There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 133

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Philomel sat quietly at the Magic Tower Lord’s desk, idly wondering,

‘What am I doing here?’

Lexion’s solution was simple.

If Philomel stayed here, the Magic Tower Lord would return on his own.

“It’s not like I’m bait.”

It was also uncertain whether Le Guin would actually come.

Bored with doing nothing, Philomel decided to tidy up the desk area. His room, as before, was littered with junk.

“There might be important documents, so it’s a bit much to touch the desk carelessly……”

Picking up things scattered on the floor should be fine, right?

“Oh, this…….”

The hand picking up objects from the floor momentarily stopped. A booklet caught her eye.

[The Children of Dawn Project]

The title itself was eye-catching.

Like a child keeping watch before doing something wrong, Philomel quickly looked around.

Of course, there was no one. Just as she was about to turn the page.

“Phil, what are you doing here?”

A sudden voice came from beyond the open window. Le Guin was floating in the air.

“You scared me!”

“What are you so surprised about?”

He leaped through the window into the room.

“No, that’s…….”

“Perfect timing. Shall we go out somewhere? The weather is nice.”

“Lord Le Guin, you should be working.”

At that moment, Lexion, who had opened the door and entered, interjected.

“Cough. Can’t you postpone it?”

“No, you can’t. If you want to play with Phil, do it after work.”

“Why do you get to decide that?”

The eldest son looked at his youngest sibling as if seeking agreement.

“Phil, who do you prefer, a diligent person or a lazy one?”

“……Pardon?”

“If you had to pick one.”

“Well, if we’re just looking at diligence versus laziness, I prefer diligence.”

“Don’t you think someone who works hard at their job is cool?”

“That’s true.”

“She says so.”

The last words were directed at his father.

Le Guin sat down on the desk chair Philomel had moved away from, making a loud noise.

“Tch, alright! I’ll do it!”

“You should have done this from the start.”

Following Lexion’s signal, the wizards came in with work.

Lexion stuck right next to the desk and warned,

“I’ll be watching until you finish everything, so don’t even think about running away again.”

And to Philomel, he said this.

“I’m sorry, but you should have breakfast first. Lord Le Guin won’t be able to concentrate if Phil is here.”

Philomel, still holding the booklet, left the room in a daze.

“This…… I can read it, right?”

It was a bit awkward to go back in now and ask for permission. Those inside were busy making the Magic Tower Lord work.

It’ll probably be fine. If it were confidential material, it wouldn’t have been lying around on the floor like that.

‘This booklet, Lexion had it back then.’

When Philomel first came to the Magic Tower and revealed that she was the Magic Tower Lord’s daughter, he compared her words with the records written in this to confirm that her words were true.

Therefore, these ‘Children of Dawn’ are likely referring to those born from Le Guin’s experiments. If so, she, as the person involved, has the right to check the contents.

Philomel put off breakfast for a moment and returned to her room, opening the first page with some tension.

A somewhat unique font that used very thin lines was familiar. It was Le Guin’s handwriting. This record seemed to be his own.

“The detailed experiment contents are unnecessary…….”

Philomel quickly flipped through the pages. However, there wasn’t much she could understand because it was written in difficult and technical terms.

“Hmm?”

Lexion, a familiar name, appeared.

Under his name, there was writing packed tightly. Judging from the dates next to it, it was a record from his childhood to adolescence.

Physical characteristics, measured magic power, magical fields showing talent, etc. The contents were diverse, but what caught Philomel’s eye was something else.

[A rather cunning personality. If he wants something, he subtly guides the actions of others to achieve his goals. He basically sees everyone as a means to an end.]

[Perhaps aware that such a personality is off-putting to others, he becomes more skilled at hiding his true feelings as he grows up.]

Unlike the previous records, the writing below was somewhat scribbled.

[These days, he thinks he’s all grown up and even tries to control me. It’s a bit annoying.]

Next was Cardin.

[Usually the most normal personality among the brothers. However, aggressiveness is noticeably present.]

“Aggressiveness?”

Philomel tilted her head.

[He shows extreme fighting spirit towards the strong, and once he enters a battle stance, he tends not to stop until he fights to the death.]

[The problem is that he doesn’t discriminate against his opponents. Whether it’s someone who exceeds his abilities or someone he’s usually close to, he charges as soon as they are recognized as strong.]

And scribbled writing.

[He even ran at me to fight, which is very annoying.]

[This problem was somewhat resolved by continuously instilling the value that ‘family is to be loved.’ Patience has also improved quite a bit through repeated education.]

Lastly, Jeremiah.

[Unsociable and isolated tendencies.]

[He seemed quite shocked when his biological mother left the Magic Tower, but he did not show emotional reactions such as crying.]

[He basically rejects the approach of others and strongly resists attempts to control his actions.]

[He expresses the extreme mindset that evildoers deserve to die and sometimes puts it into practice.]

Again, scribbled writing.

[In my personal opinion, he seems to have the most ‘ordinary’ emotions among the brothers.]

[He is most sensitive to interpersonal relationships. The way he avoids others to an extreme degree is evidence that he experiences considerable stress from relationships.]

Philomel stopped reading there and closed the booklet.

She felt strange as she went down to the dining hall for a meal. It was the guilt that came from peeking into someone else’s secret parts.

A sigh escapes.

‘I shouldn’t have read it.’

She just wanted to know the details of her birth, but it seemed like she had learned unnecessary things.

Also, something other than guilt weighed heavily on her heart.

That was…….

“Phil, why are you eating so little? You have to eat a lot to have strength!”

Cardin, sitting at the same table, said, looking at Philomel’s plate. His plate was full of food.

Philomel put down her fork.

“I’ve eaten enough.”

“Eh! That’s all?”

“Yes. This is usually the right amount for me. Are you going to eat more, Cardin?”

Cardin smiled brightly.

“Yeah! Le Guin changed the chef because you came. He didn’t even pretend to listen when I said it was bad…….”

Philomel responded to his words, but on the other hand, she was thinking about something else.

‘Aggressiveness? Cardin, who’s like such a playful child?’

It was hard to believe.

The reason why she had been feeling down since earlier was this. The records of the three brothers in the booklet were similar to the ones Philomel knew, but also distant.

“Here, eat this!”

At that moment, pudding was held out in front of her. Cardin had already brought the pudding that came out for dessert, even Philomel’s.

“You have to cleanse your palate.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Philomel took a spoonful of the soft pudding and brought it to her mouth.

It melts in her mouth. It’s moderately sweet and delicious. In contrast to that taste, a bitter question arose in her mind.

Is the favor that Cardin is showing me now also the effect of that ‘repeated education’?

Did he learn that family is to be loved, so he’s being nice to his younger sister, Philomel?

After finishing the meal, Cardin said he was going to the training ground to warm up.

Philomel decided to accompany him. She was curious about what sparring was.

“Are you sparring with another wizard?”

“No, with a monster. For some reason, everyone doesn’t want to spar with me.”

Then, they ran into Lexion, who was entering the dining hall at that moment. He was alone.

“Where’s Le Guin?”

At Philomel’s question, Lexion gave a bitter smile.

“He still has work left. I got hungry while waiting, so I just came to eat first.”

“I see. We just finished eating and were about to go out.”

“Are you two going somewhere together?”

Cardin answered.

“Phil said she wants to see me spar.”

“……Sparring? Is there really a need for that?”

“Why?”

“It’s not a very interesting sight. Rather than that, it’s better to wait until Lord Le Guin finishes work and go out somewhere together…….”

“Philomel said she wants to see it.”

Those words came from a completely different person. Jeremiah, who was wearing a hood pulled down deeply even indoors, was standing behind Lexion.

Jeremiah’s appearance was unexpected. He had always eaten separately since coming to the Magic Tower, saying he didn’t like crowded places.

Jeremiah glared at Lexion.

“How long are you going to hide it?”

“Hide? What are you talking about?”

“Slippery bastard.”

“Watch your mouth to your older brother.”

Philomel stopped the two people who were having a subtle war of nerves.

“Oh, come on, why are you both like this.”

She learned after coming here that the relationship between the three brothers was more distant than she thought. They didn’t run into each other often unless there was something special.

Each of their interests and ranges of activity were too different.

‘When I was in the Imperial Palace, it was an exception.’

At that time, there were many times when they had to see each other due to special circumstances.

“Phil is right. Brothers shouldn’t fight. Family is to be loved!”

The situation was settled for the time being due to Cardin’s tactless remarks.

Lexion shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.

“……Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go eat now.”

After Lexion went inside the dining hall, Jeremiah naturally joined them.

“Is Jeremiah going too?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. I didn’t know you wanted to see me spar.”

“Shut up.”

The three of them chatted and headed to the training ground. Even on the way, the difference between the two brothers was felt.

A wizard who happened to meet them on the way greeted Cardin.

“Cardin, long time no see!”

“Oh, yeah! ……But what was your name again?”

“That guy forgets my name every time. Please remember it!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

In addition to that person, there were several others who spoke to him in a friendly manner.

“…….”

On the other hand, Jeremiah remained silent throughout.

No one greeted him, and everyone was quick to turn their heads if they happened to make eye contact.

Even Philomel, who hadn’t been here long, had people greeting her.

Suddenly, a sentence she read in the booklet came to mind.

[He basically rejects the approach of others…….]

Is what’s written there true after all? If so, why did he allow Philomel to approach?