Chapter 25 - Turning Point

— Leon Greyrat —

I had grown a year older, and the snow-covered landscape was now melting into familiar grassy fields as the flowers began to blossom.

It was springtime. 

Or at least, it was nearing it.

Which also meant the coming of my little brother's birthday. 

More specifically, his tenth birthday.

Be it a farmer, a blacksmith, or even a noble, this was a time that signalled the start of the transition from a child into an adult, which was finalized at the age of fifteen.

However, for Rudy, that wasn't really the case, as he not only had a job but also had his own 'adult' experience, as much as I loathed to admit it.

But it was still a time for celebration, and considering that he had been cooped up in Roa for almost all the past three years, I thought I'd bring some people over.

"Whoa! What's that, brother?" Aisha asked from my side.

"That's the Adventure Guild. They give out quests like slaying monsters and guarding merchants," I answered.

"Cool! Do you do any of that stuff?" she asked.

"Sometimes," I smiled. "But that's only when Master Philip or Lord Sauros goes with the knights."

"And you know I hate it!" Mama chimed in, holding the curious Norn in her arms.

"Mama, I'm a Water Saint and a Sword Saint with chantless magic. I doubt there's a monster in the Kingdom that could kill me, especially when surrounded by knights… Unless I decided to fight a dragon," I said.

"But knowing you, it won't be long before you try to do something like that. Anyway, Aisha. Remember to use the etiquette I taught you, okay?" Lilia said to the girl.

"I will!" she responded.

While I wanted to say that Sauros and Philip weren't so stuck up as to ask commoner children, especially my sisters, to have such manners, since Lilia only taught Aisha to do a simple curtsy in greeting, I decided to let it go as it wasn't anything too strict.

Plus, it was really cute when Aisha did that in her best attempt to copy my etiquette.

And while I was hesitant to label my cute sister so early in life, I think it was fair to said that Aisha was a genius.

She hadn't fired off any spells or anything through the house like Rudy, and it was still up in the air whether she had any talent with the blade, but when it came to academics and general knowledge, she was extremely quick to pick stuff up, and she could already speak much of the human tongue, and could even read and write some parts of it.

Norn, on the other hand, was a normal child.

She still struggled with vocabulary, and could not read much past her name and a few basic words, despite the fact I read to her and Aisha every night I could.

But she wasn't stupid or anything, she was just normal. 

A cute, sweet, normal girl.

I felt a bit bad that she would grow up surrounded by advanced kids like Rudy, Aisha, and me, but I hoped that my love would quell any confidence issues that might arise.

But still, it was way too early to tell. 

She might end up becoming a master swordswoman or something by inheriting Paul's natural talent, or could just be a late bloomer.

"Haa… it's too bad Paul couldn't come though. But then again, he might've ended up saying some unnecessary things," Mama said.

"It can't be helped, Zenny. The monsters have gotten horrible the past month, so he can't abandon his duty. Even for his son's tenth birthday," Lilia said.

"I know… It's still a shame though," Mama said, shaking her head. "He really wanted to regain some paternal dignity with Rudy's present. He even sold those old gauntlets from adventuring to chip in."

Lilia smiled. "I think we both know he has long passed that point. He just has to hope he doesn't mess up his chances with Norn and Aisha."

"Yeah. It's too bad they like Leon and Sylphy's magic more than their father's swordplay," Mama chuckled. "Did you know? I caught him trying to recite a chant for some water magic just the other day."

We all shared a chuckle at the expense of my father's antics as the carriage enters the manor's front gate.

"Umm, Leon?" Sylphy asked, pulling my coat. "Do you know where Eris is?"

"She should just be finishing up her etiquette class. And remember, it's 'Miss Eris' when it's not just us and Ghislaine, okay?" I said.

"Right!" she nodded.

Giving her a small smile, I then readjusted my leather coat.

After one reached the Saint rank in the Sword God style, it is tradition for their teacher to get them a leather coat, and it was no different for me.

But since I had become one so young, we decided to wait until I grew a bit more, and I had only recently received it from Ghislaine.

While it was still a bit big for me since I still had room to grow, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Plus, the loose style fit me well… at least I thought so.

As we exited the carriage, I then took hold of both my sisters' hands before leading everyone toward the guest rooms.

"Whoa!"

Both Norn and Aisha were wide-eyed at the grand mansion, while Lilia and Mama didn't seem bothered at all.

That's to be expected, though. 

Mama was the daughter of one of the most powerful noble families in the Holy Country of Millis, and Lilia had spent years in the royal palace of Asura.

Suffice it to say, they were used to such displays of grandeur. 

If anything, it was probably a little more humble than they were used to in their past.

But that wasn't the case for my sisters, hence why they looked so cute right now with their visible awe shining on their faces.

"Lord Leon," a maid said, bowing toward me. "The rooms are prepared for the guests. Do you require any assistance with luggage?"

I shook my head. "No, it's all good-"

"Puppy?" Norn said in confusion.

Oh… right.

Norn and Aisha knew about the various races of the world, of course, but past Sylphy and her dad, they had only met humans so far.

"No, Norn. That's a person of the Beast Race," Mama said, rubbing her head. "Sorry about her, she's fairly ignorant of the world."

"No need, Miss. I could never be upset by Lord Leon's sister. Especially one so cute," the maid said with a smile. "Anyway, the preparations for the party are mostly finished, and with Miss Ghislaine keeping Lord Rudeus occupied in the city, there should be no problems."

"I see. Thank you, Alana," I said.

Her eyes widened slightly before she responded with a bow. "Of course, Lord Leon."

She must've been surprised that I knew her name, considering they were infrequently used amongst the maids, but since I had spent more than four years in this place, I had eventually caught on to who was who… for the most part at least.

Plus, she was the one who did my laundry every day.

With that, we continued on our way, before Norn looked up to me.

"Brother… Rudy not here yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. It's going to be a surprise," I responded.

"Okay…" she said with a bit of worry, clenching onto my shirt a bit tighter.

As one could tell, Norn was a bit scared of Rudy. 

Or rather, she wasn't scared, but… worried and anxious.

It made sense, as neither she nor Aisha had seen him for a long while, so to them, he was nothing but a stranger the four of us older people talked about fondly.

But hopefully, a bit of that fear and worry would vanish after today.

Unless Rudy ended up doing something stupid, that is.

He always bragged about wanting to be the 'cool big brother', but he would need to stop his, for lack of a better word, 'Paulness', for that to ever come to fruition.

He was lucky they had an interest in magic, at least.

Anyway, since my family would be staying overnight to celebrate Rudy's birthday, it had been decided that Lilia and Mama would each get a bed and that Sylphy would end up in Eris' room for a 'girl's night'.

And as for Aisha and Norn?

Well, they would be sleeping with their big brother here.

I would have asked them to spend the night with Rudy to get reacquainted, but not only did I not want to force anything on them, but Sauros was also boasting about giving Rudy a 'fun night with a maid' as a birthday present. 

So yeah… no. 

Just no.

How I felt about that was another thing, but I definitely wasn't allowing my two sweet sisters' innocence to be destroyed so early on in life.

Anyway, with everyone set for their sleeping arrangements, we then made our way down to the main hall, where a large feast was being held, very similar to the one my birthday had.

With the large hall bathed in candlelight and the scent of good food permeating the air, I let Norn and Aisha happily wander around as Mama and Lilia said their greetings to Sauros and Philip.

"Hah! Who would think that that sorry excuse for a man would find such a good wife? And two at that! Hmph! I permit you to stay as long as you like!" Sauros shouted.

Well, he didn't exactly shout. 

That was just his normal voice.

But it seemed he was pleased with the two's manners, as well as their beauty.

Philip and Hilda's introductions, however, were a lot more… normal. 

Without the loud voice, and instead, a polite yet friendly greeting.

It didn't take too long for the star of tonight's party to arrive, signalled by the sound of the large doors creaking open.

As he stepped into the room, Rudy's eyes widened in surprise as everyone burst into a round of applause, and as his gaze travels over to Mama and our sisters, his eyes widened even further.

Mama then ran toward him with her arms wide for a hug. "Happy birthday, my sweet boy!"

Getting smothered by our mother, Rudy stuck his head over her shoulder, looking around at the gathered party.

"W-What's this? What's going on?"

Hmm… that was a lie.

Well, it's not like I truly expected our surprise party to remain a surprise, considering how it took three days to set up, but I could tell he was genuinely shocked to see our family here.

Well, everyone except for our father, that is.

But Sylphy was a much better replacement, in my opinion.

"Mother… Lilia… you came!" he eventually said. "I-I can't believe you did all this… for me!"

…Laying it on a little thick there, brother.

"Of course we would!" Mama said, deepening her hug.

"Well, aside from that," I said as the applause came to an end. "We decided to get you something quite nice for your birthday. Alphonse, if you please."

The new butler that replaced Thomas, Alphonse, then brought over a long stick, with the tip wrapped in cloth. 

But it was no mere stick, but rather a staff that cost a… lot of money. 

A lot.

"We decided that it was better to have one awesome present rather than multiple crappy ones, so consider this a gift from me, Mama, Lilia, Father, Sylphy, and Eris, all in one," I said.

Rudy then received the staff from Alphonse, his face marred in confusion as he slowly unwrapped the cloth, revealing a large blue magic crystal that formed the tip of the staff, which was very similar to Roxy's in style. 

That's to be expected, though, since I asked her which craftsman she used for her own and then commissioned a piece from him.

"Its name is Aqua Heartia - Arrogant Water Dragon King! Be grateful!" Eris said proudly with her hands on her hips.

Well, she had the right to be prideful. 

Most of the money for the staff came from her, after all.

From what the craftsman explained, the blue magic stone was from a sea dragon in the Begaritt Continent, and the wood was made from an Elder Treant from the Millis Continent. 

Both were A-rank items that were then combined to make this extremely powerful staff that was truly fit for a genius Saint magician like him.

"Wow!" Rudy exclaimed, looking down at the staff in wonder.

But a few moments later, his lips twisted into a frown. "I-Is that… really the name?"

…Was he really complaining about that?

"Of course! A good weapon should have a good name! At least, that's what Ghislaine said," Eris responded.

The woman in question simply nodded quietly from behind Rudy.

After that, the party began in earnest. 

With such a small amount of people, we mostly stuck together as we ate, but there were little groups forming. 

Mainly the kids and the adults, with Sauros sitting haughtily at the end of the table separating them.

Just as I expected, Aisha quickly warmed up to her brother, and Norn did as well, though it was a little slower. 

What was more surprising was how Hilda became quick friends with Mama and Lilia, with Ghislaine also taking the time to catch up with her old adventuring party member, and Philip, while likely feeling a bit singled out by being the only male among the group, sharing some stories about Paul's youth.

Though some stories caused Mama's eyebrows to twitch in veiled anger.

I had a feeling there would be a fun 'talk' when they got home.

Anyway, as for the kids' side of things, Eris had decided to cement herself as the 'cool older sister' by showing Norn and Aisha some of her swordplay. 

It was quite endearing to see, but unfortunately, the two of them much preferred Rudy and I's little show of water and fireballs.

Eventually, the food became cold, the dusk turned to night, and Norn and Aisha became sleepy, so it was time for the party to come to an end.

"Thank you, Lord Sauros and Master Philip, for sponsoring this wonderful party for my brother, but it's time for these girls to turn in," I said, picking up the two toddlers in my arms. "Sylphy. Eris. Don't stay up too late. Rudy wants to show off his Saint-rank magic tomorrow, so we'll have to go pretty far."

"Okay~! But Leon~? Can't we come with you~?" Sylphy asked.

"Yeah! We can do the same thing we did for Rudy's birthday!" Eris added.

And yes, the party, unfortunately, involved some wine, hence the two's slurred speech and suggestive words.

Pointedly ignoring the stares from Mama and Lilia, I readjusted my sisters before responding.

"No. Have your girl's night fun. And Rudy…" I said cautiously.

"Hm? What is it, brother?" he asked innocently.

He was trying to play it off, but I could notice the expectant smile that had been creeping onto his face ever since Sauros whispered something to him.

And I had a feeling I knew what the topic of conversation was.

I narrowed my eyes. "Use that spell. Don't make any stupid mistakes."

"O-Of course!" he said, averting his eyes.

That spell referred to a special Intermediate-rank detoxification spell that I taught him that lowered the fertility of both 'participants'. 

A magician's birth control, so to say.

"Hm? What are you two talking about?" Mama said curiously.

"N-Nothing Mother! N-Now I should probably head to bed too, huh?" Rudy said, sending a few winks to one of the maids all the while.

That brother of mine…

— Information on the Six-Faced World —

Magic Stones and Crystals

Magic stones and crystals are solidified forms of mana with various uses, such as creating wands and powering magical technologies. Both magic stones and crystals have the same use, with the difference between the two being in how they are formed.

Magic crystals are formed naturally through the concentration of magic in the surroundings, which typically form in dungeons and labyrinths.

Magic stones, on the other hand, are formed inside monsters with the crystallization of the mana in their bodies over the years. This is a rare phenomenon, and can only occur in stronger monsters that have lived for a long enough time for a stone to form. Monsters with magic stones are often stronger than those without, with their innate magic being enhanced if there is any.

— Leon Greyrat —

Just as I tucked Aisha and Norn under the covers, with both of them closely holding the stuffies I got them so long ago, I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in," I said.

Opening the door, my visitor then revealed themselves.

I had thought Eris or Sylphy had decided to invite me to their room again, or maybe even Mama or Lilia wishing me goodnight, but it was neither.

Instead…

"Mister Philip. What brings you here?" I asked.

"Hmm, just a talk, I suppose. Is there fine?" he gestured to the table and set of chairs.

"Naturally. Though…" I looked over to my sleeping sisters. "Let's keep the volume down."

"Of course," Philip nodded.

With him taking a seat, and me taking the other, he then poured a glass of wine for himself before sending a glance my way.

"…You know, I would have never thought that my daughter would turn into how she is today. I thought she would always be a failure of a noble and end up becoming an adventurer, hence why I hired Ghislaine," he said, taking a small sip.

"Just get to the point, Mister Philip. There's no need for semantics," I said.

"Haha! Yes, I forgot that stuff annoyed you too," he chuckled. "I'll make it short. I want you to marry Eris, and help me take over the Boreas family."

Haa… so he was still hoping for such a thing?

I thought that after having lost his sons, he would be content living a calm, rural life with his wife and daughter, but I suppose such ambition doesn't die so easily.

"…How would I be of any help? Aside from my position as a guard, that is," I asked.

"Hah. While your mother and father may have thrown away their noble names, blood does not lie so easily," he answered.

My eyes narrowed. "I don't know if you forgot, but I'm an adopted child."

"Yes," he nodded, "but it's not like there is any way for others to know, is there? I suppose Rudeus would be the better choice, but I doubt you or Eris would be very fond of that arrangement."

No… no, I wouldn't. 

And I have no doubt Eris would raise a giant fuss about it that would probably end up with my brother as a eunuch, so that option was a no.

"Think about it," he said. "If you said yes right here, I would allow you and Eris to do whatever you want. Even that other girl, Sylphy, could join in."

I leaned back in my chair.

While his offer of Eris was, embarrassingly, somewhat tantalizing… that wasn't what I cared about right now.

Entering the world of nobles… I knew what that meant.

Games, assassinations, ploys, deceit…

If it was just me, such an environment wouldn't be anything too horrible. 

After all, as a guard here, I had been somewhat involved in all of those things anyway.

But that's the thing… it wasn't just me.

My parents, my sisters… my future children and nieces and nephews…

I couldn't bring them into such a world.

"I refuse. I'm fine with guarding you and putting my life on the line to do so, but I don't want my family anywhere near that stuff," I said firmly.

"Aha. I thought so," Philip chuckled. "And I suppose I can't exactly ask your brother, huh?"

"I don't need to practice my healing magic anymore, Mister Philip," I joked.

Yeah, if Eris ever got the news of being Rudy's wife, or anyone's wife, for that matter, she would quickly cut all ties with a punch. 

Or rather, more than a few punches.

"Haa… Well, it was worth a try," Philip sighed. "But either way, I permit you to pursue any relation you wish with my daughter."

Imagining what 'any relation' might mean between me and Eris, my cheeks got a little warm.

"…I see," I said.

"Ha. Who would have thought you could make that face," Philip said, shaking his head. "Anyway, I'll let you get your rest. I imagine you don't mind Hilda and I joining Rudeus' show tomorrow?"

"It's no problem at all, Mister Philip," I said. "But I didn't think you had an interest in such things."

"Ah, well… Hilda wants to spend some more time with your mothers," he shrugged. "Besides. It's not every day you can see Saint-ranked magic in person."

"I see… Well, if that is all, I wish you a good night," I said, getting out of my chair.

He did the same. "You as well."

With him leaving and closing the door behind him, I pondered over the conversation.

Philip, despite his calm demeanour, was a surprisingly ambitious man, so I doubted he would drop the notion of me joining his political fight so easily.

Knowing the sly man, he was hoping for me to get entranced with Eris, and eventually naturally fall into his schemes by becoming his son-in-law, or perhaps even fathering his grandchild.

He did tell me about how one of his brothers lost the line of succession due to love, so he knew that he could use such emotions to his advantage.

Well… there was nothing I could do about that at the moment, so it was best not to think about it until I needed to.

Washing my face with water magic, I then slid under the sheets, with a cute sleeping sister on each side of me, before I generated a small gust of wind to blow out the candles and fall asleep.

— Leon Greyrat —

It was morning, and while I wanted to stay cuddled in the bed with my two sweet sleeping sisters, my body was too accustomed to my morning routine to break it.

So, changing into my exercise clothes, I then made my way through the halls toward the training ground.

As I went past Rudy's room, though, the now ten-year-old boy slowly walked out, looking quite dejected.

"Uhh… what's wrong, brother?" I asked. "Did something happen?"

"Ha. More like what didn't happen," he looked up at me. "I was so close, Leon!"

Uhh…

"Close to what?" I asked.

Actually, maybe I shouldn't have asked that.

"Mother… she found out about Sauros' present and made me turn her away. I was so close, Leon!" he exclaimed, grabbing onto my shirt.

"Umm, there, there? Look, there's a lot of time for you to do… that," I said, gently patting his back. "How about you join me for some exercise? It's a good way to start the day, you know?"

"Un. Sure. And maybe I can get a nice body, and pick up more pretty girls," he said, wiping his tears.

…He was crying about that? Really?

"Alright! I'm motivated now! Let's get going!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"…Sure."

Yeah, while I loved my brother, he was definitely a little weird.

With the two of us sharing a nice morning workout, as well as a few sword swings as the sun began to rise, I then went back to my room to wake up my sisters before we headed down to the meal hall, where a grand breakfast was being served.

It was a mostly friendly atmosphere, especially between Eris and Sylphy, who I assumed had advanced their friendship with the night together, and even Hilda and Lilia seemed to be getting along quite well.

Mama, on the other hand…

"So? Did you enjoy your birthday, Rudy?" she smiled.

Yet again, it was her scary smile, but… much scarier than usual.

"O-Of course, Mother!" Rudy nodded. "It was amazing!"

"Is that so… you weren't disappointed or anything, were you?" she asked, an indescribable pressure releasing from her squinted eyes. "You didn't feel that anything was missing, did you?"

"Uh, n-no. All happy! See?" Rudy said, spreading his lips into a wide smile.

"Good!"

Mama's smile went back to normal as she gently patted his head.

Yeah… scary.

"Ahem! A-Anyway, when do you want to head out? It will take about an hour to get far enough from the city," Rudy said.

"Hmm… I guess after breakfast should be fine. What do you think, Lady Hilda?" Mama asked.

"Oh, just call me Hilda. And that sounds wonderful, doesn't it, Philip?"

Philip raised his head. "Huh? Right away? I was hoping to-"

"That sounds wonderful, doesn't it?" Hilda said, her smile turning strained.

"…Yes, it does."

Huh. 

The connection was quite hard to notice sometimes, but Philip really was Paul's cousin.

"Ahem! I already asked the maids to prepare some food for the journey, so we're ready to go whenever," I added before turning to Rudy. "Oh, and make sure you test out the staff with something before you cast Cumulonimbus. You don't want to cause a disaster, after all."

"I was planning on doing that anyway, brother," Rudy said.

— Leon Greyrat —

"Whoa! This is huge!" Rudy exclaimed.

As for what was huge? 

Well, that was the giant Waterball that was formed at the tip of his staff.

"Isn't that an Intermediate rank spell at this point? Anyway, how is it?" I asked.

"I-It's amazing! Water magic is boosted fivefold, at least! And wind…" Rudy then shot off a concussive blast. "Around threefold… Anyway! It's about time that I, Rudeus Greyrat, show off the wonders of Saint-ranked magic!"

"Yahoo!"

"G-Go Rudy!"

He got two cheers from our sisters in response.

"Hehehe. Don't you worry, I'll just- huh?" Rudy stops as he stared at the city. 

"What's that?" he asked.

That's when I noticed it.

Mana. 

An overwhelming amount of mana was concentrated just above the centre of the city.

The rest of the group followed Rudy and I's gaze, and with Ghislaine taking off her eye patch, "That… it's an incredible amount of mana!", she confirmed my suspicions.

Rudy lowered his staff. "Should we return to the city?"

"No, it's more concentrated there. In fact, it might be better to leave," I said.

What was this feeling?

This tension… it felt like something quite bad was going to happen.

Suddenly, I felt a hand tug my shirt.

"Brother? What's wrong?" Norn asked, lips curled in worry.

"Nothing Norn," I patted her head. "Just a little-"

I then felt a presence speeding towards us. 

Or more specifically, toward Rudy.

It was fast. 

Faster than anything I had felt before, and more importantly… it was dangerous.

Twisting my hips, I pulled out my sword just in time to defend against the surprise strike whistling toward my brother's neck.

Clang!

Our swords clashed, and I instantly put myself between the attacker and our group.

That… was incredibly fast. 

If I wasn't already actively sensing for mana, Rudy would probably be headless right now, and no Advanced-rank healing magic could save that.

And it wasn't just speed… from the dull throb that was resonating from my wrist, there was power behind that strike as well.

"You!" Ghislaine snarled as she put her hand on her sword.

The next moment, she struck forth with a Longsword of Light.

While I was still far from keeping up with her speed, I could at least know what was going on now, and to my amazement, I watched as the attacker stepped away from her strike.

"Hm." Ghislaine's eyes narrowed as her face went taut with caution.

Shit. 

She was serious just now. 

This guy dodged a serious Ghislaine's strike.

I… would probably have to step in.

"Norn. Aisha. Go to Eris. Now," I told the two.

After Ghislaine and I, Eris was the next best swordsman, so such a decision was only natural.

Dammit… the one time Paul decides to take his job seriously…

Rudy, finally getting caught up to speed, then turned to look behind him where Ghislaine and I were glaring towards.

"Who…?"

It was a man. 

A tall man, with blonde hair and a pure white uniform. 

He wore a fox mask to cover his face, and in his hand, was a sleek dagger.

How odd… was it a Sword King? 

No. That speed was definitely something like a Sword King, but that school held no dagger techniques.

Was it a North God practitioner then?

"Who are you!? Tell us your name!" Ghislaine shouted.

In response, his face lit up in a brilliant light, causing me to shut my eyes just in time to not get blinded.

Hearing Ghislaine's growl, and both of their movement, I reopened my eyes just in time to see the attacker block one of Ghislaine's strikes. 

Sprinting toward them as another clash of blades resounded through the surroundings, I hid in Ghislaine's shadow, setting my blade alight in blue flames before summoning a burst of wind to push me forward with my sword swinging forward.

But just as my blade curved towards the masked man's neck…

Clang!

It was blocked easily.

As expected, this man was a level above me. 

He may even be better than Ghislaine.

But did that mean he was better than the both of us?

"Hah!" Ghislaine shouted, using my distraction to release a Longsword of Light.

No… no, it did not.

A line of blood appeared across his white coat as he raised his arm to defend himself, and with another flash of light, he retreated back from the two of us.

Blinking the remaining blindness out of my eyes, I watched as Ghislaine pointed her sword toward the masked man. 

"You bastard… who are you!?" she snarled. "Are you an enemy of the Boreas Greyrat family!?"

This time, he responded, "…Arumanfi the Bright. That is my name."

Arumanfi the Bright? I… feel like I've heard that name before.

"I came to put a stop to this strange phenomenon, on Lord Perugius' orders," he explained.

Right. 

The legend of Perugius, that's where I've heard this guy's name.

One of the twelve familiars of the legendary hero, this man, Arumanfi the Bright, was said to move at the speed of light.

Obviously, that was a hyperbole, as I was nowhere near the ability to reach the speed of light yet had blocked his attack, but he was definitely fast.

"Move, woman. This strange occurrence might cease if I slay that boy," he said, pointing to my brother.

Was he talking about that mass of mana in the sky? 

Did he think it was Rudy?

Well, it doesn't matter. 

I wouldn't let my little brother die so easily.

Raising my sword in a defensive stance, I decided to use one of the few techniques of the Water God style that Paul could teach me better than Master.

Provocation!

"Should you really be making such demands? You might lose an arm next time," I said with a smirk.

"Oh?" he looked down at his wound. "I suppose it would be a shame. But Lord Perugius' orders are absolute."

Provocation failed!

Shit, he's way too calm and collected to fall into a trap like that.

"I am the Sword King Ghislaine Dedoldia. That thing in the sky has nothing to do with us! Leave!" 

Yes… tell him, Big Sis!

"Sword King? How can I believe that?" he asked.

"Look!" Ghislaine then showed off her sword. "This is one of the famous blades of the Seven Original Sword Gods, Hiramune - Flat Core. Will you still not believe me after seeing it?"

As a Sword King, Ghislaine was given one of those famous blades by her master, the Sword God Gal Farion.

I didn't know what exactly made it so special, but it was definitely a well-made sword.

But since it didn't do anything to boost magic, I was more than happy with my unnamed sword instead.

"Swear on the names of your master and household," Arumanfi demanded.

"I swear on the name of my master, Sword God Gal Farion, and the honour of the Dedoldia people!" Ghislaine shouted.

"Dedoldia, was it?" Arumanfi hummed. "Very well… If we later discover you are not as innocent as you claim, Lord Perugius will decide your fate."

"Fine with me!" she returned.

With that, Arumanfi sheathed his dagger, and Ghislaine did the same with her sword, putting an end to the issue.

While I was still a bit angry at the whole thing, with the man attacking us out of nowhere, there was a more pressing matter to attend to.

"Do you know what this 'occurrence' is?" I asked, gesturing toward Roa.

He shook his head. "No, that was the reason Lord Perugius asked me to come down here. It may be something to do with his old enemy Laplace-"

As he continued explaining, a line of light suddenly stretched down from the sky onto the city, and as it made contact with the ground, it began expanding at incredible speed, swallowing everything in its path.

That… did not look good. 

This thought was further cemented in my mind as Arumanfi disappeared into a burst of light.

Ghislaine then started sprinting towards Philip and Hilda, while I ran towards my sisters and Eris.

Casting my eyes around the surroundings, I noticed that Mama and Lilia were close together, while Sylphy and Rudeus were both pretty far away from anyone else.

As soon as I reached the three, I pulled them protectively into my arms as I created a dome of earth to protect us, as well as one to cover everyone else, including my mothers, Eris' parents, Rudy, and Sylphy.

It was likely a futile attempt at protection against the approaching light, but I couldn't simply do nothing.

With Ghislaine reaching Philip and Hilda just before I closed off each dome, we were then embraced in darkness.

But a moment later… I was met with light once again.

Only this time… the surroundings were much different.

Standing on a jagged rock, I looked to my right to see a giant mountain range, one that we were currently standing on.

And to my left, far below, was a vast plain of red and beige.

What… what was this? Where was this?

"Brother? What happened?" Aisha asked.

"W-Where are we, Leon?" Eris added.

The two's voices snapped me out of my shock. 

"I-It's going to be okay, girls," I placated them as I tried to make sense of everything.

My eyes darted around the foreign scenery before I then looked up at the sky, and upon doing so, I instantly noticed the difference in the sun's position.

And considering how much more mana I could feel in the air, along with the lack of humidity… yeah, one thing was for certain.

We were no longer in Roa, the Fittoa Region, or any place in the Kingdom of Asura.

"Brother?" Norn asked worriedly, with one hand clutching her stuffy and the other clutching my pant leg.

These mountains… those plains… the heat… the instinctual feeling of danger that permeated my skin.

The more I thought about it, the more I realize that I had heard of such a place before, back when I was with Roxy. 

More specifically… whenever she talked about her youth.

This… this place was…

"I… think we're in the Demon Continent."

A million questions were running through my mind, such as how we got here, where everyone else was, and what that light was, but the most important of all was… 

What the hell would I do now?

— End of Arc 1 - Childhood —