The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-295

Chapter 295 Confession (3)

Vikir was lost in thought for a moment.

‘…Esse, Non Videri.’

To be, rather to be seem.

Two successors aiming for the pinnacle of the Bourgeois.

One was Juliet, the daughter of younger son Damian, and the other was the child of the elder son Bartolomeo.

Gender unknown, age unknown, an existence with nothing known about it.

‘Interestingly, both my brother and I only had one daughter each.’

If it weren’t for Damian’s words, Vikir might not have known if Bartolomeo’s child was a daughter.

While Juliet’s true identity was revealed to the world due to her abandoning the exam midway, no one knew what Bartolomeo’s daughter was doing or where she was. An entity with an unclear existence, to the point that it was uncertain whether she actually existed.

‘Sinclaire was Bartolomeo’s daughter.’

Vikir touched his chin, lost in thought.

No wonder Juliet seemed so familiar when he first saw her. Perhaps it was because they shared the same bloodline.

‘If that’s the case, I might know why she disappeared from the world after graduating.’

After graduating from the Colosseo Academy, Sinclaire probably became the head of the Bourgeois. And she would have moved the world from behind the colossal curtain of darkness where the world’s attention couldn’t reach.

A high society so obscure that inferior warriors like the pre-regression Vikir couldn’t fathom, let alone ordinary people, VVIPs from all over the world.

…But even the tree that would grow so big someday was now just a small sprout.

“Big brother, what do you think of me?”

She asked such a difficult question, embracing him and sobbing.

Having heard Sinclaire’s question, Vikir had to return to reality.

“…Right now. What’s the intention behind asking such a question?”

A question about how he feels is not really a question asking what he thinks. Vikir is not a fool. In fact, he prides himself on being quite perceptive in this regard.

In response to Vikir’s counter-question, Sinclaire closed her lips, brushed her eyes with determination, and answered bravely.

“I-I want to complete the only goal I have before leaving the academy and dropping out, which is dating you, big brother.”

A goal…?

Vikir’s mouth was halfway open. Was dating really such a significant achievement? However, Sinclaire seemed to have a slightly different perspective from Vikir’s thoughts.

“…Originally, I intended to complete the fourth year, receive my diploma, and then leave the world. ‘Excellent grades,’ ‘Various extracurricular activity awards,’ ‘Top student throughout the four years,’ ‘Student Council President,’ ‘Colosseo Academy graduate.’ In the end, I believed that these specs were the most valuable things I could learn in school.”

Sinclaire laughed a bit before finishing her sentence.

“So, at first, I couldn’t understand my cousin sister. She was the one who dropped out of the academy for love.”

Presumably, Sinclaire was talking about Juliet, who attended Temisquira Women’s College.

Sinclaire tightened her grip on Vikir’s embrace and continued speaking with a bit more strength in her hand.

“But now, I think I understand my sister’s feelings. My perspective has changed. The most valuable thing you can gain from school life isn’t grades or diplomas, certificates, or awards.”

More valuable than that is the memories with the people you are with.

Sinclaire sent a confident gaze with twinkling eyes.

After much contemplation, Vikir asked, “Why do you attribute such value to me? I’m not that extraordinary.”

“If we compare, am I any more extraordinary?”

Sinclaire emptied a beer can and then gripped it firmly with her hand.

“…True. I wonder when I started liking you, big brother. I’m curious. Shall we go over it once?”

She closed her eyes and, with clear pronunciation and a pure voice, began to recount the memories from her perspective, centered around her experiences.

Sinclaire’s lips started to articulate the memories from the start of the year.

* * *

“Why do I have to leave?”

A young girl hugged a teddy bear and asked the elderly caretaker.

The caretaker just bowed politely and answered, “When you come of age, everything will belong to you, dear Miss.”

With that, the girl had to leave her family.

Orphanage. The girl studied relentlessly. While other children succumbed to a sense of defeat or resignation, the girl always shone with passion and hope.

Elite primary school. The girl faced discrimination from the moment she walked in. Despite low-performance evaluations in comparison to the efforts she put in, the girl endured subtle discrimination, gossip, and harassment, as well as the unusual frequency with which cleaning duties were assigned to her.

The results were not always fair, but looking back overall, it was quite fair.

All the discrimination disappeared in the face of outstanding skills and continuous proof.

The children who used to murmur behind her back gradually wanted to become friends with the girl, and the teachers who initially looked at her with prejudice as an orphan gradually came to adore her.

Moreover, as the girl’s appearance began to sparkle as she aged, it changed everything.

Before anyone knew it, the girl who had overcome all obstacles, was admitted to the Colosseo Academy, the empire’s most prestigious university, at such a young age.

“And that too, as the top student.”

The girl felt proud that her skills were recognized even in such a vast place.

And then, the long-awaited Colosseo Academy.

“Survive no matter what. Rise to the top. Use what is useful, and discard what is not without mercy.”

The girl pondered over her father’s words from her childhood as she took the freshman oath.

And then, the first class.

There was no student smarter than the girl.

Even in the most prestigious university of the empire, the Colosseo Academy, the girl’s skills shone through.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief at this fact.

At that moment, a boy caught the girl’s eye.

The first impression was ordinary. Unremarkable tousled hair. A common name that could be found anywhere. Just average practical and interview scores.

But in the subsequent class, the boy deliberately outshone his peers, impressing the professor by solving problems that students were likely to get wrong.

“Hmm. Indeed. Perfect score in the written exam.”

Even the meticulous professor acknowledged the boy’s perfect score on the written exam. It was a score much higher than the girl’s 931 out of 990.

The next highest score after the girl was in the 700s, indicating the difficulty of the exam was undoubtedly severe. However, someone managed to score perfectly, and it wasn’t the girl.

From that moment, the girl felt curiosity toward the boy.

It seemed like the first time. The first time she wanted to get to know someone, to understand them.

Objectively, the girl was pretty, both intellectually and physically. She exuded charm not only in terms of intellect but also in appearance. She held a favorable position in interpersonal relationships.

So, when the girl approached the boy, she did so with confidence. She was confident that the boy wouldn’t dislike her.

But it was always others approaching her; she had never approached someone herself. So, when the girl spoke to the boy, it felt a bit awkward.

“Um, excuse me…”

A question about why he chose volunteer work. The boy’s answer was simple.

“I’m here because of detention.”

“…Ah.”

The usual answer one receives when asking why someone chose volunteer work is cliché.

Words like a sense of accomplishment, a giving heart, a spirit of sacrifice, and so on – pleasant phrases.

But the boy was different.

He seemed to find it bothersome and left the place as if avoiding it.

For the girl, receiving such treatment was a first, so she felt somewhat unfamiliar as she followed him.

“It’s a coincidence that we’re assigned to volunteer in the same place.”

“Is it?”

In reality, it wasn’t.

The girl had put in considerable effort, pleading with the person in charge to be assigned to volunteer in the same place as the boy.

And that day, the girl thought she had become somewhat friends with the boy. Because she initiated the conversation.

She bombarded the boy with many questions related to his written exam scores, but the girl didn’t hear answers that satisfied her. She thought the boy seemed somewhat blunt.

But.

Contrary to his claim of being there due to detention, the boy really worked hard during the volunteer activity.

Cleaning toilets, distributing meals in the cafeteria, repairing pipes, doing laundry for rags, playing with kids, and at the same time, maintaining the sports field—handling dozens of challenging tasks that require sticking together—left the girl in awe of the boy.

“…He’s a good person.”

The girl muttered towards the boy. It was the first day the girl sincerely praised someone.

Since that day, the way the girl addressed the boy changed.

“Hello! Good morning!”

“?”

“Big brother! Are you pretending not to know me?”

“I didn’t know you were greeting me. And don’t call me ‘oppa’; we’re classmates, don’t call me that.”

“Why? I’m only a year younger than you. Even if we speak informally, ‘oppa’ is ‘oppa.'”

“It’s uncomfortable to hear…”

“Really? If you don’t like ‘oppa,’ I’ll think of another title by lunchtime.”

After that day, the girl started calling the boy “Big Brother” (Hyung).

“He seems to be somewhat immune to girls?”

The girl found it surprising.

The boy’s face, which appeared when he occasionally shook his long, hidden hair, was so handsome that it was almost shocking. Given his looks, he should have already made several girls cry, the girl thought, chuckling to herself.

Anyway, from that point on, whenever the girl met the boy, she occasionally acted as if they were familiar.

Maybe it was from that moment.

The moment she used the slightly unusual term “Big brother” instead of the common and liked “oppa.”

He became the only person who was given a unique nickname from her.

Could it be that the girl’s heart, which had been completely unaware of this feeling, began to move?

When the girl approached the boy with a strange and unknown emotion, the boy shocked her with some startling words about parents.

“Parents are not really necessary. In any case, you must navigate the world on your own. The concept of parents only applies during the critical childhood years, when external assistance is required. Beyond that, they are unnecessary.”

The girl was slightly shocked by the idea that someone could think like that.

Whether in an orphanage or at an elite school, children always had similar thoughts.

Love and want for parents.

Whether it was lacking or fulfilled, children always wanted that.

Even the girl wanted the same.

But the boy was different.

So, the girl began to admire him. And also sympathize with him.

After that, many things happened.

They drank together, and worked part-time jobs together. When there was an accident during midterms, and the boy saved his friends, the girl felt her heart pounding.

The same happened when there was an incident on the train with Temisquira Women’s College students.

“Thank you for helping earlier. Honestly, it was really scary. They seemed like very rough older sisters.”

“I was scared too.”

The boy’s casual words made the girl burst into genuine laughter. She thought that the only person who could make her heart waver like this was the boy in front of her.

* * *

“…Haha, it feels like a movie, doesn’t it?”

Sinclaire wiped her eyes, smiling nonchalantly. Vikir remained silent even after Sinclaire finished speaking.

Unable to bear the awkward silence, Sinclaire opened her mouth again.

“…Now that I’ve said it, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, I’ll now tell you about the problem I’m having.”

Sinclaire laughed, rubbing her eyes. Vikir stayed silent after Sinclaire’s words for a moment.

“…”

“As I mentioned earlier, Night Hound killed my father. I don’t know if you’ll believe it, but Dolores, the student council president, was there too.”

“…,”

“The only person I trusted at school was in league with the man who murdered my dad. I don’t know who to trust, my friends, my professors, and that’s why it’s so difficult to attend school..”

Sinclaire finished speaking and raised her head.

“I thought maybe you’ll believe me. Big Brother consistently wrote columns in the newspaper criticizing the Night Hound. So, I know that you’d understand how wicked Night Hound is.”

“…,”

“I only have Big Brother now. The only person who understands me…”

Sinclaire couldn’t finish her words and lowered her head. She only tightly grasped Vikir’s sleeve.

However…

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can accept your feelings.”

Vikir firmly shook his head.

At that moment, Sinclaire tightened her grip on Vikir’s sleeve.

“Yes. I anticipated that Big Brother would say that..”

“…”

“So far, I’ve only seen one person with eyes like your’s. My father.”

Sinclaire continued speaking.

“He’s the type of man who works toward a goal that a normal person like me can’t even imagine. I see it in your eyes as well. You are the same kind of man as my father.”

“…,”

“I’m pretty, with a good figure, and even young. I’m excellent in studies and proficient in magic. Most importantly, I can understand, support, and take care of Big Brother. I won’t be a hindrance. I’ll do my best to support you.”

“…”

“… Still not possible? What should I do to make you…”

At that moment, Vikir interrupted Sinclaire’s words.

“Now is not the time to think about things like dating.”

It was a natural statement. A demon hunter thinking about love, his comrades who died would laugh in their graves.

Nothing is more unsettling than an unpredictable human starting a family. What needs to be protected, becomes a major vulnerability.

When Vikir sternly shook his head, Sinclaire’s expression brightened slightly.

“…’Not now’?”

“?”

“If not now, then when? Until when is it ‘not now’? Then, will you maybe consider it after achieving your goal?”

Vikir raised his head at Sinclaire’s questioning tone.

“…”

“My goal is in a very distant and challenging place. To achieve it, there is still a long…”

“I understand. If someone like you says that, it must be an ambitious goal.”

Sinclaire spoke with a determined expression.

“So, when you achieve everything you want…”

“…”

“At that time, can you accept me?”

It was indeed a difficult question.

After a long moment of contemplation, Vikir nodded his head.

“If such a day comes, and I survive, I will.”

“Alrighty, then~”

Sinclaire released herself from Vikir’s embrace, knelt down, and nodded.

Then, she raised the beer can in her hand and downed the remaining drink in one go.

Vikir quietly stood up.

“It’s late, so I’ll be going now.”

At that moment, Sinclaire also stood up, following Vikir. Then, she spoke.

“…Big Brother. Before you go, can you hug me once?”

Vikir swallowed a sigh at those words. Still a small and young girl. Yet, someday, she would stand at the pinnacle of the Bourgeois Clan, one of the seven great clans of the empire. How many hardships and trials did this fragile child endure to become an unsung hero in the past?

Feeling guilt and indebtedness to Sinclaire, Vikir closed his eyes tightly. Then, it happened.

With a soft sound, Sinclaire embraced Vikir, wrapping her hand on his waist.

“You can push me away for the rest of our lives.”

“….”

“So, just for now. Please stay like this for a moment.”

Her voice, trembling thinly, carried a hint of moisture. “Haha… I wasn’t originally like this…”

Her expression, murmuring unexpectedly and awkwardly, was hidden behind Vikir’s chest. Vikir paused for a moment, lost in thought.

‘I, too, don’t have much time left in this place,’ he thought, just as Sinclaire had said.

Like Sinclair, Vikir also planned to leave the Colosseo Academy soon. The next destination would be a place harsher and more brutal than the academy, to the extent that the academy feels like a cradle.

A fearsome structure, similar in appearance to the Colosseum symbolizing glory and prosperity, but with an entirely different meaning.

“Nouvelebag Prison. And the era of destruction.”

Soon, the full scale war against the other demons would begin.