[Seraphim's POV.]
To reach Roa we did not ride a carriage this time, but instead Paul brought in me and Sylphiette on top of Caravaggio.
We used a special saddle for more than one person. Sylphiette was seated in the front, in front of Paul where she was the safest from falling down, and I in the back.
As we traveled, Lia followed us in the air. From time to time she would land on a tree nearby, sometimes flying ahead as if to scout the way.
The journey was painful, but compared to riding the carriage, I guess it was quicker.
Starting in the early morning, we arrived in Roa around noon.
When we entered the city, Paul jumped down and began to walk while guiding Cavaraggio by the reins.
Me and Sylphy also dismounted to stretch our bodies.
To not cause a commotion, Sylphy wore a headscarf that completely hid her green hair, so people didn't pay much attention to her.
While walking slightly ahead, I could see Sylphy look around the bustling city in childish amazement.
"Woah, so many people…" Sylphy muttered.
"Yeah. Roa isn't the biggest city in Asura, but it's still one of the big ones," said Paul, slightly smiling.
Sylphy pointed toward the castle in the distance. "Are we going to live there from now on?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Amazing!"
…
After entering the manor, Paul brought Cavaraggio to the stables.
Sylphiette and I got off.
The staff then brought all of us to the reception room where each of us received a cup of tea.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang and a man marched in.
It was Sauros.
I sent Sylphy signals with my eyes, quickly got up and did my greeting. "Sauros-sama."
Sylphy also did a silent commoner woman's greeting that I had her learn beforehand.
"You fool!!! What do you think you're doing?! Greet me properly! Have you not learned anything since the last time?!" Sauros roared.
"A-aah…" Tears rolled in Sylphy's eyes and she looked like a frightened rabbit.
But I saw that it wasn't Sylphy that Sauros was roaring at, but at Paul who also did a commoner's greeting next to her, bowing low with his head.
"Yes. It's my mistake." Paul humbly straightened his posture and then did a nobles' greeting instead.
"Hm!" Sauros snorted at him with a glare, then looked at me. His expression turned warmer as he smiled fondly and stroked my head. "Seraphim, my boy! Good job teaching Eris Silent Magic! She was so happy when she managed it for the first time! She ended up burning her entire room! Hahaha!!! My granddaughter is so talented!"
In a blink of an eye he transformed into a doting grandfather.
"Hehe…" I lightly chuckled as my hair was being ruffled.
So Eris managed Silent Magic while I was gone for a month?
It's a relief! In the end, she wasn't talentless.
And it's also good to see that my method works.
"Continue teaching her well!" Sauros said, then suddenly turned toward Sylphy. "And you!"
Sylphy jumped up. Her ears stood up in fear, then began to droop down as her anxiety seemed to rise.
Sauros seemed to stare at her for a while, then his expression relaxed a great deal and he said, "I give you my permission to stay here! I hope you'll be good friends with Eris!"
"Y-yes…"
After saying what he wanted to say, Sauros strolled away through the doors that were previously left open and remained open.
Through the open door, Philip came in.
"It seems Father is in a good mood again," Philip said as he walked in with a gentle smile. He then did a half-hearted bow. "Paul, Seraphim-kun, it's been a while."
Paul and I returned our greetings.
Sylphiette repeated her commoner's greeting like she was taught.
Philip glanced at Sylphy and gently smiled. "Aha. I think I know now why Father was so happy."
Hm? Is it because Sylphy looked pitiable?
Philip sat down, then asked us, "Do you know the story of the Boreas family and how it came to like the beast race?"
"Somewhat," Paul replied, sitting a bit stiffly.
"...No," I replied honestly.
"Well, let's leave it for another time," said Philip.
I slightly frowned. 'Why did you mention it then? Now I'm curious...'
Philip slightly smiled, then turned to Sylphiette. He touched his chest. "My name is Philip Boreas Greyrat, father of Eris and the city's mayor. I heard from Seraphim that you're quite talented at magic."
"Um… Seraph said that I am…"
"I see."
I interjected, "Yes, Sylphy is talented. I wouldn't lie."
"Very well then. When it comes to hiring a tutor, I already have someone prepared."
"Thank you."
I talked with Philip about Sylphy's tutor before leaving.
He mentioned the possibility of Sylphy and Eris attending the same classes under Anastasia, but I rejected the idea.
Because of their differences in learning ability, namely Eris being slower, they would be learning at very different rates and it would not be good for either of them. It would make them frustrated and slow down their individual progress. Each of them having their own tutor was better.
A while later, Sylphy and I were led to our rooms by the servants, while Paul stayed behind to talk with Philip.
…
[Philip's POV.]
I'm glad that Paul came over. I finally had a chance to talk with him and figure out how he was raising his son.
There was also something that I wanted to investigate.
To be honest, while the boy was gone I began to suspect that Seraphim was not a child at all. His accomplishments, shrewdness, talent in magic and training methods that are not known in this day and age make him too suspicious.
Among them all, the most suspicious point was his magical abilities.
I first explained things by thinking that he's a Blessed Child, but I started doubting this theory when I saw my daughter suddenly grasp the legendary Silent Magic.
Apart from this, Seraphim even seemed to use strange Magic that I have never heard about and that I could not find any information on in the library.
Legendary strange magic, lost teaching methods, adult-like intelligence… Rather than a Blessed Child, it is more likely that he's a reincarnation of a Demon God from ancient times!
My troublesome daughter who originally had difficulty, seemingly ordinary magic talent and no desire to learn even the simplest Magic grasped Silent Spellcasting within a month. How else could I explain it?
I know this idea sounded a bit fantastical, but over time I found this explanation to be more likely than him being a talented young boy.
And so I wanted to question Paul.
It was a rather extreme topic, so I started off by mentioning Seraph's good points and then eventually began asking about his upbringing.
In turn, Paul was very happy as I talked about his son, then proceeded to brag about him himself - about how Seraph almost never cried, about how he learned to speak and read in a flash, how he taught him swordsmanship from a very young age and so on.
At one point, I said, "To be honest, Seraph is so mature and shrewd, he is not like a 5 year old child at all. And his talent in magic is the most unusual. He can use strange magic and even developed methods to teach Silent Spellcasting at just 5 years old. Did you ever think that perhaps he isn't actually a child? And that perhaps he might be something like a reincarnation of a Demon King?"
After hearing my question, Paul looked at me stunned. In just a moment, his expression hardened and he raised his voice, "A reincarnation of Demon King? What are you saying, Philip? Seraph is my son, not a Demon King! He doesn't even know the Demon God language!"
"Hm?" This intrigued me.
"He had his home tutor teach him that from scratch. I heard it myself, he originally hasn't even got the faintest clue about the Demon God language!"
"..."
"Philip, I know that my son is talented, but you're going too far. Do you think I wouldn't notice if my son was a reincarnated Demon King or something?"
"..."
"I watched him grow up all these years and helped to teach him the language from scratch. He picked up everything extremely quickly. In all honesty, he's so clever and mature, it's frightening. But he's not a Demon King! Though I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Miko," Paul finished with a nod.
I was silent for a while, before saying, "...I understand. Well, forget what I said."
Paul smiled bitterly and forced a laugh. "Haha, I'll just take it as a joke. Seraphim is a Demon King, hehe... I'm sure Zenith would have laughed if she heard that her angel of a son is a Demon King."
"..."
Paul immediately rebuked my idea and began to defend his son.
At first he just seemed agitated, but as I interrogated him some more, the things he told me about Seraphim only pointed in the direction that he was simply an unusually intelligent and mature child.
There were no suspicious points that made the boy seem like a reincarnation of a magic genius from the past or a Demon King. When it came to Magic, he had learned everything by himself while experimenting and studied things from his Magic tutor from scratch; Paul was sure of it.
As for Seraphim's unusual kindness and habit of helping others, rather than manipulative tactics, it seems that Paul and his wife simply raised the boy well, that's it.
It seems I was overthinking things.
After hearing everything that Paul had to say, I began to feel very silly and embarrassed for bringing up the thought that he is a reincarnated person.
I'll keep observing Seraphim, but I feel I've been worrying unnecessarily.
A one in a thousand years magic talent Blessed Child genius… He's probably this kind of prodigy.
In addition, researching this topic also made me reevaluate Seraphim and his potential.
I originally didn't know much about magic and about powerhouses. In the current age, just an Emperor ranked magician is a legend that hasn't appeared in the last three hundred years; it was too distant of an idea for me to think about.
For Seraphim, I only thought that he would be a versatile King-rank genius magician, and did not think very far in the future, since it had little to do with the current me.
But if anyone, Seraphim should be able to reach Emperor rank in the future. As a 5 year old Saint rank magician and a Silent Spellcaster, wouldn't he?
As for God-rank, the only God-ranked magician that I have decent knowledge on is the Demon Magic God Laplace.
Would Seraphim become an existence at this level?
I simply had no idea.
But if he does, he won't just be a national power like a genius King ranked magician, but should have the power to shake up the entire world.
Such a scary magic genius had fallen into my hands… I shouldn't screw it up and make good use of this opportunity.
Unlike I initially hoped, Seraphim was not a village boy that I could push under my boot; he clearly understood his own value, even though his official status was that of a commoner. It seems that being a good uncle is the best I could do.
He previously asked me to help him find some tutors; I'll do just that.
…
[Seraph's POV.]
Despite her status as a commoner from the countryside, Sylphy also received a high-class room for guests and it was even next to mine.
After eating lunch brought in by the maids, I helped Sylphy settle in her room and then brought her to my own room to show her some of my figurines and some of my drawings.
Seeing how anxious she was in the new environment, I felt it wouldn't be right to simply leave her alone in her new room.
At one point, Paul visited my room.
"So this is where you've been staying. It's a nice room," he said with a smile as he walked in.
"Father..." I stood up to greet him.
Paul grinned at me and Sylphy. "Staying alone in the same room with a cute girl, you weren't doing anything naughty?"
I looked at him blankly. "...No."
Paul wryly smiled. "Your expression says: Please, I'm not like you, dad. Is that what it is?"
I was stunned for a moment. I honestly didn't think much about it, but did it appear like that? I said, "...You're strangely good at reading faces, father."
Paul let out a long sigh. "I guess after staying in Roa you already heard opinions of other people about me. Well, your father has a weakness for the ladies, it's the truth. But I am still the coolest dad, right?"
He grinned and looked at me as if expecting praise.
As he continued to stare at me, I soon felt forced to say something.
"Uh, yeah. You're a bit cool. I would also like to be popular with girls in the future…"
An answer that was not entirely wrong; it should satisfy me.
Even if I had prejudices against him, I'll keep them to myself. Paul was nothing but a good father for me so far, it even surprised me.
"Hehe, aren't you already?" Paul looked at Sylphy with a teasing smile.
Being stared at by Paul, Sylphy's face began to redden.
"...Dad, why are you here?" I asked, shifting the topic.
Paul clasped his hands and faintly smiled. "No reason, I just wanted to see my son and check where he's staying. We won't see each other for 3 months after all."
"..."
"Where is that Ojou-sama I had heard about, didn't she come to greet you yet?" he asked.
"Since she hasn't come yet, she should be in the middle of her lessons."
"I see," Paul said. He then observed Sylphy for a while, then turned to me with a small smile. "Do you remember Philip mentioning the story on how the Boreas came to like beast girls?"
"...Yes. What is it about?"
Paul sat down and then began his explanation.
The story was something like this.
It is said that the founder of the Boreas family was a man with a very short temper and was prone to fits of anger. If he saw something like a little insect inside his manor, he would immediately call the maid in charge of cleaning to whip her, and sometimes he might even cut off her head.
Even among the nobles it was told not to let your daughter go to apprenticeship in the Boreas house.
However, it changed through generations of owners. In fact, eventually the maids in the house all became members of the Beast Race.
At first it was only one of the maids. A girl kidnapped from the Great Forest and sold as a slave on the market. She was bought by a previous family head and became a maid.
It was said she was not a talented person who often made the lord angry when she failed to complete simple tasks.
However, although the lord rebuked her, she was never sentenced to whipping or decapitation.
Why? The rumors said that when he saw her animal ears trembling while he scolded her, his anger just disappeared.
Paul continued his explanation, "Philip told me this story before. The way their ears twitch and tails move when nervous or when complimented, it tells you all about their emotions… Philip spoke about it VERY enthusiastically… So, the Boreas family is fond of the Beast Race for this reason. I think the way Sylphy's ears move is similar to the Beast Race. It should be why Sauros was so lenient with her when he met her, after seeing her ears droop down when she was anxious."
Oh, so he basically found her ears to be cute, so he immediately liked her?
Paul got up and said, "Well, see you later. There are some things that I want to take care of in town while I'm here."
"Okay."
"Don't do anything naughty with Sylphy after I leave. Do it only if she agrees." Paul sent us a teasing smile and winked before leaving.
I didn't need him to tell me that…
After Paul left, I looked at Sylpy's ears.
Indeed. They moved up and down according to her emotions, like a rabbit. It was quite cute.
Sylphy's face was bright red as I looked at her. She timidly muttered, "Um… If you want to do something 'naughty', I don't mind."
My brain lagged for a moment.
What did she just say?
Did I just travel to another dimension? Is this a hentai world?
No, this 5 year old girl should not even know what 'naughty stuff' means.
But she still agreed… She's way too submissive.
Not that I mind the last part, but she's way out of my age target range.
'...Girl, you're lucky I'm the reincarantor here and not someone else.'
Thinking this, I shook my head and said with a straight face, "No. We're too young for any of that stuff anyway. Forget about what my dad said. He was only making fun of us."
"Ah, okay…"
…
"Seraphim! Are you here?! Se-Ra-Phim!!!"
At one point I heard a familiar voice as someone started banging on the door.
I called back, "The door is open!"
The doors were violently pushed open and Eris appeared in the door frame.
"Seraphim!... Hmph!" Eris snorted as she noticed Sylphiette inside the room.
She spread out her feet wide, crossed her arms, raised her chin and glared at her. "What is this?! Why is your hair green? Are you a Superd?"
"N-no…" Sylphy quietly answered.
"What was that?! I didn't hear you!!!"
"N-no! I am not!" Sylphy tried to speak up, yet outwardly she only retreated backwards.
"So you are not!"
After that, the conversation hit a dead end as Eris silently glared at Sylphy with crossed arms.
Being glared at so intensely, Sylphy slouched in fear while sitting on the bed. She stretched out her hand and grabbed mine as if to feel safer.
I stood up. "Eris, this is Sylphy. She was bullied and hated in the village because she has green hair like a Superd. She doesn't have any friends apart from me and said that she wants to be your friend."
"Huh?" Sylphy showed a surprised face. That was because she never said this; I just made it up.
I said, "Sylphy, tell her. Tell her that you want to be her friend."
"Uh… I want to… be your friend?" Sylphy obediently complied.
Eris continued glaring at her, then her expression melted and she confidently smiled in understanding. "Ah! So you want to be my friend! Fine, then I'll agree! I'm Eris Boreas Greyrat, but just Eris is fine! Not everyone gets to call me Eris! Consider it an honor!"
Seeing this, I let out a breath of relief and smiled.
Eris is very simple. I only needed to imitate what happened with Ruijerd in the novel, and she was happy to make a friend.
The first meeting of Eris and Sylphy went smoothly, guided by my hand.
All according to keikaku.
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(AN: I'll move to Monday and Friday chapter updates.)
(Perhaps I should say what to expect coming up, because the plot is being a bit dragged. In the next chapter, after some more paragraphs, there will be a one year time skip. It's only one year because there are many things to update on and a few important events coming up. This will probably last for around 10 chapters, maybe less, and then there would be another 1 year timeskip, with Seraphim turning 7 years old.)
(I have a general idea for the future plot, but I would still welcome interesting ideas or suggestions.)