I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

084. Heyron (2)

Did I get the wrong address?

That was the first question that came to mind, yet seeing those pitch-black dwarves made me think the old man was no ordinary person.

So I asked the name.

“…Aindel Cronid. Is that correct?”

“Hmm? I am that person, am I not? Ah, were you a guest…….”

The old man gave a faint smile.

Only then did I feel a small relief that I had found the right person.

But since none of my doubts were properly resolved, I did not let my guard down.

Whether he knew our mood or not, Aindel stood up with the help of his cane and said,

“This way… cough…! Come.”

Tap, tap, tap.

He tapped the floor with his cane as he headed towards the dining table.

The dwarves tumbled and rolled, following Aindel.

Historia murmured softly.

“It’s quite a pastoral atmosphere. Doesn’t seem like an enemy, does it?”

…I have to agree.

* * *

First, the old man Aindel, who was the teacher of Grand Duke Shuperto, was a sick man.

Not being able to see was just the beginning; the incessant dry cough he let out was not just a simple sneeze but showed that some illness was afflicting him.

And second, those little dwarfs were not natural living beings.

They were… artificial creations he had made.

“Don’t be too surprised. They are homunculi. A small skill I acquired through a lifetime devoted to alchemy.”

“…Creating life?”

“Haha, it’s not something so grand. Cough…! Think of it as a machine, and it will be easier.”

If you look closely, the black child’s form was nothing more than a silhouette, almost like a shadow.

Aindel petted it as he added an explanation.

“The children are autonomous objects made of organic matter. They carry out simple commands I give them… Their intelligence stops at about the level of a three-year-old, incapable of any independent thought. Ah, thank you.”

“Oh, no! It must have been hard for you to endure while being so sick…”

Historia felt pity for Aindel’s pitiful appearance and was treating him.

I sat at the table, sipping the bitter tea the dwarf had brought, and let out a hollow laugh.

He spoke as if it were simple, but it was far from it.

‘It’s almost in the realm of creating life.’

He said their ability to judge was close to zero, but their reaction the moment I intruded showed they had a survival instinct.

Even from a broad perspective, it was the same.

The things called homunculi possessed a mana arrangement that was infinitely close to that of living beings.

And they call that a simple artificial creation? Ridiculous.

I spoke as if probing.

“…You are quite the eccentric.”

“I’m not eccentric enough to be called that.”

“If it’s an organism that wants to live, isn’t it already life?”

“That’s a statement that touches on quite a difficult subject.”

Aindel’s response to my attempt to clearly distinguish between friend and foe was quite inquisitive.

“It seems to be a question of how one defines life. If it wants to live, it’s life. If it thinks and draws conclusions, it’s life. An organism that breathes and interacts with the world is life. There could be many opinions, but at least in alchemy, life is defined as one thing.”

“An organism with a soul. When God created creatures on this earth, the most meticulously crafted was the soul, because no one other than God can create it. The soul is self-sustaining, immortal, and proliferates. Its transcendent mechanism is in a realm that humans can never touch.”

“Do you know? The birth of a new life means the emergence of a new soul. It originates from the energy created when the souls of two existing lives collide.”

“You, this priestess, that quiet young man over there, and everyone on this land, including myself, were born this way. But look at these children.”

As Aindel gently stroked the dwarf’s head, the dwarf relaxed comfortably and chirped on the old man’s lap.

“These children have no soul. If I don’t take care of them, they won’t grow. They even lack the ability to reproduce. So, they are not classified as life. If we talk about the creation of life alchemically…”

What followed was the answer to the story I was curious about.

As I focused more, Aindel spoke.

“…The emergence of a soul. The creation of a self-sustaining, reproductive organism. We call that the creation of life.”

My fist clenched tightly. As I listened to all his logic and stories, a certainty arose.

‘It’s him.’

It was clear that he was the one who influenced the Grand Duke’s thoughts.

If I consider other aspects,

‘Ally, enemy. Neither.’

He is just an outsider.

Someone who met the Grand Duke due to some causality.

I had no choice but to judge that way because, unlike the other sects of the Outer Church I had encountered, Aindel did not have any divine connection that I felt from them.

So, what clues can I get from here?

My mouth felt slightly dry.

Meanwhile, Aindel placed the dwarf on the ground and asked,

“Ah, was I excited because it’s been a while since I talked? My body feels much lighter, so I think I was more distracted. I’m sorry. So, who are you and where are you from?”

Just an old man dying in the outskirts.

But, if kept as an ally, he would surely be helpful in some way.

With that certainty, I spoke.

“I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Yuren Paros. The young master of Paros…”

At that moment.

Clunk!

“Ah, ah…!”

Aindel suddenly stood up.

Then, staggering, he grabbed the table and came towards me.

What is this?

As I stood there, momentarily flustered and gaping, Aidel came up to me and clumsily took my hands.

With a trembling expression, he said,

“You’ve come. At last, you’ve come…”

“…Have you been waiting for me?”

“Yes, you have no idea how long I’ve waited for you here. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’ve been counting the days for this moment.”

Aindel’s expression twisted with sorrow.

Then, the wrinkles shifted into a look of joy.

He continued,

“You’ve come to save the Grand Duke of Heiron… Superth, haven’t you? I’m so glad you’ve come…!”

His words took me by surprise.

* * *

Kallios had completely ruled out the option of ‘persuading the Grand Duke’ on this northern expedition.

He had no choice.

After all, every golden generation’s leader he had seen, except himself… Even in the case of Igrosia, Ias had fallen for Rebecca’s temptations and caused bizarre incidents.

The disappointment that had started with Verheim had crossed a river too far to change now.

So he thought,

‘Just beat them first, then think.’

A beast responds best to a whip.

Trying to have a rational conversation with them was too inefficient.

In the end, breaking down the door by force was just an extension of that.

And inside the room he entered.

Finally facing Superth, Kallios was once again convinced he was right, seeing his emaciated state.

“What are you doing with the lights off and the curtains drawn? A person needs sunlight.”

Swish―!

He strode into the room and drew the curtains.

The room brightened.

It was very dirty.

Even considering that a researcher’s room is usually not very tidy, this was extreme.

Handwritten research notes were scattered haphazardly, dust bunnies rolled around, and leftover food scraps were sporadically visible.

It was hard to tell if this was a pigsty or the Grand Duke’s room.

“How many months has it been since you secluded yourself? Hmm… I can smell the stench of decay from your body.”

Kallios frowned and covered his nose.

Shupert, in a disheveled state, looked up at the crown prince in bewilderment, then shouted angrily at the duke.

“Mother! What kind of tyranny is this…!”

But Kallios did not overlook the disrespect.

Smack!

He struck Shupert’s head with the scabbard.

The duke closed his eyes tightly, enduring the discomfort.

“Argh!”

“How dare you raise your voice at your mother. Were you raised by orcs?”

The simultaneous insult to both child and parent was a miraculous curse.

From noble mtl dot com

Beatrice felt dizzy from the verbal assault, calculated to be incomprehensible to the duke.

Regardless, Kallios continued with a bright smile.

“Fortunately, you don’t seem to have any exceptional combat talents, so there’s no need to sweat unnecessarily. After all, you can’t just go around destroying buildings in someone else’s house. Especially not in a castle with a thousand-year history.”

“Your Highness, this kind of rudeness is…”

“The rude one is you.”

“Ugh?!”

Kallios grabbed the back of Shupert’s neck.

What he had been doing in this room could be figured out gradually from now on.

But first.

“We need to scrub you clean. How can a fifteen-year-old boy smell like an old bachelor? Duke, call all his attendants. I will personally supervise the washing.”

“Understood.”

Kallios dragged the struggling Shupert out.

Then he spoke to Beatrice.

“Investigate the research materials. Don’t you have some knowledge in alchemy?”

That was the reason he brought her, despite planning to break the barrier on the door.

Beatrice nodded at the mention of prosthetic eyes and hands.

It was truly a whirlwind of activity.

* * *

Washing Shupert was quite a task.

It was from the perspective of the attendants, not Kallios.

“Let go! Who do you think you’re touching so carelessly!!!”

“Y-Young Master! But…”

“Do you really want to see blood? I said let go!!!”

Anyone would think he was some kind of prince.

Every time Shufert raged with bulging eyes, Kallios clicked his tongue and emitted mana.

With it, he pressed down on Shufert’s shoulder, and each time, Shufert whimpered and shrank back like a cat being forcibly washed.

Anyway, that ordeal was over.

What should I call Shufert, who was now polished and shining?

Yes, one time at a banquet, a drunken lady said something like this.

―I want to pounce on him. Torment him until he cries…

A mix of boyish charm and decadence, blah blah blah.

Honestly, it was a disgusting idea, but his appearance was somewhat admirable.

Of course, not as much as mine.

Anyway, that’s that.

“Now, let’s start talking.”

Kallios looked at the research materials organized by Beatrice.

Handling documents was one of his specialties.

Even if it wasn’t his field, if the documents were organized by an expert to be understandable, he could grasp the context.

What came out at that moment was a hollow laugh.

“Research on life and soul.”

As Yuren and he had guessed, this research was in line with what other golden generations had done.

In the end, this guy is also a fool who can’t discern right from wrong, falling into temptation.

Kallios, full of conviction, asked.

“So, what did you want to do with this research? Revive the dead Rebecca? Then summoning a demon would have been easier… Ah! You wanted to create a woman exactly like Rebecca to make her your bride? A bride you make yourself…! That’s a new idea.”

A question full of sarcasm.

To that, Shufert, who had been exhausted from being tormented by Kallios, spoke with bloodshot eyes.

“…Don’t think of me on the same level as you.”

“…?”

“Don’t judge me, a man who abandoned his duties for a mere woman. The level of thinking of creating a lover from my research, I understand well.”

“Oh.”

The last exclamation was from Tibria.

Kallios couldn’t laugh.

“…Huh?”

A vein bulged on Kallios’s forehead.

His smile creaked.