Therese's personality was quite similar to that of Zenith—both were competitive and stubborn.
She had been chasing after Wood for some time but failed to catch him. Frustrated, Therese eventually removed her heavy knight armor and decided to engage in the pursuit with lighter gear.
However, even with her agility, Therese still couldn't even touch the hem of Wood's clothes, despite being breathless from exhaustion.
"Zenith, did you secretly cast some kind of spell on that brat Wood?" Therese complained.
As Wood's elder and meeting him for the first time, being humiliated in front of a child wasn't something Therese could take lightly.
Given that Wood was her sister's son, it meant he was around ten years old. There was no reason why she, the captain of the Temple Knights, couldn't catch such a young kid. Therese assumed that Zenith must have used some magic to boost her son's abilities.
"I didn't do anything. Besides, I don't even know how to use that type of magic," Zenith replied.
"Therese, you should just give up. Don't let Wood's age fool you. His swordsmanship is already on par with a Sword King."
Seeing Therese's puffed-up, childlike face, Zenith couldn't bear to see her sister struggling in vain after all these years. She decided to reveal Wood's true strength to stop Therese from stubbornly pursuing him.
"A Sword King…? Are you telling me that a child, barely over ten years old, has already reached the level of a Sword King? Zenith, you must be joking," Therese responded, incredulously.
Therese wasn't the only one who found this hard to believe. Even the other Temple Knights nearby shared the same skepticism.
A Sword King at eleven or twelve? Not even the reincarnation of the Sword God could achieve such a feat at that age.
But soon, Therese realized that Zenith wasn't joking. Her sister's expression was completely serious, even showing a hint of helplessness. There was no trace of humor in her face.
Therese turned to Wood, who stood nearby with a smile on his face, and asked, "Are you really a Sword King?"
"Because of my unique physique, I can't generate any battle aura. So, I'm not sure if I've truly reached the level of a Sword King," Wood humbly replied. "But if I were to face an ordinary Sword Saint, I'm confident I wouldn't lose."
Wood's response was modest, yet it still shocked Therese and the other knights.
Even if he wasn't a Sword King, being a Sword Saint at the age of twelve was equally outrageous…
Most of them still couldn't believe it. But seeing that Therese, an Advanced-ranked Swordsman, couldn't even touch Wood, they began to reconsider.
Not to mention, the massive magical beast that had previously addressed Wood as "Master"—no ordinary boy could command such a creature.
"Wood! Stop messing around. Therese is your fourth aunt. What's so bad about letting her give you a hug?" Zenith scolded, asserting her motherly authority. Wood had no choice but to reluctantly comply.
Therese beamed as she embraced Wood tightly, even affectionately rubbing her face against his.
"Even if you're a genius Sword King, you're still my little nephew. You'd better call me Aunt Therese obediently!" she teased. "Hmm, you've certainly inherited Zenith's good looks, but why did you shave your head? You'd be much more handsome with hair."
Wood, caught in Therese's affectionate embrace, looked completely resigned. His shiny bald head became the target of extra attention, solidifying his resolve to find some hair-growth formula soon.
Though he had lost his hair, it didn't make him any stronger. For the sake of his appearance, he needed to restore his hair as soon as possible.
Strength comes and goes, but being handsome lasts forever!
Unlike Norn and Aisha, Wood was lucky this time. Since Therese had removed her rigid armor, the forced hug wasn't nearly as painful as what his sisters had experienced.
With Therese's assurance, Wood and his group had no problem entering the city.
Although some Temple Knights expressed concerns about the direwolf-like magical beast entering the city, Therese overruled them, stating that she, Therese Latreia, would take full responsibility for any issues that arose. So, the objections were silenced.
The Latreia family was a noble house of Miris, highly regarded in the Holy Country of Milis. With Therese vouching for them, there was no issue.
Moreover, through their previous conversations, it became clear that the famed "Paragon of Noble Ladies" of the Latreia family had returned after many years.
And she hadn't returned alone—she had brought her child with her, a boy who was already a Sword Saint at the age of twelve!
Being part of the Latreia family, one of the great noble houses of Milis, Therese could easily arrange for lodging for Wood's group. However, Zenith was still stubbornly holding a grudge against her mother and insisted on staying at an inn instead.
"Zenith, why don't you just come back home with me? After all these years you've been away, Mother has never stopped thinking about you, even if she never says it out loud." Therese tried to persuade her sister.
"There have been several times I've seen her sitting alone in the study, staring at a picture of you. Let the past stay in the past. Even if you don't want to see Mother, you should at least let Wood and the others meet their grandmother.
"And besides, you must have gone through a lot on your journey, right? The lodging fees in the capital aren't exactly cheap…"
Upon hearing that her mother often stared at her picture in sorrow, Zenith hesitated for a moment.
But when she recalled the harsh words her mother had said before she left, Zenith's brief hesitation gave way to determination.
As for the lodging fees, Zenith didn't bother explaining further. She simply tossed out a pile of high-grade magical beast materials and magic crystals.
Though they looked ragged from their long journey, the reality was that Wood's group was "poor" in the sense that they had nothing but money left.
Putting aside everything else, just the dragon scales and magic crystals from the Nine-Headed Dragon would be enough for them to buy multiple mansions in the capital if they wanted.
"Did you wipe out every magical beast in that area? And is this… dragon scale? This magic crystal is massive!" Therese marveled at their spoils. In the end, she realized the real fool was herself.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a