Chapter 73

The man, wearing a uniform and a pair of gauntlets, held a chart just like the other researchers.

Though I didn't recognize his face, one thing was certain.

'At least he's a significant supporting character.'

He had a rare good-looking face.

It might be silly to judge importance by appearance, but so far, it had never been wrong...

"Besides causing a disturbance during class, you even made remarks that disrupt the long-standing order here."

"......"

"It seems the blood runs true. You look just like your father."

The man smirked and looked down at me with cold eyes.

"Who are you?"

I asked, on guard.

The man only laughed again.

At that moment, Gem came up to me and whispered in my ear.

"This guy is the new martial arts instructor. He just arrived today. From now on, he'll be in charge of us."

"What's his name?"

"Don't know. He hasn't introduced himself yet."

I whispered back to Gem and then looked up at the man again.

Though I didn't know him, his arrogant gaze and the noble air in his posture clearly marked him as a high-ranking noble.

And from the way he clearly disapproved of my actions...

'A stuck-up high-ranking ability user. So, he's probably the villain?'

Who could be a supporting villain character appearing at the training facility at this point?

I couldn't think of anyone. Frustrated, I asked again.

"Who are you...?"

"Oh, right. Introduction."

The man took his eyes off me and looked around at the children.

"I'm Alexei Antres, the new martial arts instructor. I'll be here temporarily for about a month."

What? I blinked at the man's name, then—

"U-U-Uncle?!"

I was shocked.

The man, or rather, my uncle, smiled at me.

'Why is my uncle suddenly here?'

The children started murmuring.

My uncle, who had been staring at me with his mouth agape in surprise, raised his hand to cover his eyes.

His tightly pressed lips trembled, as if he was trying to hold back laughter.

"Really, I'm going to go crazy..."

He removed his hand from his eyes and looked at me with a softer expression than before.

"Lilith Rubinstein."

"A, hello..."

Seeing me bow, my uncle bit his lip.

Then, he took a deep breath and, unsure of what to do, opened his arms toward me.

"......?"

"...Don't want to? Just once."

Does he want a hug?

Since he's on my side, it shouldn't be difficult.

'But his expression and lines were so villain-like...'

Noticing my caution, my uncle lowered his arms.

"Can't do it...?"

"A, no?!"

I quickly hugged my uncle.

He easily picked me up, and his arms were trembling.

I'm light, so it's not because I'm heavy. Rather...

'He must really find me incredibly cute.'

Putting aside my worry that he might be a villain, I clung to his neck.

"Nice to meet you, Uncle!"

"Huh."

My uncle couldn't take his eyes off me. I also carefully examined his handsome face.

'Now that I think about it, though I didn't recognize him at first, he looks a bit familiar. He looks like my twin brothers!'

Alexei Antres

1. Rank: Dos.

2. Duke of Antres.

3. Leader of the 'Dos Mage Corps'.

4. A revolutionary army officer led by Enoch Rubinstein.

5. Father of my twin brothers and my uncle!←(New!)

He was supposed to appear much later...

'Because Theo is better, he returned to the system a bit earlier. If this continues, we can achieve the revolution at an ultra-high speed, right?'

I chuckled to myself.

"By the way, what was the commotion? It was the 1-on-1 free sparring session, right?"

My uncle looked down at Bruce.

Bruce, who was clutching me in his arms, looked pale, as if he was scared.

Feeling a bit sorry for Bruce...

"Bruce was being too rough with Gem during sparring! I tried to stop him, but he attacked me too, and Gem got hit and even had a nosebleed!"

I immediately reported.

"What?"

My uncle examined Gem.

He was covered in dirt, had several bruises, and was bleeding from the nose.

In sparring, one should always be careful not to hurt each other. After all, everyone is precious.

But things were different when the opponent had a white badge.

'They probably got excited and beat up the commoners.'

The teachers wouldn't likely intervene.

But my uncle would be different, right? Please!

"Bruce Chamber..."

While holding me, my uncle flipped open the chart he was holding.

"You only managed to score 950 points for graduation, even after repeating a year? Your expected rank is 2, but your skills are terrible."

Bruce's grades were revealed to everyone.

"The basic rule of sparring is to prioritize the safety of your opponent. I clearly said that you should pair up with ability users of the same badge color to practice."

"......"

"You were using people as punching bags and wasting mana pointlessly, instead of practicing to improve your skills."

Bruce's face turned beet red, as if he was embarrassed by my uncle's sharp words.

"Violation of safety rules and refusal to follow the instructions of the instructor. Bruce Chamber, 100 penalty points."

"Y-Yes?!"

Bruce, who had been listening silently, suddenly looked up.

The moment 100 points were deducted from the 950 points he had accumulated over more than a year.

Regardless of Bruce's reaction, my uncle continued addressing the children.

"Everyone who was sparring with someone of a different skill level, 50 penalty points each."

Some children who had been bullying the white badge holders were shocked.

"And."

My uncle looked directly into my eyes while holding me.

"Commoners are also human beings."

"Ah..."

He then addressed the children again.

"Therefore, do not repeat such unpleasant incidents during my class."

* * *

My uncle said he missed me so much that he couldn't wait until the discharge day and came to the training facility.

He even volunteered to be a temporary martial arts instructor...

'No wonder. Theo's letter mentioned that he would come to see me.'

Indeed, it was the execution power of someone who had traveled the world to cure Theo, abandoning his family.

"But, Uncle."

"Hmm?"

"Can you put me down? I'm heavy..."

My uncle had been carrying me around the campus since the class ended.

Every child we passed was surprised and whispering, which made me a bit uncomfortable.

'Is this okay?'

Emperor, the head of the magic tower, Duke of Antres.

Somehow, my position in the training facility had become that of a princess, loved by all the powerful figures...

"What do you mean heavy? I don't even feel you. Why, don't you like it?"

"No, no! I don't dislike it at all! I'm just worried you might be tired..."

"Huh."

My uncle, trying to hold back his laughter, pinched my cheek gently.

"That's why everyone wants to have daughters."

"Hehe, Uncle! Where are we going now? My brothers always say they miss you... So, don't go anywhere!"

"Right. I wanted to talk about that. Thank you. Thanks to you, Theo is completely cured. I, and Ordia, are relieved."

"Of course. I'm also very, very happy that Theo is better."

"Kid."

My uncle, while walking, couldn't stop looking at my face.

"Why are you so pretty?"

"Ahem."

I'm embarrassed...

"I understand why my brother-in-law almost died. I found it hard to believe that he would become a different person around his daughter."

"Ah! By the way, does Uncle know what Dad used to look like?"

"Of course. We went to war together dozens of times. My brother-in-law, however, was a man of few words, making it hard to get close to him."

Indeed, it's hard to imagine. A dad with few words?

Of course, the original Enoch Rubinstein in the story was exactly like that.

"Can he even get married? Ordia was very worried about that."

My uncle chuckled and tapped my nose.

"Seeing such an angelic daughter, I understand."

"Hehe."

"Not just in words, but you're a real angel. You didn't just save Theo; you saved me too."

"Really?"

"Hmm. Since I found out about Theo's illness, I've been looking for a way to cure him."

My uncle raised his eyebrows and added.

"During this expedition, if I didn't find anything useful, I planned to storm the magic tower and set it on fire."

"Really? Why the magic tower?"

"Because they know useful magic. I planned to force them to reveal the magic formula if Theo's condition worsened."

I immediately realized what my uncle meant by 'magic'.

The magic he was talking about was forbidden magic that ordinary ability users shouldn't use.

"Is it the kind of magic that can bring the dead back to life...?"

"Ah, yes."

"Can you use it if you know the formula?"

"If it were that easy, everyone who died would come back to life."

My uncle smirked and said.

"There are about a thousand unpublished magic formulas known only to the head of the magic tower... needed."

"Ah!"

"It also requires an enormous amount of mana. Only a few 1st-class Dos can use it, like the head of the magic tower or my brother-in-law..."

"What about Uncle?"

"Yes, I can too."

"Wow! So if the head of the magic tower reveals the formula, the dead can be brought back to life?"

"No, if it were that easy, everyone who died would come back to life."

My uncle smiled, as if finding me cute, and tapped my nose, then hesitated before adding.

"...There's also a price to pay."

"What kind of price?"

"......"

My uncle didn't answer and stared at me intently.

He seemed to be debating whether to tell me or not.

'It must be a huge price...'

I urged my uncle, tense.

"Ah, tell me. I'm curious..."

"Hmm, sure. Since, thanks to you, I won't need to use that magic."

"Okay, okay!"

"It's an absolute secret. Don't tell the twins, your aunt, or anyone that I was looking into this magic."

"Okay! I'll keep it to myself!"

I covered my mouth with my hand and nodded vigorously.

My uncle chuckled and said.

"The life of the caster..."

"......"

"Equivalent exchange is required for resurrection."

...What?