"I'll be back tomorrow! Until then, think of it as a pre-party and rest well!" Finelli left the forest with Zahar after saying that.
Only then did the seeds seem to relax a bit and start talking like they were their age. Of course, the topic of conversation was the event that had taken place in the morning.
- He must be crazy. How could he just go up to the head of the clan like that?
- To be honest, he was right. I could never have said that.
- Should we try talking to him? He's kind of scary, but I still want to be friends with him. He's so cool!
-Seriously, you can't resist a pretty face, can you? Do you want to get on Miley's bad side? Just stay put.
Kyle, who was at the center of the conversation, walked into the forest indifferently. Everyone's eyes followed his back, but only Molson followed his steps.
Kyle sighed quietly. He thought he should have been told in advance if they were coming to the forest of Mipar. This was not Levido, which maintained spring all year round. In January, the coldest month in the empire, his breath came out with a puff of air in the cold air.
"Ugh, it's freezing, isn't it?"
Molson was trembling with his arms crossed beside him. Being sensitive to heat, he was wearing thinner training clothes than Kyle.
"Follow my lead."
"Huh?"
Kyle sat down in a lotus position on a large leaf. He frowned at the thought of sitting on the ground, but it would be better than shivering like a fool. And what else could he do? He was about to freeze to death. If he didn't have the strong body of a Lutentus, he might have already frozen to death.
He wanted to use his [Ignition] ability to start a fire, but he had a feeling that someone had been watching them from afar.
"Start with your dantian and radiate your ki throughout your body, but give every movement a jolt. Until you feel like your blood is boiling. You have a strong sense of ki, so you should be able to do it quickly."
"Kyle······!"
Molson's eyes were soon moist. He couldn't repay the debt of what Kyle had taught him so far about physical training. However, this was a way of using ki that he had never heard of, even with his shallow knowledge. It was impossible for the seeds to share such knowledge, as they were riddled with competition.
"Can you really teach me your own training method?"
Kyle tilted his head.
"What do you mean? This is keeping me warm."
He had tried to imitate the magic circuit of [Ignition], which emits hot heat and eventually ignites a fire, with ki. It was good enough to warm his body. Smoke rose from his entire body. Kyle smiled contentedly at the warmth.
* * *
Gilliam considered himself the most likely liberator this year, excluding the Core. He was confident in his abilities. He was the most talented of the five secondary offsprings participating in the liberation this year, and he had inherited the blood of the Oculus Pirates. He didn't care if someone looked down on him for buying a title, because they were all cowards who wouldn't dare say a word to his face.
The Oculus's powerful vision could see a person 24 miles away, even through the trees.
"Why······."
April's blue eyes, like the sea's diamond, the aquamarine, were blankly shining on someone other than herself.
"I tried so hard······."
Gilliam's eyes welled up with tears. He knew that he and she could never be together. Why had God made them have the same father? Even so, his love for her was an uncontainable fire. That fire made him strong. He decided to become her knight, to protect her for the rest of his life, but-
"I didn't see it that way."
A woman who had never shown interest in anyone else suddenly had someone to watch over. Kyle was a young man who had dared to stand up before Zahar. How did someone from the indirect branch have the courage to do that?
A single tear was rolling down his cheek when a shadow fell over his head.
"Gilliam. April. Obsession. Idiots."
"...Talk however you want. You're getting lost in your act."
It was Breta, a giant who was the same secondary offspring as Gilliam and was close to two meters tall at the age of fifteen. Even though it was a wide-fitting training uniform, it looked like it was about to burst with him in it.
"Speech. Bragging. Barbarian. Criticism. Refusal."
"Shut up."
Two years ago, Bretta learned that one of his ancestors was a barbarian. Since then, he started using that stupid dialect."
But looking in the mirror, shouldn't he have realized it when he was younger? Since he was 10, he was as big as an average adult. Among the seeds, only Gilliam, who grew up in the same territory, knew this fact. The other kids thought that was his natural way of speaking. Even this crazy act was maintained in front of Zahar.
Anyway, that's not what's important.
"Breta······ I think my princess is temporarily dazzled by that punk, Kyle. He's not even more handsome than me. How come?"
"Really. Think? Fact. Appearance. Kyle. Manly. You. Sentimental. Butter. Head. Hammer?"
"You dare!"
Suddenly, Gilliam couldn't control his anger and punched Breta in the stomach with all his might.
Pfffft······. Breta scratched his stomach with a pathetic sound as if it was tickling him.
"······."
'I knew it wouldn't work. To deal damage to that cheating body of hers, which was a mix of Lutentus and Barbarian, I needed to at least get a blade in.'
"Hungry. Food. When."
* * *
Large buses and trucks arrived at the forest of Mipar. All 28 seeds participating in this liberation, including Kyle, gathered at the sound of the engines.
The smell of food wafted through the air. It seemed they weren't going to be starved even before the liberation began. The maids, each carrying a coat and a bundle, got off the bus.
"Sir Kyle! You must be hungry!"
Tanya approached, waving one hand excitedly.
"When expressing your happiness to someone you serve, it is polite to bow your head slightly."
"Yessir! I will remember that!"
Tanya smiled and pretended to write something on her palm with her finger. She then handed over a brightly colored coat along with a bundle.
"The coat is being issued to each of the Seeds, and I made the rice balls. I originally packed enough for a week, but when I was told it was only enough for a day, I ate them all myself."
"It's an odd choice of container for the food, but I appreciate the gesture. Thank you."
Tanya smiled sweetly.
"Everyone is treating us well, thanks to you, Sir Kyle. This is nothing."
"My credit?"
"I don't know why, but everyone has been saying encouraging things to me since the incident with Miley. Even the head maid, who always used to scold me, gave me candy and patted my shoulder just now."
"Hmm."
Kyle nodded. He wasn't sure if it was pity or encouragement, but seeing her happy was good enough for him.
"Let's go-al!"
A booming voice rang out from the bus that Tanya had arrived on. It came from a sturdy, muscular middle-aged woman.
"The head maid is calling me, so I think I should go now."
"Okay. See you in a week."
"Yes! Good luck!"
As Tanya's bus sped away, the servants from the accompanying trucks were busy unloading furniture.
Various furniture - a frilly bed, a leather sofa, a mana stove, a mana-powered lamp - emerged from a sphere the size of a head, along with a small house. April sat haughtily on a square chair where they were headed, staring at them indifferently as if it were only natural.
A little distance away, Miley was pouting, saying, "Mine is smaller!" The facilities for the secondary offspring were a bit lacking compared to that, but they were still enough to last a day. The seeds from the indirect branch were so envious that they were gaping their mouths open.
"What will they do tomorrow?"
They couldn't carry those things into the forest. He wondered how they would do in the forest without anything, having grown up in a greenhouse.
"Hey."
He turned his head and saw a boy standing there, looking around cautiously. It was Ormang, who had been thrown to the ground by Zahar that morning.
"I... I really wanted to say this."
His gaze briefly shifted towards Miley, then back to Kyle.
"Earlier, I was really grateful."
"What are you talking about?"
"Thank you for speaking up for the indirect branch. I probably wouldn't have been able to do that, even if I was reborn."
"I'm not the representative of the indirect brand. And it's not your fault. This place is crazy."
He hung his head without answering, and Kyle walked away.
"Come on!"
Molson, with a fistful of rice balls in his mouth, hurriedly followed.
Kyle headed to the place where he had found the lightning-struck tree in the forest earlier. The broken tree was just the right thickness for two adults to hug. And now that there was no proper equipment, it was also a great barbell. Kyle punched the part that looked weak. After making two holes, he put his hands in.
"You're here for that, aren't you?"
"Yes. Next, it's your turn."
"...Do you think I can do it?"
"Of course."
Kyle lifted the tree up as it was. The tree was quite heavy, but the ground was not sinking, as the snow had melted and frozen firmly. Kyle repeated lifting and putting down the tree in that state. He did this for a long time.
*Rustle*
A little distance away, there was a sound of footsteps. It must have been the gaze that had been watching him earlier.
"Hi."
A somewhat greasy voice was heard. And then two men appeared. One was quite large, and the other was small. They were the guys he had first seen in the greenhouse.
"I was really impressed earlier. I didn't think there was a guy who would say that to his father. It was really cool, wasn't it?"
The small man smiled like he was stuffing his face with cheese. He had sharp eyes and a straight nose. His features were a classic example of handsomeness, but his unique expression made it hard to look at him for even a moment. He had a fake face that was common in social settings. Kyle hated this kind of person.
"To start a conversation, introductions come first. That's basic courtesy."
"Hey, you mean to say you don't know me? No way."
"I don't."
Molson whispered as he approached from the side.
"Kyle, those guys are Gilliam and Breta."
"The big one is..."
"Breta."
Kyle nodded. So these two were the prominent liberators among the seeds that Molson had mentioned before.
Gilliam maintained his smile, though it was a bit much.
"You're joking, right? There's no way you don't know about Oculus' reputation."
"I know about Oculus."
"Huh, right. I am Gilliam, the proud descendant of that very Oculus."
"The Oculus Pirates were a famous pirate crew that was even mentioned in the history books of the previous life. I heard they bought a title of nobility with the wealth they amassed. So, is Zahar really married to the descendant of a pirate?"
Gilliam snorted as if he interpreted the silence as something else.
"I actually came to make a trade."
"I don't need anything, though."
"You might change your mind once you see it."
With that, Gilliam pulled up his training suit. There was a black jelly-like substance stuck all over his abdomen. It was so bizarre and frivolous that Kyle turned away. He barely suppressed the urge to frown. Gilliam laughed.
"This is an incredible item that you don't see often. It's an ancient artifact that a great pirate plundered in the past, and I restored it. The mana that constantly flows out of it stimulates the muscles and helps them grow quickly. I'll give it to you. In return..."
Gilliam, with his upper body bare, suddenly approached. Kyle felt a chill run down his spine.
"What I want is simple. Just kneel in front of me once in front of April······."
"I don't want to see your face, so either move out of the way or get lost."
"What, what?!"
"You rely on that, so your body is so unsightly."
"······I must have heard you wrong."
A blunt hand landed on Gilliam's shoulder, who was emitting a threatening aura.
"Just stay still. I'll handle it."
Gilliam bit his lip and nodded. Breta would be able to teach him a lesson for sure.
"Kyle······ be careful. Breta doesn't understand words."
Molson whispered, and Kyle faced Breta, who was approaching.
His sullen face and burly body reminded Kyle of someone from his past. Someone who was always getting into trouble because he didn't know how to act and had a hot temper but who was still impossible to hate.
Breta, who had stopped in front of Kyle, said:
"Past. Alone? Indirect Branch."
"That's right."
"Redwood. Impossible. Effort."
"It was nothing special."
Molson stuttered as he stood beside them.
"What, what is it? Kyle, do you understand all that?"
Breta nodded.
"You. Mind."
The words were cut off, unable to be completed into a sentence. But Kyle could understand.
"So?"
I know that the errors in his speech are due to the differences between the imperial language and his native language.
I also know that he is stubborn and refuses to forget his origins.
"I think I might like you."
Because of the language barrier. Because of his poor mana capacity. Because he was like my previous apprentice, Aktubaar, who could not even use simple magic without a shield.
"Have you learned how to greet?"
Breta blinked once and nodded. They looked at each other for a moment.
Then, Breta's large hand struck Kyle's cheek.
*Smack-!*
Kyle's head turned, and blood splattered.
*Thud-!*
Next, Kyle's foot landed in the center of Bretta's abdomen. Bretta spat up some saliva.
If Kyle kicked her shin, Bretta would give up one of his arms. If he was hit, he would hit back. That cycle repeated.
In the midst of that simple, mindless brawl, the two of them were laughing out loud.
Author's Note
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