Chapter 22. No-Self Trance
“Count Clayton, is it? Do you truly believe he will comply with our wishes so readily?”
At the question of the man whose luxuriant hair resembled a lion’s mane, a subordinate bowed his head and answered.
“Yes. We believe Count Clayton could not only fill the vacancy left by Count Salier, but also allow us to pursue a far greater objective.”
“As far as I know, Count Clayton is a typical merchant interested solely in money.”
“That is certainly true. However, judging by his recent activities, we have identified signs that he has begun making political moves unrelated to direct financial gain.”
The man, Oliver G. Daniel, slowly nodded at his subordinate’s words.
Indeed, House Clayton’s standing within the markets of the Allied Nations was by no means insignificant.
Even the lord Daniel served wished to establish ties with House Clayton.
“Very well. But what do you mean by political moves? That man should not be sponsoring any particular organization.”
Count Clayton was not the sort of man who loosened his purse strings for political advantage.
Even on the rare occasions he spent money freely, it was for the sake of public benefit or concluding a transaction, never because politics itself was his objective.
“He has yet to act openly enough to call it sponsorship, but we have recently received reports that he has begun attending noble banquets.”
“Hmm…… That Clayton has?”
A banquet was hardly a place where people merely ate and enjoyed themselves.
It was reasonable to assume that the Head of House Clayton had begun sounding out the atmosphere of the noble world.
“Come to think of it, how old is Aneis this year?”
“Seventeen.”
“I heard the famous genius of House Clayton is the same age. What do you think?”
“Head of the House Lowell is an exceedingly cautious man. When it concerns the marriage of a son with that much fame, I imagine he will proceed very carefully.”
“Even so, the name of the daughter of the Judgment Knight Order is hardly insignificant.”
If anything, in terms of prestige alone, House Clayton could not compare with the Judgment Knight Order.
How could the reputation of a mere merchant house compare with that of the Knight Order that had supported the Imperial Family since the Great War?
“That is true, but…… you are well aware of the nobles’ obsession with pure bloodlines.”
“Tsk. Those damned pure-blood fanatics.”
Aneis, who was currently studying at the Academy, was not the biological daughter of the former Commander, Lintberg K. Robert.
Neither side lacked prestige, but it was true that Daniel’s side lacked a sufficiently strong justification.
“Robert. Your loyalty continues to trouble me even after your death. You could at least have left a child of your own behind before you departed.”
Remembering that broad back even now, Daniel clenched his fist before slowly relaxing it again.
“Then the eldest son they call an idiot should suffice as well. I hear he has matured considerably of late.”
“Yes.”
“Arrange a meeting with the Head of House Clayton. I will handle this personally.”
“Understood.”
After the subordinate left the room, Daniel looked toward a photograph resting on one side of the table.
It was a group photograph of himself, the members of the Judgment Knight Order, the former Commander Robert, and a much younger Aneis.
Daniel was smiling in the picture.
But he knew.
He knew how many filthy emotions had been hidden inside that smile.
He had climbed all the way to the position of Commander in an attempt to escape those emotions.
Yet jealousy still remained within his heart.
No.
Now that he occupied this position……
“Your traces are far too clear.”
If anything, the jealousy had only grown stronger.
—
“An engagement? Brother’s?”
“Yes.”
After the Communication Crystal Orb went dark, Klein stared at Shane with a dumbfounded expression.
Brother…… engaged?
As nobles, they were naturally familiar with the concept of engagement.
But their father, Lowell, had never once mentioned anything related to marriage arrangements before.
It was only natural for Klein to be bewildered.
Besides, his brother getting engaged……
Shane had changed considerably of late, but Klein still found it difficult to imagine him marrying a woman and starting a family.
‘No. Perhaps that would actually make Brother even gentler than he is now?’
While Klein entertained such thoughts, Shane recalled his father’s words and considered this development that had never occurred in his previous life.
‘Aneis…….’
Lintberg J. Aneis.
The daughter of the renowned Judgment Knight Order.
She was also an elite cadet who had placed third in the departmental exam.
Shane had already been watching for an opportunity to make contact with Aneis.
She, too, had been exceptional enough in his previous life to remain in his memories.
But he had never imagined that their connection would begin through an engagement.
‘They intend to fill the vacancy left by Salier, that vermin.’
They could not possibly know Shane’s identity and be approaching him because of that.
He had left no evidence behind at the scene.
However, the position Count Salier had occupied was far too important to the master served by the Judgment Knight Order.
They were undoubtedly looking for someone to fill that vacancy as quickly as possible.
Shane actually welcomed the development.
‘I can make use of this.’
Nothing had been decided yet, so Shane chose to view the situation positively.
“More importantly, Klein.”
“Yes?”
“You still have not formed a team, have you?”
By team, Shane meant the party composition required of every cadet in the Department of Command.
Cadets in the Department of Command earned points by recruiting their own teammates and clearing dungeons together.
“Ah, yes. I thought I should learn more theory first, so I have postponed recruiting anyone.”
“Is that so? Then the timing is perfect.”
“……?”
“My paper prompted the Raviata Adventurer Party to approach me about a collaboration.”
“R-Raviata?”
Why were there so many shocking revelations today?
There was no possibility that Klein would be unfamiliar with Raviata’s reputation.
Alongside the now-vanished Hermes Adventurer Party, they were an object of admiration that countless Adventurers dreamed of joining!
“It seems they liked the paper I submitted for the departmental exam. They invited me to accompany them to the Mezaia Great Forest.”
“My goodness! Congratulations, Brother!”
Klein rejoiced as though it were his own achievement.
But only for a moment.
Once he remembered the contents of Shane’s paper, a shadow crossed his face.
“But the Mezaia Great Forest is…… one of the Five Great Cradles, isn’t it?”
“It is. It will be extremely dangerous.”
“Urgh…….”
If Shane returned safely from an expedition into the Mezaia Great Forest, his reputation would soar beyond measure.
But danger equal to that potential fame would be waiting there as well.
“That is why I am asking, Klein. Would you come with me?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Klein’s abilities would be tremendously useful even inside the Mezaia Great Forest.
The greatest danger of the Mezaia Great Forest was not its monsters, but the environment itself.
With Klein nearby, Shane would have far less to worry about……
And the experience would undoubtedly contribute greatly to Klein’s growth as well.
Furthermore, since they would be entering one of the Five Great Cradles, Klein would still be able to earn departmental points even if the party had not been personally assembled by him.
Klein, meanwhile, was deeply moved.
His brother must have trusted him to make such an offer.
‘No matter what happens, I will protect you.’
With that resolve, Klein accepted Shane’s proposal.
—
Contrary to Klein’s intentions, however, the rumors spreading throughout the Academy took a somewhat different direction.
“Hey, Klein. I heard you’re collaborating with Raviata. That’s incredible.”
At the words of Al Ross, a friend he often spent time with, Klein tilted his head.
“Thanks, but I’m not the one doing it. My brother is.”
“Huh? Really? So that part was true?”
“What?”
Ross laughed in disbelief, unable to believe that the person involved had not heard the rumors.
“You idiot, rumors about your brother are all over the Academy right now.”
“……? What are they saying?”
“They say your brother just attached himself to your collaboration with Raviata so he could share the credit.”
What in the world was that supposed to mean?
Whenever someone as famous as Raviata made a move, rumors inevitably became exaggerated.
Raviata had even given an interview in which she clearly stated that she had signed a contract with Clayton R. Shane.
So why had the story twisted into something like that?
“Tsk…… Your brother certainly seems to have changed a lot, but I suppose people still find the idea too difficult to accept.”
“…….”
Klein fell silent at his friend’s explanation.
He had never intended for this to happen.
He had simply thought it would be enough if he could protect his brother.
Yet somehow, things had turned out like this.
“This won’t do. I should announce immediately that I’m withdrawing from the collaboration—”
“You’re supposed to be smart, so why are you acting like an idiot today? Do you think those rumors will disappear just because you pull out? They’ll probably start accusing your brother of trying to monopolize all the glory instead.”
Ross, who came from a commoner background, simply could not understand why Klein was trying to kick away an opportunity that had practically fallen from the heavens.
He desperately tried to stop him.
Even so, Klein’s heart remained heavy.
Ross was right.
If Klein withdrew now, people might truly interpret it that way.
“Haah…… What should I do?”
His worries continued.
Even by the time class ended and he met Shane, Klein’s expression remained gloomy.
“Klein, why do you look like that? Did something happen?”
“Brother…… I’m sorry. Because of me, some strange rumors have started spreading…….”
“Rumors?”
Shane paid just as little attention to gossip as Klein did, so Klein cautiously explained what people were saying.
He would have preferred not to stir Shane’s old inferiority complex.
But if the alternative was stealing an opportunity that belonged to his brother, Klein would rather endure Shane disliking him a little.
However—
“Why are you concerning yourself with something like that?”
“Pardon? But this was something you accomplished entirely on your own, Brother.”
“Klein.”
“……Yes.”
“I told you before. I will not allow myself to be hurt by fools who let themselves be swayed by rumors. I am keeping my word. What about you?”
“…….”
Klein remembered when they had first returned to the Academy that year.
[And remember this. Sometimes, looking at someone the way you are now only hurts them more. I am not someone to pity.]
Without realizing it, Klein had fallen into the same pattern again.
Of course, he had only been worried about his brother.
But this was something Shane himself had to overcome.
Klein reflected on his own attitude.
‘That’s right. Brother himself doesn’t even care. It would be ridiculous for me to panic before he does.’
Klein had worried that Shane might once again be hurt as he had been in the past.
But before long, Klein recognized the truth hidden within his own heart.
‘I see. I was the one who was afraid.’
For the first time in his life, his brother was treating him kindly.
Aside from the strangely archaic way Shane had begun speaking, he no longer hurled barbed words at the people around him.
And though there was only one so far, someone had even approached Shane personally and asked to become his teammate.
Everything had changed so much that Shane hardly seemed like the brother Klein remembered from the past.
And because of that—
Klein had been afraid.
Afraid that his brother might return to the way he had once been.
Afraid that the wounds in his heart would open again.
At that moment, Klein felt as though the inside of his mind had suddenly become clear.
The wall of hesitation within him collapsed.
Still standing, Klein closed his eyes as a faint tremor ran through his body.
‘What?!’
Watching him, Shane felt a small shock inside.
The No-Self Trance.
A state occasionally reached when someone became so completely immersed in a single matter that everything else disappeared from awareness.
One might dismiss it as simply an extreme degree of concentration.
But it was nothing so simple.
The No-Self Trance was a phenomenon in which the turbid energy scattered throughout one’s inner self was extinguished, raising the very level of one’s existence.
In most cases, people experienced such a state only rarely, usually upon a battlefield where life and death hung in the balance.
And whenever they did, they underwent tremendous growth.
But Klein……
‘He reached the No-Self Trance from nothing more than exchanging a few words?’
Even Shane found it absurd.
But soon, the corner of his mouth rose ever so slightly.
‘That is my brother.’
And as the Hero’s older brother, Shane envisioned a future more fitting for himself.
‘His physical growth seems more than sufficient. In that case…….’
It was time to lay the foundation for the mental growth needed to become accustomed to real combat.
‘We should go to a dungeon.’
