“Are you in a better mood now, Zagan?”

All that was left to do for the day was to go to sleep. Having gotten out of the bath, Luca reached his hand out to me who was sitting on the bed, but I turned my back to him and smacked the hand away with a tentacle.

“Zagan… it’s lonely that I can’t hold you in my arms even though it’s just the two of us here. I’m going to cry.”

My heart hurt when I heard the misery in his voice. I knew that this was just childish sulking and that smacking his hand away had been a bit too much.

Luca wasn’t the one in the wrong here. Orobas told me why he wouldn’t have a duel with me. Rather I should be happy since he praised me, saying I was strong. True strength though, couldn’t simply be measured by the amount of mana one has. You can’t tell how skilled someone is with a sword unless you fight them, as battle tactics and reading your opponents moves were an integral part of sword fighting. 

No matter which way you think about it, Orobas, who has lived for seven thousand years, should be more skilled at fighting than me. Which was why I wanted him to spar with me.

Anyway, if he was just measuring strength by how much mana a person has, then doesn’t Luca have an equally enormous amount of mana?

I’m not sure if it’s because of moments like these where he never misses the chance to manipulate his mana and reach his tentacles out to me, but he’s gotten undeniably stronger since the first time I met him … let’s not dwell on whether he was doing it on purpose or not.

Also, Orobas was supposed to be the type of guy who basically avoided anything that was too much trouble. If he fought against Luca, Soleil’s descendant, it could turn into a bloody struggle. Still, he himself asked Luca for a duel – something that was undoubtedly done under father’s orders.

As expected, I’m jealous of Luca…

However, I didn’t want to make Luca feel even sadder, so it was probably about time that I stopped sulking.

“Sorry Luca. That… I’d be happy if you hugged me.”

It was a little embarrassing, but I turned towards the depressed Luca and opened my arms wide. A smile immediately lit up his face as I did and he quickly wrapped his arms around me. The comfort that I felt wrapped up in that gentle warmth made me smile despite myself.

“I’m glad. I’m so glad Zagan. I wouldn’t be able to live if you hated me.”

Though he was using grandiose words, I had the feeling that he truly would not be able to live if I was not there.

When I hugged him tightly as an apology, he happily rubbed his cheek against me.

After we hugged for a bit, Luca stopped feeling down and repositioned himself. I was currently being hugged from behind by Luca who was leaning against the cushions on the bed.

When he stroked my lower abdomen with both hands, I somehow ended up wishing for his semen. He had me completely trained.

I had a distant look in my eyes as he kissed me on the ear. He bit down lightly and the sensation made my shoulders tremble. However, as he stimulated me, he asked about my earlier sulking.

“Why do you want to fight with Orobas that badly? As a soldier, I can understand wanting to spar with a strong opponent, but that’s probably not why, right?”

Could it be that he was able to read my feelings as long as he touched my abdomen?

I’d been riding on my bike all day long so there shouldn’t have been any of Luca’s mana left. Or has it been completely ingrained inside of me?

Putting that aside, having a reason other than wanting to fight a strong opponent… that’s right.

“The same as how for Luca, Father is his teacher, Orobas was mine. He didn’t teach me how to fight, but he taught me how to speak and how to write. The basics – Orobas was the one who taught me all of them. And he was the one who looked after my daily needs. He woke me up in the mornings and prepared my daily meals. He watched as my body grew taller and prepared clothes that would fit me.”

More than that, he’d been taking care of me since I was still a baby in diapers. Orobas probably took better care of me than the maids in the mansion. Normally though, one couldn’t remember anything about when they were a baby, so I refrained from telling Luca that.

“I see. So for Zagan he was like a mother.”

“Orobas is a man. Well, I guess you’re right – he did many motherly things. Though he was simply following Father’s orders.”

“Fufu. So even in the past, Zagan had a hard time recognizing other people’s affection towards you?”

He gave me a wry smile and I tilted my head at his question.

I can’t deny that I’m insensitive towards love, because when Luca first confessed to me I didn’t know much about it, but…

“I am a dark attribute user; an object of discrimination.”

“Yes, but Orobas is a demon, and he knew about what had happened a thousand years ago and why the dark attribute users were being discriminated against. And he was a close aide of Lune’s, and seems to have strong feelings towards sensei. That’s why, in his own way, he had probably raised Zagan with a lot of love.”

Is that… so?

Was he saying that I hadn’t noticed Orobas’s affection because of my preconceived notions of dark attribute users? … No, I have a feeling that there are other reasons at play here.

Anyway, it’s not like Orobas himself said so, so I don’t know if it’s true. But, if Luca says so, then it’s probably right.

Luca was Soleil’s descendant, he was extremely sensitive to positive emotions just like how I am sensitive to negative ones.

“I bet Orobas can’t actually bring himself to fight Zagan. But he also knows that if he doesn’t challenge you honestly, Zagan will sulk. As expected of a parent who raised you.”

Him saying stuff like that made me want to sulk right away.

A kiss on the cheek won’t make my mood any better. Anyway…

“There were things I wanted to tell him through our fight. Things he would have understood when we crossed our swords.”

I wanted to tell him about those fifteen years since I left the mansion. About how I had spent most of my life inside the Great Forest to escape the discrimination. How I didn’t feel that lonely despite being alone.

About how I instead created my own spells to get the things that I wanted, and how getting stronger became my purpose in life. How uncharacteristically excited I got when I became an adventurer. 

About how I was able to see the moon that I had always been curious about, and how I came to know that gods are real when I met the goddess Terre.

And, about how I met Luca. How I reunited with Noel. How time, that had always seemed so slow, sped up and how every day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. How I’d been scared of my impending death, but Luca supported me; my friends saved me.

About the many thoughts and feelings I had while staying at Luca’s side.

To express all of this in words would definitely be a hard thing to do. It was hard for me to let anyone, other than Luca, know how much I loved and treasured him.

Despite that, I wanted to let Orobas know, to give him something, even if just an inkling, of these past fifteen years.

“But Zagan, Orobas taught you your words and letters, right? He taught you how to study. So, wouldn’t it be better then to tell him this in words? I think Orobas would be happier that way.”

“…, …….”

When he put it that way, I was at a loss for words.

I looked up at Luca, incapable of denying his words, and he let out a chuckle.

“Don’t worry. I’ll accept the parental love he has towards you. The sadness he felt when you left the mansion and the happiness he felt seeing how strong you’ve grown – I’ll take on all of it. And then I’ll prove to him that I am a good enough man to take care of you.”

He gave me a kiss on the corner of my eye and then on my lips. His tongue slipped inside of my mouth and tangled with mine. At the same time he began to stroke my lower abdomen again, making my inner walls squeeze and throb.

I wanted Luca so bad I couldn’t stand it. My hips squirmed. 

Luca separated himself from my lips and looked at me with lust-filled blue eyes.

The wide room had a bed in it, a desk suitable for children and lots and lots of toys. There were all kinds of toy blocks and figurines, and also a large dragon plushie. There were also numerous houseplants in the room with a small watering-can that even a child could hold.

The ceiling was a vibrant shade of sky blue and there were four magic lamps in the shape of clouds. With all of the lamps turned on, the room was very bright.

There was a large bookcase standing next to the closet, more than half of it empty. It had only been half a year since I’d been confined to the basement. I’d finally learned how to read, so the bookshelves would gradually fill up.

Last but not least, there was a cushioned sofa in the room and a small dining table. A washroom, bath and toilet lay behind a separate door.

It was a comfortable room, but far too large for a single person.

I was sitting at the desk practicing my letters when a knock was heard. The door opened soon after.

“I’m back, Ciel. I’ve heard you were a good kid today as well.”

When I heard the voice, I unconsciously glanced at the clock – it was only five thirty in the afternoon.

Father came up to me and stroked my unshaven head. My chest grew warm and fuzzy when my father stroked my head, not caring about my black hair.

“Welcome back Father. You’re early today.”

“Yeah, work ended quickly today. You were in the middle of studying, Ciel? Let’s see, let’s see… oh! Look how well you’ve written this.”

“Thank you. Today Orobas taught me history. He told me about Father as well. It was a story about Father bravely facing the Evil God and sealing it.”

“I’m curious about what he told you, but… knowing him, it was probably something unnecessary, wasn’t it? Was it fun?”

“Yes. Father sounded very cool. That’s right, Father. I, Father’s magi-”

“NO!!”

Slap.

My cheek was suddenly struck. And, because of the force of that blow, the chair fell over with a large crash. I’d managed to lift my head so that I wouldn’t hit it, but had fallen down on my back instead and was lying on the floor.