Adventurer of Flash - 04 - I Am Not a Siscon

Chapter 04: I Am Not a Siscon

For a while, I felt myself growing, spending many days absorbed in practicing magic and swordsmanship.

One morning, my little sister Rei burst into my room.

“Good morning, Brother!”

“Good morning, Rei. What’s up?”

“Show me some magic! The sparkly, pretty kind!”

“Alright.”

Ever since I awakened my unique magic, “Light,” I often practiced in the garden or the training ground. This caught the attention of the servants and soldiers, and soon rumors spread.

So, I showed her some tricks, like making parts of my body sparkle or using optical camouflage to make parts of me disappear.

“Wow, amazing!”

Rei’s eyes sparkled as she hugged me tightly. She was so adorable. Okay, I decided to give her some sweets later.

This isn’t because I want to see her happy or smiling, definitely not.

After that, I talked to the head chef through one of the servants, and instead of just candy, I had them bring her a huge pile of sweets.

Don’t look at me like that.

I am not a siscon! (Probably.)

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Let me introduce my family in a bit more detail.

First, there’s my father, the pillar of our family. 

As the current head of the marquis family, he commands the Ainsberg Marquisate Army, which has a total of 100,000 soldiers and is crucial for national defense. He specializes in body enhancement and swordsmanship using wind magic. When he was 25, he participated in a defense battle against the Almerian Federation and demonstrated unparalleled prowess. 

Even now, he is feared by other nations under the nickname “Demon God.”

Next, let’s talk about my mother, who practically holds the real power in our family.

She was born as the eldest daughter of the Kerbel Baron family on the opposite side of the empire. After graduating from the Imperial Magic Academy, she joined the Empire’s Magic Corps and captured my father’s heart, who was then part of the Imperial Guard, securing her position as the lawful wife.

In the Kanan Empire, it’s common for nobles to have multiple concubines besides their lawful wives, as it’s important to preserve noble bloodlines. However, my mother never allowed that.

As a result, no one could complain because she gave birth to me, an awakened one, my capable older brother, and the angelic Rei.

My mother, who can be quite unconventional, has aptitudes in both water and earth magic and can use both at an advanced level. 

My father, by the way, can also use wind magic at an advanced level. My parents are both exceptionally talented and hardworking.

Next is my brother, Lloyd.

He has an aptitude for fire magic, but he’s not good at magic or swordsmanship. However, he excels academically to the point that even his tutors are impressed. 

He’s kind and has a big heart. Both of our parents are good-looking, and Lloyd inherited their features, making him a calm and handsome guy.

As the next head of the marquis family, he has been attending tea parties to deepen relationships with other nobles. I once saw him at one of these events, and the young noblewomen were eyeing him like predators. Poor guy.

Being the next head also means he needs to graduate with excellent grades.

If he develops talents in magic or swordsmanship, our parents will likely send him to the Imperial Magic Academy or the Knight Academy after graduation. 

Despite being labeled with the burdensome title of future head, he never shows any displeasure. That’s my big-hearted brother, Lloyd.

(Normally, noble children would fight fiercely to inherit the headship, often resulting in bitter disputes.)

This makes our Ainsberg Marquisate family a bit different.

Now, for everyone’s favorite, our family’s angel, Rei.

She takes after our mother, being a bit mischievous and full of life. She’s also very pretty and will definitely grow up to be a beauty. Let me emphasize again, she has strongly inherited the blood of our mother, who quickly rose to the rank of captain in the Empire’s Magic Corps.

In short, she has a very high aptitude for magic. I occasionally watch her practice mana control with our mother, and it goes very smoothly. She’s undoubtedly a genius.

She probably has at least the same aptitude for water and earth magic as our mother.

I’m looking forward to the selection ceremony in two years.

As a bonus, let me introduce my personal butler, Kael.

He used to be a member of the Imperial Knights. 

That’s about all I know. 

My father knows Kael well, but I haven’t been told much, nor have I asked. We already have a good relationship, and I’m satisfied with how things are. 

In short, he’s a mysterious old man. 

This mysterious old man has perfect mannerisms and movements, making it clear he’s no ordinary person.

Like my father, he exudes the aura of someone who has spent a long time on the battlefield. He’s quick-witted and knowledgeable. That’s why he’s so effective as my personal butler, even though he sometimes indulges my whims.

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Two years have passed, and I am now twelve years old.

My brother is diligently studying to enter the academy in the capital next year. My sister Rei is focusing even more on mana control and elemental magic, as her selection ceremony is just a few months away. 

She has nearly mastered non-elemental magic, including body enhancement. She’s an amazing angel.

One morning, I was sparring with Marco, a lieutenant general of the marquis army.

“Young master Arte, you’ve gotten stronger! You could probably handle three regular soldiers at once!”

“Don’t act so relaxed during a sword fight!”

We were both using body enhancement and fighting quite seriously—well, I was serious, but he seemed at ease. I was using a two-handed sword, and Marco was using a one-handed sword, both of which were wooden.

After a while, my sword was knocked out of my hands.

“Young master, your swordsmanship is based on the basic forms, right? But something seems off.”

“You noticed. When I’m not using my awakened powers, I stick to the basic forms. But when I do use them, I switch to my own style.”

“I see, dividing it into two stages to confuse your opponent. And since an awakened one’s sword style is unique to them, it becomes your own.”

“Glad you understand quickly.”

“Are you not using your awakened powers?”

“Yeah, my power doesn’t enhance my strength in swordsmanship. Right now, I want to improve my basic forms.”

My unique magic, “Light,” gives me the ability to think and react at the speed of light, but it doesn’t increase my strength. Even if I can move quickly with my reflexes, against someone like Lieutenant General Marco, I would still get overpowered, so I’m focusing on my basics.

“That’s one of the things I admire about you, young master.”

“Being admired by an old man doesn’t make me happy.”

“By the way, why do you train in swordsmanship, young master? With your awakened powers, you can handle most things, right?”

“It’s a hobby.”

“A hobby, you say.”

“And I don’t want to be helpless if I ever find myself unable to use magic.”

“Just like the son of the ‘Demon God.'”

“My brother and sister are more impressive than me.”

“Haha, you’re too modest.”

Marco murmured that it was precisely because of this attitude that I could become an awakened one.

After Marco left, I stayed in the training hall for a while, fighting against virtual enemies with my full awakened power.

“Honestly, I could finish this instantly with my unique magic, ‘Light,’ but that wouldn’t be fun. Maybe it’s time to ask Father for permission to go out and fight real monsters.”

At that moment, my personal butler, Kael, appeared from behind.

“Young master, the Lord is currently in a meeting with the head of the Ainsberg Marquisate’s merchant guild, so it won’t be possible until tonight.”

“O-Okay. Thanks.”

I had no idea how long this old man had been watching me from behind. He’s definitely not an ordinary person, this mysterious old man.

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The next day, I left through the castle gates with Kevin, Marco’s son, who works as a knight in the marquis army, and two regular soldiers as my guards.

I currently live in the largest and most crucial city for national defense in the Ainsberg Marquisate, the fortified city of “Balkut.”

If you head east from here, you’ll reach the great canyon in the Heavenly Dragon Mountains. It’s so dangerous that you need to hire high-ranking adventurers to pass through. Despite the risks, it’s worth trading with the Kanan Empire, so many merchants travel through here.

Therefore, Balkut is crucial for national defense and serves as the logistics hub for the entire region. The commerce of the Kanan Empire mainly relies on maritime import and export using large ships and trade through Balkut.

Heading west from Balkut, there’s a vast plain called the Tail Plains, which is our destination this time. A main road runs through the middle of these plains, making it relatively safe for merchants to transport their goods.

Only low-rank monsters inhabit this area, and the open space provides a wide field of vision, making it perfect for a beginner like me. 

I can also see a few novice adventurers here and there. They seem to be around eighteen years old, probably just graduated from an academy.

While most nobles attend academies in the imperial capital, there are several academies in Balkut too, and these adventurers likely graduated from one of them.

That group of novice adventurers over there are also our precious subjects.