"Hahaha!"
I laugh heartily as we begin our journey and don't stop until time passes and the Aditi Estate is nothing but a speck in the background.
My uncle gives me a strange stare, perhaps wondering if there is something wrong with my brain, but I ignore him completely. If he wishes to say something to me, he has lips for that. Until he speaks, I will treat his stare as nothing but the passing wind.
Am I worried? Not at all!
Naturally, my siblings have gotten themselves into a lot of trouble through their declarations, and my parents are sure to punish them.
However, no one forced them to do this.
They knew the risks behind their decisions, and to feel anything other than joy for them at this moment would be an insult to their resolve. I admire their tenacity, to be honest.
I could never have mustered such courage at their age.
'Besides, even if they are punished, it won't be very severe. After all, I have already expressed my support for them.' I smile, twinkles flashing in my eyes. 'With me, the Heir, being their backer, they now have sufficient legitimacy behind their actions.'
In essence, I have shared some of my influence with them.
Of course, my parents will do what they can to repress them and curtail the situation, but they have to surgically achieve this without diminishing my influence.
WHY?
Because not doing so would reduce the status of Heir within the Aditi Household—an act that would be detrimental to the Main Family in the long run.
Thinking about it, why would they try to suppress the power of the Heir?
If servants, or even worse, the members of the Minor Families, catch wind of this, it would only give them an avenue to disregard the powers of the Main Family.
After all, the Heir is the future Head of Household.
If his legitimacy and influence aren't established as Heir, how can he effectively manage the Estate once he becomes Head? As such, diminishing my power now would only weaken the Main Family's hold on the Estate in the long run. My parents would never do it!
'This same logic exists at a larger scale in the Randalorion Kingdom, where the Royal Faction and Noble Faction have to tolerate each other and not openly suppress each other due to their respective interests. The Civil War only started because the balance couldn't be kept somehow, and it led to the eventual collapse of the Kingdom.'
Right now, in the Main Family, my parents belong to the Head faction, and my siblings and I belong to the Heir faction. Normally, both sides should be in agreement, but due to my special situation, that isn't the case.
Because of this, there is a tussle of power and interest between both sides.
Checks… and balances.
If the Main Family fails to keep the balance, it will untimately lead to our implosion and the Minor Families will not miss the opportunity to attack—just like the Sarvosia Kingdom attacked the Randalorion Kingdom right after the Civil War.
This is politics.
'Of course, my parents hold more power than I do, but they are not nearly as skilled as I am when it comes to these matters. Plus, I have all their children on my side. This means we have the advantage of numbers. Finally, they are more concerned about the Main Family than I am, thus they have more to lose. This means they are more willing to concede on certain matters, unlike me.'
All of this is to say that they are far more shackled than I am.
'Over the years of a man's life, new shackles get added to his old bonds. As children, despite the laws of nature and other restrictions holding us down, we still possess a large degree of freedom. But, as time passes, newer restrictions subtly get added. Things like reputation, duties, obligations, and other things slowly corrode the freedom one possesses… reducing it to a mere illusion.'
Due to this, I am guaranteed more freedom than my parents.
My siblings possess more freedom than me.
At least, in their minds.
But in reality, some freedoms can only be obtained with age. Using respect, status, and reputation—the same thing that binds us—we can bind other people and achieve a higher level of freedom than they.
My father, as Head of Household, uses his own chains to bind all the members of the Aditi Household, thus restricting their freedom. The same applies to me, as the Heir.
After coming of age and becoming Heir, I have new chains binding me to the Aditi Household.
But with these chains, I have newfound power.
I can finally contest with my parents in a qualitative way, playing the game of adults in the realm of politics. Aside from these superficial considerations that give a man power, there is also an undeniable force that runs through all.
—Money!
'Financial freedom helps a man spread his wings and ascend beyond his humble origins.'
Of course, wealth isn't everything in this world.
But it is a lot!
'Thanks to my money, I have been able to make a lot of matters more convenient for me. This gives me freedom and allows me to act independently from the Aditi Estate without having to rely on the whims of my parents.'
If I didn't have money, I would be in a more disadvantaged situation and would have to concede to a lot of my parents' demands.
They could hold me down by dangling coin in my face, and I would have no choice but to submit.
All of these things are part of what makes up the world.
As a small, insignificant man, I can only recognize them and swim against the tides of restrictions and barriers in order to secure the greatest kind of freedom attainable by man.
To be truly free… means not to be restrained in the mind.
Being capable of doing whatever it is one wants to do, without any form of limitations, is impossible for man to achieve.
But to be able to try… that is the freedom I desire.
'The ability to try… to try seeking money, fame, power, knowledge, even immortality—not being restrained by the opinions and judgment of others—is the kind of freedom I seek for myself and my younger ones.'
And it is the kind that I will continue to pursue until the day I die.
I swear it!
"ROOOOARRRRR!!!"
An explosive roar suddenly bombards my ears, immediately displacing my thoughts and forcing me to my senses. I quickly snap out of my reverie and glance at my uncle, whose expression is pale with panic.
The carriage comes to a screeching halt on the plains in which we travel, and my body jerks forward, nearly hitting my head on the board in front.
Thankfully, I swiftly control my body and regain full control before this happens.
My uncle, unfortunately, isn't so lucky.
"Gahh!" He hits his head, lets out a loud yelp, and his body is helplessly returned to his seat within moments.
I am tempted to glance at him in concern, but the roar from earlier occupies a far more important place in my mind. I hurriedly poke my head outside the window and spot the source with little to no difficulty.
As I expected… it is a fantastical beast that oozes terror and danger.
It is high noon, and the glorious sun paints the world in its golden lustre. The field around us dances with the wind, its green colors painted with soft strokes of yellow, courtesy of the overhead sun.
The same can be said for this horrid beast.
It appears to be a fusion of an owl and a bear—a rather strange combination, but not one that is especially surprising to me. It is at least three meters tall, with a robust physique and a body that casts a dark shadow on the grass around it.
Its towering body is feathered like a bird, and it has eyes and a beak like one too, but its body is shaped like a bear. It can also twist its head in all directions, 360 degrees, just like an owl.
But that isn't its scariest trait.
What makes this creature so interesting, as well as dangerous, is its special ability.
It lies in its ear-splitting screech—a sound different from the roar from earlier.
Its screech travels at a different frequency, and with its power, it can stun its prey before mauling them. I know all of this information because I have faced my fair share of these creatures in my past life, and I know exactly what they are:
This ferocious thing is a Screech Owlbear—a Cadre 2 Magivore!
'To think we'd run into a Magivore so soon…' I smile wryly, slowly getting out of the carriage to have a better look at the creature, who is still staring us down in the distance.
Clearly, this isn't natural.
'Was this arranged by the Minor Families? They're already making their move so quickly?'
What is it with these Aditis and their haste? Without even giving me a day to catch my breath, they've already sent an obstacle my way.
'And it's not an assassin or a specialized trap… but a Magivore? Hmm…'
Magivores are beasts or plants that possess special characteristics which make them incredibly unique and dangerous—especially to normal people. They are famed to be mystical in nature, with some of them existing in myths or having supernatural origins.
This Magivore, for example, has a mystical ability to induce paralysis through its screech.
But this isn't very impressive compared to other, more powerful ones.
Some Magivores are considered demons, while others are viewed as gods. This is simply due to the sheer scale of their power.
However, I hear some Scholars—like Magivore Experts—do not hold such a fantastical view of Magivores and rather consider them to be biological entities with immense power and unique characteristics which can be studied.
Personally, the difference means almost nothing to me.
They are still dangerous!
Magivores are usually wild and unrestrained creatures. Some of them possess great intelligence, especially in myths and legends, but they are usually monstrous existences that follow their instincts and have limited intelligence compared to normal humans.
In simple terms, they are like more evolved animals or plants that have supernatural correlations and special abilities.
Of course, thanks to the advancement of human civilization, mankind has found many ways to handle these creatures.
For one, Magivores can be captured and tamed by special techniques usually utilized by Druids.
These techniques are kept secret by their order, but they exist.
Some Magivores, particularly those in the lower Cadres, have even been incorporated into civilization. These domesticated Magivores have learned to live among humans, and their special abilities are exploited for that purpose.
A famous example involves the Caravans, which travel around the world thanks to the Elephant Caterpillars, or how long-distance travel is further shortened by the Eagle Donkey.
Many more examples like this exist.
Naturally, the use and availability of the Magivore depend on their natural temperaments and Cadre. Magivores belonging to a higher Cadre are exponentially rarer, and there are even lower Cadre Magivores that are known to be quite unstable and unstable and harmful to humans.
Those ones cannot be tamed, or rather, do not possess proper attributes that make them worth the effort of subjugation.
An example is this Screech Owlbear.
It is a Cadre 2 Magivore, but due to its extremely low intelligence and affinity for violence, its kind hasn't been tamed. This is because it is largely useless save for its ability to stun prey.
However, it can't even control this ability, so anyone in the vicinity gets stunned.
Its effect is indiscriminate—harmful to ally and enemy alike!
'People can use special items like Potions to avoid the effect of this ability, but what's the point of having such a Magivore?' I sigh, trying to think about something important. 'There are more cost-effective Magivores that are on the market, and Screech Owlbears are generally regarded as a wild species. You'd hardly find them being sold anywhere…'
This means this Magivore wasn't purchased from anywhere.
How could it be?
Magivores are very expensive to obtain!
Even the Main Family only has one, and it belongs exclusively to the Head of the Household.
In essence, my father.
'The only Magivores that one can obtain at a relatively low price are Cadre 1 Magivores, and they have no useful combat ability. Hence, they are useless to a Knight Household like mine…'
In fact, the majority of Magivores that exist in civilization fall under this Cadre and have been properly tamed by humans.
They have lived among us for a very long time, too.
'So how did the Minor Family get access to this creature?' I wonder to myself. 'They couldn't have gotten it a while back, and there's certainly no way they could have hidden it from us.'
How would that even be possible?
All Magivores have a special diet, which makes them very expensive to rear. Of course, the rewards are worth it, since Special Resources can be obtained from Magivores due to their special constitution.
Remember that the Randalorion Kingdom's greatness is largely due to the two Special Resources—Green Shade Sand and Purple Iron Ore—that it possesses in large quantities.
Looking at it from this point of view, Magivores are very valuable—alive or dead.
Even though they have special diets and unique conditions to be raised and nurtured, successfully obtaining one—especially Cadre 2 and above—can prove rather fortuitous for a family.
None of that concerns me right now, though.
I still have to find a way to deal with this Screech Owlbear. Despite it being only a Cadre 2 Magivore, it is still very dangerous to normal people.
There are 9 Cadres, so this guy belongs to the second weakest category… but that doesn't mean he is weak at all. In fact, from Cadre 6 and above, they are existences that no single person can handle on their own. Most creatures there are mythical, legendary, and god-like.
In my past life, the highest Cadre I ever witnessed personally was a Cadre 4, but I did hear of the emergence of a Cadre 5 from the higher-ups one time.
I still remember their pale faces and the unrest that arose at that time.
All of this simply means… this Magivore is a big deal.
"W-what's happening?"
At this point, my Uncle slowly rears his head out of the carriage. His eyes nearly pop out of their sockets once he sees this creature.
"C-Cadre 2, Feral, beast-type Magivore… Screech Owlbear?!"
I nod at him and then glance back at the beast. "It seems to be observing us now, but if we make any sudden movements or advance, it will surely attack us."
"S-so what do we do?"
I smile, internalizing the question with a calm expression.
'Screech Owlbears usually live in deep forest caves, so encountering one here isn't natural at all. It's very likely that they lured this monster all the way here. That confirms that they knew the exact day I would be leaving the Estate. Interesting…' My eyes flash with interest and I smirk to myself.
'This also means they must have invested a lot in this trap. They have a lot of confidence that it will do me in. That assures me that if I overcome this barrier, I won't encounter too many obstacles on my way to the Academy.'
It makes sense.
After all, beyond the outskirts of our Aditi Territory, the lands belong to other Households.
The Minor Family can't be seen running around, planning nefarious schemes in such areas. If things go south, or if they are even successful, they could draw the attention of other Households, which wouldn't fare well for them either.
'I understand their hurry now…' My smile broadens. 'They decided to go all-out from the get-go and nip me in the bud. I can respect their resolve.'
Since that is the case, I can't simply turn back now or make a detour.
That would be an insult to such a well-made preparation.
"We march ahead," I tell Uncle Damon with a confident grin. "We're going to slay that Magivore and harvest its Screech Feather."
"Really?" My Uncle doesn't express as much fear and hesitation as a normal person would.
That is because he understands.
The Minor Families aren't the only ones who made sufficient preparations.
The Threat Level of this particular Magivore is actually quite high, even for a Cadre 2, but this factor is only prevalent when one is unprepared.
But I am very prepared!
"Uncle… where is the Armament I had you obtain for me?"