274. Engagement Ep – Family

Clink-clank—teacups were set down, and Ray and Noel Dexter, Dehorman and Leira Ainar sat around the table.

The young man who opened the door brought in simple refreshments with a pale complexion. He introduced himself as a servant, looking somewhat dazed.

Noel asked, “Isn’t your brother home?”

“…He, he went out to work. Please wait a moment. I’ll go fetch him.”

The young man stuttered.

He said he would bring Elson but hesitated to leave. Standing awkwardly for a moment, he finally turned and left the mansion, and it took a while until the sound of the front door closing was heard.

He’s a strange person. Leira Ainar finished her tea with a slurp and spoke up excitedly.

“Is this where Ray grew up?”

“It’s where he was born. He didn’t stay here long. He moved out soon after Ray was born.”

“Oh~ so you have another house then.”

Leira said this rather materialistically, and Noel smiled gently, as if she were a daughter-in-law trying to figure out the estate of her in-laws.

“Yes, there’s another one. But this mansion isn’t mine. It belongs to my elder brother. So it’s best not to think of living like a nobleman here.”

“Hehe. But I’ve heard he’s not married.”

“Instead, he adopted a son. That young man we saw earlier is probably the one my brother adopted… I wonder why he introduced himself as a servant.”

“Doesn’t that mean he doesn’t intend to inherit any estate? Hehe. Just joking. I’m not interested in your uncle’s property. We can earn a living on our own. If it comes down to it, I might even beg my dad for money…”

“Dream on. I’ll spend everything on your mom.”

Dehorman scratched his chin as he spoke. Leira jumped up.

“Ah! Dad! Isn’t that selfish? What harm would it do to leave something to your only daughter?”

“It would leave a pimple on my butt. And once you get married, you’re no longer mine… Have you heard the term ‘married outsider’?”

“Geez. So stingy. I heard from mom that grandpa had something to pass down to me…”

“Probably sold it more than ten years ago, huh? It wasn’t worth much anyway.”

Dehorman began to scrape crumbs from the dainty dish with his nails while bickering with his daughter.

It was so commonplace for this father-daughter duo to squabble that Noel and Ray merely watched quietly. The Dexter father and son did not have the same light-hearted banter.

Dad is a big pig. Sending off a little brat who used to eat poop is not easy. ─ Just as juvenile insults were exchanged, a creak sounded as the front door opened. Before Noel could even get up, Elson burst in.

“Noel! Hahaha! What a surprise!”

“Brother! It’s been a while… Oof!”

Elson pulled his younger brother into a tight embrace.

A little taller and sturdier, it was obvious that he was Noel’s older brother. Noel hesitated but finally returned the hug.

“Ah, my nephew is here as well. Wow, you’ve grown handsome! Let’s have a hug. And over here…”

Elson’s gaze shifted to Leira and Dehorman. Leira bowed politely.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Leira Ainar. Please call me Leira, Uncle. This is my father.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m not sure what to call you. I’m Dehorman Ainar. Noel has told me a lot about you.”

“Just call me Elson. Hahaha. Your brother has splendidly married an exceptionally lovely daughter. I imagine your father isn’t at ease letting her go. Oh wait, I haven’t introduced you yet. This is my son, Yuan.”

Yuan? Ray’s eyes widened. He remembered that name.

In the fifth engagement round, which he could hardly recall, ‘I’ had warned someone to be cautious of Yuan.

He was the heir of a noble family that had fallen during the last civil war, holding a grudge against his father. The reason he approached Elson was obvious, and although he did not take an antagonistic stance, caution was warranted.

Elson awkwardly dragged Yuan along. “This is Yuan.” He greeted stiffly.

“I’ll go fetch your lady.”

“Oh, yes. That’s a good idea. Everyone must be hungry, right? Let’s eat first. By the way, Noel. There’s someone here you’ll be very glad to see.”

“Who?”

“You know, the one you used to follow around calling ‘sister’ when you were little…”

Just then, a lady in her mid-thirties walked in behind Yuan. She exclaimed,

“Oh my!! Oh my! Little Young Master! No, you’re the Little Master now! How have you been?”

Greeting Noel warmly, she was the only maid from the Dexter household that used to manage about five servants.

She came up to the capital at a very young age to help Noel and Elson’s mother (Ray’s deceased grandmother) with household tasks; she was older than Noel and younger than Elson.

As the Dexter family did not look down on servants, Noel kept fond memories of her taking care of him. It had been twelve years since that maid had returned after fleeing due to the Nine-Day War. Noel was also very happy to see her and shook hands.

They introduced themselves and shared joyful greetings. The lady mentioned as she brought out dishes from the kitchen, “My husband will be arriving soon.”

Her husband was a long-time servant of the Dexter household. He was also the closest friend of the employer, Elson.

It had been a long time since families, practically like kin, gathered. Those affiliated with the Dexter family chatted happily.

Only Yuan remained like oil floating on water, unable to fit in, and the day concluded.

*

“Sorry. I’m really busy these days, and I have to go out. It seems like a war is about to break out. Many of our mercenaries are subject to conscription, so I have to divide up the work.”

The next morning, Elson said.

He left the mansion apologetically, and for some reason, Yuan followed his father to the mercenary office. Only Ray and the others were left in the two-story Dexter house.

“Show me around the house,” Leira demanded. Ray thought it was about time to reveal the truth to her.

It would be unfair for Leira to head into battle against Malpas without knowing anything.

But how should he say it?

He had confessed to his father and Dehorman about receiving a prophecy while showing the Oblivion Blade. He vaguely explained that he had been tasked to defeat the Evil God as the God-given Swordmaster. However, he wasn’t sure if it was alright to tell Leira even that much.

He didn’t want to see her droop her shoulders in disappointment. To Leira, who saw him as a rival and desperately wanted to become a knight, revealing that he had become a force she couldn’t even dream of was cruel.

‘A’ and ‘o’ are different, he thought, concluding he needed a situation that would make her understand. Or perhaps it would be better to reveal it only after Leira had grown to a point where she would no longer compare herself to him.

Ray steeled his resolve. Trying to provoke her, he said bluntly.

“Leira. Pick up your sword.”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ve been neglecting your swordsmanship training lately. Just because you received ‘Blessing of Mana’ doesn’t mean you should only practice martial arts… You need to be disciplined by me today.”

“Pfft! That’s funny. Ray, did I say you could be my opponent? I thought you’d feel regret, so I held back… Alright! Let’s fight. How about a bet? Whoever wins gets to make a wish!”

They stepped out into the sandy yard. With confidence, Leira lifted her sword, while Ray casually flicked dust off his shoes with his.

The lackluster Ray Dexter. Leira urged him on.

“What are you doing? Don’t you have your sword?”

“I’m ready, so come at me.”

“Whoopee?”

Fortunately, both wielded practice swords. Leira, lowering her sword, charged at Ray with fierce momentum. And the thwack! that followed was…

“Gah!! What was that?”

A shooting star. Everything turned dark before her eyes.

“What? You said you were confident. You’ve already died once.”

“Shut up!”

Leira’s face turned red.

Ray’s sword swung up like a shining flash. He blocked her sword with one hand, and as the practice swords clashed with a resounding thud, he took a step forward. An eerie chill ran through her. He slipped past her sword and struck her head with the edge of his other hand.

Of course, Leira tried to block it. Attempting to recover her sword and turn her body, her sword was stuck to Ray’s, making it impossible to move.

It was suction.

Not that it literally stuck to it, but rather it followed her sword’s direction as if stuck, creating an interference. It was an impressive advanced technique.

When did Ray learn such swordsmanship…? She had no time to think. Ray pulled his sword back. This time…

Slash!

A horizontal cut aligning perfectly with the sandy ground. It was a perfect parallel cut any swordsman would dream of, slicing across Leira.

There were only a few effective ways to block this. A perfect 45-degree diagonal slice or a slip, yet Leira didn’t know how to do either. The only option was to hold her sword up and face the impact head-on. The hand gripping the hilt tingled painfully.

“What is this!”

She was being overwhelmed in swordsmanship. She already knew she had lost, but Leira attempted to fight back.

She felt light.

Full of energy and agile.

Leira swiped Ray’s sword aside as she spun her body around. Utilizing her suddenly improved physical performance to execute a spin, Ray stomped! on her back leg.

‘A kick!’

Realizing her spin was off course, Leira hurriedly corrected it. However, Ray hadn’t prepared to kick from the very start.

Spinning dizzyingly…

She was deceived! Ray had just pivoted on the back leg he stomped on. He quickly pulled back the sword that had flown away, while Leira hopelessly let the opportunity slip away.

Tap. Ray’s sword returned casually as if nothing happened. Meanwhile, Leira had exhausted herself of breath, but Ray had neither lost his posture nor breath.

Utter defeat… all of it.

“W-when did it come to this…”

“While you were happily thinking your body had improved, I was working hard.”

Actually, that wasn’t all.

There was no way such a level of skill could be achieved in such a short time.

Leira realized that Ray had been going easy on her all along. And that he was making a point about her recent negligence.

‘…How unnecessarily kind.’

“I lost.”

After all, when had Ray not been stronger than her? Whenever she thought she had improved, he had always been a step ahead.

And this time was no different.

For some unknown reason, she had suddenly become significantly stronger due to the ‘Blessing of Mana’. She felt guilty having surpassed Ray with talent instead of effort, but… it wasn’t necessary for Ray.

‘Back to square one.’

Wait for me. I’ll definitely win one day. ─ With this determination, Leira turned her head. Just as she was about to reflect on the duel they just had, Ray caught her as if asking what she was up to.

“What, why?”

“We agreed that whoever wins gets to make a wish.”

“…Hmph. What is it? Just know I’m broke.”

“It’s not a wish that costs money… I’ll tell you later. For now, our fathers are watching over there.”

“W-what are you trying to do…”

– Smooch.

Ray kissed her earlobe and disappeared. Leira’s face flushed red, and from a distance, Dehorman mumbled.

“Isn’t that cheating? A Swordmaster making a bet in a duel…”

“Hahaha!”

Noel burst out laughing.

Though he fussed over his daughter, Dehorman couldn’t help but be a father who had set his daughter out at the waterside. With a rattling sound, the roughness of Dehorman’s hands grew rougher as he sharpened an axe the size of a door at the well.