“But I still want to be able to do something... I want to do all I possibly can!” His mouth was practically running on its own by this point. “I know I don’t have the strength. But I’ll make up for that with effort! I’ll work myself to the bone!” He knew he was just rambling like a child by now, but his mouth kept going, as if a dam had burst and all his thoughts and feelings were spilling out.
He’d already given up once because he’d convinced himself that he had no choice but to abandon that dream. At the time, he’d lacked the strength to make it happen. But looking at the current state of Tarshish, those feelings he thought had sunk into the abyss came rising up once more.
Nozomu was no longer the kid he’d been back then. He was now the second-in-command of the Iárnviðr Trading Company, and as such, he had learned how to use people to his advantage, he had acquired a deep understanding of the nuances of the human heart, and he had learned how to conduct himself like a leader. He knew he still lacked many qualities—he knew that he hadn’t even reached Linnea’s level yet, let alone his father’s. But even so, he was confident on one point alone: he could at least rule the Steel Clan better than Babel was.
“Please, Father. I beg of you. Entrust the future of the Steel Clan to me.” Staring directly into Yuuto’s eyes, Nozomu made an earnest plea. He was done lying to himself. He didn’t want to leave it to anyone else—he wanted to protect the country he grew up in, the country his dad built, with his own hands.
“Seems like you’re serious,” Yuuto said with a chuckle, which then became a small, bitter smile. He scratched his head as if he was at a loss. “Man, for you to willingly take it upon yourself to shoulder such a burden, I guess you’re just as crazy as I am. You sure you don’t want to head up the trading company instead? It’d be a lot easier.” However, Yuuto sighed as if he already knew Nozomu’s answer. Seeing his father’s reaction, Nozomu could only smile wryly.
To his father Yuuto, taking the throne was something he’d begrudgingly done because he hadn’t had a choice, despite having a genius-level aptitude for it. Even the position of patriarch was something that had been forced on him, nothing more than a burden he’d wanted to relieve himself of as soon as possible. Now that he was free of the responsibility of the throne, the bags under Yuuto’s eyes had disappeared, and he’d become much cheerier, able to truly enjoy every day from the bottom of his heart. To Yuuto, seeing his son pick up the very same responsibility of his own volition no doubt seemed strange.
“But even so, I always wanted to be like you, dad.” It was so embarrassing he’d never be able to say it out loud, but that was how Nozomu felt from the bottom of his heart. Ever since he was a child, his father had looked so cool working in his office every day. He had unconsciously set his sights on growing up to be just like his father, and he had continued to chase after him. As he’d focused on his father’s distant back, he’d trained and trained, hoping to one day be as great of a man.
“...Am I not good enough? Do I not have the stuff for it yet?” The moment those words left his mouth, he felt his heart tighten up as if it were in a vise. He was afraid to hear Yuuto’s answer. He didn’t want his father to reject him, and above all else, he wanted to be recognized finally.
“Hm...” Yuuto quietly set down the glass in his hand, looked directly at Nozomu, and—
Bam!
In the next instant, the air froze over. It was as if gravity had increased tenfold. Nozomu swallowed in fear. His father seemed like some sort of towering giant within the room, an indomitable presence.
“This is Suoh-Yuuto the war god, the one who conquered half of Yggdrasil.” This was the aspect of Yuuto that he’d never once shown to any of his children before. Terrifying didn’t even begin to describe it—the murderous aura Sigrún gave off during training seemed almost cute in comparison. If he had to compare it to something he’d witnessed before, perhaps the intensity Thutmose had exuded—but no, something like this was still on a whole other level!
He felt like his father’s majesty was crushing him underfoot. Sweat started to ooze from every pore in his body. Honestly, he would’ve liked to run out of the room right then.
“But if I can’t handle this much, I’ll never be able to become a monarch. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, right dad?!” With every ounce of his will, Nozomu stared right back at Yuuto. Back when Nozomu had been fifteen, he’d never have been able to do that. He found himself grateful from the bottom of his heart that he’d encountered Thutmose. It was only because he’d felt that humiliation that he’d realized how far he still had to go to reach Yuuto’s level. That meeting had encouraged Nozomu to put his nose to the grindstone and dedicate every ounce of effort into catching up to his father. Those days of training and self-improvement had, in the end, bestowed upon Nozomu the strength to withstand this heinous aura.
“Hm, well, I think you’re ready for the challenge, at least.” Yuuto’s rigid mouth loosened into a grin. The overwhelming pressure in the air disappeared in an instant, as though it had never been there in the first place.
It seemed that Nozomu had passed the test. However, judging from his father’s words, the real challenge was yet to come.
“Welcome back, dear.” Upon his return home to his mansion and entering his bedroom, Nozomu’s wife Ephelia greeted him with a smile. Their baby, just a year old, cooed innocently in Ephelia’s arms. The child’s name was Sinmara, and she was their only daughter.
“Welcome back,” a stunningly beautiful black-haired girl crouched before Ephelia greeted him, though she didn’t turn around, as her undivided attention was on Sinmara. Her name was Oda Homura. She was one of Ephelia’s closest friends and an Einherjar bearing twin runes. She was likely the strongest one remaining at this point.
“Peekaboo... I see you! Peekaboo... I see you!” As Homura played peekaboo with Sinmara, covering and uncovering her own face with her hands, the baby squealed with laughter. Homura was quite partial to children, having also spent much time playing with Nozomu and his siblings during their youth, and she was now absolutely infatuated with Sinmara. In fact, she had spent the majority of her time in this very room ever since the baby had been born.
“If she likes kids so much, why doesn’t she just have one of her own?” Nozomu wondered, but when he’d asked her about that, she’d simply replied, “None of the men are any good.” It seemed that she had no interest in a partner that didn’t at least measure up to her father, Oda Nobunaga. Aside from his father Yuuto, Nozomu didn’t think she’d find someone like that even if she scoured the world over, but according to Homura, Yuuto already had a multitude of wives, and her pride would not let her settle for being just another member of Yuuto’s harem. Perhaps that was why she doted on all of Yuuto’s children as if they were her own brothers and sisters—and as the child of her beloved brother and her dear friend, it was little wonder Homura was so smitten with Sinmara.
“You have such a pretty smile, yes you do!” Homura cooed with a grin, gently prodding the infant’s cheek with her finger. “You’re gonna grow up to be beautiful like Ephy, I know it!” It was a side of herself she rarely showed to anyone, which proved just how hopelessly attached she was to Sinmara.
“Yeah, judging by how cute she is even now, I don’t think we have anything to worry about in that department,” Nozomu agreed, grinning as well. Truthfully, as the most average-looking of all of his siblings, Nozomu had been a bit anxious at first that the baby might take after him instead, but to his relief, it seemed like those fears had gone unfounded. “But above all, I’m just glad to see Sinmara and Ephy doing so well.”
The good health of his wife and child had been what had given him the most relief upon his return. It wasn’t uncommon at all for a mother to die during childbirth or even during the recovery period afterward, and a high percentage of children ended up passing away before they made it to the age of seven. He was thankful beyond words that the two of them were still hale and healthy.
“Nozomu, might something have happened on the journey here?” Ephelia asked without warning, staring directly into Nozomu’s eyes.
“Huh?! Wh-What makes you think that?” Nozomu stammered in his surprise at having been seen right through.
“Your face says that you want to talk to me about something,” Ephelia replied.
“I-It does?”
“Yes.” Her bright, gentle smile was like that of a goddess’s. She had, after all, known him since before he could even remember. He could never get anything past her.