Chapter 63
“Shut up. Didn’t you hear me?”
“Ah, you’re full of shit again. At least try to relax your face. Why are you sitting there scowling and glaring at the youngest? Oh, I heard a rumor that your older brother’s son disowned you—is that true?”
Salame’s light words, laced with amusement, made Klein’s eyes twitch wide open once.
He clicked his tongue roughly, clearly irritated.
“Don’t you have any intention of watching that mouth of yours? You’ve been running it nonstop since you were a kid—nothing’s changed. So damn annoying.”
“Oh please, isn’t it annoying to come to a meeting with a face like you just ate shit and glare at the youngest?”
“Since when did you start acting like the big sister and mouthing off? You old spinster who’ll die alone.”
“Hey now, you think you’re any better, you divorced loner disowned by your own nephew? Just fix that personality of yours. Don’t you know why you’re living alone even after getting married?”
As their conversation grew increasingly heated, Rudbride let out a long sigh and pressed a hand to his forehead.
They’d always bickered like this since the old days, so it wasn’t anything new, but today the barbs were sharper and more cutting than usual.
“Sorry, but…”
Kiriel, who had been silent until then, flipped open his pocket watch to check the time, then spoke in a languid tone with an expressionless face.
“It’s two hours until dinner, so I’d like to wrap this up quickly. Could one of you either leave… or shut up?”
At Kiriel’s drawling voice, completely devoid of inflection, both of their gazes snapped toward him.
“Listen to this brat’s attitude.”
“Tch, tell me about it.”
As the two shot back at him, Kiriel slowly lowered his gaze, still expressionless, then crossed his legs and opened his mouth again.
“You gonna keep yapping like a rag that hasn’t been washed in ages, big sis, and you, big bro who got dumped by your one and only son? Even if a couple of idiots like you try to harmonize, it’ll just be noise—so shut up.”
The moment the two, incensed by Kiriel’s words, opened their mouths to retort—
Bam!
Rudbride slammed his fist down hard on the marble table. The table shook violently.
“Shut your mouths, you unfilial brats who don’t even respect your elders!”
At Rudbride’s fierce roar, the three fell silent.
Fatigue was evident on the old man’s face as he rubbed his forehead like his head ached.
“How do you all manage to fight every time you meet? Huh? Is that all you know how to do, you lot! How can you fight every damn day! After seeing something as cute and wiggly as Bunny, looking at you repulsive fools makes my head throb. So just shut it!”
“My daughter is pretty cute and wiggly, isn’t she?”
When Kiriel slyly interjected, Rudbride’s cold gaze flicked toward him.
Kiriel shrugged indifferently.
“Ha, anyway… about the ancient elves. I heard you found the entrance during the preliminary survey—is that right? Klein.”
“Yes. As I said, it’s sealed with powerful magic, so it’d be hard to break without the Magic Tower’s cooperation. We just confirmed the location and pulled back.”
“According to the deciphered ancient texts, the ancient elves were quite proficient in magic.”
“……”
Kiriel turned his head away with a disinterested expression, quietly listening as the conversation continued.
“The issue is whether to request their cooperation or not. If we do, they’ll definitely demand a share if any ancient artifacts or elves are found.”
At Rudbride’s words, Klein crossed his arms, narrowed his eyes, and bared his teeth in a savage grin.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just leave it sealed forever than ask those bastards for help?”
“But it’s ancient artifacts—we should dig anyway, right? Who knows what might turn up.”
Klein and Salame’s reactions couldn’t have been more different.
Rudbride sighed, crossed his arms, and turned to look at Kiriel.
With their opinions split, it was a signal for the remaining one to give his take.
Whether Kiriel understood that or not, he met the gaze and let out a short “Ah.”
Rudbride watched him with bated breath and hidden expectations, and Kiriel finally spoke.
“One hour and thirty minutes.”
“What?”
But what came out of Kiriel’s mouth was a completely out-of-context remark that shattered all his expectations.
“Time. We have one hour and thirty minutes left. I have a prior engagement, so I’ll leave when it’s time.”
Rudbride’s face hardened sharply at Kiriel’s curt words, and he soon let out a long sigh.
His youngest son had always been difficult to deal with. No one knew what he was thinking, and he’d only ever listened to Dios.
After Dios died, he’d been so fragile that the slightest touch might shatter him. Then he adopted a child, and things had changed a little.
He used to hole up in his room all the time, but now he was seen outside more often. He’d always had no expression whatsoever, yet sometimes he even smiled at the child.
He’d acted like he had no concept of consideration for others, but hadn’t he even told that kind white lie for the child’s sake, about a dragon hatching from that little egg?
And that wasn’t all. Though reluctant, he was showing up to meetings, and it seemed he was even eating meals together with her.
To anyone else, it might seem like trivial, minor changes, but to Rudbride, they felt like tremendous progress.
“What do you think we should do?”
At Rudbride’s question, Kiriel looked at him silently.
But instead of answering, Kiriel crossed his arms and slowly turned his head away.
Rudbride sighed and clicked his tongue. In truth, Kiriel even showing up was practically a miracle.
‘For now, maybe have Klein lead a survey without their cooperation and take the initiative ourselves.’
Just as Rudbride concluded that expecting an answer from Kiriel was futile and opened his mouth to speak again—
“Bunny…”
The three gazes turned at Kiriel’s sudden words.
Kiriel’s calm eyes met Klein’s.
“She said not to send Big Bro by himself.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden? Why’s Bunny coming up now?”
Rudbride frowned at the abrupt remark from the hitherto silent Kiriel.
“Bunny told me this morning. Elves spend a lot of time in the dark, so they’ll be filthy. It’d be better if everyone went together.”
As puzzled looks poured his way, Kiriel furrowed his brow and added more.
“Daddy! Like this, elfs. They’re all black and dirty. They were really tired. So lots of people gotta go, ‘cause if only Sword-Sea Uncle goes, it won’t work.”
“What? What’s that mean, Bunny?”
“Sword-Sea Uncle is bad. So no greed.”
“Who’d say something like…”
Eek!
Bunny’s body jolted in surprise.
“B-Bunny’s f-fwuffy dwagon… no, phoenix!”
Snap.
Bunny thrust the phoenix forward and squeezed her eyes shut, shouting.
Click, click, click.
Levon pressed the shutter with his usual terrifyingly expressionless face.
Kiriel blinked once with a displeased look, shaking off the unnecessary image that came to mind.
Rudbride scowled.
“You’re saying my granddaughter said that?”
“My daughter said it.”
Rudbride’s eyebrow twitched once.
“……Well, the child does have some unusual traits. Like that time with the plague… and I heard you invested based on her words a couple times before.”
At Rudbride’s words, Kiriel nodded slightly askew in his crossed-arm posture, as if he didn’t much like talking about it.
“Kiriel, has the child said things like this often?”
Rudbride narrowed his eyes and asked after a brief silence.
