Chapter 5 Meaning Can Kill You
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In the head chamber of the Seyfried estate, Hyde Seyfried sat in his high-backed chair, hands folded on the desk’s polished surface. The faint scent of parchment and old oak hung in the air as his chief butler, Orphen, stood before him delivering the day’s report.
”Hmm… you say Shin has changed? My son—the one who couldn’t go a day without complaints or mischief?”
”Yes, Hyde-sama,” Orphen replied with conviction. “He is almost a different person. The young master now devotes himself to swordsmanship, magic, the arts, and his studies—all of which he once avoided. He tends to Alexia-sama and Layla-sama with remarkable care. It’s as though I’m watching the madam in her youth. His demeanor has become saintly.”
Hyde studied the butler. Orphen’s words carried heat, sincerity—a rare thing from the stoic man. Could his son truly have changed that much?
”I find it hard to believe,” Hyde murmured. “My wife and I have been away too often on duties for the crown, and our neglect allowed the children too much freedom. The boy became known as a spoiled brat, even a menace.” He exhaled, eyes distant. “Perhaps it’s my own wild youth catching up to me. Were it not for my wife, I’d never have straightened out myself. But people don’t change so easily.”
”Yet it is the truth, my lord. Shin-sama holds great talent—especially in swordsmanship. It would not be an exaggeration to call it divine. I humbly suggest we let him enroll in Alys Magic Academy, the same as Layla-sama. As a special scholar, perhaps?”
”Talent, you say?” Hyde gave a wry smile. “You forget, Shin is arrogant and lazy. The sort who draws trouble like flies. It’s thanks to his antics that the nobles of the capital sent Alexia-sama all the way to this remote domain—to ‘learn humility’ beside my so-called delinquent son.”
Being a frontier duke was no easy position. Trusted by royalty yet burdened with their problems, Hyde had long accepted the role as the price of maintaining the Regain Kingdom’s fragile order.
Still, Orphen’s fervor didn’t waver. “Even so, my lord, there has been no trouble since. Young Shin-sama and Alexia-sama are as close as true siblings. Perhaps we could entrust him with the duty of guarding both Alexia-sama and Layla-sama while he studies at the academy?”
Hyde sighed. “Persistent as ever, Orphen. Shin is far from reliable.”
And yet… it was true that the Sirius Style’s master, once called the Demon of the Blade, had praised Shin’s technique. Hyde could not easily dismiss that.
The duke had taken Alexia and Layla into his lands at the Regain King’s request, a decision shadowed by worry—chiefly, his troublesome sons. But now one of them, Shin, seemed reborn. That was no small thing.
He tapped his finger on the desk. “At Alys Magic Academy, guards are forbidden. Should anything happen, they’ll have to fend for themselves. Are you suggesting I entrust the safety of royal bloodlines to my son?”
”Yes, my lord. And if you cannot approve, I will personally send a letter of recommendation to the academy,” Orphen said with a bow.
Hyde’s gaze softened. The logic held. If what Orphen claimed was true—if Shin had truly become like his mother, Christina—then perhaps this was the right path.
”Alys Magic Academy is a garden in a cage,” he muttered. “It shelters not only prodigies but vipers. Still… perhaps Shin will manage.”
He looked up at the butler. “Very well. I permit Shin to enroll.”
Orphen’s eyes widened. “My deepest thanks, Hyde-sama!”
”But,” Hyde added, “there will be no special treatment. He’ll take the entrance exam like anyone else. If he passes, he may attend. Until then, you will train him rigorously—yourself.”
Orphen straightened. “Yes, my lord! I, Orphen the Sword Demon, will forge him into a first-class warrior, even if I must turn my heart to steel!”
Hyde nodded. “Good. I expect great things.”
”Yes, sir! Now if you’ll excuse me.”
The heavy door shut with a solid thud.
Hyde leaned back, thoughtful. If Shin truly had changed… once summer arrived, his other children—Sagil and the daughters studying abroad—would return. Should Shin’s talent surpass theirs, his place within the family might very well shift.
He chuckled softly. “To think, Alexia-sama, who once despised him, now spends every day at his side. When the Regain King hears of this, he’ll be shocked indeed.”
Smiling at the image of his old friend’s scowling face, Hyde allowed himself a quiet laugh.
* * *
(Training Hall of the Seyfried Estate)
”Shin-sama! At that speed, you’ll never fell an ancient dragon!” Orphen bellowed.
”Wait, wait—Orphen-san! I can’t even see your swings! I can’t dodge that—Guh! Ughhh!”
Who in their right mind fights ancient dragons?!
The wooden sword crashed into Shin’s right shoulder with a resounding crack. The pain was sharp enough to make his vision blur. Orphen’s full-force strike—good gods, that hurt.
What on earth happened to Orphen-san? When did his training turn into full-blown Spartan torture? Bring back the easygoing butler who’d melt with a little flattery!
”Shin-sama! Are you all right?”
”Shin-kun, stay with us!”
Alexia and Layla’s worried faces swam into view. Before I could answer, another voice cut through the air.
”Ah, that much? No problem-ssu! That brat wouldn’t die from something like this-ssu. After all, that brat’s mother was the greatest saint of holy magic-ssu! Now, you two—back to training-ssu! Catch up, surpass him-ssu!”
That would be my magic tutor, Master Raichi—the one who keeps calling me a ‘brat’ like it’s my official title.
Raichi was once an elite instructor at Alys Magic Academy, before being expelled for… well, let’s just say creative misconduct. Embezzlement, harassment, unsanctioned spell experiments—they broke every rule in the book and probably wrote a few new ones while drunk.
So why is they my tutor? Because Father, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the best cure for a delinquent son was another delinquent. Pit one problem child against another, and maybe they’d cancel out.
Maybe he thought, multiply minus by minus and you get plus, right? Congratulations, Father. You actually got it right.
In no time, I mastered the basics of magic under their guidance, blending their reckless lessons with my past-life knowledge from games and martial breathing techniques. Now I can handle most basic elemental spells—and, frankly, Raichi-sensei’s been obsolete ever since.
Still, I owe them. Without them, and without my memories of science, I couldn’t have adapted magic so easily. Magic in this world is like physics that forgot to grow up.
Anyway—time to fix what Orphen broke.
”…Heal… there. All good. Though my shoulder’s still twitching like crazy.”
Raichi gave an exaggerated sigh. “Tch… still, you’re my most brilliant student! None of the others ever learned that fast. You make your poor teacher useless, Shin~!”
Yeah, the drunken hag’s been sulky ever since they realized my healing magic outstripped theirs. If Father finds out, they’ll be out of a job again. Maybe that’s why they’re pretending to be mad.
”Shin-sama!” Orphen’s voice boomed. “Time is short. In the remaining seven months before your entrance, I shall impart upon you every secret of the Sirius Style!”
Excuse me? What is this ‘I’ll teach you everything’ energy? I just wanted to learn enough swordsmanship to survive, maybe run away and live a slow life in the countryside.
”Ah—Orphen-san, listen. I’m planning to live quietly once I can handle myself with a sword. That’s all.”
”What are you saying, Shin-sama?! You must become strong—strong enough to protect Alexia-sama and Layla-sama! Train to the extreme, until even this old man can rest easy! Prepare yourself!”
Thud—creak—BOOM!
① Orphen-san thrust his wooden sword straight into my gut without mercy.
② The impact flung me against the training hall wall.
③ I spat a fountain of blood and instantly cast healing spells on myself just to stay alive.
”Guh—! Heal! Heal, heal, heal! I don’t want to die—not from something this stupid!”
”Magnificent, Shin-sama! Truly worthy of the Seyfried name!”
For some reason, Orphen was crying and smiling at the same time, praising me like I’d just ascended to sainthood. How am I supposed to complain when he looks like that?
And so, day after day, I danced on the edge of death—using healing magic to patch myself up, only to get knocked down again. Each time, my body grew tougher. My mana swelled beyond measure. My life force turned monstrous—roach-like, even. I mastered the Sirius Style, awakened absurd recovery magic, and learned firsthand that humans really do evolve when cornered.
My only comfort was Alexia and little Layla, who tended to me every evening with gentle hands and worried smiles. They’d scold me for overdoing it, then cheer me up with soft words. Honestly… I can’t thank them enough.
Lately, those two have been getting closer by the day. Maybe it’s finally time to set my plan in motion—the Operation: Make Alexia and Layla a Couple campaign.
Yes. In this world too, those two will become a perfect yuri pair, hopelessly in love with each other—and so smitten they’ll have no room left to think about me.
Notes:
• Hyde – The Duke of the frontier, Shin’s father. He is a busy noble trusted by the Regain King and burdened with difficult assignments. He is initially skeptical of Shin’s sudden “saintly” change, attributing Shin’s past mischief to neglect and his “wild youth.”
• Orphen – The Seyfried family’s head butler and Shin’s swordsmanship mentor. He is a retired legend—the Demon Knight of the Kingdom and a former Holy Knight. He agreed to train Shin only after the child abandoned his pride and groveled.
• Layla – A maid-in-training for the Seyfried family. She is observing Shin’s dramatic change in behavior after the incident with Alexia.
• Raichi – Shin’s magic tutor. A former elite instructor at Alys Magic Academy, expelled for “creative misconduct” (embezzlement, harassment, etc.). A reckless mentor whose unorthodox methods, combined with Shin’s knowledge, fast-tracked his magic mastery.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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