WeTried Translations
Translator: Nemui
Editor: Nemui
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Reincarnated as the Villain's Heir
Chapter 9: Family Meeting
──────
"Vaid, Mirei. Shall we talk for the first time in a while?"
Late at night, just as I settled myself in the living room, the two of them entered.
Vaid, my quiet eldest son, sat on the sofa without a word, while Mirei drank juice she had brought from the kitchen straight from the bottle.
Even if we were family, Mirei was probably the only one who could act this outrageously in front of me.
"Aah! Delicious!"
"At least savor it a little."
"Father, you must be in a very good mood if you are sipping that kind of liquor."
"True. I am not in a bad mood."
Indeed, whenever I was in a good mood, I drank fine liquor.
When was the last time I had felt like this?
When Vaid, Mirei, or Gillium were born?
Absurd. As if I would become that excited over something as trivial as a child being born.
Was it when Vaid completed his first mission at the age of only nine?
When that crybaby Mirei killed someone for the first time at eight?
When Gillium used his monster subordinates this year to annihilate a hideout where anti-kingdom forces were lurking?
Compared to those, what was there now?
That was what I wanted to think, but the cause was probably Alphys.
"Is it about Alphys?"
"Sharp, Vaid. Rare of you to open your mouth."
"When you are pleased, you always have a habit of touching your beard with your fingers."
"...How frightening."
Vaid spoke little, but when it came to observation alone, he might even surpass me.
In battle, too, he never allowed his enemies the slightest lapse and drove them down thoroughly.
Flash of Lightning, War God, Sword Saint. I knew no other man with that many epithets on his own.
He had annihilated an enemy nation's unit alone without breaking a sweat, then walked straight to the throne room and forced the king to submit.
The newest epithet he had gained recently was Nation Breaker, if I remembered right.
At present, he was also the man I least wanted to make my enemy.
My son or not, he had grown into quite the monster.
"Alphys, huh? He is so cute! The other day, I launched a surprise kiss from the ceiling, but he dodged it beautifully!"
"If you have time for that, why not manage your magic research laboratories a little?"
"Those places can function even without me now. I refined gold bars and gave them to some potbellied old men, and they were overjoyed."
"The Witch of Creation. That was your epithet. If you felt like it, you could manipulate the market all on your own."
The son and daughter gathered here were talents capable of holding a country's fate in their hands alone.
House Balfont had produced people blessed with such qualities for generations.
By now, even the king rubbed his hands together and entertained me the moment he saw my face.
If we felt like it, we could found a nation ourselves, but trying to bear too much was the act of a fool.
What was true rule?
It was holding the reins of those who bore many burdens.
There was no need to run fast yourself. Let the horse run.
By holding the reins of the horse called the king, House Balfont had manipulated everything as it pleased.
If something inconvenient to the royal family became known to the people, we moved.
If something inconvenient to the royal family flowed among the people, we moved.
In that way, the royal family had no choice but to let us hold the reins.
"Alphys, then. To think he can use such magic at that age. Mirei, how old were you when you first became able to use the basic non-attribute magic?"
"Hmm, I don't remember, but I think I was eight?"
"Alphys is seven, and he is already proficient with dark attribute magic. His precision is likely terrifyingly higher than yours was at eight."
"Right? Alphys really is so cute."
How should I take this fact?
If I remembered correctly, I first used attribute magic when I was twelve.
For House Balfont, that could only be called a late bloom.
"More importantly, Father, magic is not what truly concerns you, is it?"
"Vaid, what do you think concerns me?"
"Do not dodge the question. Pulse. Even in this world, few can perceive it."
Pulse was a special power possessed by living beings, different from mana.
The nature of each person's pulse differed, and unlike mana, it was released endlessly.
In other words, if one could control it, it became a power that magic could not even compare to.
For that reason, not even the royal family had people who could perceive and use it.
Pulse was a power most people would never know. If anyone could handle it, things might become troublesome.
"That child was using pulse. As expected of Alphys."
"This is not a matter that can be dismissed with such words. When and where did Alphys learn of its existence...?"
"Even if he learned about it, controlling it so easily is something else... Ah! I forgot to prepare a present to celebrate Alphys learning pulse! Father, what do you think would be good?"
"...I will give Alphys his first mission."
When I declared that, Mirei's cheerful expression changed completely.
Vaid opened his eyes as well and glared sharply at me.
"Father, isn't that a little early? If something happens to Alphys, I might lose control, you know?"
"If that happens, you can avenge him."
"I might flatten the terrain."
"Vaid, what do you think?"
I deliberately directed the question to Vaid.
Judging from that expression, I did not need to ask. Contrary to appearances, that man hated losing to an extreme degree.
He was blessed with more talent than anyone, and he put in more effort than anyone.
That was why he was strong.
"...Do as you like. What happens to my younger brother is none of my concern."
"Good. Then I shall. Tomorrow, I will summon Alphys and tell him his mission."
"Have you decided what the mission will be?"
"I have. The mission is..."
When I told them the contents of the mission, Vaid began muttering that the current Alphys could not possibly handle it.
This silent man had become rather talkative.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
