Chapter 7 - The Banquet (1)
I spent about two hours operating my Aura.
And thanks to that, there was one thing I learned.
"Thankfully, the method of operation is the same as before."
Since it was a completely new body, I thought the sensation of handling Aura would also change, but it didn't.
Of course, since the obstacle of mana was gone, I did need to control my strength.
But that was all.
In terms of fundamental operation, it was exactly the same as before.
"I just need to focus on expanding the vessel."
The vessel, in other words, the Aura storage in my body.
My skill in handling Aura was already sufficiently mastered.
Now, if I just increase that, it won't be long before I get close to my prime, no, before I surpass my prime.
"Well then, now…"
I checked the time again.
13:42.
Lunch had passed, and it was an awkward time with a long while left until dinner.
"Shall I go for a move?"
Now that I had bloomed my Aura, my physical abilities must have improved significantly.
Besides, my body was itching after resting from exercise for several days to manage my condition.
As I left the room for the first time in 5 hours, I saw Philip dozing off nearby.
"Philip, Philip!"
I woke him up immediately.
Drool trickled down the corner of the half-asleep Philip's mouth.
"Hueh! Eh…?"
"I'm going to exercise. Get up."
"Uh, ah. It's already been 5 hours… Ah, yes. L-let's go."
He wiped the drool with his sleeve and got up.
I looked at him intently.
"Wh-what is it?"
Philip asked, shrinking his shoulders.
As if he had done something wrong.
Of course, that wasn't the reason I was staring at him.
'Was this guy always this frail?'
For some reason, he didn't seem like the Philip I had seen until now.
He looked more sluggish than usual, more withered.
'No, it's me who has changed.'
There was only one reason he suddenly started to look that way.
Because I had fully awakened my Aura.
The power of Aura is very diverse, but the most representative among them is physical enhancement.
And the body mentioned here also included sensory functions.
Thanks to that, I could see too well.
How lacking in muscle his body was, and how inefficiently he was moving.
Even his hunched shoulders, his neck sticking out like a turtle's, and his crooked pelvis were starting to look bothersome.
"…This won't do."
"Yes? Ah, are you not going to exercise?"
I corrected Philip's slightly brightened shoulders and said.
"You need to exercise too."
"Eh? Me?"
"Yes, you."
"…Why me?"
"I thought it would be nice to have a partner when I exercise."
"No, why should I… Aack! W-wait a minute! How can I, a servant, be the young master's partner…"
I roughly ignored his excuses and pressed down on his shoulders, pulling him along.
"Keuak! I-I'll go! I'll go!"
I was always lonely exercising by myself; I should have done this sooner.
***
The sun was already beginning to set.
I had finished preparing to attend the event early on and was waiting for my mother.
A short while later, I saw my mother walking down the corridor.
"Son! Haven't you become too handsome?"
My mother said as she got closer.
As it was an important event attended by many families, I had no choice but to dress up as much as possible.
And it was the same for my mother.
"You are beautiful too, Mother."
"Oh my. R-really?"
My mother touched her splendid blue dress and smiled bashfully.
She didn't usually wear such attire, so she looked a little awkward, but the word beautiful was by no means an empty compliment.
Even setting aside the fact that she was my mother, she was quite a beauty.
"But it seems like it's not just your clothes that have changed, son~?"
Just then, my mother looked me over with a suspicious gaze.
Of course, contrary to her suspicion, nothing had changed except for my clothes.
Except for the fact that I had awakened my Aura.
"Haha… maybe it's because this is the first time I'm wearing clothes like this since I started exercising…?"
"Hmm… is that so?"
Her intuition is frightening.
She must have unconsciously noticed the change in my Aura.
"By the way, why is that child Philip acting like that?"
Just as I was wondering how to change the subject.
Thankfully, my mother's attention shifted to Philip.
"Uuuugh…"
Philip was currently slumped next to me, practically collapsed.
"We exercised together earlier."
"With Philip?"
"Yes. I was lonely always exercising by myself."
At that, my mother glanced at Philip and then nodded as if she understood.
"That's good. It's always more empowering to have someone with you, no matter what you do."
"I found that to be true. We should have done it together from the start."
"But will this child be able to keep up with your workout volume? If you want, I can find a suitable person for you, so just let me know anytime."
I shook my head.
Exercising with Philip was also because I needed a partner, but more than that, it was simply because his frailty was bothersome to look at.
"No, it's fine. Philip is enough."
"Really? If my son says so."
Meanwhile, Philip was vigorously shaking his head next to me, but I didn't pay it much mind.
This was all for his own good, too.
"Shall we depart now? We'll be late if we delay any longer."
My mother said, turning her body.
I gave a small nod and followed my mother out of the house.
We traveled by Magic Carriage.
There are very many families in the world.
But among them, only five families are called the great houses.
The Philhart family, the Edenberg family, the Teymon family, the Harandel family, and the Blen family.
The title of a great house that they held was not just a fancy name.
According to the Imperial Law proposed by Emperor Aslan, a family recognized as a great house could place other, non-great house families under their own.
All nations were unified into one, and now the great houses had taken on a role similar to that of nations.
But because such a change had occurred so suddenly, the five great houses needed to adapt to the change and establish order.
What arose from that was the annual Family Convocation event.
And today was the day of the Philhart family's annual event.
It was a day where various famous mages, not to mention the Philhart family who were the stars of the event, all gathered in one place.
Of course, among them was the Peron family, a subordinate family of the Philhart house.
***
Click—
I carefully stepped out of the Magic Carriage.
"So this is the place…"
The Philhart family's banquet hall.
It was too grand to be a simple banquet hall, as huge as a castle, and as splendid as if embroidered with stars.
"Shall we go? Son."
"Yes, Mother."
I immediately moved inside the banquet hall with my mother.
"Wow…"
As I stepped inside, an exclamation escaped me without me realizing.
Lael hadn't attended the banquet for nearly 5 years.
Because of that, there were almost no memories related to the banquet, so in effect, this was the first time I had seen a building of this scale, including my past life.
'Is the power of a great house this immense…'
Beyond mere surprise, I felt overwhelmed by the name Philhart.
"It seems to get bigger every time I come here."
My mother said in admiration.
For her to react like that, even though she must have come every year unlike me.
It was perhaps natural for me to be surprised.
"But where is Father?"
I looked around a few times to find my father, but he was nowhere to be seen. My father, as the head of the house, had departed earlier than us, so we hadn't come together.
"Your father is probably on the 4th floor. Most of the family heads are there."
At my mother's answer, I lifted my head and looked at the 4th floor.
Since the center was wide open all the way up, the edges of each floor were clearly visible even from the 1st floor.
Unfortunately, my father was still not visible.
Next, I turned my gaze to the next floor, the highest floor, the 5th floor.
There, two men were leaning on the railing, chatting.
One had splendid blond hair, and the other had deep black hair.
"Who is on the 5th floor?"
"Only people from the Philhart family, or those permitted by the Philharts, can go up there."
My mother explained so and followed my gaze.
Soon she also saw the two men leaning on the 5th-floor railing and continued with a hardened expression.
"Don't stare too openly at the 5th floor. There's no good in getting on the Philharts' bad side. Besides, that person is…"
"Argon Philhart, right?"
"Yes. He is a person you must never get involved with. Absolutely."
On the way here, my mother had given me some basic information about the great houses.
Among them, the most time was spent on the Philhart family.
And among that, I found the story of the Philhart family's eldest son, Argon Philhart, the most interesting.
Argon Philhart's reputation in the world was that of an 'Unknown Mage'.
The reason was that no one knew what path of magic he walked.
Some who had seen Argon's magic directly said he walked on the sky, and others said he parted the sea.
Besides that, stories of seeing different kinds of magic circulated among people, and at some point, a faction that followed Argon Philhart had even formed.
'Does he want to become a god or something…'
Hearing that story from my mother, I thought he might be a guy similar to the current emperor, Aslan.
And now, looking at Argon's face directly…
'Their gazes are at least similar.'
That gaze, looking down as if at an insect, was very similar to Aslan's.
His personality is probably roughly the same.
I felt like I understood why my mother told me never to get involved with him.
"Yes. I'll be careful."
Worried I might even make eye contact, I quickly lowered my head and averted my gaze.
I had only just bloomed my Aura.
I wanted no part in getting entangled in troublesome matters already.
"Elia?"
Just then.
A woman called my mother's name and approached us.
My mother showed her a forced smile.
"It's been a while, Bellona. But who gave you permission to just call my name like that? I don't recall giving it."
"Still as prickly as ever."
I didn't know who this woman called Bellona was, but it seemed she wasn't someone to be close with.
My mother wouldn't show such an attitude for no reason.
"..."
After a silent war of nerves passed between my mother and the woman.
The woman's gaze suddenly turned to me.
"Oh my, don't tell me this is your son?"
"…Lael, greet her."
"Hello. I am Lael Peron."
I bowed my head to the woman and observed my mother's expression.
My mother was smiling on the outside, but her eyes were colder than ever.
"Do you remember me? We saw each other 5 years ago."
The woman said, looking down at me.
I didn't remember.
And I didn't particularly want to know.
"I'm sorry. I was too young then, so I don't remember well."
I answered appropriately.
At that, the woman scrunched her face and chided my mother.
"You should bring him to places like this more often. If he can't even recognize the lady of the Bellona house at his age, how will he properly fulfill his duties as the eldest son anywhere?"
"You bitch…!"
"Mother."
I grabbed my mother's hand as she was about to lash out.
In a place with so many onlookers, striking someone was by no means a good choice.
Perhaps that woman had deliberately orchestrated this situation.
"I'm completely fine, so please calm down."
Thankfully, my mother quickly calmed her excitement.
The faint pulse felt from our clasped hands told me so.
But to Bellona, it seemed to be an eyesore.
"Ah~ right. He doesn't have any mana anyway, so he can't act like a proper person no matter what he does, can he? I'm sorry, dear. I gave you some useless advice, didn't I?"
"That's enough. Any more than this will only degrade the dignity of your family."
"What? Dignity? Hah…!"
Unable to watch any longer, I stepped forward, and she scoffed as if in disbelief.
But soon, as if she herself thought she didn't look very dignified, she hurriedly changed the subject with a flushed face.
"By the way, then, the Peron family will be participating in the sparring match, right? A family with such dignity wouldn't just hide away, I'm sure."
Bellona glanced at me.
The sparring match she mentioned here referred to the inter-family duel, the highlight of the banquet's first day.
Of course, since this was a sparring event in which only children who had not yet become adults could participate, it was not just an event for light enjoyment.
However, naturally, few family heads truly regarded it lightly.
After all, it was a duel with a clear winner and loser.
And in front of the Philhart great house, no less. It would be stranger not to stake one's life on it.
But in the case of the Peron family, it was different.
Although only direct descendants could participate in the event, the only direct descendant of the Peron family was Lael Peron, me.
Even if I participated in the duel, it would only result in public humiliation.
'The nickname 'the incompetent of Peron' was given because of this duel.'
Bellona must have known that when she said it.
She must have thought that my mother wouldn't stay quiet about this.
However, there was one thing she had greatly overlooked.
The current me was not the incompetent me of that time.
Now, there was no reason for me to avoid the duel.
"Of course I will participate. And, of course, I will win."
"L-Lael…?"
My mother turned her head to me with a bewildered expression.
I had no intention of backing down.
The day I shed the stigma of 'the incompetent'.
That day will be today.