The carriage slowly drove into the core area of Roa City, into Roa Castle, which was the castle of the lord’s family.
That girl named Eris was the granddaughter of the local lord.
I learned from Ghislaine that the lord’s name was Sauros and the mayor’s name was Philip; they were Eris’s grandfather and father, respectively.
But as for their specific surname, Ghislaine didn’t say.
It wasn’t that she was keeping a secret; it felt more like she just hadn’t remembered it.
Her eyes dodged sheepishly, not daring to meet my curious gaze.
Speaking of which, this Beast Race female swordsman feels a bit dim-witted.
According to Paul, she’s still illiterate and can’t do arithmetic.
It’s truly an era of backward productivity.
The education level is low; most people are illiterate and can’t do math.
People like me and Rudy, who can read and understand arithmetic, are already considered high-level intellectuals.
The carriage finally stopped in a courtyard within the castle.
Ghislaine was the first to get off, and I followed.
The castle servants, led by an old butler, welcomed us.
There weren’t many of them, but their attitude was very proper.
However, what surprised me most was that the maids here were all Beast Race, though they were a bit different from Ghislaine.
Some had sheep ears, some had rabbit ears, and others had hound ears.
What’s with this family?
Are they beast-person fetishists?
I thought Ghislaine would lead me directly to see Rudy, but instead, she took me to a very luxuriously decorated drawing room.
After gesturing for me to sit on a magnificent chair covered in velvet, she leaned against the wall and remained motionless.
A nearby Beast Race maid smiled and poured me a glass of grape juice.
The cup is silverware; this family is really rich.
But I noticed that all the vessels were either silver, gold-inlaid, or pottery.
In other words, there is no porcelain in this era, or if there is, it isn’t widely distributed or the production process isn’t sufficient for large-scale use.
Even a great noble family like this doesn’t have porcelain, which means there’s a lot of money to be made by introducing it later.
But money doesn’t really matter.
In a world with supernatural powers, strength should come first.
After I become an adventurer, the most important thing will be to strive to break through my own limits.
After waiting for about ten minutes, a young man entered the drawing room looking travel-worn.
He was dressed magnificently, with deep brown hair and handsome features.
But unlike Paul’s masculine handsomeness, he looked somewhat refined.
He had squinted eyes, giving off the feeling of a cunning fox.
This must be the great noble here, likely Eris’s father.
“Hello, I am Luna Greyrat.” Seeing an important person arrive, I quickly stood up and performed the noble etiquette I had learned before leaving.
“Oh, not bad.
You’re much better than your brother; at least you know noble etiquette.”
His eyes lit up, and he praised me sincerely.
This was, of course, taught to me on the spot by Lilia before I left.
Incidentally, Zenith had stuffed a few large copper coins into my pocket just in case.
The man then returned the gesture, performing it perfectly, elegantly, and beyond reproach.
“I am Philip Boreas Greyrat, Eris’s father.
Thank you for what happened last time.”
So he really is Eris’s father.
How can the gap between him and Eris be so large?
Also, judging by the surname, it seems we are relatives.
Paul had mentioned his name before, so it’s likely true.
“The main reason I invited you here was to thank you for helping Eris and to align our stories.
This is to avoid any unexpected occurrences.”
Philip wanted me to tell anyone who asked about how Eris’s kidnapping was resolved that it was the local mayor’s guards and Ghislaine who handled it.
It was likely to protect me and Rudy; besides, we are too young, and it would be hard for people to believe the truth anyway.
But I felt like he was still hiding something.
Aligning stories could have been handled with a letter, and any reward could have been collected by Paul.
In short, I need to be extra cautious; these nobles might be harboring some ill intentions.
“I understand.
I will do as you say.”
“Very good.
You’ll go to…
Dear, why are you here?”
“I was passing by and came over when I saw this child.
Is this Paul’s daughter?”
Just as Philip was about to speak, a beautiful lady passed by outside the room, and Philip’s words stopped involuntarily.
Wow!
So beautiful.
Most importantly, her ‘airbags’ are very large.
She wore expensive clothes and jewelry, and with her fiery red hair and features that somewhat resembled Eris, was this Eris’s mother?
Anyway, I’d better hurry and pay my respects to her.
“Hello, I am Luna Greyrat.”
I elegantly lifted the corners of my skirt on both sides and performed a flawless lady’s curtsy.
I kept my head down, not knowing if she was looking at me, but I heard a set of light footsteps approaching.
Then I felt a soft hand stroking the top of my head.
“What a good child.
Thank you for what happened with Eris last time.
You must get along well with our Eris from now on.”
From her attitude, her impression of me seemed quite good.
“Mhm.”
Sniffing the fragrance coming from the beautiful woman, I had an epiphany like Cao Cao—if I were a man and born ten years earlier, I would definitely cuckold Philip.
Unfortunately, for now, I should forget it.
The best choice is to try my best to act like a good child in front of this lady.
“Well then, dear, I have things to do.
You two continue your chat.”
After saying that, the beautiful lady walked away with elegant steps.
“That was my wife, Hilda, also Eris’s mother.”
“Oh, your wife is very beautiful.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Luna.
Anyway, back to the point.
Stay at our house for a few days, and tomorrow I will take you to see my father.”
“Yes.”
His father?
He must mean Lord Sauros.
I wonder what kind of person he is.
Maybe he’s as refined as the man in front of me; after all, governing a territory requires a good brain.
???
“Hurry up, hurry up!”
“Wait a moment, Eris!”
Another burst of noise came—it was the young lady Eris and her ‘accessory,’ Rudeus.
A red wild beast rushed into the room and, upon seeing me, walked over in a boisterous manner.
“Hmph, you finally showed up.”
“Oh, hello, Young Lady Eris.”
“Just call me Eris.
Let’s go, I’ll take you for a tour!”
I turned my head to look at Philip; the man held his forehead with a troubled and helpless expression.
“Go play with Eris first.
We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.”
Eris walked ahead with a swagger, while Rudy and I followed behind.
He had a guilty look on his face, as if he had done something wrong and didn’t dare to look me in the eye.
“Rudy, the reason I’m here this time is because you took it upon yourself to beg them to let me come, right?”
“It’s not like that, Luna.
Actually, it’s…”
However, before Rudy could finish, he was interrupted by Eris.
“Alright, let’s have a match.”
Eris threw over a wooden sword.
“Huh?”
It was only then that I noticed we had walked to a place resembling a training ground.
Both Eris and Rudy were wearing light clothing that looked like protective gear.
Then Ghislaine appeared beside us silently.
When did she get here?
I didn’t notice her at all.
Is this what they call a top-tier expert?
Rudy silently took off his protective gear and put it on me.
“Can I not fight?
I’m wearing a skirt.”
“It’s fine!
Anyway, that skirt of yours has been patched up.
I’ll give you one of my old skirts in a bit!”
I turned my head to look at Ghislaine again.
“It’s fine.
Eris isn’t that fragile; she won’t start crying just because she takes a few hits.
Go ahead and strike, no need to hold back.”
This young lady named Eris was nothing like the image of a young lady who elegantly holds a teacup and drinks afternoon tea under a parasol.
Instead, she highly respected martial might and loved swordsmanship.
This was probably why she liked Ghislaine.
Sword King Ghislaine.
There are only a few Sword Kings in the entire world.
An expert of the Sword God Style, two ranks stronger than Paul.
Currently active here as a guest of House Boreas, she’s essentially a high-level bodyguard, but she doesn’t seem very bright.
“Don’t you have any wooden daggers for training?”
“We don’t have anything like that.
Can you only use daggers?”
“No, I’m just used to them.
In that case, let’s use wooden swords.”
The battle was about to begin.
Despite Eris being kidnapped and beaten badly, she still showed considerable strength on the training ground.
After a few tentative exchanges, I felt her swordsmanship was at least at the Intermediate level, specifically the Sword God Style’s Intermediate level.
The Sword God Style is famous for its speed and aggressiveness.
Eris is very fast and stronger than me.
If I fought her using the Sword God Style, I’d be at a disadvantage.
So, I changed my tactics, adopting the Water God Style’s approach to deflect Eris’s heavy attacks and wait for an opportunity to counter.
“Ha!”
The chance came.
With a loud shout, Eris jumped and swung her sword down in a heavy strike.
Holding the hilt with one hand and the blade with the other, I raised both hands high to forcefully block Eris’s attack.
Before she could pull back her strength, I deflected the direction of her force.
Eris was led astray by me, stumbling forward with her own momentum, and then I struck her in the abdomen with the hilt of my sword.
That hit was a bit harsh; she curled up like a shrimp and knelt on the ground.
“That’s enough.”
Accompanied by Ghislaine’s voice, the battle ended with Eris’s defeat.
“Not…
not yet…” Eris struggled to her feet, still wanting to continue the fight.
“That’s enough, Eris.
No matter how many times you try, you won’t beat her.”
Ghislaine stated her judgment expressionlessly, while Eris’s eyes were full of frustration.
“Let me, let me try one more time.”
“Sigh…
Fine, you two go again.”
Ghislaine was somewhat helpless against Eris’s persistence, but she allowed us to fight once more.
Eris steadied her breathing and then dashed toward me at high speed.
The speed of her wooden sword was even sharper and more ruthless than before.
She completely ignored her own defense, attacking like a berserker.
However, berserkers have super armor and temporary pain immunity; Eris had no such thing.
Recklessly increasing her speed and power only made her openings even larger.
I hope you’re enjoying the fanfiction so far!