"...Master?"
A young woman's voice echoed faintly through his thoughts, still too unclear 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 made him relax. When he searched for its source, he caught the faint outline of a young woman kneeling properly as she watched him.
"Enough dozing off. It's time to wake up, Master."
"Dozing off? Then why are you sitting there like that? Wait..."
"O-oh, g-good morning, Lilia. How did you get in here, and why am I sleeping on the floor?"
The words spilled out in a rush as panic seized him at the realization that he had been asleep on the floor while a young woman stared down at him with a puzzled look.
"That should be my line, Master. Why did you fall out of bed?"
"Ah... so I really did fall out of bed? So you came in to check on me?"
"Exactly, Master. If you broke your neck, a personal maid like me would lose all her good name~"
She said it brightly, pressing a hand to her chest with playful pride.
"Right, right. My perfectly capable maid."
She smiled for a moment longer, then slipped neatly back into her usual composed manner.
"Master."
"Hm? What is it?"
"The lord of the house is calling for you, Master~"
Father is calling for me this early? Then something important must have happened all of a sudden. I should hurry and get ready.
"Thanks for coming to tell me, Lilia. Give me a moment to get dressed. You can go on ahead."
"Understood, Master."
She curtsied gracefully, then walked to the door. Before leaving, she turned slightly and flashed him a smile that looked almost delighted.
"Now then... what exactly happened last night? Lilia will probably look into it, though. Maybe the bed was just tilted. I'd better 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?
"Whatever. I'd better finish getting ready."
When he stepped into the great corridor, the atmosphere felt unnaturally still. There was no movement anywhere, no sound from the surroundings, not even the wind. It was as if he were still inside a dream.
"Where did everyone go? Could it really be that serious? Still... this kind of atmosphere feels like a bad omen."
Normally there would be at least one maid near the corridor in the morning, but this time there was not the faintest sign of any living thing.
After walking a little farther, he noticed something collapsed on the floor. At first glance it looked like an untidy heap of cloth left behind in a rush.
"Was the situation so urgent that someone had to leave things lying around here?"
As he drew closer, he realized it was a pale pink-haired girl lying unconscious in the corridor with a cloth draped over her--
"Lilia!"
He shouted her name in alarm and rushed toward her at once, but then--
Shing. Two razor-sharp blades collided. Even though the attack came from behind, Revius managed to catch it in time.
The two of them launched into a furious exchange of swords, their blades moving so fast it almost resembled a whirlwind. Revius read the intruder's rhythm, struck through an opening to break their flow, kicked them away, then chased after them in the blink of an eye with another thrust. The intruder barely twisted clear, slipped behind him, and swept in with a slash. Revius deflected it by a hair and sprang back into a new stance.
"Who are you?"
"..."
Revius kept his expression hard as he pieced the situation together. Could this be the urgent matter Father meant to warn me about? Maybe this is the dangerous one he intended to tell me about, only they arrived sooner 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.
"Not going to talk? After hurting a maid of my family's, I'm not letting you walk away."
They lunged at each other again. Revius feinted toward the middle of the intruder's body, drew out the parry he wanted, and used that force to change the course of his blade toward the attacker's arm. But the intruder saw through it, flipped upside down, and swept a blade around in an instant. Revius ducked and kicked upward in reply, only for the intruder to move with inhuman agility, planting upside down on his rising foot and vaulting toward where Lilia lay--yet Revius was already there between them, driving a thrust straight toward a vital point.
Crack. A violent metallic snap rang out through the wind torn up by their speed. The intruder sprang back and hurled a sword at Lilia with the speed of a bullet, forcing Revius to scoop her into his arms and evade.
"Excellent."
The voice was one Revius knew all too well. It belonged to his own father, Regard.
"Father!?"
Just as relief started to wash over him, a soft giggle rose from within his arms.
"Hehe~"
Looking down, he found the pale pink-haired maid trying to suppress her laughter, her expression bright and lively like a child who had just finished playing to her heart's content. Faced with that dazzling cheer, Revius couldn't even stay angry and could only answer with a weary smile.
"You looked awfully worried, Master~"
The maid spoke while still holding back her laughter, though anyone could tell she was teasing him on purpose.
"But you also looked rather upset when you thought I'd been hurt~"
So Lilia knew Father was going to test me, came up with a prank like this, and even got him to cooperate... In that case, I suppose I'll have to get her back sometime.
"I might just drop you right here, you know."
"Waaah, nooo, Master~"
The maid cried out in a high voice, yet she was still smiling brightly, as though she knew full well Revius would never actually let her fall. Then she winked, her face as lively as ever.
"But we're still not done yet, Master."
"--Huh?"
All at once, the atmosphere turned bitterly cold. The sounds of the surroundings gradually faded away until it felt as though time itself had frozen--
Crack. The sound of space splitting apart rang out as long fractures tore open around him. Then those fractures shattered into pieces, and both Regard and Lilia disappeared along with them, leaving behind only a single sword planted in the middle of the corridor.
"A domain?"
In the next instant, swords of ice formed and began circling around Revius, every blade slowly turning its edge toward him.
"This is bad--"
Revius dashed forward, seized the sword planted in the floor, and swept it around him at the very moment the icy blades shot in. In no more than a heartbeat, every last one of them shattered.
"Wait--"
Before he could steady himself, the ground beneath his feet turned cold and frosted over, forcing him to leap into the air at once. In the very next instant, sharp spears of ice burst from the floor and shot straight toward him. Revius twisted, kicked off the ceiling, and split the rising ice into two before it burst apart into mist that swallowed his sight.
When the fog thinned, he saw that the entire area around him was filled with ice like mirrored glass.
"Don't tell me--"
Before he could finish, beams of light began firing in every direction, changing course again and again as they shot toward him and ricocheted off the mirrored surfaces. They were not something Revius could cut down, so all he could do was evade.
He sprinted straight down the corridor while dodging the countless beams flying at him. He leapt over the low ones and slid beneath the ones aimed at his middle without pause. Then, when light came at him from every direction, he kicked off a wall, twisted through crossing paths, bounded onto the ceiling, slipped through impossibly narrow gaps, rolled back down to the floor, and kept running while angling his body through every opening he could find.
At last he reached the door at the end of the corridor and flung it open, hoping to escape that freezing room of light--
"You must be cold~"
He had only an instant to look inside before he saw an enormous fireball racing toward him at terrifying speed. Revius slammed the door shut and threw himself to the side. In the next moment the door exploded apart in a violent burst of flame so fierce it vanished altogether. When everything settled, he peered out and saw a breathtakingly beautiful woman running toward him with a smile. It was his mother, Carentia.
"Mother--"
Before he could finish speaking, her arms wrapped around him. She held him so tightly that he could not resist, and yet it felt so comforting that everything seemed almost dreamlike. The warmth of her body, the gentle softness of her touch, and the love pouring from that embrace all washed over Revius in overwhelming waves. Beyond the embrace itself, her slender hands caressed his head with such care that it was as though he were the most precious thing in her life.
"Ehehehe~"
A familiar teasing female voice sounded right beside his ear, and every muscle in his body screamed for him to break free at once.
"Why is Lilia inside the domain too!?"
He hastily pulled away. The first thing he saw was the pink-haired maid smiling at him with a sly, brazen delight. She had probably been watching him from up close the entire time he was being cuddled 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 said it with complete innocence while idly playing with her hair, in contrast to the other girl beside her, who was smiling with open pride. Seeing that, Revius could only let out a dry laugh.
"Still, using an aether crystal to create a domain for three people... isn't that a little too much, Mother?"
"Not at all. When it's for my child, any cost is worth it. Even if I had to spend all my power, I'd gladly do it. Revius is more precious to me than the Grand Crystal itself~"
"If the Grand Crystal disappeared, none of us would survive, Mother!"
Revius shot back with a truth no one could deny. Even if he said it in a joking tone, it was still a fact everyone had to accept.
"B-but still~"
Unable to argue back, Carentia could only puff out her cheeks and look away.
"Why don't we hurry out and go see Father? He must be feeling lonely by now."
"Mm~"
Carentia raised a hand above her head. Light bloomed at once, as though the space around them were folding inward toward her palm. Then the world returned to normal, together with the sound of the wind and the voice of the other adult man.
"Excellent work, Revius!"
The man spoke in a voice overflowing with pride for his son. He applauded and came over to lay a friendly hand on his shoulder, as though Revius had just cleared a truly important trial.
"Thank you, Father. But if you'd been serious, I probably would've passed out before I even knew what was happening, haha."
"What are you saying? You're already more than ready. Honestly, I didn't expect your mother to use an aether crystal either."
"Now, deaaaar~ Anything done for our son ought to be special, shouldn't it? Isn't that right, Lilia~?"
As she spoke, Carentia drifted closer to Regard, puffed out her cheeks at him, and turned toward Lilia on the other side.
"Exactly, my lady. Master is certain to become the hero who saves the world."
Lilia said it with complete sincerity and a smile full of confidence.
"See? Once the day comes when everyone is praising Revius, we'll probably be so happy that we'll spend every single day just following the news about him~"
Carentia clasped her hands together as excitement spilled out of every word.
"Easy there. I wasn't objecting. I was only surprised, that's all. In the end, our greatest happiness is getting to watch Revius grow."
Regard lifted a hand in gentle protest, then smiled warmly as he looked at his son.
"Well said, dear."
Carentia nodded in agreement and turned her gaze back to Revius.
"You're all praising me way too much, haha..."
Not knowing how to handle it, Revius could only laugh awkwardly to hide his embarrassment, and soon the four of them spent a while laughing together.
"So what was the important reason you called for me, Father?"
Only then did Revius remember and ask.
"Ah, the institute detected a massive concentration of aether in the mountains near the village. They suspect a high-ranking Tobister is there, so they'll be sending people to assist us 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 tomorrow, it looks like you'll be seeing real action."
"Really, Father!?"
Revius asked again, his eyes shining brightly.
"Really. And it'll also be a chance for me to teach you mana reinforcement the way I use it. On top of that, you'll get to see both your father and mother fight for real. Just the kind of special occasion your mother was talking about, wouldn't you say?"
Regard 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."
Brimming with excitement, Revius hurried off to prepare.
"Even though he's grown so much, he still has that childish side to him."
"That's right. The way he looked while being hugged was no different from when he was still little. I can hardly wait to keep watching him grow~"
"Indeed. There's probably no greater happiness than that."
The two of them spoke fondly of the son they had always cherished while watching the boy and the girl run off in excitement.
--
"There's still a whole day left... I guess I got a little too excited, didn't I~"
"Even so, at least it gives you time to calm yourself first, Master."
The maid spoke at ease while sitting amid the many kinds of flowers she had long cared for with devotion.
Seated behind her, Revius could only watch the maid play among the blossoms while they waited for the time to depart.
Come to think of it, I've never once seen this flower bed wither. I really ought to compliment her for that.
So lost in thought was he that he failed to notice Lilia had already stepped out of the flower bed.
"Master?"
"Y-yes?"
By the time he came back to himself, Lilia was already standing right before him. Her familiar presence and graceful beauty always seemed to catch him off guard.
"When you return, Master, I'll use flowers from this garden to make an ornament for your sword."
Lilia spoke while holding a flower in both hands at her chest, as though silently praying for his safe return.
"You take 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 things that can be hurt and cannot protect anything. If one day they can become part of a sword and protect something... then perhaps that wouldn't be so bad. Don't you think?"
She tilted slightly and looked back into Revius's eyes as she said the last part.
"..."
The expression Revius saw on Lilia's face then was one he rarely ever saw. She looked happy, and yet it was tinged with countless mysterious feelings he couldn't put into words. It left him stunned for a moment.
"You're right."
Revius rose to his feet, smiled warmly at Lilia, and said,
"Then I'll use that sword to protect everyone myself, so 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 heal Grandmother."
"Master--"
Her eyes widened and trembled faintly. The feelings in her heart nearly spilled over. Slowly, she touched the gem at her chest as though recalling something precious, then lifted her gaze to meet his.
They looked at one another with smiles full of faith. It was only a small exchange, yet it may well have been the beginning of a sword Revius would remember forever.