ʋօʟʊʍɛ 2, Part 1: Happy Years - The Better Twin.

|JULIAN GREYRAT|

The journey to the labyrinth was an arduous one, filled with long stretches of monotonous terrain. Roxy nestled herself behind me on the back of Kalajav, our family steed, as we steadily approached our much-anticipated destination, the newly discovered labyrinth. Her presence was like a comforting weight behind me.

Kalajav seemed to be in high spirits as well, exuding a contagious sense of enthusiasm as we traversed the path towards the labyrinth. With spirited bursts of speed, he galloped eagerly, his hooves pounding against the ground. Yet, Kalajav's mood seemed to mirror the changing weather. At times, he would slow down, gracefully trotting along, savoring the calmness of the moment as a refreshing breeze brushed against our faces.

Suddenly, he jumped over a log of tree, making Roxy's head crash into my back. Her grip over the sides of my robe tightened as she pulled me in.

"Ow, ow... that hurts. Also, why are you the one sitting in front of me?" Roxy complained, craning her neck up to get a better view of the path ahead of us.

"Because you're short, I guess?" I replied, not sure what to say in this situation. Of course, she knew how to ride a horse and lead it, yet I decided not to let her do it.

Why, you ask?

No reason, actually.

"Haaah? I am not short!" She retorted, letting out a huff.

"I mean, you never sat in front of me. We've been sitting like this every time we've rod together." I replied. She let out a long breath, her grip loosening a bit.

"You were little back then..." her voice faded into a barely audible whisper.

"So, the little one has to sit in front of the other?"

"Ugh.... that was not what I meant....I, uh, never mind. Leave it." Roxy let out a resigned sigh.

I guess her height is a sensitive topic for her. She did seem quite short for her age. Although it must have something to do with her anatomy as a demon. It was true that demons don't age physically. So, it was possible that her height and appearance stunted at an age of around 10 or 11. Not that I had anything against small heights.

I find them equally adorable.

Although, this body seems to grow at a rapid pace. Paul and Zenith both have good genetics. Surely it reflected on to us somehow.

I wonder how Rudy is doing. It has been years since I last saw him. I haven't even received a letter from Rudy since our siblings' birth. Hence, I am still not aware of their gender. I guess I will have to go home after this labyrinth dive.

"We're here." I announced as we reached in front of entrance. The path leading to the labyrinth was lined with verdant foliage, each leaf glistening with a translucent luminescence.

The labyrinth's entrance, guarded by colossal stone statues, stood proudly at the threshold of this place, extremely rich in magic.

These statues, meticulously sculpted, portrayed legendary beings of unparalleled power.

"They seem like the seven great powers but they're in a pretty bad shape." Roxy commented. "I wonder how they got here," she added.

Carved symbols, imbued with arcane knowledge, adorned the walls, pulsated with an ethereal glow.

As we got closer, the air seemed to hum with a potent energy, like the labyrinth's invitation to something. Letting the mana flow into my eyes, I focused on the area around us. The whole place was saturated with a phenomenal amount of mana, like drowning in an ocean of highly compressed water. This labyrinth was recently discovered and from the get-go, the first group declared it as having a moderate difficulty.

I was an A-Ranked adventurer at the moment. This gave me enough qualification to dive in alone but having Roxy alongside me was a reassurance that I would be safe. After all, labyrinths are like living beings. Other than this, Roxy said something about researching magic. I guess this will help her, if anything.

"Hm, seven great powers?" I inquired. This was something I had heard before but didn't had enough resources to further look into it.

"Oh, they're the pinnacle of strength. 7 seats given to 7 strongest people. Like first rank belongs to Technique-God Laplace, second rank to Dragon-God Orsted and so on....." Roxy explained.

The most notable name other than Sword, Water and North God was the rank 1, Laplace.

From the books I bought over the passage of time, it is said that he initially could use both touki and mana. But after being split up, his Technique-God counterpart had a tremendous boost in physical abilities while his Demon-God counterpart had an astronomical amount of mana.

"I see." I replied to Roxy as we continued to walk, side-by-side while listening to her.

Finally, we reached in front of the entrance. The entrance had a translucent teal sheen in its frame, blocking the sight of the other path. Roxy stammered for a while as I saw her gulp audibly, her hands balling into fists. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she shuddered underneath it as she looked up at me.

"Scared?"

"No way." She replied with a smirk, shining brightly across her slightly chubby face.

"Let's go then." I replied as she held me by the corner of my robe and stepped across the teal veil.

|RUDEUS GREYRAT|

When we reached Roa, it had already turned into evening. The distance between the village Buina and Roa is about a day's journey on a horse carriage. If you count the time, it's about 6-7 hours. You can say that's far, but if you said it's near, it wouldn't be untrue.

The city of Roa, is indeed one of the largest cities around here, as it is a bustling place. The first thing that I saw were the walls. They surrounded the city to about 7-8 meters high and look very reliable. Around the city gate, there was an unending flow of traffic, and once we were inside, I immediately saw all sorts of hawkers.

And right at the place where we just entered, there are a series of inns and stables.

The citizens are mingling with the merchants, there are people wearing armor walking by, and the entire place looks like a fantasy out of a storybook. There are some people carrying huge luggage sitting right at an area as if they are waiting for something.

What could it be?

"Ghislaine, do you know what that is?" I asked the person sitting opposite to me. Having beast's ears and a tail and wearing very revealing leather clothes with chocolate-colored skin underneath them, is a huge guy with muscles ----- No, it's a female swordswoman.

Ghislaine Dedoldia.

Third in the Sword-God style rankings, a formidable swordswoman having the title of a Sword-King, has agreed to teach me swordsmanship where we are going to. She's the second teacher to me.

"... Kid." She revealed an irritated expression to my question. "Are you treating me as an idiot?" Ghislaine glared at me fiercely, scaring me.

"Ah no. I'm just. I don't know what that is, so I wanted to ask..."

"Ah, sorry. That's what you meant." Seeing that I'm about to break into tears, Ghislaine swiftly replies. "That's the waiting area for the public carriage. Going from city to city requires that, and if you pay the driver money, you can take it."

Ghislaine points to the shop houses one by one, telling me that this is a weapon store, that's a bar, and over there is some trading association. Hey wait, that's a pretty suspicious shop. Even though her appearance frightens people, she's very friendly. We enter into a corner, and the atmosphere changed suddenly.

After the numerous stores catering to the adventurers, as we progress forward in the horse carriage, we saw many residential shops. There must be people dwelling deep in the alley. It looks like a planned placement. If there are enemies around, the people surrounding here will defend, while the citizens escape into the heart of the city, or escape from the opposite direction.

Since it's this kind of concept, the more you go in, the grander the horses are, and even the shops are taller. The deeper you go into the center, the richer the people. And then, right at the center of the city, is the tallest building.

"This is the owner's mansion."

"Rather than saying it's a mansion, this is more like a castle." It is said that 400 years ago, this place was held as the last line of defense. It's a city with a long history. So, this is the castle in the city. But only the part about history is true, the nobles that are at the capital deem this as a place where many low-class adventurers reside in.

"It seems that the Ojou-sama's noble status is quite high since we're coming here."

"Not exactly." Ghislaine shook her head. But since the Lord's mansion is already in front of my eyes, based on the earlier deduction, the people staying around here are obviously high class. ...... Or maybe not. Staying in this area situated near the borders, the rank might not be anywhere high.

"Eh?" As I think of that, the driver greeted the person at the mansion's gate. And entered it.

"Is that the Lord's daughter?"

"No."

"Is it not?"

"Almost."

Is there some deep meaning to it? I just don't get it...

The horse carriage stopped after that.

|JULIAN GREYRAT|

"I don't a have a good feeling about this one." Roxy spoke out loud, her voice lingering like a static mist as it bounced off the walls. Roxy seemed oblivious to it but there was a certain detail that seemed to have escaped her. Unlike a normal echo, that slowly fades away, this particular one just disappeared after a while of constant reverberations.

"Scared already?" I mocked lightly, trying not to let the situation get to Roxy. She jerked her head in my direction, looking at me with a rather angry gaze.

"Stop teasing me." She spoke out loud, pinching my arm. All jokes aside, that actually hurt a lot more than it should. Looking around, I lit a small orb of fire and let it float near the roof of the first floor.

This was a relatively new labyrinth, and it was left almost unexplored. Due to me rapidly rising the ranks, I was let an exclusive perk of being the first one to explore this place. After a not-so-thorough exploration of first floor, it was declared safe for me to come here alone. After knowing I would have a Water-Saint magician along with me, they were more than willing to let me come here.

Looking around I finally took in our surroundings. The walls, ground, and ceiling were made of bedrock with occasional sapphires, rubies and emeralds embedded in them. From Roxy's reaction, these stones didn't seem to catch her attention, in extension, them not knowing their worth.

Other than that, there was a certain chill in the air, making it a relatively cold habitat.

The first floor of most labyrinths is relatively easy, however, this one seemed to have a complex layout which included intertwining upper and lower tunnels. I could see it since the whole tunneled system was made out of magic. However, the deeper I looked into it, the mana light continued to become darker and darker, and the air seemed to get visibly distorted. In the farthest corner of the exit from the nexus of intertwined tunnels, a vertical hole led to the upper floor... or in this case, lower one.

"Oho? You can control them now?" Roxy asked as she saw me using the version of my eyes that could see mana.

"Not fully. I can control their activation. But that is about it." I replied as I deactivated them, taking a blurry step back. Like a clobbering blow against my brain, I jerked my head sideways, trying to numb the sensation.

"Isn't activation the only thing that you require though?" Roxy asked as she hopped over to my left side, tucking her hands behind her back.

"Generally speaking, yes. Strictly? No. The sudden activation was a big hurdle but there is something more vital about it." I replied as I kept my gaze forward. There was no trace of monsters here. However, using the crystal as a base, monsters could respawn here. Therefore, I had to stay on my heels. Roxy wasn't a physical combatant after all.

"What is that vital thing then?" Roxy asked, fully focused on me.

"You have to earn the explanation from me." I replied and placed a hand on the hilt of my sword. The mana presence.... it wasn't something that is supposed to be on the first floor.

"Hmmm. Is it something related to the amount of mana?"

"Not wrong. While it lets me see the amount of mana, if the concentration is high, it overloads my brain with amount of information about mana. The possible combinations and their compounds, it all overloads my thinking faculties, stunning me in the moment." I explained.

Roxy suddenly stopped and took her staff out with a stern look on her face as mana condensed over its tip. The ground rumbled by a sudden charge as we both looked forward. Large bears with a white coat and a single black stripe that ran vertically down its middle. They were moving in one single, humungous pack.

"Luster Grizzlies." Roxy muttered and looked at me with a grin, "do you want them?"

"I think I will die before killing 5 of them." I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. The Luster Grizzly is one of the more common kind of monsters found in the northern region of the Central Continent. Although they're classified as B-Rank monsters, the sheer amount of them made me a little anxious.

"Are you kidding me!!??" Roxy had a look of utter disbelief on her face as she heard me talk and sighed heavily, "you never change." She spoke with a resigned look and condensed a huge orb of water at the tip of her staff.

"Compress it forcibly." I advised as I took my sword out. With a metallic screech, the sword left its scabbard and the whole sword got caught onto flames. It coiled around me like a serpent, acting like an automatic defense mechanism. Gripping the hilt with both my hands, I lowered my stance.

"Why? Wouldn't it be better to take them out all in one blow?" Roxy asked as she looked at me, the spell fading out.

"I am not asking you to make a smaller water ball. Compress the power of a bigger water ball into a smaller size." I spoke and got ready to attack.

"The range would still be an issue....."

"Don't worry about that." I interrupted her and dashed forward. The heat started to distort our vision as I used wind underneath my feet and bolted towards the Grizzlies. Using higher concentration of Fire and lower amounts of water, I generated steam that originated from my sword. Enveloped in a heat-haze, masking the true length and location of my blade, I circled around the grizzlies, gathering them in a single line.

I looked up to Roxy as she nodded. The size of her water-ball spell was around the size of a bullet. As she launched it, the droplet tore through the air with a whistle and pierced the heads of all grizzlies at once as they fell on the ground with continuous, systematic series of thuds.

I looked at Roxy who placed her hand on her hips, huffing her chest proudly, "How was that!?"

"You missed this one." I spoke as I slashed through the air. My sword met its thick fur, slashing through it seamlessly---flesh and bones alike. Its head went tumbling on the floor before mixing in with the heap of corpses of its kin.

Roxy didn't seem pleased.

|RUDEUS GREYRAT|

When we entered the mansion, we were brought into a room that looked like it was meant to entertain guests. The butler pointed towards the two sofas. This is the first interview for me.

I'll do this carefully.

"Please sit over there."

I obeyed and sat down, and Ghislaine left without saying a word and stood at the corner of the room that could oversee the entire area. If that happened back in my past life, I would think it was chuunibyou.

"The young master is about to come. Please wait a moment." The butler poured a liquid that resembles red tea into a very high-class teacup and started waiting at the entrance. I drank the steaming liquid. It wasn't bad. Even though I don't know how to sample the quality of red tea, this must be quite expensive. From the start, there was no beverage prepared for Ghislaine. It seems like I'm the only one treated as a guest.

"Where is it!" When I pondered over this stuff, a huge voice and angry footsteps travelled from the side of the rooms.

"Is it here?"

A robust looking man roughly entered the room. His age seems to be around 50 years old, and his dark brown hair was mixed with a little white hair, but he seemed to be in a pretty good shape. I placeed the cup down and stood up, bending my waist to 90 degrees.

"I'm pleased to meet you, my name is Rudeus Greyrat." The man snorted in dissatisfaction.

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

"Old master, Rudeus-dono has never left Buena village. He's still young and hasn't had the time to learn etiquette. Please forgive that small rudeness..."

"Shut it."

The butler doesn't speak after he got shouted at. This old Master guy should be the one who hired me. He looked like he's really angry. As if I'm inadequate somewhere. Even though I want to greet with care, it seems that noble's etiquette has its set of rules.

"Hmph, Paul doesn't even teach the formalities to his son!"

"I heard that Father hated the stiff rules, and thus he purposely did not teach me."

"An excuse right away! You're the same as Paul."

"Does father always find excuses?"

"What do you think? Whenever he opens his mouth, it's an excuse. If he wets the bed, he finds an excuse. If he quarrels, he finds an excuse. If he lazes in his studies, he also finds an excuse." I see. That's true.

"If you want to learn something, at least know etiquette! You didn't try it at all and that is how you turned out this way!" But what he said isn't wrong and not without reason. I have only learned magic and the sword, and I never thought about learning something new. Perhaps my vision is too narrow. I must reflect on it earnestly.

"You are right. This is indeed caused by my own hands. I apologize deeply for this." The old master stomped on the floor with his feet as I lowered my head.

"But it seems that you didn't use it as an excuse and tried your best to present a formal pose! I'll allow you to stay in the mansion!" I don't really get what's going on, but it seems that I have been forgiven. After the old Master threw down this line, he turned his body vigorously and left like a storm.

"Who is he?" I looked at the butler and asked.

"The Lord of Fedoa. Sauros Boreas Greyrat-sama. He's Master Paul's uncle."

So that guy's a lord. He's a little too overbearing. I really worry about his ruling. Well, there are many adventurers here, so if he doesn't have that imposing figure, he probably won't be able to handle the duties of a lord.

Hm? Greyrat, Uncle...?

"That means he's my Grandfather's brother?"

"Yes."

I had already guessed that Paul utilized the relationship that he broke off. But come to think of it, his old home is amongst the high-ranking nobles. That guy must have been a young master from quite a good place somewhere.

"What's wrong Thomas? Why is the door always open?" Another person entered from the other side of the door. "But father looks quite happy. Did something happen?" A man with a slender body and bright tea-colored hair. According to the way he describes father, he must be Paul's cousin.

"Young Master. I am really sorry. Old Master has just met Rudeus sama and seems to be pleased with him."

"Hoh, a child that Father took notice of... Did he choose wrongly? Hmm. I would've preferred the other one tho." He said while walking to the sofa opposite of me and sat down. What does he mean by "other one" though? Ah, that's right, I better quickly greet him.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Rudeus Greyrat." I lowered my head with almost the same bow that I did earlier.

"Ah, my name is Philip Boreas Greyrat. When nobles do their greeting, they will bring their right hand to their chest and lower their head slightly. From the way you did it, you must have gotten scolded."

"Is it something like that?" I imitated Philip's actions and raised my head a little.

"Something like that, but the way you greeted isn't bad. If a blacksmith greeted Father that way, he would have probably been happy. Sit."

Philip sat back down with a plop. I followed his directions to sit.

...... Has the interview started?

"How much exactly do you understand?"

"He said that if I teach the Ojou-sama here for 5 years, I will be supported with the fees to go into the Magic University."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I see..."

Philips puts his hands under his chin, as if to think about something, and his eyes look at the table.

"I will be honest here. I would've preferred the other one, but according to Paul, he is wilder spirited than even him, so I am kind of happy you're the one I hired." Philip said with his hand on his temples.

"Other one?" I asked, confused and intrigued at the same time.

"The Sword Saint. The Golden Prince. Blazing Sword. He goes by many names and has gained quite the reputation as an enigmatic magic swordsman full of mystery but...." he paused as my heart started pounding in my chest. ".......his real name is Julian Greyrat. Your twin brother. But we haven't been able to get into contact with him, so we had to retort to hiring you instead."

That little shrimp really did gain a name for himself. I can't let him pull more than me. NADA! NEVER!

"Is he really that famous? That makes me happy." Jokes aside, I was really thankful that he was doing good for himself. I wasn't able to contact him much after Aisha and Norn's birth.

"Famous would be the wrong word, or rather vague." He said as he let out a long breath and placed his hand on the armrest of the sofa.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Rather than famous, I'd say he's notorious. The most common name he is called by is "The Blazing Sword." As the name suggests, he is rumoured to use a sword that is always caught on flames and is well versed in North-God style. He's notorious for the swiftness and brutality of his missions. People describe him as someone who is always hiding his face under a hood so not everyone knows how he looks. The only trademark he has are corpses burn down to the bone or head slashed in one clean cut."

As Philip went on to describe Julian, I could feel goosebumps rising up all over my body. Swift and deadly. The only two words that were used to describe him. When he left home, Paul said he was almost a Sword Saint but the rumours say something about him being the most proficient North-God swordsman they've seen in a while.

I've really fell behind him in terms of progress. If everything stays like this......

"Do you like girls?" Philip suddenly asked, bringing me out of my sullen reverie.

"Not to the level of Father." I replied, not letting my shattered ego of the older brother come to my face. Ain't no way I am letting him be the cooler older brother to our little sisters.

"Is that so? Okay. You pass." Philip said almost immediately.

Ah? Ara? That was too fast, right?

"As of now, that child only favors two people, Edena who teaches etiquette, and Ghislaine who teaches the sword. Before this, 5 people have been sacked. One of them was a man who has even taught in the royal palace. The main reason to prefer your twin brother because he was proficient in the way of sword and my daughter actually hates anything other than sword practice."

Even if he taught at the royal palace, the way he teaches might not be good, but I didn't say that out loud.

"...... Does this have anything to do with liking girls?"

"Not at all. Because Paul is one who would try anything for a cute girl, I'm wondering if you're the same." Philip shruged his shoulders. I'm the one who feels like shrugging. You actually grouped me together with that guy.

"To be clear, I don't hold any expectations of you. Because you're Paul's son, I want you to try in any case."

"Whoa. That's a little too clear."

"What's the matter? Do you have the confidence?" I don't really have it. But even if I don't, I can't say it out loud in this atmosphere.

"I'm not too sure until I meet her..." If I fail at this job and search for another, I'll be laughed at very hard by Paul. Saying something like you're still a child or something. Are you kidding me? How can I be laughed at by a guy who's younger than me?

Muuu...

"If it doesn't work out in reality..., let's try acting it out." I'll use my previous life's knowledge. A method to tame the Ojou-sama.

"Act out. How does that work?" I described it cleanly.

"When I'm with the Ojou-sama, we will get kidnapped by a certain family's bad guy. I'll use language, math and magic to escape with the Ojou-sama, and return with our own strength to the mansion." After listening to my words, Philip kept quiet for a while, but quickly understood the plot and nodded.

"In other words, you want her to take the initiative to learn. Interesting. But will it be that smooth?"

"I think that it has a better chance than the adults educating her." A plot that usually happens in anime and manga. After witnessing or living through an incident, a child who hates books will learn the importance of learning. Even if it's a self-directed and self-acted scene.

"Is that something that Paul taught, whatever that you said, a method to having girls feeding from your palms?"

"No. Even if Father doesn't do all that, he's still very popular."

"Pfffft..." Philip snorted in laughter.

"That's true. That guy always was the lady charmer. Even if he stands there, there will be a girl coming up to him."

"Anyone that Father knows seems to have hooked up with him. Even Ghislaine over there seems to be one."

"Ah. That's really something to be envious of."

"I worry whether he will lay his hands on my friend in Buena village." After I said that, I began to really worry. 5 years later, she will grow up. When I go back, Sylphy has become one of my mothers.

Oh my god.

"You don't need to worry about that. Paul is only interested in girls who are "big"." Philip looked at Ghislaine in the corner as he says that.

"I, I see." I looked at Ghislaine. She's huge. Zenith and Lilia are also big. What do I mean by big? Of course, it's the boobs.

"If it's 5 years, it should be fine. A mixed elf blood. Even if they grow up, they won't be so big. Also, I think Paul wouldn't be so sick."

Is that so? And this guy actually knows that Sylphy is an elf. Then, as a precaution, I'll treat everything that has happened in Buena village, to have been thoroughly investigated.

"I should say something like, "Will you try and seduce my daughter"?"

"What exactly are you worried of from a 7 year old kid?"

That's really too rude. I won't do anything at all. At most, she will fall in love with me. (I'll lead her).

"But judging from Paul's letter, you were playing too much with that girl in the village, and he had to forcefully make you leave. Even though I think it's a joke, after listening to your plans just now, this might not be fake."

"I'm only just a friend of Sylphy." And I want to raise my only friend to be my obedient girl. Even if you tear my lips apart, that will never be said out loud. Some things that don't need to be said, shouldn't be said.

"Well, fine. Nothing will progress if we just talk. I'll let you see my daughter. Thomas, bring her!" Philip stood up as he finished saying that. Just like that, she and I meet.

This shrew is really haughty.

The first time I saw her, I made this judgment. She's older than me by two years. The corner of her eyes were raised, and she had wave-like hair---like a flag. Her hair color is crimson. It's as if it's a pure red that has been painted on. Two words. Totally explosive.

Perhaps she will become pretty, but most of the guys will think [It's impossible between me and her]. Maybe a natural Mas...... Nah. Not even that low class. In any case, she's dangerous. Every cell in my body is screaming for me to not get close to her.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Rudeus Greyrat." But, in any case, I can't run away. I'll use what I learned just now.

"Hmph!" She snorted the same way her grandfather did from the first look. She stood with both of her feet planted to the ground, looking at me with a condescending attitude. Looking down from above. She's taller than me. She displayed an unhappy attitude after seeing me. "What the heck? Aren't you smaller than me!? Are you joking to let someone like this teach me!?"

Wah wah blah. Her pride seems to be really high. But I can't retreat from this. "I think that it doesn't have anything to do with age."

"What did you say!? You dare to argue with me!?" Her voice is so loud. My eardrums are about to shatter.

"It's merely something that Ojou-sama can't do, that I can do." With that said, Ojou-sama's hair seems to turn straight. I have never seen anger that can materialize. This is utterly frightening. Guh. crap. Why do I have to be scared of a child who hasn't turned ten?

"What? You're too arrogant. Do you know who I am?"

"You're my older cousin." I hid my fear, and answer.

"Cousin...? What's that?"

"My father's cousin's daughter. You can say that you're my Granduncle's daughter."

"What kind of confusing rubbish is that!" Was it something incorrect? Well, maybe saying the name of the relative is easier.

"Have you heard of the name Paul?"

"How can it be possible that I heard it before!?"

"Is that so?" I feel surprised that she doesn't know the name. He's pretty famous if anything.... at least as a scum. In any case, I'll talk to her. You must keep on talking. The god of walkthroughs once said that. The next instant that I think of that, Ojou-sama raised her hand.

Pam!

"...... Eh?" That was too sudden. The Ojou-sama suddenly striked me. My mind is a little confused, and I ask her.

"Why did you hit me?"

"Because you're so arrogant when you're smaller than me!"

"Oh, I see." The cheek that was hit stung. That really hurts...

The second image. Violence. I really have no choice.

"Then, I'm hitting back."

"Hah!?"

I didn't wait for her reply and slapped her cheek.

Pu!

That sounds really weird. It is probably that I'm not used to slapping. Well, never mind. It probably still hurts.

"When you hit people, it hurts. Do you understand now ------?" As I prepare to say that I saw Ojou-sama raising her fist in fury. The Deva King. Exactly the same. Without waiting for me to think, she hit me. I stumbled backwards, and she continued with a kick. My entire body fliew backwards after that impact to my chest. The next moment, she had already mounted me. My hands were sealed with her legs.

A, ara? I can't move?

"Wait, hey." My awkward voice was covered by the Ojou-sama's roars of fury.

"You actually attacked me! I'm going to make you regret it!" The punches came flying at me.

"Ow, owww, s, stop, eh, no, stop that." After the 5th punch, I finally used magic and escaped from under her. I held my trembling legs together and stood up. Raising my hands and preparing to use magic to engage her. I used a wind magic shock wave aimed at the Ojou-sama's face.

"...No, longer can be forgiven." The Ojou-sama's face receives the blow and flies upwards, but she doesn't stop for one moment, and comes running like a monster. After seeing that expression, I realised I have messed up. I quickly ran away in a tumbling manner. That isn't an arrogant Ojou-sama.

That's like the protagonist in a delinquent manga. Maybe I can use magic to beat her senseless. But she will absolutely not listen to me. And once that Ojou-sama is revived, she will find me for revenge. I can try using Magic to bring her down every time. But she will not feel any setbacks. And she's different from the protagonist. Regardless of how despicable an act is, she will definitely use it. Like throwing a vase from the second floor, or hiding in some corner and using a wooden sword to cut me......

She will use everything that she has, and return ten times the revenge. And she will not have mercy. This isn't a joke. I can't use healing magic if I don't chant it. And if the battle doesn't end, she will never listen to me. Using brute force against her. That is not an option I can ever choose this time. And then, we go back to the beginning.

After that, Ojou-sama got tired and gave up looking, and returned to her bedroom. She didn't discover me. But she nearly found me. When that red haired devil walked in front of my eyes, I couldn't feel that I was alive. I have never thought I would experience the feelings of the protagonist in a horror movie.

When I return to Philip in exhaustion, he smiles wryly to me. "How was it?"

"Nothing works." I half cried when replying. When I got hit by her, I almost thought I would be killed. When I escaped, I almost cried out. I haven't experienced that for a really long time, and when I think about it, I remembered that such a long time, which means I had experienced something like this before.

Still. This isn't psychological trauma.

"Then, are you giving up?"

"I will not give up. I haven't done anything. If I gave up so soon, wouldn't that mean that I got hit for nothing? "I need to request something from you." I lower my head to Philip with force. I need to let that beast know the meaning of true terror.

"I got it. Thomas, go ahead and do the preparations." Philip instructed the butler, who then left the room.

"But on that topic. The idea that you thought of was really interesting."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. You are the only one amongst the tutors that came up with such a big plan."

"...... Do you think it will work?" I felt a little uneasy. Can I settle that Ojou-sama with my petty tricks?

Philip shrugged. "That will depend on your efforts." He's completely right.

Tomorrow, we will initiate the plan.