Seeker 139

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Chapter 139. The Heir

As I walked through the corridors of the mansion with Aria-san, something unexpected happened.

"Hey, Althea, who are these dirty-looking folks?"

A young man appeared from the other end of the corridor and called out suddenly.

He had the same golden hair and blue eyes as Aria-san. 

He looked to be in his early twenties.

"Brother...! These are the adventurers who are willing to help me and go to the Dragon Valley! Isn't that rude of you!"

Aria protested hurriedly, but the young man addressed as "brother" just snickered.

"Hah! Hey, hey, Althea, are you planning to go to the Dragon Valley? Don't do it, don't do it. There's no need to go and die in vain for such a foolish father."

"What...!? What are you saying, brother!?"

"That bothersome old man is finally going to pass the family headship to me. When father dies and I take over, I'll squeeze plenty of taxes from the people and give you some good treatment too. You should stay quiet in the castle until father kicks the bucket."

"W-What are you...!"

"Oops, that slipped out. Forget what I just said... Anyway, Althea, how long do you plan on acting like a tomboy? Aren't you ashamed as a noble's daughter to be sneaking around as an adventurer?"

"How dare you say that! It's because you got into debt from gambling, isn't it? Do you know how much trouble our father is going through to repay that!?"

"That's why I apologized multiple times, didn't I? I never thought that even a family like the Counts would run out of money. If you don't have money, just raise taxes and squeeze it out of the people. I can't understand why father chooses to stay poor."

"Taxes are meant to protect the people! Didn't father tell you that nobles shouldn't use them to indulge themselves? Don't you get it!?"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Stop making so much noise. Just do whatever you want. A foolish sister who won't accept her brother's good intentions can go get killed by monsters in the Dragon Valley, for all I care."

"How dare you...! Who do you think will die? I will collect the medicinal herbs and come back!"

"Yeah, yeah, do your best, then. You're probably going to end up as dragon food anyway. Well then, farewell, tomboy."

The young man waved his hand dismissively and walked away from us.

Aria-san was furiously angry as she watched him leave, and then she took a deep breath and bowed her head toward us.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I apologize on behalf of my brother for his rude remarks."

"No worries, we're fine. Is that guy Aria-san's brother?"

"Yes. His name is Elvis. If, for some reason, our father passes away, the eldest son, Elvis, will inherit the family title."

"Seriously? If he becomes the Lord, the people in the town will have a tough time."

"Not only the town but also the villages around it are under the rule of the Flandir family. The lives of tens of thousands of people rest on the shoulders of the Lord. However, my brother completely fails to understand that taxes and governance exist for the people's happiness! And the way he talked about it being better if father were gone, that kind of statement is just too much!"

Aria-san tightly grips her hand.

It's as if she didn't care about her brother being called that guy by Yuzuki.

On the other hand, Kazane-san sticks her tongue out in the direction the young man left and says,

"Anyway, we must obtain the medicinal herbs no matter what and cure the Lord's illness. Isn't that right, Daichi-kun?"

"Yes. Now that we've accepted the request, we will accomplish it. Right, Yuzuki?"

"Of course. I'll expose that damn heir's arrogance. But talking about the future, isn't there a possibility for Aria-san to inherit instead?"

"Eh...? Th-that is... The family title is usually passed down to the eldest son. Besides, I'm not fit for such a position."

"Even so, you're a million times better than your brother."

"Well, that may be true, but..."

"Yuzuki, that's not something we need to concern ourselves with. Let's go."

"Roger that."

And with that, we finally leave the mansion behind.

The doctor who had been taking care of the Lord said his condition could last for a week at best.

It's possible his condition could worsen much sooner.

We don't know what will happen, but all we can do is give our best.

We're making preparations like buying the necessary equipment for our departure.

We headed out of the town and went to the Dragon Valley.