Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 43

Kaladan Bloodline Judgment

When Harang admitted his guilt, most of the blood relatives could smile, apart from Charen who was in despair.

‘As expected.’

The evidence was clear, and they had even brought Prince Castia as a witness. What else could they do in such a situation?

Instead of making shameful excuses, it was more honorable to admit his guilt and accept the expulsion.

As the blood relatives, thinking it was all over, began to prepare to leave, waiting for the judgment to be delivered to him.

“……Speak.”

Suddenly, Duke Kalel spoke.

It was rare for him to speak during the judgment, so the hall fell silent once again.

“Tell us what rules you violated. The severity of your judgment will depend on it.”

As a sinner, Harang approached him, knelt down, and bowed his head.

“I…”

Everyone could predict what he was going to say. Arihil and Charen were no exceptions.

“During the outdoor extreme training of the Raw Stone Squadron, I was on night watch, got hungry, and cooked mushroom soup.”

Suddenly, as Harang finished speaking, the expressions of the people stiffened instantly.

‘What did I just hear?’

Because it was such an unrealistic answer, people doubted their ears. Some of the blood relatives were already scratching their ears.

“Continue.”

At Kalel’s words, Harang began to list the rules he had broken, one by one.

“I secretly went out to swing my sword outside of regular training hours and ended up breaking all the equipment before running away.”

“During the national flag-raising time, I didn’t want to do the outdoor salute, so I quickly jumped back to the dormitory even when the anthem was playing.”

“Knowing that skipping meals would result in a loss of combat power, I threw away all the tasteless food and secretly cooked fast food in the cafeteria.”

“I was three minutes late for the morning assembly.”

“I delayed the sun-drying done every three days for a week.”

“I postponed writing the daily combat reports and ended up writing them all in one day.”

“During personal maintenance time, I lay in bed to rest.”

Harang’s daily routine at the training camp flowed out from his mouth. There wasn’t anything significant. Violations of that level were committed by all the blood relatives here.

No, rather, Harang was quite tame. Other blood relatives had done far worse.

“……That is all.”

After confessing everything he had done, Harang bowed his head, and Kalel spoke.

“Kaladan’s rules, no matter how small, carry different weight. Youngest grandson, as a direct descendant, you must act as a model for everyone. Do you not understand that?”

“Apologies, but yes. My brothers and sisters would have shown perfect and exemplary dignity as direct descendants of Kaladan without violating any rules even once……”

At those words, most of the direct blood relatives turned their eyes or coughed awkwardly.

“I am still unaware of the weight carried by the name of a direct descendant. I am deeply ashamed of my foolish mindset and feel unworthy of the family head who accepted and acknowledged me.”

After Harang spoke, he remained silent for a while, but Duke Kalel did not respond and just quietly looked at him.

Then, another blood relative stood up, holding his sword in a reverse grip and raising it high.

“I request to speak.”

It was Hiron Paul Kaladan, the eldest grandson of the third generation of direct descendants of Kaladan.

“Semi Polden Harang. You should know that the reason we gathered you here is not because of such trivial matters. It seems you intend to deny and evade your true sins. Is that correct?”

Harang, upon being questioned, looked at Hiron.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t broken any other rules besides these.”

At that moment, another blood relative stood up abruptly.

“I request to speak!”

It was Admiral Martan Kaladan of the Eastern Fortress. Though he was a collateral descendant, he was present at this gathering as a ‘Polden,’ and he spoke with a deeply displeased expression.

“Why do you keep lying? Didn’t you easily accomplish your first mission at White Night Castle to be recognized as a Polden with the help of others?”

As he spoke, others began to stand up and speak one by one.

“The heretic was a 5-star warrior, and the followers were at least 2 to 3 stars. Are you lying about dealing with such a heretic by yourself?”

“The investigation has already concluded. Traces of magic were found, and by comparing the magic waves, it will be clear which magician helped you.”

“Because of you, that magician might face an unjust death.”

“And yet, you still intend to lie?”

One by one, as the blood relatives began to speak, Charen turned pale as if she might faint. The only thing keeping her conscious was Harang, the person in question, who stood with a calm expression, looking up confidently.

“Someone else’s help… I don’t know about that. I resolved it entirely with my own strength. I killed both the followers and the heretic leader.”

As Harang spoke, believing his words carried weight, Jerry Kal Aradela, the judge, struck the bell with his sword to silence everyone and then spoke.

“We will now hear the testimony of the second prince of Herrael, Castia Asadin Maus Herrael, who is present as a witness.”

Thinking it was finally his turn, Castia stood up confidently.

“Yes, I saw it clearly. The followers all fell under the influence of magic, and when facing the heretic leader, he teamed up with a magician to attack.”

“Semi Polden Harang. Do you have any rebuttal?”

Harang tilted his head.

“At that time, wasn’t Your Highness knocked out cold by the heretic leader, unable to do anything?”

Was it an illusion, or did someone snicker from somewhere?

Castia’s face turned bright red.

‘Why on earth does my sister want to see such an annoying, sly guy like him!’

Anyway, he could wash away his shameful past by accumulating merits in the future. But Harang was different. If he got buried here, he wouldn’t have a chance to rise again.

“Though I lost consciousness for a moment, I was definitely awake when lightning struck the heretic leader!”

As Prince Castia finished speaking, the blood relatives began to murmur amongst themselves.

“I knew it.”

“Though adopted into the direct line from a collateral branch, his abilities don’t match the position.”

“Realizing this, he secretly hired someone to help him achieve merit…”

“There’s no way Kaladan would fail to notice such a petty trick.”

The judge struck the bell again, giving the floor back to Harang.

“Your Highness, you mentioned witnessing the magician. Can you describe their appearance?”

“The magician wasn’t seen. I only saw the magic being cast.”

“So… Your Highness didn’t see the magician, only the magic itself?”

“What does it matter? If there was magic, there must have been a magician. Magic doesn’t cast itself, does it?”

“No, it matters.”

As the situation finally turned in his favor, Harang stood up from his kneeling position, straightening his back, and looked at Duke Kalel.

At that moment, Judge Jerry Kal Aradela quietly conversed with someone and received a document.

“The investigation results have arrived.”

Jerry opened the document, read its contents calmly, then slightly opened his eyes and looked at Duke Kalel.

“Announce the results, Judge.”

“The investigation by the Royal Magical Investigation Unit, Ol One… The magical energy detected at the scene had two distinct wavelengths.”

Two types! At this, Prince Castia’s face brightened, and he stood up abruptly.

“The first wavelength matched the magical energy of Harang Paul Kaladan. The second wavelength…”

Castia clenched his fist. Charen, unable to bear watching any longer, closed her eyes tightly.

“was from Castia Asadin Maus Herrael, the second prince.”

“That’s right! …What?”

Jerry turned his head and looked at Prince Castia.

“It’s you.”

“W-what?!”

Castia, unable to comprehend Jerry’s words, blinked and asked dumbly.

“So, you’re saying I helped him with magic? That’s impossible! I haven’t learned magic!”

Castia waved his hands in denial, but no one here interpreted it that way.

“That’s not what it means, Your Highness.”

Jerry looked at him with a calm voice.

He took a moment to breathe, then, as the judge who must remain the most rational here, he made a statement that seemed utterly unrealistic.

“What it means is that, across the entire battlefield, only the magical energy of Semi Polden Harang was detected. This implies that the person who used the magic was none other than Semi Polden Harang himself.”

“…??”

For a moment, Castia didn’t fully grasp Jerry’s words and tilted his head unconsciously.

Then he asked again.

“So, you’re saying there was no magician helping Harang, and he used both sword and magic by himself?”

“That’s correct. Since the magical energy of Prince Castia was only detected briefly and then cut off, this seems to be the only explanation…”

There was no time to feel embarrassed by the mention of his faint magical energy. He couldn’t understand this absurd investigation result.

Castia sharply turned his head to look at the Kaladan blood relatives.

He wanted anyone to stop this joke, or at least give a proper explanation.

He wanted to shout it out, but…

‘What… really?’

Most of them had the same confused expression as Castia. They were frowning and glaring at Jerry as if they couldn’t understand.

Only then did he recall that there was no rule among Kaladan’s regulations that prohibited learning magic.

If Harang had indeed used magic, he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

“…No, fine. Harang, if you indeed used magic, why not demonstrate it here to prove it? If it’s true, you should be able to show it here as well, right?”

At his words, Harang gave a meaningful smile, causing a chill to run down Castia’s spine and his heart to sink.

That smile, he had seen it before.

It was the smile of his eldest brother… the smile of someone born with the spirit of a ruler, a king.

“Prince Castia.”

“Y-yes…?”

“Is the Kaladan Duchy, a joke to you?”

“……!!”

Startled by Harang’s sudden remark, Castia shouted as if a bomb had been placed on his chest.

“W-What are you talking about! I never look down on the Kaladan Duchy!”

“Well…… it seems His Highness doesn’t understand the current situation at all.”

Harang slightly smirked crookedly.

“The Kaladan Bloodline Judgment is a place to accuse and judge a member of the family when there is clear evidence of their crime. This place was convened because His Highness decided to testify.”

“That’s right! I indeed saw the magic, and even the Inquisitor of Makris testified to it.”

“No. The Inquisitor of Makris only saw the magic but did not see the magician, and therefore did not attend this session.”

With those words, Castia realized something was wrong.

Was there such a big difference between seeing the magic and seeing the magician……?

‘……Ah.’

He realized it too late.

If the magician was witnessed, it was clear evidence that he received help from someone else.

However, if it was just the use of magic, numerous possibilities were open. For instance, the assumption that ‘Harang could use magic along with his swordsmanship’ could be made.

“In the end, because of your testimony alone, all the esteemed members of the Kaladan family gathered here, and I am subjected to the Bloodline Judgment. If you fail to present clear evidence……”

Harang’s eyes sank deeply.

“You will have deceived and insulted the Kaladan family.”

“D-Insult?! Insulting?! I-I never intended to do that!”

“You never intended…… That itself sounds like you are looking down on Kaladan. It means you attended the Kaladan Bloodline Judgment lightly. Do you think this is a gathering to scold a child’s mistake?”

“……!”

“I am being judged here as a member of the Kaladan family and as a knight. Naturally, as I decided to provide definite information for judging a member of the Kaladan family, you must take responsibility.”

Only then did Castia understand why the Inquisitors did not attend the Bloodline Judgment.

Because they already knew how serious this place was!

“Prince Castia. If this judgment concludes with a not guilty verdict, are you prepared to offer your right arm?”

“M-My right arm……?!”

“Surely, you do not think that the weight of our family is lighter than just an arm.”

As Castia began to sweat coldly, Harang chuckled and said.

“I don’t have a hobby of collecting others’ arms either. If you cannot offer your arm, I would be fine with compensation equivalent to the value of your right arm.”

“Grr……!”

Castia gritted his teeth.

He found the current situation strange.

Harang seemed to be threatening him, but what did that matter?

‘That’s just bluff! Reaching the 4th star in swordsmanship and the 3rd star in magic at the age of 14? That’s nonsense!’

In the end, Castia clenched his teeth and threw a gamble at Harang.

“Fine! If Lord Harang shows proof that he used magic, I will offer a compensation equivalent to my right arm, and I swear it in the name of the Herrael imperial family……!”

Crack-boom!

“……Ugh!”

Just as he swore as a prince, spitting out his words, a blue lightning bolt fell from above.

Thanks to his instinctively raised aura defense, he wasn’t seriously injured, but the mental shock was even greater.

‘How, in the world……?’

Even in the confusion from the lightning strike, the prince saw it.

The blue magic circle at Harang’s fingertips, spinning and sparking. He twisted his hand as if he was amused.

Then, the magic circle glowed red and ignited.

“Yes, I can use magic too. I achieved the 3rd star this year. And……”

He mischievously smiled and snapped his fingers. The flame extinguished as the magic circle descended to his wrist, spinning around.

Some people occasionally pretended to be magicians using expensive scrolls, but the free operation of the magic circle around his wrist was evidence that he was a real magician.

“Actually, even if you couldn’t give a clear testimony, you wouldn’t have needed to offer your right arm, Prince. Our Kaladan isn’t that scary or grim. But since you swore to give me a gift…… I will gratefully accept it.”

Only then did the prince realize.

That he had been defeated.

In his mission.

In the judgment.

In everything….