Yuuki had thought Mariella would need more time. He hadn't expected things to move this quickly.
Mapping out every hidden base of the Diamond Kingdom's Assassination Division was no easy task. Even as one of their own, Mariella shouldn't have been able to obtain the locations of all their members so effortlessly.
For the sake of revenge, she had clearly gone to great lengths.
After wiping down the last table, Yuuki stretched his arms and looked up at the sky outside the tavern, which had gradually darkened. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
The Assassination Division probably preferred operating at night anyway.
And Yuuki's plan to move against the Diamond Kingdom's assassins wasn't just about helping Mariella get her revenge.
Night fell.
"And in the end, the ugly duckling became a beautiful swan and lived happily ever after with the other swans."
Inside the tavern, Yuuki finished the story with a gentle smile, his voice calm and warm.
"That's wonderful!"
"The ugly duckling is definitely going to be happy from now on!"
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Marcol and the others sat around Yuuki, their faces bright with excitement as they chimed in one after another.
"But… how did the ugly duckling turn into a swan?" a child's puzzled voice asked.
Before Yuuki could answer, another voice spoke up first.
"Why wouldn't it be possible? Big Brother Asta doesn't even have magic, and he still joined the Magic Knights. If that's possible, then why can't the ugly duckling become a swan?"
Luca's firm, unwavering voice rang out among the children.
At once, Rebecca's younger siblings fell silent, thoughtful expressions spreading across their faces as they nodded in agreement.
"Luca, you shouldn't say things like that!" Rebecca called out sharply, lifting her head from behind the counter where she had been tallying the accounts.
"Y-Yes, Sis…" Luca shrank back instinctively, sneaking a cautious glance at Yuuki.
"Haha, that's actually a pretty fitting comparison," Yuuki said with a laugh.
"Magic itself is a power full of miracles. When you grow up, maybe you'll become Magic Knights too—or even something greater."
He spoke with a smile.
Rebecca came out from behind the counter, brushed her red hair back with one hand, and deliberately put on a stern expression.
"Now that the story's over, shouldn't you all be heading back to your rooms? The tavern opens tomorrow, and you'll need to get up early to help."
Her tone was strict.
"Good night, Sis! Good night, Yuuki Onii-san!"
Marco, Luca, and the others jumped to their feet, bowed politely to Yuuki and Rebecca, then scampered upstairs at a trot.
Watching them go, Yuuki couldn't help but chuckle.
"You can't always be too gentle with kids," Rebecca said softly, turning to Yuuki. Her cheeks were faintly red now, the severity gone from her face.
"That's true," Yuuki replied with a light nod.
Seeing Yuuki's relaxed smile, Rebecca suddenly thought of the story he had just told and spoke without thinking:
"If the ugly duckling could become a swan… maybe it was a swan to begin with."
"…Hm?"
Yuuki froze for a moment, looking at Rebecca with slight surprise.
That interpretation had existed in his previous life as well—the story was meant to encourage people, after all. What surprised him was that someone with Rebecca's personality would voice such an idea so casually.
"My father was a merchant," Rebecca continued quietly. "He traveled between towns, transporting goods. One day, he accidentally entered a noble's territory… and was killed for it."
"When the news reached us, my mother was pregnant with my youngest brother, Cobb. After hearing what happened, she went into premature labor and died as well."
Her voice remained calm, as if she were recounting a story that had nothing to do with her. Yet by the time she finished, her eyes were tinged with red as she looked at Yuuki.
"All I want is for Marco and the others to live safely. Whether it's the Magic Knights or the nobles… that's the business of important people. Not us."
Yuuki fell silent, watching her.
He had known that Rebecca's parents were gone, but he had never asked how they died. It was far too personal a matter.
"I'm sorry," Yuuki said gently. "I didn't mean to make you recall something so painful."
"It's already in the past," Rebecca replied, shaking her head. Her voice was steady, as if she truly didn't care. "There's nothing to be sad about."
Yuuki understood. It wasn't that she didn't care—it was that she was powerless.
Did nobles killing people count as a crime?
Maybe it did. Maybe it didn't. It all depended on who was involved.
A commoner trespassing into a noble's land—killed, and that was the end of it.
"So all you want is to run an ordinary little restaurant or tavern and raise your siblings," Yuuki said, looking at the stubborn resolve lingering on Rebecca's face. "But is that really what you want?"
He didn't ask whether she wanted revenge. For Rebecca as she was now, that question would have meant nothing.
"What difference does it make?" Rebecca gave a breezy smile and turned back toward the counter.
"There's still an account I need to finish checking. We open tomorrow—go get some rest."
As she spoke, the faint redness around her eyes faded away. In an instant, she was back to her usual self, as if their entire conversation had never happened.
"Whether the ugly duckling was really a swan, I don't know," Yuuki said calmly.
"But even an ugly duckling might still become a swan… and gain the power of one."
His tone was gentle—half like a joke, half deadly serious.
Yuuki possessed the ability to bestow magic upon others. And this "bestowal" wasn't merely granting an elemental attribute—it was granting a magic source itself.
Magic came from the soul.
And a magic source was the very foundation of a mage's power.
Among the many magic sources Yuuki held, three stood above the rest: Fuegoleon's Flame Magic source, Mars's Mineral Magic source, and Yuno's Wind Magic source.
These three represented more than raw strength—they represented potential. Captain-class potential.
If Yuuki were to bestow any one of them upon another person, that individual would possess the potential to one day stand at the level of a Magic Knight Captain.
Rebecca stopped mid-step, turning back to Yuuki with a look of confusion. She clearly hadn't understood what he meant.
"It's nothing," Yuuki said, shaking his head. "I'm heading back to my room. You should rest early too."
He walked upstairs.
Standing behind the counter, Rebecca watched his figure disappear at the top of the stairs out of the corner of her eye, momentarily lost in thought.
Yuuki returned to his room and locked the door behind him.
"Rebecca seemed a little different today," he murmured to himself, then quickly dismissed the thought. A woman's heart was hard to read—especially a young girl's.
Maybe it was just one of those days when emotions ran off course.
He shook his head.
"Hopefully Mariella hasn't been waiting too long."
Yuuki reached out and grabbed at empty air. From a different space, he retrieved the mask-type magic tool he had obtained earlier from Dominante.
It was the same tool Mariella had used to transform into his appearance.
Following the image in his mind, Yuuki placed the mask over his face. With the magic tool's assistance, his entire form began to change dramatically.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next bonus chapter at 1000 powerstones.