MROBW 11

Chapter 11

I was flustered.

It was just that… hadn’t there been quite a lot of things floating above his head since the last time I’d seen him?

“Son? What are you doing? Come on, let’s go. Everyone’s waiting.”

“……”

Mom urged me on when she saw me standing there blankly. But I couldn’t help staring intently at what was floating above Percival’s head.

And for good reason.

How long had it been since I’d last seen the bastard?

The Main Quest number that had been 4 the last time I’d seen him had already jumped to 7…

Main Quest 7: Win the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship and obtain the OK Junior Championship title.

Warning! Main Quest 7 cannot be attempted again.

Warning! Failure to complete Main Quest 7 will result in a reset.

Warning! To complete Main Quest 7, you must successfully complete at least two of the following Sub Quests simultaneously.

Sub Quest 1: Invite your new prospective family members to your race and strengthen your relationship.
(Upon success, 5 additional stat points will be awarded.)

Sub Quest 2: A conspiracy to interfere with the CIK-FIA European Karting Championship Final awaits you. Safely finish the competition and stand on the podium to have your photograph taken.
(Upon success, 5 additional stat points will be awarded.)

Sub Quest 3: Raise your fame by appearing on the front page of at least three newspapers or news programs the day after the competition.
(Upon success, 3 additional stat points will be awarded.)

TIP! If all Sub Quests are successfully completed, 120 Karma points will be cleared.

TIP! A new ability will be unlocked whenever Karma falls below n00 points.

…Those were the kinds of things packed densely into the window.

First, let’s interpret them one by one.

The OK Junior Championship title.

It meant winning the season championship in the youth-age league organized by the FIA, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.

Naturally, it was a title Percival had won in my previous life as well.

Percival Blanchard was certainly a genius, but he was also the purest of the pure-blooded elite, the kind of royal-born prodigy that people said had never existed at this level in F1 history.

An aristocratic British appearance.

And it wasn’t just his appearance.

He was the legitimate heir of an aristocratic family that actually possessed a title and territory.

You could say that a bastard who already had half the race won through his nationality, face, and bloodline had even produced results that were perfectly British.

Because he had stood on the podium exclusively in official FIA-sanctioned leagues.

He started karting at eight, built his career exclusively through CIK-FIA—the European karting championship—and then entered Landbury’s junior program before making his way into F4.

Even after that, Percival didn’t skip any stages.

He deliberately won championship trophies in F4, F3, and F2 one by one before entering F1.

That crazy bastard even had a call-up request while he was racing in F3, and he refused to move up.

Thanks to that, Percival Blanchard became the only driver to conquer every Formula series organized by the FIA.

Of course, I don’t even need to mention that he won the World Championship in the very year he entered F1.

Having to drive a car in the same generation as someone like that was enough to make a driver want to kill himself.

It was fucking miserable.

There was nothing worse than having an immovable wall standing directly in front of you.

Especially in my case, I had stubbornly refused to take money from Arthur for the expenses of driving because of my inferiority complex.

Instead, I bounced around obscure competitions, desperately winning prize money and building my career however I could.

And stupidly enough, that only gave people more reason to compare me to him.

Of course, this time, since I was starting over from the beginning as well, I was thinking about following the traditional route instead.

So there was nothing particularly strange about that quest itself.

In fact, it was exactly what Percival should be doing, and I planned to use that same career path as my starting point later on…

But what does this “reset” mean?

I roughly understood that this game-like message window was telling Percival to win the junior karting championship.

But everything else was completely incomprehensible.

Even narrowing my eyes and staring at it didn’t help.

What does it mean that he can’t attempt it again?

The competition was held every year anyway.

Even if he failed this year, he could simply try again the following year.

So why couldn’t he try again?

As far as I knew, Percival had just turned twelve.

Considering that the junior division went up to age fourteen, he was more than young enough to have another chance.

Cannot be attempted again.

Reset.

As I looked back and forth between those two phrases, a chill suddenly ran down my spine.

I shuddered.

I didn’t know exactly what those words meant.

But I had a terrible feeling.

Not merely an ominous feeling.

A horribly bad feeling.

And usually, feelings like this weren’t wrong.

“…Son, Ian!”

“……”

“Ian… Ian! What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

I must have been too deeply lost in thought.

Eventually, Mom grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

I suddenly came to my senses and finally looked around.

Mom was staring at me worriedly.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Arthur and Percival, who were waiting for us at the mansion’s front entrance, also seemed to find it strange that we weren’t moving.

Damn it. I thought about it for too long.

That thing above his head was so damn distracting.

I quickly put an awkward smile on my face.

“Ah! Yes, yes! Sorry, Mom… I guess I was a little overwhelmed because the mansion is so impressive.”

Mom finally smiled with a relieved expression at the sort of excuse a child seeing a house like this for the first time might make.

“You really do know how to worry your mother. I’ve already been worried because you’ve been staring into empty space or spacing out more often lately…”

She muttered that, but—

I did my best to pretend I hadn’t heard her.

If she kept bringing it up, maybe I could just say I’d developed some kind of sixth sense.

I’d flown all the way to England, after all. Let’s just say I had some lingering trauma from leaving my homeland when I was young.

Yeah.

But could you even get possessed by a spirit while overseas?

“Ian, I’m sorry for inviting you so suddenly. If you’re uncomfortable having dinner today, we can call this off…”

As we approached holding hands, Arthur came toward us with a serious expression and spoke with a somewhat dejected look.

Apparently, the fact that I’d stopped and hesitated made him think I didn’t want to come here.

For some reason, my gaze naturally shifted toward Percival standing beside him.

As though I could sense something.

“……”

Oh, damn.

I shuddered.

That was right.

The bastard was making an expression no twelve-year-old should be capable of making.

He looked ready to kill me simply because I’d made his father feel a little intimidated.

If only he’d clean up the damn thing floating above his head, I might be able to avoid all this…

Feeling my life was in danger, I hurriedly forced a smile and shook my head.

“Ah, no. I was just surprised because I’ve never seen such a beautiful house before.”

Apparently, my excuse sounded convincing enough, because Arthur smiled in relief and led us inside.

“All right. Dinner is ready, so let’s go eat. Everyone must be hungry.”

When the doors opened, a magnificent hall appeared before us.

The ivory-white brilliance of the hall stood in striking contrast to the red brick walls, which bore the quiet traces of age.

The Blanchard mansion could easily have passed for some museum or an opera house with centuries of history rather than an ordinary family home.

Anyone seeing it for the first time would inevitably be overwhelmed and gape.

Naturally.

Every decorative pattern glittering beneath the chandelier’s light was made of gold.

And beyond the hall, there was a considerable number of servants stretching all the way down the corridors.

It was so luxurious that you could probably tell someone it was Buckingham Palace and they’d believe you.

But to me, it was all familiar scenery.

Cross this hall and there’s the drawing room. Go through the drawing room and we’ll reach the dining room.

I pretended to be awkward, as though I were here for the first time.

But I’d actually spent my adolescence here.

If anything, I was returning to my old family home after a long time away.

Before going inside, I stopped briefly in the entrance and looked out at the garden.

Centered around a fountain with a statue of an angel in the middle, the garden’s precisely trimmed shrubs formed geometric patterns.

It was beautiful enough to look painted.

After Arthur died, this house was the only property that had been transferred to Mom despite the document she’d signed relinquishing her claim to his estate.

But Mom had sold it because she didn’t want to live in a house without Arthur.

Afterward, I heard that it had been transferred to the state and turned into a tourist attraction.

“……”

I blinked.

The garden of the beautiful English mansion spread vividly before my eyes.

Back then, I had been too anxious about surviving in the racing world to appreciate it.

But seeing it again now, it really was beautiful.

“…Ow.”

As I stood there blankly, caught in an illusion where the past was vividly coming back to life and overlapping with the present, a sharp pain spread across the back of my head.

When I turned around, I saw Percival.

He had smacked the back of my head while I was spacing out.

“Hey.”

The bastard didn’t bother speaking.

He simply jerked his chin, telling me to go inside.

I nodded.

It wasn’t worth wasting my breath asking why he’d hit me.

But as I followed him inside, I thought—

So what the hell is that thing floating above your head?

* * *

Naturally, dinner was just as extravagant as the exterior of the house.

The table was absurdly large compared to the number of people eating, making it almost majestic at first glance.

Food was served endlessly, and the moment we finished something, the plates were cleared away.

Is this a restaurant or a private residence?

Mom and Arthur had an impressive assortment of cutlery, nearly as elaborate as the food itself.

But perhaps out of consideration for me, Percival and I were given only one new set of cutlery with each course.

At least that saves me the trouble of pretending not to know what I’m doing.

I’d already received etiquette training in my previous life, but right now, I was supposed to be a child who knew nothing.

It would’ve been troublesome if I unconsciously acted like I knew what I was doing and got caught.

So this was actually convenient.

The food was delicious.

There were servants attending to us as well, replacing the cutlery and even removing bones from foods that were difficult to eat.

It had simply been so long since I’d experienced something like this that I felt a little awkward.

“Hm. Ahem.”

Perhaps Arthur interpreted my awkwardness differently, because he dismissed the servants.

It was always fascinating to watch them understand his instructions from nothing more than a clearing of his throat and quietly withdraw.

Arthur caught my eye and smiled with an expression of such pride that I returned an awkward smile.

Mom gazed at Arthur with half-lidded eyes, looking almost enchanted, and said,

“Arthur, everything is so delicious. Especially this sauce… I thought it was delicious last time too, but it’s still so good.”

“Haha. You seemed to enjoy it so much last time that I specifically asked the chef to pay extra attention to it this time.”

“Oh my, I don’t think I ever told you that. How did you know…?”

“Do you think I don’t know what you like to eat? Haha.”

“Arthur…”

“Sarah…”

While Mom and Arthur were having their little lovers’ conversation, the space between the two sons was so quiet that it felt as though we weren’t even there.

“……”

It’s not as if that guy usually becomes quiet just because there’s food in front of him. Why is he being so quiet today?

I secretly glanced at Percival as he obediently brought a spoonful of lamb soup to his mouth.

Somehow, his silence was actually more frightening.

Taking the opportunity, I peeked at the message window again.

The incomprehensible words were still written there.

Watching it, I casually brought up the subject with Arthur.

“Arthur, I went to Landbury Academy earlier…”

“Oh, yes. I heard from Mr. Johnson. He said your skills were so good that it was hard to believe you were a beginner. He’s not the sort of person who praises someone like that.”

Arthur’s eyes lit up at my words.

Huh? Kitty even told Arthur about me?

But is an ordinary engineer really able to report something directly to the CEO? Even if Kitty is that capable?

As though he’d read the question in my eyes, Arthur let out a hearty laugh before continuing.

“I’m aware that he’s not the kind of passionate talent who would ask people throughout the company to contact me directly simply because he wanted to praise someone. Haha.”

“Haha… I’m not really that good. I guess Kitty… I mean, that person just liked me.”

“More than simply liking you, he strongly insisted that you absolutely had to enter Landbury Academy. He even said that, as both CEO and your stepfather, I had to make a decision. He looked like he was about to eat me alive if I didn’t.”

Perhaps Arthur was delighted that not only his biological son Percival but also me, the son who would soon become his stepson, showed talent for racing.

His face was filled with an enormous smile.

Apparently, Arthur was also a huge F1 fan himself.

Like any child my age would, I smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, it’s really not that much… I’m not that good. I’ve only driven a few times.”

“Even so, if that man praised you that highly, you must be impressive. So, have you become interested in racing? If you want, you could learn alongside Percival at Landbury.”

Arthur added that I shouldn’t feel pressured in any way.

I’d been waiting for exactly this opportunity, so my eyes lit up.

“I actually think karting is really fun! I even want to watch other people race, not just drive myself! I heard Percival is really good at it… Could I watch Percival drive?”

At my innocent and cheerful reaction, Percival, who had been burying his face in his plate and doing nothing but eating, suddenly raised his head.

I knew it even though I wasn’t looking directly at him.

Because I could feel his gaze prickling my cheek.

So it’s possible to kill someone with nothing but a stare.

I desperately held onto my slowly dying soul and looked at Mom and Arthur with sparkling eyes.

Mom’s eyes lit up when she saw mine.

“Come to think of it, Arthur, isn’t the junior competition Percival is participating in being held in England this time? I remember it’s in Lincolnshire… If it’s that close, wouldn’t it be worth taking Ian along?”

Mother, I love you.

“I want to go!”

For the first time today, I showed an enthusiastic reaction.

Just like a genuinely innocent ten-year-old child who desperately wanted to watch his older stepbrother race.

Of course, that wasn’t what was going through my mind.

I need to figure out what the hell that crazy message window is talking about.

Especially what this reset meant.

If I was worried about it, I could simply check.

There was no point in staying here and trembling with anxiety.

Besides, this wasn’t completely unrelated to me.

I had a feeling that my return to this age was somehow connected to that thing.

Even if it wasn’t, simply seeing what Percival’s current abilities were like would be a huge help in figuring out what this strange thing was.