Chapter Fifteen

"So, do I throw them in now?"

Gray asked, holding a chopping board full of vegetables and looking at the boiling water that was placed over a fire.

"No, master Gray, the vegetables have a different boiling point, so you might get a good dish with a bad side serving of vegetables."

... Narrowing his eyes, he almost reached out with hiss magic, it would be so simple to heat up the water faster, but this was something he needed to do, it doubled as a training in patience.

And it was running thin.

Ignoring Lilia's amused look, he focused on the pot, he didn't have any problems with this, waiting was nothing to him, easy...

… Burn faster you sun-ova-bitch!

Looks like his frustration was visible on his face, judging from Lilia's silent giggle, which he masterfully ignored.

Right now, Zenith was outside taking care of Norn and Aisha and Paul has been absent since a few days ago, going to the city for... something.

Hopefully, he would not have to castrate him when he came back.

As the evening came by, he finally made a dish...

"You suck at making food, brother."

A dagger was shoved in his heart. His feet unstable, he fell on one knee and supported himself with one of his hands on the floor. That was just cruel.

His mother giggled, and he sent her a look of betrayal, how could she? Did everything they have been through mean nothing? He trusted her! He devoted his life to protecting her!

"bueeeh."

Et tu, Norn?

"Puh!"

That was the final blow, Gray Grayrat has died, by the hands of his own family.

"It's alright, Master Gray, one can't be good at everything."

It was too late. The boy has already breathed his last.

Seemingly by a miracle, His ears picked up the sound of a carriage. Now this would not have been unusual, if their house was anywhere near the entrance of the village, which it wasn't.

And his father usually traveled by his beloved horse.

His eyes flew open as he got off the floor and extended his hand, the Thousand Demon Dagger few to his hand, surprising everyone in the room as he started walking to the door.

His eyes, usually soft and full of love for his family, sharpened as he reached for the door and opened it, walking out of his house.

"Gray! What's wrong?"

His mother ran after him, leaving Norn on the baby bed, along with Rudeus and Lilia.

"Stay back."

he felt it, someone inside was strong, stronger than Paul, Stronger then Roxy and stronger than him.

At least, that's what their Mana told him. It was dense, calm but active.

Oh... His father was inside, along with someone else.

Calming down, he waved Rudi over and faced the carriage that stopped in front of their fence. Gray raised an eyebrow at the incoherent screeches coming from the carriage.

"Come now, Young lady, you need to get out."

Said the woman who he sensed, she was tall, wearing a small jacket that only covered half of her body and brown pants, along with sandals. he spotted a sword on her waist and a tail that swung around rapidly, showing her irritation.

… Who the hell was that? And how the hell did he get that strong?

Walking closer, he absently noted that his mother was following along with them. Reaching the fence, Gray looked up at his father, who stepped out of the carriage and was rubbing his shoulder, wincing slightly in pain.

"... Hey... Dad, who is that? And what is making that sound?"

He asked blankly as he stared with a neutral face at the cat woman's behind. What?! He was still a man.

Glancing at his son, Paul smirked, seeing where he was looking and reached over to ruffle his hair. Gray didn't try to push his palm away, and kept staring, knowing full well that his father knew what he was doing.

"That is Ghislaine, a Sword King, Never beaten her in a fight before, and the one screaming is your cousin, Eris."

He could believe it, and...

… He had a cousin? That was a dumb question, of course he had a cousin, Grayrat was a noble name, or, a last name, to be more precise. Since none of the villagers had a last name, that was the only conclusion he came to.

"... Why dose she sound like a deranged animal?"

His tone was blank, getting a nod from Rudi, seemingly agreeing with my sentiment there. Zenith finally reached them and her face broke into a smile as she spoke.

"Oh! Ghislaine! It's been such a long time!"

She knew this woman?

The said woman looked back, giving a stray glance towards his mother before turning back to the carriage.

"Hello, Zenith, Give me a sec."

She walked inside and a sound of flesh hitting flesh was heard, soon after, she walked out with two legs dangling over her shoulder, he assumed that she didn't cut his cousin in half but judging from her calm face, she has done this before.

"... What are they doing here, Dad?"

The said man turned to him with a smile, putting both of his hands on her hips.

"They're staying with us for a little while."

... For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this.

Glancing back at the Sword God, he stared for a moment. She would be a good opponent to measure up to, if she was willing to spar with him a couple of times.