The Boreas Family

The two of them alighted from the carriage while the driver drove off somewhere after reaching their destination. They were then greeted by a prim and proper looking butler who escorted them to a guest room.

"Please sit over there. The young master will be arriving shortly." The butler gestured to one of the two sofas inside the lavishly decorated room.

"Come Rudeus." Ghislaine prompted for her disciple to follow her to stand at the side of the room, ignoring the butler's directions.

The beastwoman did not want Rudeus to be treated like a guest. Since she had already decided to accept Rudeus as a disciple, Ghislaine also wanted Rudeus to acclimate to certain protocols expected of bodyguards.

Rudeus obeyed, standing stiffly beside Ghislaine. He thought that since he was dead set on learning from Ghislaine, he should make a good impression on his potential employers from the start.

"Where is it!"

A loud booming voice echoed from outside the room, while heavy footsteps could be heard stomping towards them.

The door swung open roughly, and a robust looking middle-aged man entered the room.

"Is it here!?"

He looked to be about 50 years old, with dark hair that was greying at the sides, but looked to be in good shape for his age. Rudeus could somewhat tell, from the way the man carried himself and his physique, that this man was no stranger to fighting and shedding blood.

From what Ghislaine had explained to him on the way here, this man should be the lord of Fittoa – Sauros Boreas Greyrat, AKA his granduncle.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Rudeus Greyrat." Rudeus greeted while bowing slightly. He glanced to see what Ghislaine was doing, only to notice that she just stood silently.

Ghislaine was a highly regarded Sword King. In truth, she did not need to pay attention to things like proper courtesies. If she left the employ of the Boreas family and declared that she was looking for work, noble families all over Central Continent would rush to offer her lucrative salaries.

The man snorts in dissatisfaction.

"Hmph, you don't even know how to make a proper greeting!"

For some reason, his attitude rubbed Rudeus the wrong way as well.

"I have lived in a small village my entire life, so I have never needed to learn such things. I am sorry if you find it offensive." He answered, not willing to lower his head as he stared right back at the man.

The butler who stood next to the imposing man stared at Rudeus in disbelief, with an expression that seemed to convey a message like 'what the, are you crazy?'.

The frown on the man's face deepened.

"It seems like you never learned proper manners as well. What has Paul been doing, teaching his son like this!?"

'Ah shit, I fucked up. And I wanted to leave a good impression too…' Rudeus regretfully thought, but though he wanted to make things right, the comment about his father irked him too.

"My father has taught me many things. He is a good father." He shot back, keeping his tone respectful but also a tad defensive.

Sauros stared at Rudeus with a stony frown, though unknown to Rudeus, he was silently approving of the way the child before him had stood his ground to defend his father.

Ignoring Rudeus' attitude, the lord of Fittoa turned to Ghislaine.

"Well? Since you brought him back, I assume he passed your test."

Ghislaine nodded, "Yes he has. After duelling him, I have judged that he has reached Saint-level strength. I have unofficially granted him the title of North Saint. As such, I have also decided to take him in as my disciple. Provided I have your approval, of course."

At her report, Sauros' figure shifted almost imperceptibly. If he had been anyone else saying those words, he would have regarded it as horseshit. But since it was Ghislaine who he thought of quite highly, he did not think she would exaggerate needlessly.

What did a Saint-ranked swordsman mean exactly? Even amongst Sauros' retinue, he only had the one Sword King Ghislaine in his employ. The next strongest retainer was only at the Advanced rank in the Water God style. Even he himself had only ever reached Intermediate Sword God level, though it was partially also because he had more important things to do at that age like learning how to rule.

If he could employ a North Saint as a bodyguard, even if Sauros had to put up with his lacking courtesies, he was more than happy to. Such opportunities were something even a powerful noble like Sauros could only wait to drop in his lap, like when he first met Ghislaine. Saints were proud figures, not many were willing to work as a retainer even for powerful nobles. Immediately, the old noble's impression of Rudeus improved even more.

Rudeus unconsciously puffed out his chest, not wanting to look bad in front of his master.

Nevertheless, Saint-rank swordsmen weren't deserving of an exaggerated amount of veneration from Sauros. Even Saints could not deal with an army of soldiers by themselves, and Sauros had one of his own. Only God-ranked figures who were one-man armies were worthy of Sauros bowing his head in respect.

"Hmph, even though you don't know how to do a proper greeting, at least you can fight well."

Sauros turned to leave, but before leaving he left some parting words, "If you are going to be working here, you better learn the proper courtesies! You're still a Greyrat after all…"

Rudeus turned to his master, slightly confused, but he only received a shrug in response.

The butler was still in the room, but compared to his previous expression of disbelief, he was more composed now.

"Guest Rudeus, please forgive me. I did not consider that you might not have known noble courtesies. This is how you do a proper greeting." The butler demonstrated. "Right hand to your chest, draw back your left foot in a circular motion and lower your head slightly."

Rudeus imitated the bow, feeling a little foolish at the exaggerated motions.

The butler nodded in approval, "Mm. You look like you have been doing it your whole life."

Soon after, another man entered the room. This one was of a more slender build when compared to the sturdy looking Sauros, with rich brown hair and kind eyes.

"Did something happen, Thomas? Father looked quite happy."

'Father? Ah, he must be Philip, that old grump's son.' Rudeus identified after piecing together the clues. He was Paul's cousin, so also something like a first cousin, once removed to Rudeus.

"Young Master." The old butler bowed, "The Old Master has just met the guest Rudeus. He seemed to be rather pleased with him."

"Oh? Not many people can make father smile like that." Philip mused while walking towards Rudeus.

Rudeus demonstrated the proper noble's greeting he had just learnt.

"I am Rudeus Greyrat, nice to meet you."

Philip nodded in approval, though he did not reciprocate the gesture. There were rules within nobility. Since he was of a higher nobility class than the rank-less Rudeus, he could not return the greeting. Otherwise, the prestige of the Boreas family would be affected as Rudeus was still considered an outsider.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Philip Boreas Greyrat." The nobleman introduced himself before sitting down on the sofa and gesturing to the other one opposite himself. "Please, sit."

Rudeus glanced at Ghislaine, asking for permission with his eyes. The beastwoman nodded without saying a word.

The boy then sat down on the couch as well.

"I am curious. How did you make father smile like that?" Philip started out by asking.

Rudeus scratched his cheek, "I'm not entirely sure myself. I thought I left a pretty bad impression on him, since he was upset I did not know how to bow properly."

"You didn't? Then…"

Thomas cleared his throat, "I taught guest Rudeus shortly before you entered, Young Master."

Philip nodded in understanding.

Ghislaine stepped forward, "I told Master Sauros that Rudeus is a North Saint. Which might be why he was quite pleased with the boy."

The younger Boreas lord did not possess the same composure and poise his father had, so he reacted rather visibly at the news while inhaling sharply.

"North Saint…? This child in front of me?" Philip gazed at Rudeus with a different look in his eye now. If previously Rudeus could describe him as having kind eyes, Philip now had a sharper gaze that seemed to contain inscrutable thoughts behind them.

"Yes." Ghislaine confirmed.

"You are sure of this?"

"I gave him his unofficial title myself."

Philip exhaled deeply while muttering to himself, "A 7 year old North Saint? What kind of monster has Paul created…"

Rudeus raised an eyebrow at this and thought it would be worthwhile to raise his value in his employers' eyes even more.

"I am also a Water Saint-rank magician."

"Hah!?" Philip reacted even more loudly this time.

A Saint-rank swordsman was one thing, but to be Saint-rank in magic as well? A 7 year old? It was simply inconceivable. But he had no reason to doubt the child's words. There would be no reason for a North Saint acknowledged by Ghislaine herself to lie about something that could be easily disproven.

"Paul's letter did not mention any of this… he only said that 'Rudy is good at both sword and magic.' Hah, what an understatement…" Though he was upset at how much Paul had downplayed his own son's abilities, Philip still laughed happily. He was about to receive employ a North Saint and Water Saint-rank magician to serve as his daughter's bodyguard, how could he not be ecstatic?

Rudeus smiled. He had a feeling Paul would say something like that. "Umu, my father can be a little unconscientious about such things."

"Well, it doesn't matter." Philip remarked. "Now let's discuss the terms of your employment here at our Boreas family. How much has Paul and Ghislaine told you exactly?"

The Boreas young master skipped the interview portion of this meeting, and directly went ahead to offering the position to Rudeus. This was a show of courtesy and consideration for someone of Rudeus' status.

Though the child did not know this himself, having little exposure to the Asura Kingdom and the larger outside world, his dual titles of North Saint and Water Saint-rank magician brought him a greater status than almost all adventurers in the world.

It was not an exaggeration to say that even the Asura royal family would extend an offer to Rudeus asking him to join their retinue. Not that the royal family would place too great of an importance to Rudeus, however. Even though Saints were rare, the royal family still had immense influence and power – both political and economic.

"I have been told that I will be serving two roles here – one as a body guard to the young lady Eris, and at the same time teach her magic. My compensation will be 1 Asura gold coin every month that will be paid directly to Master Ghislaine as my tuition fee for learning the sword from her." Rudeus answered.

Philip nodded, "Yes, those were the terms we agreed upon after discussing with Paul and Ghislaine. However, those terms were also made with the expectation that you were only Advanced-rank in magic and swordsmanship. Since Ghislaine herself has evaluated you as being Saint-rank, we will also match that new status by increasing your salary by 5 Asura silver coins for a total of 1 and a half Asura gold coins. Is that acceptable to you?"

Rudeus tilted his head. This reminded him of job interviews back on Earth. If a candidate was more valuable than the original salary offered, the company might offer them a better deal to secure that employee.

"Ah, how could I refuse such a generous offer? You have my gratitude, Young Master Philip."

Philip shook his head with a faint smile, "You talk like you are an adult. It is both strange and amusing at the same time. And please, you can just address me as Philip or cousin."

Rudeus respectfully disagreed. "How can I address Young Master Philip so casually? I might be your cousin, but since I will be working as a bodyguard, I should still maintain a sense of decorum, no?"

The nobleman thought about it for a moment, "I suppose you're right. There should be propriety even if we are relatives."

"Now before I let you meet my daughter, I think it will be necessary to give you a warning." He added.