Rylan gritted his teeth. His disbelief quickly turned into boiling anger.
So that’s how you’re going to play it.
His improved gaze remained on the fifth person. A woman with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes that were also fixed on him. She was dressed in a uselessly large dress that seed to make a mockery of the type of clothes she liked.
It was Elizabeth.
Rylan’s gaze shook.
Calm down.
Even though he understood why she was here, he couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. The situation naturally made him angry, but he would be a failure of a swordsman if he let himself be swept away by his rage. Roland’s training kicked into gear, making him take the slow, rhythmic breaths that he always relied on. Rylan looked at the other person on Elizabeth’s broom, behind her. The man had the sa hair color and eyes. Rylan narrowed his eyes.
He ran his gaze over the other approaching brooms, finding another face he recognized. The woman’s crimson hair stood out against the blue sky and white clouds.
I guess it makes sense for them to send Alice.
As the professor in charge of Battle Fundantals, it stood to reason that she was a capable fighter.
The others were people he didn’t recognize.
Rylan crossed his arms and waited for the flying brooms to arrive. They continued to fly toward him until they stopped right above the carriage and slowly floated downward. Before her broom even stopped moving, Elizabeth leaped out of her spot and landed on the dirt road. The hems of her dress dragged on the ground and caught under her feet, making her stumble. With a curse, she recovered her footing and looked at Rylan with myriad emotions in her gaze.
The other brooms descended and got near the ground. The others promptly jumped off, including the man with hazel eyes. Behind Rylan, Sarah and Aelfric got out of the carriage. Aelfric looked at Elizabeth. His eyes widened.
“Mom!” he shouted, sounding both surprised and worried.
Elizabeth threw him a bittersweet smile, still hurrying forward. Once she got close enough, she promptly threw her arms around both Rylan and Aelfric, pulling them into her embrace with a deep breath. Rylan let her do it, sensing that sothing was off.
“Be careful,” she whispered in a dead serious tone after bringing Rylan and Aelfric closer. Her hug tightened. “Ignore him. Even if he strikes up a conversation, don’t tell him anything. He’s here to—"
“Elizabeth,” an unfamiliar voice resounded. It belonged to the hazel-eyed man. “I understand you’re happy to see your children, but that isn’t why we’re here.”
Rylan looked at the man and tilted his head. The man approached him with a smile and extended his hand for a handshake, staring at Rylan.
“Nathan Astassier,” the man continued. “I’m your uncle. It’s good to finally et you, my nephews.”
Rylan gave him a nod with cold eyes, shaking his hand half-heartedly. Aelfric glanced at Rylan with an unsure expression but also said nothing. Nathan’s eyebrow twitched. Rylan looked past him at Alice Carsim, who was eyeing Nathan with so confusion as she walked closer.
“Hello, professor. We et again,” Rylan said with a grin. Nathan frowned.
Alice looked at Rylan with a serious expression.
“The Headmaster has inford us of the situation. We’re here to help you with anything you need,” she said with a nod, then pointed at the last two people with her thumb. “I’ll let them introduce themselves.”
The one on the left stepped forward with a grin. She was a beautiful, middle-aged woman with purple hair and yellow eyes that made her as eye-catching as Alice. She wore a loose, simple brown robe.
“I’m Rebecca Bacque. It’s an honor to finally et the strongest new student,” she said with a bright smile. Her voice was strangely lodic. “As Alice said, we’re here for assistance.”
Rylan smiled at her and looked at the man to her right. With dark green hair and brown eyes, the tall professor also stood out. Dressed in leather armor alone, he slightly bowed.
“Hugo Brassard.”
The man said nothing else, but Rylan still smiled at him and nodded. He slowly got out of Elizabeth’s embrace and took a step back, evaluating the people before him with an attentive gaze. His perception honed in on the changes in the atmosphere’s mana.
Everyone except for Mom is at the Fifth Circle.
This included Nathan, who had likely pulled so strings as a mber of the Astassier house to co to this expedition. In terms of fighting power alone, this small group could be a match for any Dungeon Rylan had seen or heard of in this life, especially when taking his full abilities into account. However, the thought that clearing the Open Dungeon would be easy never even crossed his mind. There was nothing more stupid than underestimating an unknown enemy or environnt.
It’s a good team.
When paired with Gerard, these people would be quite helpful. Of course, ideally, it would be best not to need them at all.
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“Thank you for coming, everyone,” Rylan stated with a neutral expression after gathering his thoughts.
“We know what’s going on," Alice interjected before anyone could reply, crossing her arms with a grave expression. So anxiety leaked through her eyes. “No ti to waste. We ended up eting here, but we need to go now and get there as soon as possible. Are you sure you don't want to give you a ride?”
Rylan looked at her and inwardly nodded. At least soone in the backup team other than Elizabeth cared about Cantavega’s fate. It was in line with what he expected from Alice, but he only shook his head.
“I’ll stay in the carriage with Aelfric and Sarah. I don’t want to get back to Cantavega without them. Now that she’s here, my mother can stay inside with us.”
Cantavega wasn’t in imdiate danger. It was unlikely that the situation would worsen considerably in a short amount of ti, even though the possibility still existed. It was because of that possibility that the professors were here in the first place. As such, Rylan would rather spend so ti with his mother and Aelfric. That way, she would also be able to explain Nathan’s presence and the Astassier family’s plans.
Nathan’s frown intensified. He opened his mouth to protest, but Rylan only shot him an emotionless stare.
“It’s not up for discussion,” Rylan continued, then looked at Alice and the other two professors. “Let’s go. As Professor Alice said, we’re in a rush.”
He promptly turned around, pulling Elizabeth by the hand toward the carriage. Raising his gaze, he nodded at Pedro. The man glanced back and forth between Rylan and the professors but eventually nodded after wiping off the sweat on his brow. From the side, Nathan gritted his teeth.
"I understand. If that's the case, then I'll go with the professors," he spit out with a nod.
Rylan glanced at him.
They don't want to do anything that might anger .
It was an understandable perspective, but one that he could easily see through.
Rylan entered the carriage with Elizabeth, followed by Aelfric and Sarah. After he closed the door, his expression changed entirely. There was no longer any need to think about Nathan or the Astassiers. He gently placed his hand on Elizabeth’s head.
“It’s good to see you, Mom,” he said with a kind smile.
From the side, Aelfric lunged toward her Elizabeth and hugged her tightly, causing her to yelp in surprise. She wrapped her arms around him with a warm expression.
“…It’s good to see you both, too. I love you.”
“Thank you for joining us, my lady,” Sarah said with a bow. Elizabeth nodded at her with a warm grin.
“Now, we need to talk. It’s important,” Elizabeth said, her expression becoming more serious. “We’ll have enough ti to catch up once I finish.”
Everyone sat down at their respective spots and looked at Elizabeth. She took a deep breath.
“Nathan is my brother and your uncle, as he’s already told you,” she started. There was a grim edge to her expression, as if the words she’d just said left a bad aftertaste. “He’s here for one reason alone: my father wants to recruit Rylan into the family no matter what.”
Rylan nodded. As expected. Ordinarily, the children of a mber of the family would already be considered part of that sa family. In his case, him and his siblings should have been considered to be part of the Astassier family, as the children of Elizabeth, the Family Head's only daughter. However, things weren't so simple when the context was introduced.
Mom's been against the Astassiers for a long ti now.
It wasn't simple disagreent or a quarrel. Rylan and his siblings weren't considered as truly part of the Astassier house because Elizabeth's position was shaky at best.
“What you need to understand is what this ans,” Elizabeth continued, frowning. “My father is the type of person who would do anything for his objectives, and these objectives have always revolved around the Astassier house.”
“Is that how you managed to co here?” Rylan asked in a low tone.
Elizabeth nodded, keeping her frown.
“He’s just using to get to you. I’ve never been more than a tool to him,” she said, then took a deep breath. “Marrying the love of my life was the greatest act of defiance against him, but it was only allowed because he never cared about in the first place. I’m not particularly talented at magic or combat, so he used as soone other families could marry to create an alliance.”
Rylan frowned as well. It was one thing to be aware of the situation. It was another entirely to hear his own mother talk about how Gael had treated her like the worthless ans to an end. The act of marrying Gerard despite her family's objections had created a large rift between her and everyone else. Roland’s mories flashed by his mind.
…Roland lost both parents too early.
It was probably why outrage and anger were beginning to bubble in his chest. Roland’s parents had been kind and loving, but unfortunate enough to have been born poor and without access to any Aura techniques. Their death had been the natural consequence of eting the wrong person at the wrong ti without having the ans to defend themselves. The void left behind by their death had never disappeared. Roland had brought it with him to the grave.
There was no way in hell Rylan would let sothing like that happen in this life. His family was the most important part of the person he’d beco.
Gael Astassier.
In the end, the man had achieved the exact opposite of what he’d set out to do. All Rylan felt was enmity and killing intent. He took a deep breath and gestured at Elizabeth to continue.
“Nathan and my father couldn’t care less about whether Cantavega gets razed to the ground or not. All that matters is drawing you in. This also ans,” Elizabeth looked at Aelfric and grabbed his hand. “Nathan will approach you too, Aelfric. If you join the Astassier family, it would be easier to get Rylan to join as well. This also goes for Sarah and your father.”
Aelfric nodded with a nervous expression, fidgeting in place.
“Um…” he started. “Can’t we just refuse? Now that you’ve told us all this, I don’t want to join that family, Mom.”
Elizabeth smiled bitterly.
“If only it were that easy, son. My family has recruited people from all over the kingdom. They know how to get around a refusal. You’ll see what I an. You three need to stay strong and deny their advances, no matter what.”
“We will,” Rylan said with a grave look. Sarah nodded. “This won’t be the first ti an important family tries to recruit , and it won’t be the last. I’ll help all of you through it.”
Elizabeth tilted her head.
“Oh, your past life,” she belatedly muttered, furrowing her brow. “Okay. I’ll be here with you for as long as I can. We’ll get through this as a family. I’m sure your father feels the sa way.”
She stared at Rylan with a gaze filled with complicated emotions.
I guess she isn’t completely comfortable with Roland’s mories.
Rylan let out a breath and looked through the window. The carriage went silent. After a few seconds, he turned to his mother.
“At least you’ll see Father again, Mom. How long has it been?” he asked with a warm grin.
Elizabeth blinked before smiling brightly.
“Too long. Far too long,” she replied.
Rylan’s grin widened into a smile. Both Aelfric and Sarah smiled as well.
I won’t let anyone take this away from .
For his loved ones, he could go against the entire world.
***
The remaining days of travel were uneventful.
The professors and Nathan went on ahead after the brief encounter with Rylan's group, leaving behind Elizabeth without complaint. At the very least, it gave Rylan so peace of mind. Cantavega wouldn't fall with the support of several Mages comparable to Gerard. All that remained was for him to focus on his own growth.
On the tenth day since leaving Caer Rhelon, Rylan arrived at Cantavega.
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