[V7C16] A Convenient Tale
Translated by Jodas 7: To the NorthKevin, Wren’s half-brother, stretched as he sat alone in Hütter’s classroom.
All of the chairs in this classroom were simply built and a little uncomfortable for his large proportions.
As he shuffled his but around to find a more comfortable sitting position, the classroom door opened and Wren’s instructor Hütter showed his face.
“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting.”
After letting Wren know about his mother’s passing, Wren said he was going to ‘step outside for some fresh air’ and ran out of the room.
Hütter told Kevin to stay put as he left the classroom to chase after Wren.
Then, a few minutes later, he returned.
“Kevin, where do you plan to spend the night? If you want to stay at the Tower, I can help you submit the request.”
“No thanks, I’m alright. I’ve already reserved an inn in the village nearby.”
“Ah, I see.”
What does he do now? Is it even okay for him to ask?
With great uncertainty, Kevin fearfully broached the question.
“Um… Is Wren…?”
“His friends from class are with him right now.”
His friends from class. Are with Wren. Those words came as a shock to Kevin.
He hadn’t been able to imagine the sight of Wren making friends.
“…So Wren has made friends, then.”
“Yes, Wren is the Apprentices’ Assistant Representative and he gets along quite well with his classmates.”
“Does he? … Um… Does Wren have a talent for magecraft?”
Hütter had to think a little bit to answer Kevin’s question.
He didn’t answer immediately ‘Yes, he has plenty of talent!’ Instead, Hütter chose his words carefully.
“To be blunt, I don’t think it’s the best fit for him. While it would be possible for him to make up for his lack of experience and mana with hard work… He has a ‘talent’ for working hard, and I believe it would be a waste for him to expend all of that hard work on just magecraft.”
His heart skipped a beat at that last part.
This person was paying close attention to Wren. He understood Wren’s strengths.
With sincerity, Hütter told Kevin:
“I have no intention of opposing Wren’s decision to become a mage, I just think there’s no need for him to restrict his dreams for the future to just becoming a mage.”
This man was a mage of the Wedge Tower. One would expect him to hope for all of his students to become mages.
And yet Hütter would not stubbornly insist they choose to become mages.
He was truly thinking of what was best for Wren’s future.
“At the Wedge Tower, we offer ordinary classes in addition to the individual magecraft tutoring. At the moment, I want him to touch on a wide range of subjects and think about what he wants to do in the future.”
“I see…”
“Wren has an insatiable desire for new knowledge, so all of the instructors and the other mages adore him.”
“Hah…”
He knew he shouldn’t be making such a weak response.
The realization was slowly dawning on him that he had not been as sincere as he should have been towards Wren.
(This teacher is way more sincere than I am…)
Kevin silently drew back, prompting Hütter to soften his expression.
“I’m relieved that Wren has a brother like you.”
“Eh?”
“I’m sure you’re aware that Wren hasn’t had many people who were willing to dote on him, right? In that case, I believed your presence made a big impact on Wren’s life.”
Kevin’s chest ached at those words.
…The tiniest bit of self-satisfaction was overwhelmed by a tide of guilt.
“I was surprised to see Wren hug you like that. That was the first time I’d ever seen him act with so much affection towards anyone. That alone made me realize ‘Ah, This guy must be a good brother.’”
“…I’m nowhere near that good.”
Kevin could not allow the incoming praise to go unchallenged.
A bitter taste clung to the back of his tongue. Wanting to do away with it, Kevin had started moving his mouth before he even realized he was talking.
“…I was always less capable and less smart than my two older brothers… No matter what I tried, it would always come up short.”
Whenever anything went wrong, Kevin’s mother would say something along the lines of ‘It’s because your dear father was so appalled by you that he sought out that woman.’
His mother wanted to place the blame for his father’s infidelity on their untalented son. Besides, it was true that his father was very disappointed with Kevin.
As a result, Kevin always felt uneasy.
And, when he ran off to escape the eyes of his mother and brothers, he would end up at the detached cabin where he ran into Wren.
At the time, Wren was only six years old.
Wren was clearly on edge around Kevin. That’s why, with little thought, Kevin took a cookie he’d squirreled away in his pocket and handed it to Wren.
“One day, when I gave little Wren a cookie… He was absolutely overjoyed.”
Thinking back on it, Kevin had never had anyone been pleased because of something he had done before. All he could do was disappoint those around him.
So it felt all that much more amazing when young Wren responded with such joy.
“From then on, be it snacks, hand-me-downs, or books… I would keep visiting him with gifts. Wren became… incredibly attached to me.”
At some point, both Wren and Katrina were willing to open up to Kevin.
A beautiful and less fortunate mother and son came to rely on him — That fact satisfied Kevin’s self-esteem and gave him a sense of superiority.
Kevin never traveled to the cabin on a schedule.
Only when he felt like it, only when he had time to spare, only when he wanted a boost to his self esteem, did he go bring a present to Wren.
This was even worse than treating them like his pets. A pet you had to care for every day; he only went to dote on them on a whim.
Nevertheless, Wren had grown attached to him. Because there was no one else to care for him or his mother.
“When Wren left home for the Wedge Tower, Katrina told me… ‘You don’t need to worry about me any more.’”
Katrina had seen through Kevin’s deceit — his desire to use this mother and son to satisfy his own self-esteem.
Embarrassed to show his face, Kevin couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes any more and stayed away from the cabin from that day onwards.
“…Then, Katrina died alone in that cabin. Without anyone there to look after her…”
If he had at least stopped by the cabin a little more, had he called a doctor to see Katrina, things might not have turned out like this.
At that moment, it was fear, not guilt that occupied his mind — fear that Wren would turn on him if he ever found out.
“I only used Wren to satisfy my own self esteem… And when it mattered, I threw away all responsibility. I ended up letting Katrina die…”
He only allowed himself to voice those regrets of his thanks to the sincerity he felt from this teacher named Hütter.
This man was a good teacher, one who gave his all in consideration of Wren’s future.
Therefore, he wanted this man to know just what situation Wren had lived in.
Kevin bowed his head deeply and pleaded.
“I know that an irresponsible man like me has no place to say this, but… I’m begging you. Please let Wren forget about his terrible family and the terrible home he came from. Please let him have a secure life here at the Wedge Tower, Mr. Hütter.”
Internally, the third-rate con man Smoke Fox fought the urge to hold his head in his hands.
(Heavy, heavy, heavy! Don’t trust me with stuff like that! I’m just a con man!)
To be honest, even if he didn’t go out of his way to make such a request, Hütter thought that Wren was going to be just fine.
Wren was a person who recognized that he didn’t have the talent for magecraft and invested himself in trial and error to find out what suits him best. He was intensely curious, gregarious, and quick-witted.
Kevin had probably asked Hütter this question because he thought that dumping all his regrets would make his life easier.
(Well, even then, at least half of that is still… He’s still worried about Wren’s future.)
Hütter’s first impression of Wren’s half-brother, Kevin Bayer, was ‘he looks like a rich boy who’d be an easy target for a scammer.’
Just by looking at him, anyone could tell that he was rich. However, he had no confidence, and gave the impression he was desperate for someone’s approval.
(If a guy like that had a little brother who was much less fortunate than him calling him ‘Big bro! Big bro!’ all the time… Well, of course that would make him feel good.)
So, what does he do about this?
He didn’t want to naïvely say ‘Okay, you can leave Wren to me.’ After all, he was a con man who would leave the Wedge Tower eventually.
So, with the face of an honest educator, Hütter spoke to Kevin.
“Please, hold your head up high, Big Bro. You blaming yourself for everything doesn’t change the facts… As far as Wren is concerned, the fact is that you are his kind older brother.”
Kevin lifted his face with a start and stared at Hütter.
He was looking at him? Good.
Once a con man got his mark to look him in the eye, the con had already succeeded.
Hütter spoke decisively with a voice half of kindness and half of strength.
“If you feel guilty, then you should continue being a good brother to Wren. Take your gentle lie and deceive him for the rest of your life.”
“…Can I really do that?”
Kevin muttered in a weak voice. However, Hütter couldn’t ignore the tiny hint of expectation hiding within that weakness.
When someone said ‘Can I really do that?’ like that, it was a sign they were waiting for you to give them a little push.
Hütter let his expression warm a bit. With a casual, soft smile, he sought to give the impression of friendliness.
“It’s not as hard as you think. After all… Wren loves you.”
Tears welled up in Kevin’s eyes.
His plump face lost its composure and he dipped his head again.
“…Thank you, Mr. Hütter.”
Responding with a ‘I haven’t done anything that special’ attitude, the third-rate con man laughed bitterly on the inside.
If you asked him, well… To say that you could keep up a gentle lie all the way to the end was the kind of all-too-convenient tale that con men would tell themselves.
He knew all too well how hollow, how cruel a gentle lie could be.