When Charlotte stood before him, looking at him with unconcealed concern, Elias realized that some things were written into the genetic code.
That kind of blood connection required no deliberate imitation.
It had already sunk deep into his soul.
If the original owner were still alive, he would probably feel very aggrieved right now, wouldn't he?
It was the kind of feeling where one suffers outside, only to have their emotional defenses crumble the moment they see their family upon returning home.
'How embarrassing,' Elias cursed himself in his heart, using the motion of adjusting his hat brim to hide his slightly reddened eyes.
"Is this your sister?"
Edmond's voice carried a hint of surprise that had never been there before.
'No kidding,' Elias replied irritably in his mind. 'Doesn't she look like it?'
"No, it's not a matter of looks."
Edmond's voice became serious.
"I'm saying, your family actually has Norse bloodline?"
Elias's hand, which was wiping his tears, paused.
'What Norse bloodline? How can you tell?'
"The hair," Edmond said succinctly.
"Your sister's red hair is the most typical symbol of a Norse descendant."
"In the Kingdom of Velen, only those with Norse blood will grow this hair color."
'I really didn't know that,' Elias answered.
In the original owner's memories, because his parents died early, the history of the family was basically a blank.
'Is there some significance to this?' Elias was curious.
After all, in this world filled with mysticism, any bit of specialty could mean trouble.
"Oh, there's a lot to say about it," Old Ed replied, his tone carrying a sense of pride.
"Remember the Ancient Runic script used to construct the formation in that cultist's room?"
'I remember.'
"In the era before the Origin Web existed, the so-called Era of Ignorance, the ancient Norse people used Ancient Runic as the medium to communicate with spirituality and magic."
"There were no Rational Circuits back then."
"They relied on this ancient script, using rituals to leverage the powers of nature."
'In other words, the Norse people know a lot about spirituality? And magic?' Elias distilled the key point.
"More than just knowing it," Edmond explained.
"Their spirituality is naturally higher than that of ordinary people."
"This might also be the reason why your spirituality is so high."
...
Elias rolled his eyes in his heart.
That really wasn't the reason why his spirituality was high.
He was the product of overlapping souls.
However, he couldn't explain this to Old Ed, so he could only acquiesce to this beautiful misunderstanding.
"The spirituality of the Norse people could support them in directly using Ancient Runic to release some ritual spells," Edmond continued his lecture.
"Of course, in that era, this ability was called witchcraft."
"Later, the Origin Web appeared."
"Because communication with the Origin Web made the use of magic and spirituality much simpler, the obscure and difficult Ancient Runic naturally declined."
"Combined with the later advancement of weapons, the complexity of ritual spells, and various kingdom wars."
"Moreover, the ritual spells that could be constructed with Ancient Runic weren't that powerful either."
"The Norse bloodline began to mix and dilute with other races."
"Later, still because of the existence of the Origin Web, a chasm formed between transcendents and ordinary people."
"Ordinary people who don't touch the supernatural will never know the truth of the world, and antiques like Ancient Runic have been ignored ever since."
"Perhaps only historians like John would study it."
After listening to this brief history lesson, Elias became thoughtful.
'Then what does this have to do with our family being Norse descendants?' he asked.
'My sister just has red hair; it's not like she can conjure a fireball, right?'
"You're thinking too simply," Edmond's tone suddenly became somewhat gloating.
"Let's put it this way: red-haired Norse people have even higher spirituality than normal Norse people."
"This means your sister's spirituality is a large chunk higher than the average person's."
"Although she hasn't constructed a Rational Circuit and isn't a transcendent."
"But this high spirituality will bring a kind of extremely keen intuition, or rather... a sixth sense."
"If you lose your mind again, or if there's anything wrong with you."
"She might be able to sense it."
'Holy shit?!' Elias was startled.
A human radar?
If this girl saw through him when he was having an episode...
'That won't do!' Elias immediately became nervous, subconsciously wanting to restrain his aura.
"Al?"
A crisp call, like a basin of cold water, forcibly pulled Elias back to reality from the encrypted conversation in his mind.
Charlotte was tilting her head, staring at him with those beautiful amber eyes.
"What's wrong?" Elias felt his back stiffen.
"What are you dazed for?"
Charlotte looked him up and down suspiciously.
"Your eyes have been glazed over since just now."
"And..."
She took a step closer, her nose almost touching Elias's chin.
"The smell on you is very strange."
Elias was a bit panicked.
Really.
"You didn't get bullied out there, did you?" Charlotte asked suddenly, the suspicion in her eyes instantly turning into worry.
Elias was stunned.
Bullied?
He certainly had been bullied.
Not just bullied, it was practically a tag-team beating.
If he made a list in his head, he could rattle them off like a menu:
Steamed lamb... no, that's not right.
A dream demon mounting his face, a carapace husk chasing him, a siren taking shots at him, and a mystic throwing things...
He knew them all too well.
But on the surface.
Elias took a deep breath, squeezing a broad smile onto his face.
"No," he shook his head, his tone light.
'See!' Old Ed's voice rang out in his mind at the right time, carrying a sense of pride. 'This is someone with high spirituality; their intuition will be extraordinarily strong!'
"Are you sure?"
Charlotte still didn't let up.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to find a flaw in Elias's micro-expressions.
Looking at his sister's serious eyes, Elias was instead a bit at a loss.
Usually, when facing an old hand like Crowley or a dishonest merchant like Redbeard, he would have long since started talking nonsense without even repeating a punctuation mark.
But in front of Charlotte, he was actually a bit constrained.
That sense of guilt from lying made him feel at a loss for words for the first time.
He could only change the subject.
"Lottie."
Elias called out Charlotte's nickname, his tone carrying a bit of doting and helplessness.
"It's really nothing."
"By the way."
His gaze crossed Charlotte's shoulder, looking at the lady who had been standing a few steps away, waiting quietly.
"You haven't introduced this lady yet?"
This move worked as expected.
Charlotte's attention was instantly diverted.
"Oh, right!"
She looked back somewhat flustered, an embarrassed look appearing on her face, as if she were neglecting others because she was only focused on talking to her brother.
That woman wore a deep blue long dress, covered by a sophisticated wool shawl.
On her head was a vintage-style brimless hat, with an exquisite hairnet pinned under the brim.
She was looking at the interaction between the siblings with interest, a proper and elegant smile hanging on the corners of her mouth.
On this messy train station plaza.
She was like a blue iris blooming in a coal pile, out of place yet exceptionally eye-catching.
"My apologies, Ms. Cecil."
Charlotte stuck out her tongue and quickly stepped aside, introducing her like a primary school student who had made a mistake.
"Al, this is my etiquette teacher at the college, Ms. Cecil."
"Since it happened to be on the way for this holiday, Ms. Cecil brought me back with her in a first-class carriage; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to squeeze out."
So she was a teacher.
No wonder her temperament was so different.
Accompanying Charlotte's introduction, Ms. Cecil smiled and nodded slightly toward Elias.
Her movements were elegant and her range precise; not a single fault could be found.
"Hello, Ms. Cecil."
Elias quickly tidied his clothes and, imitating the gentlemen in his memory, bowed slightly in greeting.
"I am Charlotte's brother, Elias Rockland."
"Thank you for taking care of my sister along the way."
Although the movements were slightly stiff, these polite words were still passable.
However.
The moment he stood up again and his gaze met Ms. Cecil's.
His expression changed imperceptibly.
It was because at this time, Old Ed, who had been in a spectator state, suddenly gave him a serious warning.
"Kid, lock that damn spirituality of yours inside your body; don't let a single bit leak out."
'What's wrong?' Elias's heart tightened.
"You have to act carefully."
"She is a transcendent."
"And..."
"She should be Scale Three."
Rate on N.U.
