CH 6

Chapter 6: Trash

The breakfast served in the luxurious mansion was quite satisfying. 

The aroma that stimulated the taste buds, the soft texture, the harmonious combination, and the utensils that enhanced the taste were all present.

Even in this world, enjoying delicious food was Kaplan's small happiness. 

However, the meal would have been a little more satisfying if the boy's sister hadn't been staring at him.

'She's like the epitome of a knight.'

This was the brief impression Flan made about Scarlett Judith when he met her face to face.

The first thing he noticed was her jet-black hair that took on pitch-black darkness. 

Although it was tied up in a ponytail, it was still quite long. As a prosecutor, it would be quite annoying, but as a woman, it was obvious that it doubled the charm of her appearance.

Just like Flan, she also had red eyes that could be considered the symbol of this family.

However, there was a slight difference.

While the boy's eyes looked like transparent jewels when seen in a mirror, the eyes of this female knight were closer to burning flames.

"You have become quite skilled at using utensils."

Her sharp gaze and tone were like a sword in themselves. 

Judging from the fact that there were no gaps in her movements, she was probably a highly regarded knight.

Upon hearing her words, the boy nodded slightly.

Even though he was born of humble origins, after proving many things, he lived like a nobleman.

Therefore, these little things were ingrained in his body like a habit.

Furthermore, he spent the whole night reading books about this world and realized that the table manners of the previous world and this world were the same.

"Did you practice separately?"

“Not at all.”

At his response, Scarlett gazed at the boy with an expression of incomprehension.

No wonder, whenever Flan sat facing Scarlett, he used to tremble with his hands.

But today, he was quite adept at using utensils and was also very relaxed.

"Trash."

While they were eating, Scarlett muttered that out of nowhere.

'Does she mean to ask a maid to come closer to throw something away?'

Flan ignored her and continued eating.

“Hey, Trash.”

She murmured again, and their gazes met in midair. She was staring blankly at Flan.

"Trash... did you call me that just now?"

“Who else is it? In the flame knight family, things that can't even be used for anything are called trash.”

'Even so, she shouldn't call her younger brother trash.'

This family knew it too.

Flan ignored her and moved the utensils quietly.

He had no reason to take offense at Scarlett's remarks because it was for someone else

“I heard that you applied to the Academy of Magic and got accepted.”

Flan nodded his head vaguely. Probably because that's how it looked.

“Are you planning on continuing?”

Her sharp gaze and words seemed never-ending.

He just wanted to enjoy his meal, but the noise that keeps interfering was getting annoying.

If a disciple had done something like this during a meal, he would have grabbed their ear with his powers right away.

But this was the boy's mansion, and the person in front of him was the boy's older sister.

That fact had somewhat increased Kaplan's patience.

Meanwhile, Scarlett was urging.

"trash. I'm asking if you are going to continue or not??”

"I'm going to continue."

It was a natural course of action because he became more interested in the Academy, which pursued truth and wisdom.

He moved the fork and knife smoothly.

He pierced the properly cooked steak with a fork, cut it into small pieces that wouldn't leave any seasoning on his lips, and put it into his mouth.

He felt the scent was a bit lacking, but he could feel Scarlett's subtle gaze.

“Why do you keep staring at me?”

“……”

Scarlett quietly licked her lower lip and looked at her younger brother.

Something had changed.

No, it wasn't just a little change.

There was an attitude full of elegance and dignity. A confidence that bordered on arrogance, beyond self-assurance.

What was going on? Even his way of speaking had completely changed.

She held her chin and sank into thought. What happened and what changed him so much?

She stared intently, lost in thought.

“What a mess,.”

Flan's voice suddenly pierced her ears with unexpected words, and their gazes met in mid-air.

"Is it proper for this family to hold their chin during a meal? I don't think so."

“… …Huh."

Scarlett couldn't believe it and burst out laughing.

Did he dare to point out Scarlett just now? It was not a mistake, but the boy was completely ignorant of his own subject.

"Trash. You shouldn't be so confident."

Scarlett nervously slammed a piece of paper on the table.

"The North was extremely cold."

She continued, adding gravity to her expression.

"We fought through everything, cutting down enemies, drowsiness, cold, anything. Why did we do it?"

Flan, frankly, wasn't interested in the reason behind it. 

However, since he was not polite enough to eat in front of a serious conversation, he quietly stopped the fork and knife.

“Judith.”

Scarlett pointed to the pattern on the chest of her uniform.

It was the image of a flaming sword.

"It was just for Judith's name. The status of our family must never fall. However..."

Scarlett gently pushed the raised paper with her fingertips, and Flan quietly looked at it.

[ F ]

It was the seal of Merhen Academy, the various subjects, and the fact that he had passed.

Many things were written on it, but in the end, the key was the rank.

“This is the data I received as soon as I returned. Did I come back for something like this?”

Flan didn't care. 

No matter how he was treated at the academy or how many abilities he showed, it didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was that the body of the boy now held the soul of the Archmage.

His indifferent expression and silence only angered Scarlett even more.

"Stop."

Putting down her knife and fork loudly, Scarlett said.

"What."

“Of course the academy. Withdraw from the Department of Magic and reapply to the Department of Swordsmanship."

“If not?”

“You will no longer be Judith.”

Scarlett's voice, burning like embers, continued. 

“You're a disgrace to the Judith family. Don't think I'll be as generous as my father. I won't sit idly by while you tarnish our family's reputation."

"Tarnish?"

"Yes, tarnish. The fact that you applied to the Department of Magic wearing the Knightly family's crest is laughable enough on its own."

"Hmm."

"And even your rank is at the bottom. Aren't you ashamed to bring shame to your family?"

Tension hangs in the air like a blade.

The maids standing at a distance around them look like they might start crying if touched.

Some of the maids clench their fists so tightly that their knuckles turn white out of fear.

However, Kaplan quietly raised the corner of his mouth.

"What if I won't tarnish it?"

“What do you mean by that?”

Scarlett glares at him, and her red eyes flare up silently.

"If I don't tarnish the family's reputation, what if I bring even greater glory?"

"Being the lowest rank... is that supposed to be a joke?"

The expression on Scarlet's face was the same as someone who once looked down on the powerless Kaplan a long time ago. 

So he was used to it.

After a while, Scarlett called for Flan again.

"Hey, Trash."

"What?"

"Do you know what the Knights' favorite word is?"

'Duel? Well, I don't really know, since I chose to walk the path of a magician.'

"Proof."

"Proof?"

"That's right, proof. You, who have not been able to prove anything until now, are you saying that you deserve to be honored?"

'Proof'

'Proof, huh?'

As Kaplan mulled over the word, he found himself chuckling without even realizing it.

Surprisingly, wasn't it the same word that he likes the most?

"I'll prove anything."

“Anything?”

"Yes. I just want to do magic."

After wiping her hands with a handkerchief, Scarlett rubbed her chin with her hand.

“Anything...”

It was the first time in her life that her younger brother showed such an attitude. She was a little curious about what the hell that confidence was.

So, she asked with a subtle expression.

"What if you can't prove it even if you're given time?"

“I will have to agree to your conditions. Whether I would be kicked out of the family or holding a sword.”

Scarlett hesitates for a while.

"Then let's do it like this."

And finally, she made up her mind.

"The deadline is until the mid-term evaluation. The rank should be raised to the highest level. Also, during your enrollment in the Department of Magic, you must never mention the Judith family."

Scarlett put her clasped hands on the table. On top of that, she propped her own chin.

"This is my last mercy. What do you say?"

"I'll accept it."

Flan nodded without any hesitation and continued.

“However, if I succeed in proving, don’t interfere in my affairs again.”

“If you succeed, I'll do so. But if I fail, Judith will treat trash like you...”

"I'll take my leave now."

Cutting her words Kaplan quietly stood up from his seat.

He had no reason to listen to Scarlett's story.  Because he didn't think he would fail.

A few memories from the past came to his mind.

There were always people demanding proof from him.

He provided numerous proofs, and the demand was always the same.

Do not interfere with him anymore.

That was enough. If they didn't interfere with him, he didn't care whether they resented or praised him.

“… I haven't finished eating yet, where are you going?!”

An enraged voice came from behind, but he didn't stop walking.

“I Shall go?”

It was time to go to the academy.

Once again, he was just going to prove himself.

◈◈◈

The academy uniform looked very awkward.

Anyway, I went outside the mansion and was just planning to walk there.

I remembered the path that I walked with Becky. So I was planning to walk the opposite way to the Academy.

“Young Master, I will take you there.”

A vehicle I'd never seen before was waiting with a servant.

It had four wheels and its appearance was not much different from a carriage.

The only difference was that there were no horses leading it.

'I've seen this before.'

On the first day, when I came to the mansion, the books I study while staying up all night clearly had an outline for this vehicle.

Its name was a car.

“Lady Scarlett told me to assist you until the midterm evaluation."

Anyway, my attention was solely on the car.

The power that moves the car without the force of a horse... I was just curious about that.

“Move this.”

"Yes? First, you have to get on..."

"Hurry up. It's okay even for a little bit."

After hesitating, the servant sat in the front seat of the car. After a while, the car made a roaring sound and rattled.

I examined it from various angles by moving it back and forth.

Not only the appearance, but I also felt the flow of mana inside ots trembling body by touching it.

'Four.'

There were four containers holding mana in the core.

They keep doing their roles tirelessly, intake, compression, explosion, and exhaust, repeating over and over again.

Has this world progressed in this way?

It was a strange feeling of satisfaction came over me. Perhaps it was a growing sense of competitiveness.

"Um... Young master! We should start moving soon...!"

"I'll get on now."

"Yes!"

I looked at the scenery out of the car window.

I couldn't see it because it was night when I was walking with Becky, but it was quite nice to see it outside under the brilliant sunlight.

A huge gate that could make you think it leads to another world, a path with plenty of lively flowers and trees, and countless buildings that couldn't be counted.

All of it is encompassed by the Marchen Academy.

... It was the place where I would prove myself in the future.

"Good work."

"Yes!"

After getting off, there were a lot of things I had to adapt to. First of all, it was a huge crowd.

Firstly, there were a lot of people; students, faculty members, and others... I was aware of it, but when I saw the crowd in person, it looked like a cloud.

I stood there, wondering where to start, when someone suddenly hit the back of my head.

"Hey!"

At the same time, a high-pitched voice reached my ears.

My face naturally contorted in response.

Even if I got used to everything else, it was especially hard to get used to the sensation of someone touching my body.

I turned around and identified the culprit.

“… …You."

A girl with long red hair that cascaded all the way down to her waist was staring at me.

“Flan!”

As expected, it was Becky.