Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

One week after Hagipherione's visit to the 78th Floor and the incident on the very first day. The day she had to return to the main house was now only two days away.

Today, I had been tasting cookies that Hagipherione said she'd made herself, marveling at how delicious they were while playing with her, when Heron entered the office and reported an agenda item.

"You're saying we've decided to negotiate with the Lo Po Bia Family?"

Munch munch—I chewed the cookie Hagipherione had given me while looking at Heron. Heron was likewise chewing a cookie my sister had given him, and after finishing it and swallowing, he nodded.

"Yes. More precisely, we've decided to receive reparations. It seems our main house applied serious pressure on the Lo Po Bia side to stop being looked down upon. As a result, the Lo Po Bia side wants to send the branch leader responsible for this incident to conduct negotiations. The main house agreed, and the one going from our side is..."

"...Me, since it happened on the 78th Floor, and I'm the ruler and branch leader of the 78th Floor."

Heron nodded in agreement. Hmm... negotiations. This is a first for me. No matter how much our Arie Family lost the Elders and several Arie Rankers, the fact that the Lo Po Bia Family—not the Ha Family or the Khun Family—had the nerve to look down on us must have been quite concerning for the main house. They'd escalated what would normally have been brushed aside.

"When is it?"

"Three months from now."

"That's plenty of time. Please remind me once more one week beforehand. I should be fine preparing from then."

"Understood."

Heron bowed his head and withdrew, and Hagipherione, who had been diligently stuffing cookies into my mouth, asked me.

"Oppa, are you going to work again?"

"In two months. I'll be right here until it's time for you to leave, so don't worry."

"...That's right, in two days... I have to go back..."

Tick, tick—dong, dong—

Meanwhile, a pocket watch chimed, signaling that it was now noon. The moment the chime sounded, Hagipherione's expression shifted completely.

"Oppa, I need to practice swordsmanship."

"...Harpe, don't you think you should rest a bit more? You passed out again the day before yesterday."

"No! I'm totally fine! I have to keep going without resting. Otherwise..."

"...Otherwise?"

When I questioned her, she hesitated for a moment, then averted her eyes and mumbled in a sulky voice.

"...Mmm, Mother will be sad... I came here to learn hard from oppa.."

"Haah, if you insist. Harpe, same as the past few days, just two hours today, okay?"

"Yeah! Promise!"

She ran off toward my private training room, giggling gleefully. Over the past week, the Hagipherione I'd seen was always that spirited, and I could have concluded she was a wonderfully well-raised child. Her talent was on par with Mascheny's, who had received Zahard's blood, and her desire for strength was pure. She worked so hard it genuinely worried me.

To others, she probably looked like a splendid Arie who purely wanted to become stronger and worked hard at it, but... something... a desperation unbefitting a child, something strange kept catching my eye from time to time. Right now she was laughing happily and showing her spirited side, but... hmm.

"Oppa! What are you doing, hurry up!"

"...Haha, okay Harpe. Alright, since we finished the basics yesterday, starting today I'll teach you the techniques I use. First, your lower body..."

....

"Harpe, you need to pull your left foot back."

"Oops."

Screech—she dragged her left foot back along the floor, then steadied her breathing once more. She closed her eyes and continued taking deep breaths for a while, concentrating her mind, until she finally opened her eyes and moved her sword into position.

"Hyaah!"

Lion's Cross Strike—one of my techniques, a swordsmanship that unleashes ten living, dynamic slashes in an instant—was executed from Hagipherione's sword. Ten shinsu-infused slashes traced forward in a flurry of white light.

Shwaaaa—

Immediately after, the trajectories of all ten slashes curved, redirecting toward training dummies positioned in completely different directions, and thanks to the irregular swordsmanship with its shifting trajectories, all ten dummies fell simultaneously.

"Harpe, you did it!"

"Mm-hm... I'll try a little harder. Just a little more..."

I rushed over—what is she saying? She did this so well! Overwhelmed with pride, I dashed over to Hagipherione and swept her up in a tight embrace.

"Huh...? Oppa..?"

"Hahaha! Great job! I never thought you'd succeed on the first try!"

For some reason she kept tilting her head.

"I did... well?"

"..? Of course! It's really amazing, Harpe. Great job. ...H-Harpe. Are you crying?"

"Mm-mm...? N-no... I'm not crying..."

For someone who wasn't crying, she was sure rubbing both eyes furiously with her tiny hands. Was my praise that moving? I just said a plain "good job." I carefully set her back down on the ground and waited until she finished rubbing her eyes. Though rubbing that hard would give her an eye infection.

Finally done rubbing her eyes, my sister looked up at me.

"...Oppa, how many hours has it been?"

"Let me see... an hour and a half have passed, so thirty minutes left. Want to continue?"

"Yeah! If I pull off the next technique too, will you praise me again?"

"Of course. But Harpe—"

I ruffled her hair affectionately and said.

"You're already amazing enough, so there's no need to overdo it. The fact that you're here every single day working this hard, at an age when you could skip training and just play—that alone is proof of how amazing you are. That by itself deserves praise."

"...."

"Okay, thirty minutes is tight, so I'll teach you something simple."

"...Yeah!"

She succeeded in learning one more of my techniques in just thirty minutes, and while I marveled at her tenacity, effort, and talent, I still felt something suspicious. To sense something off and do nothing about it would be foolish.

That night, after putting Hagipherione soundly to sleep, I went to the office. In the office were the two handmaidens who had brought Hagipherione, two Rankers, Heron whom I'd ordered to investigate, and Orca noona who was there for reasons unknown to me.

The Rankers were simply tense at being suddenly summoned, the handmaidens were trembling with some inexplicable fear, and Heron was glaring at the handmaidens with a decidedly unpleasant look in his eyes.

Seated on the branch leader's sofa, I asked bluntly without any further preamble. First, to the handmaidens.

"You two."

""Y-yes...yes!""

"Tell me exactly how my sister has been living at the main house."

""....!""

.....

"...Say that again."

"Th-that is... Lady Raphir said it was strictly a matter of discipline..."

"Not that. What you said just now—say it again."

"...Recently, the duration of Lady Hagipherione's corporal punishment has increased... the intensity as well... b-but! It's simply striking the calves, the kind of thing that could happen anywhere!"

Crack—

"Kyaah! I-I'm sorry!"

The armrest of the sofa I'd been gripping snapped clean off. Did I just hear that wrong? No, I made them repeat it multiple times—there's no way I heard wrong. Then, then what I just heard is true?

"Hoaqin. Calm down."

"...Orca noona, did you know about this..?"

"How would I have known? I only found out when Heron told me earlier."

"...Haha, hahaha... hahahahaha!"

Rumble rumble rumble—

Overcome by a mix of disbelief and a boiling emotion, I burst into a crazed laugh. Each time I laughed, the shinsu in the space reacted, shaking the surrounding area. I'm going to lose my mind. I'm going insane.

What? Hitting her? While constantly comparing a nine-year-old to me?

The handmaidens couldn't even keep their own bodies steady in the turbulent flow of shinsu, and in their stead, Heron, who had conducted the investigation in advance on my orders, stepped forward.

"The swordsmanship instructor, the etiquette teacher, and... Lady Raphir, mother to both you, Branch Leader, and Lady Hagipherione... the corporal punishment inflicted on Lady Hagipherione was treated as an open secret. The most recent incident was when the young lady, having overworked her body, accidentally fell asleep and missed a sparring session, resulting in a forfeit loss. The enraged Lady Raphir then took a belt and..."

My heart couldn't understand, but my head could. This was the law of the Tower. Those who were neither Regulars nor Rankers generally lived their entire lives on the floor where they were born.

They couldn't climb the Tower, after all. My sister was the same. As a child of the 10 Great Families, whose dominion over the Tower was recognized by the Administrators, she could move between floors.

But even that was limited to a narrow range within the Outer Tower, and she couldn't even enter the Inner Tower at all. Crucially... those who were neither Regulars nor Rankers were only permitted temporary stays. Hagipherione had also received permission from the Administrator for a one-week stay to come to the 78th Floor.

In other words, she currently had no residential rights to live on the 78th Floor. She was born on the 100th Floor. If she stayed on the 78th Floor for more than a week, the Administrator would send her back to the 100th Floor. Ultimately, she had no choice but to return to the 100th Floor.

"Hoaqin, what are you going to do?"

"...."

Orca noona looked at me with a worried expression. Was she worried about me, or worried I was about to cause a scene?

I fell into thought for a moment—no, for a very long time. An awkward, eerie silence filled the room, and finally I opened my eyes.

Right. I need to get permission.

"...Heron. Tomorrow, please have the floating ship that Hagipherione came on prepared for launch. She'll need to be sent back to the 100th Floor."

After my words, a brief silence hung in the air, then Heron, who had been bowing his head, looked up at me awkwardly, as if he'd misheard. Orca noona was outright horrified, covering her mouth with her hand.

"...Pardon?"

"What? Hoaqin, have you lost your mind?! You can't even protect Hagipherione, and now you're sending her back a day early?!"

"...Enough with the backtalk. This is an order as branch leader. Both of you, do as I've instructed. And the one being sent back isn't Hagipherione."

I stood up from my seat and left the office, receiving bewildered stares.

.....

100th Floor

A fairly sizable crowd had gathered at the floating ship landing pad. Most of the personnel who had been in charge of Hagipherione's education, various Family members who had simply come to watch, and even those who had flocked after hearing the rumor that Hagipherione had been sent away by her own brother, Branch Leader Hoaqin, with a day still remaining.

"Tsk tsk, what did I tell you? Lady Hagipherione's capabilities fall far short of Branch Leader Hoaqin's. Of course, I never had expectations to begin with..."

"Indeed. How bad must it have been for him to go so far as to send away his own sister, Lady Hagipherione? Perhaps our educational methods were far too lenient."

"I agree."

"By the way, her talent must truly be disappointing compared to Branch Leader Hoaqin's. Of course, it is still remarkable talent—overwhelmingly so, in fact, but..."

"Your standards are abnormally high. With talent like hers, she would be cherished and treasured anywhere else, and yet corporal punishment? Does that even make sense?"

"Come now, it's merely light punishments like caning or holding weights."

"Haah... isn't the frequency and justification for the corporal punishment abnormal? If Branch Leader Hoaqin ever finds out about this..."

"Branch Leader Hoaqin would understand perfectly. Why else would Lady Raphir have sent the young lady to the 78th Floor?"

The faction that had been earnestly defending Hagipherione finally gave up with a sigh. They're insane. It was impossible to understand just how high these people's standards had risen.

There were quite a few within the Family who viewed Hagipherione favorably. The problem was that these deranged old fools in charge of her education were the exact opposite.

Whatever influence Raphir had exerted on them, their standards had become abnormally inflated, and consumed by an obsession to produce an even more exceptional child, they were pushing Hagipherione to what amounted to abuse.

Those who pitied Hagipherione and wanted to help were, regrettably, all blocked by Raphir, who was arguably the most powerful among the current concubines.

Astonishingly, those who kept bringing up comparisons with Branch Leader Hoaqin and belittling Hagipherione to the very end were not members of a hostile faction opposed to Hagipherione's. Rather, they were the very educators who were supposed to be teaching her.

Whoooosh—

While they were busy chattering among themselves about the Tower's political situation and other topics, the floating ship that Hagipherione had departed on finally came into view.

"It seems she's arriving now."

"After giving her a stern word, I think we should switch to a more rigorous training regimen. Enough to satisfy Branch Leader Hoaqin."

"How disappointing must she have been to get sent away... tsk tsk tsk."

Hagipherione was sent away by Branch Leader Hoaqin. That was the rumor currently circulating at the 100th Floor main house. It was also the reason a considerable crowd had gathered at this landing pad.

Everyone watched the slowly approaching floating ship, their gazes carrying emotions of mockery, relief, sadness, pity, anger, and disappointment. Remarkably, not a single gaze held any warmth or goodwill toward Hagipherione.

And finally, the floating ship landed.

"Hmm, let's hurry and escort her so we can resume training."

"Agreed."

Whirrrr—

Thud, thud, thud—the moment the floating ship's door opened, unhesitating footsteps rang out.

Everyone froze the instant they sensed a presence distinctly, unmistakably different from Hagipherione's. Before long, a stark-white figure emerged from the darkness. No matter how one looked at it, the form could absolutely not be mistaken for Hagipherione.

Someone who finally recalled his identity belatedly spoke up.

"...Branch Leader Hoaqin?"

"What business could the branch leader who governs the 78th Floor suddenly have on the 100th Floor..?"

"And why is he riding this floating ship...?"

The atmosphere was ominous. Everyone present could feel it. The moment the floating ship's door had opened, Hoaqin strode out without hesitation, a glowing white sword slung over his shoulder, and as he surveyed the surroundings in a circle, he made no reply to anyone's questions—his gray eyes merely glowed with an ominous light.

"B-Branch Leader Hoaqin... please sheathe your sword first..."

"Hagipherione is still on the 78th Floor."

At last, Hoaqin spoke of his own accord, and the words of the one who had been speaking were cut off with the utmost naturalness.

Suddenly, Hoaqin broke into a smirk.

"Haha, hahaha! Sure, I suppose you wanted to be greedy. I was born from Mother's womb, so if you raised my little sister properly from the start, you must have thought something remarkable might come of it."

"I'm even tired of feeling contempt now. What's the point of caring about things that are only natural in our great 10 Great Families? Power, power, power. Greed, greed, greed. Such natural, such sweet things they must be."

Killing intent and madness intertwined, encroaching upon the surrounding space. Everyone in the audience, overwhelmed by Hoaqin's aura, couldn't utter a single word properly.

"I understand all of it. Given the Family's turmoil, I understand the desire to create a Princess of Zahard, and I understand wanting to produce another supreme talent surpassing me to bolster the Family's fighting strength. Since my sister's older brother happens to be me, I can even find some merit in understanding why you kept deliberately comparing her to me—sitting quietly on the 78th Floor—instead of seeing her for who she is, driving her relentlessly."

"However."

"You don't hit the child. A child who's only nine years old."

"I-it was merely corporal punish—"

"Ha, how about I simply swing my sword at your leg and we see if you can endure it? You knew full well that even though she falls short of me, her talent alone is already more than sufficient—overwhelmingly so—and yet, blinded by the glory of being her 'teachers,' you treated the child like that?!"

Killing intent. It spread throughout the entire space.

"B-Branch Leader Hoaqin... there must be some misunderstanding that's causing this... L-Lady Raphir! We had no choice because of Lady Raphir!"

"Shut up. In the end, you all willingly, gladly went along with it. She's at an age where she should know nothing of such things, where she should be playing excitedly and laughing happily, and you inflicted that kind of abuse?! On my sister, of all people?!"

CRACKLE—

From the sword Hoaqin carried, an intense surge of shinsu began to erupt. Everyone panicked and tried to back away, but by some inexplicable principle, Hoaqin's sword was emitting a powerful gravitational pull, instead drawing everyone toward him.

Hoaqin rummaged inside his coat with his free hand and threw a page torn from a notebook, densely written upon, into the crowd. On it were the names of several individuals, and most of them were teachers who had been instructing Hagipherione.

In other words, what was written in the notebook were the names of those who had abused Hagipherione.

"Everyone whose name is written there dies today."

Hoaqin—who over a hundred years ago had earned the epithet 'White Demon' after committing a horrifically brutal massacre against FUG—began to reveal that cruel side of himself once more.

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