Looking over the map once more, Risideon noted the terrain was a bit winding but otherwise acceptable. He watched until Riersha disappeared from view, then turned and headed off in the opposite direction.
“All right then, everyone come out.”
Once all four heirs had vanished into the forest, Milia spoke toward a seemingly empty stretch of trees.
One by one, Sona, Aska, Haydin, and Johannes stepped out from the shadows.
In place of the trap mechanisms that had originally been planned, the legion commanders had been deployed to add an element of excitement to the hunt.
To claim a treasure, the heirs would have to defeat these commanders and seize it from them.
“Everyone remember your positions? Head to your assigned treasure sites and wait.”
“There are five treasures, but only four of us. What about you?”
“Oh, I’ll be stationed here.”
Haydin posed the question, and Milia replied with a casual shrug of her shoulders.
She needed to track each heir’s movements in real time from this central point — that way, the moment she heard a whistle, she could move immediately.
Not that she expected more than one person in this entire forest to actually blow one.
Aska glanced down at the map after hearing Milia’s answer, a small frown creasing his brow.
“There are five treasures total. Who’s covering the one we’re leaving out?”
“The Young Duke himself.”
“…What?”
Aska stared blankly, caught completely off guard. No one had imagined that the Young Duke would personally take part in something like this.
Milia shook her head at the familiar reaction. She had responded the exact same way just a few days ago.
As for why Pernoa had chosen to wait in person at one of the treasure sites —
“There’s a chance Riersha might not manage to find a single treasure on her own. Someone has to make sure she gets at least one.”
“I see, but couldn’t someone else handle that? There’s no need for the Young Duke to go to all that trouble himself…”
“Why would I hand off such a rewarding task to someone else?”
Milia smiled.
“It seems the Young Duke wants to score some points with Lady Riersha. All right, everyone move out!”
In an instant, all four legion commanders melted away into the forest.
⁂
“Good. All clear here.”
The first to reach a treasure site was, without question, Aska.
The most physically gifted of the legion commanders, he climbed the tallest tree in the immediate area — one that offered an unobstructed view of the ground below.
I wonder who’ll show up first.
Aska surveyed the area below with an unhurried gaze.
His role was to intercept anyone who approached the treasure and create just enough interference to make things difficult. The condition for winning the treasure was simple: evade all obstacles, locate Aska’s position, and land a successful attack.
“There’s one now.”
The first to arrive was Riscal.
Aska studied the third young master with a curious eye. True to his reputation as the sharpest of the heirs, Riscal had chosen the second exit — the most strategically advantageous one — without hesitation.
What’s more, he moved with complete certainty, not once glancing around as though consulting a memory of the map. He headed straight for the treasure, and Aska couldn’t help but feel a quiet admiration stir within him.
Impressive.
His instincts were right. Riscal had already memorized the map in its entirety.
He had studied the map Milia shown him, imprinted every detail, and was now navigating by memory alone — no need to double back or second-guess a single step.
Well then, time to make a move.
Aska was just rising to his feet, about to descend from the tree, when he paused.
Hm?
He turned his head. There, trailing at a distance behind Riscal, was Ricador.
Aska tilted his head.
He was fairly certain Ricador had left through the third entrance.
“What on earth…”
It was just the sort of thing someone who knew his brothers well would do — Ricador had apparently decided the easiest path to a treasure was simply to follow Riscal, the youngest of his older brothers, and let him do the work.
“…Haydin must be completely dumbfounded right now.”
Aska offered a moment of silent sympathy for Haydin, who was no doubt standing somewhere in the forest, waiting endlessly for a target who would never come.
⁂
In truth, Ricador hadn’t been particularly invested in the treasure hunt from the start.
But that had changed when he noticed, over the past several days, that Riscal had been sneaking off to the training grounds to practice on his own.
He’s actually putting in effort. That’s reason enough to go and ruin it for him.
Whatever had suddenly made Riscal serious about this treasure hunt, Ricador found it endlessly entertaining.
Had he come up with some wish he desperately wanted granted?
Well, that was understandable enough. This wasn’t a wish granted by just anyone — it was Pernoa himself who would fulfill it, which gave it an entirely different weight.
Provided it caused no harm to the family, the wish was said to be worth enough to obtain something like a foreign island, if one desired it. It was the sort of prize anyone would covet.
In fact, Risideon — who had won first place multiple times — had once used his wish to have a weapon forged from Amantium, the rarest material on the continent.
The result was the sword he now carried: widely regarded as one of the finest blades in the entire Declair Empire.
Risideon seems like he’s not after the top prize this time, though.
Having won so many times before, he was probably content to step back and let his younger brothers have their turn.
Whatever the reason, it worked out well for Ricador.
He continued tracking Riscal’s footsteps in silence. But there was one thing Ricador hadn’t accounted for.
“Ricador, what are you doing here?”
“…Brother?”
Ricador startled and spun around at the voice that came from directly behind him.
Standing there, composed and unhurried, was Risideon — already done finding his treasure, watching Riscal with a leisurely expression.
“Why are you here?”
“Am I not allowed to be?”
“No, you can be. I’m just wondering — how did you know I was here?”
He had been sure he’d completely suppressed his presence.
“Your reasoning is obvious. You figured Riscal had memorized the map, so you decided to tail him instead.”
“…”
“Have you forgotten everything?”
Risideon reached out and grabbed Ricador’s arm in one swift motion.
He gathered his mana in an instant, then hurled Ricador with full force in the direction of the third entrance.
Ricador, now sailing back toward the starting point, scrambled to activate his ability in a panic — but Riscal had already turned to look.
“I’m the one who taught you this strategy in the first place, Ricador.”
Risideon gave him a cheerful wave goodbye.
This was just one of many things Ricador had learned from his older brother over the years.
“Listen carefully, Ricador. The most important thing in a fight is claiming the high ground first. Watch for your opening. Then strike.”
Back when Ricador was still inexperienced and knew nothing, Risideon had taught him everything — patiently, one lesson at a time.
Always using Ricador’s own body as the teaching tool.
And here he was, falling for the exact same trick again.
“Seriously, Brother — that is so underhanded!”
Ricador cried out in indignation as he went flying.
“Wow. He doesn’t look the type, but he might actually be the worse one between them.”
Oskar, who had been watching the brothers with great interest, let out a low whistle of admiration.
At this rate, the treasure hunt was not going to end quickly. Overhead, the hourglass in the sky had already emptied by a full third.
⁂
Meanwhile, Riersha had set out from her chosen starting point and made it roughly halfway through the forest when she spotted a yellow flag.
“Yay, I found one fiwst!”
She pulled the flag aside to reveal a small egg nestled beneath it. It was just the right size to fill one of her little cupped hands.
Originally, the treasures had been designed as boxes — but Sona had gently pointed out, “Won’t they need to be small if the participants are going to carry them around?” and after much deliberation, this had been the chosen form.
Clack, clack.
Riersha held the egg up to her ear and gave it a little shake. The sound coming from inside was just mysterious enough to make anyone curious about what was hidden within.
I hope everyone likes them!
She had agonized over the selection of the treasures more than anyone would know.
For one thing, Riersha didn’t have very many possessions to begin with. And so, in the end, she had decided to make the treasures herself.
What she created were tiny, carefully crafted dolls — each one shaped to capture the distinct characteristics of a family member.
