The Academy’s Crude Pink-Haired Martial Artist

Kerian Eustetia.

He is the younger brother of Turius Eustetia, the head of the Eustetia family and my father, as well as the Nameless Captain.

The term “younger brother” is tied to a very complicated backstory. To summarize it briefly…

It is said that a lot of blood was shed when my father ascended to the position of head of the family.

And most of that blood was reportedly caused by Uncle Kerian and my father.

The direct line and the side branch.

And without a care for the long-standing council, they wiped them all out.

Of course, it wasn’t out of sheer ambition for the position; my father and Kerian didn’t commit murder for ugly desires.

It was merely a matter of pruning the rotten parts of the cherry blossom tree.

One by one.

After removing the rotten bits, what remained were the side branch that had given up succession, Kerian, and my father.

And Kerian too stepped down from that position.

Kerian never desired the position of head of the family.

Did he feel confident with the sword but not with the qualities of a head of the family?

Or was it that he couldn’t defeat my father?

I can’t know for sure, as such details aren’t in the history of Eustetia, but I think it’s likely the former.

Perhaps he thought the title of head of the family never suited him from the very beginning.

It definitely didn’t seem to fit him, and I think it wouldn’t have matched his personality either.

Superficially, one might think he could do quite well.

With light pink hair and eyes.

A gentle personality and those mysterious half-closed eyes.

Always smiling, yet not a single flaw in sight.

The large build and elongated lines unique to the Eustetia family.

And… while he might not look as charming as my previous life…

He still looked quite good and could speak well.

His human relationships seemed perfectly fine, and if you listened closely, all you’d hear were praises about him.

Even among the household staff of the main family, there were women who secretly admired him, and he attracted quite a bit of attention as he walked down the streets.

Yet he remained unmarried and gave up the position of head of the family.

The reason was simple.

“Because I’d get a weakness.”

He was a born hunting dog.

A relentless scent of blood oozing from his very being, the hunting dog of Eustetia.

And he was the Nameless Captain.

Yet here he was.

In front of a crowd of nobles who feared him, even the royalty found it hard to treat him carelessly—Kerian was—

“Ellie!”

Right now, he was at the Academy.

“…Uncle?”

I heard the knight order was coming.

What was Kerian doing here?

I blinked and stared blankly at him as he approached.

“I was told you weren’t hurt, but seeing you like this puts my mind at ease.”

With a bright smile, Kerian squatted down and began to ruffle my hair.

Even though he was squatting, we were still at eye level.

“Ugh…”

Feeling a strange sense of defeat, I hurriedly tried to fix my disheveled hair and looked around.

“What about the knight order?”

“Ahaha… The knight order will be coming later tonight.”

“I see…? Then why did you come here, Uncle?”

Noticing the surrounding gaze, Kerian quickly shut his mouth and got back up.

“I think it would be better to talk in the reception room.”

“Hmm… Okay.”

“Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll treat you now that I’m here.”

“Um… then, a mint chocolate latte. I want it iced.”

Kerian’s expression turned bizarre.

“Ellie, you… drink that kind of stuff?”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with mint chocolate latte?”

“It tastes like a mix between chocolate and toothpaste.”

“Toothpaste and mint are completely different.”

“What? Ahaha! So, you’re a girl after all.”

“…Not really.”

Once again, Kerian’s hand ruffled my hair.

“Right. Then I’ll go buy it, so you wait in the reception room.”

I glanced up at the grinning Kerian.

How old was he again?

I wasn’t sure, but I thought he was in his early-mid 30s.

“Uncle, do you know how to order at the kiosk?”

“Kiosk?”

Kerian’s expression became odd.

“Yes. This place is both a restaurant and café, and you have to order through a kiosk.”

After a moment of silence, Kerian smiled as usual.

“That’s troublesome. I’m no good at that.”

“…Really? Should I help you if you don’t know how?”

“I’d appreciate that.”

At that moment, the corners of Kerian’s mouth trembled.

Somewhere… I sensed something untrustworthy.

“…You’re lying.”

“Uh, what?”

“You know how to order at the kiosk.”

“Ah, no, I don’t?”

“Quit lying.”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at Kerian.

After a moment, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“Wow… Ellie, your intuition has become quite sharp… a bit upsetting but also proud…”

“It’s not something to be proud of… Why are you lying?”

“I figured you looked like you wanted to help. Ahaha… Sorry, sorry.”

“…Forget it.”

“Were you worried for me? Afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of others? How considerate of you, our Ellie.”

“…That’s not it.”

Kerian chuckled and opened the door to the reception room, heading toward the Academy café.

I… felt a sense of defeat for some unexplainable reason as I arranged my tangled hair.

…Wait, there’s no need to feel defeated!

I can handle the kiosk now, though I’m a little slow at it.

In fact, I even sent a message through a device today.

So… no need for defeat. Right.

*

Chooooop—

As I quenched my thirst with the mint chocolate Kerian bought for me, I glanced sideways at him, who was still inquiring about my wellbeing, health status, and what had happened at the Academy.

I wasn’t over my anger yet.

How dare he tease me like that?

“Still, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Uncle. How about letting go of the anger?”

Unable to withstand my glare, Kerian offered me a familiar candy with a slightly troubled smile.

“This is candy I brought from the North. Remember? The Kaiyer candy you had before.”

The name Kaiyer still didn’t roll off my tongue easily, but I certainly remembered the candy brought from the North.

It was the candy Eurasia praised highly, claiming it was mouthwatering.

I hadn’t been overly fond of sweets back then and had given her all but one, but now seeing it after a long time brought back fond memories.

Yet, accepting candy now seemed like I would be appeased with just sugar for my anger!

But refusing it felt wrong, especially since Eurasia adored it… um…

Anyway, I’m the type who doesn’t refuse presents.

I reached out and pulled the glass jar filled with Kaiyer candy towards me.

It was a larger jar than the one I’d gotten before.

Clink, clink— I shook the jar a few times and unfurrowed my previously scrunched brows.

“…It’s not because of the candy that I feel better. I wasn’t even that mad in the first place.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Really.”

Kerian nodded with a smile still plastered on his face.

He seemed… quite annoying.

What could I do… No matter how mature I wanted to act, in Kerian’s eyes, I was just a 17-year-old kid.

I sighed and brought up the topic I had been putting off.

“So… what brought you here, Uncle?”

“I came because I was worried about Ellie.”

At that answer, my gaze was drawn to the medal on Kerian’s right chest.

A pure white mask.

A simple, featureless mask shaped like a human face.

The symbol of the Nameless.

Seeing that made me look back at Kerian.

He was smiling bitterly.

“Haha. The truth is, I was worried because you got caught up in that special labyrinth ‘incident’—there’s no way I wouldn’t be concerned, right?”

He emphasized the word “incident.”

He likely knew as much as I did—if not more.

I nodded and waved my arms and legs lightly.

“As I said earlier, I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”

“Yeah, you seem alright, thank goodness.”

Only then did Kerian lean back in his chair, as if relieved, and rubbed his eyelids.

I was watching him deep in thought.

What all did he know?

Was it alright to share what I knew?

I wasn’t hesitating because I couldn’t trust Kerian. It was just…

Questions about myself that never got answered kept swirling in my mind.

In my past life…?

I didn’t know. I had no family in my past life, so such worries were meaningless then.

But now… I have family.

The uncle I couldn’t see often due to deployments, but always came back with gifts for me.

And… it’s Eustetia.

The name of the duke’s family earned from Arisa beating up the emperor.

The Nameless is affiliated with that Eustetia.

Mmmph— At the time the mint chocolate ran out, I concluded my thoughts.

“Uncle.”

I had come to a decision.

“Silina… I mean, you’ve heard that the second princess almost got assassinated, right?”

Kerian, who had maintained a lazy demeanor until then, suddenly transformed into a sharp expression as he snapped his fingers.

Fwoosh! A sound barrier formed around the table I was sitting at.

“Yikes… It’s dangerous to say that so suddenly.”

“I checked to see if there was anyone around before saying it. Anyway, you’ve heard up to that part, right?”

“Yeah, and I heard that our Ellie snuck into the labyrinth too.”

“…Huh?”

I blinked.

“Ellie. Do you really want to get scolded?”

“…Uh, how did you know?”

“Is that the important part?”

Kerian’s voice had grown somber.

“Ellie. Do you understand how dangerous what you did was?”

I figured it was safe enough since I wouldn’t die, so I kept that to myself, biting my tongue.

“It was a special case. Of course, I heard it’s nowhere near the labyrinth from Gebihenum, but there were Mages inside. Not to mention, Demons were there too. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was for you?”

“…It was just a half-demon. The Mage was… dead.”

“That doesn’t make it not a Demon!”

“…Ugh, it technically is a Demon.”

Back in my day, we didn’t regard it as a Demon.

Just something a bit stronger than a monster.

A little stronger than an upper-grade monster but utterly weaker than a disaster-level threat, just… something on the cusp of being a Demon.

But how did he find out?

Fabiana swore to secrecy.

Silina… wouldn’t share something like that.

After all, that little kid isn’t involved with the Nameless.

Then who could it be?

…Adelia?

That can’t be.

The Nameless is a faction that rejects Dark Mages.

Even in a time of peace, they wouldn’t have allied with a Dark Mage.

Could it be… there’s someone with information skillfully comparable to Adelia’s?

The level of the Nameless I had neatly organized in my mind instantly increased.

Meanwhile, Kerian was staring at me with a mix of coolness and overflowing concern.

No matter how much I claimed to be Ronan in my past life, in Kerian’s eyes, I remained a 17-year-old niece.

So… yeah.

I can see why he would be mad.

If I heard that Eurasia, Stella, or even Pina…

These little kids had recklessly charged at a Demon, I would have been furious too.

Therefore, with a bow, I lowered my head.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Haah… No, it’s my fault. But I’m just relieved that you’re fine and unharmed.”

Yet Kerian sighed more deeply, as if he were the one in trouble.

“I meant to offer you compliments, but after not sleeping for four days, I’m feeling a bit cranky. Can you understand that, Ellie?”

“…Yeah. But did you really not sleep a wink for four days?”

“Yeah. Since yesterday… no, it was only this morning when I heard the news that I dashed over, so today marks the fourth.”

“What… kind of work do they make you do?”

“Yeah, that’s a good question. The captain is being a little too much.”

Kerian’s face broke into a relaxed smile again.

“So, say something on my behalf, Ellie.”

“…If I say something, I still have to meet him first.”

Kerian chuckled softly.

“Are you going to say something if we meet?”

“…Well… I guess I could? Not that I’d go killing him or anything.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Though it was just a four-word phrase.

Embedded within it was a strangely significant meaning.

…Could it be?

“Is it possible that the Nameless Captain is also here—”

Bang!!

Yet my inquiry went unanswered.

“Ellie!!!”

A very familiar voice startled me.

“My daughter! My treasure!! Ellie!!!”

Turius Eustetia.

My father burst in through the door of the reception room like it was made of paper.

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