Youngest 009
by Cristae“What is this?”
“What do you mean.”
“…Hell?”
“It’s my domain.”
Leviathan Mister gave my forehead a light push.
I stared blankly down at the vast expanse spread out before me.
The bleak northern wind fluttered my short hair as dust balls rolled across the scene.
“There’s nothing here but rocks.”
“I told you.”
A chill-filled swirl of dust tumbled along.
Mister’s domain, filled with gray stone walls, looked—frankly—like the ruins of a fallen kingdom.
Though I meant no offense to those who made their home here…
Red-tinted mountains, catching the sunset, encircled the land like a fortress. From somewhere within came the ominous cries of beasts.
A black and winding gorge yawned open—a black hole you might never escape from if you took a single step inside.
“It feels even colder here, somehow.”
“This is downright warm, compared to winter. The snow piles up higher than your head in deep winter.”
“Ugh. That’s impossible.”
“Bundle up tight.”
Mister chuckled as he pulled the hooded cloak over me.
“Was it you who made that ointment yesterday as well?”
“Ointment? Yep!”
On the way, I’d picked every Abelita Herb I spotted.
With those, I’d upgraded the ointment of each knight in the order, and it had been a big hit!
“How did you even recognize that plant as Abelita Herb?”
Mister narrowed his eyes at me.
I fidgeted, rummaging through my small bag to avoid his gaze.
“My mom was a healer in Eosia.”
“……”
Mister went suddenly stiff.
“So I just picked up a few herbal remedies from watching her. I read a lot of books about herbs too…”
“You mean you applied things you learned just by watching?”
As the air grew heavier, I glanced at him, gauging his mood with sidelong glances.
“…Why? Did I do something wrong?”
Eosia was a small nation known for its advances in medicine and pharmacology.
If you came from there, you supposedly learned all sorts of things from a young age, so this wasn’t out of the ordinary, right?
“Surprisingly…”
Mister crossed his arms and lifted his chin. It almost seemed as if his cheek twitched, like he was fighting a smile.
“A genius, perhaps.”
“Huh?”
“This just complicates things.”
His expression was genuinely troubled.
He looked like a parent grappling with the discovery of their child’s genius… Though, why him?
And ‘surprisingly’? What did he think of me until now?
“Anyway, just so you know!”
He always had to add some sort of jab.
I spun my fists like a windmill and pounded his solid leg in protest.
“Even your massage skills are top notch, my clever troublemaker.”
For some reason, Mister looked deeply pleased when he hoisted me up in a single motion (again, why him?).
At that moment, a familiar horse approached.
“Your Grace.”
It was Sir Leon. Thankfully, his injuries seemed to have healed—he moved his shoulder as easily as ever.
“Sir Leon!”
I reached out to him, delighted.
Sir Leon paused, but gave a slight nod in greeting.
‘His face is still stiff, but…’
But I knew. Sir Leon was just awkward at expressing himself!
And he no longer warned me to ‘go back’ or anything like that.
“Your Grace, pardon me.”
Sir Leon spoke formally, then approached.
“Hm?”
He dropped a white fur scarf into my arms.
“Wow, what is this? It’s so soft!”
“You really go above and beyond, Leon.”
Mister arched an eyebrow and wrapped it around me. It instantly tightened, nearly choking me.
Easy! Mister! Adjust your strength!
I puffed out my cheeks, sticking my head out over the white fur.
“Thank you, Sir Leon!”
It felt a bit much as thanks just for the ointment, but refusing a gift would be even ruder.
Sir Leon regarded me with his usual stony expression. Then, turning his horse, he said offhandedly,
“Not ‘Mister’… Call me ‘senior.’”
“…Pardon?”
“Ha! He’s permitting that honorific?”
The onlooking knights made a fuss.
What? What’s so special about ‘senior’?
“Now that you’ve set foot in the land of knights, it’s only natural you join our Zevert Order.”
“….”
“We’ll be waiting in the order. Welcome in advance, youngest knight.”
I’m a mage, you know?
Regardless, Sir Leon flourished his cloak and strode away toward the setting sun, as if in a movie…
Was my expression as freaked out as I imagined, when I turned to look at Leviathan Mister?
“Is that true?”
“Well… I suppose?”
All he’d really meant was that I should build up my strength. But I didn’t understand that at the time.
A huge sigh escaped me, as if my world was crumbling.
No, I said I wanted to be the youngest of your family.
But the youngest of these burly knight uncles? Please!
We arrived at Zelox, the northern city that held Zevert Castle.
Once past the gates, rows of sturdy stone houses lined the streets.
It had looked bleak from a distance, but up close, the atmosphere was lively.
“Wow!”
The townsfolk cheering to greet their knights returning victorious were all smiles.
Embarrassed, I stayed hidden in Leviathan Mister’s cloak, but the excitement was palpable.
“My lord, we’ll take our leave.”
Zevert Castle itself sat like a fortress on a hilltop.
Before we entered the main keep, Sir Leon and the other knights bowed low.
“Well done.”
With their superior’s release, the knights dispersed efficiently. I poked out my head and waved.
“Goodbye, Senior. And rest of the seniors, too.”
After sharing weeks of travel, I felt a bit wistful.
“Visit if you’re ever bored.”
“I’ll come over even if I’m not bored!”
The other knights I’d grown closer with waved back.
“Um… Did your family know I was coming?”
“They know… right?”
That reply didn’t sound very reassuring.
Watching the castle entrance draw near, I recalled Leviathan Zevert’s family tree.
‘First, the old Duke Zevert.’
Balok Zevert. The previous duke and Leviathan’s father.
‘He barely appeared in the original novel.’
An illustrious soldier who retired following an injury in battle—after that, all we really knew was that he lived out his life quietly in the fief.
‘As for other people in the castle…’
There was Leviathan’s second son, Void Zevert. The eldest and the duchess were living in the south.
“You have returned, my lord.”
A crowd of servants stood assembled before the castle.
Butlers, attendants, maids, and all manner of staff.
They looked flushed and excited to welcome their master home.
‘Everyone in the north is… truly burly.’
But the most eye-catching were the sturdy, powerful-looking maids.
Each had to be at least 170 cm tall.
So that’s what it takes to survive here!
Survival of the fittest, indeed. Only fitting for the house that tamed magical beasts to carve out this land…
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“You too—well done.”
“Um, is that…?”
Sharp-eyed gazes turned on me.
Sudden attention drove me to burrow my head into Mister’s chest.
I felt like prey dropped by mistake into a den of carnivores…
‘No more shrinking, now!’
I had his seal, after all!
I slowly lifted my head and looked straight ahead.
“Lu—Rubian, at your service.”
“Oh, formal speech, are we?” Mister ruffled my hair.
“Lady Rubian…”
The maids smiled broadly, whispering to one another.
“So small… so fluffy…”
“Even smaller than Young Master Void when he first arrived.”
At that moment the lead maid, with reddish-brown hair, stepped forward.
“Lady Rubian, hello?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How old are you, if I may ask? Six?”
I was dismounting with Mister’s help—hovering halfway—when I puffed up indignantly.
“I’m eight!”
The maid’s eyes grew round. Mister chuckled as he set me gently on the ground.
“Be careful. She might eat you.”
She’s eight, apparently.
What? Eight?
Seriously? Is that possible?
Whispers rippled through the assembly.
Their reaction was identical to Mister’s when he’d first learned my age!
“…So how old are you, anyway?”
Before heading north, Mister had asked suddenly.
“Really? You’re asking that now?”
“Better late than never.”
“I’m… eight years old.”
“……”
“Why that look?”
“I thought you were… six?”
“Are you crazy?!”
Truthfully, this body was ten. But with the news about fugitive mages out, it was safer to hide everything, and that included my age.
Being smaller than most children my age made it easy to pass for younger.
Lying about two years stung my conscience, but six?!
Why not claim I was born yesterday?
I straightened my spine and stood as tall as I could.
Yet, standing firmly on the ground only made the size gap all the more obvious.
Surrounded by these towering mountains of stone, I felt like a puny creature… so unfair.
Just then, a ball of fur tumbled toward us from the distance.
“Faaather!”
The fur ball stretched like a flying squirrel and landed lightly in front of us.
“Void.”
“It’s been a while!”
A boy with shiny black hair, eyes moist with excitement, beamed at Mister. His plump cheeks were flushed.
‘That must mean…’
The fur ball was indeed the family’s second son, Void Zevert.
“How was the capital? And the victory parade?”
‘He was adopted from a cadet branch, if I remember.’
The story had mentioned he lost his parents in the war as a child.
His naturally bright personality and the love he’d received from Leviathan and Rosetta afterward had made him a cheerful boy.
……He seemed rather big for his age, though.
But even so, beside the mountain that was Leviathan, he was just another yipping puppy.
“You’ve grown a lot. Managed well while I was gone?”
“Yes, I kept up my sword training, finished my meals, did all my schoolwork…”
At that moment, Void’s eyes met mine.
His pupils wavered violently in surprise.
“And that is…?”
He regarded me with wary eyes.
“Say hello. You’ll be living together for a while.”
“…”
Void squared his furry coat and approached. The very first thing he said:
“I’m eleven.”
“…?”
I tilted my head.
“So?”
“So? That means… How old are you?”
“I’m eight.”
A faint look of victory flickered across Void’s boyish face.
“So finally, someone younger than me…!”
Huh?
“Welcome, youngest.”