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Chapter 35: The Unseen Path to Supremacy
“I said we will crush them completely. Is it really necessary to have such an incompetent academy that exposed my son to such danger?”
Looking into his father’s eyes, Luke immediately understood.
( —Oh, Father is serious…)
The flames of genuine anger burned red in Claude’s eyes. However…
“W-Wait, Father… that may be a little hasty decision.”
Luke raised an objection to his father.
“Hmm… how unusual. You want to give me your opinion? Fine, let’s hear it.”
“Thank you very much.”
Luke didn’t wonder why. Even though it was quite extreme, he understood the legitimacy of his father’s anger. But…
(No… I absolutely can’t let the academy be crushed right now.)
Due to his extreme arrogance, Luke’s emotions that he could never restrain raged within him.
In response, Claude was delighted that his son had voiced his opinion to him.
He desperately tried to hold back from grinning broadly, as he couldn’t lose his dignity even though Luke was right in front of him.
Claude simply wanted to be a father that his son could respect. Therefore, his gaze became even sharper than usual.
His overwhelming pressure was like an invisible arrow that pierced through every inch of Luke’s body.
He would listen to Luke’s opinion, but his boiling fury over exposing his beloved son to danger will not disappear.
If it was Luke’s wish, Claude wanted to make it come true as much as possible from the bottom of his heart. However, he still couldn’t easily tolerate this incident.
“There are three benefits to keeping the academy alive.”
“Hmm…”
Luke realized he had said this without thinking, as his thoughts raced rapidly.
He didn’t have any ulterior motives, he just felt that it would be better to summarize the benefits in three points.
It was something he unconsciously picked up from the Lonsdale siblings’ persuasive tactics.
“First of all, it’s said that Aslan is the best magic school in the kingdom. Certainly, there’s no way to defend the failure this time. I think that any incompetent person who bothers me should die. However, it is also a fact that this school has nurtured many excellent magicians so far. With a small number of elite educations, excellent teachers, and ranking systems… even in my eyes, it seems very reasonable.”
“…”
“All we need to do is improve the security issues that have been brought to light. It would be a bit of a waste to destroy everything.”
In fact, the attack incident this time could have happened anywhere. The attacker’s target was clearly Luke.
It just happened to be Aslan Magic School, and if Luke had gone to any other magic school, this attack would have happened.
The reason was that the Kingdom of Myrstia had been too far away from danger due to its overwhelming magical power, and had fatally lacked a sense of crisis.
To put it bluntly, it had become complacent due to peace
“Next, it could be a great opportunity to make the Gilbert family and the noble faction even bigger.”
“… Hou.”
“Regardless of the faction, the anger of the nobles towards this matter must be significant. That’s why I think Father, who is the head of the noble faction, should work to calm the situation. By doing so, we can create a significant ‘favor’ to Aslan Magic School, the Kingdom Knights, and ultimately the Myrstia Royal Family. It will surely be beneficial to the Gilbert family and our faction.”
Upon hearing Luke’s words—
” —Amazing.”
Claude exclaimed in admiration.
In truth, what Luke had just said was something Claude had also been thinking.
However, that was the thinking of an ambitious person who aimed for the throne, not that of a father.
Claude had a clear priority.
His feelings of anger towards those incompetent people who had exposed his son to danger far outweighed any great ambition.
( —As expected, that’s my son…!)
The joy and emotion of his son Luke reaching the same conclusion as himself shook Claude’s heart intensely, making his chest warm up.
He was on the verge of tears, it would truly fall down if he let his guard down.
However, this was also an ironic situation.
—Luke was unwittingly walking the path of unwanted domination.
“Finally… this academy has high utility value in proving that I am superior to anyone else.”
“…”
“…I’m sorry, Father. This is nothing but my selfishness. But I just can’t stand the thought of someone inferior to me being considered better than me. Therefore, I want to prove it. —That I am the ‘strongest’.”
After hearing Luke’s words,
“Kukuku… Fuhahaha…”
Claude murmurs and quietly laughs. And then—
“Ahahahaha!! That’s my son!!”
He laughed loudly.
There was certainly joy in the fact that Luke had spoken his mind to him. But more than that, he laughed because he understood Luke’s feelings.
“To be looked down upon by someone who is far inferior to you… it’s an unbearable humiliation.”
Claude thought to himself that they were truly father and son. And Luke had conveyed his will to him to this extent. Claude no longer had any doubts.
“I understand. Let’s do it your way. But I will have a say in the security arrangements.”
“Thank you, father.”
Actually, Claude intended to vent his anger towards the school to some extent, but he didn’t say that.
“I have to apologize to Julia.”
“…To mother? Why?”
“Kukuku… I promised to show those incompetent fools who endangered my son the depths of h**l.”
“…”
Luke looked tired. In fact, he was tired.
After managing to calm his father’s intense anger and feeling relieved, exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed him.
“Relax, I’ll make sure the academy continues to exist as you wish. Leave it to me.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Very well. Also, we’ll leave for Gilbadia in a few days. Keep that in mind.”
“Understood.”
“Now then, I’ll go talk with the headmaster for a bit. Alfred, take care of Luke.”
“Yes, sir.”
With those words, Claude started walking.
Luke bowed and watched him go. Then, Alfred, who had until now remained completely silent, stood by his side.
The Aslan Magic Academy was an environment that couldn’t be better for learning magic.
However, this failure was a very big one. No matter how many achievements they had, it was not something that could be forgiven.
If Claude didn’t move to contain the situation, the academy’s existence would have been extremely difficult to continue. However, he was the head of the noble faction and as such, there was a way out of it for the academy.
Is this really a lucky thing for the kingdom?
Rather than crushing the academy, the answer Luke came up with was to keep it going and create a large “loan”. That was the only answer he could find.
And so, unknowingly, he was walking down an unwanted path of domination.
Claude walked towards the academy. His appearance gave off an imposing aura to anyone who saw him.
However, those who knew him well would realize that he was in a very good mood.
(As expected, Luke is fit to be a king—)
He definitely felt a glimpse of the natural-born ruler in Luke.
Even so, he didn’t mention anything about the “plan”. Of course, Yolande had told him to keep quiet, but that wasn’t the only reason he didn’t speak about it.
(Kukuku… I can picture Luke’s delighted face…!)
It was far from normal human sensibilities, but for Claude, seizing the throne was like a “surprise” for Luke.
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There was a small bar in the capital city.
A man wearing a turban on his head was drinking at the counter during a quiet time when there were few customers.
“… hiccups.”
“Canis, are you all right? You’ve been in pretty bad shape lately.”
“Well, I’m glad you noticed, Owner. It’s really bad, you know…”
“What’s wrong? If it’s okay with me, I’ll listen to you.”
Canis tilted the wooden barrel jug in his hand and poured in the sake. Then he began to talk.
“The truth is, I had been working hard secretly for a long time, but those guys who didn’t understand anything took it over… and in the end, they messed up so badly that it became incredibly difficult… it was already so difficult to begin with… ugh… damn idiots!”
Perhaps because he had drunk too much, Canis was unable to articulate himself well, and his story was incoherent and difficult to understand.
But Owner had been running this small bar for many years. Dealing with customers like this was a piece of cake.
“That was a disaster. I understand your frustration, man.”
“Do you really understand me…! I’m a bit tired…”
“A person can’t keep pushing themselves all the time. Sometimes, it’s necessary to stop and recharge your batteries.”
“Uhh… Owner-san…”
At that moment, the door creaked open with a noise—
“Hey old man, you working?”
“…Yeah.”
“Oh, it’s Zach! And Ferris-chan too! Welcome!”
“Oh, Ferris… is it time to go home already?”
“Not exactly. Well, yes and no. But I have something to tell you.”
“What, what? Tell me!”
“Gross. Drunk.”
“Th-That’s too much…”
Zach and Ferris took their seats at the counter.
“I’ll have an ale! And what about you, Ferris-chan?”
“Honey wine.”
“Got it!”
Owner efficiently served their drinks, which Zach chugged down with in one go, while Ferris took a small sip.
“Mmm, delicious!”
“…Tasty.”
“Man, that was surprising. Ferris-chan suddenly visiting me like that.”
“What, Ferris…? Why?”
“I went to ask about Gilbadia. We should go too.”
“Hic… Too sudden.”
After quaffing the ale, Zach spoke to Owner.
“To be honest, I’m leaving the capital tomorrow. I’m planning to go back to Gilbadia. Aslan got caught up in all that mess.”
“Seriously? That’s a shame. I’ll miss you.”
“Well, I’m happy! I finally got used to the capital, but Gilbadia is still my home. I always planned to go back someday. We owe a lot to the Guildmaster over there.”
“I see! You’re a man of your word! If that’s the case, I can’t stop you!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon! When I do, I’ll come back here again, so take care of us then too!”
“Ah, definitely come back! In that case, I’ll give you plenty of freebies today!”
“That’s awesome! My friends will come later, so take care of them too!”
“Hahaha! You’re getting ahead of yourself! But that’s fine, bring as many people as you want! I’ll take care of you all!”
“Wow! Thank you so much! You’re amazing, Owner-san!”
While such a trivial exchange was taking place, Ferris whispered to Canis:
“The school is closed. We should definitely return to Gilbadia. This is actually a chance for us to go.”
Ferris’s expression was dead serious. However…
“…hic… huh, what did you say?”
“…”
Canis had drunk too much alcohol to have a serious conversation.
“You’ve always been weak to alcohol. Can’t even handle it. How pathetic.”
After a while, Zach’s companions also joined them.
That day, the loud laughter that could be heard from the bar never ceased until late at night…