The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 53

The Second Son of a Baron – Episode 53

The next day, Willand reported to the Magic Tower that he had advanced again. Naturally, the Magic Tower was pleased that another talented individual had emerged.

In truth, it was somewhat overdue. Although his personality was arrogant, he possessed talent to match, and he had returned with not only a changed mindset but also the experience he lacked through the trials at the Terra Barrier. Frankly, I thought that if Willand survived, he could grow faster than if he had remained in the Magic Tower.

It felt strange that he had remained at the 3rd Circle until now. If I were to pinpoint a reason, it might be that Willand couldn’t focus solely on magic. His desire for revenge against me, worries about inheriting the barony, and ambition—all sorts of emotions must have distracted him.

“Master!”

“’Master,’ my foot.”

Whether it was because of my advice or simply good timing, Willand, now a 4th Circle mage, knelt and expressed his gratitude to me, but I brushed it off. Either way, Willand would have reached the 4th Circle, even if it took a little longer. I had no intention of receiving excessive gratitude for a few words.

However, it was ironic that someone had overcome a wall they couldn’t have crossed without my help, while I was struggling in front of a wall myself. Reaching out from a wall already climbed to help the next person climb up is not the same as reaching out again to overcome a new wall.

“Frustrating.”

It’s frustrating. Of course, I was constantly moving towards my goal. The goal I had set was to complete my revenge within ten years, and to have skills comparable to the 6th Circle for that purpose.

Four years out of ten had passed. The 6th Circle was still a distant realm, but I didn’t think I couldn’t reach it within six years. However, the problem was that I also had to consider the time to complete my revenge at the Terra Barrier. And the full-scale preparation for revenge starts from the 6th Circle. Considering that, six years—or rather, the slightly more than five years remaining—was not a long time.

“Do you have a concern?”

“Master.”

It had already been over four years since I started spending time with my master. The reason I left the Terra Barrier and came to the capital was to receive my master’s teachings and achieve rapid growth. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he was the person I had interacted with the most since I came to the capital. Thanks to that, the relationship between Gadel and me, which was initially about exchanging what we needed, had now become a fairly believable master-disciple relationship.

“Is it that obvious?”

“A few days ago, you came in with a smile on your face, but today you look like you’re about to die. Even a three-year-old would notice. What’s wrong?”

“My growth… it feels stagnant.”

“…You?”

My master replied, seemingly dumbfounded by my difficult confession. In fact, if anyone heard my concerns, nine out of ten people, or rather, ninety-nine out of a hundred, would react like that. So, it was hard to say that they were taking my concerns too lightly.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

“A twenty-five-year-old mage aiming for the 6th Circle says their growth is stagnant… Even I had only climbed the wall you’re already standing on at your age. Your growth is unprecedentedly fast. If you want more than this… as a master, and as a mage, I can only say that your ambition is excessive.”

Excessive ambition, indeed, what he said was a hundred times correct. Until now, no mage had shown the same growth rate as me. Yet, instead of being satisfied, I was talking about stagnation. Even though acknowledging one’s shortcomings is the beginning of development, at this point, it was nothing more than excessive ambition, as my master said.

“Don’t be too impatient. If you’re driven by impatience, you’ll end up taking the long way around.”

That’s a hundred times correct, Master.

However, I couldn’t easily let go of my impatience. The reason was simple: it felt like I could reach it.

The 6th Circle. It wasn’t a mountain with no end in sight. If it were, I would have felt both impatience and helplessness. But I felt impatience, not helplessness. Helplessness is an emotion that arises when walking a path with no end in sight. Why would I feel helpless when the end is visible?

It felt like I could reach it with just a hand’s breadth, only a small foothold or a single step on a ladder was needed. That’s why I couldn’t let go of my impatience. Because it felt like I could reach it with just a little more, but I couldn’t.

If the path I was walking was a general academic path instead of magic, would it be less so? If it were a step-by-step system like elementary school, middle school, high school, and university, it might be less so. There would be differences in time depending on talent, but eventually, you would climb up.

But magic was different. Similar to the above, there are clear differences due to talent. No, rather, the differences due to talent were even more pronounced in magic. In the first place, it was a path that you couldn’t even set foot on if you didn’t have talent. However, on this path, it was difficult to overcome even the obstacles in the middle with just talent or effort, let alone reach the end.

Talent and effort are the basics, and countless factors such as luck and environment were needed. To put it bluntly, if luck didn’t follow, I might not be able to narrow this hand’s breadth forever.

“Haa.”

“How about taking a trip?”

In the end, my master stepped in, unable to bear my impatient appearance. My master probably doesn’t know why I’m so impatient. I haven’t explained my goal to my master yet.

Dragon.

If he finds out about that existence, my master will head to the Terra Barrier regardless of the situation. He accepted me as a disciple and started researching engraving for the sake of the 8th Circle, so the dragon, called the progenitor of magic, would be an existence that my master could never ignore.

That’s why I couldn’t tell him. Even if I did, it had to be after I had finished enough preparation. At least, I had to end his life myself. I had no intention of ending my revenge by someone else’s hand.

“A trip, you say?”

“Going back to your hometown would be good too. I don’t know what you’re fixating on that makes you so impatient, but if a person only looks ahead and runs, they’ll stumble on a rock and fall. Sometimes, looking around at the scenery can help you run better. When I was just a mere mage…”

A trip, a trip…

Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I went back to my hometown. The last time was when I briefly went for my brother’s wedding, so it was almost three years ago. The experience at the Terra Barrier, which was the foundation of my growth, was also an experience gained from a trip, so it wouldn’t be a useless time.

“If you say so… this unworthy disciple will leave your side for a while. Will you allow it?”

“I allow it.”

#

The luggage for the trip wasn’t much. It wasn’t that I had nothing to do in the capital, but it wasn’t something I had to do right now. And there was an item I had commissioned, but there was no one who would dare to touch my things carelessly. Above all, unless I went through additional work that only I could do, it was just a simple lump of iron, so there was no reason to delay my departure worrying about that.

“The goal is… to clear my head and broaden my horizons.”

It’s embarrassing to say it myself, but since coming to the capital, I haven’t rested comfortably for a single day. Even if the lights in all the rooms in the Magic Tower were turned off, my room was always bright, and whether I was sleeping or eating, my head was always full of things related to magic.

I constantly walked the path towards my goal, and even if I stopped for a while because I was blocked by a wall, I tried to overcome the wall. I never sat down to rest.

My master is right. Maybe I’ve already stumbled on a rock that I haven’t noticed because I’ve been running only looking ahead. Without seeing the surroundings and only looking ahead, I didn’t even know I had fallen, and I thought I was working hard with my feet, but in reality, I was crawling, so the one hand’s breadth that I couldn’t reach felt so far away.

That’s why I’m taking my eyes off the goal for a while. Because I can’t see myself if I only look at the goal. A step back for a leap forward. If I fell, I have to check that I fell to get up. If I fell, I get up, heal the wound, and prepare to walk again.

And if I can broaden my horizons so that I don’t fall again and don’t miss the obstacles on the road while keeping my eyes on the goal, it’s worth taking a step back.

“Let’s go home.”

If I don’t stray from the path, I should be able to arrive home before my nephew is born. That’s not the only purpose, but there’s nothing better than spending time with family to erase revenge from my mind, even for a while. Of course, I didn’t intend to stay in my hometown throughout the trip.

#

“I’m home.”

“You’ve come.”

“…It’s been three years since you’ve seen your son’s face, and that’s it?”

A return after nearly three years. There were no inconveniences on the way to my hometown. I hid my identity to block unnecessary approaches, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t use magic at all, and I had quite a bit of money in my possession.

The Dragnil territory, which I arrived at after three years, was the same as ever. The magic stone mine was being developed and even selling some of it to [unspecified buyer], so it wouldn’t be a small amount of money, but the inside of the mansion was still frugal.

“Then did you want me to hold a welcome party for the unfilial son who doesn’t even show his face on his parents’ birthdays?”

“I’m sorry.”

I had nothing to say. If it wasn’t for my brother’s wedding, the period I hadn’t visited my hometown would have been longer. It was natural for my father to say that.

“So, what’s going on? Seeing you come here, who didn’t even come on your parents’ birthdays, did you get caught up in something in the capital?”

“It’s nothing like that, so you don’t have to worry too much. I just thought I’d been running too far ahead, so I came to clear my head according to my master’s words.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Even though he said that, I relieved my father’s worries, who was worried about my sudden visit. Certainly, since I came down without contacting him in advance, and since I was at the center of many people in the capital, he couldn’t help but worry about the sudden change.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Long time no see. But… where’s the baby?”

“Didn’t Father tell you? That’s your nephew.”

Wasn’t he supposed to come out at least a month later? Of course, it’s not like babies come out on a set schedule.

“What was the rush to come out so early? He must have been curious about the faces of the people who would become his parents!”

Oh, then one of the reasons I came home has diminished. Childbirth is a very dangerous thing, so I was going to come in advance in case of an accident. I’m glad that my sister-in-law and the baby are safe.

“But what’s going on? You didn’t cause an accident and get kicked out, did you?”

At this rate, I might have to explain myself to everyone I meet. When I said that I had only come down for a rest, my brother nodded and took me to his room.

“Why?”

“It’s perfect timing. There’s something that only you can do, will you do it?”

“What is it?”

Something that only I can do, is there something big going on in the territory? Father didn’t say anything like that, but when I was worried that he might not have brought it up because he was worried about me coming to rest, my brother opened his mouth.

“Watch the baby.”