The Youngest Child

The main residence of the Frenzel family was remarkably similar to their secondary residence located in the royal capital, Yeluvia. Whether it was the layout or the decor, there wasn't much of a difference between the two; the only distinction was that the former was larger, appearing more luxurious.

The main residence also boasted a vast courtyard, complete with two pavilions and much more upscale landscaping compared to the secondary residence.

There were three fountains in this residence, rumored to be custom-made using magic-related technology. Even during the snowy half of the year, they never freeze over, continuously spouting water with a constant flow.

After spending about an hour in his assigned room, Riezel couldn't resist and made his way to the courtyard.

Along the way, he encountered many maids, servants, and guards, even several knights. Each of them respectfully bowed to him, displaying better manners than those in the second residence in the royal capital.

However, to Riezel, this wasn't just a matter of distance; it was an excessive display of formality.

'Did Yuri grow up in this kind of place?'

He couldn't help but think he had discovered the reason behind Yuri's peculiar personality. Living in a place like this year-round would undoubtedly make one feel suffocated.

He had never been to the Frenzel family's main residence and didn't know what it was like here before, but now that he was here, the atmosphere in this place was undeniably heavy and solemn.

'Formerly fallen noble, huh...?'

Thinking back on the history of the Frenzel family, Riezel shook his head and headed toward a pavilion.

He wasn't here to practice swordsmanship.

Although he hadn't trained with his sword during the three days on the ship or the day traveling from the royal capital to Trantia, totaling four days, he couldn't help but feel a bit itchy. But right now, instead of focusing on swordsmanship, he wanted to focus on his magic.

Of course, Riezel still brought his wooden sword, leaning it against the side. If things went smoothly later, he planned to practice with it again.

"Decompose."

Riezel muttered as he raised one of his hands.

Soon, a crimson vortex emanated from his palm, causing the surrounding air to tremble and convulse. He gazed at the crimson vortex in his palm for a moment before suddenly directing it off to the side.

*BOOM!*

As the crimson vortex surged forth like a flash, it unexpectedly slipped from his hand, crashing onto a nearby rock and blasting it into a cloud of smoke.

'Sure enough, decomposition magic can still work from a distance. My hunch was right.' Riezel sighed with relief.

The ability to launch distant attacks would directly determine the practicality and versatility of decomposition magic. If it couldn't be cast from a distance and required physical contact to take effect, its utility would be greatly diminished.

However, there was no need to worry now.

'Just as Yuri said, as one delves deeper into the study of decomposition magic, its versatility becomes exceptionally high. It can not only be used for long-range attacks but also various aspects...'

Riezel remarked inwardly, and once again, unleashed decomposition magic, creating a crimson vortex.

However, this time, he didn't raise his hand, nor did he concentrate the magic in his palm. Instead, he released it from his entire body.

Instead of a crimson vortex, this resulted in crimson waves enveloping his entire body, giving him the appearance of being engulfed in flames. Crimson waves, resembling tongues of fire, danced around his body, creating an impressive and magnificent spectacle.

Unfortunately, such a spectacle came with a price.

*Crack!* *Rumble!* *Rumble!*

After a while, successive rumbling sounds rang out.

These sounds emanated both from his body, shrouded in decomposition magic, and from beneath his feet. Soon, his clothes began to tear and disintegrate, followed shortly by the ground under his feet, which dissolved and disappeared.

"Crap!"

Riezel hurriedly ceased the use of decomposition magic, preventing further disaster. Looking at his now-tattered clothes and the two connecting craters beneath his feet, he felt a sense of guilt.

Fortunately, he had deliberately restrained himself from exerting too much power; otherwise, he might have gone naked, and there would have been more than just two small craters on the ground.

Since decomposition magic didn't affect the user, Riezel had been careless, thinking that experimenting a little wouldn't hurt, which resulted in his current sorry state.

If it was him in the past, he would need to sneak back to his room to change clothes, apologize to Yuri, and ask her to send someone to repair the ground.

But now? Not anymore.

Riezel placed a hand on his body, recalling the original appearance of his clothes in his mind before using a certain magic.

The next moment, with a flash of light, his tattered clothes miraculously repaired themselves.

This was a structure system magic he had learned from Yuri, capable of creating clothes. First, he used magic to create fabric, then he modified it midway to shape it into clothes.

Finished with his clothes, Riezel pressed a hand onto the floor and activated another kind of structure system magic.

This magic was used to create stone materials, following the same principle as before, creating them halfway and then shaping them according to the impression in his mind, thus producing stones of different shapes and sizes.

As a result, the ground was also repaired by using magic, restoring it to its original state.

'No wonder Yuri didn't seem to care at all when her mansion was burned down.'

With magic like this existing, wanting to rebuild a mansion would be easy if one disregarded any concerns about the amount of magical energy needed.

'This world is quite interesting...'

Riezel gained a deeper understanding of the magic in this world.

Although the magic in Danmachi was diverse, it was mostly magic closely related to combat and adventure. In there, people never used magic in their daily lives; they only used it in battles and adventures, which seemed impressive.

Nevertheless, he felt that the magic in this main world was on the right path. Regardless of the type of invention or the power of the magic, the ultimate goal was convenience, enabling people to do more things more easily.

This world's magic had already shown a tendency to be integrated into daily life. With such development, a civilization with advanced magic technology was bound to emerge in the future.

'So, what's next...'

After Riezel repaired his clothes and the ground, he turned around, ready to continue studying the application of decomposition magic, when suddenly—

"Are you the man Elder Sister brought back?"

A very unfriendly voice suddenly interrupted Riezel, breaking his train of thought.

Riezel frowned, turning back to look at the source of the voice, but upon looking, he saw nothing.

"Where are you looking?! Down here!"

The unfriendly voice began to show irritation, directing Riezel's line of sight downward, toward his own feet.

Finally, he saw the voice's source.

It was a little boy.

He was about a meter tall, looking around seven or eight years old, dressed in very luxurious clothes, his face full of pride, resembling a scion of a major noble family.

"...And who might you be?" Riezel was taken aback and began to ask.

"Rude!" the boy shouted at him. "When meeting a noble, commoner should bow. Don't you know this common sense?"

"Well, I do..." Riezel blinked his eyes. "But isn't it also common sense to be polite when talking to adults? Don't you even know this?"

"...You have a point."

The boy suddenly realized, immediately straightening up his body. As he was about to bow his head, he suddenly came to his senses, stomping his foot in irritation.

"Wait! You're a commoner! I'm a noble! You should be the one who bows to me, not the other way around!"

"So, who are you then?" Riezel ignored the boy's frustration. "You say you're a noble... Are you from the Frenzel family?"

"That's right!" The boy raised his head proudly. "I am Isaac Frenzel! The fifth son of the Frenzel family!"

Upon Isaac's self-introduction, Riezel remembered the situation at Yuri's family, as she had told him before.

According to her, her grandparents had passed away, while her parents were already separated. Her mother returned to her home and took her elder sister along. It had been about two years since they last visited.

In this generation, there were a total of five children—two sons and three daughters, with Yuri being the third child.

Yuri had an elder brother who was four years older and an elder sister who was two years older. Her elder brother stayed with her father, while her elder sister stayed with her mother.

There were also two younger siblings—a younger sister and a younger brother, with the younger sister being three years younger, now fourteen years old, and the younger brother being eight years younger, now nine years old.

It was quite obvious that the little boy in front of Riezel was the nine-year-old younger brother.

"Fifth son, huh?" Riezel couldn't help but murmur to himself. "So, this boy is the youngest then..."

"Youngest my ass!" Isaac suddenly seemed as if he had been pricked, starting to jump around and shout in anger. "I'm not the youngest!"

"What?" Riezel exclaimed, surprised. "Does your family have more younger siblings?"

"Huh...?" Isaac's voice became hesitant, but he still answered in a roundabout way. "My parents are still young, having two or three more children is definitely not a problem!"

In other words, this Frenzel family's youngest child believed that he had a few 'reserved' younger siblings.

"Hou? Really?" Riezel narrowed his eyes, saying with no hint of politeness. "But aren't your parents separated? Is it even possible for them to have more children?"

"I... No... Ugh..."

Isaac immediately had a constipated expression, wanting to refute but unable to, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Not long after, tears began to well up in his eyes.

'Bruh, you can't be serious...' Riezel's eye twitched slightly. 'Is this brat about to cry?'

Just as he was thinking like that, Isaac somehow held back his tears.

"You rude guy! How dare you bully me! You leave me no choice! I challenge you to a duel!" Isaac shouted angrily and gritted his teeth.

"..."

His declaration echoed in the silent courtyard for a long time.

Riezel fell silent, while Isaac still had a teeth-gritting appearance.

After a while—

*Thud!*

With a fist knocking on Isaac's head, the so-called duel came to an end.

"I win." Riezel calmly withdrew his fist, his expression tranquil like a still lake.

"Wuaaaa—!!!"

The fifth and youngest child of the Frenzel family finally let out a loud cry.