It was nearly dark.
The carriage slowly stopped outside an imposing noble estate in the City of Roa.
A butler wearing a monocle greeted them, his manner proper and respectful.
House Boreas-a distinguished noble family of the Fittoa Territory.
Luo Ge found the name familiar and soon remembered why.
Before he came here...
Paul seemed to have specifically mentioned that Greyrat was a prominent noble surname in the Asura Kingdom. Both their own family and House Boreas were branches of the Greyrat family.
Although, strictly speaking, they were distant relatives separated by many generations, they were still related in name.
If Paul had not repeatedly stressed in his letter that Ghislaine was trustworthy, Luo Ge might even have suspected that this cat-eared Sword King would sell him straight into a noble household.
After all, he had heard Paul say that the nobles of the Asura Kingdom apparently had rather wild tastes. A good-looking boy like him had to protect himself out in the world, too.
"You don't need to be nervous."
Ghislaine seemed to notice his concerns. "I'm the swordsmanship instructor for Lady Eris of House Boreas. This time, Paul asked me to escort you to the Sword Sanctum. It'll probably take a few months before I get back."
"So I came back specifically to say goodbye."
"Thank you for looking after me. Even if you're doing this because of Paul, I still want to thank you."
"Mm, it's fine."
"Your Excellency, Sword King."
Just then, the butler of House Boreas stepped forward and bowed to Ghislaine, his attitude deeply respectful.
"Lead the way. I want to see Lady Eris." Ghislaine waved a hand casually.
The butler noticed Luo Ge as well, but asked no questions.
Luo Ge could sense how respectfully these people treated Ghislaine.
It seemed a Sword King held quite a high position in this world. Even nobles did not dare slight one casually.
"Ghislaine, you're finally back!"
As soon as they entered the front courtyard, a red-haired little girl came rushing out and made straight for Ghislaine.
"Lady Eris."
Ghislaine lowered her head, her tone becoming much gentler.
Eris rushed up beside Ghislaine, about to act spoiled, but soon noticed Luo Ge following behind her. Her little face instantly scrunched up.
Eris grew wary. "Ghislaine, who is he?"
Luo Ge introduced himself with a smile. "I'm Rog Greyrat."
"Huh?"
Eris's face instantly fell. She glared at Luo Ge with bitter resentment, as though she had encountered a mortal enemy.
Luo Ge was rather baffled-what had he done to offend this young lady?
"Um..."
"Shut up! You're the small fry making Ghislaine escort you, aren't you? Anyway-nobody gets to take Ghislaine away from me!"
"I-"
Luo Ge had barely tried to explain when the red-haired girl opposite him, like a powder keg that exploded at the slightest spark, charged straight at him with her fists swinging.
Luo Ge easily sidestepped her.
Eris missed and grew even angrier. "Die! You actually dared to dodge?!"
"I'm not stupid. Why wouldn't I dodge a punch?"
Luo Ge's casual attitude utterly infuriated the young lady before him.
She charged again like an erupting volcano. "Aaaah! Ghislaine, don't stop me! I'm going to kill him!"
"I'm definitely going to kill him!!"
Fortunately, Ghislaine reached out and held her in place. "All right, all right. Lord Philip has already agreed to this."
"Ghislaine! Once you leave, are you going to abandon me and never come back?" Eris turned her head, her eyes actually reddening a little.
"No. Half a year at most. If everything goes smoothly, perhaps even sooner... I could return in less than half a year."
At that, Eris gave Luo Ge a vicious glare, then walked up to him with her hands on her hips. "For Ghislaine's sake, I won't hold this against you today."
"I'm Eris."
With that, she held out her hand as though offering a handshake to make peace.
Looking at the arrogant, bossy young lady before him.
Luo Ge narrowed his eyes, but ultimately reached out and took her hand.
The next second, Eris's lips curled into a smile of triumph, and her other hand suddenly clenched into a fist and launched a sneak attack.
"Die!"
"Small fry!"
"Hmm?"
Luo Ge's eyes narrowed to thin slits. At that moment, his rosy view of noble young ladies shattered completely.
He had originally thought noble daughters should all be gentle, elegant ladies of good breeding, but this one before him-she overturned that notion entirely.
She was clearly hyperaggression incarnate, even scarier than a Sichuan-Chongqing she-T-rex!
Despite being only five, Luo Ge had already reacted on reflex.
Not only did he precisely dodge the sneak attack, he also punched Eris in the stomach.
"Gah-urgh..."
Eris instantly crumpled to the ground, curling into a ball.
Luo Ge narrowed his eyes and said leisurely, "Finally quiet. How nice."
Yet he had still underestimated this young lady's resilience.
Although Eris was already curled up on the ground, she was still muttering something in broken fragments.
Luo Ge leaned closer. "Hmm? What are you saying?"
"G-Ghislaine... k-kill him for me..."
The corner of Luo Ge's mouth twitched.
Seriously, she's still thinking about killing me even like this?
What kind of grudge is this?
Still, he happened to enjoy putting all kinds of defiant people in their place.
Luo Ge acted without hesitation, raising his hand and slapping a healing spell onto Eris.
In an instant, Eris was restored to full health and sprang to her feet. "I'm going to kill you! Aaaaaaaaah!!"
"Urgh!"
Luo Ge punched her again, knocking her flat once more and leaving her twitching all over.
Once she could no longer resist, he tossed another healing spell at her.
"Shouldn't you thank me? I'm saving you with healing magic, you know."
"Save your whole damn family! I'm going to-"
Eris had completely lost her mind.
This repeated dozens of times. Each time, she was beaten until she twitched all over, and the final punch nearly made her lose control of her bladder.
After she was healed.
She immediately struggled to her feet, about to charge again, only to see that faint smile on Luo Ge's face.
For some reason, suddenly.
She clutched her chest and instinctively took a step back, her stomach churning.
"Urk-"
She actually began dry heaving involuntarily.
"Enough. That's enough, Lady Eris." Ghislaine finally could not bear to watch any longer.
For Ghislaine's sake, Luo Ge stopped.
"Ghislaine, waaah!"
The aggrieved Eris finally found someone to rely on and rushed behind Ghislaine, her eyes already brimming with tears.
Just then, a young man surrounded by numerous beast-eared maids slowly approached.
Ghislaine bowed slightly. "Lord Philip."
The young noble nodded to Ghislaine, then slowly shifted his gaze onto Luo Ge.
Luo Ge saw the smile on the nobleman's face.
It was not a heartfelt smile, but a very artificial, professional one.
His gaze also held a measure of scrutiny, which instinctively made people uncomfortable.
But Luo Ge did not want to cause trouble for himself, so he performed a noble greeting he had seen in a book. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Rog Greyrat."
Philip did not hurry to respond, instead shaking his head slightly. "For a noble greeting... place your left foot behind you, turn your right hand over, and lower your head slightly. Like this."
He demonstrated once, his movements elegant and precise, like an elder patiently teaching a junior.
Although Luo Ge found it troublesome, he performed the greeting again.
That courteous smile returned to Philip's face. "Yes, just like that."
"You've done very well."
"I am Philip Boreas Greyrat, the mayor of this city. Your father, Paul, and I... are cousins."
"So... we're relatives?"
"Yes."
Philip's gaze lingered on Luo Ge for a moment, and a flicker of interest suddenly crossed his eyes. "Paul certainly has an outstanding son. He's told me about you. Apparently, you have the potential to become a Sword God."
"..."
The corner of Luo Ge's mouth twitched.
Paul, just how many people have you told about this?
Despite inwardly griping furiously, Luo Ge still replied modestly, "Nothing of the sort. I'm just an ordinary person."
"Oh my, how modest."
Philip chuckled. "I saw you just now, you know. You knocked Eris flat, and more than once."
"May I ask what Lady Eris is to you...?"
"She's my daughter."
Ahem.
That single sentence made Luo Ge's situation even more awkward.
He had brutally beaten someone's daughter dozens of times right in front of her father.
This nobleman isn't going to get back at me, is he?
If Ghislaine also obeyed their orders, things would become troublesome.
Although Paul had said Ghislaine could be trusted, Luo Ge remained cautious.
Unexpectedly, Philip's smile only deepened. "Don't be nervous. It's quite rare to see Eris get put in her place... Well done."
Luo Ge was a little bewildered by this too. Although he knew the nobles of this country were open-minded, he had not expected them to be this open-minded.
His daughter got beaten like that, and not only is he letting it go, he's applauding it?
After chatting for a while, Philip said, "Stay here with Ghislaine tonight. There's no rush to leave until tomorrow morning."
"Thank you for your hospitality."
Luo Ge nodded in agreement.
Afterward, Philip arranged for him to stay in a guest room.
Watching Luo Ge's retreating figure, Philip looked thoughtful and murmured, "So this is Paul's child? A little unexpected... He really isn't anything like Paul when he was young."
Along the way, Luo Ge looked all around until his eyes could barely take it all in.
He was exactly like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time.
An estate.
A mansion.
Exotic beast-eared maids were everywhere... everywhere.
Luo Ge could not help marveling inwardly: Nobles really are extravagant and corrupt! If I came alone, without Ghislaine leading the way, I'd definitely get lost here.
Mm... all I can say is.
Noble life really is far too decadent. Those damn rich people all deserve to die.
But on second thought.
Doesn't that insult me too? Even setting aside being distant relatives of nobles like these, the Greyrat surname alone makes me half a noble, doesn't it?