After Matthews finished killing them, he contacted Asolun and Fiona, who had gone out to look for food. Although it had started raining, Matthews and the others didn't linger.
A month later, Matthews rode the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion into the capital of the Furio Empire, with Fiona following behind on a Cloud-Patterned Horned Horse.
"Master, is this the capital where you live?"
Fiona gazed at the magnificent capital, her face alight with excitement. Matthews nodded, then led her straight into the city.
Matthews opened the door to the smithy he hadn't visited in a long time. Seeing that it didn't look as if it had gone uncleaned, he guessed that little Mia must have come back to tidy it up from time to time.
"It's rather simple here. I'll tidy things up in a bit, and you can stay in that room!"
Matthews's smithy had only two main rooms and a small storeroom for materials. Now that he was a Level Nine Warrior, he didn't plan to smith anymore, so he cleared out the little storeroom for Fiona to stay in.
That evening, while Matthews was sitting in the courtyard meditating, Mia and Winter drove up in a carriage. From a distance, Mia saw the lights shining in the courtyard and happily urged him on. "Hurry up! My brother's back!"
When they reached the smithy, she jumped straight out of the carriage and rushed into the courtyard.
"Brother!"
She leaped into Matthews's arms like a little monkey. With a helpless smile, he held her just as he had when she was little, comforting her for a moment. Then he laughed and said, "Just look at you. You're a grown woman now, but you're still just like you were as a child!"
"I'll always be your sweet little sister!"
"Go on, I'm not falling for that. You used to trick me out of money for dresses all the time. Now I bet you're trying to wheedle my gold coins out of me again!"
Mia clicked her tongue and let go of Matthews with an annoyed look.
"Tch, who was the stingy one when we were kids? You spent so much on clothes for yourself, but only gave me ten silver coins for a dress!"
Looking at the girl who used to tease him for being stingy, Matthews realized that in the blink of an eye she had grown into an eighteen-year-old young woman. He affectionately ruffled her hair.
"Little sis, don't worry. I'll never let anyone bully you again."
"Tch, who'd believe you? I'm a Level Six Mage now!"
After speaking, Mia looked at the twelve-year-old girl standing behind Matthews and asked, "Brother, who's she?"
"Her name is Fiona. She's my maid."
Winter came over to greet them, and Matthews nodded in response. He invited Winter to stay for dinner, and afterward Winter took his leave.
After Winter left, Matthews called Mia aside in the courtyard and said, "You're a grown woman now. I don't object to you seeing him, but don't bring him home so casually anymore."
"Brother!"
Matthews looked at Mia and said, "If you like him, let him come and ask for your hand."
Mia nodded and agreed. Under the moonlit, starry sky, Matthews talked with his sister about the changes in their lives lately.
"It's getting late. Go back and get some sleep!"
Now that he had reached Level Nine, ordinary adventuring wouldn't be enough to improve his strength in a short time. So he planned to stay here and properly reflect on and consolidate what he had gained recently.
One day, while Matthews was in seclusion in his room, painting, Winter came to the courtyard again.
"Big brother, I'm here!"
Winter was stopped by the maid Fiona, who warned him, "Master is painting. Please wait a moment, young master Winter."
"But—"
The Blood-Eyed Mane Lion bared its teeth at Winter, and he obediently waited for a while. Matthews sensed what was happening and called out, "Come in!"
When Winter came in, he saw Matthews inscribing words on a painting and instinctively read them aloud: "Blood Lion Thunder Cloud Painting!"
He saw a blurry figure standing before a massive boulder, while a Blood-Eyed Mane Lion opposite him exuded a fearsome aura. Thunderclouds rolled across the sky, as if something terrifying were brewing within them.
"Boss, what is this painting of yours?"
"You're not at a high enough level to understand."
Matthews then explained to him, Fiona, and Mia, who had just come in, "This is the scene from when I fought the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion."
Matthews didn't explain the secret of the painting's depiction of the power of heaven and earth. He had comprehended that power while fighting the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, and the painting captured the scene from that battle.
For Level Six Mages like them, that sort of thing was still far beyond their reach.
"By the way, what did you come to see me about?"
Winter looked at Mia, then at Matthews, before answering, "I came to invite Mia to an auction next month."
"Perfect. I've been short of money lately and want to buy a different house. I'll send this painting to the auction, then."
A month later, on the way to the Imperial Capital Auction House, Matthews and Winter rode in the same carriage.
"My sister told you, right?"
"Yeah."
Seeing him nod, Matthews asked, "What are your plans?"
"I've already sent word back to my family. They'll reply before long!"
Matthews didn't ask anything further. When they arrived at the auction, Winter led him to a box on the second floor. The auction house staff recognized Matthews this time and treated him far more warmly than when he'd been a Level Six Mage. Matthews couldn't help thinking that, sure enough, once you had strength, smiles greeted you everywhere.
At the same time, Wood, who had married Matthews's first love, Kelly, was in another second-floor box with his older brother. Wood was only a Level Seven Mage now, while his genius older brother, Kane, was still a Level Nine Mage.
"Brother, a painting by that Matthews is going up for auction later."
Kane glanced at his younger brother. Wood had always cared about saving face. News had reached the capital in recent days that Matthews had become a Level Nine Warrior and killed a Level Nine Mage from the Church of Light as well as a Level Nine angel. It had infuriated his proud younger brother even more, especially after he found the painting Matthews had given Kelly in her room.
Looking at Wood's resentful expression, Kane said calmly, "I told you long ago: strength is what matters."
"I know, brother!"
Kane looked at Wood and sighed. "Alas, leave the rest to me!"
There wasn't much at the auction that Matthews liked. He only bought a decent staff for his younger sister Mia. After that, he also bought a piece of Ice Jade, a special kind of stone found at the bottom of deep lakes. It radiated cold, and was suitable for crafting weapons for water-attribute cultivators.
At last, it was time to auction Matthews's Blood Lion Thunder Cloud Painting. When the auctioneer announced the starting price of two hundred thousand gold coins, Wood immediately called out first, "Two hundred and ten thousand gold coins!"
After several rounds of bidding, the price had reached eight hundred thousand gold coins.
Before you continue