CH 600

“Now that I think about it, I’m curious what kind of child you and Lyla will have.”

“If the kid resembles either of us, won’t they be the best? I’m sure they will be amazing.”

“Are you already going to be a doting father? Well, I suppose there are many people with terrible personalities who treasure their children.”

“Don’t I have a good personality, though?”

“I see you are also good at telling unbelievable jokes.” Walwiss laughed out loud, but he carefully added, “I also think a child belonging to you and Lyla will be incredible. If I can give you my two cents as a once old fool, I hope you will care for your children even if they are a bit lacking.”

Walwiss’ voice was filled with remorse as he said, “I’m sure you know what I mean by that.”

“You must be talking about your son.”

“Yes. My son fell on a path he shouldn’t have because of his foolish father, and because of that, he caused harm to his daughter and wife in the end. I don’t care if you think this is pathetic nonsense coming from someone who couldn’t even raise his kid right, but when you have a child one day, I hope you will think of my words at least once.”

“I will engrave them onto my heart,” Zich said earnestly.

“Thank you for listening to this old person’s mutterings sincerely.”

A short silence fell between Zich and Walwiss. Soon afterward, Walwiss spoke again in a lighter voice.

“Well, that’s maybe why I keep being mean to Snoc. After my son left like that, Elena became my only family member. I know these are all just excuses. I should behave a bit more carefully now.” Walwiss smirked. “Like the elf said, I can’t seem to mature no matter how much I age.”

“What are you going on about from just that? I never plan to mature no matter how old I get.”

“I’m sure Ms. Lyla would be absolutely thrilled to hear that.”

The two chuckled.

“Now that we are on the topic, I will use the chance to defend myself for tormenting Snoc. I’m not sure if I’m overstepping the line since those two aren’t even officially dating yet, but I think it would be better for Snoc to become more skilled in mana control if he’s really going to follow the same path as Elena.”

“I suppose that’s because it will affect how the other mages will look at them?”

“Yes. If that guy marries Elena, he will have the title ‘Dwayne’ attached to his name.” In other words, Snoc would be a son-in-law married into his wife’s family. Zich agreed with Walwiss.

“Snoc Dwayne. It makes me slightly enraged just hearing that. Anyway, if Elena returns to the magical tower, I’m sure that guy will also stay in Sunewick with her. I’m assuming that since Snoc doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who makes plans here and there.”

“It’s as you say.”

“Honestly, he’s an all-right fellow. There’s nothing to criticize about him in terms of skills, and his character is good. It’s also impressive that he doesn’t have wild ambitions considering his skills. If he did, that would only trouble Elena.”

“His dream was to become a hero, but he already achieved that.”

“Besides, I don’t think he will have difficulties even if he lives in Sunewick. He will be welcomed instead. With his fame and his status as the contractor of the mythical beast of the earth, it would attract many mage’s curiosities.” Walwiss could attest to this as a mage, and Zich recalled how every mage they met showed great interest in Nowem—to the point that Nowem hid in Snoc’s arms in fear of being dragged away as a test subject.

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“As much as curiosity comes naturally to mages, they also have enormous pride. Some won’t acknowledge Snoc, and as Elena rises to higher positions, more eyes will be watching Snoc. I’m not saying this because I’m her grandfather, Elena’s skills as a mage really are outstanding. I’m sure you agree with me too.”

“Of course I do.” Zich was well aware of this as she was one of the companions accompanying Glen Zenard in their last battle before the regression.

“I’m certain she will reach a high position in the magical tower. Personally, I think she is more than capable of being the master of the magical tower too.”

“At that time, you are saying that a non-mage like Snoc could be her weakness.”

“I wouldn’t really call it a weakness. If you consider the glory and fame he amassed, there would be many perks to having him by her side. Like you said, however, I’m sure some will argue otherwise.”

“Shouldn’t you just ignore those people? I’m sure such guys would hate everything Elena does. Besides his mana control, they would pick apart everything about Snoc.”

“Yes, that’s true. Maybe I’m getting too old. I want to erase as many things that those kinds of people fuss about as I can.” Walwiss sighed. “There’s no need for you to be so worried. I don’t plan on rebuilding him completely to mold him into the shape desired by the Dwayne family. I’m sure everything I teach him will only be useful to him in the future.”

“I agree.”

“It’s really just an old grandpa’s worries that those two might get hurt in the future.”

“I understand, but there’s no need for you to be so worried, especially about Snoc.”

Walwiss looked at Zich with surprise, and Zich explained, “I taught those guys. Snoc especially stayed the longest time with me after Hans, and I’m sure he was greatly influenced by my behavior. Ah, you don’t have to worry, though, I didn’t teach him my hobbies. If you are worried that people like you appear later on, that guy won’t be fazed. He will be able to rile up his opponents even more instead.”

“Kuh, I’m glad to hear that.”

“I don’t think it’s wrong of you to try to erase all their weaknesses. It will probably be fine if you keep teaching him the way you are doing right now.”

“Yes, I knew you would agree with me.” Walwiss’ eyes shone. “There are still many things for me to teach them. The Dwayne family is the elite of the elites. I also think I have to teach him manners.”

“As long as you don’t take things too far.” Zich agreed, as Snoc’s ex-master.

Walwiss’ eyes glistened as he looked toward Snoc, and plans soon formed inside his head.

It was then that Snoc’s future turned slightly darker.

***

After conversing with Snoc, Elena, and Walwiss for a long time, Zich and Lyla left. They still had one more person to say their goodbyes to. Zich was about to go visit Hans’ room when a passing priest told him that Hans and Lara were at the training grounds, and they changed directions. Perhaps it was because they were in the middle of the festival or because the Karuwimans left in consideration of the two heroes, but Hans and Lara were the only ones in the practice hall.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Powerful sounds reverberated across the room. Estellade’s light mana and Tornium’s dark mana collided against each other.

Baaam! A huge roar ripped through the air, and the two people swinging their swords separated from each other. Hans was holding Estellade, and Lara was holding Tornium. They were fiercely battling each other with swords and mana as if they were fighting an enemy, but there was not a drop of sweat on their faces. Even though such an enormous amount of mana was exchanged between them, there wasn’t a single scratch in the practice hall.

As far as they were concerned, they had merely done a light practice session and suppressed their strength so as not to cause any damage to their surroundings. Of course, even this scene would have utterly terrified an ordinary person.

Zich looked at the two and muttered, “I think this every time, but they’re really diligent.”

Lara and Hans scrambled to pick up their swords and approached Zich and Lyla.

Hans first greeted them. “Hello, Sir Zich and Lady Lyla.”

“Hello,” Lara greeted them too.

“Yeah, hi. Are you guys seriously fighting in the middle of a festival?”

The two were embarrassed by Zich’s half-hearted criticism.

“Sir, my body felt a bit stiff after just playing around for a few days,” Hans said.

“I wanted to adapt to using Tornium as soon as possible,” Lara added.

Listening to their feeble excuses, Lyla poked Zich in the ribs. “Why are you scolding people who are working hard?”

“What do you mean, scolding? I just asked a question.” Then Zich walked to the center of the practice hall, and all three of their gazes moved toward him.

Zich pulled out Windur from his back and beckoned Hans and Lara. “Both of you graduated, but I can’t stay still after seeing my disciples work so hard. Bring it on. I’ll fight you a little.”

Hans and Lara looked at each other once and nodded eagerly toward Zich.

“Yes, sir!”

“All right!”

The two hurried out to the center of the practice hall and faced Zich. They each took out their respective weapons and pointed them at Zich. Lyla distanced herself a little from them, and after taking out her staff from the magic box, she muttered a spell.

Ziing! Instantly, a thin but solid layer of mana spread out on the floor of the practice hall.

“This will prevent damage to the practice hall to some degree,” Lyla shouted. No matter how good their relationship was with the Karuwimans, there was no reason to destroy their training ground unnecessarily.

“Thanks!” Zich expressed his gratitude and then looked at Hans and Lara. “Come at me when you’re ready.”

As soon as Zich’s voice faded, Hans and Lara rushed at him.

It was a magical and beautiful sight. Two types of mana that seemed completely incompatible, Estellade’s light and Tornium’s darkness, fiercely moved toward Zich. Rather than interfering with each other, they covered each other’s weaknesses and strengthened their strengths further—it was a dream-like synergy. Hans’ skills were slightly above Lara’s, so he showed a tendency to match his mana to hers. Even then, his attack was razor-sharp.

The number of people in the world capable of defending against this attack even once could be counted on one hand. However, as expected, Zich easily countered their attack.

Bam!

“Ugh!”

“Ack!”

Zich hadn’t used a special technique; he had merely swung Windur sideways. However, with just this one attack, the light mana was shattered and the dark mana crumbled. Hans and Lara had to take a big step back while their wrists throbbed in pain. However, there was no look of disappointment on their faces. It would have been more shocking if Zich had been pushed back with just this attack.

Lara and Hans looked at each other once again and nodded. They hit the ground at the same time and darted toward Zich’s sides while jumping in opposite directions. They were planning to attack from the front and back at the same time.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

To Zich’s left, Estellade, emitted light as it fell downward. To his right, darkness swirled around Tornium and soared upward. The timing of their attacks was perfectly matched; if Zich struck one side, the other attack would hit Zich’s vital area.

Bamm! However, Zich defended against both swords. All Zich had done was swing his sword once more; the only difference was that he had swung it very fast. This was also the reason why there was only one collision sound even though he had hit two swords. Hans and Lara continued to attack Zich afterward, but they could not push back Zich even once.

Before they knew it, they were going almost all out, and even then Zich was taking it easy. He even had the leisure to extinguish and nullify all of their attacks so that their futile attacks wouldn’t damage the training ground. Even though Lyla was protecting it, being certain was better. Like this, the training ended with Zich’s perfect victory.