Youngest 018
by Cristae“Ah!”
“For goodness’ sake, why do you keep barging in while the child is eating…!”
Mister shot to his feet, his expression utterly exasperated.
Wait a second—how could that door be smashed through like a sheet of paper?
It was a tremendously thick, heavy door!
“Where is the new child!”
A voice like a beast’s roar.
‘An angry lion!’
Striding over the wreckage of the shattered door was an elderly man with wild white hair and piercing, icy blue eyes. His huge mouth was gaping.
A beast had appeared!
‘Lord Zevert!’
An enormous frame. Towering height. Rugged, weathered skin and a shock of tangled white hair. The sheer pressure he exuded was like standing before a mountain.
‘So he wasn’t bedridden and convalescing at all?!’
What sort of invalid has this much presence?
“Bring me the new child!”
“She’s right in front of you.”
“……”
Lord Zevert, in a sweep of his gaze, dipped his head low to look down at me.
In those violet eyes, I saw my own reflection, standing pressed close beside Mister.
Wow, what an intense gaze. This was no joke.
If Leviathan Mister had the sharpness of a finely honed blade, Lord Zevert was like a massive, heavy axe.
One way or another, both were dangerous weapons…
“……”
“…Um, hello?”
I greeted him cautiously.
Lord Zevert narrowed his gaze just slightly.
A twitching at the corners of his eyes; his lips slowly parted.
“What is this snot-nosed little thing…?”
“I’m not snot-nosed…”
“A talking snot-nose!”
“My name is Rubian… Um, did you really punch through the door with your fist?”
I just couldn’t help but ask. Steam was still rising from Zevert’s knuckles.
Then the earlier thunderous noise must have been him breaking down the front doors!
“Hmph.”
Suddenly, Lord Zevert dropped down to meet my eyes. After scrutinizing me for a long moment, he reached back with his hand.
“Bring it here!”
“Oh, my lord Balok…”
A spindly man rushed over belatedly, looking for all the world like Lord Zevert’s butler. He was carrying a large board.
“Please, a little more slowly…”
“Give it here!”
The board was covered in strange height markings.
Lord Zevert snatched it and placed it firmly beside me.
“What are you doing?”
“Hmm, barely a notch above a low-grade magical beast.”
Had he just measured my height against some magical beast standard?
I just stood there, dumbfounded.
As I was about to protest, Lord Zevert folded his arms and proclaimed,
“Unacceptable!”
“What?”
“Snot-nose, you go back to the capital at once!”
“F–father, you can’t just—”
Unable to take it, Leviathan Mister stepped forward. The old man’s ire shifted toward him instead.
“You unruly brat. I knew you were heartless, but I didn’t expect your morals had reached rock bottom!”
Lord Zevert shot to his feet, jabbing a finger at his son.
“How could you put a sword in the hands of a snot-nose like this?”
“I—I can fight too…”
“I told you to bring a decent knight or a capable soldier! Did you forget there’s a magical beast subjugation coming up soon?”
That old man’s voice pierced the air like a bell.
Instinctively, I slipped my hand into Mister’s coat.
“Please keep your voice down. You’re frightening her.”
Like magic, Lord Zevert froze.
Except for his mouth, which continued moving, tireless.
“… …”
“But don’t start mumbling, either.”
…He’s a rather extreme and strange old man.
“In any case, this won’t do!”
His stern gaze sliced back to me. The weight of it made anxiety rise in my chest.
‘Is he really going to throw me out?’
The thing I’d been dreading was actually happening.
Honestly, I hadn’t been too worried before—he was barely a footnote in the original story. Now he’d become an unexpected obstacle!
‘Both the eldest and second sons had no problem accepting me. I thought it’d be the same for me!’
Way too optimistic!
“Don’t look at me like that! You look like you’d crumple at the slightest bump!”
Mister, positioning himself protectively in front of me, spoke coldly.
“My father has no say over Ruby’s place here. Nor over the matter of the knights.”
“Such insolence?”
“And as for decent knights or soldiers…”
A chilly laugh echoed.
“I cannot forgive you for treating that child like some mere tool, not even as your father.”
“When did I ever treat that fluff as a soldier? I said to go find someone useful!”
“The war’s barely over. Unless they’re completely war-mad, who would volunteer for the far north?”
“So you bring home a child who looks like a doll?”
“Ruby is—”
“Ruby? Even the name is silly!”
“Do you dislike her or are you actually fond of her?”
Half in a panic, I barely processed the rest of their conversation—too fixated on the increasingly tense atmosphere.
“Please, don’t fight!”
I mustered my courage and slipped in between them. Tilting my head up, I looked at Lord Zevert looming above.
“Please, don’t drive me away… I have nowhere else to go.”
Not that I really didn’t—just that I didn’t want to! I refuse to die!
“You…”
“If it’s that I’m too small, I’ll eat lots and grow. I won’t break even if I bump into things. Actually, I’m not as weak as I look. If you saw what I could really do, you’d—”
Suddenly, my view rose up.
“Tch. Why scare the child for no reason? It’s irritating.”
Mister had scooped me up, blocking Lord Zevert from view. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and gently rubbed my back.
“You really speak like that to your own father.”
Lord Zevert tried to kick Mister’s shin, but of course the hero wouldn’t let himself get caught so easily.
“I heard you were ill for days, but you don’t seem as strong as you used to.”
“What? Who’s been spreading rumors that I’m ill!”
“Morris, seems the lord should spend more time recuperating in the northern annex. See that he gets there.”
“Are you ignoring your father now?”
I turned my head slightly to look.
The one trying (and failing) to break up the father-son quarrel was the spindly butler.
“My, my… All right, both of you calm down a bit. At this rate, you’ll bring the castle down around us.”
The butler, Morris, dabbed at his sweating brow with a handkerchief, drenched from stress.
Honestly, he’s the one who needs convalescing…
‘No, this isn’t the time!’
I made up my mind on the spot.
Whatever else, the current head of the family was Leviathan Mister. The only one I could cling to was him.
“Saying you’d send me away right now…”
“I refuse!”
Clinging tightly, I threw my arms around Mister’s neck. His solid body stiffened in surprise.
“N–no matter what Lord Zevert says, I’m staying here!”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I cried out.
It was do or die!
“I’m going to live here! I don’t want to be apart from Mister!”
“……”
A heavy silence followed.
I felt a quiet vibration from the chest I clung to.
Peeking open one eye, I saw the corner of Mister’s mouth twitching wildly.
“Hmph.”
Meanwhile, Lord Zevert cocked his head, a curious expression on his face.
“…Son.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got snot on your shoulder.”
A heavy hand pressed down on the back of my head.
“I know.”
“Never seen such a cheeky piece of snot.”
“I’m not snot…”
Having gotten flustered, I retorted to the end, but was easily ignored.
‘Wow. What even was that?’
My eyes rolled awkwardly.
All thanks to the uninvited guest who had crashed our once-cozy, cheerful snack time.
“You.”
Lord Zevert, now occupying a whole sofa, beckoned me over.
“Yes.”
I sat down straight across from him, spine stiff.
“Do you really want to stay here that badly?”
“Yes…”
“Then show me your ability.”
“My… ability?”
“That’s right. Endurance, strength, something! To be one of the North’s strong men, you have to prove it.”
Lounging like a sated beast, Lord Zevert spoke, stretching out.
“Tell me what you’re good at!”
Ability? Well, obviously…
‘Magic power!’
—or so I wanted to answer, and barely stopped myself.
“Mental strength!”
For a moment, it seemed I heard a stifled laugh somewhere.
“Hmm. Mental strength, eh?”
Lord Zevert stroked his bushy bearded chin, his face deadly serious.
“That’s important too. Good. In that case—!”
Gulp. Somehow, I felt tense.
“Finish your snack.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Do I look like such an unfeeling old man to you?”
It seemed he’d only just noticed the snack table.
With a bulging-veined fist, he banged on the table.
“Eat up!”
Bang!
“When you’re done—”
Bang!
“I’ll put you to the test and then throw you out!”
So, in the end, he’s still planning to throw me out!