He was thrown wide by the impact and crashed into the wall, which immediately knocked him out.
“Wh-What?!” shrieked Mikhail. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Exactly what you think. He pissed me off, so I punched him—and no, I’m not sorry.”
I couldn’t take any more of their bullshit. Now that Claus had paid them and everyone knew I could use magic, there was no need for me to bow down to them as I had in the past. I had the marquis on my side, and my father was a greedy man. Now that I was his golden goose, there was no way he’d let go of an easy source of cash.
And I was correct in this assumption—he glanced at Glenn where he lay and silently narrowed his eyes. He picked up the bag of money and held it tight.
“Do you really think you can get away with this?!” Mikhail shrieked.
“What are you going to do about it? Drag me home?”
“Well, now that you mention it...”
“Stop, Mikhail. Stand down.”
My father shook his head and clapped a hand on Mikhail’s shoulder.
“But why, father?!”
“Hisui has his own work to do. He has time to finish all of that before we take him home.”
“Ngh... All right, I get it.”
Mikhail clenched his fist in frustration. He looked almost as if he’d been a victim, but I wanted him to know that he and Glenn were getting their just deserts.
Personally, I felt surprisingly refreshed after punching Glenn square in the nose. All the resentment I’d bottled up over the years disappeared as if it hadn’t existed at all. I kind of wanted to give him one more punch before they left, but I knew Claus would stop me from going any further.
“I’ll never let you off the hook for this, Hisui! Don’t you ever forget!” snarled Mikhail, who was struggling to carry Glenn outside with my father—Glenn must’ve been heavy. He was still unconscious, eyes rolled up and nose bleeding. Served them all right.
I watched them leave out the front door from a window on the second floor until they were gone from sight. Once they were gone, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I turned from the window and bowed to Claus.
“I’m sorry, Lord Lycoris. I’ve caused you more trouble.”
“You needn’t worry. I helped because I wanted to. Besides, I do owe you quite a bit.”
“You really saved me. Now I have time to figure out what to do before they come back for us. I think I’ll disappear again.”
Should I head to the royal capital next? Even though I’d been granted permanent residency in Lycoris, I was best off heading to the capital now that my father and brothers knew my whereabouts. I had plenty of money anyway; it was definitely enough to get by in the capital despite the high costs of living there.
“Calm down—you needn’t rush. Just leave everything to me. I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
Claus replied, voice full of cheer even as I stared at him in confusion. “It’s a brilliant plan that will resolve your current situation instantly.”
He didn’t explain what the plan was, simply assuring me that I’d know soon enough.
If all my problems really could be solved with his plan, then that would be a lifesaver. But, just in case they couldn’t, I decided to prepare for a journey to the capital. I’d have to tell Armeria and Cosmos of our imminent move too.
After a brief chat, Claus and I parted ways.
But despite what had happened with my family, our prospects didn’t seem too bad. I just wanted my sisters to live out their lives in happiness, and I’d use my own power and connections to see that happen.
As for myself, I still haven’t given up on having the ultimate slow life. In fact, after everything, I wanted an even quieter life.
“Huey, Huey! That punch was amazing!”
“Why didn’t you use any magecraft? Well, I suppose you did knock him out in one hit...” Aruna trailed off.
Cult laughed. “Hisui would’ve killed the boy if he had. We must instead make him suffer terribly for all the pain he’s caused.”
“Man, you three have so much violence on the brain,” I sighed.
Everything was okay. I was sure to make my dream come true one day.
After all, I had the three goddesses watching over me, as well as my sisters. As long as they were all with me, I knew I could keep going no matter where we were headed.
As I looked at the sunlight that filtered in through the window, the fog hanging over my mind dissipated, leaving me feeling clear and refreshed. Today would be another good day of training.