I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Cousin Joker Laid a Flower Path, and a Hero Emerged — Episode 52
[Looks like he got the timing just right.]
[That’s impressive!]
At the sound of Dein’s laughter—successful from his prank—Jake and his brother turned their heads, and they saw Alex rising with a gentle shake of his head.
“Uncle, where are you going?”
“The Brodell Count Family sent someone with an invitation. They want us to join them for dinner.”
At that, Leo remembered the time he’d received an invitation at the Caldis Lordship.
“Like when we went to Arden’s place?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow!”
Alex patted Leo’s head lightly as his eyes sparkled, then opened the door to find a tavern attendant waiting.
Alex followed the attendant down to the first floor.
The first floor was a dining hall, as in most taverns, and though there were quite a few people, it was remarkably quiet.
A well-dressed man stood near the entrance.
At first glance, his sharp bearing made him look like a butler even from a distance.
[He reminds me of Norton from the Caldis Viscountcy.]
[Do they take butler lessons in groups or something?]
Indeed.
The proper butlers Alex had seen in the ‘Future’ all had that same air about them.
“Apologies for the late hour, Mage Alex.”
The butler bowed respectfully upon seeing Alex and held out the invitation in his hand.
Checking the date, it was for tomorrow.
“Which guests will be attending the dinner?”
“Young Master Klaus and Miss Meilin are expected to attend.”
[So the second son isn’t coming.]
[I was curious to see him, too.]
Still, having no suspicious people present when Leo would be joining them might actually be better.
“I’ll arrange for a carriage to pick you up tomorrow.”
“Yes. We’ll be waiting.”
The butler who had delivered the invitation left, and Alex returned to his room on the second floor.
“Uncle, did you get the invitation?”
“Yes, here.”
“Wow!”
Leo, having received the invitation, quickly showed it to Jake and Milo as well.
“Wow…!”
The brothers, who never dreamed they’d see a noble’s invitation, examined it with astonished expressions.
“Milo, doesn’t this smell like flowers to you?”
“You’re right. How does paper give off a flower scent?”
“Incredible! The Caldis Viscountcy’s invitation didn’t smell like this!”
While the brothers and Leo were examining the invitation.
Alex sat across from Dein.
“You were invited to the Caldis Viscountcy too, weren’t you?”
“Leo told you about that?”
“Yeah. He went on excitedly about eating delicious food, climbing the stone tower to see the lordship, and even watching Fireworks Magic.”
[I can practically picture it.]
Just as Ibek had said.
The image of Leo, his cheeks flushed with enthusiasm, waving his arms about animatedly as he talked, came to mind, and Alex found himself smiling without thinking.
“Uncle! Can you show us the Fireworks Magic?”
Hearing Dein’s request, Leo approached with gleaming eyes and asked. His brother beside him looked at Alex with eager anticipation.
At that, Alex smiled and nodded.
It wasn’t particularly difficult, after all,
“Then how about I show you as a celebration of Milo and Jake reuniting?”
For today was a joyful day—the day the separated brothers were reunited.
“Wow! Uncle’s the best!”
“Thank you!”
“Thanks, Uncle Alex!”
At that, Leo and the brothers broke into wide smiles.
“But I don’t have much material left, so I won’t be able to do it as long as last time.”
The powders he’d used at the Lake House Tavern had nearly run out.
[I’ll need to restock later.]
So I can show it to Leo whenever he wants to see it.
“That’s fine!”
“That’s right!”
Leo and his brother nodded eagerly.
“Then I should take a look too.”
Dein, eyes bright with interest, followed Alex toward the tavern’s back courtyard.
The sun had already set completely, so only a few torches lit the stable.
“You can’t cross over here.”
“Got it!”
“Yes!”
Alex, who’d drawn a safety line on the ground like before, cast his spell.
“Fire.”
Several small flames bloomed in the air.
“…!”
Jake, seeing magic for the first time, gasped in surprise, and Milo, who’d only ever witnessed healing magic, gaped.
[Leo finds it fascinating even after seeing it so many times.]
Leo, who watched Alex practice magic every day, was no exception—his sky-blue eyes sparkled with wonder.
Alex, smiling softly, sprinkled the remaining copper powder and herbal powder over the small flames.
Colorful sparks bloomed and danced through the air.
“! Wow, amazing!”
“Wow! It’s so pretty!”
“Oh, that’s impressive!”
Not only Leo’s brother and Dein, seeing it for the first time, but even Leo, watching for the second time, cried out in delight.
Whoosh—whoosh—
The beautiful flames created long tails, dancing and twirling in the empty air.
Leo and his brother watched the fireworks as if enchanted, their mouths hanging open.
But as Alex had said, the powder didn’t last long, and the fireworks display soon faded.
“That was really cool, Uncle!”
“It really was! You’re so amazing!”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before!”
Still, Leo and his brother had loved every moment.
So excited were they that as they climbed back to the second floor, they waved their hands and arms about, mimicking how the sparks had moved.
Dein, who’d followed them upstairs, looked just as intrigued.
“Can you teach me how you get those colors? I think it’d be useful for signaling. Of course, I’ll pay you for it.”
Alex had no intention of taking money—he planned to teach Dein freely.
If things went well for the Crow Information Guild and Dein, Leo’s future would be easier too.
[Forget payment,]
Didn’t Ibek think the same way?
[What about that list of good restaurants in the Royal Capital?]
[The ones they recommended turned out great!]
Right.
I was a fool to expect anything.
Then the silver coins Milo had given him came to mind.
“In exchange, look into job opportunities for the people who were kidnapped.”
“? Job opportunities for them?”
“They sent money through Milo—to thank us for rescuing them.”
“Oh. They seem like decent people. Though the consolation payment won’t be much.”
Dein nodded readily.
“That much is easy enough.”
With that, Alex explained which herbal powders produced which colored sparks.
Dein listened intently, his eyes gleaming.

* * *
The next morning.
After breakfast, Alex left the tavern with Leo to find a house where Jake and his brother could stay.
“So, the first place we’re looking at has one big advantage—it’s close to the Market. You can go shopping for supplies anytime!”
For some reason, Dein had come along too.
[Isn’t he supposed to be looking for his sister?]
[And we have that job to handle anyway.]
Alex found it odd enough to ask Dein about it.
“If I had my way, I’d head east right now myself.”
Dein followed Leo and his brother, who strode eagerly toward the house they’d come to inspect for the first time.
“But I’m a Branch Chief. I can’t just abandon my jurisdiction whenever I feel like it.”
[Ah.]
[So he was an office worker too!]
“Still, if I’d stayed at the guild doing nothing, Ben would’ve just told me to leave anyway. So I figured I might as well.”
Dein scratched his chin as he spoke.
“Besides, the guild members are still gathering information on your request. It’s not my time to step in yet.”
“Fair enough.”
Alex nodded.
He knew well enough that when it came to information, it was best to leave matters in Dein’s hands.
Setting the request aside for now.
Alex checked the house where Jake and Milo would be staying.
[It looks decent enough, probably because the information guild vetted these places.]
“I’ve made sure the landlords are all good people, so there shouldn’t be any trouble.”
Among them, Milo seemed to have taken a liking to the third house they’d seen.
It was set back a bit from the market, but not so far as to be inconvenient, and there was a Basic School nearby where children could learn to read and write.
“What’s a Basic School, Uncle?”
[There’s a school here too?]
[Does that mean there’s an academy as well?]
Leo looked up at Alex with curiosity in his eyes. Ibek’s voice carried the same wonder.
Neither Belo Village nor Caldis Lordship, even back when it was Alex’s domain, had a Basic School yet.
‘It’ll come later.’
The Basic School had appeared for the first time once the new dungeon—the land Alex had received—came into being.
Naturally, Jake, who had come from a frontier village, knew nothing of Basic Schools either.
“Brother, do you know what a Basic School is?”
Milo hadn’t known originally, but he’d learned about it from listening to the adults talk in the Underground Space.
Some had come here precisely because they wanted to earn enough money to send their children to the Royal Capital Academy after they’d excelled at the Basic School.
Alex explained with a smile.
“It’s a place where they teach children letters and arithmetic.”
“I see!”
A place for children.
Leo, who’d been learning his letters from his uncle, grew curious about this place called a Basic School.
“Won’t it cost a lot of money?”
Jake worried about the expense first.
“It’s not that expensive. And once you learn, it’ll be easier to find work when you’re older.”
At Dein’s words, Jake’s eyes brightened. If that was the case, he definitely wanted to go.
Milo was pleased with this house too.
It was close to the shop where he planned to work, and close to the school Jake would attend.
[Work nearby, school nearby!]
[This place is perfect!]
[A place like this is worth buying!]
Truly, Ibek showed the real estate obsession typical of a Korean.
And so Milo and Jake’s residence was decided.
They signed the contract that same day.
It seemed best to do so while Alex and Dein were both present.
“There’s not much left now.”
Once Milo paid the rent, there were only a few Silver Coins remaining, and he felt the loss. But he soon recovered his spirits.
With work ahead of him, he could earn money by working hard.
“Now let’s go buy bedding and cooking utensils. Making your own food is cheaper than buying it.”
“Yes!”
Alex took Leo, his brother, and Dein through the Market, helping them purchase daily necessities.
“This vegetable doesn’t rot easily, so you can eat it for a long time. And if you buy a flowerpot and grow this, you can save on food costs. It grows incredibly well if you just give it enough sunlight.”
Alex, a farmer who’d raised a one-year-old baby on his own since he was fifteen, and
“This shop’s a bit cheaper. That one sells poor-quality meat, so don’t bother going there. And this place gets good stock regularly, so check in sometimes.”
Dein’s advice, as Branch Chief of the Crow Information Guild, was perfectly sound.
“Yes! I’ll do that. Thank you!”
“I want to grow the flowerpot, Brother!”
Of course, Milo paid for everything.
The brothers would have to make their own way from now on, and too much help would only hinder their independence.
And so the shopping came to an end.
Alex and Dein helped Jake carry everything back to the house and even assisted with the cleanup.
“Jake! Where should we put this?”
“Hmm. Here?”
Leo and Jake wandered about carrying smaller items, debating where each thing belonged.
“All done!”
The organizing was finished.
Though still somewhat haphazard, it was livable enough to move in tonight.
“I suppose we should head out soon.”
Alex glanced at the sky as he spoke.
They’d received an invitation to the Brodell Count Family this evening, so they needed to go to the tavern and wait for the carriage that would fetch them.
“Then I should be going as well.”
Alex, Leo, and Dein prepared to leave.
“Jake, take care of yourself. I’ll come by often before we leave the Lordship!”
“Sniff. Yes! You better!”
The two boys, having grown close despite only knowing each other for a few days, were already getting teary-eyed—and they weren’t even parting permanently.
“I’m truly grateful. Truly, truly grateful.”
He didn’t know how to express this gratitude adequately.
Thanks to Alex and Dein, he’d escaped safely from that hellish underground space, reunited with his younger brother, and managed to rent such a decent house.
He could dream of a future now.
“From now on, don’t do anything dangerous. You have your brother to think about.”
Dein added to Alex’s words.
“If any problems arise, come to me.”
Watching the two brothers made him think of his own sister and younger brother. He was proud of Jake for coming all this way to the Lordship to search for him.
“Yes. Thank you so much!”
Milo nodded quickly, but he’d already resolved not to be a burden to them anymore.
The help he’d already received was more than enough.
“Well, we’re off! Jake! Milo!”
“Go safely! Leo! Uncle Alex! Uncle Dein! I’m really grateful!”
“Thank you so much! I’ll never forget this kindness for as long as I live!”
Leo, holding Alex’s hand as they grew distant, waved his arm vigorously.
Jake and Milo continued waving until the three of them vanished from sight.
At last.
Only when no one remained visible did the brothers finally step back into what had become “our home.”
Since their parents died, they’d lived just the two of them—and now, after spending only a few days with those people, a quiet loneliness settled in.
Smack!
Milo lightly tapped his cheeks with both palms.
‘I have to be strong!’
Leo had mentioned it—Alex was only twenty. Just two years older than himself.
‘Of course, for his age, he was remarkably dependable and mature.’
In any case.
He wanted to take care of his brother well, even if he couldn’t be quite like Alex.
“Should we get dinner ready?”
“Yes!”
Jake, who’d been down ever since Leo left, nodded with a smile on his face.
The weeping guild member of the Crow Information Guild who’d lost his “future” older brother and delivered the Guild Master Dein’s notification letter had vanished,
“What do you want to eat, big brother?”
“Is there anything you’re craving?”
“Meat!”
Only a thirteen-year-old boy named Jake, anticipating the days to come alongside his older brother, remained here.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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