Father-Daughter Relationship

Whoosh!

Alan did not even have time to pick up his meal.

He sprang to his feet at once, standing ramrod straight as he quietly reminded the bewildered Linsey:

"Linsey, that's Lord Anrui's daughter!"

Only then did Linsey realize what was happening.

With bread still in his mouth, he turned to look. A little girl in an indigo dress was hurrying toward them.

Her tiny, adorable face held a pair of wide, watery purple eyes. Her petal-thin cherry lips were slightly parted, and she was as small and lively as a fawn in early spring, inspiring instant affection.

But what showed on that lovely face now was not a girl's innocent cheerfulness, but disbelief at reality.

"Alan, what is going on? Answer me!"

The little girl arrived before Alan, clenching her hands as she anxiously pressed him for answers.

As Lord Anrui's daughter, she naturally held no low status in the manor. Yet she was neither spoiled nor willful; her lips merely trembled as she stubbornly pursued the truth.

"Why aren't you answering me? Say something!"

"Miss Anna, I..."

Alan was completely flustered. Then, noticing Linsey on the ground, he seemed to clutch at a lifeline. "I only came over at noon too!"

"The tree had already fallen by then. Linsey was here this morning, so he should know what happened!"

Only then did Anna notice Linsey on the ground.

She knew everyone in the Lord's Manor, but she had never seen the boy before her.

"Y-you are?"

Linsey rose to his feet.

Anna looked about two years younger than him.

But girls developed earlier, so they were roughly the same height.

"I'm Linsey, Red Moon Lady's godson. I arrived today."

Linsey introduced himself. Only upon hearing Red Moon Lady's name did Anna react.

She hurriedly gave a slight bow in greeting.

But just as she had questioned Alan, she soon fixed those deep violet eyes on Linsey and asked, "Linsey, do you know what happened to this tree?"

"..."

Linsey thought for less than a thousandth of a second before handing over the culprit. "It was Lord Anrui!"

"He was demonstrating the power of the War School earlier and accidentally affected this area."

"..."

"Linsey, I understand. Thank you."

Anna tossed her head. Furious and trembling, with furrowed brows and clenched fists, she ran all the way back to the manor.

Linsey and Alan, left behind, exchanged a glance.

The air was utterly silent.

Once Linsey realized that a healthy lifestyle meant not letting his food go cold before eating it,

he sat back down and continued with his lunch.

Seeing this, Alan sat down on the ground as well, though he was still somewhat nervous.

Alan took two bites of bread, then stirred the vegetables in his bowl with a spoon. But his mind was completely elsewhere, and after all that, he only took a sip of soup.

Then the restless Alan could no longer hold back.

"Linsey, you just gave Lord Anrui away like that?"

Linsey was quite unconcerned about it.

"Ah, but I didn't lie. And aren't they father and daughter? One tree shouldn't cause any problems, right?"

Alan covered his face with one hand, as though he could already see the future about to unfold.

He groaned for a while before continuing, "Then you don't understand."

"Miss Anna has always wanted to build a house for her pet. Lord Anrui promised her that they would use this sturdy Beech Tree as a roof beam to build a big house later. That's why Miss Anna has always kept an eye on this Beech Tree, looking forward to building the house herself once she became an adult."

Oh—

This was probably an immeasurable disaster.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Linsey cautiously asked, "Anna... would she do anything too 'extreme'?"

Alan gently shook his head.

"Miss Anna is mild-tempered and a good child. But she has one particularly unusual trait—she's stubborn."

Linsey asked curiously, "Stubborn?"

"Yes, stubborn. Once Miss Anna has set her mind on something, she will pursue it relentlessly. Even if she fails, she'll remain fixated on it for a long time."

Alan sighed.

"Lord Anrui has truly gotten himself into big trouble this time..."

"Father, why did you cut down my tree!"

Just then, an indignant shout rang out from the manor.

Since the clearing at the edge of the forest was not far from the manor's main building, Linsey and Alan heard the furious roar as well.

Soon afterward, the voice of a father who knew he was in the wrong rose up, meek and hesitant. Heavy footsteps also thundered across the second-floor boards.

But compared to his angry daughter's questioning,

apart from lines like, "We can still build the house now," "Let's just do it a little earlier," and "Don't be upset," Lord Anrui's voice was barely audible.

Half an hour later,

with the girl's cries of "I hate you!" and "I'll never speak to you again!", the chaotic Lord's Manor finally fell quiet once more.

Linsey and Alan were able to resume their martial training.

Four in the afternoon.

It was already getting late in the forest town.

Linsey looked over his status panel.

After an afternoon of hard practice, his Basic Footwork had reached the beginner level through diligent training. The Experience Bar for his Basic Swordsmanship, which had already made some progress, was now one-fifth full.

His personal attributes, in particular, had improved.

After a day of training, Linsey's Strength had risen from 2 to 3, while his other attributes had accumulated quite a bit of experience as well! "Linsey, let's stop here for today," Alan said, asking to end their practice.

"Mm, I should head back too." Linsey nodded.

He performed a few simple movements to loosen up, then sat on a tree stump to rest.

Once his stamina recovered a little, he planned to go to the manor and bid farewell to Anrui.

"After you go back, remember to practice whenever you have time." Alan stood beside him during this time and specifically reminded him, "My teacher once told me that perseverance is the best path to becoming stronger."

Linsey smiled in reply and naturally promised that he would not slack off.

They had trained together for an entire day.

They could not be called as close as brothers, but they had already formed a decent relationship.

However, at that moment, a figure appeared at the manor's back gate.

It was the Lord of the Hidden Borderlands.

This father, looking worried and miserable, came over and found Linsey and Alan resting in the clearing at the forest's edge.

"Linsey, I have something I need to ask of you."

Anrui looked directly at Linsey, and Linsey naturally could not refuse. "I would be glad to serve you."

Only then did Anrui speak.

"According to the arrangement Red Moon and I made earlier, you should be going to study with Finn tomorrow."

"Help me invite him here. Tell him to save this Beech Tree."

Why would a father who cared so much for his daughter leave the matter until tomorrow? Linsey was somewhat confused.

"If that's the case, why not go tonight?"

With Alan standing nearby and needing to be told as well, Anrui gave a detailed explanation.

"Finn is old, so let him rest properly at night."

"And just yesterday, your Godmother told me that magical beasts seem to have appeared around the town."

"We can't take that lightly. In a while, I'll be taking people to investigate."

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