Chapter 68 - We Will Be Reunited: A Mother's Love

— Leon Greyrat —

Having woken up first, instead of going out to do my usual morning routine of stretches and swordsmanship, I decided to stay in bed and enjoy the sight in front of me.

After all, a naked Roxy was currently cuddled against my side, with her body wrapped in white bedsheets and her hair messily splayed across the pillow and my chest.

This wasn't a position I was willing to leave.

However, the smell of sweat and… other fluids from last night, was quite pungent.

Mmm… I should probably air this place out.

Gently caressing Roxy's face, I felt her soft skin under my fingertips as she let out a light groan, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal her sleepy eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful," I said, lightly kissing her lips. "Or should I say 'my beautiful' now."

Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she hastily covered her face with the blankets, but after a few moments, she lowered them and leaned forward, planting a gentle peck on my cheek.

"G-Good morning… Leon," she said with a smile. "But… that was extremely cliché."

She really was too cute.

And yes, it was cliché, but it was true, so I said it anyway.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, tracing my hand across her body.

"Mm… a little," she said, moving her hips with a slight smile. "But… it's a good kind of hurt. I feel very… satisfied."

Well… that was good.

She could always heal herself if it actually hurt, so I wasn't too worried.

"I see," I nodded before leaning back into the bed, pulling her close to my side. "Thank you for last night, Roxy."

"N-No… it was my pleasure," she said as she leaned her head back on my chest. "I… still can't believe this isn't a dream."

"Well, get used to it," I said. "You'll be waking up like this most mornings from now on."

"Most mornings?" she questioned. "Not a third?"

"I have two arms, don't I?" I smirked, causing her to flush once again at the implications as I looked up to the ceiling. "We can talk about it once we get back, but I… would really love to sleep and wake up with everyone."

"…We'll see," she said as she leaned her head back against my chest.

We stayed like that for a little longer before finally deciding to get up.

Considering our dishevelled states, we took turns giving each other a bath using a rag and some warm water I generated, and I would be lying if I said my hands didn't wander while washing certain places…

Let's just say that I really had to hold myself back to not ruin our work.

So, eventually, with both of us cleaned and dressed for the day, I then offered to do Roxy's hair, as her usual braids had become undone during our activities from last night.

Luckily, she wasn't mad about it.

"You're quite skilled at this," she said from my lap, leaning back against my chest as I continued my work.

"I had a lot of practice with my sisters and Eris," I said. "But, if I'm honest… as much as I love your braids, I really liked it with your hair down."

Roxy slowly nodded, "Then… I can wear it down in private. Especially when you're so good at this."

I wanted to ask what she meant by 'private', but from the way she wiggled her hips against my crotch, I had an idea.

"Then… can you wear it down around the house too?" I asked into her ear.

She nodded, turning her head to the side to smile at me.

"Of course, but… if you want that, I'll need something in exchange."

"And what would you want?" I asked.

"For now…"

She then leaned forward to kiss me, her tongue tracing across my lips as I momentarily stopped working on her hair.

Separating, she gave my a sultry smile as she finished her words, "…That will suffice. But later on… I might ask for more."

"…You can ask whatever you want," I said.

After all, I had a feeling her requests would be quite pleasurable for me too.

With her facing forward once again, I finally finished weaving her usual twin braids as we then headed downstairs, but not before sharing a few more kisses in our room, which still lingered with the scent of last night.

I… should probably wash those sheets, huh?

And… I think Roxy and I will sleep in my room tonight.

As we walked hand in hand down to the main room, which was still filled with the scent of alcohol from the night before, we were met with the rest of the group sitting around, all giving us wide smiles.

"I see you two have finally cemented your relationship," Lina said with a smile, which widened as she looked at our interlaced hands. "And I didn't need to see that ring to know that."

"H-Huh? What do you mean?" Roxy said, averting her eyes.

"Oh, darling… you two were quite loud, you know," Lina said as she giggled lightly. "But that passion was certainly… stimulating. And not to mention all those marks on your neck…"

I felt Roxy's hand squeeze mine as she stood completely still, and glancing to the side, I noticed her cheeks had turned a healthy shade of pink as she brought her hand to her neck, now littered with hickeys, adding to her blush.

I see… I was completely focused on Roxy, so had forgotten about everyone else last night, and it seemed that we had been a bit too… excitable.

"Roxy… I'm glad to see that you used my lines," Lina teased before breaking out into a fit of giggles.

"Ahh! No more!" Roxy said, waving a hand in front of her face.

My father, who had been resting his head against the table, glanced at the two of us in confusion before a flash of realization crossed his face.

I thought he would do something stupid, but all he did is give me a thumbs up.

Well… I guess that was still pretty stupid, but at least he seemed cheery.

"Wait… Master and Leon?" Rudy said.

Looking over, I saw that my brother was looking at the two of us with a shocked expression.

"Are you two… together? When did that happen?" he asked.

Oh, yeah… I had told Rudy about having someone else besides Eris and Sylphy, but I forgot to mention that said girl was Roxy.

"Are you serious, Rudy?" Sara said, looking at him from the side. "It was quite obvious. Did you not see how close they've been? They even kissed right in front of us."

"No! I didn't!" he said.

"…You're really dense, huh?" she shrugged.

Rudy shook his head, overcoming his momentary shock, as he then looked back to me and Roxy.

"So Eris, Sylphy, and Roxy… an RGB collection… though I guess you lost the green," he said, nodding to himself.

What nonsense was he talking about now?

"Still, I have to say… well done, son," my father said, walking over to pat me on the back. 

Dammit. I knew he was going to do something like this.

And that annoying grin… he was definitely looking to tease me.

"But hey…" he said, leaning down to whisper just loud enough for Roxy to hear. "Next time you want to ramble about your love in the sack, maybe make sure everyone else can't hear ya."

I felt my cheeks heat up in slight embarrassment.

I wasn't ashamed about voicing my love for Roxy, whether it be to her or to others, but after discovering that Roxy had a sexual preference to praising and complimenting, I may have said some details that I would prefer stay between us.

After all, I very much did not want my father to know how much I enjoyed the taste of… well, taste of her.

"Oh come on, Paul, it was as cute as it was passionate," Lise said. "Even I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at all those words. It must have felt wonderful, right, Roxy?"

Roxy did not answer, instead deciding to bury her face into my shoulder, hiding away from the world.

I wish I could join her.

"Haha! Yeah, I guess, but it's still hilarious to me," my father said before leaning over to whisper once again. "And you know, Leon, just a piece of advice, if the bed creaks that much, you're gonna want to-"

"Captain!"

Luckily, Vierra had come down the stairs to interrupt my father from teasing me any further.

Thank you for saving me, Vierra.

I am forever grateful.

"Zenith and Lilia! They're… they're awake!"

— Leon Greyrat —

As soon as the news of my awakened mothers reached our ears, our group, save for Geese, who was out submitting the report of the labyrinth clear for some more cash, rushed up to see them, with my father and I both leading the pack.

My legs still burned from the fight against the Hydra, but I didn't care.

Mama… I needed to see Mama!

Entering the room, I saw both Mama and Lilia sitting up on their bed, their backs leaning against the wall as they looked forward.

"Mama! Lilia! I… Mama?"

My excitement quickly drained as I noticed that there was something… wrong.

Mama… she was still staring blankly ahead, while Lilia was doing the same.

I would say that they hadn't heard me, but they had both turned their heads slightly towards me at my exclamation, but other than that… they didn't do anything else.

Shouldn't… shouldn't they be happy to see me? 

Ecstatic that we were back together?

Even if time hadn't passed for them while they were trapped, Mama was always happy to see my face, so why?

Why were they like that!?

"M-Mama?" I said, walking closer as my father stood still next to me.

"Oi… Shierra… Vierra… why the hell do they look like that," my father said, his voice trembling. "That… why?"

It almost seemed like he knew what was going on, but that thought didn't even register in my mind, which was overwhelmed with shock.

Going up to kneel in front of Mama, I gently took her hand in mine as I looked up at her, her blue eyes meeting mine.

N-No… why was she like that?

Her eyes… they should be shining in excitement, happiness… anything!

But why… why were they so dull?

"Mama? I-I'm back…" I said, nearly choking up on my words. "It's me… Leon…"

She continued staring blankly at me before opening her mouth slightly.

Was she going to say something?

Tell me that she missed me?

That she loves me?

That she's… proud of me?

I waited with bated breath as Mama slowly voiced out, "A-Augh…"

My mind froze.

That… what the hell… what the hell was this?

"M-Mama? Mama, why-"

"Leon…" Lise said, crouching down next to me as she placed her trembling hand on my shoulder. "I… I'm sorry… I was worried about something like this happening."

I slowly turned my head to look at her, seeing the same apologetic smile from before we faced the Hydra plastered on her face.

"Elinalise… do you know what happened to our mother and Lilia?" Rudy said, crouching down on the opposite side of me.

I could vaguely hear Paul begin to weep from behind me, being comforted by Vierra as Roxy hesitantly wrapped her arms around me to hug me from behind.

"I… yes, I do," Lise said, her expression pained. "I… told you how I knew of someone getting crystallized in a dungeon… But what I didn't mention, was that afterwards… they lost their memory… permanently."

Something broke inside me as I felt a weight press down on me, my shoulders dropping.

I likely would have fallen completely if it wasn't for Roxy holding me up.

Mama… she… doesn't remember me?

My heart hurt, as if it had been ripped to shreds, and my mind… it was… muddled… blurred as I tried to process everything.

"Permanently… so there's no cure?" Rudy asked, voice calm but pained.

"Unfortunately, no. They went to the greatest healers, but no one could do anything," Lise said. "I… believe that is what has happened to these two. Eventually, they will likely regain some sanity, but… they will never be the same."

"A-Ahh!" I said, pressing my hand against my chest.

My voice, it was!

Ah… I see… I was hyperventilating.

And there was no need to wonder why.

My dream… of everyone back together… of a happy family… it was gone.

Destroyed before it could even begin.

Mama's love… would I ever feel it again?

And going back like this… could I even say that I saved them?

What about my promise to Norn and Aisha?

I… I had failed.

Failed to keep my most important promise to them, and my most important promise to myself.

Yet again… I had lost my mother.

"I'm… sorry, you two," Lise said, patting my shoulder. "I'm… sorry, Leon."

I felt Roxy's arms squeeze tighter around me as I felt two lines of heat trail down my face.

Huh?

What…? Oh… I was crying… I see.

Closing my eyes, I gripped onto Roxy's hands as I thought back to before we were all separated.

Back to when I was but a baby, where Mama was all I had, my entire world. 

How she held me so close and lovingly, even though I had no relation to her, and taught me everything, from magic to writing.

She… that Mama… she was gone?

Why!?

I… I wanted to bring her back!

I wanted to show her that our family was safe and sound!

I wanted her to embrace Aisha and Norn, and then turn around and pat my head, telling me I did a good job! That she was proud of me! That she was proud to call me her son!

I wanted to show her my first child, her grandchild… I wanted to see her hold them close and tell me stories of me as a baby with a warm smile!

I wanted to show her Roxy, Sylphy, and Eris! I wanted her to be there for our wedding!

I wanted her to scold me for not following the path of Millis and taking on three women, and then I wanted her to say that I better treat them well, and that she was glad I had found love!

I wanted… I wanted to do so much with her… I wanted… I wanted-!

I suddenly froze as I felt a hand caress my cheek, gently wiping away the tears I had released.

My eyes flew open, and I was met with the sight of Mama leaning forward, her hand outstretched towards my face as she looked at me with the same blank look.

No… it wasn't the same look… her eyes… they… they could see me! 

"M-My… b-babies…" she rasped.

My breath caught in my throat as Mama leaned forward, slowly placing a hand behind Rudy and I's heads.

Mama… Mama!

I released a shuddering breath as my nose began to tingle with emotion.

I felt light, as if I was standing on air as the immense weight from before disappeared, the tension draining from my body as I scrambled forward, with Roxy quickly letting me go.

"Mama!" I sobbed, embracing Mama in a hug as my body continued to tremble, but no longer out of sorrow. "Mama! Mama! Mama!"

I wailed like a baby, relishing in the warmth of Mama's hug as tears poured onto her shoulder while her hand began gently raking through my hair.

Relief… overwhelming relief was all that I could feel as Paul joined me, patting my back as he brought Lilia and Rudy into a hug.

I cried.

I cried and cried until no more tears could be shed.

But they were happy tears.

After all, while I was sure there was still some more work to be done, I had finally reunited with Mama.

And that dream of my beautiful family… the dream I had been working for all this time… it was still alive.

So why would I feel anything else but overwhelming happiness?

— Leon Greyrat —

My eyes still raw from my earlier breakdown, I watched the sleeping forms of Mama and Lilia as they laid in the bed with a calm smile.

Aside from Mama's single sentence, if you could call it that, they hadn't said anything else, and while they had tenderly returned our hug and tried to calm me and my father down from our bawling, they hadn't done anything to allude to being back to normal.

But that was fine.

After all, while she hadn't talked, from the warmth in her eyes, and the gentleness of her touch, I could tell… Mama remembered me. 

And Lilia too. They both remembered me.

It might take a while to get back to how they were before, but with this… I had hope.

And hope goes a long ways.

"So… Elinalise… you said they wouldn't remember, right? Or at least the person you knew didn't," my father said as he sat opposite me. "What's with them, then?"

"I… do not know," Lise said, still getting over her shock. "They both still seem affected, but… it doesn't seem their memory has been completely erased."

"I see…" my father nodded. "Do you… have any idea why? Why they would lose their memory in the first place, and why they seem saved from it."

Lina rapped her fingers against her crossed arms, her eyes, which were red from her own crying, narrowing in thought.

"Well… when that person tried to find out why they had lost their memories, and how to possibly get them back, they learned that it was due to the burden of the dungeon," she said, looking down with a forlorn expression.

I guess that person must have been quite close to her.

I wonder where they are now?

But anyway…

"Burden of the dungeon?" I asked, confused.

"Yes," she nodded. "Essentially, when encased in the magic crystal of the dungeon's core, they had essentially become the 'mind' of the dungeon, and as it was too much for their mind to bear, it had… broke. Or at least reset to a blank state without memories…"

I see… that made some sense.

The brain could only handle so much information, at least without being enhanced by touki, so if it was overloaded by becoming one with the dungeon… it would have to offload some information.

"Then… why are Mama and Lilia not completely gone?" I asked.

"To be honest… I'm not quite sure," she said, frowning. "But if I had to guess… I would say that the burden of the dungeon got shared between the two of them rather than on a single mind. They will likely still be affected, to what extent we do not know… but I think the worst of the possible symptoms have been avoided."

That… that was good.

That was really good!

"Do you… do you think they'll be okay?" I asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

Lina looked at me, staring for a moment before forming a smile.

"I cannot be completely certain, but considering it has only been a day, and they already remember you and comforted you… I think it is likely that things will return to relatively normal," she said gently. "Some things may still be different, and some memories may be forgotten, but I think you can say that you have saved your mothers, little Leon. And Paul, you have saved your wives."

Both my father and I looked at Lina with wide eyes before turning to each other, small grins forming on our faces.

"Yeah… yeah, this is no time to be depressed," Paul said, shaking his head. "Rather, this is a time to celebrate! Let's go to the tavern, Leon! I'll grab Rudy too! Just the three of us!"

"Don't tell me you're falling into old habits, Father," I said.

But despite my rebuking words, a wide smile was spread across my face.

"…But yeah… let's go celebrate."

Getting up, I followed my father out the door as Lina went over to Roxy's room, likely to gossip about what happened the night before.

Casting one last glance inside Mama and Lilia's room, I watched their sleeping forms with a soft smile.

They'll be okay… I was immensely glad.

And once we get home, my family would finally all be together… just as promised, we would be reunited.

Ah, but… I suppose we won't be completely reunited until Eris returns, right?

I should visit her once everything was settled. I did promise to see her after a year or two, right?

Speaking of… it's been two months since we separated now, right?

Assuming nothing went wrong, she should be reaching the Sword Sanctum by now.

Hmm… I wonder if she's making any friends?

— Eris Greyrat —

Thwack!

The sound of a body slamming into the wall echoed across the room as I walked forward, my expression indifferent.

"Next."

Glancing over at the crumpled form of the swordsman I had just taken out in one hit, I felt my lips curl into a frown.

The hell was this?

Ghislaine told me that this place would be where I could grow stronger and 'find my sword', whatever that meant, but if that was the case, why was everyone so weak?

These people… they could barely hold up to the Leon from before our teleportation when he was only twelve years old, and that was in pure swordsmanship.

And their determination… what did Leon call it?

'A will of gold.'

Yeah… they all had a 'will of gold'.

Leon explained that most people in the world had this, where they would talk about a beautiful ambition, and perhaps even truly have it, but their resolve was brittle, cracking under the slightest pressure.

These swordsmen were the same.

They all acted strong, preaching how they would stop me and how they were planning to become the strongest, but they were obviously all talk.

They had never faced death, never watched a loved one's life fade from their eyes, and while they may have trained for a while, they weren't focusing on a goal with enough resolve to actually grow stronger.

Disgusting…

Was it… really the correct decision to come here?

If not, I would rather run back to Leon, wherever he was.

I missed him.

I missed him horribly.

But I wonder… did he feel the same?

It was conflicting.

While I didn't want Leon to feel pained, much less because of me, I couldn't help but hope he was… well… saddened by us not being together.

But he had a goal to complete as well, and I trusted that his love for me wouldn't grow dim.

And if it did… I would just get it back.

Anyway, I was extremely annoyed by not having Leon at my side.

And it wasn't just my feelings that were annoyed, it was my body as well.

As I soon found out after setting off, my fingers couldn't get the job done nearly as well as he did, and as a result, I had become quite irritated lately.

I had thought that once I arrived here, I would be so focused on swordsmanship and getting stronger to surpass the skilled fighters here that I wouldn't be able to focus on that itch, but if it was like this…

"Hey!"

Hearing an annoying voice, I looked over to see a blue-haired girl standing across from me with a sword drawn.

"The fuck is a ruffian like you doing here, disgracing this sacred land!" she growled. "My name is Nina Farion! And I challenge you to a duel!"

A duel?

Did this dumb bitch think that's how an actual fight happens?

How ridiculous.

But, well… she did seem a bit stronger than the others, so I guess I could humour her.

While I had been using a practice sword I had picked up to beat down the others, this girl was deserving of facing my actual sword.

So, throwing the wooden sword to the side, I unsheathed my sword as I crouched down, narrowing my eyes and releasing my bloodlust.

The bitch froze in place, eyes wide with fear.

Huh?

Had this girl never faced a serious opponent before?

Then this would be way too easy.

Seriously, some 'Sword Sanctum'. This place should be called the fucking 'Sword Daycare'.

Wait… dammit… that was a good line.

I should have said it to piss her off even more, but it was too late now.

She then leaped forward, her blade at her side as she whipped towards me, her strike aiming to kill.

That… what was it called, a 'Longsword of Light'?

Yeah, it was one of those.

She must be a Sword Saint then, and she was damn fast.

But still… I was faster.

Releasing the coil, I aimed the tip of my blade to strike just over the girl's hands as she came closer, focusing my speed and power into my sword strike rather than wasting it on my body as she came towards me.

I still didn't really understand the touki stuff Leon tried to tell me about, but if there was one thing I was good at, it was doing what he advised during our training spars.

After all, with his advice, I was able to grow stronger.

And if I was able to do what he wanted, he would reward me with whatever sexy things I wanted that night, as long as his sisters weren't there, of course.

So while I didn't get the touki stuff, when he told me about moving my power into different parts of my body and focusing it on my sword, that was something I was able to do.

My attack struck true, and in an instant, the girl's sword was sent flying through the air.

Using her moment of dumbfounded surprise, I flashed out my leg, striking her in the midsection as I sent her tumbling across the ground.

"N-Nina!"

Hearing a random boy's shout, I looked up and noticed that I was currently in the main hall of the place, with various swordsmen standing around, hands held near the hilt of their swords.

This pressure… this anxiety…

So I was finally around some strong people.

"Heh," I smirked, pointing my blade forward. "If any of you fucks want to try me, come at me!"

"Grr!" the girl on the ground grunted, spitting out a wad of blood as she slowly got to her feet. "Y-You bitch… taking me out like that! I'll kill you!"

Huh?

She was mad about that?

"So you're still standing?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "Then… get ready."

Just as I was about to launch myself forward to attack her again, the door in the back of the hall opened, revealing a middle-aged man.

…He was strong.

I could feel it instantly, the way the air parted around him, as if being cut by his very being… this guy was definitely strong.

"Alright, let's stop it there," he said, his tone confident and lax as he looked to me. "You… what's your name?"

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" I asked.

His eyes widened in surprise before sharpening as he revealed a toothy grin.

The surrounding swordsmen, who were momentarily stunned, all glared at me, unsheathing their swords.

"You insolent bitch-"

As one of them was about to attack me, the strong man raised his hand, prompting the swordsman to stop.

"Calm down. She's right, after all. That was a bit rude of me," he said, scratching his ear. "I'm Gal Farion, also known as the Sword God. Nice to meet ya."

So this was the Sword God… at least he was strong.

"It's been quite a while since someone talked to me like that, brat. And you also came over here acting all insolent… You got guts, that's for sure," he said, smirking. "Now answer my question. Who are you?"

"…I'm Eris. Eris Greyrat," I stated. "I'm a Sword Saint, and the lover of Leon Greyrat, the most amazing man in the world… Is that all?"

The Sword God chuckled.

"How romantic… not what I'd guess from such a savage-looking girl," he said, making me frown. 

I was not 'savage-looking'… was I?

"Now… who sent you here, 'lover of Leon'," he asked.

Hearing Leon's name come out of his mouth like that ticked me off, but I decided to ignore that for now.

"…Ghislaine sent me. The Sword King Ghislaine," I answered. "She said this place can make me stronger and… let me find my 'sword', whatever that means."

The Sword God scratched his chin with a raised eyebrow.

"Ghislaine, huh? To think that girl took on a student…" he said, nodding before looking back to me with a smirk. "So, little Sword Saint… why do you want to get stronger?"

My grip on my sword tightened as I remembered the memories of that day… the day I realized my strength wasn't enough.

The day I realized I could lose everything important to me if I sat around and did nothing, content with my current skills.

"I want to be able to kill the Dragon God," I said firmly. "Or… at least not be useless in a fight against him. If I can do that… that's enough."

The Sword God's jaw dropped as he stared at me, stunned, before suddenly breaking out into laughter.

This bastard… was he looking down on me?

"Haha! Ooh! That's a good joke, kid!" he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "The Dragon God? That monster? Hell, a normal sword can't even harm that guy, much less take him out."

Huh?

A normal sword couldn't harm him?

Then… what about Leon?

While he did lose, and quite handily at that, Leon was able to cut the Dragon God's neck, and if he continued a moment longer, he could have cut off his head.

Was Leon just that amazing?

Or perhaps… had I truly overestimated this place?

The Sword God's tone suddenly changed as he glared down at me from his raised stage, releasing a pressure that made me flinch.

"Oi," he growled. "Did you just think I'm weak, brat?"

I looked back at him, meeting his gaze.

"It… took a lot for me to leave, and I'm missing out on the most important person… the most important thing… and the most important feeling to be here," I said, narrowing my eyes. "So I want to know if it was worth it to come this far."

His eye twitched, and I felt the hair on my arm raise.

Shit-!

Hastily bringing up my blade, I defended just in time to save myself from getting cut in half, but as a result, I was sent catapulting backwards from the sheer power of his strike, crashing through the wall as I landed on the snowy ground outside.

Huffing out unsteady breaths, I felt the numbness of my arm and the shock that had transferred through my body as I slowly crawled back to my feet, legs shaking from the after-affects of the blow.

Looking up through the hole in the wall I had made, I saw the Sword God standing with his blade drawn outwards, looking at me with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

So that guy defeated me in one strike, and I wasn't even able to see it…

Maybe it was worth coming here after all.

Leon was strong, that was for sure, and I was sure he would eventually get strong enough to beat this guy with his eyes closed.

But he wasn't at this level yet.

And more importantly… he was different from me.

He was smart, and he had magic and a control over touki that even Ghislaine called 'absurd'.

But this fucker standing before me… he just lashed out his blade.

A simple sword strike.

If it was something as straight-forward as that… then even a dumb girl like me could get it.

So if I could get to that level…

Ha. I was getting excited now.

Looking down, I frowned as I saw a crack form in my blade.

Dammit.

This thing had served me well, but I couldn't blame it for not handling the strike of the Sword God.

Shaking my head, I looked back up at the Sword God as I took a shaky step forward.

"At least Leon… put a damn scratch on me!" I shouted with a smirk.

The Sword God's shocked face transformed into a toothy grin, his eyes shining with interest.

"Brat… you said your name's Eris, right?" he said, nodding to himself. "You're my disciple now. Consider it an honour."

And that was how I became a student under the Sword God.

Leon… I hope it won't be long, but once I come back, we'll start that happy family you've always dreamed about.

I'll bear you lots of children, and we'll do whatever we want in bed, but most importantly… I'll be at your side to protect our precious family, the bastion of the warm feeling I've come to adore.

So… wait for me.

Because your Eris is about to become a lot stronger.