Like the pattern Colt had with his every return, lunch was served, and after some conversation, everyone left.
The mansion had already been fixed, and Colt went to the fireplace with Mina.
Colt gave Mina a lap pillow as his future wife slept. She was tired after cooking Colt's favorite dishes. She got too excited after learning about Colt's return.
Her stomach had already grown significantly bigger, and Colt was now taking care of her—though she didn't really need it. Colt was simply worrying a lot.
As Mina enjoyed her time with her beloved, Colt's eyes reflected the flickering fire. His mind was somewhere else; it was on Arte who clearly showed affection towards Hylda. It had shaken him to his core. Now, he's beginning to formulate methods on how he would intercept Arte's potential advances.
"Is there something in your mind, Darling?" a soft question came from Mina, who had just woken up, "Are you perhaps worried about the way the boy you brought home looked at Hylda?"
"You noticed?" Colt was surprised that Mina took note.
"I am their Mother, and I make a background check of everyone Hylda, Filla, and Lyra encounters, so I always see if anyone is looking at them. I need to be alert, especially toward boys; after all, we only have daughters.
"I saw Arte's eyes, and I don't think he has any bad intentions. Besides, I already taught Hylda how to pick the man who will stand by his side." Mina calmly said something rather disturbing.
Colt gently ran his fingers on Mina's soft hair before speaking, "Well, as a father, I can't imagine having a boy or otherwise buzzing around Hylda…I feel uncomfortable, and I somehow feel a little itchy on the palms."
Though Colt had not been Hylda's father for so long, he still had the memories and emotions of the original who had been with Hylda for years. The original cared for the lass as if she was also his daughter. Adding the fact that Hylda is now Colt's actual daughter, overprotectiveness was surfacing.
"Don't be too uptight. Try not to keep a leash on our daughters' neck. After all, they have their own lives. We should only speak when they are facing something heavy or making a terrible decision in life." Mina peacefully said.
"I supposed Arte is not a bad boy anyway, and I don't think Hylda would have any interest in romance. She's too busy with her training with the spear anyway."
"That's right, and even if Arte did do anything. We can always punish him for what he had done."
Colt gave Mina a quick kiss on the lips as he laughs at her words. Mina blushed at Colt's sudden attack. She used her hair to hide her bashfulness.
"Darling…" she said weakly as she got closer to his stomach and wrapped her hands around him, "pervert."
That moment, no maid or anyone else dared to approach the two. Even their daughters decided to practice their individual craft as they knew how much Mina had longed for Colt.
The two girls had also managed to grasp Mina's temperament—they were getting along well. As a matter of fact, Mina now knows more about Filla and Hylda than he ever did.
The day continued without so much as a problem. Colt and Mina spent time together every moment of the afternoon. With the temperature already going down, it was best to stay inside.
Colt, however, did not have that leisure. He stepped out of the mansion as Mina stayed inside to talk with Faerith and the other women. The two had a lot to talk about, first would be Hylda's birthday, second would be the forthcoming marriage, and third would be Filla's Fate Baptism.
"Filla's Fate Baptism was held off because of the commotion with the announcement of their identity. We'll hold the Fate Baptism just before your marriage, is that okay with you?" Faerith asked Mina.
"How about the end of this month, Mother? I am sure that the blacksmith Father-in-Law invited should arrive in two days together with butler Neun. I heard he's also quite the artisan; I trust he can do it." Mina said.
Vyra, who had been listening, decided to speak, "If I may, I have the experience to create a [Phylactery] for the Fate Baptism. If you can give me the needed materials, I can finish it in three days."
While Vyra was simply doing nothing in the Genesis Family, she created a handful of Phylactery to give to the young elves. Because the Elves only worshipped Goddess Root, Vyra had experience in handling both Light Stones and Darkness Ores. That was also how she managed to raise her fire and earth elements.
Their conversation lasted for hours to no end. All of it concerned about many things, and from time to time, their talks would slip, but there remained a constant topic.
Outside, Colt was practicing his sword, alone with no one but Fluff and the Chick watching him.
Swoosh!
Colt swung his sword like he always had. But as the blade reached the end, his brows creased as he found it unsatisfying. Never had he done such a sloppy swing before.
"I think I'll need to spend more time mastering my body."
He had experienced a meteoric rise in power since his arrival. It was a good thing he was improving fast, but he lost the ability to properly grasp his body because of his absurd improvement.
He now worries that if he enters combat with a companion, he might really kill someone. Right now, he was using a training sword. The Ocean's Black Heart was kept away by Sera.
If he had used Ocean's Black Heart just now, the result would have been worst. He might have chopped a tree.
However, somehow, Colt found something strange about his current body. Colt was actually getting worse in his movement; it was infuriating for him.
"Colt, do you want to know why you're not getting any better in adapting your body?"
The Chick spoke from atop a tree with Fluff. Colt just nodded his head instead of questioning why the two of them were there.
"You're having a problem because the Dragon Pearl is drawing out your potential quicker than you can imagine. Currently, you have no cap for it, and I do not know when it will stop." In other words, he was getting stronger faster than he could adapt to it.
"I never thought I'd complain about a fast power-up, but damn this is a massive headache." he was the first to complain about improving fast in the history of the western continent.
The more one improves, the harder it was to improve. But with the Dragon Pearl, Colt was cheating his way through life.
"Is there a way to stop this?"
"According to brother, the one who used it was already a Master-Level, so he doesn't really know how much it would change you."
"Meow!" Fluff nodded its head.
Improving too fast, this had now become Colt's greatest predicament. However, without any means to control it, Colt could only live with it.
Besides, it poses no threat to him as the advancement of his aura also strengthens his veins. The Dragon Pearl would gradually make Colt stronger; its drawbacks could also be fixed with his nightmarish training.
But Colt did not know when it would end.
That night, Colt first waited for Mina to sleep before sneaking out to train with a sleeping cat in hand.
Everyone was now asleep, or so he had thought. There he saw Shickly with a sword of his own in the back garden; he was even wearing his full-set of armor.
Shickly's sword was pure black and complemented the dark night. As Shickly quietly whispered to the skies, he looked at Colt, who he had already noticed when he first appeared.
"I knew you'd be training tonight." Shickly said with an unfeeling expression, "We have to talk, my son."
Colt swallowed his saliva, "Is something the matter? Is there a war I do not know of? An intruder threatening to attack us again?"
"…" Shickly was silent as he once more raised his head to gaze at the darkness, "I heard someone fell in love with my Granddaughter."
Shickly's dark aura quietly rose. Colt looked at Shickly once more and could tell that he was ready for war.
'…I forgot about him overindulging the children.'
Colt thought to himself and actually feared that blood might be spilled if he doesn't calm him down now.
He was just about to open his mouth when light footsteps echoed from behind.
Arte walked out of the same door Colt exited and faced with Count Shickly. With a blushing face, he held onto a sword Colt gave him and announced, "I-it was me…"
Colt's was surprised as Arte's first act of showing his bravery was stand up against Shickly and announce his intentions.
'Oh… he's purer than I thought.' He thought as he saw the blushing boy. Arte was only twelve in both lives; it was easy to understand how embarrassing it was to announce such a thing—he was a brave boy.
Shickly held tightly onto his sword as he grinned, "You're brave I'll give you that. But you are still not worthy of my granddaughter. I feel mana around you, raise your wand and show me your might."
Arte walked past Colt and stood before the fully armored Shickly, "I wield no wand, sir; I am a swordsman." Arte announced with pride.
Silence prevailed as Colt realized what's going on—Arte's about to lose his head.
Colt wanted to stop them, but he believed…that Shickly wouldn't kill a child and simply give him a beating.
"Come at me!" Shickly cried, and Arte darted forth.
'He has plot armor; winning this might actually—'
Bam!
Colt watched as Shickly balled up his fist and punched the boy in the face. Arte lay on the ground, unconscious.
'He'll live—I think I fucked up.' Colt hoped that plot armor really worked this time around.