I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 51: In Other Words, I Hate Both Options

Episode 51: In Other Words, I Hate Both Options  

“I went through hell.”  

“Guild Master, welcome back. I’ll prepare some hot tea right away.”  

Seeing me return completely exhausted, Lala quickly poured me a steaming cup of tea. Meanwhile, the fluffy ones gathered around me in concern.  

“If I had known this would happen, I never would have left your side, Master…” 

“Don’t worry about it, Lagios. If you had been there, things would have gotten even worse.”  

I gazed off into the distance. To be honest, Lagios is adorable. If it were the size of a puppy, it would have been treated as a complete mascot.  

And if I had thrown such a cute mascot into a pack of wolves? They would have dragged me into the bath with them.  

“I don’t know what happened to you, Darling, but hang in there.”  

“Young Master, all hardships are trials. Overcoming them is what makes one a great lord.”  

“Yeah, well, I have no intention of becoming a lord…”  

Is Cayenne trying to make me one? That’s impossible. Unless I somehow end up as the groom of some kingdom’s only daughter.  

…….…That won’t happen, right? If things start heading in that direction, I’ll resist with everything I have. I just want a peaceful slow life!  

While sipping my tea, I asked about everyone’s progress from this morning. Apparently, Lala successfully summoned a Lightmoth. That brought her total to three. It put her on par with Selvus, who also had three. They were making good progress. Or so I thought.  

“Prince Rufus, I have also managed to summon a Salamander.”  

“Congratulations, Selvus. I thought you’d summon a Fairy first.”  

“I considered that, but I wanted to learn fire-starting magic first.”  

I see. Selvus prioritized summoning a practical magical creature. That made sense. Now, he could effectively use both the Light spell and fire-starting magic.  

Since we had the chance, I asked Selvus to show me his Salamander. It burned a piece of paper cleanly without turning the table to ash.  

Yep, it looks like he summoned the right kind of magical creature.  

“You two are doing great. You’ve managed to summon a lot of magical creatures in such a short time.”  

“It’s all thanks to you, Prince Rufus. Seeing a real summoning in person is incredibly inspiring.”  

“Indeed, Guild Master, we owe it to you. I feel the same way as the Vice Guild Master.”  

Both of them looked happy. I suppose seeing an actual summoning up close makes things clearer. It probably helps them believe they can do it too. If that’s the case, I’ll need to summon more magical creatures in the future.  

Maybe I should go beyond just the Magical Creature Encyclopedia. A training manual for summoning techniques could be useful. Schools teach swordsmanship and magic, so there should be lessons on how to use Summoning Skills too.  

“Selvus, I’m thinking of writing a book about summoning techniques and training methods. What do you think?”  

“I think that’s an excellent idea. I would be honored to assist you.”  

“I’ll help too!”  

They both offered to help. Thank goodness. I might have cried if I had to do it all alone.  

Just as we started discussing the book’s contents, it was time for lunch.  

—

When I arrived at the dining room, I found Brother Gilliam swinging a wooden sword with intense focus.  

What the heck? Why is he practicing with a wooden sword here?  

Sure, the dining room for the royal family is spacious enough to allow sword swings. But still.  

“Balt, what’s going on?”  

“I assume he’s being punished for something…”  

Balt and Ray watched him with awkward expressions. Brother Gilliam, on the other hand, didn’t even notice us enter the room. His eyes looked completely lifeless.  

“Did someone decide that a writing punishment wouldn’t be effective on him? Given how bad he is at swordsmanship, this punishment might actually be a perfect fit.”

I never expected to see Brother Gilliam being punished like this. Honestly, I wish I hadn’t.  

If it were me, which punishment would I get? Maybe both at the same time…  

“Director, that’s…”

“Bear…”  

“You two, don’t look.”  

I quickly covered the eyes of Moguran and Beartolt, who were currently in their plush-sized forms. I had to protect at least a little of Brother Gilliam’s dignity.  

While this was happening, His Majesty the King arrived. He watched Brother Gilliam swinging his wooden sword with unwavering focus and gave a nod of approval.  

Wait… I’ve seen this scene before.  

It looked like His Majesty had finally deemed him forgiven. He patted Brother Gilliam on the shoulder, signaling him to stop.  

I don’t know why, but lately, I keep catching glimpses of a side of the royal family I never knew existed.  

And when I trace the cause back far enough, it always leads to one thing—me inheriting the Summoning Skill.  

Wait… is this all my fault?  

No, no, that can’t be right. No matter how many fascinating things I summon or create, if my two older brothers had just a little more self-control, none of this would have been a problem.  

As the awkward atmosphere settled over us, I waited for Brother Gilliam to take his seat.  

“Rufus, how is your work at the Summoning Guild going?”  

“Thanks to Your Majesty, everything is progressing smoothly.”  

“I hear that Gilliam sent you a rather large list of requests?”  

At that moment, Brother Gilliam visibly flinched.  

Yeah… he must have been scolded pretty harshly.  

Hang in there, future king. Among us brothers, you’re number one.