Free Web NovelChapter 90: Younger Brother
On the same day.
"Tch... That bastard..."
With a grumpy mood and a swollen cheek, Cail Maystra headed to his dorm after the last lesson for today ended.
"Every single one of them... Do they really think that they can get away with this?!"
He was talking to himself while he gently caressed his cheek.
Behind him were his usual companions, who looked at him with great concern.
"S-sir, shall we-"
"Are you pitying me...? Just because I got caught off guard by that damn Gerard Armwright, do you think I can’t protect myself?"
His tone was silent, however, it was visible that he was mad.
"N-no, we-"
"Leave me alone!" he yelled, losing his nerves.
"Y-yes...!"
On his order, they walked in the other direction.
"Damnit...! Damnit...! Damnit all!"
Each step got heavier.
He gritted his teeth against each other aggressively.
"Why’s everyone getting into my way...?!"
"If it weren’t for them, then I could have focused myself on my goal..."
Then, his greatly scorned expression calmed down. Instead, he was beginning to smirk.
"Calm down... Soon I can say goodbye to this Chapter... After I kicked Mika’s ass in front of the crowd, he will surely think twice about approaching me in the future."
"And with him, his entire group of friends will follow suit- Ugh...!"
When he widened his mouth more, his cheek started to sting.
"I will bring everyone under my command and then I will ascend to the white class. If I achieve that, then brother has to acknowledge me..." he said with a stern and ambitious gaze.
"As long as I follow his shadow, I will someday become like him and then... And then maybe we can turn back to the good old times..."
His tone became softer towards the end.
He sighed.
"Am I such a failure of a younger brother...?"
When he gazed at the orange and lilac sky, he reminisced.
It was roughly 8 years ago.
On that day, the sky had the same color as now.
"Big brother, where are were going?" the young Cail asked curiously.
"We’re going to a better place." Xander replied with a reassuring smile.
He held the small and soft hand of his younger brother as they walked on the street.
On Xander’s face were bruises and on his mouth were still traces of dried blood.
"What about mom and dad?"
"..."
Xander stopped in his tracks.
"Big brother?"
He crouched down a little and grabbed Cail’s shoulders.
"Whom do you love more? Our parents or me?" he asked Cail while he kept on smiling.
"You, of course!" Cail replied innocently with a big grin.
Xander caressed Cail’s head.
"From now on, everything will turn out for the better. I promise!"
Cail looked back to the direction they came from. His eyes seemed slightly concerned.
"Will you stay with me...?"
"Hm?"
At first, Xander was taken aback by surprise.
"But of course I will! I’m your big brother after all! I will protect you from everything! Just like always!" he declared confidently as he pointed his thumb at his chest.
"Really...?" Cail asked again with big puppy-like eyes.
"Really! Just continue to watch me because I will even become the strongest person out here!"
The two young siblings smiled at each other and laughed together as they left the small town, south of Malnor, behind them.
Back to the present.
Cail was sitting on a nearby bench.
He watched other students go home.
His eyes narrowed at the sight of the students of the black class.
"It’s only because I’m so much weaker than him that he changed..." he muttered self-critically.
Cail leaned his back on the bench and let out an exhausting sigh.
"If only I could participate in the tournament..."
His initial plan was to join it, however, due to his match against Mika and Belian, he changed his mind. After all, he was scared that he would disappoint his brother in that match because he may have been still tired from the promotion tournament.
"It’s disgusting how relaxed you are considering everything you’ve done."
"What you did to everyone, especially Judi, is unforgivable...!"
"?"
Unfazed, Cail turned his head to the side.
An arrogant grin crept onto his face.
"How can I help you?" he asked provokingly.
Standing there, were Sylvia and Lily, who were both anything but happy.
"By disappearing." Sylvia responded in an instant as she looked down on him coldly.
"..."
Lily was just gazing intimidatingly at him with a frown on her face, which was unusual for her.
The two girls slowly took some steps toward Cail. And as they did, cold fog appeared around Sylvia’s hands, whereas Lily’s hands were ablaze.
"Heh, you’re nuts!" Cail huffed, standing up from the bench.
His clothes and hair started to flutter around.
"What are you doing?"
A loud and clear voice attracted their attention.
"Sylvia. Lily. Didn’t I tell you two to stay low for a while?"
The one calling them out and approaching them was Belian.
Behind him was Harik, who looked as stern as Belian.
"Sorry, Belian but I can’t settle down without venting my frustration out on this guy." Sylvia replied with a sharp gaze.
"I, too, apologize, I feel the same as her." Lily added.
"What now? A four-on-one? Where’s your pride?" Cail mocked them despite feeling nervous himself.
"Be quiet, Cail." Harik remarked in a deep tone.
"Tch..."
Belian faced the girls.
"On Mika’s behalf, I will stop you two from doing anything senseless."
"Oh, is that so? Well, on Mika’s we will kick his ass." Sylvia said.
"I’m sorry but you can’t stop us."
Belian sighed.
"I see if that’s the case..."
He glanced over to Harik.
"I tried to avoid this scenario, however, if you still want to continue, then I see no other choice but to stop you."
"And how do you want to stop us?"
"With violence if needed."
Meanwhile, the current three first-year teachers and the headmaster assembled in the academy’s conference room.
"I noticed that Mika Elbar has recently returned. But where is Ophelia?" Cindy asked.
"She is still recovering there." Erwin Linster replied.
"Unfortunately, we still don’t know when she will return." Ralph Arma added saddened.
"But be that as it may, reconsider your attitude, Ms. Werensten. We’re in the presence of the headmaster!" Erwin remarked strictly.
"Tch... Stingy as ever, huh?"
"What did you say?! How dare you say that even though Mr. Arma and I had to cover for you while you were away!"
"It’s pitiful how you unleash your rage on poor me. Jealousy kills a person, you know?"
"J-jealously...?" Erwin frowned more.
"I know, I know... You were envious of me because students kept on requesting me to be their quest guide. But don’t worry, I will ask them if they were so kind and make you their quest guide from time to time." Cindy mocked him as she shrugged her shoulders, wearing a smirk.
"You-"
"It’s good to see you two still getting along, but could you continue that later?" Lucio Graymen interrupted the two while he wore his typical gentle smile.
"Sorry..."
"M-my apologies...!"
Lucio cleared his throat.
"Well, back to the topic then. Mr. Arma, if you were so kindly."
"Yes, of course." Ralph replied with a smile.
He stood up from his seat and grabbed his wooden staff.
Then, Ralph raised his staff and pointed with it to the center of the table.
A watermelon-sized dark sphere appeared in the middle, floating above the table. And said sphere was showing an image.
Cindy and Erwin leaned closer to the table in order to take a better look at the sphere and the image.
"Wait isn’t that...?"
"The chamber..."
The two were stunned.
"That’s right. It’s that chamber." Lucio answered without a care in the world.
"B-but why-"
"Don’t tell me..."
Lucio nodded his head innocently.
"Coming back to the original topic, I want to use them."
Erwin twisted his neck rapidly to Ralph.
"M-Mr. Arma, d-did you agree with Mr. Graymen...?!"
Ralph kept on smiling.
"Of course I did. Isn’t that great? This way, the students will be more motivated and maybe we will see them pushing their limits."
"..." freēwebnovel.com
Erwin was speechless.
"Ehm, Mr. Graymen... Are you really sure about that? Isn’t this kind of too much?" Cindy asked shyly.
"I understand your concerns, but I and other teachers thought a lot about this before coming to a decision."
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the image shown on the small sphere.
The image showed a brightly illuminated small and thin wand on a purple cushion.
The wand was black and had multiple tiny red jewels embedded in it. One end of the wand resembled a tiny and open hand with spread fingers, whereas the other end had an oval red jewel, which was slightly bigger than the others.
"The relic that turns magic to life and commands said life..." Erwin muttered nervously.
"That’s correct, Mr. Linster." Lucio said before he continued.
"This will stay a secret for the students, but this very relic will be rewarded to the one who wins the promotion tournament."
