A brand-new series! A fantasy about banishment and growth.
I'd be happy if you'd read the first chapter, and if you're willing, all five chapters of the prologue!
"You are a good-for-nothing."
A cruel, ice-cold voice echoed through the study.
"I doted on you from the very moment you were born, and this is how you betray my expectations."
A voice steeped in equal parts anger and contempt was hurled at the ten-year-old boy standing in the center of the room.
"You've produced nothing, shown not even a hint of awakening. Do you have any idea what it's been like for me, having to keep a useless freeloader like you under this roof?"
The desk was struck with a sharp, irritated thud. In response, the boy's body flinched and trembled as though startled.
He knew that what was happening here, and what was about to happen, would not end with mere scolding.
And yet, clinging to that last thread of hope, the boy raised his voice.
"F-Father. I—"
"Silence! You no longer have the right to call me father!"
But that fragile candlelight of hope was unceremoniously snuffed out by the thunderous words.
"Ermes, as of today, I am disowning you!
You are forever forbidden from bearing the name of Frenbreed! Never again shall you cross the threshold of this house!!"
Ermes von Frenbreed—no, the boy who was now simply Ermes.
It was the moment he was cast out of the Frenbreed Marquis House, a renowned magical lineage, by the hand of his father, Zenos von Frenbreed.
◆
The magical nation of Yustia.
As its name suggests, the kingdom is characterized by magic being deeply rooted throughout the nation.
The nobles of this country use the power of magic to protect the people from foreign invasions and the ravages of monsters threatening the nation, and in return, they claim high privileges and status.
This magic-based class system forms the foundation of the country.
Therefore, anyone who would be a noble must possess high magical ability, without exception.
Yes, without exception.
Because anyone who lacks magical ability is, at that point, not a noble.
And of the nobles of this magical nation Yustia, one of the most prestigious — the renowned magical lineage of the Frenbreed Marquis House.
Ermes was born as the second son of that house.
"Oh, this child is a genius!"
Zenos lifted Ermes in his arms to celebrate his birth, and after completing a simple magic power measurement of the newborn, his words overflowed with a joy that could only be called ecstasy.
"What incredible clarity, and such immense magic power! Truly, this must be the prodigy that God has sent to save our bloodline!"
……A digression, if you will.
If one traces the Frenbreed lineage far enough back, they were of royal blood — meaning they held the qualifications to be dukes, and in fact, until roughly a hundred years ago, they were known as the Frenbreed Duke House.
However, over the past several generations, their failure to produce capable mages, combined with mismanagement of their domains, led to their demotion to marquis. Depending on future circumstances, they could even be reduced to a count — a house in decline, as it were.
That is why it should come as no surprise that Ermes, born with such vast and exceptional magic power, appeared to the current head, Zenos, as nothing short of a savior.
"You all — this child is the one who will save our bloodline. You must raise him with the utmost care. Anyone who acts in a way that disadvantages this child will be beheaded immediately — keep that in mind when you serve him!"
Zenos issued this tyrannical directive to the surrounding servants, his eyes glinting with a ugly gleam of ambition and desire.
Thus, Ermes spent a childhood of excessive pampering — yet contrary to everyone's expectations, he did not grow into a spoiled little master.
The grace of being raised among conscientious servants must have played a part. While he had a touch of self-confidence, he grew into fundamentally an honest and sensible young boy.
"Father! Father! My magic power output training today — the instructor praised me! He said this level of output is the greatest in history for my age!"
"Oh, Ermes! My son indeed! Very well, I shall give you a reward. Is there anything you'd like?"
"Then, the magic tome that's said to be treasured by the royal family!"
His relationship with his father remained excellent, so long as he continued delivering results.
Ermes found this gratifying — and more than anything, he genuinely loved magic, so he threw himself into the fundamental training of magic power manipulation and projection, gradually spreading his reputation as a prodigy.
"Magnificent, Ermes! One day, you will become the finest mage our family has ever seen. Ah — I can hardly contain my excitement wondering what Bloodline Magic will take root within you!"
Bloodline Magic.
It was the very symbol of what made a noble a noble — magic inherited, as the name suggested, through bloodlines.
Its power, in a word, was off the charts.
Compared to any other magic that anyone could use — so-called General-purpose Magic — the gap in performance was as vast as heaven and earth.
It was no exaggeration to say that the ability to inherit this magic was what allowed nobles to remain nobles. Depending on which Bloodline Magic one inherited, a person's standing was determined — for nobles, this was the magic that dictated their very lives, no joke.
"As expected, it will be the magic inherited by myself and my predecessors — or perhaps a powerful one from a branch family. No, no — our lineage traces back to royal blood. Could it be that the lost legendary magic of the royal family manifests...!"
"How exciting, Master!"
"Of course! It's young Master Ermes we're talking about. He's certain to receive a magnificent magic, no doubt about it!"
Zenos began indulging in his hopes, while the servants eagerly fanned the flames.
Ermes himself innocently believed in the future his father described.
He had exceptional talent for magic.
A surely powerful Bloodline Magic would manifest in someone like him.
Bloodline Magic manifests between the ages of five and six. For him, that meant next year or the year after.
Whatever magic it was, in the future he would wield it freely, charge onto the battlefield and vanquish evil, becoming a great mage like a hero from a fairy tale.
He had believed in such a future — without the slightest shadow of doubt.
◆
"...Ah, no, there is none."
Ermes von Frenbreed, age seven.
That day, an ominous rain was falling.
"...What did you say?"
His father, Zenos, asked in a voice that refused to believe what he had just heard.
"Th-That is, there is no reaction to your Bloodline Magic, Lord Ermes."
The voice replying, equally or even more shaken than Zenos's, belonged to the Royal Appraiser.
"Bloodline Magic is naturally granted once the body has grown strong enough to withstand the magic inscribed in one's blood. Lord Ermes's growth is sufficient in that regard, yet there is not the slightest reaction. If that is the case—"
A tremendous peal of thunder struck.
"—then it means Lord Ermes has inherited no magic whatsoever. In other words... it is 'Incompatibility.' As the Royal Appraiser, I must guarantee this result."
"Absurd...!"
His father Zenos's cry of despair echoed through the great hall.
"How can that be possible!? He is Ermes—our clan's greatest prodigy, whose magic power and control are unparalleled, a child undoubtedly beloved by the gods—how can he, of all people, have Incompatibility!?"
"...I cannot believe it either, but... it is not an impossible story."
Slightly calmer after seeing Zenos's panic, the Appraiser continued in a detached tone.
"Which Bloodline Magic one receives is somewhat influenced by the purity of one's blood, but it is fundamentally left to fortune. The amount of magic power has little bearing on it."
"That cannot—"
"Lord Ermes is, most regrettably... truly not favored by the gods."
The Appraiser directed a pitying gaze toward him.
"Huh...?"
Ermes was dumbfounded.
He didn't have Bloodline Magic—the most important and essential magic for a magic user.
No matter how much magic power he had, no matter how skilled he was at wielding it.
If he didn't have the magic to deploy it... it was like owning a treasure you could never use.
In other words, he was.
Not the prodigy everyone had called him since birth.
Quite the opposite—a hopeless defective, of all things—
"What is the meaning of this... my ambition, my plan to use Ermes to rise back to the rank of Duke... doesn't this ruin everything...!"
Zenos dropped to his knees, voices of despair spilling from his mouth. It was obvious to anyone that his father was now consumed by hopelessness.
"And after all the care I gave you... after giving you everything you wanted, after listening to your pointless boasting every single day...!"
And that despair...
"...Don't screw with me, you good-for-nothing failure!!!"
It didn't take long for that despair to transform into rage and loathing directed at Ermes.
Thank you for reading this chapter!
[A Notice to All Readers]
I've started a new series on another site!
"The Perpetual Second-Place Mediocre Nobody Who Somehow Gets Picked Over His Childhood Friend to Join a Genius High School VTuber Unit"
A hot-blooded creative coming-of-age story about a self-proclaimed "average" boy who could never be number one at anything, gets scouted by a genius beautiful streamer.
It's got youthful romance, sweet comeuppance, and romantic comedy—everything packed in! It's currently climbing the rankings at an all-time high pace!
Since you can jump to the link at the bottom of the screen, please check it out along with Creation Magic
If you could read that too, and perhaps follow★rate, etc., I would be very happy…!