Chapter 44: Uncle’s Bombshell Announcement
The next day, for some reason, my foster parent, Uncle Rudolph, came to visit me at the dorm.
Surprised by his sudden visit, I invited him in and listened to what he had to say.
“Rui, isn’t it about time? For you to come back home…”
That was the very first thing Uncle said.
“Eh… wh-what do you mean? It’s true that my graduation is set, but it’s still a little ways off…?”
“Eh?”
No, no, I’m the one who wants to say “eh?”
Even if you become a Hunter, you don’t normally move back home, right?
Of course, I plan to visit, and I intend to repay him for raising me someday.
“Hahaha, you don’t have to put on a brave face. With the Monster Extermination Festival and all, you must have realized it’s tough for you since you can’t even use Enhancement Magic, right?”
“No, I can use it now, though?”
I brought out the Enhancement Magic Circle and showed it to Uncle.
“Rui… that thing, where did you get it?”
“Someone I became friends with in class taught me for free.”
Uncle’s expression twisted into a bitter look. This was the first time I’d seen such an expression on him. He’s usually a gentle person who smiles kindly. I couldn’t understand it at all, so I decided to ask him directly.
“I’m happy you’re worried about me, but why are you so against it?”
Hunters are an envied profession. Even if they’re weak, as long as there are no issues with their character, people rarely treat them poorly, seeing them as contributors to the town. There’s a chance of dying, but that’s mostly when they do something reckless. It’s safe enough that even if students go into a Dungeon without supervision, the vast majority survive. Most deaths probably occur when they’re killed by guys like Listol and his group, or when they do something outrageously reckless. Well, both apply to me, though.
Ah, is that why he’s worried?
I don’t think I’ve been reckless at Uncle’s house, but if he said so, I wouldn’t be able to argue back…
“It’s your mother’s last wish. She didn’t want you to do dangerous things.”
Ah, so that’s it.
Mom was certainly a worrier. But even if Mom were alive, I think I would have gone against her wishes. I wanted to become one that badly, which is why I trained so hard. Besides, now I have other big reasons.
“I see. But I’m sorry. I now have reasons I can’t give up on.”
“Even if it’s Yuna-sama’s last wish…?”
“Eh, Yuna… sama?”
Why was he using an honorific for Mom? When I stared at Uncle, he was covering his mouth as if to say he’d slipped up.
“Um, Uncle Rudolf, isn’t it about time you told me what’s going on? A girl named Yurisia told me, and I realized, you’ve been hiding a lot of things, haven’t you?”
“――――!?”
Uncle looked up, surprised.
“Yurisia… you mean Razbel’s daughter?”
“Yes. She’s the one who taught me magic.”
“Then, you also know that I’m not Rui’s uncle anymore…”
Huh!? What’s that!?
No, no, I don’t know that!?
As I froze in utter confusion, Uncle Rudolf continued speaking.
“The order I received was to protect and raise you. Well, now it’s my own will too, but…”
“Eh, no, I don’t get what you mean…”
“Well, it’s unpleasant, isn’t it? To be told something like that by someone you’ve found out is a stranger.”
Saying that, he showed a lonely face.
Hey, Uncle, stop it!
Even if you say things so cryptically, I don’t have the power to decipher them!
“No, no! That’s not it! Uncle, you’re family, you know? The part I don’t get is the ‘order’! Just tell me everything already!”
“I-Is that so? But if you don’t know the details, it’s better to forget. It’s all in the past.”
I don’t know any details, or anything at all! But if I say that, he’ll probably just say it’s for the best and leave it at that.
Um, something in the past, huh…
It’s related to Mom, right?
Besides, Mom isn’t the type of person to order people around. If it were from Mom, it would have been a request.
…So, does that mean it’s about my father?
I can’t think of anyone else connected to me. Well, there’s a chance it’s someone I don’t know, though.
“Even if it’s in the past, I want to hear it from you, Uncle, since you’re family. It’s about my father, isn’t it?”
“I see… So the General knew… that Rui is His Majesty’s child…”
Hmm? General…?
Ah! Yuri’s father!
“Wh-wait a minute! His Majesty? Huh? Is that about my father?”
“Mmph, you didn’t know!?”
“No, yeah. I knew. I mean, me being a prince feels a bit off, you know? But I mostly knew, so tell me everything.”
Having come this far, I couldn’t stand being left hanging, so I pretended I knew and pressed him for more. After a long internal struggle, Uncle nodded once and began to speak.
“Prince Rui, what I am about to tell you must not be spoken to anyone. Can you promise me that?”
“Um, that’s fine, but please talk normally. To me, Uncle, you’re like a father…”
“…Alright. Thank you, Rui. But listen carefully… You were once a prince of the now-fallen Kingdom of Belfast.”
Hoh… So I’m a former prince, huh.
If that’s true, that’s amazing.
No, wait, is being the prince of a fallen kingdom amazing?
Right now, I’m completely removed from any real power, just a commoner with no authority, right? On the contrary, for this country, I’m nothing but a seed for rebellion…
Huh?
This is amazing in a bad way, isn’t it?
“So it’s useless information that’s better off unknown because now it’s just a burden?”
“You’re not… wrong… From your perspective, Rui, having no attachment to Belfast, it’s understandable you’d say that. However, please don’t forget this one thing. His Majesty Royce didn’t abandon you. He tearfully parted with you to save you.”
My father, huh.
My sweet and honest mother, who couldn’t tell a lie, also said he died protecting us. That’s why I don’t doubt that part. Mom was the type whose feelings showed on her face immediately. I knew from the look on her face when she talked about him that they must have loved each other.
So, when I nodded honestly at Uncle’s words, he went on to tell me what happened before the annexation.
Apparently, even back then, over ten years ago, they were at war with Daltone, a territory of the Mildrad Kingdom. Not only that, but it seems they weren’t on good terms with the Kingdom of Lestall here either. Feeling cornered, the last king—my father—decided to come under the protection of the relatively better option, the Kingdom of Lestall. However, King Lestall demanded my father’s head as a condition for acceptance. This country, Lestall, probably figured that if they left a symbol like the Belfast king alive, he would be conveniently used by his loyalists later, and the inevitable outcome would be Belfast seeking independence. Naturally, Belfast’s retainers fiercely opposed this, and for a time, the talks were back to square one. However, for Lestall, the prospect of a bloodless surrender was apparently attractive, and eventually, a proposal was made that exile from the country would suffice. In return, the right to appoint the head of the military was to be entrusted to King Lestall, and several other conditions were added, so they continue to be monitored in terms of military affairs, flow of money, and supplies.
If they had rejected that, it was conceivable that Daltone would conquer them and their people would be massacred, so they tearfully accepted the conditions and decided on annexation, he said. And when it was decided that my father would be exiled from the country, Uncle was apparently asked by my father to take care of me.
“Then, is Dad still alive?”
“No, I’m sorry. His Majesty has also passed away…”
Apparently, after being exiled, my father infiltrated Daltone and tried various things to inflict damage from within. Later, a report came from those who were assigned by the Kingdom of Lestall to monitor him, saying that he had died.
And so, I listened to everything, but I still didn’t understand the one thing I wanted to know most: why he had kept Enhancement Magic a secret. Uncle Rudolf had some strange misunderstanding and a wild story came out, but what Yurisia had told me about was that.
I’m a little angry that you kept that a secret, you know? You definitely chose teaching materials that didn’t mention Enhancement Magic, didn’t you!
When I pressed him about it, he readily admitted it and bowed his head. That part was apparently a request from Mom.
“I don’t mind for myself anymore, but hiding it even from Yume? She’ll just be made fun of in the future, you know?”
“No… um… Yume knows everything. She’s attending the Hunter Academy in the Royal Capital so she can protect you, Rui, even if I die.”
“Whaaaaaat!? Yume knew too!? And she’s going to the Hunter Academy in the Royal Capital to protect me? That’s a lie, right!?”
There’s no way Yume would agree to spend her life for my sake. Yume, who’s so true to her own desires… Besides, Uncle making Yume become a Hunter? That has to be a lie, right?
“No, it’s true. She agreed to it. That’s precisely why I don’t want you, Rui, to do anything even more dangerous.”
Ah, I see.
So that’s the main point, huh?
Uncle wants both me and Yume to come back home and live a peaceful life, is that it? He really loves Yume, after all. Well, for me, she’s my cute little sister, but I can’t just nod along with that.
“Even if you say that… I’ve found something I need to do… Um, can’t we just pretend Dad’s order never happened?”
“I cannot do that. Those were His Majesty’s final words. To repay my debt of gratitude, I cannot bend on that point alone.”
“But, I swore to Yuri. That we’d protect Razbel together.”
The moment I said that, Uncle’s eyes widened.
“No, I was the one who brought it up.”
“Yuri kept telling me not to do anything dangerous right up until the end.”
I didn’t want her to harbor any ill feelings, so I made sure to tell him the facts, but Uncle didn’t react.
Wondering what was wrong, I looked over and saw Uncle had tears welling up in his eyes.
“Ah, even without me saying a word, Prince Rui himself has declared his desire to protect Belfast.
You are undoubtedly His Majesty Royce’s son…”
“Whoa, I told you to stop with that already!
Imagine your own father suddenly treating you with such extreme formality. It’s awful, isn’t it?”
“Haha, that certainly would be… a little unpleasant, yes.”
“Give me a break,” I retorted with a wry smile, and we moved on to small talk about Yume and how my aunt was doing.
Once that conversation died down, I summarized what we’d been talking about earlier.
“So, yeah, for those reasons, I’m going to make my move to protect Razbel for my own sake.
So, Uncle, and Yume too, you should live freely for yourselves.”
I know it’s reckless of me to go to a battlefield, but I can’t budge on this.
I thought he’d be dead set against it, but it seems like he took it rather well, so this is a happy ending.
“What are you saying? If Rui has decided to take a stand, then there’s no way I wouldn’t lead the vanguard.”
“Hold on a minute. Before that, Uncle Rudolf, can you even fight?”
You’re a farmer, aren’t you?
Wait… but a farmer wouldn’t be asked by the king to look after his son, would he…
Could this guy be…
“You’re only realizing that now? I used to be a renowned Knight in Belfast, you know?”
“Huh? You can actually fight!? You traitor!
Why didn’t you subtly teach me how to fight!?”
Hey, hey!
Another betrayal has come to light! Seriously!
“Well, I was always hesitant about that.
But Yuna-sama’s repeated requests kept crossing my mind.”
Mmph… If he says it was Mom’s request, I can’t really get angry, can I?
As I was grumbling internally, conflicted, Uncle bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’ve gotten strong enough to clear up to the 40th Floor now anyway.”
I accepted his apology with an exasperated look, but Uncle tilted his head and then burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, even if it’s the Oldam Dungeon, claiming the 40th Floor is quite a stretch.
But you shouldn’t tell lies like that. If you say forty, does that mean you’re currently on the fourth Floor?”
“No, it’s not a lie. My graduation was decided ages ago because my evaluation far exceeded the requirements.”
“No, no, no, it’s true,” I insisted earnestly, but while he said, “Alright, alright,” he clearly had no intention of believing me.
“In any case, leave the defense of Belfast to me.
I’ll fight enough for your sake too, Rui.”
“I’m telling yooou! I already promised I’d go!”
“Hmm, I’d prefer it if you stayed in Oldam during the war, but…
Well, the general wouldn’t send Rui to the battlefield anyway, so I suppose it wouldn’t change much even if you did go.”
Hmm?
Uncle seems to be misunderstanding something again.
Well, since he’s the one who said it’s okay for me to go, I guess that’s fine.
“Anyway, Uncle, what about Yume?
You’re not going to say you’ll drag her to the battlefield too, are you?”
“Of course, I would never permit such a thing.
I intend for Yume to stay by your side, Rui, as an attendant. I won’t send her to the battlefield.”
No, an attendant…
Even if Yume is by my side, I can only see a future where I’m just indulging her whims, though?
Then again, it’s probably more dangerous and worrying if she were to try and make a living as a Hunter somewhere else.
“There are a lot of things I’d like to object to, but on second thought, if Yume is going to become a Hunter, it’s more reassuring to have her nearby.”
She’s pretty reckless, after all.
“Hahaha, that’s not entirely true. Yume is my daughter, after all; she has talent.
But even if you’re not blood-related, I won’t permit you to make a move on her, understand?”
No, that’s not it at all, on so many levels.
But this heartwarming, yet somehow slightly off-kilter feeling—that’s just Uncle Rudolf for you.
After some more small talk, Uncle headed home.
We’d talked for a long time, and it had gotten quite late, so I decided to play with Raku.
Besides, even if they call me a former prince…
No, I should just forget it. It really seems like it’ll only cause trouble.
Yeah. That fact never existed.
I’m a commoner. That’s how I’ve lived my life.
Mom, and probably Dad too, wouldn’t want me to shoulder something like that.
“Hey, Raku!”
“Woof!”
When I ruffled his fur vigorously, he licked me all over as if to return the favor.
Then he looked at me with those pleading, round eyes, wanting to go for a walk, so, with a sigh, I hopped on Raku and we dashed around the track meant for tamed beasts.