“Rudy, Luna, I’m back!”
Paul returned on horseback, looking elated; it seemed this trip was a great success.
He even brought back some things from Roa that are only available in big cities.
“Dad’s back!
How did it go this time?”
“Hehe, they’re all sold.
That fellow Philip bought everything I brought himself, and he was quite generous.”
According to Paul, each glass statue sold for more than ten asura gold coins.
Sixty-some gold coins are enough for several years of our family’s living expenses, so we can be a bit more extravagant from now on.
At the very least, we shouldn’t skimp on the diet for my two younger sisters, Rudy, and myself.
Today, to celebrate the easing of the Greyrat Family’s financial crisis, a family banquet was held.
Zenith and the others specially made a lot of sumptuous food—and of course, they dragged me along to help.
“Quick, try this; Luna made it.”
“Mmm, not bad, not bad.
I wonder which lucky brat will get to marry Luna in the future.”
“Dear, Luna is only six years old; it’s too early to say that.”
“That’s true, haha.”
This mushy couple starts talking without restraint whenever something happy happens.
“Sylphiette, you eat too.”
“Thank you.”
Sylphiette came to our house to play today—or rather, to study arithmetic with Rudy—and then helped make some things in our yard, so she was invited to stay and eat with us.
Zenith and Paul looked at Sylphiette with expressions as if they were looking at a future daughter-in-law.
“Rudy, what are those things in the yard for?
There’s a swing, and what’s the other one?”
“It’s a slide for the younger sisters to play on later; Luna thought of it.”
“Haha, Luna is truly amazing.”
They had grown used to Rudy and me always coming up with a bunch of unexpected gadgets.
Naturally, they viewed us as geniuses, but they still treated me as a child—it’s just that they treated me a bit differently than they treated Rudy.
Rudy is the eldest son, so Paul and the others are full of expectations for him.
Moreover, Rudy is a bit awkward; he doesn’t confide his troubles to Paul and the others, appearing extremely mature and not very close to them.
I’m a bit different.
Since Paul and the others treat me like a child, I’ll act like a child should.
I can be a genius and sensible, but I should also have my own temper, be a bit willful, have my own troubles, and act spoiled with Paul and Zenith.
Being more like a child prevents Paul and the others from thinking I’m too strange.
At night, I drank too much grape juice during dinner and happened to go to the toilet when I suddenly heard a noise downstairs.
Has a thief broken in?
After all, this house is the wealthiest in the village; it’s normal for it to be targeted by thieves.
I cautiously went downstairs to check, and sure enough, there was a figure rummaging through the cabinets looking for something.
“Who’s there!” I shouted loudly, both to intimidate the opponent and to wake up my family.
In case I couldn’t beat them, Paul and the others would come to help me.
But looking closely, it turned out to be Paul.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
Paul held a glass of wine with an awkward smile.
Zenith, Lilia, and Rudy all came downstairs after hearing the noise.
“Dear?” Facing Zenith’s displeased expression, Paul immediately told the truth.
“Sorry, sorry, I was so happy tonight but didn’t drink enough, so I came for another glass.”
Honestly, in all the years I’ve been in this house, Paul has always been very restrained and has never been drunk.
Even though Zenith can use Healing Magic to detoxify him, Paul still insists on a fixed amount of alcohol every day.
Only on our fifth birthday did he drink a bit more.
I know he wants to create the image of a great father for Rudy and me, rather than a drunkard father.
What could I say at a time like this?
I could only pretend to be a sensible daughter, hug Paul’s waist, and comfort him: “You’ve worked hard, Dad.
I also know Detoxification Magic!
You can drink as much as you want, Dad; I’ll detoxify you anytime.”
“Luna…” move the corners of Paul’s eyes flowed with moving wine—no, they were tears.
Zenith and the others smiled and went back upstairs to sleep, while I lit a candle and had Paul sit at the table.
I stir-fried another dish for him to go with his wine, treating it as taking care of an elder; after all, I had similar experiences before.
When I was young in my previous life, my parents would always come home very late from work.
When I couldn’t cook, I would make two packs of instant noodles for them.
Once I learned to cook, I would stir-fry a few dishes for them.
He would eat and drink by himself and then go to rest.
I would silently clean everything up and then continue reviewing my lessons.
That was truly a time that was both bitter and nostalgic, but it can never be returned to.
Now, the only thing I can do is cherish the family before my eyes.
“Luna…”
“It’s okay, Dad.
The room suddenly got too bright.”
Wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, I watched Paul happily finish his wine and eat every bit of the dish I made.
But he wasn’t drunk, because the wine was being laughed out through his eyes.
???
Bang!
Clang!
Crack!
Thud!
The sound of wooden swords clashing came from the yard.
Rudy’s sword was once again knocked away by Paul.
Paul had already become somewhat discouraged regarding Rudy’s swordsmanship talent, but fortunately, his expectations for me were growing.
“Luna, why aren’t you using a wooden sword?”
I was currently holding a pair of wooden long daggers, which looked a bit like short swords.
“I plan to learn the North God Style.”
“Hey now, Luna, don’t think you can get carried away just because you reached Elementary level in Water God Style and Sword God Style.
I advise you to stick to the longsword.”
“No, a longsword is temporarily disadvantageous for me, and you won’t let me use a rapier either, Dad, so daggers are better.”
Paul let out a helpless sigh: “Fine, just use daggers then.”
Come on, Paul.
Let me show you the combat style of the man Thorfinn.
Lowering my body and center of gravity, I held the two daggers with a reverse grip and charged rapidly toward Paul.
Swish!
Paul swung his sword; I dodged easily, then slashed the daggers toward Paul’s thighs, which he parried just in time.
Then came several more rounds of continuous attacks like this.
Although I didn’t score a hit, it made Paul very uncomfortable.
This is a low-to-high dwarf-style combat method, which is nothing more than making a taller opponent’s posture deform and their rhythm become disordered.
But the disadvantage is that if you don’t dodge, your head is easily hit by the opponent, so this style requires very high agility.
Fortunately, this body is very agile and can easily dodge Paul’s attacks.
Of course, Paul was definitely holding back, otherwise my head would have been split open long ago.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Crack!
The reverse-held daggers struck Paul like a storm, finally causing his posture to show an opening.
However, Paul actually used his real skill, quickly adjusting his posture and then delivering a backhand strike.
Smack!
My wrist was swollen from his hit.
“Hmph, Luna, you’re still too green.”
Is it something to be proud of, using full strength against your daughter who isn’t even seven yet?
“Alright, after you heal that with Healing Magic, you and Rudy are coming out with me.”
“Where to?”
“The forest.”
Carrying my daggers and wearing the new pants Zenith made for me, I went deep into the forest with Rudy, Paul, and several men from the village who had combat capabilities.
Most of these men were former Adventurers who had retired to the fields before long.
In the end, they were all people who had given up halfway; many had an adventurer rank of only D-rank, incomparable to an S-rank adventurer like Paul.
“Paul, the monster leader is a Termination Boar, along with fifteen Aggressive Hounds, four Swift Hounds, and five Sakes Coyotes.”
“Ho ho, quite a lot.
Looks like I’ll have to be a bit serious this time.”
Laws returned from the forest, landing with a few flashes, bringing Paul some not-so-good news.
A Termination Boar, according to Paul, is a very powerful monster over two meters tall with an extremely strong body that can kill an adult man in one hit.
Individually it’s D-rank, but it will lead a large number of Aggressive Hounds or Swift Hounds, ultimately making the entire group a C-rank or B-rank monster threat.
This kind of monster is particularly threatening to border villages lacking combat personnel.
From the intel heard from Laws, this monster group is already considered a B-rank threat, not something an ordinary resident knight could handle.
But Paul is different from an ordinary resident knight.
According to what Rudy and I know, an ordinary resident knight is already very impressive if they have the level of an Elementary or Intermediate Swordsman, but Paul is an Advanced Swordsman, a high-level combatant who can wrap himself in Battle Aura and can even reach running speeds of fifty kilometers per hour.
It should be enough to deal with these monsters, but Laws and the others were still a bit worried, mainly because there were two children present.
“Maybe we should send little Rudy and little Luna back; it’s too dangerous here.”
Regarding Laws’s concern, Paul glanced at Rudy and me, then waved his hand.
“No need.
Our Rudy and Luna can protect themselves; they won’t be a burden to us.”
I was happy to have Paul’s trust, but hey, have you considered what if something happens to us?
After all, we’re still children under seven years old.
Although Rudy isn’t a real seven-year-old, he was clearly a bit nervous, constantly looking around while holding the wand Roxy gave him.
“Rudy, Luna, you two just follow behind us and watch your father’s gallant figure!”
Paul deliberately struck a cool pose.
A gallant Paul?
The last guy called ‘gallant’ was whipped like a top by the Federation’s White Devil in his own exclusive BGM.
Rudy and I looked at each other; hopefully, Paul won’t suffer a setback.
“Woof woof woof!”
The sound of a large pack of canines barking came from the distance.
It was the pack of Aggressive Hounds, barking loudly at our group.
“Everyone maintain formation!
Rudy and Luna, don’t move around.”
After Paul finished speaking, he charged into the monster pack and began a ‘one-versus-thousands’ display.
His speed was dazzling, and every movement was fluid.
Those Aggressive Hounds and Sakes Coyotes had no chance to fight back at all.
“Hehe, is this all you’ve got?” Paul smugly flicked the blood off his longsword.
That sword of his also looked like a very high-quality item, especially the hilt which looked impressive; it might be a magic-infused item.
These small fry allowed Paul to show off plenty in front of us.
Without the cover of the small fry, the Termination Boar was just something Paul could finish off in a few rounds.
Thud!
Thud!
A few Aggressive Hounds that Paul missed charged toward us, making dull thudding sounds as they crashed into the militia’s leather shields.
Then, amidst whimpers, they were stabbed to death by the militia members who seized the opportunity with their spears.
These low-level monsters are something any slightly trained adult man can handle.
Rudy and I stood beside Laws.
He never missed a shot; every time his longbow vibrated, an Aggressive Hound was hit.
His strength was not to be underestimated either, probably around Intermediate level.
With the two of them there, Rudy and I were truly just here to observe the battle.
Just as I was getting bored, I noticed a bear behind us—a white bear of massive size.
What kind of monster is this?
I hope you’re enjoying the fanfiction so far!