The Moonwind Swordsman’s Perspective (2)

After greeting the female Knight who was strangely guarded against her surroundings, I took my time to welcome her as a guest. As someone who likes it when I have the chance to brew myself, I let her go into the kitchen after she offered to make tea.

'Aren't you at least a little suspicious?'

"Of what?' I asked for clarification blandly.

'You know how weird it is for those two to suddenly leave as soon as they saw this woman.' This fact was quite obvious as both Angelica and Dorothy were clingy woman who rarely left me alone.

'I can tell something is up as well, I am not THAT senseless. I just want to let this pass though...'

'Why?'

'I would rather avoid trouble. Just let the storm pass so I can get back to my peaceful life. No matter what her identity is, the only truth I can see right now is that she drove out two troublemakers.'

'...Suit yourself.' The woman called Harmony in my mind sighed after I chose to ignore my curiosity.

"Do you have a pet Beast around here?" The Knight who came to congratulate me asked.

"No. Why?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

"I feel like there's one nearby..."

'She has some good instincts.' The voice in my head praised someone for once in her life.

It was only now did I realise that I now couldn't let my guard down against this woman. I don't care about her position but literally everyone would think I'm 'possessed' by a Monster if I'm found out.

After she was done with her query, I finally had a long moment of silence to feel the satisfaction of being able to live. Not many understand the greatness of being able to eat good food without annoying people buzzing around like flies.

Seeing the state I went in, the Knight smiled before lifting her finger to write words using Light Mana:

{My name is Veronica Fortuna. I've heard a lot about you... Though none of those statements spoke of how similar you were to myself~} I smiled after seeing how she read the atmosphere I had.

Harmony didn't interrupt me or even speak up as she was probably affected by my consciousness.

This feeling of comfort that comes from silence is a trait I've rarely seen in others. Perhaps Harmony was taking her time to familiarise with this feeling in order to grasp a better understanding of me.

Since I was merely an E Rank that couldn't even do a Light Art if I wanted to, all I could do was use Light Mana to instil radiance onto the table cloth instead. I wrote the words I wanted and sent them to her by manipulating them to arrive before her:

{It's a pleasure to make a friend of similar tastes.}

{A friend, you say?}

{Why not? Anyway, you don't seem to have come here just to congratulate me.} I changed the subject to another matter I was curious of rather than asking her what kind of identity she had.

{Let's do things in order, Firstly, congratulations on getting an Achievement unique amongst regular Adventurers!} There was even some fireworks in the background of her very expressive text.

(Secondly, I wanted to see what kind of person you were before offering to help you if you want to enrol as a Squire under the Church. Your ability to exterminate lesser Demonic Beasts like Goblins is a feat worthy to admire. After all, most Knights who take up the task of 'Cleansing' the Dark Forest on a regular basis are trained by the best of the best.}

{Is it alright to talk like this when bringing up such a subject?} I suddenly felt a little nervous.

{It's fine~ I feel talking like this would be more genuine than actually talking now that we've already started.} She shook her head as if to wave off such trivial worries as if they didn't even exist.

{What are the benefits of being a Squire?}

{Besides better standing as someone working to protect the people, you are also paid a fixed sum regardless of any errors you make as that is only natural as a knight-in-training. You can even earn a raise if you are able to keep up with the other 'students' your age.} She wrote her words down enthusiastically as if she was pitching a job offer.

{Wasn't the Church mostly about faith?}

{Faith is not born out of nothing, it is cultivated over time. In your time as a Squire, we will put our faith in you so you can one day become a knight with full faith in us respectively. There's are rarely any Knights who work solely out of obligation.}

{That sounds very relatable. Would I be grouped up with others if I joined?} I asked with widened eyes.

{You would be grouped with those near the same level as you after getting past a few stages of assessment. There is no need to worry about your overall combat prowess as Knights are trained to fit roles that require communication and teamwork.}

{I like the sound of it.}

{Then are you willing to join us?}

{I can't make this decision abruptly.}

{That's fine. I'll see you the day the you accept my offer.} She stopped 'talking' after those words.

I could see Harmony slowly opening her eyes a few minutes later. The Knight named Veronica came and left without causing much of a stir, an event that really made it hard for me to stop smiling.

"Son..." However, the silence that had been protected for so long was broken by Mum. The peaceful mood I was in disappeared as I found that her tone had a rare seriousness added to it.

"What's wrong?" I asked while thinking hard about anything that might have displeased her recently.

"You have a lot of 'friends who are girls', don't you?" She glared before pulling a nearby chair.

'You are now screwed spectacularly~!' Harmony teased in the background as she looked in interest.

"It's not what you think!"

"I'm not thinking anything."

"Really, I am innocent in this!"

"Of course, dear. I believe in you." Mum smiled as she looked at me with non-reproachful eyes.

"You see, the reason w-"

"Oh woe is me... My son is all grown up now."

"Ummm, actually-"

"He's so grown up that he's become a playboy!" I felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks at these words.

'Pfft, good going Mum! Tell it to him!'

'You stay out of this!' I shouted towards Harmony as I tried calming my stare of mind a little.

"...Mum, why do you think that?"

"Tell me, where is that girl you brought home from the forest before? Didn't you say she'll live here?"

"She changed her mind. I forgot that she wanted me to say sorry that she had left so suddenly." I lied without hesitation. Sometimes, being truthful wasn't something I could do in front of Mum.

What else was I going to tell her? That the girl I brought home was actually a Monster that now lives within my subconsciousness? She would think I'm crazy or developed some second personality!

"Yes, you're right. She was so much in a hurry that she stripped her clothes off in the living room~"

Dammit, I forgot about that! Mum was giving me an tiger-like smile as she spoke 'non-threateningly'.

"I didn't-"

"I just want to be sure, but do I have to make preparations for another grandchild again? One of someone else you are going to refuse to marry despite doing the deed with?" I felt such injustice upon hearing these words. It was all lies!

I was the one who 'had' that first grandchild! I didn't play with any girl's feelings either!

'You may want to calm down. Do you not feel that you are also at fault for not telling her anything?' A voice in my head poured these words like cold water on me as I was about to impulsively retort.

'I know I chose not to tell her anything but... I just hate this situation! Am I really a playboy to you?'

'I am a little on the fence since you also kinda enjoyed being fought over by two girls.'

'You know this and that are different.'

'Then find a way to communicate that to your mother. You should NOT avoid her right now.' As I heard these words, I finally returned back to facing the reality of how I looked to Mum specifically.

"I..." The words couldn't come out right as I looked at Mum in the eyes, not avoiding her sight.

"There are complicated circumstance I can't tell you about right now." I chose to speak truthfully.

"You can't tell me anything?"

"I..." There was a part of me that wanted to confess everything and another telling me to shut up.

"Dorothy has been openly expressing her love for years, and although she can try to hide it, I can also tell that Angelica wants to pursue you as well. You are not going to say you're just 'that handsome' that every girl in the world falls for you, right?"

"Believe me, I am not playing with their hearts...!"

"That isn't the problem!" Her smile disappeared and was replaced by a genuinely scary expression.

"Bob, my son, I didn't want to bring up your father into this, but I have to say this just in case you haven't understood: Don't have children if you aren't going to take care of them!" Her words hit my heart as I started to lose control of my emotions. I wanted to see Madeline, I wanted to see my child so badly, but she was a 'hostage'.

Dorothy always kept tabs on her and wouldn't let her go. Whenever I get the idea of trying to take her back, I always have to hold back my desires as I know Dorothy is crazy enough to harm her.

"Don't make too many 'lovers' if you can't even look after them." Mum continued as my heart silently broke. The expression on my face was blank in order to hide how depressed I felt.

Then, a voice entered my ears like the whisper of the Devil. A soothing voice that tugged my heart:

'Killing someone is the easiest thing in the world. I can do it like breathing.' Harmony, who seemed to be a fan of alternating the colour of her hair recently, spoke without a care as she was curling the tips of her hair that was as red as blood.

'...Why are you telling me this?'

'The whiter the paper, the blacker the stain. You are not a mere Wind Specialist anymore, and most of all, you are not alone.' As she spoke those words, another figure spoke out behind her:

'Let me introduce you to my subordinate alternate personality: Lilith.' The other girl introduced the redhead to me. I wasn't in the mood to question what the hell she's doing in my subconscious as I could feel that the redhead version was sincere.

'You have more than enough to save your daughter now, so let me train you how to use your Affinities.'

'Harmony.' I spoke while looking into her eyes.

'You seemed confused about something?' She tilted her head as I spoke what was on my mind:

'...What turned you into this?'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'I mean, why do you support me unconditionally all the time? You never ask me for anything yourself.'

'Did I not ask for Origin Shards?'

'That was only to protect me...! I can feel it from our connection that you do not desire them.' The girl before me only made eye-contact with her second personality once before closing her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she looked as if she had decided something before speaking out:

'I will answer that later.'

'...What?'

'You and I have better things to do. Save your daughter before thinking of anything irrelevant.' It was only after hearing these words did I realise I had to say something to my worried Mum.

"Bob!"

"Yeah...?"

"What do you want to do? What are you going to do to solve this? Who are you going to marry?"

"I have a better idea."

"Are you planning to bring in another girl?"

"No. I will get Madeleine to live with us." I spoke these words with renewed resolve in my eyes.

"What about getting married?"

"I'll do that once I've found someone I like. I'm going to go train now. See ya!" I darted out of the room without giving her any time to respond. Sorry Mum, but a man's gotta do what he has to do.

It's time to bring my daughter back home!