The two of them shook hands.
Ramu maintained a warm expression as he quietly sent a stream of magical energy into Al through the handshake, intending to analyze him more deeply.
Al felt it—and was a little disappointed.
Ah… so he's just analyzing me. I thought he was going to mess with me, test my strength, or try to assert dominance, he thought.
Tsk… sorry, readers. No epic scene this time.
Meanwhile, Ramu had already ended the handshake, feeling slightly disappointed as well.
Hmph… this kid is empty. Even Lysha has a bit of magical potential. Huff… a complete waste, no threat at all, he thought.
Edward then stepped forward.
"Al… Ramu came here to do something for you," he said.
"For me? What, is he going to buy me a villa or a luxury car?" Al asked casually.
Ramu took half a step back at the completely nonsensical joke and could only let out an awkward laugh.
Edward shook his head.
"No. It's… some kind of ritual," he replied.
"Ritual? Whoa! Don't tell me—I'm going to be sacrificed?" Al wondered aloud.
"Of course not. Stop joking around and listen," Edward snapped, clearly a bit annoyed this time.
"Ah… yes, Father," Al said awkwardly.
Edward let out a breath and began to explain.
"Huff… it's just a kind of purification ritual and the like. Your siblings have all gone through it. Now it's your turn."
Al wanted to respond with, 'So what, am I getting bathed or something?' But after being scolded, he could only stare blankly and keep quiet, letting them continue.
Ramu nodded and began to explain in more detail, his tone calm and measured.
"This ritual is usually performed shortly after a child is born," he said. "It's a kind of purification and alignment ceremony."
He glanced at Al.
"In simple terms, it removes lingering bad luck, stabilizes the body and soul, and helps awaken or strengthen one's natural talents."
Al blinked.
Edward crossed his arms.
"All of your sisters went through this ritual when they were babies," he added. "It's meant to cleanse all bad luck and protect them as they grow."
Ramu nodded in agreement with Edward and continued, his expression turning a little more serious.
"But in your case, Al… the ritual was never performed."
"Because I was switched?" Al asked.
Ramu nodded.
"You disappeared before the ceremony could be arranged. By the time we realized you were truly gone, it was already too late."
He let out a quiet sigh.
"That's why this ritual has been delayed for seventeen years."
Al scratched his cheek.
"So… what happens if someone never gets purified?"
Ramu answered honestly.
"It varies. Some people grow up with unstable luck. Some have their potential blocked. Others constantly attract trouble without realizing why."
He looked straight at Al.
"And some… simply remain unaligned with the world around them."
Al tilted his head.
"…Sounds rough."
Edward frowned slightly.
"That's exactly why we want to do it now."
Ramu raised a finger, emphasizing his next words.
"However, performing this ritual at your age is… rare."
"Rare as in dangerous?" Al asked. In truth, he already knew quite a bit about things like this—but he chose to play dumb.
"Rare as in unpredictable," Ramu corrected. "For infants, the ritual gently shapes what's already there."
He paused.
"For adults, it doesn't create anything new."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"At best, it will simply cleanse your body and end there. Strengthening talent at this age is already extremely unlikely."
Al nodded.
"But hey," he said lazily, "if it's just to get rid of bad luck, I don't think it's necessary. I'm actually a very lucky person."
Hearing that, Sarah—who had been quietly observing from the side of the room—burst out laughing.
"Haha… you're lucky?" she said mockingly. "Growing up in an orphanage, barely eating properly, sleeping wherever you could—that's lucky?"
"And you've only been here for less than a day..." she continued coldly,
"...yet whether you mean to or not, your presence has already brought huge trouble. You're not just unlucky—you bring bad luck to this house."
Everyone immediately turned sharp gazes toward Sarah.
Edward snapped at her, while Sandra and Aurielle, seated beside her, could only lightly pat her arm.
They disliked Sarah's words—but they couldn't deny them either.
From their perspective, this family had already received tremendous blessings. Yet the moment Al appeared, everything began to fall apart.
Sarah merely crossed her arms and leaned back further into the sofa, clearly unconcerned.
Al, on the other hand, just shook his head lazily.
"Hm… you just don't know how lucky I really am," he muttered casually.
"Tch…" Sarah clicked her tongue, but didn't respond further.
Ramu could only scratch his head at the small conflict. His gaze returned to Al—the boy who claimed to be lucky.
He thought the same thing.
Of course you possess the greatest luck. A child with an immense destiny. Even after being disrupted seventeen years ago, you still managed to find your way back here.
But with this ritual, I'll make sure all that luck disappears. Hehe.
He was confident in the outcome of the ritual he was about to perform on Al.
But for reasons he couldn't quite explain, a strange sense of unease crept over him—something he hadn't felt in a very long time
Al turned back to Ramu.
"But… is something like this really real? Just from a ritual, bad luck can disappear? It doesn't really make sense."
Ramu fell silent for a moment. For some reason, he felt slightly offended—as if he were being accused of running a scam.
"I understand how you feel, Al. Magic isn't something an ordinary person like you would easily believe in," he said calmly.
"But… believe it or not, you'll see the results soon enough."
He then glanced toward Al's siblings.
"Take them as an example. Is there any kind of luck they don't have? Exceptional talent, smooth paths, success in almost everything they do."
That was followed by nods from the people present.
Even those who didn't truly believe in—or fully understand—magic had to admit one thing:
The overwhelming success of the Virellano children was proof enough.
That argument even extended beyond genetics or the way the Virellano family raised their children.
David was the most unique and obvious proof.
He wasn't Virellano by blood, yet his growth was nothing short of outstanding.
If it were merely a matter of upbringing, then plenty of elite families in Makazhar provided their children with education just as rigorous and specialized as David's.
Yet none of them dared to consider themselves on the same level as him.
Al understood their reasoning.
But to him, they were only measuring things by their own ruler—not the real one.
His attention was focused on Ramu instead. To him, the man was nothing more than a charlatan.
This guy… for a scum, his persuasion skills are actually pretty good. If I didn't understand magic, I might've already bought into his nonsense, he thought.
His gaze shifted toward his parents and sisters.
So for more than twenty years, they had believed this lie. When in truth, what was really happening was the opposite—their luck was being drained. Reduced, not increased.
A faint crimson gleam flickered in Al's eyes once more.
They succeeded because, from the very beginning, they already possessed the luck and blessings meant for success. Those so-called rituals didn't add anything—they stole it instead.
…Still, this is interesting. I wonder where this family's luck originally came from. Even after being siphoned off, they've managed to become this successful.
His eyes shifted toward Ramu.
And now he wants to take my luck? Hmm… can he really do it? Hehe.
Al merely gave a small smile and responded.
"No… it's not about whether I believe it or not," Al replied lazily. "I just feel that doing something like this on me would be pointless. It'd be a waste of time."
"Pointless? A waste of time?" Ramu asked, a hint of irritation seeping into his voice.
"Al… you're being too arrogant," Edward added, clearly displeased.
Al looked at Edward.
"I'm not being arrogant, Father. I just have a bit of knowledge about magic," he replied.
He then turned back to Ramu.
"As far as I know, shamans are users of dark magic, right? And they can only curse people or scam them," he said bluntly.
"...Meanwhile, blessings and purification can only be performed by holy magic users."
He shook his head.
"Which means whatever you're calling a 'purification' is probably just dark magic disguised as a blessing," he added smugly.
Strangely enough, his words sounded somewhat reasonable to the people present.
For a moment, they even wondered why they had never thought about it that way before. But… was that really how it worked?
Ramu unconsciously took half a step back.
"Al… you're acting like you understand spiritual and magical matters," he said stiffly.
Edward's expression hardened as he stared at Al coldly.
"What exactly are you trying to say, Al?" he asked. "Do you think you understand spiritual matters better than Ramu? Where did you even get such ridiculous information?"
"From movies, anime, novels, and comics," Al replied casually.
"Isn't magic always portrayed like that?"
Everyone could only rub their temples at Al's ridiculous answer.
"Hahaha. I thought you were just being cocky," Sarah scoffed.
"Turns out you're just pretending to know things. Since when do people use fictional references in the real world?"
She smirked.
"This is honestly hilarious. But it also proves that your life outside was filled with nothing but useless things. No wonder you're this stupid."
Cough. Cough.
Ramu coughed after hearing Al's answer. He clearly hadn't expected a response like that.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he shot Al a sharp look.
Al wasn't entirely wrong.
Or perhaps… he wasn't wrong at all.
Pure dark magicians truly couldn't perform purification or blessing spells.
But shamans were different.
Although they predominantly wielded dark magic, they also commonly practiced holy magic through external mediums—artifacts, talismans, or consecrated water used during rituals.
In that sense, their rituals weren't purely dark magic.
Shamans leaned more toward using both types of magic, supported by external energy sources.
Ramu could only shake his head.
"I don't think you need to concern yourself with that," he said calmly. "What matters now is that we proceed before this favorable timing passes."
"Favorable timing?" Al asked.
Ramu nodded.
"There are at least four optimal times to perform rituals," he explained.
"...Midday, midnight, and the transitional periods between day and night—like now, and at dawn."
Edward stepped forward.
"In that case, proceed at once, Ramu," he said.
He then turned to Al. "And Al, no more questions. Just follow through with the ritual."
Ramu nodded, while Al let out an unenthusiastic sigh.
"Huff… I don't know why, but this sounds extremely mystical. A ritual, huh?… but fine," Al replied, nodding lazily.
Hearing his consent, everyone nodded as well and moved toward a secluded area—something like a spacious hall.