The girls could clearly see Zeref's sincerity, and that strengthened their resolve. They wanted to become stronger — strong enough to protect Zeref no matter what.
"I will help you destroy that darkness," Livy said seriously, her eyes locked with Zeref's.
"I'll help too," said Tina.
"Me too!" echoed Lora, Nora, Sasa, Mira, and Mia one after another.
A gentle smile formed on Zeref's lips, making the girls blush with embarrassment.
"Thank you… I'm truly happy to hear that."
"How about we create an organization?" Livy suggested.
"I agree!" Tina said immediately, followed by nods from Lora, Sasa, Mira, and Mia.
"What should our organization's name be?" Nora asked curiously.
"Since we will be hunting down the darkness lurking within the shadows… our organization shall be called the Shadow Corps," Zeref declared.
Seeing the bright smiles on the girls' faces upon hearing the name he had come up with on the spot made Zeref feel just as happy and excited for the future ahead.
At the moment, I was training with my teacher, learning how to channel mana throughout my body.
Even though I already knew how to do it — in fact, I had done it many times in battle — in front of her, I pretended as if I was still a beginner.
I sat cross-legged on the ground while my teacher stood behind me, guiding the flow of mana with her hands. I could feel her mana coursing through me.
"What you feel flowing through you right now is mana. Focus on guiding it to the tip of your finger and form a small flame," she instructed gently.
I did as she said and felt a small amount of mana gathering at my fingertip, forming a tiny red flame.
I made an expression of pure joy, like a child eager to try it again and again.
Seeing my excitement, Aprilia smiled softly.
"That's enough for today. You may go home early."
I looked at her with a doubtful expression, as if I couldn't believe the lesson was already over — and I wasn't ready to stop.
"Don't look at me like that. I just have something I need to do, okay? That's why I'm ending the lesson early today."
With no other choice, I packed my things. Just as I was about to leave, I asked her to kneel down so that her height matched mine. Aprilia, slightly confused, did as I asked.
Then, without warning, I kissed her on the cheek and ran off while shouting,
"Thank you for today's lesson!"
It took Aprilia a few seconds to recover from the surprise, and then she chuckled softly.
"That boy… he kissed his teacher and ran away. I'll have to punish him tomorrow."
"But why… why does my heart feel this way?" she thought to herself.
Ignoring the strange feeling rising inside her, Aprilia walked back into her house, unaware that something unknown within her was beginning to awaken.
If Zeref knew, he might have thought twice about accepting her as his teacher.
After giving my teacher a parting kiss, I rushed home, where Lilia was already waiting for me.
"Welcome home, Master. Should I prepare your meal now?" she asked politely.
"Lilia, I told you that when we're alone, you can call me Zeref."
"B-but… I…"
"No buts. Say it."
"Zeref…" she finally said aloud.
As a reward for her effort, I patted her head gently, which immediately made her face turn red.
"Ahh, that's not fair! I want a head pat too, Master!" came Kaguya's voice from behind me.
Kagura followed behind her, shy as always. Since arriving at the mansion, the two of them had been training with the soldiers. Their determination had even impressed my mother.
"How's your training going?" I asked them.
"Master, we did our best! Even Uncle Lach praised us!" Kaguya said proudly.
"That's good."
I patted both their heads, and they responded by wagging their tails happily. Seeing their ears and tails move so cutely made me want to touch them, but I knew better.
Women from beastman tribes only allow their husbands to touch their tails — and only after marriage. I knew if I asked, they would probably agree, but I wasn't ready to take our relationship that far yet.
I wanted to build a deeper bond first.
"Where's Karina?" I asked.
"Master, Karina is currently having a class session with Sister Tania," Lilia answered.
After that, I asked Lilia to prepare water for my bath. Once I finished, I had lunch and headed to my mother's office.
I knocked on the door and entered. My mother was sipping tea. She looked at me and smiled warmly.
"What is it, Zeref? Do you need something?"
"No, Mother. I'm free today, so I thought I could help you."
"Ohh, you're free? Then help me over here."
I walked over and sat beside her, helping her organize the scattered documents.
That night, I visited Livy and the others. The next morning, I spent time training with my teacher, playing with my two younger sisters, and strolling around the city with Lilia and the rest to relieve boredom.
That was how my daily life went.
One day, my mother shared some news with us.
"A week from now, we will be going to the capital to attend Princess Theresia Helios' birthday ceremony."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but think. Theresia was also one of the heroines I had to conquer. In the game, she ranked among the top five most popular characters.
Theresia possessed a special bloodline and was destined to inherit the throne. She had the personality and beauty of a great leader. She always protected her people and was merciless toward her enemies.
Another reason she was in the top five was… because she was both a masochist and a sadist.
In other words, she enjoyed inflicting pain and, at the same time, desired to be subdued and looked down upon by someone stronger. However, fulfilling that hidden desire was no easy task.
As a princess born from an ancient lineage, her pride was rooted deep within her very bones. Anyone who dared to underestimate her would be better off running as far as possible… or face a miserable end.
Even after conquering her heart, one still had to complete certain hidden missions to truly become her master. Bringing out her masochistic side was a monumental challenge.
In the game, all I had to do was press a few buttons and it was done.
But here… I had to do everything physically. One wrong move and my head might roll.
To make matters worse, she was now my cousin.
I snapped out of my thoughts when my mother continued speaking.
"This time, we'll be going to the capital aboard our airship."
She gave us a few more instructions and told us to prepare. After that, we each returned to our rooms, lost in our own thoughts.
"A birthday ceremony, huh…" I muttered.
Actually, our mansion and the royal palace were connected by a teleportation circle powered by magic crystals, which would allow us to arrive at the palace in mere seconds.
But because this was an official invitation, we had to go by airship.
Afterwards, I went to see my teacher to inform her and ask for permission.
"Of course, that's not a problem," Aprilia said. "But come here first."
As she spoke, I approached her. She placed her hand gently on my chest, and I could feel her energy flowing through me.
"This is…?"
Suddenly, my body felt warm… and for some reason, my heart began to race faster than usual. Aprilia's aura felt different — deeper, more alive.
And when I looked into her eyes, I saw something I had never seen before: a desire she herself was unaware of.
And at that moment, I realized… something between my teacher and me was about to change forever.