ʋօʟʊʍɛ 2, Part 5: Happy Years - Pseudo Date?

After being held like a prisoner in a long bear hug by Paul, he finally let go of his son, a mixture of astonishment and pride twinkling in his eyes. "J-Julian... when did you... you've grown so much! I didn't know you would be coming at this time," he stammered, his voice tinged with genuine surprise.

Julian's lips curved into a faint smile, his attempt at normalcy almost endearing as he replied, "It was a decision I made recently, Father. I thought it was time to visit home."

The emotional reunion didn't end there, for just as Julian peeled himself away from Paul, he heard a plate fall on the ground. Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw the devoted family maid, Lilia, as she rushed forward, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Oh, Master Julian! It's so good to see you back," she exclaimed, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

For a moment, both Paul and Julian were caught off guard by Lilia's overwhelming display of affection. After the initial surprise, Paul just smiled heartily as he secretly placed a hand over her back. The urge to grope her ass that almost inviting him to slap it was there, yet he controlled himself because of his son coming back after many years.

With a subtle pat on Lilia's back, he reciprocated her hug, recognizing that this gesture of warmth meant a great deal to her. "I'm glad to be back, Lilia," Julian replied softly, his voice carrying a hint of appreciation. "Thank you for looking after everyone while I was away."

Lilia beamed, her tears now mingling with a radiant smile. She had always appreciated Julian and his presence. And she knew it was his role along with Rudy that she was able to give birth safely and stay in the house. "It was my pleasure, Master Julian. Your family missed you dearly."

As the tender moment continued, the sound of light footsteps echoed through the hallway, and Julian turned to find his mother, Zenith, approaching with a mix of excitement and tearful joy. Her feet were trembling, strength sapped from them entirely. Her hand was on her mouth, keeping herself from bursting into a fit of tears. However, her eyes welled up and betrayed her followed by the trembling lips as she reached her son, and without a word, she enveloped him in an emotional embrace.

"Oh, Julian, my baby boy," Zenith whispered through her tears, holding him tight as if she feared he would disappear if she let go. "I missed you so, so much....." She seemed to be in shambles, reiterating his name over and over again as if she was hallucinating and trying to wake herself up.

Julian's voice was gentle and measured, as he attempted to offer comfort in the best way he knew how. "I missed you too, Mother," he murmured, his words a balm to Zenith's heart. "I am here now, and I will stay for a while."

The reunion unfolded with an ineffable tenderness, as Julian navigated the ebbs and flows of emotions with a delicate balance, despite not knowing what to do with his own emotions.

Should he feel giddy? Mildly happy? 

He was meeting with his parents after all. After a rather long time. 

Though he struggled to fully comprehend the depth of his feelings for his family, his presence a soothing experience—a silent promise that he would be there for them. 

Especially after even Rudeus left the house. 

Julian looked around as he heard an unfamiliar voice. 

"Should we tell him, now?"

"I think it's time we tell him."

Paul and Zenith talked in a hushed tone while Lilia just nervously laughed. 

"Uwaaaah~"

"Ayayayaya~"

Two little baby girls were crawling on the floor. One with blond hair and green eyes. The other one with maroon hair and green eyes. The hair and eye colour spoke a lot about who their parents were. Despite knowing, Julian feigned ignorance as he looked back, confusingly, acting oblivious. 

"Hmm. You haven't changed, father." Julian spoke lightly as Paul felt a stab to his heart. 

'Not you too. Have mercy!' Were Paul's thoughts as he pondered if Julian, unlike Rudeus would avoid firing shots at him every time he got the chance. 

And like that, Julian Greyrat, known as the North Saint and the Blazing Sword reunited with his family. 

For a few "Happy Years."  (Pun intended)

|RUDEUS GREYRAT|

Another half a year has passed by again. Recently Eris, who had turned a little meek, has started to get violent again. 

Why, why, who's the one that caused this mess?

Even though I feel a little flustered, I noticed something. There are no holiday breaks. After the evening meal, I call Ghislaine and the etiquette teacher into my room. To add on, the etiquette teacher isn't staying inside the mansion, and she comes from her own house from the city to work. So, I had the butler notify her. 

After a brief while of discussion, we were finally able to segregate lessons with appropriate breaks in between. 

"Rudeus-sama is actually so small, but you're very considerate of Eris-sama's well being."

I kept feeling that she's finding me funny in her eyes. Oh, whatever.

With that, I got a break.

(***)

After 1 week, we came to our first rest day, and Ojou-sama sat uneasily, fidgeting. It was the first time that she's free for the whole day. After I greeted Philip, I decided to go to the city to have a walk, and I didn't knew Eris and Ghyslaine are at the door until I actually saw them.

"Where are you going?"

"Roa's city 'Let's sight see~'." Hey! I did that in a pose like that.

"Let's sight see... That means you're going to the city alone?"

"Do you see anyone else?"

"You're too mean, I have never gone out alone before." Eris stompped on the floor angrily.

"If it's Ojou-sama alone, you will get kidnapped by someone right?"

"Didn't you get kidnapped too!" Ah, it's something like that, I got kidnapped, too. But I'm also a member of the Greyrat's family, perhaps I can be ransomed for money.

But.

"If I'm kidnapped, I can escape on my own." I smiled. As I said that, I saw Eris raise her fist. I quickly took a pose to defend myself, but the punch didn't seem to come. This is rare.

"Take me too!"

Oh, so it's something like that. Up till then the punch has always come first before talking. 

Ojou-sama has grown up.

Of course, I didn't have any reasons to refuse, compared to moving alone, two people are safer together. "Then, let's move out now?"

"Is it really okay?"

"Ghislaine will be coming along, right?"

"Yes, my duty is to protect Ojou-sama." Right. At the meeting, Ghislaine doesn't understand the idea of a rest day at all. Therefore, it's better to let her stick closely to Eris. She's originally hired to be a guard, that's something to be expected.

"Wait a while for me, I'll go prepare, Alphonse! Alphonse!" I looked at Eris running wildly in the mansion, her yells piercing like before.

"Rudeus." I turned my head around as I heard Ghislaine call me. She was standing right beside me. I looked up, and she was nearly 2 meters tall. I think even when I grow up, I can only look up at her.

Guess Julian can outgrow her. 

Eh, height doesn't matter anyways. (cope)

"Don't be overconfident in yourself." I was given a warning from Ghislaine. Was it because I said I am able to return on my own?

"I know, I just wanted to make Ojou-sama more hardworking."

"I see, then if there's anything just call me out, I'll save you."

"Hmm, at that time, I'll release another huge firework." I thought back to the kidnapping incident.

"Ghislaine, have you told Ojou-sama something like that?"

"Hmm? Tell her what?"

"You should add on, that she can only scream at places where she can be heard."

"I got the message, but what is it for?"

"During the previous kidnapping, Ojou-sama's yells nearly got her killed."

"... If I'm able to hear them, I would have gone over."

But she was really absurdly quick during that time, if it's Ghislaine she will make it in time no matter where she is, and her ears are very good. Furthermore, Eris's call for help is not Philip and Sauros, but Ghislaine. This woman was really reliable.

"Your brother seems to be faster." She suddenly added. "However, it seems like his little body isn't able to keep up with his techniques."

"What do you mean by that?" 

"In the few swords clashes we had; his movement were all accurately calculated. The only thing hindering him is his small reach and size. Although...."she paused and looked from up to down at me, "........he seems much taller than kids his own age. Seems like in a few years, he will be able to reach his prime. If he doesn't become arrogant."

  "Oh, he isn't arrogant. He just doesn't like associating much."

"Hm. I see. While I understand you're better at magic, you should learn the sword too. Magic won't be too helpful if someone cuts your head faster than you can conjure your spell, right?" She was right. I need to work on it. Fast. 

"Anyways, do you want to tell me something else? Regarding Eris-sama?" She asked as I shrugged off the thoughts about competing.

"You need to inform her that under certain circumstances she cannot call for help." Just as I finished talking, Eris came back. Are these clothes for going out? I had never seen them before.

I praised her clothes and as expected.... I got a punch in the head.

What did I do wrong?

No wonder Julian turned Philip's proposal down. 

sigh

(***)

The city Roa in the Fittoa territory was the biggest here, but even though it's the biggest, compared to the entire wheat fields in the village Buena, it's much smaller. You only need to spend 2 hours to walk one full round around the city's walls. But this is a walled city, and the 7-8 meters tall walls surrounded the entire city.

Although it's not a perfect circle, due to the ground's shape, and I can't confirm the exact length. It's probably around 30 kilometers. It completely doesn't feel big, and cities that are surrounded like this should be very few. Even though I have never been to any other walled cities, I am very clear that it's not an easy task to create a wall this big.

If there's a magic to create walls like this, it will certainly be King-ranked or Emperor-ranked. Or was this built by hand from scratch? As I thought about it, I left the noble's gathering area, and arrived at the wide space where many people were passing through. This stretch was the area for the merchants, because it was very close to the nobles' territory and many beautiful shops.

But I can see some rare open field merchants. I peeked a few looks at the expensive merchandise that was lined up. "Welcome young master, young lady, please take your time and peek." I enjoyed the RPG-like item shop's Ossan's words and look at the merchandise.

I recorded the goods down onto a piece of paper, and truthfully, it's all strange products. The aphrodisiac is 10 gold pieces, record, record. But it might be worth it. After all.... it can help me get rid of something. 

Ehehe.

"What are you writing, I can't understand it at all!" Eris screamed in my ear making me nearly go deaf. I looked down and realised that I had subconsciously written in Japanese. "I just want to write down a little, it's enough for me to understand it."

"Just tell me what you're writing." Ojou-sama's really peremptory, but I don't have any reasons not to tell her.

"That's the name of the merchant goods and prices."

"Why are you investigating that?"

"Investigating that is the basics of the net game."

"Net... what is that?"

I think even if I tell her, she will not understand it. So, I just turned to another topic and pointed towards a product, a small accessory. "Look, you see this? That stall is selling for 5 gold coins. You can buy it here for 4 gold coins and 5 silver coins."

"Ohhh, young master, you have good eyes. The things that I'm selling are cheap, right?" I ignored the Ossan and turned towards Eris. "Eris if you haggle the prices here to 3 gold coins, and then sell at the other stall for 4 gold coins, how much can you earn?

"Hmm, let me think, 5-3+4, 6 gold coins!" 

Oh my god, what are you counting. "No, wrong, the right answer is 1 gold coin."

"I- I got it already!" Eris pouted to one side.

"Do you really understand it?"

"We originally have 10 gold coins, isn't this 11 gold coins now." Woah, you finally got it. Wait, isn't this addition? Well never mind, I'll praise her in any case. Her pride is really strong, she will only improve if she gets praised.

"Woah, you got it right, wow, Eris's really smart."

"Hmph, of course."

"Erm, young master, that's called resale, it's not something to be praised, you can't do that."

"Don't worry, I won't do it. If I really want to do it, I'll tell the other side you're selling 4 gold coins here. I'll take 1 big copper coin as information fee."

The Ossan showed an exceedingly unhappy expression and looks at Ghislaine for help, but Ghislaine was paying full attention to the things I was saying. Having understood that saying anything else is a waste of time, the Ossan drooped his shoulders and sigh. 'Sorry about that, since we're just looking around, please let us off'.

"Even if we're not doing any buying or selling, we need to know the various prices of things."

"So what if you do know the prices!"

"An example, even if you don't go to a shop, you can guess the price."

"What use does that have?" What use?? Erm, when you resell, you can earn money... ah no. Alright, I'll leave the spotlight to Ghislaine.

"Ghislaine, what use do you think this has?"

"...No, I don't know." Oh shit, really? You don't know? I thought you really understood it. Whatever, I'm not teaching anyway.

"Is that so, then it really might not be of any use."

In the end this is a lesson for myself, even if I don't understand it's okay. If I see a market, I'll first investigate the products' information. I have always done this so it can't be wrong. Even though I think of it like that, this is the first time I'm personally checking prices out, so I can't really be sure whether there's any use to it.

"If it's possible there's no use to it, why do you still need to do it?"

"Because I think there's a use for it."

Eris had an expression that looked like she can't accept it. It's not like I can answer every question. Some of the things require your own thoughts instead of them being taught to you. Can't feed everything in her mouth. 

Except a few. 

Eheh.

"Try thinking on your own, if you think it's useful, then learn from me, if you don't, just laugh at me."

"Then I'm the one who's going to be laughing at you right?"

"Ahahahaha."

"Why are you laughing now!?"

I got punched again, *sniffle*.

Don't keep punching me like that, damn it! What if I develop a fetish of being talked down and kicked in the nuts? 

I really hope that doesn't happen. I don't want to be on the receiving end but rather the infli- 

Ehm, so, I checked out the surrounding merchants, but the prices were too high for a humble person like me who got an even humble pocket. 

I'll take my leave then. Sayonara~

(***)

I slowly moved towards the outer city, and the prices of the merchants' goods had a distinct change, going down from the price of 5 gold coins to around 1 gold coin. It's still a little expensive, but it's something that I can afford.

Well, well, well! Look who's rolling in dough! 

Oh wait, my bad, I meant rolling in crumbs. I've just enough to buy myself a sprinkle of stardust in a Pokémon world. 

I am broke as hell, man!

The customers have certainly increased, from people who look like nobles to adventurers. Since it's around 1 gold coin, I can still barely afford that price. When I recorded down the prices to my notes, a shop suddenly entered into my periphery; it was a bookshop.

When I entered the store, I noticed that it's surprisingly quiet. You can say that it's a shop that mainly sells erotic books. Eheh.  There were two bookshelves that had the same titles with 2-3 books placed together. A book was roughly 1 gold coin, with some of the books kept in a glass cabinet. The average is around 8 gold coins, with the most expensive with a price tag of 20 gold coins. 

Is that the shop's most valuable treasure?

The owner recognised me as a person who's not a customer, so he didn't bother to greet me. His judgment was correct. I took down the book's title, and the owner looked at me with suspicion.

Arara, there's no problem, I didn't touch the books. Plus, I didn't take any photos. An encyclopedia is around 7 gold coins, if 1 gold coin is around ¥100,000, you need ¥700,000. On my home's mother, what sort of absurdity is this...

But as expected, the encyclopedia books seem to be really expensive. The must-see book <<Shigu's Summoning Magic>>, needs 10 gold coins. My monthly salary of 2 silver coins doesn't allow me to fulfill the conditions of buying this. The most expensive book is the <<Asura's kingdom royal court's etiquette>>, but this book has no meaning at all to me.

"What are you looking at that's so interesting?" Eris asked me, probably bothered by the fact that I'm only looking and not recording.

"No, I'm thinking they aren't really interesting books."

"I heard that people say that you like books?"

"Where did you hear it from?"

"From Otou-sama." Philip hmm? I did ask him to let me look at the study.

"I- I can help you buy a book."

"You're saying it so easily, do you have any money, Eris?"

"Oji-sama will give me!" Indeed. But spoiling her too much isn't good.

Even though I want it...

Even though I want it!

"I don't want it."

"Why!" Eris pouted. She often does that when she's unhappy. If her mood continues to deteriorate, she will come after me like the devil. But it's still fine for now, she still has her senses about her.

"Eris cannot give out money freely."

"What do you mean?"

Eris eyebrows knit together. She was getting more irritated because she doesn't understand. Lately I can gradually gauge Eris's Fury-O-Meter. How should I go about this. When it comes right down to it, is there any meaning to let the girls from noble families learn the importance of using money? "I'm teaching you right now. Do you know how much money I get?"

"... 5 Gold coins right?"

"2 silver coins."

"That's cheap!" Eris shrill scream echoed, and from a corner the owner gave us a "you're-too-noisy" expression. Sorry old man. 

"Not at all, my achievements are poor, and my age is small, as well, it's quite appropriate for me."

Plus, there's the fact I will be paid the fees to go to university.

"B- but Ghislaine has a salary of 2 gold coins. Isn't Rudeus teaching me a lot of things?"

"Ghislaine has the accomplishments and the rank of being a Sword-King. She's even acting as your bodyguard; therefore, Ghislaine's salary is higher." Plus, there's the bad habit from Boreas Greyrat's family. If it's from them, they will do something like 「Girls from the beast races shall receive special treatment! 」

"Then, how much salary can I get if it's me?"

"You don't know magic, your sword techniques are not up to par, and without any accomplishments, Ojou-sama's salary even if it's the highest it can go, it won't cross 1 silver coin." Eris's became speechless, and in addition to the above, she has never received pocket money before.

"When you want to buy something for someone, please earn the money with your own hands and talk about it later."

"I got it..." Eris's drooped her head with a rarely seen cheerless expression and her shoulders slumped as well. If she's always like that I will have an easier time...

"Well, you can ask Philip-sama for some pocket money."

"Really?"

Eris raised her head. I feel as if her affection-O-meter to me has gone up. Well, even if she's not given any pocket money, giving her anything whatever she wants is spoiling her too much. It's best to give her a bit of money and let her learn it herself. After recording some of the important book names I walked out of the bookstore. I have an overall impression after spending a day to take a look at the things I want to buy.

(***)

When I looked up towards the skies, there was a castle floating up. It was mixed amongst the clouds, but the fleeting appearances were definitely there.

"Wha!" I pointed up to the skies, and the surrounding people looked up to that direction, but soon lost interest in it. Hah? You saw that right? Only me? The only person who saw that Castle in the Sky is me? Father's a liar?

"Are you seeing that for that the first time? That's the 『Armored dragon king』 Perugius's sky fortress."

Do you know that Lady... Ghislaine! But coming back to the topic, sky fortress. Woah, that's really damn cool-.

"What's Perugius?"

"Don't you know that?" I seem to have heard it before, but I can't recall it.

"What's that?" Ghislaine, with a little surprise on her face, tried to choose her words. But this time Eris crossed her arms and appeared in front of me.

"Let me teach you!"

"If you would please teach me."

"Alright! Perugius is one of the three heroes that defeated the Demon-God Laplace." Eris said that with pride. The Demon-God Laplace, I seem to have heard from somewhere...?

"He's really, really strong, leading 12 followers in the sky fortress to Laplace's fortress."

"Wow, that's really amazing."

"Incredible, right!?"

"Ojou-sama is really learned, thank you."

"Ufufu! Rudeus still can't make it!"

If I refute her now, I will definitely get beaten. I learned that a long time ago. Due to that, I went back to investigate. After inquiring Philip, I got to know there's a book with information somewhere around here, and after much effort I finally found it. And once I saw it, it's actually the same book as the one back in the village Buena.

<<Perugius's legend.>>

I once firmly thought that it's a fairy tale, but it seemed to be History.

"Armored Dragon-King" Perugius, no one knows where he comes from or where his upbringing occured. That year, the young him without any fame, was brought in by the Dragon-God Urupein to the Adventurer's guild, this was the earliest record.

Perugius shows his might within a very short period of time, partying up with the Dragon-God Urupen, North-God Kalman, the Twin-Emperor Migus・Gumis, and defeated every enemy. Because Perugius was treated like a younger brother, it wasn't known when he was given the title of "Armored Dragon" amongst the "Five Dragon Warriors" working for the Dragon-God. He's used his abilities during the Laplace battle without reservations, and he used his token magic, creating 12 familiars, which were;

- Void

- Darkness

- Brightness

- Wave

- Life

- Earthquake

- Time

- Roaring storm

- Destruction

- Observation

- Insanity

- Atonement

Controlling the strongest familiars and summoning the ancient sky fortress called "Chaos Breaker", they began to fight Laplace to the death. But even with all that, it still fell short and didn't manage to kill Laplace, ultimately, they were only able to seal him. After seeing his strength and the "Chaos Breaker's" dignity, the title "Armored Dragon King" started to spread.

The Asuran kingdom for the reason of acknowledging his efforts, decided to establish a new age title. This is the current "Armored dragon year". (To add on, this is the Dragon Age year 414.)

The "Armored Dragon King" isn't working for any kingdom or governing any territory, and flies around the world with Sky Fortress "Chaos Breaker".

Nobody knows his intentions. But really 400 years, hmm, is he really still alive? It's not an empty fortress flying around aimlessly with no directions, right? If there's a chance, I will definitely take a look.

Wait..... one of his familiars is...

Nah, Julian must be overthinking. 

(***)

The second day.

Eris; mood was good enough to reach the point of surprising people, perhaps it's the reason of playing the entire day yesterday. Or perhaps it's related to just going only to the higher class stores. Regardless, looks like setting a rest day is a correct thing to do.

"Bring me out to play the next time!" Eris did her usual pose, her face slightly blushing. What's the reason for blushing? Anger? Humiliation? What? Can it be embarrassment? How's that possible, it's that Eris!

"I say..." My expression was a little troubled, and Eris grit her teeth, and twisted her waist, both her hands grabbing her hair. "P-please bring me out, nyan~?"

"Okay, b-bring you out, I'll bring you out alright, please don't do that." I stopped her in a hurry, that's really quite cute, but it's terrible for the heart. I feel that I will be receiving a karma-O-meter for that, and when the karma comes back to haunt me it will be paid by punches.

"Hmph! It's good that you understand." Eris brought her hair back, and before the hair settled, Eris sat back on the desk with a plop.

"Then, you can continue with the lessons."

"You're full of energy today."

"Because, if I'm not a good child, you won't bring me out right!"

S-She's is so sensible!?

"T-that's right, I'll bring you out if you're obedient!" I finished the lesson today with moved emotions.

---------------------Status------------------

Name: Eris Boreas Greyrat

Profession: Granddaughter of the lord of Fedoa

Personality: A little violent

Talking to her: She will listen for a while

Language: Able to read many things

Math: Knows subtraction

Magic: Currently learning the elementary rank

Sword: Elementary ranked in the Sword-God style

Etiquette: Knows the common greeting

The people she likes: Grandfather, Ghislaine, Rudeus (a little)

The people she hates: Julian Greyrat

-------------------------------------------------

|3RD PERSON|

It's been a year since Julian came back home. His parents were worried first, skeptical for a few months that going away from home at such a tender age would've left some kind of psychological impact on their second son, making him not stay at home for an extended period of time and leave the home as soon as he gets bored.

However, it seemed that their worries were unnecessary as Julian not only stayed inside the house for a whole year, but he also stayed without complaints. In the morning, he would go out with his father on his shifts, helping him patrol the area. While a few monsters did pop out, Paul usually used to leave it to Julian and would kill the more dangerous ones.

Despite knowing his son's overwhelming talent with the sword, he knew that he was still his son. Just because he was strong, it doesn't mean that he would leave all the hard work to his son. Of course, the factor of fatherly pride refusing to be subjugated so early was also there, but that was beyond the point of discussion.

Ever since Julian left the house, Paul had been training vigorously to advance in at least one of the sword styles. Due to this, he went extra hard on Rudeus during his time in Buena and ultimately resulted in Rudy making no progress. However, as affirmed by Julian, Paul had progressed two folds from their last encounter.

According to him, if they continue to work on technique necessary to learn to become the Sword Saint, Paul can become a Sword Saint in a few months, all thanks to the vigorous training sessions both Paul and Julian had together. Julian's battle addiction also became slightly worse as the natural adrenaline in this new body made him fired up every time they fought.

Although Paul isn't a fan of North-God style, he is still happy about his son being a North-Saint at such a young age.

Aside from the progress in his skills, Julian hasn't really been doing anything. Other than just simply enjoying his life the best he could.

However.............

Right now, he was having a rather weird thought.

'Maybe I should run away again.'

It was a thought that Julian was having right now.

He was sitting outside in his lawn, seeing Paul practice his sword technique. He was not wearing his shirt, beads of sweat clinging to his well tones, muscular body. Paul's brows were knitted in concentration as he lowered his stance, ready to burst forward like a bolt of lightning.

As Julian settled down on the soft, verdant grass, he gracefully crossed his legs, his youthful countenance trying to maintain a façade of calm. Yet, beneath that placid exterior, a slight tinge of frustration began to surface.

His two adorable little sisters, overflowing with energy and affection, swarmed around him like delightful fluttering butterflies, filling the air with their giggles and laughter. Although their attentiveness was heartwarming, the constant affectionate disruptions were starting to challenge Julian's serene composure, sabotaging the "peace" he was looking for.

The maroon-haired sister, Aisha Greyrat, a charming bundle of joy, positioned herself eagerly on his lap. With her tiny hands she tugged at Julian's cheeks, molding his face into amusing contortions.

Unperturbed by her brother's attempts to feign annoyance, Aisha's eyes shimmered with innocent mischief as she continued her endearing face-pulling quest. Each tug on Julian's cheeks elicited joyful laughter from her and the older sister, Norn, who was observing their delightful interactions with bright, curious eyes.

Not trying to let go of him, Aisha pulled Julian's lips to the side, making his face contort into a wide smile. Julian let her do it, allowing her to pull his lips until the smile turned into a grin. Seeing her brother smile like that, although being her fault, her eyes started to brim with tears.

Was she scared? Why yes, of course. The abomination of a smile was too much for the little soul to bear. She quickly stopped pulling his lips and boom, slapped him on his face. Julian looked down at her, his eyes tired. Both Norn and Aisha fell into a fit of laughter as they saw the subtle redness on his cheek.

Seeing as how her older sister was laughing, Aisha engaged into slapping Julian's face for a few more times until she got tired and stopped it altogether. Comfortably nestling herself in his lap, she coiled into a ball, her eyes growing heavy.

'She sure is energetic.' Julian thought as he saw the little girl fall asleep in his lap. 'Finally.... some peac---'

Alas, his thoughts about peace were interrupted as his other sister, Norn was previously sitting on his shoulders started tugging at his golden mane. Trying her best to uproot his hair, she playfully giggled and pulled his hair.

'I might go bald..... and insane.' He thought to himself.

The older one of the two, Norn, had a different attitude. She was rather bashful and hard to get along with. She would even cry with Paul sometimes. However, the striking resemblance between Zenith and Julian made her get accustomed with him quite quickly.

On the other hand, Aisha was the exact opposite. She seemed quite cheerful with almost everyone, not discriminating who she was handed to.

It wasn't as if he did not like them. But the way his two little sisters got attached to him, it made it almost impossible for him to do anything else. For example, they both would cry for hours if they don't find Julian around them for some time. Always clinging on to him just like right now and physically assaulting him.

For the first time his sanity was coming to the precipice of the cliff, ready to be plunged into an ocean of insanity.

Gurgling happily, Norn got closer to her brother, still clutching on his hair, she murmured incoherent words in his ear that made her delightful babbling an addition to the harmonious symphony. As if on cue, she placed a kiss on his cheek, plastering saliva all over him. Julian narrowed his eyes and wiped it off with a piece of cloth before picking her up.

He slipped his hands under her arms and lifted her above. Norn let out a slight giggle, thinking of it as some sort of swing. Using her body to block the rays of sun, Julian let out a sigh. In the meantime, Aisha woke up and started pounding on his chest, letting out loud noises while throwing her hands up at him.

"Oof, that hurts, Aisha." He spoke out loud as she extended her little hands up, prompting him to pick her up as well.

'Does she think we are playing!?' He thought gingerly to himself.

Meanwhile Zenith and Lilia watched from the window, giggling and smiling to themselves as they saw Julian associate with his little sisters. Without knowing the full extent of poor Julian's situtation, the talked to each other.

"I am glad Master Julian is having a good time."

"Oh yes. My boy looks so happy with his baby sisters. Aren't they adorable?"

(***)

Like a bullet shot from a gun, Paul dashed from one corner of the field to another, clutching the hilt of his sword with both hands and its tip pointed towards his opponent, his now 8-year-old and soon to be 9-year-old son, Julian Greyrat. 

With a loud cry, Paul hurtled his bulk towards him, delivering a deadly accurate stab towards the solar plexus of Julian. 

Julian was standing with a side pose, only directing his left side to Paul. As his sword closed in Julian's vicinity, he fluidly tapped the tip of the sword, making it pass by him by a hair breadth. Paul's hair stood on their edge as he took a step back, trying to somehow dodge or block the follow-up counter that was about to come.

However, Julian took a huge leap and closed the distance in an instant. Knowing he can't dodge it, he decided to block it, ready to perform a Water-God style parry of his own.

While the follow-up counter from Julian did arrive, it was executed in a fashion that caught Paul completely off-guard. As Julian closed the distance and was about to swing his sword, he took out a dagger in his other hand and swung at his abdomen, landing a square hit. 

"Damn it....." Paul cursed as he realised the situation. Julian was using a melded form of Water and North God style. North God doesn't require swords as a compulsion. It is a versatile style that is mainly focused on survival. By using the fluidity of Water God Style, Julian deflected the initial charge and for the conventional follow-up of the Water-God style users, he changed it and replaced it by the hidden weapon trick of North God style.

Truly a disorienting way of fighting.... enough to catch a seasoned S-Class adventurer like Paul off-guard. He was now truly understanding the situation he was in. Paul had much more battle awareness due to his experience in the Adventuring field. However, Julian was a genius. Despite his dull first impressions, he improvises everything on the fly. 

Meaning? 

He is improvising and adapting to Paul's move as they fight. It adds an element of uncertainty to his fighting style. Coupled with the fact that how perfectly he can combine Sword Styles of different schools with each other is enough to overthrow most people. 

But Paul had something else that won't let him go down without a proper, heated fight. 

His pride as a scummy father. 

Well, that is the exact reason, except the adjective used to describe him. 

His pride as a father. 

That seems more like it. 

"One death?" Julian asked innocently as Paul stood up on his feet.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's do this!" He spoke with a renewed vigour. 

Unlike the numerous bouts before, this time Julian moved first. His sword zipped through the air, making no sound at all at first. By the time Julian's sword came a few inches away from Paul's neck, a huge sound wave resounded like a bomb, his speed surpassing that of sound, resulting in a sonic boom. 

However, underneath the shadow of the overcast cloud, Paul grinned. 

He simply side-stepped.

"This is the difference of experience. You surely didn't expect this." He spoke with a wide grin as a huge blade of wind moved from behind Paul towards Julian. His eyes widened for a moment, but he stopped in an instant. Paul was taken aback by the explosive acceleration as he saw Julian go from faster than sound to completely stationary in less than a second. 

The teal blade of his sword got caught on crimson flames as he swung it, launching an arc of blade against the blade of wind. The two magic attacks cancelled each other out. Looking over the dispersed spell, he saw Sylph, standing with a determined face and Rudy's wand (magic one) in her hand. 

"Gotcha!" Paul jumped from behind him, but he launched a kick backward that landed square on Paul's jaw. 

Looking over his shoulder, he looked at Paul, "Don't scream while launching a surprise attack." 

Another blade of wind came, this time bigger and more potent. However, Julian broke the blade with a touki augmented punch. The blade dispersed once again, whirling up dust and leaves that blocked his sight. In the one second that the leaves had blocked his sight, a huge [Waterball] came hurtling at him. 

However, the 'Water Ball' crashed against tangible nothingness, disintegrating the spell in an instant. Sylph's eyes went wide in surprise as she saw the droplets of water disperse and form a coat around him. "H-How?"

"Didn't I tell you before?" Julian spoke as he raised his index finger, "Infinity exists everywhere." A green coloured orb of compressed wind formed on the tip of his index finger. Using the wind mana to create an outward explosion, he knocked Sylph, making her fly and crash against a wall. He was sure not to mortally wound her, but it was enough force to make her head spin. 

He walked over to her and stooped lower, "You still have room for improvement. You didn't erect a barrier as soon as you the fight started. You should be able to do that on reflex by now." 

He grabbed her by the scruff of her collar and hurtled her behind back, using her as a shield against Paul's Sword-God Style's Intermediate Technique, [Long Sword of Silence]

Quickly, deactivating the technique, he moved around them. "This is why I hate the North God Style. Such repulsive methods." Paul spat. 

"Everything is fair in love and war, is what you told me when I asked you to justify your affair with Lilia. Being contradictive, aren't we?" Julian spat back as Sylph raised her hand near his face. A ball of flames manifested, despite her lack of affinity for it. 

"Good thing you're evolving, but you should learn from mistakes." The ball of flames, once again clashed against tangible nothingness, making the embers fly in every direction. In that moment of brief exchange, Paul had once again snuck up to them, however, this time, he was able to execute his technique. 

[Long Sword of Silence]

Throwing Sylph behind him, he brought up his sword. Paul's sword made contact with Julian's. However, the sudden impact made Julian's sword fly in the air, landing in the farthest corner of the field. 

"Huff, huff........" Paul let out long, shallow breaths as he sat on the ground, seemingly satisfied with his word. However, Julian pointed his dagger against Paul's neck. Paul was looking up at him for a while before letting out a resigned sigh, "Ahhhh man. I lose, again!" 

He whined as Sylph over to them as well. "Can you be a bit gentler next time?" 

"Hm. I'll try. Was it too much?" Julian asked in a neutral tone, patting Sylph's head. Sylph's face flushed in anger, but she let out a long sigh. She used to get really agitated but recently she had started to get used to Julian's antics, which on his part were out of goodwill but they were enough to agitate anyone. 

Well, he did pat her head out of pure condescendence. 

"Your old man is really getting old, it seems." Paul spoke with a sullen look on his face. 

"You were using a single sword style. It was natural to arrive at this outcome. Furthermore, you're trying to unlock the [Long Sword of Light]. Hence, winning wasn't a priority in the first place, since it wasn't the main objective." 

"Uh, you're right but......" Paul paused, organising his thoughts, "........even if that was the main objective, I failed to do even that."

Julian let out a long hum, receding his hand from Sylph's head as she tried to reach his head to do the same to him. "It's not something that can come to someone overnight. You were quite close to actually performing it." 

"You can tell?"

"Kind of." Julian replied as he jerked his head sideways, dodging Sylph's feline attacks, "your [Long Sword of Silence] was faster than an average Advanced Ranked Sword God practitioner. While it is still quite slow compared to the real version, you're getting close." He finished his analysis. 

"Not like that is enough to calm down my shattered ego, I'd still take it as good news." He spoke, standing up. "But this makes me happy as well. I might be growing old and rusty, but I am happy that my son is growing into such a fine and strong individual."

From the corner of his eyes, Julian saw a few women peeking in at Paul. Paul looked back at one of them and licked his lips, like a predator looking at its next prey. "If only you ever placed as much dedication in the sword." He commented as Paul looked at him dumbfounded. 

"You understand what I feel right? You're a growing man too, after all." He spoke while Sylph suddenly blushed and got away from him. "The temptation is our only weak poi-"

"I'll tell mother."

"The temptation is nothing. Nothing at ALL!!"

Paul took a complete 180. 

Sylph took a complete 180. 

Julian just sighed.