Sevens

Volume 1, Chapter 3 – The Past Family Heads

Translated by: Reiji

Night. When I went out into the corridor and fell asleep on a chair, I ended up meeting my ancestors in an unknown room.

I had no idea why things were like this. After all, the barbarian who commented on my eyes, saying that they looked like those of a dead wish, was the founder of the provincial noble Walt House. He introduced himself as the first generation head Basil Walt, of the Walt House that had climbed up to the rank of Count. I heard that he had led an expedition group from the capital to a remote region, and that he cleared a forest in order to build a settlement.

But right now, he was in the middle of grappling with my grandfather Brod Walt. Grandfather, wearing a proper outfit, looked like he was fighting mano a mano with a barbarian.

『You’re the one who educated him wrong! What’s with this delicate fair skinned bean sprout bastard! Huh!?』

『It’s not my fault! Besides, the Walt House is a patriarchy. Furthermore, my grandson Lyle had already been formally decided as the heir!』

At a glance, the barbarian seemed to be at an advantage, but the surrounding reaction was cold. The other people present ignored the two and returned to my talk.

The man who was dressed like a hunter was Crassel Walt. He had a beard on his chin and a bit of his grey hair dangled at the front, while the rest of it was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. Even his gaze was like a hunter’s. Such sharp blue eyes were looking at me.

『Setting aside the noisy duo, let’s continue the talk. If that’s the case, then the plan should have been for Lyle to be the ninth, but he lost against his little sister. He became disqualified as the heir, and was banished from the house. Even up until now, the story seems really problematic, but let’s set that aside for now.』

Then, Basil Walt yelled angrily at Crassel.

『There’s no way we can ignore it! Some guy who lost against his little sister is the next head? Don’t screw around! It’d be natural for this guy to be banished.』

My grandfather, who still had his youthful appearance, heard those words.

『Just what about Lyle dissatisfies you, huh!?』

He shouted that. Crassel was calm in this situation.

『The problem doesn’t lie there. Both of you, sit down. Now then, our opinion is that normally a girl cannot succeed the position of head of house. At the very least, I wouldn’t make a girl the head, no matter how excellent she is. I also didn’t teach anyone else that something like that was ok.』

Responding to Crassel’s opinion was the third generation head Sleigh Walt. He has silky blond hair that was almost shoulder length. His hair split at the center, and he had red eyes. His outfit consisted of a shirt, trousers, boots, and a jacket. Speaking about the outfits, each head had the appearance of more and more expensive clothing as the generation advanced.

『Normally, the eldest son should inherit the headship, but I am a second son that became the heir due to circumstances. I also had a little sister, but there was never any talk about doing something like that. Could it be this is due to the difference in era? IIf it’s normal for a woman to be head in this era, I can understand it.』

Sleigh Walt, the person who became the third head, was a famous person in the history of the Walt House. After all, he was the first person in the Walt House who died in battle. Even moreso, he was given the title of Bahnseim’s righteous general. He charged into an army of ten thousand with only a few dozen troops, and stalled them long enough to lead Bahnseim to victory. He was also famous as a knight, but…looking at the actual person, I didn’t get any such impression.

『You’re still carefree, just like always. Or rather, chichi-ue doesn’t really know anything about succession problems, so please, stay quiet. Good grief…how much was I troubled because of that.』

The glasses-wearing man had light blue hair. His yellow eyes also looked peculiar, but his intellectual look was even more conspicuous. It must have been because of the glasses.

Max Walt, the fourth generation head, led the house when the Walt House was raised up to the rank of Baron. They accomplished this due to Sleigh Walt’s achievements, and for the first time, the Walt House became a genuine noble house.

I thought that he was just like in the image. I had heard that he had been greatly troubled by our advancement in rank. It even felt like some aura came off of him, like that of a man wise to the world.

『……If it’s trouble, then I also experienced that. Mostly because of someone else’s fault.』

The fifth head Fredricks Walt was different from the impression in my head. From what I heard, he added four mistresses and sired many children after he became the head. A lustful person. And then, for the history of the Walt House, he was a head that didn’t make too many moves. However, what I was seeing from him didn’t really match such a description.

Then, the red-haired, wild-looking sixth generation nodded. Fiennes Walt was a character who had even gone as far as to dirty his hands in order for the house to reach the rank of Count. Father was once grumpling complaints about the influence of the sixth’s image causing problems for the Walt House.

However, from what I was seeing, the sixth was a friendly middle-aged delinquent. He was tall with bulging muscles, and rather than specializing in scheming, he looked more like a fierce and rough general.

『Ain’t that right. But, making the daughter the head over a sword match…Brod, wouldn’t Maizel’s education have to be way off the mark? Normally such a thing shouldn’t happen.』

The seventh head, Brod Walt, was my grandfather. His grey hair is in a swept back style. The surrounding people had a rough atmosphere, but he was one of the few who looked like a gentleman. The thing I remember that concerned him most as he aged was his forehead widening. He wore the most expensive looking clothes, and from appearances he seemed to be the most noble-like.

『My son is excellent, even if you consider my bias as a parent. Besides, even from what I remember at the end, Lyle was set to be the heir to the next head, and Celes should have only been receiving the education worthy of a daughter of the Walt House.』

The previous heads could be seen in front of me, and a scene of them talking about my situation was unfolding. Furthermore, everyone seemed to have the appearance of their prime. My understanding couldn’t catch up to how such a thing could happen. Crassel, listening to the chronology of how I was driven out, made his conclusion.

『So from what I gather, there isn’t anything like a woman becoming a family head being common due to a difference in eras. It ended with the house even holding a match and driving out the eldest son intended for heirship, but…that’s impossible for something like that to happen in my time.』

The surrounding was in agreement with those words. Normally, it would be insane to decide the head of family with just a sword fight in the Walt House. That’s just how it was.

『Right. Even for me that kind of option doesn’t exist.』

『I’m also in objection. I don’t understand the meaning of doing that.』

『That stupid son……I’ll send him soaring.』

And then the talk returned back to me. This time Max was the person who asked me.

『Could it be that this girl Celes is so overflowing with talent that Lyle couldn’t even be compared to her. If it was judged that Celes is more important for the Walt House than Lyle, it might not be so impossible. How is it in that area?』

I looked down when I was asked about Celes. I didn’t even want to recall it but, this was something that I couldn’t avoid talking about. If I had to do it, then I might as well finish saying it here.

Thinking that, I talked about Celes. She was a little sister two years younger than me, able to do anything skillfully. What’s more, she could learn in a few hours things that I needed a few hundred hours to learn──

And then, the most important thing was──

「My little sister is perfect. She’s good in her studies, but even more than that, how should I say it…it’s her atmosphere.」

『Atmosphere? Besides what do you mean by atmosphere, huh!? Say it more clearly!』

The First was sitting cross-legged on the table and snapped at my story.

「……Everyone is attracted towards her. Even my parents, at first they were paying attention to me. But, after I turned ten years old the atmosphere turned strange──. With that, it felt like the mansion was gradually centered on Celes.」

After speaking that far, the first fell silent and pondered. Max took control of the place.

『In other words, the surroundings also recognized that she had more talent than Lyle? Now then, can we hear from you about the circumstances regarding that, seventh head Brod-kun?』

Grandfather tilted his head. It looked like from his viewpoint my story was unbelievable. He put his hand on his chin and thought.

『No, certainly she was my adorable granddaughter, but if you asked me if it went that far…no, no way. Even as a biased grandfather, Lyle is truly outstanding. The possibility that something happening after that could be considered, but…in my memory, no such thing comes to mind.』

Grandfather was in denial. When grandfather was alive, the atmosphere inside the mansion wasn’t bad. My parents were strict but kind, and then Celes was also a normal…huh? Normal? What? My relationship with Celes should have been bad, but…when did it become like this? Again, I’m bothered by the hole in my memory. While I was falling deep into thought, the quiet fifth Fredricks opened his mouth.

『……If the atmosphere had changed since the seventh was still with the eighth, there is also the possibility of her manifesting her Art.』

Sleigh spoke negatively of that opinion.

『I wonder. Even if she manifested an Art, it would take time until she is able to use it skillfully. In that case, isn’t the time period too short? After all, with Lyle, even though he’s manifesting his art, he doesn’t seem to notice it right now.』

Art──that was one of the blessings granted to the humans living in this world from the goddess that was different from magic. The general rule was that there would be one Art for one person, and humans would polish that Art and fight with it. However, it was possible tto reproduce that Art with technology. After all, the Gem I received had the Arts of the past heads──wait a second. Didn’t I start hearing those voices since I was being treated in Zel’s hut? Since then, I have been able to hear the voices clearly…ever since I received the Gem. When I noticed that and lifted my head, the third opened his mouth upon seeing that I finally noticed. And then, he informed me about me manifesting my Art.

『That’s right. This is inside the Gem──the Jewel. We called Lyle inside here. Also, it’s incomplete and isn’t showing any effect, but Lyle’s Art is manifesting. It looks like it’s a passive type that activeley consumes your mana, though..』

I asked regarding my Art to the carefree third generation.

「Say, just what is my Art? Besides, it has no effect you said……」

『I don’t know what kind of Art it is. It’s just, we are connected to Lyle through the Jewel, so we are able to notice that kind of flow of mana. Well, it will become clear sooner or later won’t it? Right now it’s just a pointless use of mana though. It’s just, with this blue Gem──Jewel, there is no doubt that it will be a support type.』

According to Sleigh’s story, Arts seemed to generally be classified into three kinds.

Arts that were mainly for close range combat, the Vanguard type. Red Gems would make this kind of Art manifest.

Yellow Gems were said to be for Rearguard type Arts. They would mainly manifest Arts that made it easier for a person to use magic.

Blue was the Support type. It didn’t lead to direct attacks, but I heard that there were many convenient Arts of this type.

The red, yellow, and blue Gems that were divided into those three types were also magic tools that recorded Arts of their respective specialization. But, at the same time, the possession of a Gem would lead the owner’s manifestation of their Art to be influenced by it, causing the art to manifest in that direction. Naturally, the Walt House with its blue Jewel would manifest Support type Arts and passed those Arts down until now.

「……Support type is it.」

When I muttered with a bit of disappointment, Sleigh turned a cheerful grin at me.

『You seem dissatisfied. But, in my time Support type was popular, you know?』

In the present era, Rearguard type Arts that focused on high firepower were preferred. If it weren’t that, the Vanguard type Arts that could make the user drastically stronger were also popular. The Support type arts were plain, our generation had a perception something like that. But it seems like the different generations each had a different sense of values.

『In my time, it was Vanguard type and Support type, and the Rearguard type wasn’t popular. My wife had a yellow Gem, but she didn’t use it. However, in the case of Celes, the chances of her manifesting an Art should be extremely low.』

Grandfather muttered 「Art of my son……」 while falling into thought. Then, Crassel also looked a bit interested.

『Rearguard type was also not popular in my time. It’s different depending on the era, isn’t it?』

Then, Max attempted to get the diverted talk back on topic.

『Anyways, the possibility of this girl called Celes manifesting an Art and leading the Walt House to making a mistaken decision is low. In that case, that leads to the conclusion that Lyle really is lacking in the capacity as family head.』

I couldn’t even say anything hearing that. I had worked desperately all the time, but one didn’t become worthy to be the family head just because they worked hard. If I was told that I didn’t have the adequate talent to lead the Walt House, then that was that. Amidst the air of that place that seemed to be attacking me, Fiennes let out a sigh and offered a helping hand.

『Even so, it’s unnatural, isn’t it? Certainly Lyle also has an unreliable side to him, but right now the Walt House is a Count house──thinking of Lyle’s bloodline too, it shouldn’t be a problem if he’s ignorant of the world. Besides, there should be demerits in making a girl the family head.』

Fiennes said that dispassionately. In reality there were also houses that made a woman family head. But, the main reason for something like that happening was the woman being a representative of a young boy or because of the house’s customs. Also, for a matriarchal house, it wasn’t a rare story for the male to be the family head, but the reverse was rarely true in a patriarchal house. After all, if something happened, there was a good possibility of the family head going off to war.

There were few houses that would send women to a place like that. I wouldn’t say there were none, but even so such houses would be in the minority. I wouldn’t say that women are weak, but the pattern of a male being the family head was strong.

『Brod, what about the retainers? Was there any schemer who would bring up Celes to take over the house?』

Grandfather pondered Fiennes’s opinion. Apparently he was thinking about the possibility of the retainers scheming.

『I won’t say that there are none, but the social status of the retainers are far too different. It’s impossible to marry Celes and take over the house. The retainer with the highest status is the baron house Forxxuz, but there was nothing like that in the past. If such a thing happened, it would have to come from the branch house.』

Then Crassel reacted to grandfather’s words.

『Eh? The Forxuz House is a retainer? Eh!? EEEEE!!』

And then, even Basil who was deep in thought stood up and panicked. His attitude had changed, and he was talking in an anxious voice. It seemed like there was something about the Forxuz House.

『By Forxuz you mean that right!? The Forxuz House in the neighboring territory!? Uncle’s house is a retainer!?』

Uncle? The Forxuz House in the past wasn’t a retainer house? Since the past, the Forxuz House’s position was like the Walt House’s retainer. Although it was a Baron house, it obeyed the Walt House, and due to such a close relationship, the Forxuz house were sometimes sarcastically called the Walt’s dogs.

But, for me it was something normal, so I didn’t know why he was so shocked.

Come to think of it, why was the Forxuz House so loyal to the Walt House? Novem was also devoting herself to me. Until now I didn’t think that it was something strange. After all, the relationship between our houses had been like that since I was born. Max was also flustered.

However, Fredricks was indifferent.

『……What about it? The position of both houses changed with the advancement in rank. Even the other side was asking for that kind of treatment.』

But, Crassel yelled angrily at this.

『Don’t joke around! How much do you think we owe to the Forxuz House, huh!? You guys, if they weren’t our neighbor then we wouldn’t even exist right now!』

Crassel was shouting over how much we were in debt to the Forxuz House. Max also pressed his question to Fredricks as though in agreement with Crassel.

『What does this mean? I should have told you! We were greatly in their debt, so treasure your association with the Forxuz House, I told you that!』

Fredricks answered indifferently to that. He didn’t look like he was holding a special sentiment towards the Forxuz House.

『……That was why I told Fiennes to help with the Forxuz House’s advancement in rank.』

Fiennes, who had the discussion directed to him, folded his hands and nodded. This person also didn’t seem to hold any strong feelings of obligation towards the Forxuz House.

『Well, I did just that. They had worked hard, and above all else they were really helpful, so I prepared a fitting reward for them.』

Hearing this conversation, I was beginning to think that this all seemed really complicated. At the same time, I felt a terrible fatigue, and the voices seemed like they were gradually getting further and further away…

Then, a voice of a person who wasn’t here came.

「Lyle-sama?」

.

「Lyle-sama, I’m finished already.」

「Eh……hm?」

Opening my eyes, I seemed to be sleeping in some rickety, wobbly chair. I was out like a log. I rubbed my eyes and when I lifted my head up, Novem’s face was there.

Novem who had wiped her body and washed her head looked refreshed. Her hair was slightly wet and she looked even more beautiful than normal. She gave me a smile.

「You must be tired. I washed the underwear with hot water and hung it out to dry. It should be fine by tommorow.」

Looks like Novem had washed my clothes.

「Ah, my bad.」

My legs were staggering when I stood up. Novem immediately supported me. Like that, she led me until we reached the room. Was what I saw just now a dream? As I was thinking that, I heard Basil’s voice.

『Wait a second. Don’t tell me this girl’s surname is……somehow I’m curious now. For some reason her atmosphere……feels similar to granny……』

Then, grandfather’s voice came.

『She has grown really big, but she must be the second daughter of the Forxuz House. I remember now. I never thought that she would become Lyle’s fiancée.』

『WHAAAAAA!!』

Basil shouted. It was a really loud voice, but Novem didn’t seem to hear it. I covered my face with my left hand and keenly realized that everything until now wasn’t a dream, looking at the Jewel hanging from my neck.

「……It wasn’t a dream.」

Novem tilted her head.

「What’s wrong, Lyle-sama?」

There were various things that I wanted to confirm and make clear. However, the terrible fatigue I’m feeling surpassed that. I was getting even more tired, and it felt bothersome to even walk. After Novem carried me to my bed, I lied down and fell asleep immediately. I heard Novem’s kind voice at the end.

She covered me with a blanket.

「Rest well, Lyle-sama.」