Thud.
After the last gamble ended, Frederick was dragged into the office where he knelt on the floor. He was bound with ropes and his face was blank with despair.
It wasn’t my doing. It was old man Charles who, realizing the severity of the situation, had tied him up to prevent any chance of escape.
And it wasn’t just Frederick. His so-called “friends” were in the same condition.
“……….”
“Ah…….”
“It’s all because of Frederick…….”
Frederick was placed at the very front with his head hung low. Behind him, his friends, those who had returned from their studies abroad with him, were also kneeling while tightly bound.
Though every one of them was an Aura user, none could break free or run. One friend who had tried was now sprawled unconscious; he was struck down by old man Charles’s hands.
More than anything, these men were no better than Frederick. They were all in similar dire straits, drowning in enormous debts. From what I heard, their plan was to milk our family for all it was worth and then move on to their next target.
Birds of a feather flock together.
It wasn’t just them either. A few knights and servants who were also involved in gambling were kneeling there as well.
Despite the late hour, they were all waiting for Father’s judgment, as dictated by old man Charles.
“……Debts. Debts, you say.”
“……….”
“And the collateral you staked was the Byron family name?”
The sheer audacity of the man.
It wasn’t even his own name or his own rights. He had wagered the name of our family?
Of course, the documents vaguely stated “Byron family” and were signed by the second son. Even if Frederick couldn’t pay the debt, the territory wouldn’t have actually changed hands.
Still.
As the second son with a legitimate claim to succession, staking the family name as collateral meant that the creditors would have had every reason to wave those contracts around and make all kinds of demands of us. With Frederick’s signature on the documents, there would have been no way for him to deny responsibility.
Perhaps he was so used to selling off his rights that writing that deed came easily to him.
Was this what it felt like to be scammed? I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.
The deed Frederick had signed over, the pouches of gold coins, the testimonies of his friends, and even the debt contracts he had tried to hide. All of it was laid bare.
Father quietly read through it all and his gaze eventually fell to the 30 or so pouches of gold coins that lay before him.
“The documents list about 100 pouches of gold coins. Where is the rest?”
“………I…”
“Answer me!!!!”
“Hic! On, on my way here, at the t-territory I passed through…… the gambling den……….”
“Haah.”
So originally, he had received one hundred pouches of gold coins in exchange for selling out the family, and yet he had squandered more than seventy of them on his way here?
No wonder Frederick had been so fixated on even a single pouch of my gold.
From the moment he lost one pouch to me in that first gambling game, he had to get it back no matter what.
“In the meantime, it says here that the money you earned in two days of gambling was kept separately.”
“…………….”
“When you were on your way back, I had a few knights escort you, but there was no mention of those one hundred gold pouches. And you kept the winnings from gambling separately…so there were accomplices.”
The situation kept snowballing.
Logically, Father would never leave the second son who had been forced into studying abroad completely unsupervised. He must have assigned knights to guard him on his return trip as well.
And yet, Father never heard a thing about those gold pouches.
Frederick’s faction.
There weren’t many of them, but those who supported him must have been involved.
“I trusted you, and this is what I get when you return.”
“F-Father…”
“…Charles, send someone right away to pay off the debt that wretch accumulated.”
“Father…!!”
…Why was he pleased about that?
Could he really be thinking that Father meant to forgive him by paying off his debts?
I understood that he was grasping at straws in a hopeless situation, but there had to be a limit to his delusions.
Father glared at Frederick, who suddenly wore a hopeful, almost “I knew it” look on his face.
“And attach every last bit of that debt to Frederick’s name.”
“Father…?”
“Likewise, as of this very moment—”
With the coldest eyes imaginable, William Byron, the head of the Byron family,
pronounced his judgment.
“I hereby strip Frederick Byron of all his rights.”
“…Huh?”
“All privileges granted as a member of the Byron Viscounty, tax exemptions, immunities, and…inheritance rights as well.”
“F-F-Father!!”
“You are no longer Frederick Byron. From this moment on, you are merely a commoner named Frederick.”
Father showed not the slightest hesitation or indecision.
Right now, he was nothing more than a merciless family head who cared nothing for blood ties or anything else.
“Frederick, you’ll soon find out exactly how much debt you’ve personally incurred. Head butler Charles!”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Inform the overseer of the silver mine. Let him know we’ll soon be sending an Aura laborer whom he can treat as harshly as he wants.”
“Understood.”
“S-Silver mine…!!”
The Silver Mine. In the Byron Viscounty, that word never referred to a mine that actually produced silver.
It was the place to which my father, who had once been the second son, banished his own brother when the family was on the brink of ruin.
A place worse than prison. It was effectively a place where people were sent to die.
“Work there until you’ve repaid the debt, however long that may take.”
“Father! Father!!!”
They wouldn’t pay even half a gold coin a month there, let alone a whole one.
How many years would it take to repay a debt of one hundred pouches of gold in such extreme conditions?
It seemed there was no chance I would ever see Frederick again in this lifetime.
“Ah…right. I almost forgot something.”
“F-Father! Please, reconsider…!!”
“Kyle. You haven’t yet collected the price you’re owed, have you?”
“Father…?”
“What do you mean by ‘price’?”
“Here, it states that the missing portion of the betting sum shall be received via this deed of transfer…and that bastard’s right hand.”
“….…!!!”
“Do as you wish.”
Clang.
Old man Charles handed me Frederick’s sword. The one that had once failed to sever his wrist when he surrendered.
Frederick looked up at me with his pupils trembling uncontrollably. He was wearing the most pitiful expression he could manage.
“K-Kyle. I was wrong. I’ve been wrong about everything until now. I told you everything, didn’t I? Everything!”
“………….”
I gripped the sword.
“I even got down on my knees! I-I was going to just let you go if you won. I really was ready to accept the outcome and let you leave! I swear!!”
“………….”
I raised the sword.
“L-Look what I’m doing here! You bastard! N-No, Sir Kyle! You fucking asshole! I’m begging you, please…!!”
“………….”
I fixed my gaze on exactly where I intended to swing.
“D-Damn it! Just crush it! Or pulverize it! Once a limb is completely severed, even holy magic can’t reattach it! It’s irreversible! You fucking incompetent bastard who doesn’t even—”
“Don’t worry too much.”
“—Wh-What?”
“There are plenty of people who live just fine with one hand.”
“You useless—”
Crunch.
***
A brief moment passed, and then only Father and I remained in the office.
The metallic scent of blood still lingered slightly, but the floor had already been thoroughly cleaned.
In the middle of the night, the family’s dedicated mage arrived to clean up the blood and debris. With such a commotion, word would undoubtedly spread far and wide before the day was over.
Father, it seemed, had intentionally called the mage to handle the cleanup with magic, as if to make sure the rumors spread deliberately.
Eventually, only the two of us remained. And we stood facing each other.
“…You cut it off in one strike.”
“It was a wrist that was going to be severed anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to end it cleanly?”
Selling out the family could be considered an act of treason, depending on how one looked at it. On top of that, this incident likely left plenty of people harboring resentment toward either Father or me. There was no way anyone would let a superhuman with Aura walk away unscathed.
To be blunt, if I hadn’t cut it off, they’d have found some excuse to “accidentally” do it later at the silver mine or somewhere else. Father would’ve taken care of it one way or another.
It was the first time I had ever swung a sword to cut something or had someone’s blood splatter on me, but surprisingly, it didn’t feel all that shocking.
More than revenge… in a way, it was for Frederick’s own sake as well.
– Just one more round. Just one more and—
– Wh-What, Director?
– Don’t worry. Don’t worry. I’ll win it back for sure, and then…!!
If only I had really stopped him by cutting off his wrist back then, I wouldn’t have regrets to this day.
Twenty-eight years in the previous world and twenty years in this one. Over forty years had now passed, yet the memories that lingered so vividly and painfully still drew a sigh from me.
That’s why, sincerely…
I hope he can escape his gambling addiction at the very least.
I hoped Frederick, even with his severed wrist, would be able to break free from his addiction to gambling.
Setting aside my grudge against him… it was infuriating to see a situation mirroring events from before I had been adopted.
As I reflected on this, Father was the first to break the silence.
“This time… I really owe you. I didn’t expect you to handle it so well.”
“I didn’t expect things to turn out this way either.”
“That idiot Frederick might not have been enough to shake the family, but it certainly would’ve been a tiresome, troublesome ordeal. No matter how many times I thank you, it won’t be enough.”
“It was my duty. And what about the others…?”
“His so-called ‘friends’ will be investigated thoroughly and handed over to the debtors. Any knights or servants caught gambling again will be dismissed and exiled. A pay cut won’t solve anything, so we’ll have to take stronger measures. As for the accomplices who helped Frederick… we’ll send them to the silver mine so they can keep helping him to the bitter end.”
…. Well, in any case, Father would handle the aftermath. Having taken everything I needed from Frederick, there was nothing more for me to concern myself with.
Even so, the reason I stayed in the office until the end wasn’t to receive thanks.
“And now, we should discuss what you’ll be taking with you.”
“…Yes.”
“Naturally, the pouch of gold coins and the deed of transfer are yours. Since Frederick’s room and belongings need to be sorted out anyway, you’re free to take everything. And most importantly…”
Father paused for a moment.
It seemed he had already made his decision, as he spoke with unwavering determination.
“Frederick’s inheritance rights will be passed on to you. If, by chance, anything happens to your elder brother… the next Viscount Byron will be you.”
“………….”
“Kyle?”
“No, it’s just… I’m happy, but… it’s not as exciting as I thought it’d be.”
“…I see.”
The spare to the eldest son. A mere contingency plan, but still someone qualified to inherit the position of head of the family.
It was undoubtedly a significant privilege, but having been the third son with no real power or influence to begin with, it didn’t feel particularly impactful to me.
If I become head of the family, I’ll have less time to play board games.
Sure, it’d help immensely in spreading board games, but what’s the point if I can’t enjoy them myself?
The head of the family was definitely a role best suited for my eldest brother. Still…
“However, now that you’ve inherited the succession rights, many things will be granted to you.”
“…For example?”
“Funding for the spread of Kyle Galli, or whatever it is you’ve been talking about. That much can be arranged without issue.”
“Wow.”
At this point, shouldn’t I be thanking Frederick? One of the headaches I’d been dealing with was being resolved just like that.
My original plan had been to seek help from the Arkhe Magic Tower and secure funding through their support, but for that to happen, I first needed the Abracadabra trend to catch on there. That would take a long time and wasn’t even guaranteed to work.
But with the inheritance rights and various privileges from Frederick, the funding problem was resolved almost instantly.
Of course, it’s not like I’d have an unlimited budget to use as I pleased, but I’d be able to secure enough initial capital.
The thought of being able to attempt mass production, which was something I couldn’t even dream of before, was exciting in its own way.
“That appeals to you, doesn’t it? And now, you’ll also be able to influence the various affairs of the family, so much more than before—”
“Oh, that won’t matter anyway. I’ll be returning soon.”
“…Returning, you say.”
“Of course, it’s the Arkhe Magic Tower. It’s only been two days since I left, but this is a critical time.”
Abracadabra was still far from perfect. The rules needed more refinement, the balance of hidden magic had to be considered, and I also needed to participate in the ongoing work of constructing the illusions.
If it hadn’t been for Frederick’s unprecedented stunt with the Kyle Galli gamble, there wouldn’t have been any reason for me to return to the family at this particular time.
Well, now that’s mostly resolved.
I’ll just head back and get back to fiddling with board games.
At my matter-of-fact response, Father looked at me for a moment and then said,
“…Yes, that’s probably the right decision. I got a bit carried away for a moment.”
“You just woke up from sleep, didn’t you? It must be because you’re tired.”
“That must be… the case.”
“Then I’ll leave right away.”
“…Right now, you mean?”
“Yes.”
Dawn was breaking, and I had already gotten all the sleep I needed.
Should I play Spirit Poker with Sally on the way?
With such thoughts in mind, I bowed my head to Father.
“I’ll see you again later, Father.”
“………”
“Father?”
“…Yes, let’s do that. Take… care on your way.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps it was because of the dawn, but Father seemed unusually emotional.
After saying goodbye to him, I left the office.
It was an unexpected situation, but I managed to gain more than I anticipated.
Now, it was time.
Time to return to my main work.
***
A month had passed since Kyle Byron, along with his maid, had returned to the Arkhe Magic Tower.
The Byron Viscounty, which had been in turmoil due to Frederick’s gamble, his loss of family name, and the silver mine incident, gradually regained its peace. Those involved were dealt with harshly and received severe punishments.
A former noble, now a mere miner and once a member of the Byron family, despaired at his reality and continued swinging a pickaxe with just one hand.
Meanwhile, atop the tower of a certain duke’s estate, a Spirit Summoner’s hysteria finally reached its peak.
At the same time, the board game called Kyle Galli was beginning to gain attention. It was spreading by word of mouth throughout the Byron territory.
It was around this time that the Arkhe Magic Tower sent out an invitation to the nobles of the Empire and other magic towers.
[To all esteemed guests across the Empire who receive this invitation.]
[The Arkhe Magic Tower invites you to a mage’s illusion.]
The Arkhe Magic Tower, one of the six great magic towers of the Empire, had long been seen as declining due to financial troubles.
Perhaps because it was perceived as a potentially final invitation, the entire Empire turned its attention to it.
And so, countless people began making their way to the Arkhe Magic Tower.
Though it was still too early to say for sure,
“All the preparations are complete. Now… all that’s left is to set it off.”
It was, without a doubt, the beginning—
The early signs of a grand trend that was just starting to boil.
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