calmly accepted it and nodded in agreement.

Just as two tigers cannot coexist on a single mountain, if the House of Seryas were to advance into the central political sphere, it would inevitably come into conflict with the House of Pendragon.

Of course, even if they were to face Pendragon openly, they would not be fearful; however, tracing back the roots of Seryas reveals that they, too, are related to Pendragon as distant relatives.

Out of respect for their main house and in order to maintain harmony among ‘family,’ they announced that they would not venture into politics. Instead, they chose to expand into the military, steadily building their own status.

The descendants of the House of Seryas, as well as its head, have traditionally thrown themselves into the military, assuming the roles of commanders responsible for the defense of the Empire, and in the present day, the status of the House of Seryas has become something that cannot be ignored within the Empire.

The current head of the House of Seryas and Altina’s father, Theodore von Rudel Seryas, serves as the Commander of the Eastern Empire and is also a powerful individual who has reached the level of Master.

It goes without saying that the position of Count Seryas, who bears full responsibility for the defense of the Eastern Empire, can never be taken lightly.

Though I may not know much about the military and have little interest in it, I know well enough that the position of the Eastern Commander is not a trivial one.

Yet, is it true that a count of such stature, someone who could be described as a big shot, wants nothing more than to meet just one student from Nineveh?

Moreover, he did not send a message for me to come to him but instead went out of his way to come to Nineveh himself?

As I gazed at Altina with an utterly bewildered expression, she appeared strangely fidgety, simply bowing her head.

“Well… the thing is, I had been in personal contact with my father recently.”

“Contact?”

Well, it’s not as if Nineveh is some kind of prison; there is really no reason to prevent children from staying in touch with their parents. It is also quite natural for Altina to convey her well-being to her parents.

“However, as we were discussing various topics, I unconsciously mentioned that I had entered the level of Master…”

Altina fidgeted with her fingers as if she had committed a grave sin, then let out a heavy sigh.

“My father, it seems, could hardly believe that I reached the level of Master on my own. He kept pressing me about what had happened in Nineveh over the past few months, and I tried to keep it hidden until the end…”

“Did you finally succumb to the pressure and ended up revealing my story?”

“No, I didn’t! I didn’t betray you! I swear!”

At Jin’s words, Altina suddenly jumped up and vehemently denied it.

…But did she really have to use the word “betray”? As long as my slander of being a descendant of the Seven Heroes wasn’t exposed, I didn’t see any issue at hand.

“It appears that my father has been gathering information about you and me separately. Consequently, he found out that you and I train together in the practice grounds every day, and…”

And with that, he deduced that I was the main suspect behind Altina’s sudden rise to the level of Master?
Altina had tried to deny that fact until the very end for my sake, but ultimately, she could not withstand the overwhelming pressure from Count Seryas and had no choice but to confess everything.

– It’s quite natural, after all. Or rather, one might say it’s surprising that the truth was kept hidden for so long.

‘…What does that even mean?’

– Don’t play coy. You must know this much without me needing to spell it out for you.

Erekaya let out a brief scoff before speaking in a quiet tone towards him.

– Jin, you know this as well. The level of Master, becoming an Aura user, lies in a realm that cannot simply be explained by being born with what’s referred to as “talent.”

– Being born with outstanding talent, growing up in an environment that nurtures that talent, or simply being lucky… Such simplistic statements can never adequately explain the backgrounds of those who reach the level of Master.

– The level of Master is, quite literally, a supreme realm that only those chosen by the times can attain. No matter how much talent Altina von Rudel Seryas may have been born with, Count Seryas is well aware that it’s not a level one could reach merely by being in their late teens. This is precisely why he couldn’t help but suspect that she did not rise to the level of Master by her own means.

‘…But you also reached the level of Master at a young age.’

– That was merely because I am an exceptional and outstanding genius of the century. However, the circumstances regarding Altina von Rudel Seryas are quite different.

…If that’s the case, then where does that leave me, who hasn’t reached the level of Master even after a century?

In any case, Count Seryas wanted to see with his own eyes the person who was responsible for bringing his daughter to the level of Master and the force behind it. Altina, unable to thwart her father’s intentions, was ultimately apologizing to me.

“…I’m sorry. As someone who claims to be your student, I ended up causing you such trouble.”

“No… I don’t really mind. And it’s already happened; there’s nothing that can be done about it.”

To be honest, meeting Count Seryas feels a bit awkward.

Why, you ask? Because no matter how you look at it, Altina is my ex-girlfriend.

And Count Seryas, regardless of status or rank, is the father of Altina.

So… it feels a bit like some sort of meet-the-parents situation, doesn’t it?

You know, like when a boyfriend meets his girlfriend’s family to ask for permission to marry her, bringing along that odd feeling!

Of course, as of now, Altina isn’t my girlfriend or anything, but still, there are feelings to consider.

Unless it’s a special circumstance, meeting the parents of an ex-girlfriend face-to-face to greet them can only happen when seeking permission to marry!

“Is that… too much to ask? I must really be asking too much of you.”

Saying this, Altina slumped her shoulders in defeat.

It wasn’t that she felt powerless for not being able to meet her father’s expectations; it was clear that she felt sorry for not being able to carry out the duties expected of a student, despite having called herself my disciple until now.

“…I’m sorry for making unreasonable requests without consulting you first. I must be an utterly useless disciple, as I can’t even do anything for you as my mentor, but all I seem to do is create trouble.”

“…..”

It was not mockery, but genuine remorse radiating from Altina, as she felt that she had not been able to be of any help to me.

With a little exaggeration, it seemed that if I just left her alone like that, she might start crying at any moment. Ultimately, I had only one choice available to me.

“Are you the Jin who is a classmate of Altina?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

What else could I do? In the end, I had no choice but to engage in conversation with Altina’s father.
Even so, it would be utterly despicable of me to make Altina cry just because I find it bothersome.

* Sigh.

The first impression of Count Seryas, whom I faced one-on-one, was simply that he was a man with a soldier’s disposition.

At first glance, he looked like a dignified and refined nobleman, fitting of Altina’s father, but one could sense the military precision and composure in his actions and speech.

In fact, although I had encountered Count Seryas during my nine previous reincarnations, this was the first time I had spoken to him face-to-face in such a manner.

We had only faced each other as commander and soldier on the front lines against the End. I had never approached him as the father of my girlfriend—no, my friend—until now.

“Well then, you are the one who led that girl to the level of Master.”

“Yes.”

True to his military background, he skipped any flowery language and went straight to the point, displaying a boldness in his manner.

Well, to be fair, I had no desire to engage in casual conversation with my ex-girlfriend’s father, so I found his straightforwardness quite refreshing.

“According to Altina, you’ve been training with her after school, engaging her in sword practice. Is that true?”

“I think that calling it ‘training’ is a bit exaggerated. What I did was simply clash swords with Altina and share some tidbits about swordsmanship afterward.”

“That in itself qualifies as training. Altina has indeed reached the level of Master now. The very fact that you can spar with her on equal terms and point out her shortcomings demonstrates that your skills are far from ordinary.”

With that said, Count Seryas stared intently at my face.

“By the way, calling her ‘Altina’… have you two already grown comfortable enough to call each other by name?”

…Could this be a mistake? Granted, in Nineveh, there are fewer social barriers, but outside this place, I would have had to refer to Altina as ‘Lady Seryas’ rather than by her first name.

“If that sounded disrespectful, I apologize. I’ve become so accustomed to casually interacting with your daughter that I unintentionally started calling her by name.”

“Hmm… I may have misunderstood. I didn’t bring that up to admonish you. I wasn’t trying to point out your commoner status, either.”

Count Seryas raised an eyebrow, approaching the conversation with a thoughtful demeanor.

“Altina may appear lively and sociable, but she draws a clear line in her heart. Those who haven’t crossed that line will never have her openness or friendship.”

“Many have claimed to have been close to Altina, but only a select few have been permitted to call her by her first name. Among that select few, I can confidently say you’re the first male.”

That was a fact I knew well. While Erekaya may seem cold and aloof on the surface, Altina, despite her seemingly vibrant exterior, is quite particular about her circle of friends.

It’s evident, especially considering she trained alone in the vast A-class training hall all by herself before I even enrolled in Nineveh.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t mentioned the reason I sought you out until now. I have only one proposal for you.”

And in the next moment, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the Count’s following words.

“Jin, do you have any intention of formally marrying Altina?”