The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

6 – Suspicious Deal (01)

007.

Given what had happened, it was natural that Sinat’s feelings were hard to guess even after two more years had passed.

Even as a grandfather, he couldn’t see through his innermost thoughts.

Changing Kallen’s bandages himself every day made it easy to understand.

Of course, Blamia felt like his head was going to explode.

Now, even in his dreams, his mistakes were coming out, so he had to send Kallen away as soon as possible.

Past mistakes.

They were extremely personal, but for someone like Blamia, they weren’t just that.

Who doesn’t have a story?

Everyone carries at least one wound as they go through life.

For Blamia, it was his grandson.

That is to say, Sinat’s brother.

Sinat’s brother, Sitram, was a genius.

Compared to the little one… Sitram might seem a bit lacking, but that’s because Kalen is an extraordinary monster.

Where in the world is there a talent that masters second-level magic at thirteen?

Anyway, Sitram was a genius.

He could handle first-level magic quite skillfully a year before his coming-of-age ceremony.

At that time, the Dranus family was still intact.

Sinat’s parents were both alive, and in a word, it was a ‘harmonious’ moment.

Greed took over.

He, who was called the great magician.

His son was not so outstanding, but he saw talent in his grandson.

If there is ability and the conditions are right, where in the world is there a reason not to nurture it?

The education imposed on Sitram was unimaginably harsh.

If there was a mistake, it was that the admirable boy gritted his teeth and followed through.

At that time, Blamia had crossed the line far too much.

After that…

It was a flow he didn’t want to recall.

Blamia secluded himself with Sinat.

He didn’t leave the Dranus family, but he had no face to show.

Seeing Kalen constantly reminded him of that nightmare.

He tried to suppress it as much as possible, but fragments of that talent reflected the past.

Sometimes, when he found himself explaining overly advanced magic theories to Kalen, he was startled.

So he was preparing to part with Kalen.

But with Sinat holding on, there was no way out.

“I hope things go well this time…”

A request came in at that moment.

Originally, Blamia had no way to handle it and had been ignoring it,

But he accepted it as an excuse to send Kalen away.

How could he possibly alleviate Sinat’s obsession with that?

Blamia rattled the pill bottle he received from his friend and stood up.

*

“Does it hurt…?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

“…”

Kallen was perplexed.

It was because the distance between him and Sinat was too close.

He didn’t dislike it, but he was certainly aware that it was too close.

Since then, it felt like the distance had excessively narrowed.

Whenever he had the chance, Sinat would look at Kallen’s chest and ask if it hurt.

The shock from that time was so strong that it had settled like a kind of illness.

Leaning against Kallen’s back was in the same context.

It was an unconscious act of trying to cover the darkened area near his heart with his head.

In the midst of such a scene unfolding as usual,

a small bottle flew towards Kallen.

“Do I have to run errands for medicine?”

“Thank you.”

The old man who was next to Kallen when he came to his senses was Blamia’s friend and another great wizard who was rumored to be missing.

Kallen knew that fact and was surprised enough to make Sinat show an expression he had never seen before.

It was because he didn’t know that the great wizard Austio Tide, who had no equal in manufacturing attributes, especially in healing or potion-related matters, was such an old man.

Whether Kallen’s words at that time left an impression or not,

he had been steadily sending specially made medicine with magic that was the opposite of spirit magic.

It wasn’t particularly effective, but it was better than nothing.

Kallen swallowed the medicine.

As the bitter taste made his brow furrow, Blamia took a seat.

“Kid.”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, but could you do one thing for me?”

“Grandfather!!”

It was Sinat who shouted immediately.

However, unlike usual, Blamia did not back down this time.

“I know your feelings, Sinat. But how long will you live in fear without Kalen by your side? As the granddaughter of Blamia, you shouldn’t.”

“…Still!”

“I’m not trying to send Kalen away. I’m busy, so I’m just asking you to do a simple task for me.”

Blamia is one of the only three great wizards.

There are plenty of people who want to get close to him, those who want to make an impression, and those who want to use him for their own benefit.

Naturally, he receives countless personal requests.

Since Blamia’s nature is far from altruistic, accepting or rejecting them is solely up to him.

Kalen had accompanied Blamia on several of these simple tasks.

“Sinat. This time, it’s not possible. It’s related to you inheriting the position of head of the family.”

Since Blamia’s son, the head of the Dranus family, had died, it was natural for the successor to take over.

However, Sitram, who had a higher succession rank than Sinat, is no longer here.

Naturally, the vacant position of head of the Dranus family should be inherited by Sinat, who is of direct lineage.

At the same time, it was something Sinat also wanted.

Because he thought that one day he had to continue the lineage of the Dranus family, which had been lost in vain.

“How…?”

Indeed, it was as he asked.

With Blamia, the greatest pillar of the Dranus family, retiring, they lost a lot of power.

It was clear that if they tried to regain their former glory now, the surrounding predators would not stand still.

“It’s a matter that Duke Lakatus promised.”

If you were to pick the most important places in the Claire Empire, you could divide them into the south, southwest, southeast, and north.

Among them, the Lakatus Duchy is responsible for the southeast.

It is so vast that you cannot complete a full tour of the territory even if you run all day.

Thinking about it that way, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

No matter how much he is not as powerful as in his prime, Blamia is a great wizard.

If you add the power of the Lakatus Duchy to that, the opposing forces would have no choice but to step back.

“What should I do, Master?”

“It’s nothing special. They’ll pick a few people and send them, just follow them and do a little boundary and monster cleaning in the territory, and that’s it.”

There was no way to avoid questioning those words.

The Duke of Rakatus and the Grand Mage Blamia.

It seemed like a rather insignificant transaction compared to the weight of their names.

It could be due to a lack of manpower, but it was something that could be quickly resolved by hiring a capable mercenary group without having to go all the way to Blamia.

Moreover, the Duke of Rakatus was a noble who could use magic.

It meant that he could easily handle monsters appearing in his territory.

“Why such an easy task…”

“Then should I give you, a little brat, a difficult task? I’m just asking you to handle some leftover work because I’m busy.”

Whether to accept or not was up to Blamia.

However, Kallen’s doubts were not resolved.

It was too insignificant a task to ask someone of Blamia’s caliber, and it didn’t make sense to ask for such a trivial task while offering the backing of the Dranus family.

It was an unreasonable exchange, like receiving a single coin and handing over a bundle of jewels.

It felt like there was some kind of trap.

“If you really hate it, just consider it as paying back for raising you until now. That way, it looks like you’re repaying the favor I gave you, not those guys.”

“I understand, but… it would be better if Master handled it quickly.”

“I’m busy, you little brat.”

Blamia stood up as if he had nothing more to say.

Kallen didn’t stop his master, but his doubts remained unresolved.

The fact that he was being handed a task related to the Dranus family under the excuse of being busy.

That was something he couldn’t understand at all.

*

A few days later.

People from the Duke of Rakatus arrived.

Since it was an ordinary cabin with no proper reception area, they had to gather in a space like a living room.

Given the situation, the sense of incongruity was naturally heightened.

An ordinary wooden table and extravagant clothes that didn’t match.

Even a stranger could easily tell they were nobles.

The people from the Rakatus family consisted of an elderly man who looked quite old, a middle-aged man with a sword at his left waist, and a boy who seemed to be the middle-aged man’s squire.

There were three of them in total.

The elderly man with graying hair seemed to be their representative, and it was indeed this old man who conversed with Blamia.

“How have you been, Your Grace Dranus?”

The old man used the most respectful tone possible with Blamia.

It might be because he was a noble, but it was a sight that showed Blamia’s stature.

“Your Grace? I put that title down a long time ago.”

“Even so, your skills haven’t gone anywhere.”

The tea Kallen brought arrived in front of each of them,

and it was the old man who quenched his thirst.

“I am Evam, the manager in charge of the external schedule of the Duke of Lacatus. This is Captain Brussel of the Knights.”

No introduction for the squire?

Kallen thought so as he looked at the middle-aged man with a sword.

Could it be the emblem of the Lacatus family? The sword with a splendid emblem looked peculiar.

He thought it would be hard to find a swordsman among nobles, especially those of the highest rank like that.

Or is it because such a noble maintains a swordsman?

“Brussel? That hot-blooded guy?”

“Haha… Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since we saw Your Grace.”

“You guys must have hidden because you felt guilty about your own scheming. Anyway, let’s get to the point.”

“Ah, yes. The successor you mentioned…”

“Successor? He just learned a few spells from me.”

Kallen, who was standing next to him, stepped forward and greeted.

When he raised his head, he saw quite surprised expressions.

“A squire… weren’t you?”

“I told you. He just learned a few spells from me, he’s not a successor.”

“Ah. I apologize.”

Kallen and Blamia had coordinated their words in advance.

Blamia, who had many enemies, did not want to create unnecessary weaknesses to worry about.

Until he was completely independent, he had to take responsibility, so he decided not to reveal their relationship as much as possible.

This reaction was well within the expected range.

Kallen introduced himself calmly.