"Master Luo Zhen?"
"Luo Zhen..."
"Luo Zhen!"
At that moment, Irori, Yaya, and Koko, who had been watching everything from the side, finally came over hesitantly, all three looking as though they wanted to say something but could not.
"What is it?"
Luo Zhen, who had been staring in the direction Raizen had left, finally came back to himself and looked at the three sisters.
Their faces were filled with worry.
"Are you all right?"
Koko asked tentatively.
Seeing the little girl looking so timid and frightened, Luo Zhen laughed helplessly and reached out to pat Koko on the head.
"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Luo Zhen said. "I actually saw this situation coming long ago."
Raizen had been an unusually single-minded and stubborn person since childhood. Otherwise, he would not have abandoned magic and thrown himself into martial arts despite opposition from everyone in the family simply because he could not surpass the exceptionally talented Akaba Tenzenn, ultimately going so far as to leave home.
And when it came to being deeply attached to others, Raizen was actually the truly sentimental one.
Even though his biological brother, Akaba Tenzenn, possessed extraordinary talent, Raizen had never really been jealous of him. Even if he had felt jealousy, he had never allowed it to drive a wedge between them. Instead, he had always respected Akaba Tenzenn and doted on his younger sister, Fuyuko, even more than Luo Zhen did. Fuyuko's favorite elder brother was also Raizen—not Luo Zhen, and certainly not Akaba Tenzenn. That alone made it clear.
So, the words Raizen had used to describe Luo Zhen actually suited Raizen himself far better.
At least, Luo Zhen had never felt inferior to Akaba Tenzenn. Raizen, however, had constantly been forced to experience the gap between himself and Akaba