“Uagh!”
“That's what I'm saying—what's the kid even eating to keep popping out of nowhere like that...!”
The uncle shot up from his seat, his face showing he was truly annoyed.
No way, can a door really be smashed through like a sheet of paper?
It was an incredibly thick and heavy door!
“Where are you!”
A voice like a beast roaring.
‘An angry lion!’
What appeared through the broken door was an old man with a wild mop of white hair.
Eyes shining a fierce blue. A huge gaping maw.
A ferocious beast had appeared!
‘Duke Zebert!’
A massive frame. Great height. Thick, rugged skin and white hair swept back roughly.
An oppressive pressure washed over me, as if I were facing Mount Tai itself.
‘W-wait, he wasn't recuperating from an illness?!’
What kind of patient has such an incredible aura?
“Bring the brat here!”
“Is she not right before your eyes?”
“…….”
The Old Duke, who had been looking all around, craned his neck down to look below.
In those purple pupils, I saw a reflection of myself, stuck fast to the uncle's side before I knew it.
Wow, those eyes. They were no joke.
If Uncle Leviathan gave the impression of a well-honed blade, the Old Duke felt like a large, heavy axe.
Either way, both of them were deadly weapons…….
“…….”
“……Ah, h-hello?”
I cautiously greeted him.
The Old Duke's gaze narrowed slightly.
Twitching, convulsing eye corners. Slowly parting lips.
“What is this...? This booger-like thing……?”
“I'm not a booger…….”
“A talking booger!”
“My name is Rubian… But did you just smash the door with your fist on your way here?”
I couldn't help but ask.
Steam was rising in puffs from the Old Duke's fist.
Then was the loud sound I heard earlier the first-floor entrance being smashed?
“Hmm.”
At that moment, the Old Duke suddenly lowered his body to meet my eyes.
After observing me intently for a while, he stretched his hand behind him.
“Bring it here!”
“Goodness, Lord Balrog.”
What arrived late was a skinny man.
He looked like the Old Duke's butler.
In his hand was a large board.
“Gently……”
“Hand it over!”
The board was covered in incomprehensible height markings.
The Old Duke snatched it and placed it right beside me.
“What are you doing?”
“Hmm, a level barely surpassing a low-grade demonic beast.”
Did you just measure a kid's height by demonic beast standards?
I stood still, flabbergasted.
The moment I tried to retort, the Old Duke folded his arms and shouted.
“Fail!”
“What?”
“Booger, you go back to the capital right now!”
“Ha, just who gave you the right to decide that, Father……”
Unable to watch any longer, Uncle Leviathan stepped forward.
Then the old man's fury turned toward the uncle.
“You rascal. I knew you were a heartless wretch, but I didn't know your character had rotted through completely!”
The Old Duke sprang to his feet and pointed a finger at his son.
“How can such a tiny booger wield a sword?”
“I-I can fight too……”
“I told you to bring useful knights or soldiers, and you bring a child? Have you forgotten there will soon be a demonic beast subjugation?”
A roar rang sharply through the air.
Without realizing it, I gently clutched the hem of the uncle's clothes.
“Please lower your voice. You'll frighten her.”
Then, unbelievably, the Old Duke's movements froze.
Except for his lips, which never stopped moving.
“……, …….”
“And don't mumble so that we can't understand you.”
……He's like an extreme and strange grandfather.
“Anyway, that won't do!”
A stern gaze turned back toward me. As I met that stubborn, unyielding stare, a sense of crisis washed over me.
‘Am I going to get kicked out like this?’
The thing I had been worrying about was becoming reality.
Honestly, since this character didn't have a big role in the original, I had let my guard down a little…… I had encountered an unexpected obstacle!
‘Both the eldest and second sons accepted me without any big issues, so I thought it'd be the same for me!’
I was too optimistic!
“Staring at me like that won't change a thing! You look like you'd get squished flat if you bumped into anything!”
The uncle, who had hidden me behind him, spoke in a grim voice.
“Ruby's place is not for Father to decide. The same goes for the Knight Order.”
“Oh, impudent?”
“Besides, 'useful knights or soldiers.'”
A cold scoff followed.
“To treat that child in such a manner is unforgivable, even if you are my father.”
“When did I treat that little fuzzball like a soldier? That's why I told you to recruit someone useful!”
“We have only just reached a truce. Unless they're a lunatic obsessed with fighting, who would volunteer to come to this North?”
“So you just brought a doll-like child instead?”
“That's why Ruby is……”
“Ruby? Even the name is as puny as she is!”
“……Are you doting on her, or do you hate her?”
Half in a panic, I could barely hear their conversation.
My mind was simply preoccupied with the fact that the atmosphere was growing increasingly hostile.
“Please don't fight!”
I summoned my courage and squeezed between the two of them.
I raised my head to look up at the Old Duke's face above me.
“Please don't kick me out either…… I have nowhere to go.”
Actually, I do have somewhere to go, but I don't want to go! I don't want to die either!
“You……”
“If being small is the problem, I'll eat lots and grow quickly. I won't get squished even if I bump into anything. Actually, I'm not that weak. If you saw me in action, you'd be surprised……”
Then, my field of vision suddenly rose.
“Tsk, why do you pointlessly frighten the child? How annoying.”
It was the uncle; he had picked me up entirely to block the Old Duke from view.
The uncle clicked his tongue disapprovingly and patted my back.
“This, talking back to your father like that.”
The Old Duke tried to kick the uncle's shin. Of course, the hero didn't take it lying down.
“You were said to be ill for a few days, but your strength isn't what it used to be.”
“What? Who spread rumors that I was sick!”
“Morris, I believe the Old Duke needs to recuperate further in the northern annex. Escort him.”
“This brat, ignoring his father's words?”
I gently turned my head to look.
The one stopping the dysfunctional father and son was the skinny butler.
“Haha…… I understand, so please both of you calm down. The castle is going to collapse.”
The butler called Morris wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
He was soaked in cold sweat.
It seems like he's the one who needs to recuperate…….
‘No, now's not the time for that!’
I decided on my course.
Anyway, the current head of this ducal family was Uncle Leviathan.
So he was the only one I could cling to.
“I'll send you back at once……”
“I don't want to!”
*Squeeze.* I wrapped my arms tightly around the uncle's neck.
His firm body flinched and stiffened in surprise.
“N-no matter what the Old Duke says, I'm going to stay here!”
I shouted with my eyes squeezed shut.
It was do or die!
“I'm going to live here! I don't want to be separated from you, Uncle!”
“…….”
Silence fell.
A faint tremor could be felt from the body I was embracing.
When I gently opened my eyes, the corners of the uncle's mouth were twitching madly.
“Hmm.”
Meanwhile, the Old Duke tilted his head with an expression that seemed somehow intrigued.
“……My son.”
“Yes.”
“You've got a booger on you.”
A heavy hand pressed firmly on the back of my head.
“I know.”
“Have you ever seen such a sly booger?”
“I'm not a booger……”
Since I'd snapped anyway, I tried to keep it up to the end, but I was only lightly ignored.
* * *
‘Wow. What is this.’
I awkwardly rolled only my eyes around.
It was all because of the uninvited guest who had intruded upon the quaint and lovely snack time.
“You.”
The Old Duke, seated firmly on the sofa, beckoned to me.
“Yes.”
I sat across from him and straightened my back.
“Do you want to stay here that badly?”
“Yes……”
“Then show me your ability.”
“My ability?”
“Yes. Stamina, monstrous strength, anything! If you want to become a strong man of the North, you must prove your strength.”
The Old Duke spoke, lounging like a beast that had finished its meal.
“Tell me what ability you have!”
Ability? Well, of course, it was…….
‘Magic power!’
—I barely held back from answering just that.
“It's mental strength!”
Then, I thought I heard a *pfft* of laughter from somewhere.
“Hmm. Mental strength.”
The Old Duke stroked his chin, covered in a bushy beard, with a serious expression.
“That is necessary too. Very well. Then right now!”
*Gulp.* For some reason, I was nervous.
“Finish your snacks.”
“……Huh?”
“Did you think I was such a heartless old man?”
It seemed the snack table had belatedly caught the Old Duke's eye.
He thumped the table with a fist bulging with veins. *Bang bang!*
“The food you were eating!”
*Bang!*
“After you finish it all!”
*Bang!*
“I'll test you then and kick you out!”
Ah, so you're going to kick me out after all!