Chapter 8: Surviving in the Family (3)
Vicente, still looking toward the altar, suddenly asked me something.
He wanted to know what I thought about the other floating castles I'd visited—the ones belonging to different branches of the Arie family.
What were the other fortresses like compared to this one?
I decided to answer honestly.
"Well, they were… alright, I guess. Some were stronger on average, others about the same, and a few even weaker than this place. But still, traveling around feels more worthwhile than just staying here. It makes me realize how vast the Tower really is."
"Then, Hoaquin—did you meet any of them? The ones each fortress has—those born with exceptional talent. People like you or me."
"Ah, right. Yeah, I met a few. They were definitely Arie through and through. Some were even stronger than you, Vicente. And a few had such intense fighting spirit that even I had to admire them."
"I see…"
Vicente dusted off his clothes and stood up.
"Oh? You're leaving already?"
"Not already—'finally' seems more accurate."
Wait, what?
I could've sworn we only came to the altar a little while ago, but when I checked the time on my Pocket, it was already dawn.
Huh? Did I really spend all that time just looking at the ceiling?
Well… I guess I did play with Anna for quite a while, and then chatted with Vicente.
"Even if you don't care, make sure Anna gets to bed soon. She'll catch a cold."
Vicente said that and headed back toward the residential building.
And seriously—he was lecturing about the cold while walking around in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
Sixteen years old, and already acting like an old man.
"Come on, Anna's wearing warm clothes, she's fine! Right~?"
"…Actually, it's a little cold."
"...Ah. Sorry, that's my bad. Let's get you to bed, okay? You need your sleep to grow taller."
"Mm…"
....
After tucking Anna into bed and pulling the blanket snugly over her, I returned alone to the observatory overlooking the altar.
It wasn't sentimentality that drew me back—it was because I knew something beautiful was about to happen around this time.
Tch, if only they'd waited a little longer.
It was supposed to be a surprise, but both of them left already.
Well, I guess it's for the best—Anna was cold.
If I'd told her ahead of time, she might've tried to hide it and stay just to avoid disappointing me, and I couldn't let my little sister shiver just for that.
Still, I really wanted her to see it…Her wide, sparkling eyes whenever she was amazed were always so cute.
But health comes first.
....
"Oh—"
It began.
From the distance, I saw the White Irrawaddy,
a species of Shinheuh that lived on this floor.
According to what I'd overheard from Rankers,
this was the time of year when they returned here after spawning in the lower levels.
Just as they'd said, dolphin-like Shinheuh with bodies glowing in soft white light began surfacing, one by one.
It was my first time seeing them, but even the Arie Rankers came out to watch, which told me this was quite the spectacle.
One, two, seven, twenty, fifty, a hundred, two hundred, five hundred… a thousand…
The number of White Irrawaddies increased exponentially, until they gathered together and swam as one massive, luminous entity beneath the Tower's vast ceiling.
Everywhere they passed, trails of pale light shimmered behind them— a breathtaking sight.
Ah, I really should've woken the others.
They're probably sleeping soundly right now…but waking them now would be too much.
It was disappointing to see something this magnificent alone, so I reluctantly pulled a recording stone from my Pocket inventory.
At least I could record it for them later.
But just as I activated the recording function—
a deafening boom echoed through the air.
Massive airships suddenly appeared out of nowhere—not just one, but several, filling the sky.
What the hell was that?
Startled, the White Irrawaddies scattered in every direction, vanishing into the distance.
The glowing trails that had filled the ceiling faded just as quickly.
The Rankers nearby sighed, murmuring in frustration,
then quietly made their way back indoors.
They'd clearly been enjoying the view until it was ruined.
I approached one of the nearest Rankers and called out to him.
"Hey, excuse me, sir—what are those airships?"
Having lived as Hoaquin for four years, I'd built a decent network within this floating fortress.
Thanks to my talent and polite demeanor, I got along well with the education supervisors—Rankers who trained us—and through them, I'd made several other Ranker acquaintances.
The man I stopped was one of those I knew.
"Hm? You're still awake? What a shame, kid. That was probably your first time seeing the Great Migration of the Shinheuh. Too bad it ended like this… The next one won't happen for another twenty years."
"Ugh, that hurts to hear, but… do you know what caused it? What are those airships exactly?"
"Those? From what I heard, FUG caused a large-scale terrorist attack on an upper floor. Those ships are Jahad's army heading up to suppress it."
"I see…"
....
Another thing I've learned after living as Hoaquin for four years—this timeline seems to be set several hundred, maybe even a few thousand years
after the Genesis War.
Back then, FUG had stepped out of the shadows to openly oppose Jahad's coalition—and lost.
Now, they hide in the dark, surfacing occasionally to cause mayhem like this.
Judging by the Ranker's words, that must've been one of those incidents.
I don't really care about FUG, but still, I was pissed that the Shinheuh migration got interrupted.
If only I'd pulled out the recording stone a bit earlier…
Damn it.
With a heavy sigh and a tinge of regret, I returned to my room and went to sleep.
....
The life of Hoaquin—truly cursed with bad luck.
Did I even get thirty minutes of sleep? It was already time to get up.
I always set my alarm an hour before class, meaning the first lesson would start in exactly one hour.
I'd expected to get little sleep, but still—who could've predicted that the long-awaited Great Migration of the Shinheuh would end so suddenly?
That sense of emptiness turned into mental fatigue, weighing heavily on my body.
After a quick wash, I stepped outside and saw Anna walking past my door.
Even little kids like her had to wake up this early for lessons—what a cruel world.
"Morning, Anna."
"…Good morning, Hoaquin-oppa…"
Poor thing. Still half-asleep.
She already sleeps a lot as it is, and after staying up late with me, this was inevitable.
If I hadn't sent her to bed early and had her watch the whole Shinheuh migration, it could've been bad.
I gently ruffled her hair and let Shinsu flow through my hand.
It was my attempt to imitate Headon's instant recovery technique—I'd tried several times and concluded it was impossible, but eventually managed to modify it into a version that at least eased physical fatigue.
Well, he's an Administrator—of course his was broken.
For me, just creating a Shinsu manipulation that reduces tiredness was already an achievement.
"Huh…?"
Feeling her body grow lighter, Anna's eyes widened in surprise.
Ah, adorable.
Just that expression made it worth it.
"Anna, even if your body feels refreshed, your mind's still tired, so don't push yourself today, okay?"
"…Thanks, oppa."
No problem.
As for Vicente, he'd probably refuse on pride alone—
and honestly, he's strong enough that he doesn't need it anyway.
....
— "Attention, student Hoaquin. Please come to the uppermost level of the floating fortress immediately.
I repeat, student Hoaquin, please proceed to the top level."
The announcement echoed through the halls.
Huh? What was that about?
Was it because I brought Anna and Vicente to the altar yesterday?
But nothing happened last time I did that…
My confusion cleared the moment I stepped into the administrator's chamber on the top floor.
Inside the floating fortress's exclusive docking bay sat a foreign airship, one I'd never seen before—
its insignia completely different from that of our own branch.
'Ah… so it's a duel exchange.'
That explained everything.
The reason I was often sent to other floating fortresses for extended "education."
Officially, it was to broaden my knowledge and experience more of the Tower—but in truth, it was part of the ongoing rivalry between Arie branches.
A kind of expedition, or political exhibition match.
Naturally, our fortress wasn't the entirety of the Arie family.
The true Arie encompassed countless floating castles and territories across many floors,
all centered around the main branch on the 100th Floor.
Different branches, different interests—and thus, competition was inevitable.
Whenever I visited another branch "for educational exchange," it always ended the same way:
I'd duel the strongest Arie of my age group there.
In short, each branch paraded its "most promising prodigies," putting them against one another under the pretense of friendly competition.
The branch whose representative won would gain prestige and influence, and the victor themselves would be recognized as a potential future Regular and Ranker—earning more opportunities later.
Of course, I'd never lost a single duel.
Thanks to that, our branch was doing great, and I'd built a decent rapport with our fortress administrator.
Honestly, I didn't like being used as a pawn in this branch-power tug-of-war, but it was also my ticket to travel outside the fortress and fight strong opponents.
A fair give-and-take, I suppose.
Lost in thought, I soon found myself at the guest room on the top floor.
After knocking and entering, I saw a boy about my age sitting there—clearly the visiting prodigy.
"You've arrived, Hoaquin. Allow me to introduce you.
This guest is from the floating fortress on the 35th Floor, and this young man is one of their most distinguished swordsmen."
"I am Arie Hoaquin."
"Arie Lune."
His eyes flicked up and down, analyzing me—
gauging whether I was on his level.
That arrogant look told me everything: he thought I was beneath him.
Rude.
First meeting and already speaking casually–insulting, really.
Even as irritation flickered across my face, the visiting delegate ignored it and got to the point.
"So, you're Hoaquin. I've heard much about you. This child here is the most highly regarded swordsman in our branch. We came to promote friendly relations and broaden his experience…and, if you have the time—"
"Let's duel."
"A duel? Well, that was rather—hm?"
The delegate narrowed his eyes at being cut off mid-sentence, clearly displeased, but he didn't dare press further—not with this fortress's administrator present.
Naturally, the administrator was on my side, and finding my assertiveness amusing, he chuckled heartily.
"Hahahaha! It seems our young warrior's spirit is burning bright today. Quite the passion, wouldn't you say?"
"Reckless passion only ends up harming oneself."
"Heh, we'll see about that."
I had no intention of getting dragged into their political games, so I headed straight for the dueling chamber.
Apparently, Lune felt the same, since he followed right behind me.
The guest room had a glass wall that allowed a full view of the arena, so both the administrator and the delegate could watch our match.
Lune unsheathed his sword.
"Draw your weapon. You're the host here, so I'll give you the first move."
"I'll gladly take that…but don't expect me to bother drawing my sword."
Before I'd even finished, Lune hastily swung his blade, cutting through a burst of Shinsu I'd fired.
"A Wave Controller…?"
"If that's all you can assume, then sure."
I wasn't in the mood for swordplay.
This time, I'd only be using Bangs—and maybe, just maybe, push toward awakening my Shinsu attribute.
I could feel it—the shape of my Bangs sharpening,
growing thinner, more linear.
This might be the perfect chance to finally manifest my innate Shinsu property.
To think—a non-Regular like me attempting Shinsu Attribute Manifestation…
Even I had to admit, it was insane.
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