Chapter 36

Just as I reached the villa's entrance, I saw Eris and Ghislaine practicing swordsmanship. At present, Eris could already use the Light Blade, so she could be considered a Sword Saint.

I watched their practice for a while. Suddenly, a playful mood rose in me.

"Eris, want to have a match between swordsmen with me?"

Eris was very happy to hear my suggestion, and quickly agreed.

She tossed me a wooden sword. She didn't take the chance to attack like she had when we were little. Instead, she took her stance and waited for me to catch the sword before bowing.

Eris really had changed.

After I got the wooden sword, I said to Eris, "Eris, you need to distinguish between a match and a fight to the death.

"That way you used to attack directly whether I'd caught the sword or not was a kind of talent you had for killing.

"Don't let that instinctive talent be worn away. People who only know how to compete by the book will lack that awareness of using any means necessary to bring down the other side in a real life-and-death fight.

"People who are always pursuing justice, pursuing some idea of a 'gentleman' who never launches sneak attacks and the like, won't go far. A true powerhouse uses every method at their disposal to defeat their opponent.

"Even if that means using lime powder or poison, they won't hesitate.

"I heard from Ghislaine that after you first learned the Sword God Style from her, you took the chance to stab her with a sword while she was sleeping. Back then, you really did have a talent for fighting to the death."

After I said so many embarrassing things about her past, Eris started to lose face a little. She shouted, "Stop jabbering on and on! Weren't we going to have a match? Hurry up and start already!"

"Heh, still just a little short. Didn't you sense that the match had already begun?"

I then bowed to her. Eris didn't think through the meaning of my words, and obediently bowed as well.

Ghislaine counted down from the side: 3, 2, 1.

The instant the sound of "1" rang out, Eris turned into a streak of light and slashed toward me.

I formed an air field in front of me, allowing me to react normally to Eris's Light Blade.

Then I swung the wooden sword and, following the momentum of her blade, used the Water God Style advanced sword technique "Flow." I directly knocked her wooden sword away from the trajectory that would have struck me. Then I stepped forward with the motion and used my self-created sword technique, Void Flash. I thrust my sword in front of her stomach, and finally used Wind Boared at the sword tip to blast her away.

"Hmph, Cousin, you cheated! Wasn't this supposed to be a match between swordsmen?"

"That's right. This is what my sword path is like. I have no way to use battle aura, so I use my own mana to simulate sword techniques. The sword techniques I used against you were all handled with my own self-created sword techniques. In theory, the mana I've added into my sword techniques no longer counts as magic, because this set of magic is incorporated into my sword techniques. It's the same principle as you using battle aura in your sword techniques.

"And you didn't notice at all that you were being guided by me from the very beginning. My words affected your thinking, made you even more impulsive, and stopped you from analyzing the specific situation.

"As for me using an air field in midair, I used that once when I had a match with Ghislaine when we were young. But you still fell for it. If you could use a perfect Light Blade, I definitely wouldn't be able to block it."

Eris somewhat understood the meaning behind my words.

"And swordsmanship isn't unchanging. A swordsman of the Sword God Style can't avoid learning even a little about other schools' swordsmanship. At the very least, you need to understand the weaknesses in your opponent's sword style. Only then can you improve your own sword skills."

I said to Ghislaine, "Ghislaine, you studied in the Holy Land of Swords before, right?"

"Mm. I'm the disciple of the current Sword God, Al Faryon. I studied in the Holy Land of Swords for a very long time."

"Then can you take Eris to the Holy Land of Swords for further training? Letting her spar with more swordsmen of the same level would improve her swordsmanship even more. And on the Sword God Style side, swordsmen from other schools go to visit too, right? When the time comes, she can learn from them as well."

When Ghislaine heard about going to the Holy Land of Swords, her tail lifted slightly. It looked like she also missed that place very much. But she answered, "I still need to protect Lord Philip and Lady Hilda. Would there be no issue if I took Eris over there?"

"You don't need to worry about that. In this city, the two of them are very safe. Ariel is also here, and tomorrow I'll introduce Philip to Princess Ariel so he can work under her. When the time comes, the guards by Ariel's side can also protect his safety. I'll discuss this with Philip in advance as well. Don't worry."

Ghislaine nodded slightly. When Eris heard that she could go to the Holy Land of Swords to study, she even looked a little excited, with no sign of reluctance at all.

That really was Eris's personality.

After entering the house, I discussed going to meet Ariel together tomorrow with Philip, as well as sending Eris to the Holy Land of Swords to study the Sword God Style.

If this had been back in Roa, he and Hilda might still have been a little uneasy. But at present, Eris had already shown her own talent for sword training, and Philip gladly agreed to it.

He also comforted Eris and told her not to worry about the two of them's safety. With the funds I had left behind, Philip also planned to go to the slave market later and choose one or two slaves suitable to serve as guards.

From the look of it, he was probably planning to find a few powerful female Beast-kin like Ghislaine to serve as guards again!

In the afternoon, Doris came home from school and brought back lots of vegetables. She planned to make a lavish dinner that night.

Aunt Hilda also went to the kitchen to help. She was a very traditional woman. Although she had never cooked as the mistress of the house when she was in Roa, she had learned how dishes were prepared.

She also brought Eris into the kitchen with her, probably wanting to train her daughter a little.

But less than ten minutes after they entered the kitchen, while Philip and I were chatting together, I saw Eris come out carrying two cutting boards that had been chopped in half.

Haha, exactly the same as history. Eris really did choose to learn chopping vegetables, huh?

Looks like chopping vegetables and swordsmanship basically weren't the same thing after all.

After dinner began, our family happily had a sumptuous meal together. Philip firmly refused to accept the seat of honor, so the six of us could only sit three on each side facing each other at the table, leaving the seat of honor empty.

Eris, me, and Doris on one side; Ghislaine, Philip, and Hilda on the other.

This kind of warm dinner made me feel as if it was the first time I'd had one in all these years. In the past, I had either eaten alone at a broad dining table, or sat on the ground in the wild to eat.

It was rare to have the whole family sitting together to eat like this. It made me feel the warmth of home.

Once I had children of my own, no matter how high a position I held, I would have dinner together with my children and family every day.

That night, Doris and I slept together in the master bedroom. Eris slept with Ghislaine, while Philip and Hilda shared a room.

I didn't know whether my state of mind had been shaken too many times during the day, or whether Uncle Philip and Hilda next door were being too loud.

I kept tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Doris was already an adult. Perhaps she sensed how uncomfortable I was, and with gentle understanding, knew what to do.

After she took off her nightclothes, she slipped into my arms. I was a normal man too, and a normal physical reaction soon stirred.

After an intense struggle of conscience, on this dark and windy night, we began close-quarters combat in bed.

Morning light leaked through the gaps in the blinds, cutting fine golden threads across the disheveled bedding.

Last night, Doris had changed from a girl into a woman. She curled in the crook of my arm, her hair falling along the side of her neck, like rumpled silk wrapped around a flush that had yet to fade. My fingers were still hooked around the ties of her nightclothes, the fabric making tiny rustling sounds under my fingertips, mingling with our intertwined breathing and weaving into an invisible net.

She suddenly tilted her head, the tip of her nose brushing over the sweat on my collarbone, the chill making my Adam's apple bob. The palms that had clasped together last night still held the sticky trace of salt, and now, pressed together through a sheen of sweat, they felt hotter than any vow. When I lowered my head, her lashes trembled like butterfly wings, her lips brushing the fine hair on my chest. The unspoken ticklishness made both of us hold our breath at the same time.

"Water..." she said hoarsely, her fingertips tracing the hollow of my lower abdomen. Smiling, I cast water magic and pressed a cool ball of water to the back of her neck. Droplets rolled down along her spine, refracting tiny rainbows in the morning light. She coughed and curled up tightly, and I took the chance to bite her earlobe, laughing softly. "This is the first time I've realized you're like a little cat when you wake up."

By the time the sunlight climbed up to the headboard, she was standing on tiptoe to reach his shirt. I gripped her ankle, the arch of her foot reminding me of the lips she had bitten open last night. As the shirt slipped off her shoulder, she suddenly turned and kissed me, the tip of her tongue sweeping away the lingering salty bitterness. The instant the door lock turned, the scent of locust blossoms clinging to her hair from the pillow drifted with the morning breeze into my empty palm.

I went downstairs. Doris had already started preparing breakfast, a faint blush still lingering on her face.

Eris and Ghislaine had both gotten up very early. They had already finished their morning practice and were now doing early-morning shadow swings. Though I wanted to join in too, the soreness in my waist made me choose to give myself a day off.

During breakfast, Eris told us that they had already packed their luggage last night and were preparing to set off with Ghislaine today. I didn't try too hard to make them stay, because I was also preparing to leave Sharia within the next couple of days.

After breakfast, I took Philip to find Ariel. After a brief introduction, I left the time and space to them, while I headed home alone.

On the road, I saw two Beast-kin, one with cat ears and one with dog ears, blackmailing a young human man. Perhaps that man was too much of an upright gentleman, because his eyes didn't dare move downward at all and kept looking up at the sky. Before long, his wallet had been squeezed dry.

"What a buzzkill."

"There's only this little money in his wallet. It's not even enough to buy one dried little fish, meow."

Those two were probably the Linia Dedoldia and Pursena Adoldia that Doris had mentioned before, right?

In this school, aside from those two, there probably weren't any other Beast-kin who would act this brazenly.

They turned around. Forget it. For now, it was better to have as little contact with them as possible, to avoid changing history.

I had just turned back and continued walking when I heard someone shout from behind me:

"Hey, you over there, red-haired man, don't leave. Were you staring at us just now, meow?"

"You were definitely getting horny over Linia's butt."

Sigh, what a pain.

I turned back with a professional smile and said to the two beast-women, "Sorry, I saw someone calling out over there just now, so I glanced over a couple of times."

"I didn't disturb your fun. Please continue. I can pretend I didn't see anything."

Because this time we were face-to-face, my eyes inevitably wandered downward from their faces. Damn, were beast-women all born this gifted? As expected of Ghislaine's nieces. Those four watermelons looked especially heavy. I really wanted to help carry them.

"You stink..."

"Is this red-haired man getting horny over Pursena, meow?"

"Fuck."

"Hey, red-haired brat, since you've seen such important parts, shouldn't you show us a little something, meow?"

I curled my lip in disdain. These two really did have the "delinquent girl" attribute.

"What kind of reaction am I supposed to have? You're the ones exposing them like that, and I'm not allowed to look? My eyes are on my own face. Am I supposed to walk with my eyes closed when I see you?"

"Looks like you won't shed tears until you see the coffin, meow."

"Teach him a lesson."

The two of them started cracking their knuckles, rolling up their sleeves, and flexing their fingers, preparing to give me a show of force.

I really didn't want to cause trouble, but trouble always found its way to me. I raised both hands and grabbed each of them by the arm.

I didn't know if it was because they hadn't reacted in time, but neither of them dodged. They only looked a little stunned.

I directly used my self-created flight magic, Invisible Wings, and brought them both into the air.

I didn't block out the Wind Gale in the sky. These two went from having their arms held by me to both of them clutching my arms tightly and refusing to let go.

Both my hands felt the coolness of those two watermelons. This was truly a rare and comfortable sensation.

"So? Do you still need me to show you something?" I deliberately shook my hands. The two of them shivered and hugged even tighter.

The current posture was a cat hanging off one side of my body and a dog hanging off the other, both of them clamping my legs between theirs, while my hands were hugged tightly against their chests.

"No need, meow. From now on, you're our boss, meow. You can look or touch however you want, meow. Please put us down, meow. I'm afraid of heights and I'm going to pee, meow."

The dog on the other side was even more frightened. She couldn't even speak, didn't dare look, and buried her head against my arm. It seemed like her tears had smeared all over my arm, and the pants around her calves were wet too.

"Hmph. This time is only a lesson. If I find out you two are extorting people in this school again, next time I'll throw you down from this height."

"I'll let you experience free flight. I also want to see whether cats really have nine lives and won't die from a fall."

After a steady descent, both of them landed on the ground. Their legs had gone weak, and they sprawled straight onto the ground, not daring to lift their heads and look at me at all.

It was so boring that I couldn't be bothered to keep teasing them. I ignored them and left.

By the time I got home, Eris and Ghislaine had already packed their luggage and were ready to set off. I saw them out of the city and found a guide to lead the two of them, in case those two idiots got lost on the road.

Ghislaine originally seemed about to say something, but then she sniffed at me, and shut her mouth. I felt a little guilty.

Eris looked at me, stammering and unable to get a word out. I guessed she really had no idea how to say goodbye.

I walked up and hugged her, but she misunderstood what I was trying to do. She closed her eyes, stretched out her neck, and got ready for me to kiss her.

Awkward. Still, so Eris wouldn't be disappointed, I gave her a beautiful memory. After a while, they left Sharia and headed for the Holy Land of Swords.

After I returned to the villa, since Doris had just been deflowered last night, she took the day off and stayed home. I also very gently kept her company at home for the whole day.

I didn't know if it was because she knew I was about to leave, but that night, she also wanted to indulge in tenderness to her heart's content.

Although I knew I ought to cherish her after how exhausted she had been last night, I had, after all, already cast healing magic on her, so there probably wasn't any major problem. And so I continued satisfying her for the entire night.

In my sleep, it was once again that utterly terrifying white room.

"Yo, good evening, little brother Dolin. Looks like today was another day full of vim and vigor."

"It's all thanks to your blessing that I was able to find Eris's parents and have such a peaceful life now. Thank you very much, Lord Hitogami."

"Oh, come now, those were all little things. Don't worry about it. But I do have something I need your help with."

Here it came. Was he going to harm me this quickly?

"I await your orders."

"I'll have to trouble you to go to the royal palace of the Shirone Kingdom and rescue two people. They are Aisha Greyrat and Lilia Greyrat.

"And build a good relationship with Rudeus, who will arrive later. Escort him to Buena Village in Fittoa. If they don't want to settle down there, you can continue escorting them to Sharia."

This time it was related to Rudeus? I couldn't understand what it was for. Wasn't this Rudeus's job?

I didn't hesitate much and directly replied, "I will respectfully obey your instructions. May I ask roughly when I need to rescue Aisha Greyrat and Lilia Greyrat in order to meet Rudeus?"

"Don't worry about the exact time. Set off tomorrow and head there normally. Rescue them normally, and you'll be able to run into Rudeus.

"Go. After this mission is completed, I will give you the corresponding reward."

"Yes."

Then came the white breaking waves, surging over and crashing down.

Sleeping in the warm bed, with Doris's soft, delicate body in my arms, I felt a little restless and irritable.

Hitogami was truly too hateful. He could even peep on us while we slept. That feeling of being watched was as unpleasant as finding a pinhole camera in a hotel in my previous life.