Spring had returned, and Ray had turned 13.
Not long ago, the barren branches had sprouted translucent new leaves.
Ray gazed out the window, lost in a bittersweet sentiment as he muttered to himself.
“Already 13 years old…”
Growing older wasn’t entirely pleasant.
It wasn’t just idle complaining—Ray truly felt this way.
What good could come from time passing so quickly?
The brief peak of physical prime in one’s twenties would soon fade into aging, and the world’s inevitable destruction would only draw nearer.
“It feels like wandering aimlessly through the fog.”
Unable to accurately predict this world’s future, Ray couldn’t help but carry a constant sense of unease.
Am I walking the right path? Could my actions be hastening the world’s end instead?
Such doubts crossed his mind multiple times each day.
Ray shook his head—it was an unsolvable question.
To clear his thoughts, he slapped his cheeks twice before changing out of his pajamas into outdoor clothing.
“Hmm.”
Before pulling up his pants, Ray glanced at his groin.
Hair was beginning to grow there.
“I’m getting anxious about this.”
Recently, with the onset of puberty, many children were experiencing various kinds of confusion.
Most of the orphans above the “rare” tier were around Ray’s age, making things quite troublesome.
After idly brushing the hair on his groin a few times, Ray opened the door and stepped out.
Bella was just preparing breakfast.
Bella tried to have breakfast with Ray twice a week.
For his part, Ray also made an effort not to miss these meals with Bella unless absolutely necessary.
Breakfast was ready.
As Ray sat across from Bella at the table and cut into an egg with his fork, he spoke up.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“How about you stop what you’re doing and look for something else?”
“What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“Well, your popularity isn’t what it used to be, is it?”
Creeeak!
The fork Bella had been using to stab a sausage slipped off the plate.
She protested.
“Son! Mom’s still very popular!”
“Mom, let’s be honest. Your pick rates have dropped significantly lately. It’s been over a year since you passed the ace position to Lisa.”
Crack!
“Aah!”
In the end, Ray got hit on the back and rushed to rub it against the wall.
Looking at Ray, who was feigning injury, Bella glared fiercely.
“You shouldn’t talk to your mom like that. Mom’s still very popular!”
Though she had a few wrinkles now, Bella remained beautiful.
There were still plenty of men willing to pay high prices for a night with her.
“I plan to retire in five years, so keep that in mind.”
“No, Mom. You don’t have to live eating the same thing forever. Why not start looking for something else?”
Bella chuckled.
“What special skills does Mom have that would allow me to switch jobs now? Even if I did menial labor all day, I wouldn’t earn half of what I make now.”
“Don’t worry about money,” Ray said, pressing his forehead and groaning.
Living expenses could always be covered by borrowing from Jimy or the Count.
Still, Ray hadn’t pushed too hard for Bella’s retirement because she had her own pride.
A job isn’t merely a means of survival.
Through work, people communicate with society and fulfill psychological needs.
Bella had found stability and recognition through her association with the ‘Lilac Evening’ group.
But she was getting older.
Sooner or later, Bella would be treated as passé, and her pride would suffer accordingly.
Ray wanted her to step away from prostitution before that happened.
Of course, Bella disagreed.
While her popularity had declined compared to before, her income was still decent.
She wanted to save as much money as possible.
She didn’t want Ray, her talented son, to give up his dreams due to lack of funds when choosing his future career.
Sighing after hearing Bella’s determination, Ray left the room with his sword.
“Watch closely, Mom.”
Zzzzchik!
Sword aura erupted from the blade.
The flickering aura illuminated the room in a pale blue light, pushing aside the sunlight.
Ray pointed the sword at a kitchen knife.
Klang!
The kitchen knife shattered effortlessly.
Though ignorant of swordsmanship, Bella understood the significance of what she saw.
“Son, is that… sword aura?”
“Yeah, it’s sword aura.”
Putting down his sword, Ray continued.
“Even in history books, there aren’t more than a few dozen geniuses who reached expert level at my age.”
Of course, more than half of those few dozen likely lied about their age.
“Mom, you don’t need to worry about me. Your son is an incredible genius. There’s a reason Count Philips cares about me so much. This is a secret, but actually, the count once even proposed to take me as a son-in-law.”
Bella was flustered.
She knew Count Philips had shown excessive concern and consideration for Ray.
She had guessed that Ray possessed considerable talent, but never imagined he had reached the initial stage of expert-level mastery at the tender age of thirteen.
Bella simultaneously rejoiced and worried about Ray.
“Because of me being who I am, will I hold you back because of my low status?”
Ray chuckled.
Bella’s question was truly absurd.
When Ray first reincarnated into this world,
Having witnessed countless unpleasant sights, Ray had resolved:
To overthrow the Empire and witness the downfall of this wretched world.
He had to teach the transcendental being who sent him here a lesson.
However, the reason Ray grew attached to this world—
The reason he decided to try stopping its end despite everything—
Was solely because of Bella.
She wasn’t a burden to Ray.
She was someone who, at one point, was more valuable to Ray than the entire world, and even now, not much has changed.
“Mom, don’t worry… It’s time to put down what you’ve been doing and live doing what you want. Honestly, would it make me happy if you kept doing this? It’s not really a good situation.”
After pondering for a moment, Bella nodded.
“I understand what you’re saying, Son. I’ll try to wrap up what I’m doing by the end of this year.”
Wiping away her tears, Bella tried to change the subject to lighten the mood.
“Are the kids at the orphanage doing well? They’re the ones you’ve raised with such care.”
At that moment, Ray felt a twinge in the back of his neck.
“There are some issues, but…”
After hesitating briefly, Ray forced a smile and nodded.
“They’re all doing fine.”
*
That afternoon,
Ray visited the orphanage with Jimy, having arranged a sparring session with the knights.
Arriving slightly earlier than planned, they found Jenkins and Didier conducting a special training session with Johanna behind the orphanage’s wooden fence.
It had been four years since the knights began teaching the children swordsmanship.
Many children showed great promise, but none shone as brightly as Johanna.
Possessing innate coordination, Johanna also inherited a natural affinity for mana.
Within a year, she mastered the technique of enhancing her body using mana and recently advanced enough to nearly match a knight’s skill.
At this rate, she might reach expert level within two years.
“Huff…”
Regulating her breathing, Johanna leaped lightly and thrust her sword forward.
Didier moved his wrist to deflect the thrust, but Johanna instantly redirected her blade towards his wrist.
Didier resumed his defensive stance.
Johanna capitalized on the momentum from swinging her sword upward, landing gracefully and darting around the enclosed area, swinging her sword with flair.
Her movements could be described as either dazzling or chaotic depending on the perspective.
Spinning, jumping, rolling, crouching—all inefficient motions.
In practical combat, swordsmanship should be seamless and concise for maximum efficiency—or so conventional wisdom dictates.
However, efficient techniques aren’t necessarily lethal.
Predictable techniques targeting vital points can be easily read.
Thus, martial artists often incorporate variations to deceive opponents.
Believing in her talent, Johanna added her own improvisations to the sword techniques taught by the knights.
And her approach proved successful.
Ting!!
Concealed within her flashy movements, a concealed thrust emerged unexpectedly, targeting Didier.
Twisting his waist hastily to evade, Didier retreated several steps.
Watching Johanna’s swordplay, Ray marveled.
“That’s real talent.”
Using her natural instincts to develop her unique style of swordsmanship.
This was the realm of ‘creation,’ achievable only by true geniuses.
‘Selecting Johanna as a unique orphan was definitely the right decision.’
Ray nodded in satisfaction.
For a while, the sound of metal clashing echoed within the enclosure.
Clang!! Clang!!
“Huh…?”
After blocking Didier’s attack, Johanna prepared to leap again but halted mid-motion.
Cornered against the fence, she had nowhere else to retreat.
The sparring session concluded.
It took Didier five minutes to subdue Johanna using the fence.
Had the fence not been there, capturing her would have taken significantly longer.
Clap clap clap!
“Johanna, that was amazing!”
Ray was extremely proud of Johanna’s progress.
After all, bringing Johanna to the orphanage, introducing her to the knights—all of it was Ray’s doing. He couldn’t help but feel accomplished.
Approaching Johanna happily, Ray attempted to wipe the sweat from her forehead with a towel he’d prepared.
However, before the towel touched her forehead, Johanna swatted Ray’s arm away sharply.
Thud!
“Don’t touch me without permission.”
Glaring at Ray with irritation, Johanna clicked her tongue and muttered.
“Annoying.”
Ray froze in place.
After thanking Didier and Jenkins, Johanna grabbed a different towel and walked out of the enclosure.
“…”
A cold breeze blew momentarily.
Shaking uncontrollably where he stood, Ray soon began shouting furiously.
“Damn it! Puberty?! Our pure and kind Johanna going through puberty?!”
Since a year ago, she had gradually become more irritable, and recently, she was clearly showing signs of entering full-blown adolescence.
Puberty is a natural growing pain as children transition into adulthood.
When children enter puberty, rather than scolding or criticizing them, it’s important to maintain communication, strengthen bonds, and patiently encourage them to open up.
However, this was all theoretical.
Ray was practically losing his mind dealing with a few adolescents.
“Damn it! After everything I’ve done for her! Feeding her, housing her, teaching her, and now she treats me like yesterday’s news?!”
Pulling his hair in frustration, Ray shouted into the sky.
“You guys owe me! Think about all the hardships I went through for you! Bringing you here when you were starving or about to be sold, raising you, and now you repay me like this?!”
Watching Ray’s anguish, Jimy smiled with teary eyes.
‘This kid is finally paying for his karma.’
Thanks to Ray, Jimy had unwillingly become the ruler of the underworld and sincerely hoped more intense adolescent troubles would come to the orphanage children, causing Ray even greater suffering.
“Grrr…!”
It took Ray some time to calm down.
With turning 13, his hormonal balance seemed slightly off, making emotional regulation harder than before.
Ray decided to think positively.
Johanna wasn’t entirely becoming rough due to puberty.
Rather, considering she had entered puberty, she was maintaining her previous diligent lifestyle remarkably well.
‘She’s still attending swordsmanship lessons earnestly, respectful to elders, and maintaining smooth peer relationships.’
It was merely her rebellious attitude toward Ray that had intensified.
In a way, this was a process most parents go through when raising children.
Letting out a long sigh, Ray closed the gate and stretched lightly.
Now that the children’s lessons were over, it was time for serious sword exchanges among experts.
“I’m planning to give it my all today.”
Drawing two swords from his waist, Ray locked eyes with Jimy, Didier, and Jenkins.
“Let’s all three of you come at me at once.”
