Book 12 Chapter 19
Side Story Part 2, Chapter 12
The Child Who Weaves Hearts (12)
“Brother!”
Bran Ludwig, the youngest, finally returned home.
Despite serving in the Special Affairs Department, he resembled his mother Brim the most among the three siblings, so his gentle impression seemed unchangeable.
Bran took out a notebook where he had written down his questions about magic that he had harbored until now, and persistently questioned Rain, who found even answering all of them enjoyable.
“Oh, was it solvable this easily? How amazing! You’re truly incredible, brother!”
“If a mathematical formula gets stuck, you should suspect that its combination with the rune is too outdated, making the formula itself antiquated. Try practicing by changing the rune to a synonym (同義語) first.”
“Thank you so much, brother! Even my superior didn’t know… nor Aunt Elin or Sister Seri.”
Elin and Seri clobbered Bran on the crown of his head from both sides.
“Why are you talking nonsense?!”
“Exactly! We just deliberately didn’t answer to boost brother’s morale!”
What is this…?
Since when did Seri become a copy of Aunt Elin?
‘The nightmare of the Magic Academy <Delighten> isn't ending with one generation, but continuing even further, how terrible!’
Actually, it might not be the second generation, but the third.
The children Rain had with Kyle, who was a handsome associate professor at <Delighten> when she was a student, were already nine and six years old, respectively.
Kyle came to the mansion with Elin and her two nieces, and their features were completely the embodiment of Elin, so his worries were immense.
“Aunt, please, I beg you to educate the children gently.”
“Haha, since it is an order from Ryonghyeon, I shall gladly obey.”
“You two over there! I don't know what kind of nonsense you're talking, but seeing how bad I feel, it's obviously about me behind my back, isn't it?”
It was a passage that made one understand why people live by forming families.
To be this boisterous, it wasn't unpleasant noise but a pleasant abundance.
Family also came from Mother Brim's maternal side, and it is said that due to Rain's activities, Scourge Ludwig came to favor Brim, restoring their in-law relationship.
“Master.”
A voice was heard from the shadows. It was Jude, the butler, who was now elderly.
“The former Master says the preparations are complete.”
“Hmm, yes. Let's move soon.”
The Ludwig family's first birthday celebration is traditionally held at a location about half an hour's carriage ride from the mansion.
Tendam Tributary (支流).
This small stream, flowing towards the Eleanor River, is the land that crosses and moistens the hills and fields of Sias-Tulica, the home of tulips.
“Daddy, daddy!”
Nen, who was in Scourge's arms, ran over as soon as she saw Rain.
Scourge's favoritism towards Nen was considerable, so he insisted on taking Nen with him while preparing for the first birthday celebration.
Rain opened his arms and embraced Nen with an uncontrollable, broad smile.
Nen was wearing Rin's straw hat, which Rain had given her before, using its brim to block the sunlight.
As he tilted the hat back slightly, golden hair and golden eyes, more brilliant and warm than the sunlight, were revealed under the sun. Rain kissed her lovely forehead.
“It’s so pretty here!”
“Yes, it is pretty.”
Since it was the traditional venue for the family's first birthday celebration, pavilions were set up in various places, and a mat was spread out in the center.
Around that mat, various types of grimoires were laid out. The grimoire picked at this first birthday celebration often dictated the future direction.
Originally, mages have a dominant attribute.
Since Rain and Zernix freely wielded eight attributes, this might sound like an unfamiliar concept, but in fact, those two were special.
“Is Ellaham going to be a mage?”
Scourge nodded at Nen's question, who was in Rain's arms.
“Ellaham is the eldest grandson. He is a talent who must continue the heyday of our Ludwig family, which now stands shoulder to shoulder with the Page family. There is no other path if he isn't a mage.”
At that, Nen made a very sad face.
“What if Ellaham hates magic?”
“He couldn't possibly hate it. He's Rain's kin, who inherited my blood most strongly.”
“If he hates it, but has to become someone who hates it… Ellaham would be too pitiful.”
Then Scourge spread out his palm.
A magic circle rotated at high speed, then trimmed a tree branch into a small wooden sword.
He practically snatched and borrowed the heptagram (七角星) emblems from the priest invited to bestow a blessing at the first birthday celebration, placing one on each side of the mat.
“Father, what are you doing right now?”
When Cavin Ludwig asked in a dumbfounded tone, Scourge snarled.
“Our Nen is about to cry! Compared to Nen’s smile, family traditions are trivial! Throw them all away!”
Cavin doubted his ears for a moment, then let out an absurd, hollow laugh.
It was none other than Scourge Ludwig who valued family traditions and etiquette more than anyone else…!
The reason he left the mansion previously was probably because he was displeased with Cavin marrying Brim, who was not a high noble.
“Is a great-grandchild more lovable than a grandchild? To Rain, Seri, and Bran, he still had a bit of strictness, though not as much as with me and Elin…”
As Cavin exchanged glances with Brim, Brim covered her mouth with her hand and laughed brightly.
“Indeed. If our Ellaham works hard, perhaps we'll know too?”
The wind was always asleep, and the weather mild, but today the sky was clear and the wind was rough.
The mat flapped in the wind, which playfully swept across the field.
Then Mir stepped forward and uttered a few combinations of dragon language.
The wind began to gently fall asleep, but the direction of the newly blowing wind could not be changed.
「Mir, you do it like this.」
Friede lovingly held Mir's shoulders and whispered dragon language into her ear.
A warm…
A warm updraft enveloped the area, spreading like a curtain and forming an updraft, which blocked the wind's path and stabilized the surroundings.
“Excellent. I wish to learn it.”
As Mir’s eyes sparkled, Friede taught her about the dragon language she had used, and concluded by saying this:
「Of course, someday… when you reach true enlightenment as the successor of the Water Dragon, you'll be able to do even more than this. Like parting the sea or putting the wind entirely to sleep.」
As the wind calmed, Miria carefully placed Ellaham onto the mat.
Ellaham sat down on his bottom, tilted his head, and then looked at Miria as if asking to be held.
Instead, Miria gestured towards the books and tools scattered around, but Ellaham kept looking only at Miria.
“Hmm~ He’s just like Rain.”
As nothing continued to happen, Brim spoke. Cavin let out a small laugh.
“Now that you mention it, Rain didn’t pick up anything either.”
“I didn’t?”
“Yes.”
Seri raised her hand enthusiastically.
“Dad! What about me?”
“Our Seri was greedy, so she picked up both a water attribute grimoire and a wind attribute grimoire.”
“Then she’s just like Elin.”
At Scourge’s words, Seri and Elin high-fived and chuckled. They had been similar types of people since birth.
“But Father, traditionally, what happens if he doesn’t pick up anything like that?”
To Bran’s question, Cavin replied with a troubled expression.
“It's just a celebration, so there's no real problem. However, it means there will be one less memory to talk about like this later, just like with Rain.”
Brim gave a sad smile.
“Back then, Rain didn't eat well at all, so we had to end his first birthday celebration as soon as it started. He had no energy whatsoever…”
Miria’s adoptive mother’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, was that really the case? Now he's grown so much?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe it. When I first saw your son, I thought his parents would feel full even without eating.”
Brim gave a wry smile and nodded.
“Back then, I really wondered what would become of him. That he's grown this much is all thanks to the grace of creation.”
Memories… Rain bit his lip.
The loneliness towards severed connections from his past life dominated even Rain’s infancy.
But Ellaham wouldn't have such a thing.
‘It would be nice if Ellaham, too, someday… could have memories that make him laugh like Auntie or Seri.’
Just then, Nen leaped out of Rain's arms and approached… Ellaham.
Ellaham, recognizing Nen, giggled happily.
Nen laughed brightly, hugged Ellaham, pressed her forehead against his delicate forehead, and whispered something.
“Awung?”
Nen then placed Ellaham back on the mat.
Ellaham supported his upper body with both hands, pushed with his knees, and began to crawl.
Ellaham initially saw the grimoires but passed them by with hardly a glance. He gave no attention at all to the heptagram emblems either.
What Ellaham finally picked up was… a wooden sword that Scourge had hastily carved from a branch.
“A sword!”
Miria ran towards Ellaham with a bright smile.
“Ellaham, did you just pick up a sword?”
From Rain’s perspective, it seemed like a very long time since Miria had smiled so brightly.
“Well, I can’t help it, truly can’t help it~ It seems Mommy will have no choice but to teach you how to wield a sword!”
As Miria spoke with an excited expression, her in-laws also joined in the cheering atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Aki approached Nen and held her shoulders.
「Nen, did you do that?」
“I told Ellaham to choose what looked best to him!”
「Excellent. You’re truly my sister.」
“Nen is Aki unnie’s sister!”
「Yes! Nen is the sister I love the most.」
On the other hand, Rain's paternal family seemed somewhat gloomy.
Brim opened her mouth to change the atmosphere.
“Th-that’s right! So far, only excellent mages have emerged, so I think it would be fine if a sword-wielding master appeared, your mother thinks so, anyway.”
“Oh, brother! Don’t worry! I’ll support Ellaham well! On the condition that I get a share of the family inheritance!”
“Brother! I, too, will dedicate myself! You don’t need to share any inheritance with me!”
“Hey! It was a joke, if you act like that, I’ll be the only bad sibling!”
“Wasn’t that your true intention, sister?”
“No! It wasn’t!”
“Ack, it hurts! Don’t hit me!”
Friede poked Rain’s shoulder with her elbow.
「Oh dear~ How pitiful. Huh? You must have been excited at the thought of making your son into a crazy magic cannon.」
Mir also spoke in a somewhat troubled tone.
“I will return to the World Tree and search for a way to joyfully learn magic.”
Rain was dumbfounded.
“What is this? Why are they comforting me?”
「Acting so calm!」
“But I’m really not? I’m really not sad at all? There’s nothing I regret?”
「Crazy, are you really a dad? Just take off that 'dad' label.」
“No, originally, I might have felt regret… but a successor for my magic has appeared.”
「What? Who is it?」
“Nen.”
However, since he had decided to pass on his magic to Nen, there was truly nothing to regret.
‘It’s not that I don’t love Ellaham at all.’
Ellaham is also one of the extremely precious treasures Rain received in his life.
It's impossible to prioritize one's preciousness over another.
However, in Rain's case, having raised Aki, Nen, and Mir in succession, he had simply grown somewhat accustomed to the emotions of parenthood.
「Nen learning magic?」
Since Friede and Mir were well aware of Nen's situation, their expressions brightened at that single remark.
「That's good? It wouldn't be bad.」
“An excellent decision. However, as Nen doesn't like studying, a thorny path is expected.”
“Don’t worry, Mir. Who am I? I am Ryonghyeon Rain Ludwig, the greatest scholar and wisest sage of this era.”
Scourge, Cavin, and Elin, standing side by side on the other side, exchanged somber glances.
Even so, for the eldest son of a family of mages to wield a sword carried the risk of causing problems for the family's reputation.
Rain quietly approached the family elders and spoke softly.
“Nen is learning magic.”
Scourge and Cavin tilted their heads after a beat, then simultaneously turned to look at Rain the next moment.
“What? Our Nen?”
It seemed to take Elin a moment for that information to be processed in her brain.
“Rain, isn’t Setsunen a dragon race? How can she learn magic?”
Rain spoke with some difficulty.
He thought it would be best to take this opportunity to be honest with the family elders.
“Nen… seems to be a being who wasn’t born a dragon but must be reborn as one. That’s why dragon language doesn’t suit her well. But magic will be different. She already perceives the truth of magic. If it’s Nen, she might become a mage who surpasses me.”
To the three people who were at a loss due to the bewildering information, Rain’s eyes sparkled like a boy’s.
“Consider this, Grandfather, Father, Aunt! Nen lives eternally! If such a Nen! becomes famous in the world for having inherited my magic… would people even care what the current family master is like?”
Elin’s eyes widened considerably.
“Since Rain learned magic from me when he was young, does that mean my name will become immortal or something?”
“Not quite.”
“Why not?!”
Just as Elin was about to unleash her 'love violence (?)' on Rain, Scourge clapped his hands in joy.
“Rain, enroll Nen in the <Rivardeen> elementary division where I am! I’ll forge her academic records! You must, no, absolutely enroll her. Given Nen’s current appearance, there would be no problem manipulating documents to enroll her in the elementary division!”
Rain firmly refused.
“Ah, that would be difficult. Nen is still too young to be placed among children whose emotions and reason aren’t yet fully developed.”
Scourge’s expression instantly turned gloomy. Cavin smiled and took Rain’s shoulder.
“Honestly, I didn’t care what happened. I was worried about your feelings, but since you think that way, I will simply support Ellaham whatever path he chooses in the future.”
“Father.”
“Now, today is a joyous day. Let’s laugh and enjoy it together. Let’s bless Ellaham’s future with flower viewing. May that child, as the name you gave him suggests, become someone who brings warmth to the world.”