Abel and Gancelot gasps
- Are we already getting a mistress!? they both asks
- What the hell do you two have in your heads? asks Noah. I felt it when she healed me-
- You fell in love when she healed you!? they both asks
- S H U T U P. says Juliana in a glacial tone that sent shivers to Abel and Gancelot. What do you mean, Noah? What did you feel when she healed you?
- Her healing spell was stronger than Lexie's.
- How is that possible? ask Juliana. Lexie is a healer with four mana hearts.
- When it comes to healing magic, mana heart only determines how long they can keep the healing going and the number of healing spells. Not the quality.
- Then, what determines the quality of the healing? asks Gancelot
- That is something that I don't know. says Noah. I never used healing magic, after all. But wait... where is my brother?
- He received a message and said he had something to do. After that, he left. explains Abel
{Noah}
" He had something to do?"
The limousine arrives and stops in front of the group. Roan gets out of the car and heads straight toward Noah
- Young Master! Are you okay!? asks Roan
- I am fine. Just a little tired. answer Noah while looking at the three others while silently telling them not to say a thing about what happened in the forest.
All three of them nod. They all get in the car and they head back to the mansion
[When the car stops in front of the mansion]
Noah gets and the others get out of the car after Roan opened the door for them
- By the way, Roan? asks Noah
- Yes, young master?
- Do you know what my brother had to do that was so urgent that he had to leave without us? asks Noah
- I do not know. All I know is that he received a call from your father. answers Roan
- Father was here? asks Noah
- Yes. He came to pick up some documents and left almost immediately after arriving. says Roan
- What about my mom?
- She is in the living room. answers Roan
- Ok. says Noah while walking toward the door
A servant opens the door and Noah and the others walk inside the mansion.
- Where were you, Noah? asks Leyah while walking up to the group
{Noah}
" She seems.... mad? I don't know.... her facial expressions don't give a lot of clues as to how she feels."
- We were at the adventurer guild.
{Noah}
" Luckily, I recovered enough to walk around alone but I can still feel the residual thunder."
- What were you doing there? she asks
- We signed up to become adventurers. answers Noah
He turns around and looks at the three others
- You guys can go upstairs. I will join you later.
The trio heads into the elevator and leaves. Noah turns around, toward Leyah, and ask
- Is something wrong?
- Your Father and brothers were called by the king. she says while heading to the living room
Noah follows her. They arrive there and they both sit down
- Why? Did something happen?
- Yes. It seems like the monster's activity has increased.
- Increased?
- Yeah. This week, monsters have tried to enter two cities and some weird monsters started appearing too.
- What do you mean by weird?
- Monsters that looked like two different monsters were mixed together.
{Noah}
" Mutated monsters have been appearing at other places!? History really has started to change."
{Bright}
- History is not set in stone while still being set in stone at the same time.
{Noah}
" What do you mean?"
{Bright}
- Oh! I only repeated something that I heard someone say.
- You can go up with your friends Noah. says Leyah. I was just worried since I couldn't find you.
- You don't need to worry. I am fine and I am strong.
Noah gets up and heads upstairs
- Your son is growing up to be a fine man, Lilith. says Leyah
[In Noah's room]
Noah is sitting on a chair thinking while Gancelot and Abel are playing games and Juliana is reading a book
{Noah}
" The situation might be worse than I thought. If mutated monsters have started appearing that also means that demonic prana has started leaking in this realm."
Noah comes to a realization
- No way... Is it possible that...
Abel, Gancelot, and Juliana look at him
- Is something wrong, Noah? asks Juliana
Noah looks at them
- I... I am completely fine. says Noah with a pensive expression
Juliana gets up, heads toward Noah, and grabs him by the collar
- What are you doing? asks Noah
- Gancelot told me about it but now that I experience it, it really feels shitty. says Juliana
Noah looks at Gancelot and then looks at Juliana
- What are you talking about? he asks
- I am talking about the fact that you keep telling us that you are fine when you clearly aren't fine. AT ALL!
Noah sigh
- Ok. Fine, you win. he says
Juliana lets him go
- Now, talk.
Abel, Gancelot, and Juliana grab a chair and sits down next to Noah. Noah sighs again
- Apparently, there has been an increase in monster activity.
- What does that mean? asks Abel
- Two cities were attacked by monsters.
The three others gasp
- However, fortunately, there was no casualty since my father was near. Both of the times
Juliana nods
- He wasn't near... He was deployed... by my father.
- That's not all. says Noah
- What else is there, master? asks Gancelot
- Both of the times, my father noticed that they were monsters that appeared that were stronger than they were supposed to be according to their prana cores that he took after killing them.
- How were they different? asks Juliana
- They were weird... It was like two monsters from different races were mixed into one. Just like-
- Just like the one you met in the forest. finishes Juliana
- Yeah... just like that one. answer Noah slowly
- So, you are worried because your father and both of your brothers were called by the king and are probably gonna be sent to deal with these monsters? asks Abel
Noah gets up
- Let's go, guys. says Noah
- Where are we going, Boss? asks Abel
- To the palace. I think I know why these weird monsters started appearing. says Noah
- WHAT!? the three others say while following him
The group takes the elevator and heads downstairs. The elevator stops, they walk out of it and head to the door where Roan is waiting since Noah told him to prepare the car. Leyah walks out of the kitchen and appears in front of the group
- Where are you guys going? asks Leyah. You just got here 30 minutes ago.
- I lied to you. says Noah
Leyah looks at Noah and crosses her arms
- Ok... Now, what did you lie to me about? asks Leyah
- During the adventurer exam, I met one of those weird, mixed monsters and I almost died while fighting it. admits Noah
- You met one of those? And you fought it?
- Yeah and I think I know... No. I saw why the monsters change and I need to tell this to father and the others.
Leyah sighs
- You are just like your father in too many ways. she says with a small smile
{Noah}
" Wrong. Father fights to protect the kingdom and its people. While I fight for revenge."
- Go. says Leyah
Noah and the others get into the car. The car starts up and heads toward the capital of the kingdom; Fayrak City.
[At the palace with Luke, Yoan, Galliard, and Darius]
- Still no information about those new monsters? asks Galliard
- Nothing on my end. says Luke. What about you, Yoan?
- Nothing here too. he answers
- I got nothing too. says Darius
- Damn it. says Galliard. I contacted the other kingdoms and it seems like it's happening in their territories too.
- They also dont know or are they hiding it or is one of them responsible for what's happening? asks Darius
- There is no way to know for sure. says Galliard. Which is why I was thinking of sending some emissaries to verify their claims.
- There is no other choice anyways. says Luke
- Who are you sending? asks Yoan
{Yoan}
" I hope it's not me. I won't have the time to relax if I go. This is such a pain in the ass."
- One of them is your second son, Luke.
Luke frowns
- Galliard. says, Luke
- I am not the one that told him to go. I sent a recruitment notice to a select few and he said he was willing to go.
- What? says Yoan
The door opens and a servant enters the room
- What are you doing? asks Galliard
- I know that it is forbidden to intrude on a King's Sword meeting but you have a group of guests.
- What is so important about them.
- Their leader says that he might have an answer to the question you are currently asking yourself.
Yoan, Galliard, Darius, and Luke look at each other and they all nod
- Who is it? asks Luke
- It's the Duke's third child. The one named Noah and his friends.
- What? they all say
[Outside of the room]
- You can enter. a butler says to Noah
Noah enters the room and all pairs of eyes are fixated on him
- Noah. This better not be a joke. says Galliard
- Galliard, believe me when I say that I have never seen him tell a joke. says Yoan
Noah sits down on a chair
- Today, I took the adventurer's exam. says Noah
- What? Why? asks Yoan
- I would also like to hear your reason. says Luke
- The reason doesn't matter. What matter is the fact that during the exam, I almost died because I met one of those weird/mixed monsters?
- YOU ALMOST DIED!? yells Yoan. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, NOAH?
- Noah. Explain yourself. says Luke with an angry tone
Noah sighs
- I tried to fight the monster but it turned out that he was way stronger than I thought plus he kept getting stronger. In the end, just as I was about to die, Fenrax showed up but the monster escaped.
- Ok, Noah. I got two questions for you. says Galliard
- Go ahead. he says
- First, How did you know what was discussed here? Second, what do you know about those monsters?
- To answer your first question, my mom is the cousin of the king and the wife of the Duke which is also a King's Sword.
- So my cousin told you. That makes sense. says Galliard. What about the second one?
- I saw the monster before it turned. It was a normal Sabretiger but it was eating the wolf and its prana core. After that, it started changing.
- Are you saying that Sabretiger ate the wolf and then started changing? asks Darius
- Yes. At first, there were only small changes and the more time passed the more he was changing, the more he was getting stronger too.
- Now we have a reason why they change. says Darius
- It's not complete, though. says Noah. Monsters killing each other and eating each other prana cores in order to get stronger faster is not something new.
- True... . says Galliard. Well, thank you, Noah. You can leave now.
Noah leaves the room and heads downstairs
{Noah}
" Things are seriously getting troublesome"