CHAPTER 381

  GENES

  "Brother Lino, look, look!" the young Criador cried out as he licked his rosy lips and swung across an empty parchment with a quill, scribbling lines at random . "Like brother, he he he!"

  "Ha ha ha ha, really, just like me," Lino laughed, ruffling his hair . "No, no, Cae’s way, way better than me . Sheesh, in a few years you’ll put me out of the business!"

  "He he he~~"

  "Ah, what are you two ruffians doing?" Ella suddenly walked into the room, carrying a tray with two cups of smoldering tea, placing it down as she sat next to the two .

  "Drawing like brother!" Criador cried out as he continued scribbling .

  "All the makings of an array master!" Lino nodded proudly .

  "If you think I’ll let my son spend decades cooped up in dusty rooms studying lines so he can torture his wrist until he dies . . . you’ve got another thing coming . " Ella warned sternly, taking a sip of the tea .

  "You look well," Lino said, smiling gently . "You’ve finally worked off that extra weight . "

  " . . . say what?"

  "I mean——no, wait, that’s exactly what I mean . You’d gotten so damn fat while pregnant, you were damn near close to evolving into a whale . "

  " . . . is that how you talk to your mom, huh? Do you want a beating?!"

  "Hey, I just said you’d gotten fat, not ugly! Sheesh, what’s with all the women I know and their anger issues . "

  " . . . so, let me get this straight," Ella smiled strangely suddenly . "All these women you know are angry, right?"

  "Right . "

  "And they all have you in common, right?"

  "Right?" Lino mumbled, his eyes turning into slits .

  " . . . can you see the problem?"

  " . . . I don’t pay enough attention to you gals?"

  " . . . aah, your skull is too thick for this world," Ella chuckled bitterly as Lino grinned . "How have you been? Did you find anything in the Prison?"

  "Eh, just some minions," Lino mumbled . "Nothing we can use . How’s relocation going?"

  "We’re halfway through," Ella replied . "We should be done by a fortnight . "

  "Hmm, good . Better safe than sorry," he said . "Any surprising upstarts?"

  "A few," she nodded . "But, we’re still working on them . Don’t worry about that . Oh, right . Ty sent us a report saying that the Emperor had finally struck a deal with someone . "

  "Eh, let him . It’s not yet his time . "

  " . . . do you ever plan on telling us what goes on in that pretty head of yours?" she asked, caressing Criador’s hair gently for a moment .

  "Hey, I’m an open book! Ask and ye shall receive!"

  " . . . you met up with her, didn’t you?" Ella suddenly asked, her tone turning serious .

  " . . . I have . "

  "And? What do you think?" she probed .

  "El’," Lino smiled mysteriously . "You know I’ve only got eyes for Hannah . "

  " . . . eh, you can be honest," she chuckled strangely . "She’s not here . "

  " . . . we’ve gotten engaged . "

  " . . . huh?" Ella’s shocked expression caused even young Criador to look up in wonder at the two .

  "I asked her to marry me on our way over, and she said yes . " Lino said, smiling .

  "Y——really?!"

  "Yeah . . . "

  "Ha ha ha, congratulations!" Ella lunged over and hugged him tightly, corners of her eyes growing teary . "You big lad!" she pulled back, slapping his shoulder gently . "When did you go off and turn into a proper man, huh? Wait, did you get her pregnant? Oh my . . . this is big——"

  "Yo, hey, you’re spiraling," Lino snapped his fingers in front of her until she came back to . "I didn’t get her pregnant . I just . . . decided it was time . "

  " . . . now or never, huh?" she mumbled in a strangely sad tone .

  "Eh, a little bit," he said, taking a deep breath . "But . . . mostly because I’ve seen it all El’ by now . "

  " . . . you two are really a match made in heaven," Ella suddenly chuckled . "Thinking back on what Eggor and I had to go through till we got together . . . aah, you make it look all too easy . "

  "Ha ha ha . . . " Lino laughed lightly, taking out a bottle of wine and two glasses . "We do, don’t we?"

  "Do you two ever even fight?" she asked, taking the glass from Lino .

  "Of course we do," he shrugged . "I know it may not seem like it, but . . . we’re actually very different people . "

  " . . . how so?" she quizzed .

  "I’m a leader, and she’s a ruler," he said, smiling lightly . "I can’t tell you how many times she scolded me because I went into something without thinking it through, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scolded her because she tends to overthink . . . fucking . . . everything . . . "

  " . . . well, she has to think for the two, so I don’t envy her . "

  "Don’t you too?" he grinned for a moment .

  " . . . yeah, us gals really have it tough with idiots like you and that big-head . "

  "Daddy!!" Criador suddenly cried out as Ella and Lino burst out into laughter .

  "O-oh my god, ha ha ha ha, why, why wasn’t he in here to hear that . . . ha ha ha ha, he would have broken down crying . . . " Lino mumbled, short of breath from laughing .

  " . . . oh, right . What was that about genes and what not?" Ella suddenly asked, seemingly having just remembered .

  "Oh, that? Edith taught me some," Lino said . "The make-up of a human body, from things we can’t even see, to the largest ones . Like Cae, for instance," Lino said, picking him up . "His hair’s black because he inherited Eggor’s gene, but his eyes are blue, just like yours, since you passed it on him . It’s the small stuff, but it adds up eventually to our entire selves, even who we are beyond our physique . "

  " . . . could it really be that they’ve figured out a way to purify Bloodlines by doing that?" Ella mumbled, frowning .

  " . . . it’s possible," Lino nodded . "If they’re able to locate deficiencies, isolate them and remove them, they could create a flawless genetic make-up . That’s not the real problem, however . "

  "What is?"

  "There’s nothing flawless in the entire world," Lino said, smiling lightly . "Even if they create a perfect string of genes, they will mutate, creating imperfections . "

  " . . . do they know that?" she questioned .

  "Probably . I guess that they’ll try to sell —— either the purified Bloodlines or their services . You should take Cae and visit your Sect," Lino added . "Ask around . "

  " . . . you’re really asking me to use my son —— your own little brother —— as a way to do a job?"

  "Hey, he’s gotta start contributing and such . "

  "Yes! Yes! Cae will help! Will help!"

  "See? Even he’s excited!" Lino exclaimed, ruffling the boy’s hair .

  "What about you?"

  "What do you mean? I’ve got a wedding to attend, woman . "

  "Eh?! You’re gonna hold it here?"

  "Of course . Oh, right, you better start helping Hannah . That woman has too many ideas and way too few restrictions . She . . . she actually suggested . . . she actually suggested creating a choir of a thousand identically-looking children so they sing while she walks down the aisle . "

  " . . . . s-she . . . he he, she . . . she must be joking . . . " Ella mumbled nervously .

  "Oh, yeah, sure," Lino grinned . "She’s a joker alright . She also wasn’t joking when she said she’s invented a game called ’Pocketeer’ in which every guest of our wedding will be forced to hand over the contents of their pockets and void treasures as ’gifts’ . "

  " . . . . "

  "And she was also definitely joking when she said that she will have Cae ride on a burning lion as a ring-bearer . "

  " . . . that insane bitch! As if!" Ella jumped to her feet suddenly, startling Lino and young Criador .

  " . . . y-yeah . . . so . . . off you go . . . " Lino covered young boy’s ears as Ella mumbled quick and derogatory curses, quickly leaving the room . Lino sighed deeply and leaned closer, just next to the young boy’s ear .

  "See that, Cae?" he said . "Whatever issues you end up having, and you’ll have plenty because your entire family is just . . . fucked up . . . don’t, I repeat, do not develop mommy issues, okay? You do not want to spend your entire life chasing after women exactly like your mom . She’s gorgeous and amazing, but you have to be an egghead like your dad to handle her, alright? And, mark my words, I ain’t letting you become an egghead, alright? Oh, also, don’t go after someone like big sis, alright? Go after someone . . . ah, right, I’ll introduce you to bis sis Ally, alright?"

  "Ally?" Criador mumbled innocently, his eyes sparkling in wonder .

  "Yes, Ally . Marry someone like her, alright? Docile, loving, calm, understanding, compassionate . . . that’s the girl you want to marry!"

  " . . . what . . . what about big bro?" the young boy asked suddenly .

  "What about me?"

  "Why . . . marry big sis Hannah?"

  " . . . why?" Lino grinned sheepishly for a moment before replying . "Because . . . big brother loves her very much . Sure," he added lowly . "She drives him insane from time to time, and gets on his nerves, and yells at him and bickers with him constantly and repeatedly tells him he’s a moron . . . but, I can see her care for me in everything she does . And, in my heart I know, she will be with me no matter what . . . no matter where . . . no matter when . Truth is . . . find someone like that, Cae . Like your mom found your dad . . . and like I found big sis . Someone . . . who will always be by your side, no matter what . "

  " . . . like . . . like big bro?" young Criador mumbled, seemingly confused .

  " . . . ha ha ha, I suppose so, yeah," Lino chuckled . "Like big brother . . . "