Claire walked home, exhausted from her training, and once again saw Shino waiting for her.
She had told him more than once to stop waiting up, but Shino always agreed and then ignored her, showing up every single day regardless.
Things continued as usual—Shino would give Claire a shoulder rub and a massage.
However, they were eventually caught by their mother, who put a strict stop to it.
Consequently, Shino could no longer give his sister daily massages.
Over the next few days, Claire continued to head into the forest late at night to train.
Every time she returned to her room, she found a full glass of water waiting for her.
She knew exactly who was responsible.
“Shino…” Claire whispered to herself, looking down as an involuntary smile played across her lips.
In reality, Shino had simply ordered a maid to do it.
He hadn’t lifted a finger.
Meanwhile, Shino had been spending his nights over at the Shadow Garden headquarters.
To help Beta feel at ease while he told her stories, Shino would hold her hand.
Beta would eventually drift off to sleep, but she never let go of his hand.
Rather than pulling away, Shino stayed by her side, watching over her throughout the night.
When Beta woke up the next morning and realized she had been gripping Shino’s hand all night, she was mortified.
She immediately performed a *dogeza*—prostrating herself on the floor in a formal apology.
“I am incredibly sorry, Lord Phantom!” “You don’t need to apologize, Beta.
If you’re afraid, I can stay with you anytime.” “Really?
Lord Phantom!” Beta leaned in close, her eyes sparkling with hope and anticipation.
With Beta’s consent, Shino moved another bed into the room so they could sleep in the same space.
Beta was clearly lacking a sense of security, and Shino decided to provide it in the most direct way possible.
Every night, Beta fell asleep holding Shino’s hand.
Whenever the traumatic images of her past threatened to resurface, a hand was always there to pull her out of the nightmare.
“Lord Phantom…” Beta would frequently murmur in her sleep.
While Alpha was away investigating leads, Beta spent her days practicing mana control under Shino’s guidance.
Before they knew it, a week had passed.
Shino decided to give Beta a day off.
The two traveled to a nearby town called Karlo, located in a neighboring Viscount’s territory.
The Kagenou barony was small with a limited market, but Karlo was bustling with all sorts of goods.
Shino spotted a pair of blue hairclips.
After a bit of haggling with the merchant, he bought them for Beta.
“Lord Phantom, you are too kind to me!” “Just call me Shino,” he said.
“I couldn’t possibly!” “Why not?
Consider it an order from Lord Phantom: call me Shino.” “Shi…
Shino!” As they walked through the crowded market, they attracted unwanted attention.
Where there are people, there is conflict; and where there is conflict, there are villains.
A slave trader had set his sights on them—a white-haired elf and a boy who looked like a noble, both without guards.
To him, they looked like a gold mine.
Others in the crowd, fueled by petty resentment toward the wealthy, glared at Shino’s fine clothes.
Some tried to use their size to “accidentally” bump into him and make him look foolish in public.
Shino showed no mercy to those harboring ill intent.
As one man approached, Shino subtly used his mana to form a strand of slime, tripping the man and simultaneously lifting his wallet.
“Broke!
Not even a single gold coin…
just some loose change,” Shino muttered disdainfully as he pocketed the coins and tossed the empty wallet back near the fallen man.
Even if the money was useless to him, he had no intention of returning it.
As Shino and Beta turned a corner, a large burlap sack dropped from above, covering them both.
Beta was about to strike, but Shino pressed her hand down.
“Let’s let them take us to their hideout so we can wipe them all out at once,” he whispered.
Shortly after, they were transported to a village on the outskirts of the city.
“Boss!
Boss!
I’ve caught two real treasures this time!” the kidnapper shouted excitedly as he pushed open the door.
To his shock, Shino and Beta were already standing in the middle of the room.
“How did you get out?!” The seven or eight men gambling inside looked at each other in confusion.
The leader hadn’t even noticed when they got out of the bag; he assumed “Number Nine” had brought them in that way.
“Number Nine, these two look high-quality,” the boss noted.
Number Nine turned back to his carriage, only to see that the sack was now nothing but shredded rags.
When he turned back around, Beta was already moving like a blur, her blade piercing through his comrades.
Muffled screams filled the room.
In the time it took for him to turn his head, Beta had already killed three people.
“We’ve got a live one!
Boys, grab your weapons!” the boss roared, gathering his mana.
A second later, Beta’s sword was buried in his heart.
Within a few breaths, every bandit in the room was dead.
Number Nine, witnessing the slaughter, felt utter despair.
He turned to run.
“Monster!
Mon—!” He looked down at the black blade protruding from his chest.
He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
He collapsed backward, dead before he hit the floor.