LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 208: Secret (1)
The idle chat with her, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, went on for a while.
We talked so much that the tea had been brewed at least twice more after we finished the first pot.
She set her teacup down quietly.
“Shouldn’t you be hurrying if you’re on a pilgrimage? You seem quite relaxed…”
“The tasks of the pilgrimage are already completed.”
“That was quick. Did you rush just to meet me?”
Aira asked with a mischievous smile.
“That’s part of it, but I also wanted to visit my family after a long absence.”
Upon Ray’s affirmation, Aira covered her face with her collar and giggled.
It was an unexpected reaction from her.
I had never dreamed such a situation would arise.
She cleared her throat and regained composure before responding.
“Hmm. I see.”
“So, I should be going now.”
“Uhh.”
A surprisingly cute sound of reluctance escaped her.
But she quickly shook her head and reverted to her usual demeanor.
“Right. We can continue our conversation when you return from the Holy Kingdom.”
“Sorry. Even though I’ve finished my tasks, I don’t have much spare time left.”
“I understand. Go ahead, don’t worry about me.”
Unlike the time we spent talking, the farewell was quite brief.
Ray left Aira’s house and leapt from the tree.
Such an impact would have strained his bones previously, but he now handled it with ease.
Pia, who was waiting under the tree, noticed him and came over.
“Did you see Lady Aira?”
“Yes. She’s still as beautiful as ever,” he replied with a jestful yet sincere tone.
His comment made her smile too.
His charm never waned.
“Seeing you come down from Lady Aira’s house, I take it you’re about to leave?”
“I didn’t plan to stay long.”
“You’ll probably be back soon. After all, you’re the one who was so keen on defeating the Saint. Ahaha.”
“Well, it’ll be a few years, though.”
“True. A few years isn’t much for an elf. Go on. You have someone else to meet, right?”
“Yes. See you next time.”
With these final words and a wave, Ray walked away, leaving Pia behind with an awkward smile.
“Ahaha… It’s beyond my reach now.”
Exiting the Elven Forest, he crossed a large hill.
The further he got from the pleasant noise of the village, the deeper his memories grew.
Walking the same path as before, he was overwhelmed with emotion.
It was like getting his first leave from the military.
The familiar scent grew stronger.
Given the time, Eil must have been finishing his training and preparing for a late lunch.
As the house came into view, a smile formed on his lips.
Planning to surprise them, he concealed his presence.
The stealth technique he had picked up by observing Hongyeong’s skills was flawlessly executed.
If Hongyeong had seen this, he would have been angry at how well Ray had stolen his technique over his shoulder.
Carefully approaching, he quietly opened the door, and immediately a sword flew at him from thin air.
With a sharp whizzing sound, the air seemed to tear.
Startled, Ray quickly reached out his hand and deflected the sword, only to have dishes thrown at him next.
The plate flew in a circle.
However, the trajectory was so exquisite that there was no gap to exploit.
The plate, thrown with a good amount of mana, was too dangerous to break and too risky to dodge without breaking the door.
He wrapped mana around his hand and caught the incoming plate.
With a bewildered voice, he said,
“Wait a minute! It’s me, Ray!”
“Huh?”
Eil stopped his hand that was about to throw another dish.
Saein, who was about to cast a spell, halted her incantation.
The ability to stop casting mid-way reminded me again that his mother was a significant sorceress.
“I thought it was someone else… Make some noise when you enter, you brat.”
Eil calmly placed the dish he was holding onto the table.
The sword at his waist was already half-drawn, and if Ray hadn’t been quick, he might have ended up sparring as soon as he got home.
Saein quickly got up and hugged him tightly.
“Ray!”
She hugged him so tightly it was almost suffocating.
“How long has it been? My adorable son!”
“I just stopped by during my pilgrimage. Is there any food? I’m hungry after a long trip. Ahaha.”
“Just wait a moment! I’ll prepare something right away!”
As Saein bustled to the kitchen, Eil put his hand on his shoulder.
“And what was that just now? Catching a mana-infused plate?”
“If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have caught it. Were you trying to kill me?”
“I can’t spare someone who enters someone else’s house without permission.”
“You almost killed your son just now.”
“As long as you didn’t die, it’s fine. But go upstairs. Hehehe.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Stop talking and go up.”
Pushed up the stairs, he wondered what could elicit such a reaction.
Reluctantly, he went upstairs.
He felt a small presence next to his room.
Half curious, half expectant, he opened the door, and there lay a cute baby.
“No way…”
“Kahaha. Surprised, right? You must be shocked by this!”
Why is he so keen on surprising me?
But I have to admit, this time I am a bit surprised.
A sibling! The idea of having a sibling was incredibly touching for someone who grew up an only child.
Kneeling beside the sleeping baby, he gazed at the tiny figure.
“So tiny…”
“Yes. You were this small once too.”
“Clean.”
He cleaned his hands with magic and gently pressed the baby’s cheek.
The softness was unbelievable.
It felt similar to when he pressed Aira’s cheek.
“Oooh…”
Did the baby wake up from the sensation on its cheek?
With a cooing sound, the lying baby opened its eyes.
Blue eyes similar to his own met his gaze, and Ray felt an inexplicable wave of emotion.
He felt compelled to respond to this emotion.
Ray pressed his cheek again.
Poke- Poke-
His sibling’s cheek wasn’t a doorbell, yet he kept pressing it.
“Ooooo.”
At the baby’s fussing, Ray recalled something.
The memory of Eil rubbing his bearded chin against him.
Realizing he was doing the same thing as his father, his hand movement abruptly stopped.
“…Are you angry?”
Eil watched his children play with a content gaze and replied,
“Well, it must be annoying to be poked continuously.”
His words carried no weight, considering he had once tried to grind Ray with his high-performance mixer beard.
Ray scratched his head and said,
“Sorry, it’s just too soft. Hahaha.”
Poke- Poke-
The irresistible touch was too much to stop.
Indeed, a true sibling of his.
As he continued to touch the cheek, the half-open eyes of the sibling suddenly widened.
“Waaaaah!”
Ray was no stranger to such fierce resistance.
But he too had gone through this as a child and had grown up.
Shaking his head, he denied his sibling’s first show of will.
“Children grow up like this.”
Eil chimed in from the side.
“Yep.”
Poke- Poke-
While amiably touching his sibling’s cheek, Saein entered the room.
“…Were you here bothering Leisia again? Come down now. Dinner is ready.”
Seeing their mother’s comment about bothering, Eil must have been up here all day, teasing the baby.
Ray could almost feel the annoyance bubbling up.
“Leisia? Is that the name?”
“Yes. It’s derived from your name.”
Ray and Leisia.
Quite a nice ring to it.
Surely, their mother must have chosen the name.
Their father’s sense of naming was notoriously bad.
Coming down to the dining table, an enormous variety of dishes awaited.
Was this what they meant by a table leg breaking from the weight?
There was hardly any space left on the table.
Eil was the first to be surprised at the sight.
“Good heavens… a feast like when we were newlyweds…”
“Enough talk, let’s eat. I put effort into this since it’s been a while. Hohoho.”
“Having Ray here brings about such occasions! Hahaha!”
Sitting down with a light smile amidst the warm conversation.
But, realistically, finishing all this food seemed impossible.
It was enough to feed five knights under his command and still have leftovers.
Saein sat next to him and asked,
“How is the Holy Kingdom? Is it manageable? They wouldn’t dare show you hostility, would they?”
She seemed ready to rush there if they showed even a hint of hostility.
Ray shook his head in response to his mother’s question.
“There was no hostility, just a lack of flexibility to the point of excessiveness.”
Eil laughed awkwardly.
“Well… that’s unavoidable, given it’s the Holy Kingdom and all.”
“You’ve been there for over a year. Weren’t there any interesting events?”
Interesting events.
He could mention receiving orders from the Pope to guard the borders at the risk of his life, suppressing necromancers, or extracting the heart of the Original Dragon—if those could be considered ‘interesting.’
Or perhaps it was the time he crushed a third power called Proxia, strong enough to pressure even the Lesian Empire?
After pondering, he shook his head.
“There wasn’t anything particularly memorable or fun.”
“That’s somewhat relieving… No news is good news, after all.”
He inwardly agreed with his mother’s words.
As the saying goes in modern times, ‘no news is good news,’ and a normal daily life is best.
While having dinner and slightly embellishing the events in the Holy Kingdom, Ray asked something he had been curious about all along.
“But why aren’t you surprised that I’m a Magic Swordsman?”
In a typical family, this revelation would cause a huge shock.
Of course, his mother, Saein, is a significant sorceress, and his father, Eil, is close to being a Swordmaster—not exactly a typical family.
But still, shouldn’t there be some reaction?
After a moment of thought, both replied simultaneously.
“Well, we taught you…”
“Let’s see… because we’ve been teaching you since you were young?”
“Ray was smart, too.”
“That’s right.”
“……”
His question inevitably led to doting parents.
This could go on endlessly.
For some reason, both always vaguely glossed over such topics, as if they were hiding something.
He asked directly.
“…We’re not a typical family, are we?”
That single sentence caused the usually smiling faces of Eil and Saein to gradually harden.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was an extraordinarily handsome young man.
‘…So dazzling.’
His skin was like white jade, and his deep blue eyes seemed to possess an unfathomable depth.
The elegant shape of his nose made her wonder if he might be an elf, the kind she had only heard about in stories.
Judging by the atmosphere, this man had to be her older brother.
Until now, the only ‘older brothers’ she knew were those who feared her, so this unfamiliar affection felt uncomfortable.
It would probably fade away soon, anyway.
‘Surely, I ended my life… why am I in this state again?’
No matter how coldly she analyzed the situation, she couldn’t find a reason.
She might as well go back to sleep, she thought, and closed her eyes.
But the persistent sensation on her cheek became annoying.
Poke- Poke-
‘Stop. Stop it.’
“Ooooo.”
Her thoughts escaped as whimpers.
Did he understand?
Her presumed older brother withdrew his hand.
“…Are you angry?”
“Well, it would be annoying to be poked continuously.”
“Sorry, it’s just too soft. Hahaha.”
His tone lacked any real apology.
Instead, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Poke- Poke-
‘No!’
Her eyes snapped open in irritation.
What sort of apology was this if he kept poking?!
So annoying! Go away!
“Waaaaah!”
Her indignant whimpers failed to produce the reaction she desired.
Her brother shook his head, dismissing her will.
“Children grow up like this.”
“Yep.”
The father and son continued their playful teasing.
It only stopped when their mother arrived.
After a few exchanges, they both followed their mother downstairs.
Finally left alone, she closed her eyes once more.
‘Sigh… such a noisy house…’