207th Chapter
“…”
Ray’s eyes darted around nervously, trying to gauge Luna’s reaction.
After a long while of hesitating, Ray finally mustered the courage to speak up to Luna.
“Uh… Luna.”
“What is it?”
“Forbidden necromancy magic aside, can’t you just focus on other areas of research?”
“Shut up and get back to preparing dinner.”
At Luna’s cold tone, Ray flinched but eventually gathered his resolve to try and reason with her.
“At this rate, we might get discovered by the Empire’s pursuit team again…”
“Ugh, damn it!”
With a loud bang, Luna slammed her hand on the table, frowned, and raised a finger at Ray.
“Care to taste a Meteor?”
As Ray stepped back fearfully, Luna wagged her finger side to side as a warning.
“If you keep pestering me like this, your house will be turned into A-Space. Behave yourself.”
“Guh… No, please don’t…”
“…”
Watching Ray suffer from what seemed like a nightmare, Luna eventually couldn’t bear it anymore and lightly slapped his cheeks.
With a gasp, Ray woke up from his dream.
Inside the guest room prepared within the Prislan Clan Fortress.
Seeing Luna’s calm expression as usual, Ray let out a sigh of relief.
“My, what a strange dream…”
Our Luna is far too kind to do something like that. What nonsense.
While brushing his hair back and muttering to himself, Ray glanced at Luna again.
Gazing into her silver eyes glowing faintly in the dark brought a sense of calm to his heart.
“Luna, haven’t you gone back to your room yet? You should rest now; you’ve pushed yourself too hard.”
After a brief silence, Luna asked an unexpected question.
“Is everything Ray needs to do finished?”
She was asking if all the important tasks that required Ray to overexert himself had been completed.
In essence, could they now live peacefully without further harm?
After some thought, Ray raised one finger.
“To fulfill Lord Gardi’s wish, I’ll need to work harder at least once more, won’t I?”
Slap!
“Ouch.”
Luna slapped Ray’s cheek again before standing up.
“I’m going to rest.”
Just as Ray had said, Luna needed her rest too.
Even someone like Luna needed sufficient time and effort to fully recover from an overheated Magic Circle.
After waving goodbye to Luna as she left the room, Ray buried his head back into the pillow.
Rubbing the cheek Luna had lightly hit, Ray sighed deeply.
“If only the Titi issue could be resolved somehow… Afterward, perhaps keeping an eye on the empire’s situation while handling a few leftover tasks would suffice.”
Ray thought that doing even this much was already plenty.
Was there anything else that needed solving?
“…One more thing.”
Securing a Dragon Heart fragment.
Specifically, one from the royal family’s heritage that could be used by royalty.
‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have teased Ernst so much after all…’
Right after the Warp Gate incident, due to lack of time for proper consideration, Ray had lied to Ernst, saying that obtaining the Royal Dragon Heart could extend his own lifespan slightly.
However, the prospect of extending Ray’s lifespan wasn’t likely to be that appealing to the Emperor.
Still, reflecting on past achievements, Ray thought he might manage to secure a small fragment.
‘For now, I’ll think about this part more carefully…’
Truthfully, even if everything went well and the Dragon Heart was obtained, Ray was uneasy whether Lea could live her life without revealing her origins.
Nevertheless, in about 20 years, children like Luna and Johanna would likely establish their own families and gain power and influence.
He believed they could trust Bella and Lea to them then.
With that thought, Ray closed his eyes again.
There was still time before dawn.
*
The Prislan Clan Fortress greeted another ordinary morning.
From early morning, Speira, drenched in sweat, changed her training uniform and adjusted her breathing.
“Huff…”
Though the world was thrown into chaos due to the falling meteor, it didn’t affect Speira much.
Speira continued to dedicate most of her efforts to swordsmanship practice and learning what was necessary as a noble.
Having such an environment where she could solely focus on self-improvement regardless of external turmoil was a privilege of those who had means.
Speira reviewed her recent sparring match with Johanna.
It ended in a narrow draw.
Throughout the fight, Johanna had generally held the upper hand—an undeniable fact.
Johanna’s swordplay was very free-flowing, unconventional, and precise.
Using a heavy broadsword against Johanna’s style wasn’t particularly effective.
Still, for Speira to push Johanna, each strike had to be executed with extreme precision.
While reviewing the match, Speira encountered Alesya walking toward her from the opposite direction.
“Good morning.”
“Ah, good morning indeed!”
Alesya greeted Speira with a sly grin.
This peculiar smile made Speira feel an odd discomfort rise within her.
After pondering for a moment, Speira asked,
“Alesya-sama, would you care for a cup of tea?”
“Oh, let’s do that!”
Knowing that the servants would use extremely expensive tea leaves to brew the tea, Alesya happily followed Speira closely.
Soon, Speira sat across from Alesya, looking at her nonchalantly with tea and snacks set before them.
Alesya, despite appearances, maintained proper etiquette during such occasions, though it was somewhat outdated.
When their eyes met, Alesya paused mid-sip and grinned again.
Unable to hold back any longer, Speira directly questioned,
“Alesya-sama, is there something you’d like to say to me?”
Looking around cautiously, Alesya replied,
“No… It’s just… I feel sorry for you…”
“Sorry for me?”
“That you couldn’t enter into a betrothal with Ray… You must feel quite disappointed, right?”
Saying this, the corners of Alesya’s mouth trembled as she tried to suppress her laughter.
Finally, Speira’s brows furrowed sharply.
“The engagement is disappointing, but it’s fine. Even without a formal arrangement, we can maintain a deep relationship.”
“Pfft!”
Choking on her tea, Alesya hurriedly wiped her mouth with a napkin and widened her eyes.
“W-What are you implying?”
“Even if the engagement is impossible, who could interfere with mutual affection between a man and a woman?”
“How dare you entertain such scandalous thoughts…!”
Though Alesya was shocked, Speira remained calm.
Among nobles, especially central nobles, engagements were akin to contracts between families.
While overly promiscuous behavior from a spouse would undoubtedly be problematic, having mutually agreed-upon mistresses or lovers was not uncommon.
After swallowing the tea she had been sipping, Speira offered a gentle smile.
“Don’t you think sharing swords together could lead to shared feelings?”
“N-No! Concubines might be acceptable, but I cannot allow mistresses! I have no intention of having one. Ray alone is more than enough for me!”
“Does Ray really feel the same way?”
“…!”
Stunned, Alesya’s mouth hung open as Speira continued,
“Even if Ray enters into an engagement with you… Do you think your rather plump body could handle the stamina required of a Swordmaster?”
“It’s not plump!”
“Excuse me, ‘a body predominantly composed of fat’—could it endure the demands of a Swordmaster’s strength at night?”
Exposed repeatedly to verbal attacks, Alesya slumped back in her chair, half-dazed.
Seizing the opportunity, Speira delivered the final blow.
“You’ll need to put in a lot of effort if you want to be loved by your husband.”
After finishing her tea and placing the cup down, Speira stood up with a warm smile.
“I’ll take my leave first. Please enjoy the tea and snacks slowly before getting up.”
“…”
Having unnecessarily started trouble and ended up stripped bare spiritually, Alesya slumped forward, resting her forehead on the table.
*
After taking a few days of rest to recover his strength at the Prislan Clan Fortress, Ray headed to the training grounds.
On the grounds, among others, Johanna and Delun, along with children from Phillip’s County, were practicing swordplay. Ray quietly took a seat in the corner to observe the children.
During the months he had been away, their sword skills had noticeably improved overall.
Especially Delun, who had recently entered the Expert level, seemed to have made remarkable progress in a short period, seemingly obsessed with the sword.
Still, he was no match for Johanna.
BOOM!!
“Ahh!”
Delun groaned loudly as he tumbled backward after sparring with Johanna and struggled to get up.
Such was the nature of talent disparity.
After patting Delun on the back, Ray drew two swords.
After catching her breath, Johanna charged at Ray.
Clang!!!
Their swords clashed.
Johanna swung her sword infused with her utmost Sword Aura.
However, Ray remained firmly planted in his position, effortlessly blocking Johanna’s attack.
Taking a defensive stance, Ray muttered to himself,
“Five years… no, ten years might be needed. Still, until I die, I should be able to withstand Johanna’s advances.”
Deep within Ray’s mind was the sword art created by Harshia.
Thus, instead of his martial arts improving with ascending levels, Ray’s mastery was closer to his advanced sword art pulling him upward.
Of course, this was possible because of Ray’s innate talent.
Regardless, to Johanna, Ray remained a steadfast and reliable presence, like a wall.
BOOM!!
An explosion occurred at the sword’s edge, accelerating Johanna’s blade.
Johanna’s technique, rearranged from Overdrive, had become much more refined compared to the past.
Ray marveled at the elegant flow of her sword movements.
“Johanna’s impressive… but Zephirin truly is a master craftsman.”
Zephirin had crafted the perfect, balanced sword design for Johanna, allowing her to wield her techniques smoothly and delicately.
After supporting Johanna’s sword strikes, Ray began to feel winded and slashed with both swords in a sweeping motion.
A distortion in space occurred in the gap, slightly altering the trajectory of Johanna’s swing.
Although Johanna quickly corrected it, she couldn’t stop Ray’s advance.
Crash!
As their swords pointed toward each other, Ray and Johanna reversed their grips and collided.
Caught in an embrace-like posture, the heat from their bodies momentarily warmed each other’s skin.
Ray collapsed onto the ground nearby, groaning.
“Phew, this is exhausting…”
His rest was still insufficient, leaving his stamina lagging.
“As it is, I might die…”
While lying flat on his back and teasingly praising Johanna’s improved skills,
Johanna placed her feet on either side of Ray’s head and looked down at him.
From Ray’s perspective, Johanna’s face and groin were prominently highlighted—a rather uncomfortable angle filled with unpleasant memories.
Feeling a bit of PTSD symptoms, Ray cautiously requested,
“Johanna, could you move your feet a little to the side?”
Upon confirming Ray’s expression, Johanna pouted.
“I’ve been washing and changing my training clothes often, as per Lady Speira’s advice.”
“Ah… That’s good to hear.”
“So my training clothes no longer smell.”
“Do I really need to confirm that?”
“…”
Despite her embarrassment, Johanna blushed but steeled her resolve.
She had to endure this humiliation to erase the stigma of being smelly in Ray’s mind.
Summoning her courage, Johanna asked,
“Why? Are you scared?”
“Yeah. Terrified.”
“Yah!!!!!”
Johanna yelled in frustration.
Negotiation (2)
