'Someone get me a wooden sword!　I will now conduct a mock battle between me and Xellos.
Yes. I'll do it.
That's where Yuki is watching the battle between me and Xellos.
Yes.
'I'll make sure Nails doesn't come in here. Make sure no one in the house sees the Ancient Magic, lest they see it. Very well, Mr. Kachelors.
I have nothing but admiration for the way you think, my dear Kachel.

　And so it was decided that Father and Brother would hold a mock battle in front of me.




　Preparations for the battle were quickly completed, and my father and brother were facing each other with their respective weapons in hand.

　My father holds a thick wooden sword in both hands.
　In contrast, Brother Xellos is holding it in one hand.

''I'll decide who wins!

　Standing between the two men, the teacher Kachel shouted.

'If either of you admit defeat or drop your swords, you will lose. May I have your permission?
'Mm.' 'I have no objection to that. Teacher.
Then let's begin!
I'm coming, Father!

　It was Brother Xellos who set it off first.
　He begins to murmur something like an incantation while drawing something like a figure in the air with his finger.

''Fulfill!　I am...
Well done, sir. Mr. Xellos!

　Brother Xellos' chanting is inaudible to me. It's different from any words I've heard before.

"Activate──'Body Strengthening (Boosted)!

　Brother Xellos kicks the ground and starts running.

''──speed!

　My brother's physical abilities have improved significantly.
　He closes the gap between him and Father in an instant and swings his sword down with one hand.



　Gah.



　Father catches his brother's sword with his two-handed sword.
　 It's being pushed.
　My father, who is two heads taller than my brother and twice as wide, is losing to Brother Xellos.
　It was like a joke.
　I have never seen magic with this level of power in my previous life.
　With ordinary magic, you can only increase your arm strength by a percentage at most. And yet, the current brother's strength and instantaneous force is probably multiplied many times over.
　........Scary.
　This is the power of 'Ancient Magic'?

''Xellos. So that's what you've learned.
"Yes. With Ancient Magic, you can fight your father as an equal!
That's quite something!

　Father grits his teeth and pushes back Brother Xellos' sword.
　For a moment, he flies backwards, timing it to coincide with his brother's stepping back.
　Furthermore, Brother Xellos closes the gap and swings his wooden sword.
　In terms of strength and speed, Brother Xellos is already superior. Even so, our father was able to fight, probably due to the difference in his experience in battle.

I now understand why the Ancient Magic can only be used by the Sanctuary Church and the Lindbergh Magic Guild.
　That spell chanted by my brother had a special pronunciation, with regular breaths in between the sounds. It's probably a unique, exclusive language for the 'Ancient Magic'.
　Unless you decipher that, you can't use 'Ancient Magic'.
　Even I can't do it.
　Such a strange spell, there's no way I can chant it unless I'm taught it.

''How about it, Yuki!　This is my power!　Do you have any idea?

　Brother Xellos flicked the sword that his father had swung down and shouted.

''It's a power you can't even understand. I will use this power to become a high-level magician in the Magic Guild. And I will raise this Baron Grossaria family to the same status as the higher nobles!
That's right. Yuki-kun. This is the power of 'Ancient Magic'. It's a power you can't even imagine!

　The next thing I knew, Teacher Kachel was looking at me.

''The power to fight on an equal footing with an experienced baron. With this in hand, Master Xellos will rise to the heights of nobility!　Sooner or later you won't even be able to speak to me or Lady Xelloss!　You can see the difference in status!
Yes.

　I didn't listen to Teacher Kachel's words.
My brother's sword, strengthened by the Ancient Magic, is amazing, but my father is just barely able to cope with it.
　The fear of making an enemy of the humans of this era is clearly evident.

　........This is the first time I've seen 'Ancient Magic' up close and personal but it's terrifying.
　Even if I used all my skills, I don't know if I could win.
　It's because I don't understand the theory of magic at all in the first place. Even just now, I had to learn my brother's finger movements all the time.

　I remember my brother drawing this insignia with his finger.
　Like this, like this, like this... and then you add the chanting to it...


　Thump.



　My heart rang.
　My hands and feet heat up. A sensation of power bubbling up from deep within my body.
　What is this?
　It's as if I'm back in my previous life as Dean Nosferatu the immortal sorcerer.
　He seems to have energy and strength...?
　What is this? What's this power?

'I'm sorry!　I'm not feeling well, so I'll take my leave now!
...What? You okay?　Yuki!

　Brother Xellos and Father call out to me.
　But I don't have time to answer them.
　I move my feet as fast as I can and get away from the three of them. Out of sight.
　I know. Let's go to the backyard.

"Wait a minute, Yuki!　You need to see what I can do!
'Don't come after me!　Brother Xellos.

　Why are you chasing me? And in a state of 'physical enhancement'.
　Now..........I can't get caught!

　I increased my running speed.

"-What?　Can't catch up!　Why!

　My brother's voice trails away.
　I turn the corner of the mansion and enter the backyard.
　And then - I kicked the ground as hard as I could.



　─ From Xellos' point of view...


'Hey!　Yuki!

　Xellos followed his brother around the corner of the building.
　He went straight into the backyard of the detached building. But...

He's not here.

　His brother, Yuki, was nowhere to be seen.

That's a lie. You can't tell me that I'm not able to catch up with the "boosted" version of myself. You can't tell me that Yuki is stronger than me. You're lying.
What can I do for you, Mr. Xelloss?

　I turned around and saw my tutor, Kachel.

'Yuki is gone. I couldn't catch up with that guy. Could it be that Yuki has 'Ancient Magic' too?
There is no way.

　Teacher Kachel shook her head.

''Using 'Ancient Magic' requires a set of motions and chanting, plus the operation of magic power within the body. It's not something a bastard who hasn't been taught can master.
But!
''Xellos-sama has only just been able to use 'Physical Strengthening', and he probably didn't have good control over it. Normally, he should have been able to overwhelm Baron Georg-sama even by matching hands.
Sir.
Let's go back to the Baron. We have achieved our goal of showing Yukidono our power. Now we must show it to the Baron.
Yes, sir.

　Xellos walks off towards the front yard of the mansion.

'But ... I don't think I'm as good as Yuki ... sometimes ... I feel like ...
You'll have a talk with me later. That bastard won't be a problem. That you're good at what you do, as you always have been.

　With that, Xellos and Kachel left.



　─ Yuki's point of view...



That was a close call.

　From my room upstairs (........) I was looking down at the backyard.
　After running to the backyard, I jumped straight upstairs. I opened the window and hid inside the room.

　My 'flying' skills are still incomplete. Normally, I wouldn't be able to fly up to the second floor.
　The reason I was able to jump was because my 'Body Strengthening' had been activated.

　Watching Brother Xellos and Father's battle, my limbs suddenly became hot.
　Power came from deep within my body, and it was as if I was back in the prime of my previous life.
　''Oh no,'' I thought, so I decided to run away.

''I didn't think that 'Ancient Magic' could be activated by simply drawing a sigil with blood...''

　I looked at my palm.
　There was a sigil drawn in Myster Blood.
　I drew it unconsciously when I saw the mock battle between my father and Brother Xellos earlier.

　It's a habit I picked up from a previous life when I was playing the Lone Demon King. Back then, when I had something I wanted to write down immediately, I would cut off my fingertips and write in blood on my palms or parchment.
　Lyle laughed, 'That's why you're called a vampire,'" he said.

'I'll have to do some more research on 'ancient magic'.

　After saying that, I looked at the occupants of the room.

'So I'm sorry. You scared the shit out of me. Martha.
'Is that what you're saying, jumping in while you're changing?

　In the room, Martha, the maid, was staring at me.
　In her underwear. Hugging the maid's clothes that she was about to take off.
　Perhaps it was because she was changing, but her chestnut-colored hair, usually tied up in a knot, was fluffy and swaying.

'Do you have any idea how startled Martha was when the window suddenly opened?
I'm so sorry.
I was relieved when I found out it was Yuki-sama, though.
No, I don't think it's a relief.

　I said, and Martha puffed out her cheeks.

　Her name is Martha. She's two years older than me, 15.
　She works away from me, and is my personal maid.

　Because of her mother's work for the baronial family, Martha used to come to the mansion often in the past. For me and Lumiere, we've been friends since childhood. Martha's mother is in poor health now, and she's at home doing manual labor. Instead, Martha is working for the baronial family as a maid and apprentice of manners.

"Because Martha has pledged her loyalty to Yuki-sama.

　Martha looked at me while hiding her body with the maid's uniform in her hand.

''Yuki-sama spoke to the Baroness when my mother had to quit her job with the Baron family to hire Martha instead. If Yuki-sama hadn't said so, Martha and my mother would have been lost in the streets by now.
Well that was before the Kachelors arrived, you know.

　The barons were still a little looser than they are now.

'Besides, the only person who could take care of me was Martha's mother. On the contrary, Martha had to take care of me away from home, and I thought I was the one who was causing the trouble.
Yuki-sama came to visit my mother many times.
Because I'm tired of being in this house all the time, and I don't know anyone else.
'Every time Yuki-sama comes to visit her, my mother's health gets better.
It's a coincidence.
Is that so?
Yeah, yeah.
Still ... Martha's loyalty is to Yuki-sama.

　You are a stubborn man. You are such a stubborn person, aren't you, Martha?
　People can be like that, can't they?

"For the last time, I don't consider Martha a servant.
You always say that. You always say that Martha is your partner in crime, that you have to survive in this mansion.
That's what I'm talking about.

　Me and my brother and my tutor staring at me.
　And Martha who lives alone with her sick mother.
　It's not easy to live in this baronet's house, you know.

I understand........if you say so, Yuki-sama.
Well, to begin with, Martha.
What is it? Yuki-sama.
Aren't you surprised that I came in through an upstairs window?
Martha knows very well that Yuki-sama is amazing.
I know.
Martha used to be a crybaby, but she protected me well. He would chase away bugs with his magic and cool my burned hands. Each time she would say, 'Oops, that's it! That's why Martha's secrets kept growing. It's no surprise to me.
I'm sorry.
This one's another 'oops, oops, oops. Don't tell anyone, okay?'
Yeah. Nice to meet you.
Yes, sir.
I'm sorry.
By the way, Yuki.
Yes.
Now that it's out of date, what did you think about peeking in on Martha's change of clothes?
I'm well aware that Martha is beautiful.
Thank you. In return, Martha will wash your hair for you later.
I just washed it the other day.
Dame.
Yes.
Good.
Okay, I'll go back to my room. Bring me a cup of tea later.
Yes. I'll just get dressed and then I'll come in.

　With that, Martha bowed her head.
　I decided to go back to my room.　



　A few minutes later.
　As I was drinking the tea that Martha had brewed for me, my father came into the room.

'Yuki, you will be staying at an inn in town while His Highness is here. I will send Martha and a few others to accompany you. But you will not be allowed to return to the house until Her Highness has left.

　He looked away from me and said, "You don't have to do that.

You don't really need to do that. You don't even have to lock yourself away in your room. But when it comes to the instructions of a tutor sent by the Magic Guild, you can't help it.
I don't mind. Father.

　I was the one who said I was leaving home. Besides, it's not bad to relax at the inn once in a while.
　It's better not to have to look at Kachel, the teacher, in the face.

'Martha will be coming with you, won't she?　Then I'm fine with it.
...I'm sorry. Yuki.

　It came out of nowhere.
　Dad reached out his arms and hugged me.

I'm an upstart," he said, "and I don't think I'm cut out to be a nobleman. "I'm a novice," he said, "and I'm probably not cut out to be a nobleman. He's boring. To have to put my own son through such an uncomfortable experience...
Father. Martha is looking at you.
I haven't seen him.

　As he said, Martha turned back.

'Please continue. Baron-sama. Yuki-sama.''
Well, I'll be d*mned.

　It's very embarrassing to be hugged by my father in front of Martha.
　I originally thought it was my job to soothe the kids.
　In a previous life, I used to soothe the crybabies Lyle and Alice like this.
　But it wasn't so bad to be coddled.

　In a previous life, I never knew my parents.
　But now I have a father. And my sister Lemire, and my brother Xellos. Martha.
　For that reason alone, I'm glad I became human.

"Thank you, Father.
You won't be inconvenienced. I'll have our steward, Nail, make the necessary arrangements. Martha, take care of Yuki, too.
'Your word is enough. Father.
Let me take care of Yuki-sama. Baron-sama.

　I slipped out of my father's arms and bowed. Behind me, Martha bows too.
　I stayed in place until he left the room.
　I didn't know what a human child should look like at a time like this.