Chapter 3

EP.3 The Youngest of the Jonathan Family

 

“Hahaha! Can you believe the ogre just stumbled and fell?! Ahahaha!”

“Hahaha! That’s hilarious! Hahaha!!”

I’m a legend for laughing along. My dad jokes always set the room on fire.

The ogre stumbled and fell, but Kyle always kept his patience intact.

They say if you endure three times, you avoid murder, but what if it’s more than three times? Do you get a firm grip then?

“Indeed, even the youngest of the Jonathan Family is the same. Pulling off such a remarkable feat!”

“Thank you, Lord Byun-kyung.”

“You’ve worked hard too. Ian, was it?”

The swordman with gray hair nodded at Byun-kyung’s words.

Just as Kyle was about to finish off the ogre he had subdued.

The one who snatched the ogre’s last breath, commonly known as the ‘finishing blow’, was him.

Going against the doctrine of the guild, which strictly prohibits finishing blows.

Is it as simple as spoon-feeding approval for catching them all? There’s nothing more satisfying than that.

But Kyle quietly passed over that part.

Ian the wandering swordsman, the first protagonist of this novel.

The story truly begins when he enters the academy.

So, a finishing blow was something I could overlook.

And it’s not like Ian boasted about me catching the ogre.

Of course, twice is out of the question. Once. Just once.

“Friends like these should really be going to the academy!”

“That’s right!”

“Instead of these kids who can’t even swing a sword!”

The story of the academy is smoothly flowing from Byun-kyung’s mouth as planned.

If it continues like this, we can easily secure a recommendation letter.

“Um, come to think of it, I already used one sheet. Now, do I have two sheets left…?”

…Excuse me? Lord Byun-kyung? Why only two sheets instead of three?

I wanted to grab him by the collar and demand answers, but I managed to hold back.

I must find out who got that recommendation letter, no matter what.

If it happens to be someone suspicious, I might even consider assassination.

To follow the original storyline, Ian the wandering swordsman and Tisha the witch must both go to the academy.

And additionally, hitching a ride there myself was the primary goal.

But if one sheet is empty, then one of them can’t go?

Of course, it’s crucial for both Ian and Tisha to go.

But Kyle going to the academy himself was also very important.

“Hahaha! Lord Byun-kyung. I heard that you have a total of three recommendation letters. Who’s the lucky one to receive the first honor?”

Who else but the one who absconded with my recommendation letter.

“She’s a lady staying in my castle right now, quite an unusual one. She’s not exactly a witch, but she cured my nephew with something I’ve never seen before and called herself a sorceress. Tisha. Her name is Tisha.”

Upon hearing that, Kyle immediately hit the neutral gear.

The strange thing that got the recommendation letter was none other than the second protagonist.

I don’t know if they end up as lovers or if they part ways midway through.

But what’s certain is that they both enter the academy around the same time.

Honestly, just looking at this much, it’s already a given in the world of fantasy novels.

“Anyway, Kyle. You seem quite interested in the academy.”

No matter how much you love dad jokes, nobility is nobility after all.

To a very sharp question, Kyle decided to answer honestly.

“To be honest, yes.”

“I thought so. I’ve known since we discussed the academy recommendation letter. But, wasn’t it your sister who caused trouble at the academy? It seemed like quite a big deal.”

With that said, Kyle had nothing to say from his perspective.

It’s true that there was an incident, and it’s also true that the incident was significant.

“I’ve heard that the Ministry of Education is shaking its head vigorously.”

“Is that so.”

“But you know, Kyle. That’s precisely why I want to recommend you even more. Idle minds tend to go rotten. Even though new faces come and go in the academy, it eventually settles down. Sometimes, storms need to rage.”

“Are you saying…”

“I’ll write you a recommendation letter. Even though he’s the Minister of Education, he can’t dare to ignore the privilege granted to me by His Majesty the Emperor. Return to your estate and make preparations, then come to my castle within a week. The enrollment season is approaching soon, so you must come by then.”

In an unexpected turn of events, Kyle, the stormy newcomer to the academy, had become a hurricane.

“And you. You’re the same. I want to write you a recommendation letter for the academy. What do you think?”

At Byun-kyung’s words, the wandering swordsman nodded subtly.

It seemed that this semester, two stormy transfer students would shake things up.

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***

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“So, you’re going to the academy.”

“Yes, brother.”

Kyle looked at his brother, who was doing hanging leg raises with weights attached to his ankles.

Every time he looked at him, Kyle couldn’t help but wonder if he was human or an ogre.

No, to be precise, he seemed worse than an ogre.

Even the ogre I fought yesterday didn’t have such intimidating muscles.

I guarantee that if his brother and the ogre were to fight, his brother would win without a doubt.

They say the bigger they are, the harder they fall, but it was clear that even that truth would be shattered.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Lord Byun-kyung said he would write a recommendation letter. He said if Imperial family doesn’t oppose it despite Sister incident, I’ll be admitted.”

“I’m not talking about that.”

– Thunk. –

Every time his brother approached from the pull-up bar, Kyle couldn’t help but cower.

My brother has never once bothered or wielded a dagger against me.

But just looking at him is overwhelming.

Perhaps the reason he never hit me is that even a brush with him feels like stepping into the afterlife.

So maybe that’s why there wasn’t even the usual banter between brothers.

“The weaklings of the academy will know. If even you cause trouble, our family will never set foot in the academy again. So, you intend to behave.”

“What if there are those who seek to provoke me?”

“There will always be such types. Those who trample on others to boast their own strength. A true strong person doesn’t prey on the weak but confronts other strong ones. However, false strength seeks only superiority by preying on the weak.”

“…”

Placing a hand on Kyle’s shoulder,

The future Lord of the Jonathan, ‘Leo Jonathan’, spoke.

“There will be those who seek to exploit your patience to achieve their own goals. What will you do then? Will you endure it? Or will you act like your sister?”

“I will endure.”

“Even if they insult you?”

I can endure anything else. But being called weak, well…

“Considering Lord Byun-kyung’s position, try to keep quiet as much as possible, Kyle. However, if you ever face an insult that you cannot endure as a member of Jonathan, feel free to do anything.”

“That could lead to trouble, brother.”

“Is it more significant than the insult to our Jonathan?”

The Jonathan family is not originally a noble family of the Empire.

They are a minority ethnic group in the north, which the Empire, exhausted from wars, adopted a policy of reconciliation with.

But even after years, they never fully assimilated into the Empire.

“If friction arises, resolve it, if it can’t be resolved, fight.”

“Brother, you shouldn’t say such things lightly.”

The Imperial regular army alone exceeds 200,000.

When you add the reserve army, it forms a total of over 600,000 troops.

Is it just the number of troops? The resources supporting them are enormous too.

Even though they are the Jonathan family…

“Each member of the Jonathan family only needs to kill a hundred people.”

“….”

“Some of those kids will probably handle it easily.”

I forgot. What kind of place this is. What kind of people we are.

It was not only Leo, my brother, who reminded me of that.

“Come to think of it, Kyle. Back then, my sister was too careless.”

To say that dismantling the academy was careless.

I wonder if it’s a lack of conscience or if they don’t understand the meaning of being careless.

“We should have sent a few of those who were worse than the kids straight to their graves.”

“If that were really the case, the palace wouldn’t have just sat idly by.”

“Whether they sat idly by or not, anyway, those who were hurt by my sister back then are still around. And they’ll surely try to torment you. Knowing that if something happens while you’re dealing with them, it will be a really big problem! Those disgusting weaklings.”

“That seems likely.”

“Don’t just let it slide, but don’t always hold back. Got it? Scared, so you avoid? It’s because it’s dirty that you avoid.”

It was advice from the only academy destroyer in the history of the Empire.

“There’s no need to force yourself to get along.”

“It’s said that children naturally grow up fighting.”

From my brother and sister to our parents we met after them.

They all say I don’t have to endure it.

If someone crosses the line at the academy, don’t just sit idly by.

Don’t let the weaklings dare to tarnish the pride of Jonathan.

“These damn warlike races. They really make me feel secure.”

I even had thoughts like that all of a sudden.

I wanted to have a showdown with the Empire, but there was no justification.

So, could sending oneself to the academy be the answer? I wondered.

‘Nah, surely not. It can’t be.’

It must be so, it absolutely must be so.

I didn’t want the romance fantasy to suddenly turn into a historical drama about war.