Pre-Battle (1)
Chapter 110
In this world, age was calculated by ‘dragon years.’
It meant that at birth, one was considered to be zero years old, and with each passing year, one would add a year to their age.
With the passing of this winter, I turned 18.
Thankfully, over the past three years, no major issues had arisen in Phillip’s County.
Although it was undoubtedly the calm before the storm, I focused on protecting and nurturing my people rather than making rash moves.
Many youngsters made progress, but Johanna and Luna particularly shone brilliantly.
Johanna’s swordsmanship improved to the point where even knights occasionally flinched, while Luna reached the third Circle in magic.
Meanwhile, my little brother turned four.
He was about forty months old, and his activity level increased daily, causing much hardship for Bella and those around him.
Moreover, compared to other children of a similar age, his development was faster in many ways, often leaving people bewildered.
Anyway, whatever.
Scritch scritch…
I looked at the scale marks carved into the wall while sharpening the lapuma blade that Seria had given me.
A month ago, I had marked my height on the wall.
The height was approximately…
174 cm.
“Ah, damn it.”
Swear words slipped out reflexively.
True, 174 cm isn’t short either in my past life or this one, but one of the few goals I set after reincarnation was now at risk of failing, which naturally made my language coarse.
After calming down somewhat by biting my lips, I realized that growth hadn’t completely stopped yet, so there was still hope.
Mixing powdered lapuma root into water, I drank it, hoping to gain at least 6 more centimeters.
“Come on, growth plates, do your job!”
Though the karmic retribution from repeatedly cracking my joints was significant, the finish line was near.
Tapping my knees lightly, I stood up.
*
Bella finally had plans with some friends today, and Jimy went to the office to handle work matters.
Looking after Lea today was Matthew’s and Ray’s responsibility.
Matthew took Lea for an outing near the manor, as he had arranged to meet Ray nearby.
Arriving early, Matthew tried hard to soothe Lea, who was inexplicably whining.
Of course, it wasn’t easy, and Lea’s cries only grew louder.
Alesya, passing by, noticed them and invited Lea and Matthew inside the manor grounds.
“You’re getting cuter every day!”
Lea, plump with baby fat, appeared incredibly adorable even to Alesya.
As Alesya played with Lea running around the garden, a familiar face approached from beyond the manor fence.
Seeing Ray approach, Alesya smiled brightly.
“My knight has arrived!”
Knowing exactly whom Alesya referred to as “my knight,” Lea immediately turned her head.
Following Alesya’s lead, upon spotting Ray, Lea ran toward him with both hands raised high.
“Big Brother!”
Ray silently watched Lea approach. Despite her cherubic appearance brimming with baby fat, her vivid red eyes stared intently at Ray.
With an expressionless face, Ray casually turned away and tripped the running Lea with his foot.
“Ack!”
Lea fell onto the grass with a thud.
Blinking several times, she quickly grasped the situation and burst into tears.
“Waaaahhh!!”
“Don’t cry, little sister. Showing tears just because you fell is not something you should do. Your future will be far more painful than this…”
“I’ll tell Mommy!!”
“Oh no, we can’t have that.”
Ray quickly picked up Lea and placed her on his shoulders.
With her eye level suddenly raised, Lea stopped crying instantly and began gleefully shouting with joy.
Alesya approached the two and tilted her head curiously.
“Ray, you seem unusually mischievous with your little sister.” While treating other orphans warmly, Ray seemed different with Lea.
Alesya left her question hanging, and Ray chuckled.
“I need to establish discipline before she starts rebelling during puberty.”
“My knight is especially strict with his younger sister.”
While Ray and Alesya were conversing, Lea, feeling ignored, pulled Ray’s hair from atop his shoulders.
“Big Brother, what’s puberty?”
“What’s puberty?”
“Puberty!”
“When Lea turns around 12, she’ll start changing into an adult. She’ll grow taller, her chest will expand, and her hips will widen. That period is called puberty.”
“Karen-nee’s chest is big too!”
Before Ray could question why Karen came up in this conversation, he recalled how significantly she had grown recently and accepted it without further argument.
“Yeah, Karen has grown too.”
“What does ‘rebelling’ mean?”
“Not listening to your big brother.”
Even as Ray conversed, he was surprised at how well he could communicate with Lea. Most children around forty months old can speak but aren’t capable of normal communication yet. For Lea to reach this level, she’d typically need to be at least fifty months old.
‘Is it because of accelerated bloodline development?’
Or perhaps she simply inherited good talent?
‘At this rate, she’s definitely beyond Rare Grade.’
While Ray coldly evaluated his younger sister’s rank, Alesya subtly approached him.
“My knight, I’ve been taking good care of Lea! I even let her sit on my shoulders!”
Though Alesya generally got along with everyone regardless of status, her special attention to Lea, a commoner, was solely due to Ray.
After boasting a bit, Alesya slyly grabbed Ray’s forearm.
“Ray, there’s a place I want to visit with you…”
“Big Brother, let’s go see Daddy! Let’s go see Daddy!”
Lea interrupted Alesya’s words by pulling Ray’s hair forcefully.
With his head tilted back, Ray forcibly detached Lea and gave Alesya an apologetic look.
“Sorry, Lady Alesya. Can I take my leave for today?”
“Hmm…”
Realizing that the mood was ruined with Lea around, Alesya replied dejectedly.
“Go ahead then.”
“I’ll visit again next time.”
Watching Ray’s retreating figure with Lea, Alesya muttered.
“My knight keeps dodging me way too much!”
Somehow, whenever she tried to create some atmosphere, Ray always found reasons to slip away.
*
After parting with Matthew, Ray started walking toward Jimy’s office.
Repeatedly placing Lea on his shoulders and then setting her down on the ground while enduring her random chatter brought him quickly to Jimy’s office.
Inside, Jimy was handling paperwork.
Due to the family’s involvement in certain businesses that couldn’t be openly conducted and various minor law enforcement tasks, Jimy had quite a lot of documents to check.
Learning to read was something Jimy forced himself to do when he was a mercenary to avoid being blindsided, but he never imagined he’d end up using it like this.
Nevertheless, reviewing documents had become second nature to Jimy now.
As he worked swiftly, a knock sounded, and Ray entered with Lea.
Jimy sighed deeply upon seeing Lea, knowing that he’d have to endure another exhausting session until Lea’s energy was drained.
Time passed.
Thanks to the combined efforts of Jimy and Ray, they finally managed to exhaust Lea’s energy.
With Lea asleep in the adjacent room, Jimy and Ray leaned back in their chairs and caught their breath.
Seeing Jimy pull out a cigarette from a drawer, Ray tilted his head.
“Didn’t you quit?”
“Seeing your face always makes me think of this first.”
Chuckling, Jimy put the cigarette back on the desk and looked at Ray.
“Hey, I’ve been wondering something.”
“Ask away, ‘Dad.'”
“…”
Jimy closed his eyes tightly.
If he shouted now, Lea would wake up, and all their hard work would be undone.
Calming himself down, Jimy asked Ray, who was smirking.
“Are you not interested in women?”
Jimy had been curious for quite a while.
Three years had passed since the conflicts ended and Phillip’s County stabilized.
Although the empire’s situation remained unstable, the county appeared peaceful on the surface.
Now that things were more relaxed, dating wouldn’t be out of place, yet the person before him acted as if he had no interest in women whatsoever.
Moreover, Ray wasn’t unpopular among women.
“Why do you keep pushing away all those women who follow you around saying they like you?”
Initially, Jimy thought Ray might be preserving his chastity for religious reasons.
However, Ray’s habit of cursing whenever talk of ‘transcendental beings’ came up suggested otherwise.
“You’re at the age where you should be chasing girls… Is there something wrong?”
With a teasing tone, Jimy’s question made Ray rest his chin on his hand.
Since Jimy had directly asked, Ray reflected on himself.
‘It’s not that I don’t feel sexual desire…’
He certainly did have sexual desires.
He wasn’t entirely devoid of excitement when looking at women his age.
And he didn’t believe in maintaining modesty like a scholar just because he reincarnated.
Yet, for some reason, whenever he thought about physical intimacy between men and women, an indescribable discomfort arose.
‘Could it be because I’ve been surrounded by those who followed me since they were too young?’
This wasn’t a very convincing reason.
Besides the orphans, many women outside also expressed interest in Ray.
Known publicly, Ray possessed exceptional talents, which made him desirable to many women.
Nevertheless, Ray deliberately avoided private meetings with women.
‘Even I think it’s strange…’
Ray reflected on his past.
The day he first encountered this world after reincarnation.
Ray heard the incessant moaning of his biological parents.
For almost several months, he was exposed helplessly to the sounds they emitted.
Later, he witnessed firsthand their violent clashes resulting in injuries.
After being taken in by Bella, he worked odd jobs in the red-light district, including cleaning contraceptives.
And three years ago, he repeatedly observed childbirth scenes while following midwives.
Based on that experience, he even delivered Lea into the world with his own hands when Bella gave birth.
“Hm…”
Ray nodded to himself after organizing his thoughts.
Having seen too many inappropriate sights since his brain was still impressionable, he now understood where the occasional discomfort in his chest originated.
Looking at Jimy, Ray said jokingly,
“Jimy, actually…”
“Actually?”
“I have a slight psychogenic…”
“Psychogenic?”
“Erectile dysfunction.”
“?!?”
Jimy was shocked.
Erectile dysfunction? At 18 years old?
Was this the reason he stayed away from women?
Of course, Ray was joking.
His equipment reacted promptly and faithfully to his will, as expected of an 18-year-old body.
Ray was about to reveal the truth and clarify that it was a joke when…
Thud!
A dull sound echoed in the room.
From beneath the table between Jimy and Ray, a loud noise of someone’s head hitting the wooden panel resounded.
Both Jimy’s and Ray’s eyes simultaneously darted toward the table.
