"Ojou-sama?"
In the morning glow, Eris rushed straight to Ghyslaine, but her eyes remained fixed to the side.
There, Allen was holding Sylphy with a helpless and flustered expression, trying to comfort her.
Eris stood just a few dozen centimeters in front of Ghyslaine, still with her head turned sideways.
As soon as she heard Ghyslaine's voice, she spun around lightning-fast and looked up. Her red hair, drenched by the rain, was tangled and messy, sticking out in little 'horns.'
Yet because of that, in the rising sunlight, her hair blazed like fire.
To Rudy—standing not far behind—it just looked like her head had turned so fast it might snap off.
Though he had completely forgotten that he too had twisted his neck like that upon seeing Allen return, not much slower than this beginner-level Kenshin-ryū (Sword God Style) swordswoman.
Eris scanned Ghyslaine up and down and, seeing there were no new scars on her, gave a wide, satisfied grin.
"Ghyslaine! Did you save him?"
Ghyslaine silently gazed at Eris, then tilted her head slightly to look at Allen's hand.
He was holding two severed heads.
Eris, noticing the direction of her gaze, instinctively turned to look—and froze.
Nakul. Jad.
Identical faces.
Eris had seen them just a few hours ago.
The assassins who'd come after them.
And she recalled what Ghyslaine had once said:
The beastkin retain an instinct for the hunt.
Thus, a prey belongs in the hand of its hunter.
Then now—
She didn't care why one head had become two. She just blinked quickly, then immediately asked:
"Is Allen stronger than you, sensei?"
Ghyslaine, oblivious to social cues but never shy about honesty, answered:
"Last night he was stronger than me. Now I'm stronger than him. But in the future…"
"He'll be stronger than me."
Eris paused, eyebrows slightly raised, but she managed to keep her reaction in check. She turned away, crossed her arms, and declared loudly to Allen:
"Hey! Ghyslaine said you're stronger than her, so I recognize you as my teacher!"
She said it loud—clearly wanting to make sure Allen heard it.
Which made Allen jump on the spot.
A swirl of particles danced before his eyes.
[Free Instant Mission: Reunion with Younger Sister—Eris. Complete. Time: 13:14:12]
[You bypassed the phase of reverence and gained Eris's full admiration. Right now, she is willingly and 'graciously' accepting you as her teacher.]
[Evaluation: Roxy, Paul, Sylphy, Rudy, Zenith, Lilia, Rawls, Nolda, Ghyslaine, Eris]
[Who's next?]
[So this is the power of the Jobless Succubus?]
[Tsk tsk.]
[Shinki Majutsu (Divine Strike Magic) slot unlocked.]
The swirling particles climbed through Allen's core, nesting inside the embryonic Ryūsei Dōki (Dragon Saint Fighting Spirit), releasing a humming only the soul could perceive. Soon, next to the murky brown slot, a new one appeared.
Its background burned with a fiery red hue like morning light.
But Allen's expression was blank.
Jobless Succubus?
System, what kind of BS name is that?
Eris, having waited for a response, started twitching with frustration.
"What's with that face! Did you hear me or not?!"
Allen blinked, recovering from the mental hit. He exchanged a helpless glance with Ghyslaine, who clearly wasn't going to correct Eris.
"Uh—I heard. Okay."
"Hmph!"
Ojou-sama was very pleased with her newly appointed teacher. Arms crossed, eyes closed, she nodded proudly while a catgirl beside her hurried to tidy up her wet hair.
Sylphy, having stopped crying the moment she heard Eris's energetic voice, suddenly realized she was still clinging to Allen. Her whole body stiffened like a stick and slowly slid off him.
Feeling the solid ground under her feet, she brushed her damp bangs, instinctively lowering her head to look at her shoes—only to hesitate.
In the end, she forced herself to look up.
Tear stains still marked her face.
But she met Allen's gaze directly.
"There's no need to apologize for worrying us. And also…"
"Welcome back, Allen."
Her smile bloomed in the morning light—a bit forced, as if reminding herself not to cry.
But it was enough to melt the tension Allen had carried all night.
——
After checking, the three remaining carriages could still continue toward Roa.
The one Allen had split in two, though, was beyond repair.
And after confirming this, Ghyslaine even gave a critique of Allen's silent iai slash.
"Not bad. Good cut."
Allen couldn't hold back a smile at that. Everyone had been waiting in the rain all night, and most of the carriage's rain covers had been pulled out by the catgirls, leaving the ground a chaotic mess.
Allen had wanted to help clean up, but Ghyslaine, having soaked in water all night and feeling she hadn't been of much help, simply planted him next to Philip like a vegetable sprout and told him just to watch.
Everyone else seemed to agree he was the one who'd worked hardest last night—no one disturbed him.
Well—except for Eris, who got dragged off by Ghyslaine.
Because standing next to Allen now was his biological father.
The others had deliberately left space for the two of them to talk.
A breeze swept through.
Allen looked at his leg, which Ghyslaine had shoved halfway into the mud, and quietly pulled it out.
"Are you satisfied with the result?"
Philip's eyes flickered with a conflicted light. He paused before answering.
"Sorry."
".This was unexpected. I didn't anticipate it. The information must've been leaked to James by a 'nail' beside me. Otherwise, this outcome doesn't make sense. From what I've gathered, he's always been one of Darius's men, so it shouldn't have turned out like this."
Allen looked toward Rudy, who was now fiercely arguing with Eris about who would share a carriage with him.
"There are a lot of things you didn't anticipate. The sudden ambush by a Northern King was the first. That my strength was enough to kill both assassins one after the other was the second. Ghyslaine being trapped in the forest was the third. Too many, too many—you always think you can predict everything. But when things go out of control, all you can say is: 'I didn't expect that.'"
"…"
"So did you ever consider that if things had gone just slightly worse, we might not be having this little happy reunion? It might be Eris's corpse. My corpse. Ghyslaine's corpse…"
"Maybe you wouldn't even be alive to see any of this."
Philip fell silent again. His lips parted and closed, but in the end, he said nothing.
"The good news is, this assassination confirms that even though James knows I'm still in the Asura Kingdom, he absolutely doesn't want me back at his side. He's doing everything he can to get rid of me."
"And after this attempt, he'll be even more determined to keep me away."
"Once we reach your territory, he'll probably quiet down for a while. The Asura nobles still need to maintain a surface-level harmony—especially since you're brothers. That's good. I can use the time to grow stronger."
Philip's eyes lit up, and he turned to Allen with a serious expression.
"We could go to the capital and reclaim—"
"I'm just a home tutor you hired."
Allen cut him off, shaking the mud from his foot.
"Who's the nail?"
Philip was stunned, but he answered.
"My steward. Thomas."
Allen turned and walked toward Rudy and Eris, who were still arguing.
The morning breeze passed over him.
The stench of blood clung to his body.
He hadn't looked at Philip even once.
(End of Chapter)
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