11. Clue – 04

Countess of Serias.

It started as a mere branch family derived from the Pendragon family, but now, after hundreds of years have passed, it is now regarded as one of the greatest martial families in the empire.

While the Duke of Pendragon was wielding a huge influence in the central political world, the Count of Serias seized the military authority of the Empire itself and was projecting their influence strongly there.

Some pointed to the actions of Count Serias and laughed, saying, “I was afraid of Pendragon and fled to the army.” .

Just as two tigers cannot live together in one mountain, if the Count Serias side advances toward the central political realm, it is inevitable that they will also inevitably collide with the Pendragon duchy.

Of course, even if they faced Pendragon head-on like that, they would never be afraid, but if you go back to the roots of Serias, aren’t they also members of Pendragon and a distant relative?

They declared that they would not advance into politics, even in order to honor the main family and live in harmony with the ‘family’. Instead, they entered the military and gradually built up their own position.

The descendants of Count Serias, and those who become the head of the family, have dedicated themselves to the military for generations and assumed the position of commander in charge of the defense of the empire. It had become something that could not be.

And Theodore von Rudel Serias, the current head of the Count Serias family and Altina’s father, also served as the Commander-in-Chief of the eastern part of the Empire, and at the same time was a strong man who reached the level of a Master.

Needless to say, the position of Count Serias, who assumes all responsibility for the defense of the eastern part of the Empire, is by no means negligible.

Although he doesn’t know much about the military and doesn’t have much interest in it, he is well aware of the fact that the position of Commander-in-Chief of the East is not an idle job.

But is it that the count, who can be described as a magnate of such a great position, only wants to meet one of Nineveh’s students?

And it wasn’t that Count Serias saw me and threw a message to come to him, he even came to Nineveh himself?

When I just looked at Altina with absurd eyes, Altina just lowered her eyes, showing a sign of being restless for some reason.

“that… Actually, I recently had personal contact with my father.”

“Communication?”

Well, Nineveh is not a prison of any kind, and there is no reason to stop the child from communicating with his parents. And it’s also very natural for Altina to send her regards to her parents.

“But while we were talking about various things, we ended up talking about how I had reached the level of a Master without knowing it… .”

Altina wiggled her fingers as if she had committed a mortal sin, then let out a deep sigh.

“But my father couldn’t believe that I had reached the level of a Master on my own. He kept questioning me about what had happened in Nineveh in the last few months, and I tried to hide it until the end… .”

“In the end, you couldn’t overcome the pressure and told my story?”

“Oh no! I didn’t betray you! Really!”

Altina jumps up and denies Jin’s words.

… But do I even have to use the word betrayal? As long as the fact that I cheated on Nineveh by claiming to be a descendant of the Seven Heroes is not exposed, I don’t care.

“That… My father must have come out separately to collect information about you. And as a result, you and I found out that you and I practice sparring together at the gym every day, and… ”

And as a result, did you mean that I even identified the fact that I was the main suspect in making Altina suddenly rise to the level of Master?

Altina tried to deny the fact to the end for my sake, but she couldn’t overcome Count Serias, who pushed forward with the facts itself, and eventually had no choice but to reveal the whole truth.

– In fact, if it’s natural, you have no choice but to say it’s natural. No, rather, it should be said that the truth was hidden for a long time unexpectedly.

‘… What do you mean?’

– Don’t be shy. Even if I don’t bother talking about it, you should know this much.

Erekaya snorted for a moment, then opened her mouth to him in a quiet tone.

– Jin, you should know. The fact that becoming a Master, an Aura user, is an area of incomprehensibility that cannot be explained simply by being born with so-called ‘talent’.

– I was born with great talent, I grew up in an environment that can support my talent, or I was just lucky… Simple words like this can never explain the backgrounds of those who have risen to mastery.

– Master’s level is literally the highest level that only those who are chosen in this era can rise to. No matter how much Altina von Rudel Serias was born with the highest talent, the Count was also well aware that it was not at the level of being able to rise to the level in the late teens. That’s why she had no choice but to notice that she hadn’t reached the level of a master on her own.

‘… But you, too, have reached the level of a master at the age of a teenager.’

– It was because I was a genius of a very excellent and outstanding century. But isn’t the situation a bit different for Altina von Rudel Serias?

… If you say that, then who am I who have not reached the level of a master even after 100 years have passed?

Anyway, Count Serias wanted to see me with his own two eyes, the one who helped his daughter rise to the level of Master, and the power behind it, and Altina couldn’t break the Count’s will and was so sorry for me in the end?

“… sorry. For claiming to be your disciple, in the end I caused such a nuisance.”

“no… I don’t really care And since it has already happened, it is unavoidable.”

To tell the truth, facing Count Serias was a bit awkward.

Why? Anyway, the woman named Altina is my ex-girlfriend.

And Count Serias is a man who will become Altina’s father regardless of his status or position.

then… No matter how you think about it, isn’t this an unreasonable meeting?

You know, you get that weird feeling like a boyfriend who visits his girlfriend’s family to ask for permission to marry her!

Of course, Altina is not my girlfriend or anything at this point, but there is still a feeling.

Unless it’s a special occasion, what else would it be like to get your ex-girlfriend’s parents to say hello face-to-face than to get their marriage license!

“That… Wouldn’t that be too much? I guess I was asking too much of you?”

Saying that, Altina congratulated and drooped her shoulders.

It was not that he was weak because he couldn’t meet his father’s demands, but that he had been saying that he was my disciple until now, but it was clearly visible that he was very sorry for not being able to do the right thing for his disciple.

“… sorry. I made unreasonable demands without consulting you a word. As expected, I must be an ugly disciple who is of no use to you. Even though I can’t do anything for Master as a disciple, I’m causing such a lot of trouble.”

“…..”

It’s not a pretense, it’s Altina who really says that she can’t help me and that she’s sorry with her whole body.

With a little exaggeration, there was only one choice I could make, seeing her as if she would cry at any moment if left alone.

“Are you Altina’s classmate named Jin?”

“… Yes. That’s right.”

what would you do In the end, I have no choice but to have a conversation with Altina’s father like this.

No matter how much it is, it’s too much rubbish to make Altina ring in the end simply because I’m annoying.

Whew.

****

The first impression of Count Serias, who met him face-to-face one-on-one, was nothing else but the fact that this nobleman was clearly a soldier.

Looking at his first impression, he was nothing more than an aristocrat with a dignified and handsome face like Altina’s father, but from his actions and speech, he could feel that he had a sense of discipline and sharpness like a soldier.

In fact, it wasn’t the first time he had met Count Serias like this during the past nine reversions, but it was the first time he had talked face-to-face like this.

He and I only faced each other from the perspective of a commander and a soldier on a frontline fighting to the end, like this, my girlfriend’s father… No, because I had never faced him from the standpoint of being his friend’s father.

“Yes, you are the one who led that child to the level of a Master.”

“Yes.”

As a former soldier, he was showing the boldness of skipping other rhetoric and going straight to the main point.

Well, actually, I didn’t want to talk that much with my ex-girlfriend’s father, so I was happy with his attitude.

“According to Altina, you say that you are teaching the child by sword-to-sword with him every day after school, but is that true?”

“I think the word ‘teaching’ is a bit exaggerated. All I did was clash swords with Altina, and after that, we talked about small things related to swords.”

“That is what it means to teach. The current Altina is also a person who has reached the level of a master. It can be said that the fact that you can point swords at eye level equal to that of Altina and point out that child’s shortcomings is decisive proof that your skills are by no means extraordinary.”

After saying that, Count Serias stared at my face.

“Anyway, ‘Altina’. Have you and my daughter already known each other by name?”

… Could this be a mistake? Well, it’s because this place is Nineveh, regardless of social status. Outside, I shouldn’t have called Altina by her first name, but ‘Lady Serias’.

“… If I sounded offended, I apologize. Having lived so well with my daughter in Nineveh, I have become accustomed to calling her by name without even realizing it.”

“Um… You must be misunderstanding something, but I didn’t say that to bruise you. I didn’t even say that to point out the fact that you are a commoner.”

Count Serias twitched his eyebrows and opened his mouth to me.

“Altina seems lively and gets along well with others on the outside, but in reality she draws a clear line in her heart. And anyone who doesn’t fit within that line, never tries to open up or be friendly.”

“There are a lot of people who have been friendly with Altina so far, but only a few of them allow that child to call them by their names. And few of them included men… I can confidently say that you are the first.”

That is a fact I am well aware of. Unlike Erekaya, who appears to be cold and blunt on the outside, but has a tender heart and a lot of affection, Altina looks lively on the outside, but in reality has a very reserved personality.

Didn’t it make you wonder just from the fact that I swung the sword alone while using the wide gymnasium dedicated to class A until I entered Nineveh in the first place?

“Come to think of it, I didn’t bother to come all the way to Nineveh to tell you why I’m meeting you like this. There is only one business I would like to propose to you.”

And the next moment, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at Count Serias’ continued words.

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