The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 168

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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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Chapter 168
“Come on, you know! The Outpost Mages dispatched to the Kingdom are treated like trash—the dregs of the magical world!”
Well, that was true enough.
And it seemed there were quite a few Outpost Mages across the Continent who thought like Asha. Some had returned to the Kingdom, but most had stayed here.
“The Mage King wouldn’t bother controlling us with his power like that, would he? He’d just kill us outright if anything….”
“Hey, why are you saying such frightening things….”
“It’s frightening, but it’s the truth…. Besides, the Kingdom is currently in hiding anyway.”
Asha gripped my hand and spoke with unusual clarity.
“A crisis might be an opportunity! So during this time, let’s think hard about how we can destroy the Kingdom!”
Asha was right.
A crisis was just another word for opportunity.
‘Whoever gains strength and strikes first.’
That might be the deciding factor.
Regardless, that was separate from this.
The Emperor of Babylon moved swiftly at that timing.
He had enticed the Outpost Mages scattered across the Continent who refused to return to the Kingdom to come to Babylon instead.
‘That’s why the number of Outpost Mages in Babylon increased. Thanks to that, the supply of essential magical artifacts became stable….’
In short, self-sufficiency in magical artifacts.
I naturally took charge of material supplies through Father.
“Duke, this seems like quite a profitable business. What if we sold the Imperial Court Mana Stones along with Asha’s magical artifact designs (reviewed by Rubian)?”
“Make the profits substantial.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thanks to that, our Mana Stone Shop successfully attracted the Imperial Court as a major client, and sales are skyrocketing.
‘The staff were delighted, saying business is booming compared to when we supplied Mana Stones to the Mage Kingdom before.’
When Father came to despise the Mage Kingdom, he cut off all dealings, leaving us with nothing.
‘Hehe…. I’ll make sure to prosper.’
I smiled, thinking of my coffers steadily filling.
“Brrr, it’s cold.”
Well, that was that.
“Let’s go inside! My nose is about to freeze!”
I sniffled and stamped my feet, when Void and Kalid, who had been fiercely having a snowball fight nearby, quickly approached.
“Liam, big brother!”
I called over Liam, who had been wandering off somewhere in the distance.
“Sigh…. What a long adventure that was.”
“We were sledding, weren’t we?”
“We were sledding?”
“What exactly were we doing?”
Bickering.
Our house, always noisy and slightly strange as always.
‘When you think about it, nothing’s really been resolved.’
What I need to do never changes.
Just enjoy the present moment by doing what I can right now!
* * *
I hastily peeled off my snow-dusted coat and headed toward the second-floor Reception Room when I ran straight into Grandfather in the corridor.
“What’s this? All covered in snow, are we?”
“Grandfather!”
“My, my. Here comes a little snowball rolling right at me.”
Grandfather swiftly scooped me up and spun me around in circles.
“N-no, I’m getting too old to be picked up and twirled around like this…”
I’d be turning twelve soon.
I felt a bit embarrassed.
“Too old? Is there an age limit for hugging a little snowball? How old are you anyway!”
“Um… about… ten?”
When I spread both hands wide, Grandfather let out a loud, booming laugh.
“Oh my, oh my. So now that you’re eleven, you think you’re too grown-up for Grandfather’s arms, is that it~”
“Stop teasing me!”
How infuriating!
As always, when I smacked his immovable shoulder, Grandfather laughed wickedly.
“When you become a hundred-year-old snowball, then I’ll listen to you!”
Off we go! To the Reception Room!
The large old man trudged forward with heavy footsteps.
With each passing day, Grandfather seemed to grow healthier, as if aging in reverse—honestly, I had a feeling he’d keep holding me like this no matter how old I became.
“But I really don’t want to be a hundred-year-old snowball…”
“Hmm?”
That would be pretty gross…
“Just sit there quietly and get all crispy and warm!”
“Okay then.”
Grandfather set me down right in front of the Reception Room fireplace and headed back to the Annex. Apparently, a new sword design for Kalid had come in, or something like that.
The young boy sitting beside me, however, seemed utterly uninterested.
“It’s nice and warm.”
I sat with my knees drawn up on the plush carpet beneath the sofa, mesmerized by the flames.
We were being punished for playing outside in the dead of winter—we couldn’t leave until our body temperatures returned to normal.
“Come closer over here. It’s warmer on this side.”
Kalid patted the spot beside him. I shuffled over reluctantly and pressed myself against him.
Indeed… with his body heat added to the warmth, it was even cozier.
“Ah! I want to go practice sword techniques!”
Void swung a wooden sword through the air, complaining about when he’d picked it up.
“It was snowing outside. If we’d stayed out any longer, we would’ve turned into snowmen.”
The clear sky had darkened again, and heavy snow fell silently, swallowing every sound in the world as it accumulated softly on the ground.
“Tch. Guess I’ll just swing this wooden sword around here instead.”
Void swept the curtain aside and turned back.
“If Grandfather finds out, I’ll get scolded.”
I rattled off some halfhearted advice and sipped the cocoa I’d set beside me.
‘Peaceful.’
The air was warm, the carpet plush, and the cocoa delightfully sweet.
I was about to sprawl flat on the floor when I suddenly remembered something I needed to do—spotting Liam on a distant sofa, as always, his nose buried in a book.
‘I should look at this too.’
Rustling through my pockets, a scrap of parchment tumbled out.
A magical formula Father had brought back from Casalia last time.
‘Hmm, is this… a climate-related spell?’
Asha had copied it for me, but I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about such advanced magical formulas, so there were gaps throughout. It was my role to deduce and complete them.
‘It’s not a Fawhe true formula, but…’
I’d never seen magic like this before.
Piece by piece.
Knowledge accumulated like falling snow.
Not borrowed knowledge from Wizeria, but truly my own.
‘If this keeps up, won’t I not need Wizeria later?’
I thought playfully, chuckling to myself.
“What are you doing?”
Kalid beside me suddenly turned his head and asked. I mumbled with the pen in my mouth.
“Looking at a magical formula.”
“….”
“….”
A sudden silence fell between us.
Huh? What’s wrong?
Lifting my head at the strange atmosphere, my eyes met Liam’s, Void’s, and Kalid’s—all staring at me intently.
‘Oh… right.’
My brothers had only recently learned I was a mage…
Less than a month ago.
It was after I’d come to the Northern Region and things had settled somewhat.
The two of them wore expressions of utter shock, but that was all.
‘…Everyone’s like that.’
Adolf and Hazel too.
I could see them struggling to suppress their surprise and astonishment, though it was plainly visible.
‘They’re worried I might get hurt or feel awkward…’
Thanks to that, I could maintain things as they were before.
But this silence was somewhat embarrassing, so I laughed awkwardly and buried my head back in the parchment.
“Ha, ha ha… It’s quite unfamiliar, you see…”
That was when it happened.
“Whoa.”
“Let me see, little fairy.”
Liam, who had been sitting on the sofa, slumped down onto the floor and peered at my parchment fragment alongside me.
“Don’t say you don’t know. I’ll teach you everything. Stop whining that you don’t understand. Come on.”
“But this is a magical formula….”
“Then show off the knowledge you have and act superior about it 1,000 times.”
“Huh?”
The expression as he pushed up his glasses remained as coldly indifferent as always.
Just then, Void wedged himself in beside Kalid and plastered himself against my side.
“Moooove over…. Rubian! Do you need ink? Should I pass you paper? Are you going to write?”
“…Didn’t you say you were practicing with a wooden sword?”
“This is the kind of thing you’re supposed to watch from beside your older brothers!”
Really? A magical formula? Beside these little knight brats?
‘First time hearing that….’
But somehow, it felt reassuring.
“Fine. I’ll show you my abilities!”
I laughed playfully and sprawled belly-down across the cushion. Liam and Void immediately pressed themselves against my sides.
Kalid got pushed back a bit…. But he still sat nearby with his arms crossed, watching.
“There are so many fascinating spirals. Tell me quickly, fairy.”
“Well then, look at this. This is….”
Crackle, pop. With the sound of sparks from the fireplace as background music, I, a mage, acted a little superior.
* * *
“Hey, if you all cling like this, I can’t see anything!”
Finally, Rubian exploded.
“My small and adorable little sister.”
Liam pulled Rubian, who was sprawled beside him, into a tight embrace.
“I’m 12 years old!”
A soft whimper.
“Age isn’t something only you get to have, you know?”
Void didn’t back down either.
“Ugh, how annoying! Look at this! The magical formula! You said you were curious!”
In truth, my brothers had no interest in magical formulas whatsoever.
“Rubian, what did you say?”
How could I describe the feeling I had at that moment?
“…So you really were on a battlefield.”
For the first time, Liam understood the meaning of the saying that anger could make one’s blood run cold.

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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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