153: Rich (1)

“You have the Count with you.”

“I-It has nothing to do with father.”

Lennon spoke as he flinched.

“I know everything. You are planning to pass on that mysterious breathing technique, right? Please tell me! I don’t want to lose to her!”

“How dare you raise your voice in front of a teacher?”

Lennon screamed and moved a step back seeing Jamie ready to hit him.

And Jamie smiled.

‘He feels inferior to Ann.’

A few days back, Ann came to ask about the magic circle. And Lennon himself saw how she managed to recreate the three dimensional magic circle in one try.

It must have been since then. He began to harbor a sense of inferiority to Ann’s brain.

‘What is this?’

Rivals are needed for growth.

Lennon will be a good rival for Ann. And that would work the other way too.

Lennon had great talent. He couldn’t be compared with Jamie or Siegfried, but he would surely become a great magician if he grew up.

“Please! I want to be strong!”

Lennon asked earnestly.

Seeing Ann’s talent, he didn’t want to fall back. It didn’t matter that Ann wasn’t born with talent in magic.

She had enough brains to do something and handle what she lacked.

Lennon was ahead of her at the moment, but who knew what would happen after this moment passed?

And what if Jamie became her personal teacher?

‘Reversal in an instant.’

He didn’t want to feel like that. So if Ann learned something, he should too!

So Lennon approached Jamie with that thought.

Of course, the choice was up to Jaime. Lennon looked at him nervously.

Scratching his chin, Jamie thought.

“Disciple…”

Lennon was talented.

Although his mind was a bit twisted and his talent wasn’t touched until now, he was still a fast growing child for someone who only recently began to learn magic in earnest.

And if he takes someone like him as a disciple, it would be amazing.

And if he was going to take Ann, adding another person shouldn’t be a problem.

And if it was Lennon, he could handle tougher training too, so wouldn’t it relieve stress for Jamie?

However, the problem was his father, Count Simon.

Jamie made a decision.

“That isn’t for me to decide.”

“Uh?”

“Come with the Count’s permission first. Your teacher is Count. But for me, teaching you would be like ignoring him. To be honest, didn’t you think that I would be disrespectful to the Count if you say something like this?”

“Th-that…”

Lennon didn’t answer.

Because Jamie’s words were right.

Blinded by jealousy, he acted on a whim. He didn’t think that what he wanted to do would undermine his father.

“I will come with my father’s permission, wait a little longer for me.”

Saying that Lennon left.

‘Funny one.’

He wasn’t saying that he would give up. It was definite that he didn’t want to be pushed by Ann.

“The teaching from Count should be enough. But teaching is a different matter.”

Count Simon was a strong magician, but he never had a disciple under him.

It wasn’t certain but Lennon had to be his first disciple, so Jamie didn’t expect Count Simon to teach well.

“I need to go back and think about how my teaching should be.”

Jamie went straight to his home.

Lennon looked at the five-story building nervously. This was Count Simon’s lab.

It was a lab, but he heard that his father practically lived there.

He came here after hearing from Jamie that his father’s permission was needed, but his steps didn’t move fast.

‘What if he doesn’t give permission?’

Permission wasn’t the problem.

He might get angry. Be called an ungrateful child and could be thrown out of the family.

This was greatly exaggerated but for Lennon his father might surely do that!

But he wanted to learn the mana method from Jamie. There are things he hated, and being left behind by Ann was on the top of it, and he wanted to know this new breathing method.

He was sure that he would rise to a higher level by just learning it.

‘Will he throw me out?’

No.

Despite all that, he was still the son.

No… since there were two children, abandoning one wouldn’t be a problem right? Still, he was better than his older brother so that wouldn’t happen.

However, if his request went beyond line, then Count Simon wouldn’t think of such things.

All kinds of delusions were running around his mind.

“What made you come here?”

At that moment, he heard a familiar voice from behind.

Lennon flinched and looked back.

There was a middle-aged man.

“F-father.”

Count Simon.

He asked his second son who came all the way here.

“I asked what made you come here.”

The Count didn’t like to repeat the same things over and over again.

Lennon knew it too, despite being shocked he decided to answer and hurriedly spoke.

“I-I have something to ask, father.”

“Ask?”

“Yes…”

Lennon was always withdrawn in front of his father.

Count Simon didn’t like that, but he knew the reason, so he didn’t bother pointing it out.

“Follow me.”

Count Simon passed Lennon and entered the building.

Lennon followed slowly.

Count Simon held no other positions except for the elder in the Magic world.

The reasons were varied, but the main reason was that he didn’t get too caught up in such things.

In fact, if he could have given up the elder position, he would have done that too.

But it was the King’s order. So he was forced to take it.

“Had a nice trip, Count? And your son.”

Count Simon was headed upstairs when a magician approached him politely and greeted the boy.

The Count called out the magician’s name.

“Mion. Bring tea to my office.”

“… I am not a servant.”

“If you don’t like it, leave my lab.”

“It will be there in a minute.”

The magician called Mion went to make tea with tears in eyes.

The Count looked back and asked lennon.

“What did you feel about him?”

“… he might look young, but has a high level of skill.”

“He turned 30 this year. 5th class and on the verge of hitting 6th class.”

6th class at 30.

Lennon’s eyes widened. He was a 3rd class at the age 9, but from this time on, he knew that the growth wouldn’t be too high.

Lennon too would stay in the 3rd class for quite a while and even if he gets to 4th class, he didn’t think that he would take so long to reach the 5th class.

Nevertheless, he grew with the sound of him being a genius, so how talented was this guy called Mion?

“But the world scoffs saying that isn’t a big deal. Even with being a 7th elder, I am about the same age as him.”

Mion didn’t have unusual talent, but Siegfried was young and already an elder.

Mion’s talent didn’t seem that great to the world.

“And Jamie Welton makes even Sigfried seem trivial.”

“…”

“Do you understand what I am saying?”

“Yes.”

Count Simon continued walking up.

“I am saying this because I think I know why you are here. I am not saying that you shouldn’t be greedy for talents greater than you. I am the kind of person who thinks jealousy and inferiority make people stronger. In fact, I too lived with such a mindset. But…”

The Count turned back to his son and said,

“You shouldn’t get too caught up in it. With a monster at that.”

“… I have a friend in class who understands what is seen at once.”

The word ‘friend’ didn’t sound right, but he couldn’t call her ‘that one’.

“It is heartbreaking to see more talent than me at the academy that I thought was nothing. I maybe be stronger, but I can’t sleep when I imagine that at some point they will be standing next to me. I want to win. I want to move so far that they can’t even follow my tail.”

The Count seemed slightly surprised at Lennon’s words.

He was a child who didn’t show much emotions apart from fear because of his fear of his father.

Even during those brief teaching sessions, Lennon practiced quietly. Even though it was difficult, he constantly clung to magic.

He knew the reason. It was because he wanted to show his father that he was good.

But what about now?

‘He is expressing his feelings in front of me.’

That would mean that the child Lennon is talking about is that great.

A smile formed on his lips.

He didn’t realize it. Count Simon smiled and turned.

Arriving at the office, he sat down and suggested his son sit on the other side of the table.

“Sit. So why did you come?”

“That… well… it was…”

“Speak out like a man.”

Lennon summoned courage and looked at his father.

It took a lot of courage for Lennon. Clenching his chin, he took a deep breath and bit his teeth.

And said,

“I want to learn magic from Jamie Welton. I came here thinking that asking my father for permission was the first priority.”

Upon hearing that, Count Simon’s expression hardened terribly.

“Black. Do you think Count Simon will give permission?”

Kik!

Jamie had summoned Black to think about the Whole Body breathing technique.

The ability to move freely while using the full body breathing technique was possible for Jamie because of Black.

So no one else could do it.

It could work if the others had a familiar like Black, but it was impossible for a human to handle this.

If it exists, it must have been created by a dragon or high elf.

“You don’t think he’ll allow it? Why?”

Kik!

“You think he is cold-hearted?! Do you think he’ll act like that to his children?”

Kik!

“Rather, wouldn’t it be nice if he wasn’t removed from the family?”

Jamie was shocked by Black’s words.

Even in his eyes, Count Simon was someone who was quite cold hearted.

Still, he was also a gentleman.

Kik!

“Isn’t it more like a choice?”

A person who is kind to those who are the same level as him, but would mercilessly throw people away if he thinks they are inferior.

Jamie was somewhat of the same thought as Black.

“But I have a different opinion.”

Kik?

“Maybe he will.”

It wasn’t certain.

It was because Count Simon was someone who was difficult to analyze. And the Count was someone who taught Lennon.

He was letting his son be here because there was potential in him.

“As you said, Count Simon is a man with a twisted sense of choice, but that’s why he will allow it.”

Kik!

Black shook its head.

“Right? Count Simon is the family head. Lennon’s request will hurt the pride, but that means that if Lennon has skills worthy of the head, he’ll be satisfied.”

So Lennon will come back with Count Simon’s permission.

If not, no.