Stubborn Father and His Stubborn Son × Stubborn Brothers

"Heh heh heh, the kid's all grown up and got wings of steel..."

In the dim little bedroom, Maha rocked in his chair, smiling as he watched a cartoon. For a brief moment, it seemed his ears suddenly grew a size larger, then instantly shrank back down, which was astonishing.

At that moment, the TV was showing Stubborn Father and His Stubborn Son...

A father and son were arguing fiercely over a toy. Seeing that he was about to lose the argument, the father reached for the belt at his waist...

With a creak, the door opened, and Zeno, his white hair flamboyantly tousled, pushed in a small serving cart.

"Grandpa seems to be in a pretty good mood today."

The cart stopped, and the lids came off. Besides the beef bourguignon with red wine and vegetable soup with bread that the old man usually liked, there was also a plate of minced pork with eggplant.

"The kitchen tried out a new dish today. They said that kid Roy came up with it... Since you like it, Grandpa, I brought you a plate."

Zeno had just tasted it in the kitchen. It really was delicious, a flavor he had never experienced before.

"Heh heh... Old me must be doing something right today, getting such a busy man as you to bring me my meal. Incredible... simply incredible..."

Maha feigned sleep, not even glancing at the food or the person, and rocked in his chair with a grunt...

Zeno wasn't annoyed. He ladled out a bowl of vegetable soup, tore the bread into strips and soaked them in it, then pretended not to hear the sarcasm in Maha's words. He went around behind him and began massaging his shoulders.

"Kikyo was poisoned. It was the new butler."

"Silva had someone investigate. The culprit has a clean background and is an honest man. He has no deep grudge against our family, either. It was purely an accident..."

"Grandpa, you know that people like us aren't afraid of being targeted. What we fear is all kinds of accidents."

Zeno rarely bothered to explain himself, but now he did, his long, slender hands massaging Maha's neck and shoulders. It felt so good that Maha let out another grunt...

"So, after all that, you're just worried the 'Curse' will come to pass?"

Maha straightened his back to make it easier for Zeno to reach, and murmured with his eyes half closed, "You can't escape a calamity when it's meant to be. Worrying won't help..."

"Grandpa is right."

"I wasn't giving you a lecture. Just seeing you annoys me."

"Do I annoy you as much as Roy?"

"He's my good grandson. Can you compare?"

"I'm your grandson, too..."

"You?" The old man lifted his chin and pointed at the door. "Get out."

And so, Zeno was chased out in disgrace.

Grandpa was still the same Grandpa... That was all Zeno needed to know.

He didn't look angry in the slightest. Instead, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he stood outside the old man's room for a while...

Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he strolled down the corridor steeped in the passage of time. Before he knew it, he was heading toward Roy's bedroom.

Roy had given Gotoh his instructions and picked up Snow Walk. Just as he came around the corner, he spotted Zeno approaching.

He bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Grandpa."

The boy's black hair fell in a thick, lustrous cascade, glowing in the morning light... Just like Zeno when he was young, it gave him the faintest illusion that he had returned to those verdant, youthful days.

The days he endlessly longed for whenever he woke from a dream...

"Mm." Zeno looked Roy up and down. His gaze lingered on Snow Walk for a moment, then he gave an indifferent grunt and walked past him.

"That's a fine sword you have there. Too bad it ended up with such a lousy owner. He offered me a hundred million to kill his master. I didn't think it was worth the price, so I killed him instead. I hope it doesn't end up with the wrong person again this time..."

Flicker... Flicker... Zeno walked away with his back to Roy. After a few steps, he seemed to vanish in a blur, and soon disappeared from sight.

Roy had heard Gotoh mention Snow Walk's past. He gently stroked the blade and stood there for a while, until the bright red morning glow on the horizon warmed his neck... Only then did the boy move, turning away from the direction Zeno had gone and heading to the training room.

As usual, the morning was for daily training. Luke, the butler in charge of shocking him, was already in place.

When he saw Roy enter the room, he switched the five-hundred-thousand-volt baton at his side for a one-million-volt one.

"Master said that starting today, Young Master's training load is to be doubled." Luke bowed to Roy as usual.

Roy looked at him calmly. "Wasn't the morning training canceled?"

Gotoh had just said they were going to test their Nen types in the morning. Roy didn't believe Luke didn't know about it.

"Only Young Master Illumi is excused from training. You still have to..." Luke kept it brief.

Roy gave him a long look, then suddenly sensed someone watching him. He whipped around toward the window...

Silva stood silently by the window, watching him. His tall, broad frame seemed to blot out even the newly risen sun.

In that instant, Roy finally understood—

Silva had heard his conversation with Gotoh before Gotoh could get to him.

"So this is the corresponding 'punishment'?"

Roy met Silva's gaze without hesitation.

It was as if electricity crackled between them...

The young butler, Luke, was caught between father and son, still bowing and not daring to breathe... Only after a long while did Silva speak.

"What did you call me?"

"Father."

"That's not what you called me at dawn."

"You know it was dawn." Roy took a deep breath, letting the sunlight spill over Silva's head and onto his face, then added, "It's morning now."

Silva fell silent. After a moment, he said, "Shock me."

Luke straightened at the order, picked up the baton, apologized to Roy, and jabbed it into his chest.

Crackle—the electric arc flashed...

A million volts surged through Roy. His mouth visibly twitched, and then his whole body started shaking.

But he stood ramrod straight, forcing himself not to fall, stubbornly staring at Silva.

Until—

He passed out.

It was nine in the morning.

Roy slowly woke up...

As it turned out, after being shocked unconscious, there was no way to switch into Deep Sleep mode.

When he realized he wasn't in the shrine but still lying on the training room floor... Roy croaked, his throat dry, and asked Luke, who was giving him water, "How long was I out?"

"Thirty-three minutes, Young Master."

That long...

Roy turned his head toward the window. The sunlight shimmered over the ground, bringing a wave of heat, but... Silva was gone.

He struggled to his feet and staggered backward a few steps before dropping onto the floor again. Clearly, his body hadn't fully caught up with his recovering consciousness.

"Careful, Young Master. Don't land on Young Master Illumi," Luke warned him as he finished giving Roy water.

Only then did Roy notice that the floor beneath him was soft. He looked down...

Illumi was lying on the floor, his long, straight black hair now sticking out in every direction.

"How did he end up here?"

"After Young Master Illumi finished having his type tested, he came to the training room. When he heard you'd switched batons, he insisted on switching, too. I had no choice but to agree, and then... Well, you can see for yourself..."