History Lesson Seconds: Noble Bloodlines (2)

"Now then, from here I'll explain each noble Master's origin. This indicates what rank the bloodline reached, and please note that the noble class is one tier lower."

• Parent was B-Class Master: C-Class Noble Bloodline

12th Goldin

• Parent was A-Class Master: B-Class Noble Bloodline

15th Dunes

19th Zares

"Those of A-Class or B-Class origin are, from an S-Class Master's perspective, scarcely different from commoner-born. In noble-class terms, they are C-Class and B-Class.

"The 'up-and-comer' treatment, as it were.

"Their voice in the S-Class Conference is presumably not very large."

"I see… but nominally, S-Class Masters are equals, aren't they?"

"That's true, but yes, between rank, attack-op success count, and family, there's bound to be a difference in influence, isn't there?"

So Lyuka speculated.

Of course, it might really be exactly as she said, or one of them might wield tremendous oratorical influence.

Ursula showed no particular reaction. Her attitude was: confirm for yourself with your own eyes whether it really was so.

• Parent was Lower S-Class Master: A-Class Noble Bloodline

11th Gazain

13th Hortensia

18th Melville

"For these, from your perspective, Naoto-san, having absorbed Ursula, their pedigrees are inferior. The noble class is A-Class.

"That said, Gazain and Hortensia are currently Middle S-Class, so they've demonstrated ability beyond their pedigree.

"Melville too has ability equal to his ancestor's. Though Melville clings to 18th as a matter of principle.

"People of this sort, with ability that bears comparison to their ancestors and matches their pedigree, are predicted to be persons of unproblematic character."

"I see…"

Lyuka's predictions — well, I'd take them as a kind of fortune-telling.

But it did feel like they carried some weight.

I especially hoped I'd get along with Hortensia, since she's that bishoujo-looking type. And maybe, just maybe, I could have her drink the In-Yo Divine Elixir… wait, getting ahead of myself.

• Parent was Middle S-Class Master: Lower S-Class Bloodline

16th Julian

20th Gidsen

21st Fergus

"These — aside from Julian — may be discontented with their current rank, given their parents' bloodline.

"There's a possibility they're individuals with some sort of problem."

"I see…"

Well, I'd called it fortune-telling, but…

Compared to being told "You're an Aries, so you're a romantic," being told "A child born to an Upper S-Class parent who's currently Middle S-Class or below tends to be ambitious and discontent with the status quo" felt considerably more reliable.

And Julian and Gidsen actually were kind of like that, after all…

In which case, should I be wary of Fergus too?

• Parent was Upper S-Class Master: Middle S-Class Bloodline

23rd Zeiros

24th Akai Naoto

"You, Naoto-san, also fall here.

"If Zeiros mistakenly believes his current rank is owed to something other than mere luck, he may be a person with some issues.

"If he's a humble person who properly recognizes his good fortune, he should be fine…"

"Hmm, I see…"

So Zeiros was on the same tier as me… I should probably be cautious of him.

"Well, thinking about it normally, he's the very first person you're going to displace, isn't he? He'll be quite wary of you."

Yuria cut in.

… I see, quite right. If he weren't wary at all, he'd be too much of a blockhead even by S-Class standards.

I'd be cautious from my side too.

• Parent was Highest S-Class Master: Upper S-Class Bloodline

9th Calcas

"Only Calcas falls into this bracket."

"… That's true, that means children of S-Class 2nd to 4th, then. Surprisingly few."

If they hit 1st even once, the bloodline becomes Highest S-Class.

"With ability equivalent to Upper S-Class, Calcas may yet be dissatisfied bloodline-wise."

"Now, from here onward, the descendants of Garumon Masters spoken of in history: the Highest S-Class Bloodlines.

"By my own arbitrary preference, let me speak in order of least importance."

• 6th: 14th Garland, Leonhardt Bloodline (Collateral)

"No need to explain this one, right? Leonhardt-san's eldest son, mentioned many times."

"Yeah, we can skip this guy."

Although I'd never even met him, Garland got pretty low billing.

"He's destined to be a collateral, after all.

"Collaterals are treated very differently from the direct line. Collaterals merely share the blood. They have essentially no honor or authority.

"Only after being designated as successor can one bear the bloodline name.

"Yuria is also currently of the Silvana bloodline as a collateral."

"I'm a Garumon, so I'm not even a collateral… honestly, since I usually get teased about it, you all jump on it whenever you get the chance."

So Yuria laughed.

• 5th: 10th Hamilton, Stein Bloodline

"… Yes. 10th Hamilton is the successor of the Stein bloodline that I glossed over in history class."

Oh, a new historical figure.

"… What sort of person was Stein?"

"During Kaiser's reign, Stein was the 4th-place Master after Sirius and Gaius.

"When Sirius died and Kaiser left, he became the 2nd-place Master after Gaius.

"And after Gaius died, he became 1st."

"… So he won by default, in due course."

"Technically, he did win the S-Class Tournament. He was the kind of Master who held things together in the brief interval after Gaius's death until the Four Heavenly Kings properly emerged.

"But that was just once — the Year-108 Tournament — and from the Year-112 Tournament onward, the Four Heavenly Kings traded the championship back and forth, and Stein gradually faded out."

"Ah, yeah… really a fill-in-the-gaps Master…"

No wonder he wasn't talked about in history…

"So Hamilton-shi can be said to be the person who has most benefited from the noble system, or who carries the deepest shadow because of it.

"… As for what kind of person he is, I'll refrain from predicting."

"Ah, sure, got it."

My prediction was: "the type who refers to himself as Our self."

What kind of person was he really, I wondered.

• 4th: 8th Aleph, Hamasu Bloodline

"Now, from here on are the descendants of the Four Heavenly Kings. The reason the Four Heavenly Kings are so lionized — well, up until Leonhardt's rise, they really did trade 1st place back and forth for about 50 years, so naturally they're lionized — but it's also a big factor that the highest-ranked S-Class Masters in this world today are their direct descendants.

"8th Aleph's proud one, the other Legendary-tier Hero alongside Arianrhod, Star Hero Stella, is no exaggeration to call the greatest masterpiece the Hamasu bloodline ever produced.

"The one said to have discovered the law for transforming a Lesser Hero into a Hero is Hamasu. The Hamasu bloodline is the very wellspring of Heroes, as the saying goes."

Lyuka's explanation suddenly turned passionate.

"I-I see…"

"… A-apologies. The history book I'd been reading was thin on the Four Heavenly Kings…

"So I went back and researched the Four Heavenly Kings afterward.

"And it turned out to be unexpectedly fascinating… it's a hot topic for me right now."

A slightly excited Lyuka was too cute.

"I see. Then by all means, let me hear more."

"Yes!"

• 3rd: 7th Fauzel, Faren Bloodline

"Faren — one of the Four Heavenly Kings, who met a tragic death at the hands of Salem Belial.

"His bloodline is called the great house of knights.

"Currently, knight-type Garumon are considered extremely useful — nearly every Master has one.

"And the pinnacle of that is said to have been Faren.

"The Faren bloodline's outstanding knight Garumon, Holy Knight Muzel, embodies and inherits that legacy to this day."

The explanation was heated…

• 2nd: 2nd Aqueria, Yucas Bloodline

"As I think I explained before, Aqueria is of the Yucas bloodline among the Four Heavenly Kings.

"Aqueria, currently the world's highest-peak Master, can be called the light born of the noble system.

"Yucas is said to be the first Master to own the Legendary Job Dragon God.

"The first Master to own a Goddess was Leonhardt.

"The first Master to own a Demon God was Silvana.

"Lined up like this, Yucas starts to look like a great Master comparable to them.

"Aqueria's water-specialized, powerful composition is something handed down and concentrated through the history of the noble bloodline."

Lyuka's explanation was impassioned.

"That said, Aqueria's current status is more often attributed to her own individual talent than to her bloodline.

"The Yucas bloodline had no Angels, no Goddesses.

"It's said that, like Mercheada, a powerful Angel sometimes born as a mutation just happened to fall into the Yucas bloodline."

"I see…"

… Hm? S-Class 2nd Aqueria is at 2nd here?

Then… that just leaves one more unexplained.

And speaking of historical figures whose bloodline doesn't remain…

"Wallace among the Four Heavenly Kings — it's already obvious his child is Ruria, so that's fine.

"… As for descendants not yet explained, that leaves Sirius, Altair, Vega, and… Augusta."

"… Here, a special segment. Let me explain the Sirius bloodline."

Oh-ho. Suddenly a special segment.

"Altair, said to be Leonhardt's destined rival.

"He was an elite noble. His father was Antares, Sirius's elder brother, killed by Kaiser.

"In this generation, the elder brother succeeded to the younger brother's position.

"Antares was himself an S-Class Master, but he lacked his younger brother's talent and merely inherited Sirius's Garumon, fading out early on.

"However, he apparently had a talent for training, and his son Altair blossomed in talent all at once.

"Until his death, he was a powerful Master who contested 1st place with Leonhardt.

"That Altair met a tragic death in the Titan Calamity… but he had left an heir.

"His name was Vega.

"Vega was an exceedingly excellent Master.

"After Silvana retired, it was effectively an era of Leonhardt's sole supremacy, but Vega was the one person who blocked even that.

"Among Leonhardt's great achievements is winning five championships in a row — twice — but the reason he didn't make it eleven in a row, with a break between the two streaks, was that Vega took a championship.

"A big reason Altair is still called Leonhardt's destined rival is that Vega stood in his way for a second generation as well.

"… If Vega were still active today, he'd surely still reign at the very top."

"… He's retired, then."

"In the tournament three back, when Aqueria climbed to 2nd, the 3rd-place Master who fell to Aqueria before Leonhardt was Vega.

"Seeing how the young Aqueria, following on from Satoru, so easily achieved what he himself had been unable to do — defeating Leonhardt — it's said he may have despaired.

"He hasn't appeared on the main stage since.

"… But he has an extremely promising successor, and is rumored to be devoting himself to that successor's training.

"Sooner or later, that successor may debut."

"Hee, I see…

"A descendant of Altair, Leonhardt-san's destined rival…

"If I become Leonhardt-san's successor, then I'll be the one waiting to meet that successor.

"… Wow, that's a really hot setup, isn't it!"

"It is hot, isn't it! I'm looking forward to it!"

Lyuka seemed excited too.

… Leonhardt-san was said to have repeatedly drunk the bitter cup of younger, more talented Masters like Altair and Wallace rising up against him.

In a few years, I'd be in the position of awaiting the rise of such young Masters myself…

Thinking that, I felt the weight of history pressing in, and it tightened my resolve.

Now then, with that, Altair, Sirius, and Vega were eliminated as candidates. Their descendants are not currently S-Class Masters.

Which means…

1st: 5th Caios, Augusta Bloodline

"And so… the Master who inherits the bloodline of the great Augusta, the most exalted in this world, no exaggeration to say…

"That is the opponent you must defeat, Naoto-san — 5th Caios."

"Augusta bloodline… seriously…"

I was a little overawed. That was the most history-and-tradition-laden, illustrious bloodline in this world…

"Wait, even though he's of Augusta's bloodline, he's also angling to become Leonhardt-san's successor?"

"He may be planning to unite two bloodlines under himself. Just as you, Naoto-san, absorbed the Belzebute bloodline, it is possible for bloodlines to be consolidated.

"… Be especially cautious of Caios.

"Indeed, fewer young people today know the name of Augusta, but…

"Precisely because no one actually knew Augusta personally, some hold Augusta as a sacred figure in counterpoint, and there are no few who will venerate Caios simply on the strength of being of that bloodline.

"… Caios is an existence around whom not just himself but the gathered weight of history converges…

"Pray, never forget this. Be careful."

"… Yeah."

A descendant of the great Augusta, huh.

The feeling of "just because an ancestor was great, why should descendants lord it over you?" — I couldn't say I didn't have it.

But if I started saying that, I'd end up negating all royalty, all nobility.

Genetics, family customs, educational tradition — there are undoubtedly things cultivated by bloodline, so I had no intention of denying bloodlines entirely.

But… while respecting tradition, I had to not let the opponent I needed to defeat overawe me unduly.

Well, in the original world maybe, but in this world, like in horse racing, Garumon bloodlines are extremely important.

Silvana's children, Mercheada's children — every single one of them possessed this kind of talent.

The one most benefiting from bloodline was me, myself.

A great Garumon's child being naturally great — a bloodline that produces many excellent Garumon being respected starts to feel only natural.

"Lastly, the attack-op success counts. Previously I listed individual records, but there's also a school of thought that counts attack-op successes by bloodline. Let me introduce that."

Bloodline Records (Individual Records)

1st: S-Class 4th Leonhardt — 24 (24)

2nd: S-Class 5th Caios (Augusta) — 12 (1)

3rd: S-Class 2nd Aqueria (Yucas) — 10 (5)

4th: S-Class 8th Aleph (Hamasu) — 9 (2)

5th: S-Class 7th Fauzel (Faren) — 7 (2)

6th: S-Class 3rd Sairas — 6 (6)

7th: S-Class 10th Hamilton (Stein) — 4 (0)

8th: S-Class 1st Satoru — 3 (3)

S-Class 9th Calcas (Upper S-Class) — 3 (1)

S-Class 24th Akai Naoto (Belzebute) — 3 (1)

11th: S-Class 18th Melville (Lower S-Class) — 2 (1)

S-Class 23rd Zeiros (Upper S-Class) — 2 (0)

13th: S-Class 6th Duras — 1 (1)

S-Class 14th Garland — 1 (1)

S-Class 20th Gidsen (Middle S-Class) — 1 (0)

S-Class 21st Fergus (Upper S-Class) — 1 (0)

17th: Others — 0 (0)

Reference records

Sirius bloodline — 14

Kaiser bloodline — 8

Ruria (Wallace bloodline) — 6

Silvana — 1

"The order shifts quite a bit in the bloodline ranking. Even so, 1st-place Leonhardt-san is impressive.

"The Four Heavenly Kings' descendants — their own-generation results aren't bad either, so this is about what you'd expect.

"Sairas climbing this high individually is unusual.

"And then suddenly rising up: Augusta-bloodline Caios and Stein-bloodline Hamilton…

"Well, I'm only this high thanks to Ursula, so I can't really talk."

"What sayest thou. All that is mine is thine. Make use of my blood and flesh and all of me."

So Ursula said.

"… Thank you, Ursula."

I kissed Ursula.

"Then, my explanation is concluded… At last, the S-Class Conference. Good fortune to you."

And so, Lyuka ended her explanation.

I see…

I might not need to stand on excessive ceremony, but if I handled these history-bearing people too lightly, I might enrage them beyond what was warranted.

For going into the S-Class Conference, I'd gained truly useful knowledge.

"Thank you, Lyuka.

"… The S-Class Conference. I'll take it on with care.

"I've gained results, organized my knowledge… at last, my preparations are complete.

"Feels like it took a long time, but at last… the S-Class Conference is about to begin."

The parent's rank and the noble class were getting mixed up, so corrected.

The noble classes are as follows.

EX-Class — S-Class Highest Noble — currently seated at S-Class 4th or above, or experienced S-Class 1st (including ancestors)

SSS-Class — S-Class Upper Noble — currently seated at S-Class 8th or above, or experienced S-Class 4th or above (including ancestors)

SS-Class — S-Class Middle Noble — currently seated at S-Class 16th or above, or experienced S-Class 8th or above (including ancestors)

S-Class — S-Class Lower Noble — currently seated at S-Class 24th or above, or experienced S-Class 16th or above (including ancestors)

A-Class — A-Class Noble — currently seated at A-Class, or experienced S-Class (including ancestors)

B-Class — B-Class Noble — currently seated at B-Class, or experienced A-Class (including ancestors)