Outside the colossal windows of the Grand Dining Hall, snow continued to fall.
White flakes drifted through the darkness beyond the mountain fortress.
The northern night had become deep.
Ancient.
Silent.
The moon hung above the cliffs like a silver eye watching over the North.
Within the hall, however, silence was impossible.
The discussion surrounding Nameless had reached unprecedented levels of absurdity.
At this point, half the family seemed convinced Nameless was secretly an immortal dragon.
The other half believed he was either a hidden emperor or a wandering sage.
And somehow—
Everyone agreed he possessed supernatural mastery over spoons.
Kel sat quietly at his seat.
A glass of water rested before him.
His expression remained calm.
Composed.
The perfect image of a noble heir.
Inside, however—
He was beginning to understand why Nameless had entered seclusion.
The rumors were exhausting.
Across the table, Arthur suddenly leaned forward.
His blue eyes sparkled with excitement.
The fourteen-year-old looked as though he had just remembered something important.
"Wait."
The room gradually quieted.
Arthur looked directly at Kel.
"Big Brother."
Kel already sensed danger.
"What?"
Arthur immediately asked:
"If you worked under Nameless..."
The younger boy's eyes shined.
"...did he teach you the Divine Spoon Art?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
The entire family immediately turned toward Kel.
Even Duke Aktaris raised an eyebrow.
Everyone suddenly became interested again.
Kel calmly looked at Arthur.
Then sighed internally.
Apparently this topic refused to die.
Far away within Scarder Lake—
Seiren instantly became attentive.
"Oh?"
"This should be interesting."
Kel ignored her.
Arthur continued.
"Did he teach you?"
"Or did he refuse?"
"Or is it some secret technique?"
The questions came rapidly.
The younger boy looked ready to explode from curiosity.
Several cousins immediately joined.
"Yes!"
"Tell us!"
"What did Nameless say?"
"Can normal people learn it?"
"Is it really a divine art?"
The dining hall became noisy once more.
Finally, Kel raised a hand.
The room quieted.
Then he answered.
"I did ask him."
Instantly—
Every family member focused on him.
Even the servants unconsciously slowed their movements.
Kel calmly took a sip of water.
Then began speaking.
"It happened during one of our expeditions."
His voice remained steady.
Measured.
Natural.
As if recalling an ordinary conversation.
Which—
Technically—
It was.
Since he was remembering a conversation with himself.
"At the time, the rumors regarding the Divine Spoon Art had already begun spreading."
Several family members nodded.
Reasonable.
Kel continued.
"As Aedon Flinth, I became curious."
Arthur immediately leaned forward.
"What did you ask?"
Kel replied.
"I asked Nameless directly."
The room became completely silent.
Then Kel spoke.
"I said..."
He calmly repeated the conversation.
"'Senior Nameless.'"
"'What exactly is the Divine Spoon Art?'"
Several cousins nodded.
A perfectly reasonable question.
Then Kel continued.
"Nameless looked at me."
The family listened carefully.
"He remained silent for several seconds."
"Then he said—"
Kel's expression became slightly strange.
"'Aedon.'"
"'This is just a throwing art.'"
The room blinked.
Kel continued.
"'A normal technique.'"
"'People simply made it into something worse.'"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Arthur looked confused.
"...What?"
Several family members shared similar expressions.
Kel continued speaking.
"'I asked how he created it.'"
"'And Nameless replied—'"
Kel paused briefly.
Then continued.
"'I didn't create anything.'"
The room froze.
Kel continued mercilessly.
"'It was a normal throw.'"
The dining hall became silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Even Duke Aktaris seemed interested.
Kel continued.
"'I simply compressed energy inside the object.'"
"'Instead of surrounding it with energy.'"
"'The energy remains hidden because it is compressed within the object itself.'"
"'Most people detect energy around a projectile.'"
"'Nobody checks inside it.'"
Several family members immediately looked thoughtful.
Especially Leonard.
The scholarly uncle.
His eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
Kel nodded.
"That was essentially his explanation."
Leonard folded his hands.
"That actually makes sense."
Victor immediately pointed at him.
"Stop ruining the legend."
Leonard ignored him.
Meanwhile—
Arthur looked devastated.
"Wait."
"So the Divine Spoon Art..."
Kel answered.
"...is apparently a normal throw."
Arthur looked as though his entire worldview had shattered.
Across the table, Elise looked equally disappointed.
"That's boring."
Kel nearly agreed.
Then remembered he was discussing his own technique.
Or rather—
His own lack of technique.
Meanwhile—
Inside his mind—
Seiren was laughing again.
"Look at their faces."
"You've destroyed their dreams."
"I am correcting misinformation."
"Nobody wants the truth."
Unfortunately.
She was right.
The family clearly preferred the legendary version.
Kel continued speaking.
"I asked another question."
Instantly, everyone's attention returned.
"What did you ask?"
Arthur demanded.
Kel calmly replied.
"I asked how the technique became famous."
The room became curious again.
Then Kel continued.
"And Nameless looked extremely irritated."
Victor burst into laughter immediately.
"I knew it!"
Kel nodded.
"He looked genuinely annoyed."
Several family members seemed surprised.
Kel continued.
"'Aedon.'"
"'I showed the trick to someone.'"
"'She insisted on learning it.'"
Arthur blinked.
"Who?"
Kel shrugged.
"He never said."
Naturally.
Because revealing Raven's identity would create even more trouble.
Kel continued.
"'So I taught her.'"
"'Afterward, the ship crew started practicing it.'"
"'Then other ships copied it.'"
"'Then explorers copied them.'"
"'Then everyone started giving it ridiculous names.'"
At this point—
Several family members were struggling not to laugh.
Because the image was amusing.
A legendary technique accidentally spreading through misunderstandings.
Arthur looked shocked.
"So the Divine Spoon Art was created by accident?"
Kel nodded.
"According to Nameless."
Victor immediately slapped the table.
"I knew it!"
"You knew nothing."
Leonard corrected.
"I knew it sounded ridiculous."
"Everything sounds ridiculous until it becomes history."
"That's not how history works."
"That's exactly how history works."
The brothers immediately began arguing again.
Meanwhile—
Kel calmly continued eating.
Then Arthur asked another question.
The dangerous question.
"What happened afterward?"
Kel paused.
Then answered.
"I asked him one final thing."
The room immediately became silent.
"What was it?"
Arthur asked.
Kel replied.
"I asked whether he still used the Divine Spoon Art."
Instant silence.
Everyone waited.
Then Kel slowly answered.
"Nameless stared at me."
The family listened carefully.
"'Aedon.'"
"'I never want to use it again.'"
The room froze.
Kel continued.
"'People are using it in the worst way possible.'"
"'They throw anything.'"
"'Literally anything.'"
Several family members coughed.
Because they had heard similar stories.
Kel continued mercilessly.
"'Spoons.'"
"'Forks.'"
"'Hairpins.'"
"'Coins.'"
"'Buttons.'"
"'A chair leg once.'"
The room became silent.
Then—
Victor laughed so hard he nearly fell from his chair.
"A CHAIR LEG?!"
Kel nodded.
"Apparently."
Arthur looked horrified.
"...Did it work?"
Kel sighed.
"Unfortunately."
The room exploded.
Even Helena laughed.
Duke Aktaris rubbed his forehead.
Trying very hard not to smile.
Meanwhile—
Seiren had completely lost control.
Her laughter echoed endlessly through their telepathic connection.
"A chair leg!"
"Someone actually tried it!"
"I wish they hadn't."
"Your legacy grows stronger every day."
"It isn't my legacy."
"The Empire disagrees."
Kel decided to ignore reality.
Unfortunately.
Reality refused to ignore him.
Arthur stared at Kel.
Then asked quietly.
"So..."
"Nameless really hates the Divine Spoon Art?"
Kel answered immediately.
"Yes."
"Very much."
The answer contained more sincerity than anyone realized.
Arthur looked shocked.
"But it's his most famous achievement."
Kel nodded.
"Exactly."
A strange silence followed.
Several family members suddenly understood.
Perhaps.
Just perhaps.
Nameless wasn't annoyed because people learned the technique.
Perhaps he was annoyed because people completely misunderstood it.
The room became thoughtful.
Then—
Elise suddenly spoke.
The youngest sister tilted her head.
"Big Brother."
Kel looked toward her.
"If Nameless hates the name..."
She smiled innocently.
"...why don't people just stop calling it the Divine Spoon Art?"
The entire room froze.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then everyone simultaneously realized something.
Nobody knew.
Nobody remembered.
Nobody could even identify who originally created the name.
The name had simply appeared.
Spread.
Multiplied.
And taken over the North.
Like a plague.
Victor slowly spoke.
"...that's terrifying."
Leonard nodded.
"It truly is."
Arthur looked impressed.
"The technique is stronger than I thought."
Kel finally gave up.
At this point.
Logic had died.
Completely.
The discussion eventually moved toward other topics.
Aetherial Institute.
Frostbound.
Future plans.
Politics.
Trade.
Yet one thought remained within every family member's mind.
Nameless.
The mysterious explorer.
The legendary guild master.
The accidental creator of one of the Empire's strangest combat arts.
And as the dinner continued beneath the warm glow of chandeliers and ancient dragon statues—
Kel quietly realized something.
The truth no longer mattered.
The legend had escaped.
It had become something larger than its creator.
Far away within the dark waters of Scarder Lake—
Seiren's final message echoed through his mind.
Amused.
Merciless.
And entirely accurate.
"Kel."
"One day the historians are going to write books about this."
Kel stared into his glass.
Then silently prayed that day would never come.
Unfortunately.
Deep within his heart.
He already knew.
The historians would absolutely write those books.