PBP 15

chapter 15

When I saw the half-eaten muffin crushed in my hand, I clicked my tongue softly.

I didn’t notice that.

The admiral’s face was unknown. That was because he always operated wearing a mask. Because of that, all kinds of speculation circulated—rumors that he was cursed, that his face was horribly disfigured, or that he had committed such an unforgivable crime within Parus that it couldn’t be covered up.

The Leon I remembered always looked tired, but his personality was gentle to a fault. So I could never have imagined he was the same person as that terrifying admiral people spoke of with such chilling stories.

No, even the clothes he wore back then were different.

In the navy, different uniforms were issued for each rank. And what Leon had been wearing at the time wasn’t even a private’s uniform—it was a trainee’s.

When I first met him, he was a sergeant. Should I have been suspicious that he stayed a trainee all the way until becoming a warrant officer? Damn it.

No, I just thought he wasn’t cut out to be a soldier at all….

That topic was a sensitive one, so maybe the real problem was that I never once asked him about promotions.

Or maybe…

“Do you happen to have… an older brother with the same name, or something?”

“H-huh? I do have two older brothers, but none of them share my name.”

Damn it. Another fragile hope collapsed.

Yeah, figures.

Right—the name Hyperion only became famous after he took the position of admiral and wiped out the pirates who attacked Luteon Island. That’s when people started giving the name to children.

In other words, it wasn’t a particularly popular name at this time.

And Leon’s family details match too.

Leon also said he had two older brothers. Even the subtle atmosphere when he talked about them—like he didn’t get along well with them—was the same.

What am I supposed to do about this?

There was no escaping it. They were the same person. I scrubbed my face with the hand that wasn’t smeared with muffin crumbs, when I felt a warm touch on the other.

Hyperion was carefully wiping the crumbs from my hand with a handkerchief.

“……”

“I-it was dirty. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without being asked…”

“No, thank you.”

The child’s soft voice eased my heart.

Right. What am I doing, getting worked up over a kid?

Anyway, this child was different from both Leon and Admiral Parus. Strictly speaking, they were the same person, but this was still a point in time before Nereus had been captured.

If things go well, maybe he’ll go easy on us later out of sentiment.

I didn’t know what methods Nereus used, but he was incredibly resourceful—so much so that even when he ran into a Seer, he somehow managed to slip away.

But the Parus family possessed the ability to rule the sea. Because of that, rumors openly circulated that they were descendants of Cormare. They earned the people’s faith, and even the monotheistic church regarded members of Parus as something like demigods.

Over the past few generations, that power had gradually weakened, turning them into the butt of jokes among pirates. But once Hyperion Parus ascended to the admiral’s seat, all of that vanished—and instead, they once again became the terror of pirates.

In short, pirates and Parus were a terrible match. If you saw them, running away was the answer—but Hyperion’s power was so overwhelming and wide-ranging that you couldn’t even escape.

Amazing as an ally, but the absolute worst type to face as an enemy….

Then why had someone like this been abandoned there alone? I couldn’t understand it.

“Hey, Leon. I have something to ask.”

“L-Le… Li, Leon?”

Ah—my mistake.

Nicknames were usually reserved for family, very close friends, or lovers. Now that I knew Hyperion was Leon, the name slipped out without me realizing it.

Or maybe I was bewitched by his face.

Honestly, he was such an adorable little being that I wanted to drag him straight to a restaurant and feed him every delicious thing there was.

“Sorry if that bothered you. You just remind me of someone I used to know.”

“That… wasn’t when I was six, right?”

“Even a six-year-old can have a ‘long time ago.’”

“I-I see…”

He quietly accepted my awkward excuse. How did such a soft, gentle, delicate child grow up to monopolize every cold and fearsome title as an admiral?

Maybe someone strange stole his name, became the admiral, and he just stayed behind as a menial worker.

That was the only explanation that made sense. This kid hunting people down? It was far more believable that he’d quit the navy after a week, unable to adapt to training.

“Why?”

Hyperion tugged at the hem of my clothes. He blinked, his eyes darting around, then after a long hesitation, he spoke.

“I-it was the first time someone called me Leon.”

“……”

“I was always curious… what it would feel like.”

His voice grew smaller as he mumbled. Only then did I really look closely at the child sitting in front of me.

He’s only two years younger than me.

Even so, for a six-year-old, he was small—his build not much different from mine. That meant Hyperion’s situation was deeply abnormal.

Why?

Anyone with the blood of the Sixth House was born a Seer. Because of that, they guarded their bloodline carefully from outsiders and managed everything internally—and cherished their family members to an extreme degree.

Other houses sometimes tore themselves apart with brutal succession struggles, but the Sixth House was different. So the idea that Hyperion was treated poorly within his family was utterly strange.

“…!”

Was this around the time Hyperion first drew everyone’s attention?

Just as many people collapsed on our ship, problems must have arisen on the other ships docking this time as well.

Caelum avoided casualties only because I knew the future. Everywhere else would have been nothing short of a funeral.

And there was one thing I knew about Admiral Parus—about Hyperion Parus—before the regression. Not long after enlisting, rumors spread quietly through the navy that he had achieved an “incredible accomplishment.”

Right. It wasn’t known outside, but the navy knew.

No one knew exactly what the achievement was, so I assumed it was just admiration turning into rumor. But…

If this was it, it makes sense.

If what he discovered was related to the disease later named “White Root,” then it added up.

Hyperion had been abandoned in an orange orchard plagued by White Dragon Disease. The original him—before we found him—might have learned something about the illness and how to treat it.

Considering his condition and stamina, by the time he returned to the village, White Root must have caused massive upheaval.

Now it all fits together.

When I studied White Root, it was written that the cause of the disease was discovered thanks to a single informant. If that informant was Hyperion, everything lined up perfectly.

I remember Hyperion wasn’t on bad terms with the head of Wita.

That was why rumors circulated at the time that Admiral Parus was backed by Wita.

Hyperion, at a very young age, found a crucial clue to the cause of White Dragon Disease. Thanks to that, they were able to calm the situation relatively smoothly—but…

Hyperion didn’t get along with Parus.

Normally, achievements like that would make someone famous unless they personally refused. Strange. Perhaps because medicine was Wita’s domain, and another Sixth House—Parus—officially stepping in would have looked odd.

Hyperion had been abandoned in a pirate-owned orchard. From that, I could infer that Parus didn’t want Hyperion to achieve anything as “Parus,” but only as “Hyperion.”

Even if Hyperion gained Wita’s support, as far as I remembered, all the Sixth Houses—except one—were tightly connected.

Since Hyperion didn’t understand politics at that age, Parus probably acted first—wearing the mask of goodwill—handed the full credit to Wita, and received appropriate compensation in return.

That was why, before the regression, no one knew why Hyperion Parus had Wita’s backing.

I recalled a conversation I once had with Leon before the regression.

“Actually, I don’t get along very well with my family. How about you, Lara?”
“Me neither.”
“You don’t get along with Colonel Akera?”
“N-no, that’s not it—there was someone who felt like family. But we weren’t on great terms. We split up.”
“…You’re like me, Lara.”
“Yeah.”
“Then…”
“Since it’s like this, want me to be your family?”
“…!”
“I’ll be your sister—or maybe little sister? Anyway, I’ll be a more reliable sibling than your brothers.”
“……”
“What’s wrong?”
“…Can’t we be family-like friends instead of family?”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t wanted to become family. Maybe we really couldn’t be true family to him. That stung a little.

I really would’ve done anything for him.

Back then, even as I hated Caelum, I still longed for the idea of family because of lingering memories. But Hyperion, with such a bad relationship with his brothers, might have been reluctant to become family at all.

I wasn’t considerate enough.

I thought it was just mild sibling bickering—but if they were willing to abandon a child in an orchard and let him live or die, that was far more serious.

“So, Leon… do you not get along with your family?”

I asked him as carefully and gently as I could.

“Huh? Ah—no. My brothers are really amazing and incredible.”

No? Were they on good terms at this point?

That can happen, right? Siblings who used to get along, until one stands out too much and things fall apart. I’d heard of it.

“I-it’s because I’m lacking…”

What?

“I-I’m bad with a sword, so even when my brothers train me, I never succeed even once and just keep getting h-hit. A-and then, to improve my reflexes, they throw b-balls at me, but compared to them, I’m lacking, so I can’t dodge those well either. B-but still, they don’t give me a big punishment—just keep me in my room for a f-few days, so I’m g-grateful….”

What…?

“They’re just helping me get better.”

This was insane. This was child abuse.