The moment I passed the stairs on the fourth floor and entered the fifth floor, the scenery around me suddenly changed.
It happened the moment I took my final step up the stairs. The interior of the mansion suddenly transformed into the scene of a sheer clifftop.
I couldn’t believe it even though I saw it with my own two eyes.
“...Interesting.”
Was this an illusion?
But it was too realistic.
A darkening sky and the birds flying around...
Birds? Looking closer, they seemed more like bats.
In any case, it was a cliff with a dark mood.
“Looks like this is the first time you’ve been on the fifth floor,” Hector said with a bit of a haughty tone. “The scenery changes every time. The last time I was here, it was a beach at sunset.”“Is it illusion magic?”
“Who knows...”
Although the area was wide open, I could easily find where I needed to go.
That was because, at the edge of the cliff, there was a random table surrounded by chairs.
I didn’t know if I could even swallow food while sitting in such a place, but thinking about it, I’d had no problem eating on Spirit Mountain’s peak.
Hector and I looked at each other before walking over.
“You’re here,” the Lord of Blood and Iron said with his signature emotionless voice while sitting at the table.
“Yes. I have come.”
I nodded before glancing to the side.
The Lord of Blood and Iron wasn’t the only person present.
There was someone to each side of his. Fortunately, I knew who they were.
The eldest son, Hero Bednicker.
The second daughter, Nero Bednicker.
By reputation alone, they were greater than Hector. They were the two most famous children of the Lord of Blood and Iron.
Are they in the main house as well?
That probably wasn’t the case.
These two were currently active heroes and had enough of a reputation to be known by name anywhere in The Empire.
From what I remembered, they should be just as busy as the Lord of Blood and Iron.
Meaning this cliff wasn’t an illusion but a different place altogether.
Maybe it was a demiplane, something only archmages could create?
If one had permission from the owner of the demiplane, the demiplane’s coordinates, and a magic tool that could serve as a conduit... then anyone, from anywhere, could freely enter. ℟
It was the best way to gather people from many different places.
Of course, as it was high-level magic that was incredibly difficult to learn, I heard that only ten people within the entire empire could use it...
There was one person within Bednicker who had that incredible qualification.
Guardian Asad.
That archmage would be able to cast a demiplane spell without much trouble.
I was a little spooked by the fact that I had been transported so naturally without even realizing it, but I was up against a monster among monsters who had been protecting Bednicker for over 300 years.
“That’s a new face,” a dry voice interjected.
I turned toward the voice that naturally dragged out and saw the face of a man who looked to have just woken up.
The eldest son, Hero.
Even before I’d regressed, he had never harmed me.
It would be more correct to say he had never cared.
In any case, how to put this...
I didn’t know if this description fit him or not, but he was someone who didn’t feel like a “Bednicker.”
He didn’t seem remotely sneaky, and he lacked the typical darkness and bleakness.
If the Lord of Blood and Iron were not present, he would’ve just flopped onto the table and started sleeping.
“...”
On the other hand, the second daughter, Nero, was the most “Bednicker-like.”
I could feel a dark aura from her just by looking at her, and she was sipping her tea without even looking in my direction.
At this point, Hero suddenly tilted his head and asked the Lord of Blood and Iron, “Did you call them both?”
“No.”
“That means one of them is an uninvited guest,” said Nero.
“Luan was the one who responded to Father’s words. Meaning he’s the one that was called here. Hector, by what right have you come here?”
“...I have something to tell Father.”
I looked at Hector with surprise.
For some reason, this bastard of a brother was showing much less attitude.
I didn’t think it was simply because he was before the Lord of Blood and Iron.
Does he have a bad relationship with those two?
That was probably the case.
A look of disappointment crossed Nero’s face for a second, and Hero spoke with a low voice.
“You don’t have that right. I always thought that you would be kicked out of the family in the future.”
“What do you...”
“You have no talent.”
Hector’s expression hardened.
“Although it was earlier than expected, and the person who replaced you was unexpected as well... that doesn’t give you the right to talk.”
“I...” Hector’s eyes hardened. “Am not talking to you, Brother Hero, but to my father.”
Oh ho.
I was impressed.
Even while being suppressed, he was still declaring his intentions.
Although Hector wasn’t a good person, it was cool to see him face his fears.
“And that’s why... I’m saying you don’t have that right.”
Hero rose from his seat with a bored expression.
A look of nervousness appeared on Hector’s face.
He kept track of Hero’s every move, and I could feel an intense level of concentration emanating from him, waiting to instantly react to whatever might happen.
But the results were plain and simple.
Rumble!
“...!?”
A clear difference in power.
It didn’t seem like he noticed the moment Hero’s outstretched palm hit him in the stomach... and the movement Hero showed wasn’t any sort of special martial art.
It was just a pure difference in physical prowess.
If, among the children of the Lord of Blood and Iron, Hector was a genius...
Then Hero was a monster.
And right now, I was able to see the clear distinction between a genius and a monster.
“Cough...!”
Hector stayed on the ground while trying to breathe through his coughing.
“Go back. Don’t show your disgrace any longer.”
“I, I’m...!”
Hector got up and charged while letting out a weird scream.
It seemed that, in many ways, today just wasn’t his day.
I had never expected him to look so disgraceful today.
On the other hand, Hero continued to wear an expressionless face, and he seemed to have taken Hector’s actions not as grit but as a final struggle.
Hero easily dodged Hector’s simple but fierce charge before grasping his neck.
“Kuak!”
“Don’t bother me any longer... Or do you want to die here?”
Crack.
I could see him putting power into his palm.
Hector’s face immediately drained of color.
My brows flinched for a moment.
This is too much.
* * * * *
* * * * *
Hero didn’t seem to care.
Right now, his expression suggested he was killing an insect, not his brother.
Not even Hector had been like this during our battle.
Although he lacked maturity in many different ways, Hector had at least tried to not cross the line... But I didn’t feel any such hesitation in Hero right now.
I looked at the Lord of Blood and Iron for a moment.
I was curious what he was thinking.
The Lord of Blood and Iron continued to observe the events with an unreadable expression.
He simultaneously looked to be deep in thought and like he wasn’t thinking about anything at all.
I couldn’t tell what his true emotions were, nor whether he was going to act at all.
“Kuah, kak...!”
Hector’s face continued to become paler and paler.
Curses. What a crazy house.
“Brother Hero. Let’s end it there.”
Although I spoke while grabbing his hand, he didn’t even act like he noticed me.
It might be obvious, but no one likes to be ignored.
Naturally, I put more strength into my grip.
Crack.
“I asked you to stop.”
“...”
Only now did Hero look at me.
A weird light seemed to dance in his half-open eyes.
“...Why should I?”
“Brother Hector surely understands you now.”
“Probably not. I know him better than you.”
“I’ll make him understand.”
“Hm.”
Hector looked at me with interested eyes before letting go.
“Sure.”
I looked down at Hector, coughing while collapsed on the ground, with pity.
“So why did you charge him like that? I don’t think your body has fully recovered yet.”
“...Move.”
“And what if I move, what will you say to the family head?”
“Give me one—”
“Give you one more chance?”
“...”
That seemed to hit the mark.
I clicked my tongue so he could hear me.
“Brother, you’re so obsessed with the family head, how do you not know anything about him?”
“...What are you saying.”
“Do you think anything you say right now will reach his ears?”
“...”
“Rather, his disappointment in you will only increase. So don’t disappoint him anymore and go back for today. That’s the right thing to do in your position.”
“But...!”
I whispered so that only Hector could hear, “Or do you want me to beat you up here in Brother Hero’s stead?”
“...”
“Do you want that to happen? You’ll be more embarrassed if you get beaten up by me. Father’s disappointment will also be greater.”
Hector’s expression hardened, and he got up while gritting his teeth.
Then he politely bent at his hips to give a bow to the Lord of Blood and Iron.
“...”
The Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t reply or show any reaction.
In some sense, it looked like his interest in Hector the human being had disappeared.
Hector seemed to have expected the nonreaction as well because he just turned around and left.
I wondered how he was going to get out, but Hector just disappeared from my vision after walking a little ways away.
It was like magic.
I couldn’t find any disturbances in the scenery, but it seemed there was an exit somewhere in that direction.
Hero asked in surprise, “What did you say?”
“I just convinced him.”
“There’s no way. He’s quite stubborn.”
“...”
“Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Hero sloppily walked back to his chair and sat down.
He then splayed his upper body over the table and let out a yawn.
The funny thing was that even while he was acting like that, the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t show any reaction.
Rudbick acted freely in front of the Lord of Blood and Iron as well...
But that was incomparable to how Hero was acting right now.
Maybe it just showed how much the Lord of Blood and Iron trusted Hero.
Then, the Lord of Blood and Iron spoke in his signature calm voice.
“Let us begin eating.”
Hero, who had been splayed himself on the table, and Nero, who had just been sipping her tea, both immediately straightened up.
As soon as Nero put down her teacup...
Flash.
The tea set on the table immediately disappeared, and many different types of food appeared on the table instead.
The smell of delicious food assaulted my nose.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t had breakfast yet.
“Let’s eat.”
“Thank you for the food.”
“Thank you for the food.”
The two answered the Lord of Blood and Iron’s words.
I also belatedly said, “Thank you for the food.”
I took a bite of the juicy steak that seemed to have just been cooked, and put a salad with a dressing that I had never seen before in my mouth.
I usually liked meat more than vegetables, but this salad was as delicious as the steak.
It’s great that I get to eat delicious food...
...but was this really just an event to eat food?
Even while feeling a little uneasy, I continued to eat.
For a while, only the sounds of cutlery quietly echoed about the table.
Although I wasn’t the type to overindulge myself, I ended up eating more than usual because the food was so tasty.
And there was more food than usual on the table as well.
In any case, after the quiet meal ended, the Lord of Blood and Iron spoke while wiping his mouth.
“Hero.”
“Yes.”
“I heard that you were victorious in the martial arts competition hosted by the Second Imperial Prince, that you were able to reach the finals without a single wound.”
“That is correct.”
When I heard the Lord of Blood and Iron’s next words, I realized the true nature of this event.
“Tell me if there is anything you desire.”
This was a place to recognize achievements and hand out rewards.