"BAHAHAHA!!"
Boisterous laughter resounding inside of the Welford's manor that night and inside of the lounge room, the adults were spending time together.
Henry was the source of the laugh, together with Rowan as they drunk their wine.
"Master! Did you see his face! BAHAHAHA!! I can't stop laughing!" Henry laughed while his face was a bit red, starting to get tipsy from his drink.
"Yeah!! HAHAHAHA!! THAT WAS PRICELESS!" Rowan laughed as well, his red face almost matched Henry.
Right now, they were talking about the face Bradley made when Iris refused his offer to be betrothed with his son the Crown Prince, but unfortunately Iris refused it with smile.
[I don't want to be someone's fiancé who I know nothing about, so~ I'm sorry, your Highness~]
"....she said~ Fufufu~ I can't believe there's someone who dared to say that to him other than you Eliza! You should have look at his face! He was so shocked to the point that his jaw almost dropped to the floor!" Matilda laughed, joining on their drunken conversation and explained it to Eliza who were present at the party.
"Ehehehe~" Eliza looked away, rubbing her neck as she was embarrassed of being reminded of her past.
"Well that's my wife and daughter for you! I love them both!" Henry slurred, wrapping his arm around Eliza's waist.
"Fufufu~ you drink too much, dear~" Eliza replied while smiling.
*GULP* *GULP* *GULP*
Henry and Rowan gulping their wine down until they emptied the glass, exhaling deeply for a moment, "It's fine dear~ we are celebrating after all~" Henry smiled at her, he intended to look confident and smooth but he's actually seconds away from getting shit faced.
Eliza smiled warmly towards him, "Indeed...I am glad nothing happen to Iris after I heard her being called by the King with you." she sighed while rubbing her cheek a bit.
"But...i wonder...since when did our Iris grow up this much...if she grow up too fast, she might miss the wonders and joy of childhood..." Eliza murmurred, looking down at the wine glass in hands.
Henry and Rowan stopped drinking at that, as they were concerned about that as well.
But not Matilda of course, she just calmly drink her wine in delight.
Rowan who noticed her weird behaviour in this kind of atmosphere, threw her a pointed stare, "Matilda...why are you so calm at this? Shouldn't you be worried as well since she's our student."
"Why should I be worried?" Matilda asked while raising one of her eyebrows.
"Master..." Eliza pouted.
Matilda chuckled, "Fufufu~ isn't it fine? We shouldn't worry about her that much, I mean just let her grow alone."
"But–!!"
"But what? You're thinking that letting her grow like this might be bad for both of her childhood and future, isn't it?" Matilda cutted off Rowan before he could even speak and casually mentioned this as if she knew what he was about to say.
"If you are an adult, then act like one. If this growth of hers turned out badly...well, we as the adults have the responsibility to lead her the way, as I am her teacher now...I will certainly guide the way and then let her decide how she wanted to grow as a human being." Matilda explained with a sigh, putting her wine down on the table.
"Besides, I was your teacher as well Eliza...you were the most talented mage before your daughter came to life, and I am worried as well about your growth at that time but now...look at you." She smiled, vaguely gesturing to her as a whole, "You are the Duchess and not only that the Second best mage in this kingdom...and I couldn't be more proud at that."
Eliza felt the blush on her cheeks at her master's praise and ended up giggling childishly in embarrassment, "Ehehehe~"
"That being said...if I'm not worried about her...then that was a lie because I'm more concerned about this incident and this whole plan she came up with." Matilda spoke, touching her lips and looked worried.
Rowan closed his eyes and nodded his head while folding his arms to his chest. "Indeed."
"Well it's still a good thing that we manage to be able to retrieve that [Arm] before the Royalty get got it." Matilda spoke and sighed while resting her back to her seat, "It was pretty hard since how much miasma that thing lets out and especially those anti-magic which is hard for me to carry it."
Henry and Eliza looked at each other for a moment, before asking them a question, "Master...could you tell us what did you face before we arrived at that place?"
"Hmmm...indeed, we only told you the plan that was made by your daughter but not the whole story." Rowan sighed before meeting their gaze.
"That time, I was facing against this three-headed dog...that could breathe 3 different elements at once."
"A three-headed dog??" Henry asked Incredulously.
"Mhm, it has tremendous power for a monster to begin with...especially for a [Chimera]."
"[Chimera]? Isn't that supposed to be forbidden in this kingdom? All records of the creation of [Chimera] have been destroyed over centuries ago, are you sure that is [Chimera]...Rowan-sama." Eliza asked to reaffirm the facts.
"Well at first I don't know...until Matilda explained to me that the thing that I faced was indeed a [Chimera]."
"Is that true Master?" Eliza turned to her for confirmation.
"The probability isn't zero...but unless my eyes decieve me, I am certain that it was 100% a [Chimera]." Matilda explained, "The thing that I faced was different from Rowan...it was a Wyvern."
"A wyvern? Isn't that an A rank monster?" Rowan asked.
"Indeed...it was, but that thing was tougher than I expected."
"What do you mean?"
"Well..that thing was not your ordinary wyvern...the body was big...big enough to match those so called Dragons...and that's not alll...I shot it with one of my strongest magic."
"....but that thing survived...with little injuries."
When Matilda told them, their eyes grew wide in surprise.
"Impossible...Master's strongest magic...couldn't even defeat it?" Eliza muttered in disbelief as she was more shocked than anyone here.
"Then how did you manage to defeat it?" Rowan asked instead.
"Not me...but we. Silvi stepped forward instead of me and defeated it herself" Matilda closed her eyes, a fond smile bloomed on her face.
Rowan raised his brows, "Silvi did it?"
"Yeah, that girl seems so eager to defeat that thing...so I let her do it~ and the result were more amazing than I thought it would~" Matilda giggled as she remembered vividly about the night Silvi defeated the Wyvern all by herself.
"Well, I did damage the Wyvern beforehand and Silvi finished it...but what about you Rowan? How did you managed to defeat yours?" Matilda asked.
"Hmm?? Me?? Hahaha! Of course I defeated it with my strongest sword skill of course! Unlike you-" Rowan boasted.
"Don't you dare dissing me! If that thing doesn't have high magic resistance, I could defeat it on my own!" Matilda snapped back.
"Well mine have high physical resistance! Yet I still win! you old lady~" Rowan said in mockery, throwing playful jabs towards her.
"You–!!"
"What?~"
Suddenly the conversation slowly spiralled into an argument as these two fought verbally once again while Henry and Eliza just silently watched them in the sidelines.
"Haaa...seriously, let's just go back to the topic! The point is...the monster we fought has something horrible mixed in from my deduction and my magic eyes." Matilda sighed before she continued with her explanation, "The [Wyvern] has [Giant] genetic for its gigantic body and the anti-magic property came from [The Ashura]s."
"I see...so that's why you have difficulties dealing with it since Silvi who is a [Magic Swordsman] can use physical and magic...thus managed defeat it."
"Indeed, and for you darling it seems the [Chimera] is more interesting than I thought."
"What do you mean??"
"From my deduction and checking from the corpse you brought down...it seems that [Chimera] came from a monster called [Hellhound]."
"[Hellhound]?! Isn't that B rank monster?! How come it's so big! Especially using other element than fire!" Rowan began to shout as he was more suprised after hearing where the [Chimera] identity came from.
"Of course, but did you forget? It's a [Chimera]...it means something have been combined to create that monster." Matilda explained.
"And what is that [something] you mean?"
Matilda sighed for a moment and looked at Rowan. "The power that it shot to you came from the source of all mages...[The Mana Heart]."
"Does that mean..." Henry trailed off, not really liking what it's implying
"Someone successfully planted someone's [Mana Heart] inside a monster?!" Eliza shouted
Rowan shook his head, "What a despicable thing to do."
"Indeed...and it also used other [Hellhound] to create those three head and [Giant] genetic too for its giant body...and of course, [The Ashura] genetic to top it off."
"But the only thing that differentiate this thing with mine...is that it has low quantity of anti-magic property inside...but it has a strong physical resistance to make up what it lacks, that's why it can breathe magic out from its mouth."
"Sadly, it was a bad match up with you, Rowan...someone who could pass its limit on taking that strong physical attack." Matilda explained and complimented him at the same time with a smile.
"HAHAHA! Well it was a strong enemy, but I'm glad it did work out...since almost all of my normal attack and half-assed one...won't be able to pass through that thick skin." Rowan boasted but slowly he looked somewhat upset since he couldn't defeat that [Chimera] without getting himself serious.
"Indeed, but the most of all...the one that Iris face...is much stronger than ours." Matilda spoke out.
Henry and Eliza looked more concerned, "What about it? What is this thing that she faced?" Henry asked.
"It was...something that we ourselves cannot defeat.
"A monster...with unimaginable power and not only that...it has strong physical and magic resistance...as if the other Chimera we faced was just a test subject."
"A test subject??" Henry asked.
"Indeed...a test subject to create that thing and that's not all...the power that creature emitted...it was the same when we both faced [The Ashura] for the first time–no...maybe it's more than that." Matilda finished her explanation grimly and Rowan could only nodded along.
Henry gulped as Eliza got even paler.
"As if it's not enough...it could even use [Skill] and [Magic]." Matilda explained.
"What?!" Henry and Eliza shouted incredulously almost at the same time
"Yes...if it's a generic monster's ability then I would know...but that creature...the power that it showed to us...was like us, people with a job." Matilda explained.
"Yeah it was...and the skill was of [Martial Arts] and it even use [Aura]." Rowan joined in and folded his arms again.
"That was absurd!...and it can use [Magic]?! How did Iris even defeated it!" Henry asked in confusion about how did his daughter defeat that kind of monster.
A monster who were born with [The Ashura, Styx] power, a [Skill] and a [Magic]...is something impossible to defeat, it needed some sort of miracle or someone who have [Hero] as their job.
But for a little girl who's barely 10 years old?
Rowan and Matilda right now is making this kind of complicated look on their face, as if they couldn't describe what happened.
"I-...I don't even know how to explain it." Rowan shook his head.
"Indeed...the only thing that I know is that Iris were able to defeat that monster." Matilda nodded.
"That is true...an unimaginable power, a beautiful swordsmanship..." Rowan muttered
"...and a strong magical power that cannot be compared to anything in this world." Matilda continued as if in sync with him.
"It was as if someone replaced her for a moment and fought that monster." Matilda explained as she still could remember how Iris acted and behaved.
Then when they looked at each other, they laughed for a moment.
"Hahaha! Well let the by gones be by gone~" Matilda sighed and rested her back on her seat.
"True, let's just rest and think about those things later." Rowan spoke as he drank his wine once again.
Meanwhile Henry and Eliza still concerned about it, but seeing their teacher acted like this...they brushed away those thoughts with a sigh
Different teacher, same behavior.
******
Meanwhile, when the adult are celebrating inside of the house, Iris had her own celebration at the garden behind the Welford's manor, in this night under the moonlight, surrounded with beautiful flower around her. She was sipping her tea with two–...no, three people around her.
Her personal maid–Silvi, who's pouring tea to fill her cup.
Her personal guard–Harson, who stood right beside them and keep watch of their surroundings.
And lastly, her new personal spy and espionage–William, who sat on the rooftop of a small veranda where Iris was having her tea time.
Iris sighed and closed her eyes, "Such a beautiful night~ I never thought it can be this pleasant~" Iris commented while looking at the moon from down there.
"Yes~ Ojou-sama~ What a great night it is~" Silvi replied while she finished filling her tea once again.
"Indeed, your tea created such a romantic atmosphere~ which I love it very much, thank you Silvi~" Iris complimented her with a smile.
Silvi nodded happily as she just stood there and feel blessed to hear her compliment. "It's my pleasure to serve you, Ojou-sama~"
While the girls having their own conversation, Harson and William was talking a bit further away.
"Hey you." Harson called him out.
"Hm? What is it?" William replied while looking down.
"Ummmm...look, I'm sorry that I insulted you that time...and..." Harson rubbed the back of his neck, "...Thank you for saving me." He thanked him while looking away a bit.
William blinked and chuckled, "Hahaha~ You really are a pretty honest man, but I just did what people would do when someone's in danger, you are not so different than I am."
Harson still looked away but then he turned his face forward and, "No...we are different." He spoke out bluntly.
"What?! I'm a honest man, you know!"
"A honest man would not be haggling his master's money." Harson said with pointed look
"What's so wrong with that~ money is money and it's the best thing in the world~"
"Money grubber." Harson mocked
"Lost puppy~" William mocked back in a sing song voice
After that they both glared at each other, Iris and Silvi laughed a bit seeing these two arguing again.
"Since when did you two become a good friend~" Iris teased them.
"Who's friend with him!!" They shoutes at the same time while pointing at each other.
Iris giggled, "Okay okay~ well I'm glad you are both doing great together~" Iris ignored the fact they denied themselves to be "friends" which made them glare at each other again.
Iris sighed for a moment, returning to admire the moon above her as she reminisced about something.
'Ah, if I remember...doesn't Ray-sama went for a journey few weeks ago? And few weeks later, a guy name [Crimson] came out all of sudden...is it coincidence?'
Iris slowly folded her arms and closed her eyes,
'Hmmmm...now that I think about it again...this coincidence...there's so much hole...what if....Ray-sama is...'
Then she snapped her eyes open, '...Crimson?!'
But then she giggled and shrugged her shoulders, 'Nah~ what am I thinking~ there's no way Ray-sama is Crimson~ cause if he is...this game is already bugged enough from how overpowered he is~'
Iris sighed, 'Now let's just enjoy this moment, I did prevent the most horrible event and managed to survive from that monster.'
As she relaxed her body, her eyes began to close. "Hmmm...I wonder who's the one...who he fought with...."
Iris gradually fell asleep on her seat.
Silvi, Harson and William who noticed that Iris has fallen asleep, smiled.
"Sweet dream...Ojou-sama~" Silvi spoke softly as she gently carry her small body in her arms, walking back into the manor together.
The tragedy that was supposed to happen...has been successfully prevented.
.
.
.
And another path was going to take another bumpy road.
*******
*BOOM*
Suddenly a big explosion occured in the middle of forest, there's a man wearing black armor and a helmet that looked like some sort of beast with gray fur covered the back of his helmet.
There's a crack on its left eye but it has been fixed and it resulted to this yellow scar pattern.
The man was also holding a bow on his hand and is now dumbfounded when he looked at what happened in front of him.
A voice came out inside of the man's head, speaking towards him directly 'Kiritsuka...I think...
.
.
.
.
you just overdid it.' Ray commented as they could see the forest that was once there...got oblirated by something completely.
The ground were scattered around and the trees got knocked down every where.
"Yeah...I think so too." Rei replied and looked even more shocked after seeing what he had done until a notice popped out in front of them.
[Notice!]
[You have learned skill "Archer Artillery Mastery"]
[You have learned skill "Artillery Strike"]
"Hahaha, now...how are we supposed to eat."
Finally, the future strongest knight in history, continued his journey once again.
To be continue...
*Iris' current status*
=======================================
[STATUS]
NAME: Iris May Welford/ Hanamachii Yomi
JOB : Magic Swordsman
TITLE : [The Other Worlder]; [The Villainess]; [Quick Learner]; [Magic Master]; [Sword Master]
[Level: 27 >>> 38]
[HP: 4020/4020 >>> 4570/4570]
[MP: 1200/1200 >>> 1410/1410]
[FATIGUE: 0]
EXP: 0/16500
STATUS POINT : 110
______
STRENGTH : 77(+15) >>> 88(+15)
AGILITY : 77 >>> 88
VITALITY : 77 >>> 88
INTELLIGENCE : 115(+15) >>> 126(+15)
SENSE : 59(+15) >>> 70(+15)
SKILL
Magic Mastery Lv5; Sword Mastery Lv5; Super Growth LvMax; Darkness Magic Lv5, Light Magic Lv4; Magic Eyes Lv4; The Villainess LvMax; Etiquette Lv6; Knitting Lv4; Cooking Lv4
Status Appraisal Lv5
Foresight Lv5
Restraint Lv5
Intimidate Lv5
Shadow Movement Lv5
Shadow Blade Lv6
Heal Lv6
Holy Light Lv4
Sword Dance Lv6
Vital Strike Lv6
Omni-Slash Lv6
Dark Pulse Lv4
Silent Field Lv1
Holy Wall Lv2
Take Over LvMax [Locked] !!NEW!!
Enchant : Strength !!NEW!!
Enchant : Shield !!NEW!!
Enchant : Speed !!NEW!!
Divine Art : 13th Pillars !!NEW!!
=======================================