The father and son stood by the wall.
A wind blew from afar, ruffling the sleeves of the two men.
The dark clouds were thick like a lid covering the sky, making it feel like the heavens had drawn closer to the earth.
Philip looked at the wind-swept wall. The smile on his lips had vanished.
Allen looked up at the sky, squinting with a carefree smile, as if he were waiting for the rain to fall.
No one spoke.
The spring thunder rolled in first.
"Pah."
A bean-sized raindrop fell on the wall, the sound crisp and clear.
Finally, someone broke the silence.
"Allen, you've turned out better and smarter than I ever imagined, all these years."
Philip's voice grew softer, and the sound of rain surrounded them.
Spring showers are fast and fierce. In the time it took to say a sentence, a curtain of rain fell, like uncut yarn from the sky, stitching heaven and earth together.
The second half of Philip's sentence followed.
"You've suffered, and I owe you an apology."
Allen glanced at Philip, who was staring at the wall. The raindrops drummed against their shoulders and backs, outlining their forms in a hazy mist.
Allen activated the secret of the Water God Flow, forming a thin layer of Dou Qi around his body, shielding himself from the rain. The raindrops slid down from an inch above his clothes, falling along the folds without soaking him.
Windproof. Rainproof.
His clothes remained completely dry.
"How did you wrong me? I know the rules of Boreas very well. As for 'suffering'? That wasn't suffering."
"The capital was great. The Water God Flow Dojo suited me. Staying there ten days or half a month without going home didn't matter."
"I was free."
Philip was silent for a long moment in the rain.
Allen chuckled. There was no bitterness in his voice. Before he fully integrated into the Greyrat family, he had always maintained the mindset of a "gamer."
If James couldn't handle his excellence, then why not just leave?
The dojo was filled with people, and most of them were nice. For the few who weren't, he spent years giving them "etiquette lessons" until they were nice, too.
There was even a beautiful black-haired girl with a similar background—parents gone early—who always cheered for him from the sidelines.
Wasn't that the good life?
Things were different now.
But he felt even less wronged.
Because he'd gained something precious: family.
Not family through this body's bloodline—but family that Allen, the soul of a previous life, genuinely accepted from the heart.
Family in this world of reincarnation.
Who wouldn't want to be a hero to their family?
I want to be a family hero.
Allen sneered and said:
"You're being too serious. Relax. Don't pretend. You came here because you want to get involved in the capital's power circle, to compete for the Boreas succession. You're here to use me and Rudy as stepping stones, right?"
"But are you sure we're the stones that'll pave your path? I'm just a Water Saint. He's just a Saint-level magician. You're not thinking we're something special just because we wiped out a monster nest, are you?"
Philip listened quietly as Allen cut straight to the heart of the matter. The words were blunt, but that was something Philip was used to.
Philip wasn't a man of flowery speech.
That in mind, the corners of his mouth curled slightly again.
"Allen, I know how good you are with a sword. No need to sell yourself short. Even with just brute strength, you're a major asset."
"That's what I thought—before I came."
Allen turned his head to look at him.
His voice cut through the rain and hit Philip's ears directly.
"Before you came?"
Rain had soaked Philip's hair. His brown curls clung to his face, but he didn't care.
"Yes, before. But now I admire your ability more than your strength. You're only eleven. And as far as I know, you've spent most of your life training at the Mizukami-ryu Dojo, not under James. Yet you've already made a name for yourself in the dojo, just by your swordsmanship talent. That's why you're known among the capital's swordsmen."
Philip's voice trembled slightly.
No one knew if it was from the cold rain—
—or from something warmer inside.
His speech picked up speed.
"Even so—your maturity, your potential—it's way beyond your years. Come back to Roa with me. I'll teach you everything I know. In time, you and I will take back the Boreas family name. The future—"
"I refuse."
Allen interrupted.
Inwardly, he mocked the idea.
"My 'Reincarnated Without a Job' mission has chapters. Your capital power-struggle arc might overlap with the Asura throne battle during my teen years at most. Why should I get stuck in your political mud? If I don't hit 100 points by then, it'll delay my meeting with Luo Qixi. What kind of dumb detour is that?"
Philip smiled, unsurprised. He didn't even look up, as if he had expected this answer. He glanced at Allen, who stood untouched by the wind and rain, wrapped in Dou Qi.
"Don't worry. Let me finish."
"As a swordsman, you crave strength—I can see it. And your current skill proves you haven't stopped training. 'Water Saint'? That title means little to me."
Allen pursed his lips and didn't respond.
Philip pressed on.
"Come to Roa. I can offer you a better teacher. Someone far better than Paul. Someone perfect for you."
"You've probably heard of her—Sword King Gilenu. The only King-level Sword God Flow user."
"You've studied the Water God Flow for years, but what you really need is a Sword God Flow teacher, right?"
"And everything else I mentioned... I only said it because it'd be a shame."
Philip turned toward Allen, his voice trembling slightly through the falling rain.
"Your swordsmanship is important—it's your vehicle to strength."
"But what I want to say is: compared to strength, power is far more profound."
"Because—"
Philip stretched out his hand, rain hitting his palm and dripping through his fingers.
"When you have strength, power naturally follows."
"You're chasing the wrong thing. You shouldn't just be a swordsman. Your true stage is in the capital."
Allen squinted into the rain and smiled faintly.
Philip observed him for a moment, a flicker of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
"Don't be so quick to reject me. What I'm saying is—whether you agree to go or not, I'll still let Gilenu teach you swordsmanship. This is my sincerity."
"For four years. You'll be fifteen by then."
In Asura Kingdom, the milestones are five and ten years old. Turning fifteen marks the beginning of adulthood—of standing on one's own.
Philip's words blended with the rainfall.
"The sea is wide, and the fish can leap."
"If you want to leave then, so be it."
Allen raised his eyebrows and smiled with interest.
"If you want to take something, you must give it first?"
The admiration in Philip's eyes was almost tangible, lingering on Allen's face.
"Then—do you accept this gift or not?"
Allen tilted his head, smiled again, then turned and walked away.
"I accept."
His figure disappeared into the rain.
His voice returned just as the storm passed.