In the blink of an eye another ten months passed.
My tenth birthday is just around the corner and I could tell by Eris's not-so-subtle questions and in the least expected moments
"Rudeus! What do you do for fun?!" Eris shouted as we practiced with the sword.
"Eh?... Well, I like to read history or magic books, why?" I asked confused.
"Hmm! It's nothing you need to know!! And what do you prefer? The sword or using magic?!" She continued.
"Well I like both actually... I don't lean towards either one too much..." I replied while frowning.
"So that's how it is, huh?! Come on, continue! I need to get stronger!!" She shouted as she continued attacking me.
In recent months her progress with the sword had increased significantly.
Ghislaine says she's approaching Saint level and just needs to be able to use the longsword of light to make it official.
"Why did you ask me all that, Eris? Is there something you need to know?" I asked.
"Nngh! I already told you it's none of your business!" She replied slightly blushing.
'I see... So we're almost at that time of year, huh?'
The city's red orb has only grown and grown over the past few months.
Hilda mentioned this to her 'husband' about the issue, but Philip seems to not want to give it much importance so as not to seem paranoid.
Still, there are days when I rack my brains thinking about what I can do to save the people I love.
"haaa!! W-stay still!" Eris shouted as she tried to attack me with her wooden sword, only for me to dodge ver
Although she should be used to this by now, she seems to be getting more and more frustrated at not being able to beat me.
"Okay! That's enough for today!" Ghislaine said suddenly and Eris sat on the floor with a pout.
"Shit! How come I've never been able to defeat you!" She shouted indignantly but I just sighed.
"Rudeus simply has more experience than you with the sword, Eris. Not everyone has the ability that Rudeus possesses, but if you try hard, your efforts can match him." Ghislaine said as she walked towards us with Ana in her arms.
"Dada!" The little girl had now turned one year old two weeks ago and her calling me daddy was no surprise since I was the only male figure in her life, even Philip didn't find it strange.
"hmmp!" Eris snorted but I could see her looking at Ana out of the corner of her eye.
"You can carry her if you want, you don't have to act like a tsundere" I said with a mocking smile.
"Like what?! What are you talking about?!" Her tone was a combination of anger and confusion but that didn't stop her from slowly approaching Ana.
"baaa..." Ana simply sucked her finger while looking at Ghislaine with curiosity and some shyness.
"h-how cute!" Eris couldn't help but squeal with joy as she stroked Ana's head, specifically her ears.
"not so strong" I warned seriously.
"I know..." Eris replied softly, making sure not to scare her.
She petted Ana for about five minutes until I deliberately put an end to it and carried her to my room.
I didn't mind Eris pouting but I told her that if she defeated me I would let her pet her all she wanted.
Those words were enough to motivate her like never before.
...
"I didn't think you were the overprotective type," Ghislaine said with a mocking smile as she lay down on my bed.
"I'm not, it's just that Eris can be a bit rough when she gets excited," I said as I firmly held Ana who was asleep on my chest.
In recent months I had begun to take my role as a father more seriously with Norn, Aisha and Ana.
And I could see that this was benefiting me since every week of rest my girls did not want to leave my side all day, to the displeasure of their mothers.
"Heh, you know Hilda is jealous when she sees you carrying Ana like that, I can feel her reproductive pheromones going through the roof." She murmured.
"Yeah... I can imagine," I murmured as he sat down on the bed next to her.
Ghislaine put her face in my crotch and inhaled sharply as she hugged me by the hips.
"Ghislaine..." I muttered.
"Ignore me, you know I love your smell," she murmured weakly.
"I know but... I've been getting more and more worried about the orb in the sky," I muttered.
"Hmm, that thing has been accumulating a lot more mana, right?" She asked.
"Yes... And I'm worried about what might happen if that happens," i declared.
At this, Ghislaine moved her face away from my crotch and rested her head on my shoulder as we both looked at Ana.
"As I said, I will support you in everything you do," she said.
"And I appreciate it," I replied, then kissed her on the mouth.
"hmmm~" she moaned weakly and then looked at me with a smile.
We were silent for several minutes until the system interrupted my peace.
*Ding!*
[Stop the conspiracy against Eris Boreas Greyrat!]
Reward: 3D Locator Rings!
"???" I immediately frowned as I sat up straight in bed.
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Ghislaine asked seriously, noticing my change in attitude.
"Yes, it's Eris, I feel like she's in danger!" I said as I passed Ana to her and took the sword Paul had given me.
"I'll go with you!" She announced as we left the room.
"Then leave Ana in charge of the Maid!" I said without looking back as I ran towards Eris's room.
The maids moved out of the way without asking questions when they saw me running so fast and with a sword in hand.
But I had a better idea and used wind magic to propel myself upwards.
Eris's room was on the fourth floor so it was easier that way.
"Haa!" I immediately rose into the air and grabbed the railing of Eris's room's balcony and quickly climbed up.
But before I could even enter I felt a tremendous chill run down my spine.
*ziiiing!!*
I instinctively threw myself to the ground and the balcony window along with part of the wall was destroyed in an instant.
"Rudeu- mmhp!! " I heard Eris's voice in the darkness but quickly her entrance door was knocked down and I could see two figures quickly exit the room.
"tch!" I clicked my tongue as I started following the attackers.
'If they have that destructive capacity with just swords...they are at least at emperor level...but how much can they be?!'
These thoughts crossed my mind as I chased the two figures, one of which looked like a dwarf and the other had white hair styled like...
"!!!"
I immediately tensed up but kept running as the subjects' identities were revealed based on my memories.
"urryaaa!!" With a battle cry Ghislaine quickly caught up with me and both kidnappers noticed.
"Wii Taa!" The taller man called and the shorter man immediately stopped and drew his sword.
*clank!*
Metal collided with metal and even for his size the man in front of me was significantly strong.
"Rudeus!! Go for Eris!!" Ghislaine shouted as she lunged at the dwarf and I instinctively dodged.
"tch!, so you're the black wolf Ghislaine huh?, I am Wii Taa!, King of the North and I challenge you to a duel!!!" The guy shouted and Ghislaine's response was just another guttural scream.
'Calm down Rudeus...she's stronger than before...she'll be fine!'
With these thoughts I continued running towards the man who had Eris tied up.
*crash!*
With a swing of his sword, the tallest man broke through one of the mansion's walls and then leaped off the grounds.
"Shit!!" I screamed as I used a Sonic boom to propel myself.
Fortunately, Eris's struggles slowed him down slightly, so I fell to the ground like a cat in the dark streets of Roa and continued running.
"Tch! Damn it!" The hooded man could only curse as he ran through the streets of Roa, but my momentum was greater.
"Haa!" I fell like a cat and immediately raised a heap of dirt in the middle of an abandoned alley.
The wall rose in milliseconds, and the masked man crashed into it, unable to stop.
"Agh! Shit!" He screamed in pain, instinctively knocking Eris to the ground.
I used this opening to rush at him and throw a long sword of light at him.
"Hmm!" The hooded man simply let out a disdainful sigh as our swords collided.
"Haaa!" But I wasted no time and struck him with a sonic boom that sent him flying until he crashed against the wall again.
"Damn bastard!" he yelled.
In less than a second, I grabbed Eris, untied her, and pulled her away from danger.
"Rudeus!" She cried out in relief, but I gritted my teeth.
"Eris! Don't get away from me!" I shouted as I got into a fighting stance.
She started to respond, but she pursed her lips and nodded.
I could see she wasn't scared at all; this girl was born for combat.
*Ding!*
[Eris's Affection increased to 100%!]
[You're the love of her life]
I ignored the system notification but couldn't help but smile slightly.
"!!!" I immediately went on guard as the man slowly stood up.
His hood had been ripped to shreds, so he dropped it, revealing a man.
Cone-shaped white hair, a peacock tattoo on his cheek, a rainbow-colored robe, and three swords at his waist...
He was the Northern Emperor Aubert Corvette.
"..." I remained silent, staring at him just as he stared at me.
"Fascinating, so the archives didn't lie," he said as he drew two of his swords.
"Archives? Which archives?" I demanded.
"You don't need to know that," he simply responded and lunged at me at tremendous speed.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue as I conjured a Quagmire from the ground.
"Clever," Auber muttered, then took a high leap, avoiding the swamp.
"Haaa!" Without waiting any longer, I threw two stone bullets with shrapnel inside.
Auber frowned as he avoided destroying one and dodged the other.
"That won't work with- aagh!" Auber yelled.
Immediately as he dodged the stone bullet, it fell to the ground. It exploded into a thousand pieces, embedding itself in Auber's back.
He fell to his knees as his back was crushed by the explosion while he glared at me angrily.
"Bastard!!" He yelled as he took a liquid from his robe and...
"Haaaa!" A burst of fire shot out of his mouth at me.
I was momentarily surprised but quickly conjured a wall of water with one hand and ice spears with the other.
"Nngh!" I could hear him groan, and immediately the flow of fire was cut off.
When the smoke was cut, the image of Aubert was revealed, kneeling on one leg with a huge chunk of ice on his left shoulder and right femor. His arm was practically dangling, held in place only by his clothing.
"Haaa... I admit I underestimated you," he muttered, and immediately cut off his arm and threw it at me.
But I didn't fall for it.
I used wind magic to deflect his arm's trajectory.
It slammed into a wall, exploding in a thick cloud of black smoke.
"Pepper spray, huh? Not your best trick," I muttered and immediately conjured an earthen fortress enclosing him before he could escape.
"Aaagh!...haaa... haaa... I-I admit this didn't go as expected," he muttered with a mocking smile as he stared at me.
"Yeah... I thought it would be more difficult. The emperor rank is just for show, I guess," I said softly.
Auber just gritted his teeth as he looked around, then looked up at the ceiling and immediately yelled, "Shit!"
"Haaa!" From between the ceilings, Ghislaine gracefully fell as she looked at us.
Seeing that we were both unharmed, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Ghislaine!" Eris yelled as she hugged the cat woman.
"Rudeus..." she simply muttered, and I could notice the huge cut on her arm, which she immediately healed with healing magic.
"Hah..." Aubert sighed and turned my attention to him.
"So? Who sent you?" I muttered as I placed my sword against his neck, cutting it lightly.
"Heh, who do you think?" he replied, and Ghislaine clicked her tongue, drawing her sword, but I stopped her.
"What happened to the other one?" I asked.
"I killed him, and according to what he said, he was the King of the North, Wii Taa. Nothing special," she said, and Aubert glared at us with hatred at this.
"Report this to Saurus and Philip, take Eris, and return with them. I'll keep an eye on this one," I demanded.
Ghislaine nodded without objection and led Eris away.
"Whew..." Aubert hissed. "I didn't think anyone could tame the black wolf, much less a child." He mocked, but I remained silent.
"Hey? What's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that?" He sneered.
"Did Darius send you for Eris? Or for you to kill me, and she was just a distraction?"
But he just remained silent as his smile gave way to a look of hatred.
"This is going to take a while..." I couldn't help but think before sighing.