“—Master.”
A young woman’s voice echoed faintly in his mind, still too indistinct for him to make out.
“Master.”
As awareness slowly returned, he heard those polite words more clearly, carried by a lovely voice so soothing that it almost lulled him right back to sleep. Searching for their source, he caught the faint outline of a young woman kneeling properly as she gazed at him.
“Enough dozing off. It’s time to wake up, Master.”
Dozing off? Then why are you sitting there like that? Wait—
“—Oh—g-good morning, Lilia. How did you get in here, and why am I sleeping on the floor?”
He blurted it out in alarm, only just realizing that he had fallen asleep on the floor while a young woman stared at him with a puzzled look.
“That should be my line, Master. Why did you fall out of bed?”
“Ah—did I really fall out of bed? So that’s why you came in to check on me.”
“That’s right, Master. If you broke your neck, a personal maid like me would lose all her good name~”
She said it with a bright, playful expression, placing a hand over her chest in proud satisfaction.
“Yes, yes. Such a perfectly capable maid.”
She kept smiling a while longer, then returned to her usual expression.
“Master, Master.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Lord Raegard is calling for you, Master~”
Father is calling for me this early? Then it must be something urgent and important. I’d better get ready quickly.
“Thanks for coming to tell me, Lilia. Give me a moment to get dressed. You can go on ahead.”
“Understood, Master.”
She gave a graceful curtsey, then walked to the door. Before leaving, she turned slightly, an amused little smile on her lips, and slipped out of the room.
“Now then… what exactly happened last night? Lilia will probably look into it, though. Maybe the bed was just tilted. I should hurry and get ready first.”
As he prepared himself, he glanced toward the bed in confusion.
I hardly ever fall out of bed. Was it because of a nightmare? Then why do I feel strangely good after waking up?
“Well, whatever. I should just finish getting ready.”
When he stepped out into the grand corridor, he found the atmosphere around him unnaturally silent. There was no movement at all, no sound from the surroundings—not even the wind. It was as though he were still trapped in a dream.
“Where did everyone go? Could something really have happened? But an atmosphere like this feels like a bad omen…”
Normally, there would always be at least one maid tending the area around the corridor in the morning, yet now there was not the slightest sign of a living soul.
After walking a little farther, he noticed something lying in a heap on the floor. It looked like a pile of cloth left behind in a rush.
“Was there such an emergency that someone had to leave something here like this?”
As he drew closer, he realized it was a young woman with soft pink hair, lying unconscious on the corridor floor with a cloth draped over her—
“—Lilia!”
He called her name in alarm and immediately rushed toward her. But then—
—Shwing.
The shrill clash of two razor-sharp blades rang out. Though ambushed from behind, Revius managed to block it in time. Then the two of them exchanged a flurry of sword strikes so fast it was like a blender tearing fruit apart. Revius read the rhythm of his opponent’s movements and struck with force at an opening, knocking the intruder’s swordplay off balance. In the next instant, he kicked them away, then chased after them in a blink and thrust forward. The intruder barely twisted aside in time, circling behind Revius and sweeping their blade at him. Revius narrowly deflected it and leapt back, resetting his stance.
“Who are you?”
“—”
Revius demanded in a stern voice, analyzing the situation and trying to understand what was really going on.
Could this be the important matter Father meant to tell me about? Maybe this is the dangerous target Father was going to warn me about, but they got here faster than expected. If they made it this far, then they must have accomplices holding Father back somewhere else… and Lilia got caught up in it on the way.
“So you don’t intend to talk? After hurting one of my family’s maids like this, I won’t let you escape.”
Then the two of them lunged at each other again. Revius feinted a slash at the middle of the intruder’s torso, baiting them into parrying with their sword. Using the force of that deflection, he changed the course of his own blade and whipped it toward the intruder’s arm. But the intruder saw through it, flipped upside down in midair, and immediately unleashed a sweeping slash around their whole body. Revius ducked under it and countered with an upward kick, but in that same split second, the intruder moved with inhuman agility—while upside down, they stepped on Revius’s rising foot and leapt toward where Lilia lay.
—But in the very next instant, Revius was already there, intercepting from the front and driving a counterthrust straight for a vital point.
Crack.
A violent metallic shattering sound rang out amid the wind torn up by the speed of the two combatants. The intruder immediately sprang back and hurled a sword straight at Lilia with the speed of a bullet. Revius had no choice but to scoop Lilia up and dodge away.
“Excellent.”
The intruder spoke in a voice Revius knew all too well.
It was his own father—Raegard.
“Father!?”
Just as relief began to wash over him, a soft giggle came from within his arms.
“Hehe~”
Looking down, he found the soft pink-haired maid stifling a laugh, her expression bright and cheerful like that of a child who had just finished playing. And with how radiant she looked, Revius could not bring himself to get angry; he could only smile back in exhausted resignation.
“You were terribly worried, weren’t you, Master?~”
The maid spoke while still trying to hold back her laughter, though anyone could tell she was teasing Revius on purpose.
“But it really did seem like you were so upset when you thought I’d been hurt~”
So Lilia knew Father was going to test me, and she came up with this prank and asked him to play along. In that case, I suppose I’ll have to tease her back a little.
“I might just drop you right here, you know.”
“Waaahhh, nooo, please don’t, Masterrrr~”
The maid cried out in an exaggerated high voice, yet she was still smiling brightly, as if she already knew Revius would never actually let her fall. Then she closed one eye and flashed him a lively grin.
“But we’re not done yet, Master.”
“—Huh?”
All at once, the atmosphere turned deathly cold. The sounds of the surroundings gradually began to fade away, until it felt as though time itself had stopped—
—Crack.
The sound of space fracturing rang out as long rifts tore open all around him. Then those cracks shattered into countless fragments, and both Raegard and Lilia vanished at once, leaving behind only a single sword planted in the middle of the corridor.
“A domain?”
In the next instant, ice swords began to form and circle around Revius, every single blade slowly turning its point toward him.
“This is bad—”
Revius dashed forward, seized the sword planted in the floor, and swept it around him just as the ice blades shot in. In only the blink of an eye, every last ice sword shattered apart.
“Wait—”
Before he could recover, the ground beneath his feet began to grow cold, frost crawling across it. He immediately leapt into the air. In that same instant, sharp ice spikes burst upward from the ground and shot straight at him. Revius twisted his body, kicked off the ceiling, and dove back down, splitting the ice in two with his blade. It shattered apart and dissolved into mist, obscuring his vision.
When the mist cleared, he saw that the entire area around him was scattered with sheets of ice like mirrors.
“Don’t tell me—”
Before he could finish, beams of light erupted in every direction, constantly changing trajectory as they flew—some aimed directly at Revius, others ricocheting off the mirrored ice. They were not something he could cut down, so all he could do was evade.
Revius sprinted down the corridor, dodging the countless beams raining toward him. He jumped over the low ones and slid beneath the ones that swept through at mid-height in an unbroken stream. Suddenly, beams attacked from every direction at once. He had to leap onto the wall, twisting his body to avoid the crossing lines of light, then bound to the ceiling, launching himself through a narrow gap between them before rolling to the floor and continuing forward, angling his body through the smallest openings.
At last he reached the door at the end of the corridor. He flung it open, hoping to escape this freezing chamber of light—
“—You must be cold~”
He had only a split second to look into the room before he saw a massive fireball hurtling straight toward him at terrifying speed. Revius slammed the door shut at once and dashed aside. In the next instant, the door exploded outward as a violent torrent of flames burst through, so fierce that the door itself was simply obliterated. When everything calmed down, he cautiously peered out—only to find a breathtakingly beautiful woman running toward him with a smile.
It was his mother—Carentia.
“Mother—”
Before he could finish speaking, the young woman wrapped him in her arms. She hugged him so tightly that Revius could not resist. And yet, despite that, it felt so comforting that everything seemed almost like a dream. The warmth of her body, the soft tenderness of her embrace, the love pouring into him—every bit of it reached Revius in an overwhelming flood. And beyond the hug itself, there was also the gentle touch of her delicate hand, softly stroking his head with the utmost care, as if he were the most precious treasure in her life.
“Heeeh~”
A mischievous female voice Revius knew all too well sounded right by his ear, and every muscle in his body instantly screamed at him to break free at once.
“—Why is Lilia inside the domain too!?”
He hurriedly pulled away at once, and what he saw was the soft pink-haired maid grinning slyly. She must have been watching him up close the whole time while he was being hugged like a child.
“Well, Lilia was the one who came up with the plan, so I wanted her to come in and observe too~”
Carentia spoke with utter innocence while playing with a strand of her hair, in stark contrast to the other girl standing beside her with an unmistakably proud smile. Seeing that, Revius could only let out a dry laugh.
“Well, fine. But going as far as using an Aether crystal to create a domain for three people… isn’t that a bit too much, Mother?”
“Oh, not at all for me. When it comes to investing in my child, even if I had to use all my power, I would gladly do it. Because Revius is more precious to me than even the Great Crystal~”
“But if the Great Crystal disappears, none of us can survive, Mother!”
Revius fired back with a truth no one could deny. Even if his tone was joking, it was still something everyone had to admit.
“Buuut~”
Unable to argue back, Carentia could only puff out her cheeks and look away.
“Then why don’t we head out and go see Father already? He must be lonely by now.”
“Mhm~”
Carentia raised a hand above her head. At once, light gathered there, as though the surrounding space were collapsing inward toward her palm. Then everything around them returned to normal, including the sound of the wind—and the voice of the other man.
“Excellent work, Revius!”
The man spoke with a voice brimming with pride for his son. He applauded and stepped forward to clap Revius on the shoulder in a friendly manner, as though Revius had just achieved a truly important trial.
“Thank you, Father. But if you’d been serious, I probably would’ve blacked out before I even realized it. Haha.”
He laughed as he pictured himself lying crumpled on the floor next to Lilia.
“What are you saying? At this point, you’re more than ready already. Honestly, I didn’t expect your mother to use the Aether crystal either.”
“Now just wait a second, dearrr. If it’s for our child, then of course it has to be something special, doesn’t it? Right, Lilia~?”
As she spoke, Carentia walked closer to Raegard, puffed out her cheeks at him, then turned toward Lilia standing on the other side.
“Exactly, my lady. Master is certain to become the hero who saves the world.”
Lilia replied in full sincerity, her smile overflowing with confidence.
“See, dearrr? At that point, just seeing everyone praising Revius would probably make us so happy that all we’d do every day is keep up with the news about him~”
Carentia clasped her hands together and spoke with boundless excitement.
“Easy now. I wasn’t objecting at all. I was just surprised, that’s all. No matter what, our greatest happiness will be watching Revius grow.”
Raegard lifted a hand to calm her, then smiled warmly as he turned to look at Revius.
“Well said, dear.”
Carentia nodded in agreement and turned to Revius as well.
“You’re all exaggerating way too much, you know… hahaha.”
Not knowing how to handle it, Revius could only laugh awkwardly to cover up his feelings. Then everyone broke into cheerful laughter together for quite some time.
“Oh, right—what was the important matter Father called me here for?”
Only then did Revius remember and ask.
“Oh, that. The Academy has detected a massive flow of Aether in the mountains near the village, so they suspect a high-ranking Abyster may be there. They’re sending people to help and work with us to deal with the situation. And after testing you just now, I’d say you’re more than ready to come along. So what I meant to tell you is that tomorrow, it looks like you’ll be seeing real action at last.”
“Really, Father!?”
Revius asked again, his eyes gleaming brightly.
“Of course. And it’ll also be a good chance to teach you how to use mana enhancement the way I do. On top of that, you’ll get to see your father and mother fight in a real situation. That makes it just as special as Mother said, doesn’t it?”
Raegard confirmed it and explained further, ending with a warm smile.
“At last!!! Lilia, let’s hurry and get ready. Excuse me, Father, Mother!”
“Yes, Master.”
Revius spoke in excitement and immediately ran off to prepare.
“Even though he’s grown up, he still has those childish sides to him after all.”
“That’s right. Even when he was being hugged, he wasn’t any different from when he was still little. I simply can’t wait to keep watching our child grow~”
“I know. That truly might be the greatest happiness of all.”
The two of them spoke fondly of the son they had always cared for and cherished, while watching the boy and the girl run off in excitement.
—————————————————————————————————
“There’s still a whole day left… Looks like I might’ve gotten a little too excited~”
“But at least you have time to calm yourself first, Master.”
The maid spoke at ease while sitting amid a flower garden filled with all kinds of blossoms—flowers she herself had long tended with the utmost care.
Revius, seated behind her, could only watch the maid as she played with the flowers in contentment while waiting for the time of departure.
Come to think of it, I’ve never once seen this flower bed wither. I really ought to praise her for that.
As Revius was thinking to himself, he failed to notice that Lilia was no longer in the flower bed.
“Master.”
“Y-yes?”
When he came to his senses, Lilia was already standing right in front of him. Her familiar presence and graceful elegance always managed to catch Revius off guard.
“Once you return, Master, I shall make a sword charm for you from the flowers in this garden.”
Lilia spoke while holding a flower in both hands at chest height, as though she were praying for his safe return.
“You’ve taken such good care of these flowers. If you turn them into part of a sword, won’t you regret it?”
“On the contrary.”
Lilia turned her back to him as she answered.
“Flowers are only ever harmed, and they cannot protect anything. But if one day they could become part of a sword and protect things instead… then perhaps that would not be such a bad fate at all. Don’t you think?”
She tilted herself slightly and looked back into Revius’s eyes as she said that last sentence.
“—”
What Revius saw before him was an expression he did not often see on Lilia’s face. She looked happy, and yet that happiness was tinged with something deep and mysterious, leaving him stunned for a moment.
“—You’re right.”
Revius stood up, smiled warmly at Lilia, and said,
“Then I’ll use that sword to protect everyone myself—so that I can live up to the wish of those flowers.”
“And not just protect them. I’ll save everyone too… including finding a way to cure Grandmother.”
“Master—”
Her eyes widened and trembled faintly. The emotions in her heart nearly spilled over. Slowly, she reached up to touch the jewel at her chest, recalling something dear to her, and then she met Revius’s gaze.
The two of them looked at one another with smiles full of faith and conviction. It may have only been a small exchange, but perhaps this was the beginning of a sword Revius would never forget.