Leaving the unconscious Celia behind, Leo returned to the mansion.
In the mansion's living room, Reina and Jis were talking.
The Jerdinger knights stood in formation around them.
Reina smiled upon seeing her son.
"Are you finished with your training for today?"
"Yes, Mother."
Answering Reina, Leo glanced at Jis.
*So this is a Jerdinger. He's quite impressive.*
Even in his past life, a warrior of this caliber was rare.
*It seems the title of a noble hero family isn't just for show.*
"Leo, this is Jis Jerdinger. He's a guest visiting our family."
"I am Leo Flove."
"Jis Jerdinger. As you may already know, I'm your uncle. Feel free to be comfortable around me."
"May I ask what you mean by 'be comfortable'?"
"What do you mean?"
"The blood of Jerdinger flows in me. But that doesn't make me a Jerdinger."
As Leo drew a clear line, Jis's eyes gleamed, and Reina shook her head.
*My son has no cute side to him.*
Jis Jerdinger.
The current Deputy Head of the Jerdinger family and officially second in the line of power.
Normally, a boy Leo's age would be thrilled to have such a prominent figure warmly call him 'uncle.'
But while they might be related by blood, according to the family records, they were strangers.
The Jerdinger family's laws were incredibly strict.
This was also why Reina hadn't introduced Jis as his uncle.
Leo had suspected as much, which was why he asked.
"In a formal setting, I suppose I cannot call you my nephew."
"Understood."
Seeing Leo's sharp reply, Jis burst out laughing.
"He doesn't seem like your son, sister."
"Ho ho ho. And what might you mean by that?"
Reina asked, stepping on Jis's foot as she laughed.
"Leo. Did you happen to see a girl named Celia on the training grounds?"
"Her?"
Leo glanced toward the mansion's main entrance.
There was Celia, foaming at the mouth, being carried in on a stretcher.
"Gasp! M-My Lady!"
"What is this!"
The Jerdinger knights were horrified.
"Hah."
Jis let out a sound of admiration.
*He defeated Celia without having learned Aura?*
"Sir Whitten, what happened?"
At Jis's question, Whitten recounted what had happened on the training grounds.
Hearing the story, Jis shook his head.
The cause of her defeat was obvious.
*Arrogance.*
Celia had underestimated Leo simply because he couldn't use Aura.
Of course, from a conventional standpoint, it wasn't an entirely flawed assumption.
The difference in combat power between an Aura user and a non-user is immense.
But that didn't change the fact that Celia had lost because she let her guard down.
*And that is not the Jerdinger way.*
Jis stood before Leo.
"To defeat Celia... that's quite impressive."
"She looked down on me."
"I see. But it seems there was a promise made between you and Celia."
"Yes. I made a bet with Celia Jerdinger. The loser becomes the winner's servant."
"What!"
"Do you think that makes any sense?"
The Jerdinger knights flared up, finding it unacceptable.
A direct descendant of the Jerdinger family, a servant?
The Jerdinger knights glared at Leo.
But Leo didn't even bat an eye.
"For the next week, Celia Jerdinger will be my maid."
Reina let out a small laugh.
Her son was the type to follow through on his word.
Still, she hadn't expected him to say such a thing so calmly with the Jerdinger knights watching with furious eyes.
*Who could possibly rein in that personality?*
Meanwhile, Jis smiled gently.
"Celia is a Jerdinger. You can't have her work as a maid."
He continued in a placating tone.
"I'd like you to withdraw the promise. I will offer you a different reward instead. For instance..."
Jis stroked his chin.
"How about our family's advanced Aura technique?"
"I refuse."
"What did you say?"
"This bet was a promise between me and Celia Jerdinger."
Leo glanced at Celia.
"You referred to her as a 'Jerdinger,' Lord Jis.
As someone who carries the name of a noble hero family, she should be able to take responsibility for her own words."
Averting his gaze, Leo met Jis's eyes again.
"If there are to be negotiations, it is a matter between her and me. And..."
Leo drove his point home.
"If this Aura technique is being used as an excuse to spare your niece from shame, then I see no value in learning it."
The knights, who had been grinding their teeth, looked as if sparks would fly from their eyes.
"Unacceptable!"
"How dare you insult the Jerdingers!"
The knights shouted, enraged.
Seeing this, an angered Whitten rebuked them.
"Who gave you the right to raise your voices here!"
"B-But, Commander!"
"How can we stand by after hearing such words!"
"It seems..."
Reina, who had been watching the situation, shook her head with a blank expression.
"It seems the standards of the Jerdinger family have fallen quite a bit since I left."
"Even if you were once a Jerdinger, Lady Reina, that is crossing the line!"
A knight spoke in a warning tone.
And a murderous glint appeared in Whitten's eyes.
"How dare you!"
Just as Whitten was about to unleash his fury,
Reina raised a hand to stop him.
Then she stood before the knights.
"Crossing the line? Then let me ask you this.
What gives you the right to interfere in a conversation with the Deputy Head?"
The knights' faces filled with bewilderment at her icy question.
"W-Well, that's..."
"It's true that I have left the family.
But the name Jerdinger is still a source of great pride for me.
So I feel I must speak my mind."
A chilling aura emanated from Reina.
"Mere knights interrupting while the Deputy Head is speaking?
Are you knights? Or are you beasts, barking regardless of the situation?"
"Hk!"
The knights gasped.
Reina's dignity.
It was so very similar to that of the family head.
Jis, who had been watching silently, spoke in a gentle voice.
"Sir Whitten."
"Yes, Deputy Head."
"It seems these men are not yet qualified to be knights of Jerdinger."
"Understood."
The knights' faces turned pale.
With a stern face, Whitten led the knights away.
"Still, isn't revoking their knighthood a bit too harsh?"
Reina, who knew well how difficult it was to become a Jerdinger knight, gently chided him.
"Nothing you said was wrong, sister. The title of knight is wasted on beasts."
Jis smiled gently.
He was a man who would gently overlook the mistakes of his subordinates.
But if the mistakes continued, he was also a man who would cut them off coldly.
The knights should have realized their mistake and backed down when Reina warned them.
After the storm passed.
Jis looked at Leo again.
"Leo Flove. You declared you would make a direct descendant of Jerdinger your maid, and you said the Jerdinger Aura technique was worthless. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Do you not think that statement was rash?"
Jis asked in a gentle voice.
Reina watched him intently.
Jis was in charge of educating the blood relatives of the Jerdinger family.
The teacher of all Jerdinger children.
Thus, he was skilled at seeing through to the children's potential.
*He must be gauging Leo's potential right now.*
By Jis's standards, Leo had probably already passed.
The reason he was still pushing Leo...
...was because he had not yet grasped the depths of Leo's potential.
Leo, too, understood Jis's intention.
And so, he chuckled inwardly.
"If you took it as an insult to the Jerdinger family, I apologize.
But I did not particularly disrespect them."
"If claiming a direct descendant of the family as a maid and saying the family's Aura technique has no value isn't an insult, then what is?"
"The issue with Celia Jerdinger, as I said before, is a matter between her and me.
I believed that if she were a true Jerdinger, she should be able to take responsibility for her own words."
"Oh?"
Jis nodded.
"And as for saying the Aura technique has no value, I did not mean that the Jerdinger technique itself is lacking."
"Then?"
"If you had bestowed the Aura technique upon me as a reward for defeating Celia, I would have gladly accepted it."
The corners of Jis's mouth slowly began to rise.
"But you offered me the Aura technique to cover up Celia's mistake, didn't you?"
"I did."
"You believe that if Celia hadn't been careless, she wouldn't have lost to me."
He lifted his chin as if making a declaration.
"But even if Celia had taken the duel seriously, I still would have won."
*So, to summarize... he refused because he didn't like my attitude?
Haha, what kind of kid is this?*
A laugh escaped him.
When he turned to look at Reina, his sister was smiling as if to say, 'See?'
*Now I understand what my sister meant.*
Looking at Leo, who was staring up at him audaciously, Jis chuckled.
*What an incredible vessel. If only a child like this were a Jerdinger!*
The Jerdinger family would have gained another hero.
*I must speak to my brother.
That this is a child the family must embrace.*
"Send Celia to the maid's quarters."
"D-Deputy Head!"
The servants tending to Celia on the stretcher looked flustered.
"That's an order."
The servants hesitated before carrying Celia to the maid's quarters.
"I understand your point. I will respect your wishes."
"Yes, Lord Jis."
"Leo. A moment ago, when I said I would *not* call you nephew in a formal setting,
it also meant that I would treat you as my nephew in private."
Jis smiled gently.
Regardless of the potential Leo possessed, these words were sincere.
Knowing this, Leo obediently complied.
"Yes, Uncle."
"Good. You seem tired from training, so go and get some rest."
"Have a peaceful night."
Leo bowed his head deeply.
"Good night to you as well, Mother."
"Alright. Rest well, Leo."
After Leo left, only the two of them remained.
"Sister."
"Yes?"
"I will try to persuade my brother to let Leo learn 'Phoenix Breath'."
"Phoenix Breath?"
The symbol of the Jerdinger family is a blazing flame.
Befitting that symbol, the Jerdinger Aura takes the form of a flame.
Among them, Phoenix Breath was special.
An Aura perfected by the first Jerdinger patriarch after drinking the blood of a phoenix.
All of the family's Aura techniques were derived from Phoenix Breath.
Its power was enough to earn the Jerdinger family its recognition as a noble hero family.
For that reason, only the most recognized among the bloodline could learn it.
Reina, who never expected him to bring up Phoenix Breath, couldn't help but be surprised.
"Yes. Of course, it is uncertain whether my brother, the family head, will permit it."
Jis said seriously.
"But Leo is more of a Jerdinger than anyone."
The swordsmanship talent that defeated Celia.
A vast, immeasurable potential.
"Therefore, I need a pretext to persuade my brother."
"Don't tell me?"
"Yes."
Jis nodded.
"He must enroll in Lumerne."
"That's dangerous."
Lumerne, an academy where anyone who yearns to be a hero dreams of enrolling.
But entering Lumerne required just as much resolve.
It is said that every student at Lumerne is a genius.
However, the number of graduates is very small.
Of course, students who fall behind are not expelled.
On the contrary, the academy spares no support to help them move forward.
But if they still cannot keep up with the classes...
The students are given two choices.
Withdrawal, or death.
That is how harsh student life at Lumerne is.
And the entrance exam is just as unforgiving.
The exam is conducted as a real battle.
Every year, people lose their lives during the entrance exam.
That was why Reina wanted Leo to take the entrance exam only after he had learned an Aura technique.
"Leo may be fine in a duel, but he has his limits in a real fight."
"His potential is more than enough. This is the only way to persuade my brother."
Jis clenched his fist.
"Sister, what kind of person do you want Leo to become?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you want him to become a hero?"
"If that is the path he desires."
"Then he cannot always choose the safe path.
I believe it would not be a bad thing for him to challenge this ordeal."
"..."
"What will you do?"
Reina closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I will follow Leo's will."
*That boy will surely say he'll do it.*
Jis was certain.
*He had the eyes of someone who does not hesitate to move forward.*
Recalling the look in Leo's eyes, Jis smiled.
*Huhu. I look forward to it.*