[Name: Roy Zoldyck]
[Constitution: 23.75 (Note: Normal person is 1)]
[Remaining "Life Energy": 31]
Night.
The neon lights illuminated the darkness, and the streets were bustling with traffic.
After finishing his updates, Roy sat in his bathrobe at the dining table, eating dinner, with Wutong, who had returned with Haseki Dorou after completing the ticket reservation.
Tonight's dinner featured cheese-baked lobster, a whole roasted chicken paired with a few pancakes, and a bottle of one-liter fresh milk on the table's corner.
Haseki Dorou was sent back to his room, to reunite tomorrow morning for the flight.
While serving Roy and packing his luggage, Wutong talked about things he encountered on the road: "After Harrison's death, no one probably dares to challenge Young Master in the short term..."
"The airship ticket is booked for ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I've already informed the front desk and pre-arranged a driver, and the luggage left at the airport has been retrieved by Luke's men."
"Also." The young butler adjusted the glasses perched on his nose. "We ran into Master Illumi at the airport, and he seemed to look at Haseki Dorou strangely."
"I suspect..."
"The challenge has just begun." Roy interrupted Wutong, nonchalantly dissecting the roasted chicken with a knife and fork, "Don't worry about it; consider it a necessary hardship Haseki Dorou has to go through as part of his internship as a butler."
So many people dream of entering the Zoldyck Family; how can they command respect without going through some hardships, merely by talking and bowing?
"Yes." Wutong swallowed his concerns and continued, "The house called this morning to ask when you'd be returning... I've already reported your return date."
Wutong paused, carefully observing Roy: "Luke said he will await Young Master's homecoming in the training room."
With an electric stick to welcome him?
Roy recalled how they blocked the door with certain instructions when he left home. He picked a juicy piece of chicken breast, chewed it, and then swallowed it...
"Tell him to use a higher voltage electric stick, a million volts... is too low..."
Is the Young Master throwing a tantrum at the master?
With unease, Wutong responded boldly, "Yes."
He then took out his phone and notified Luke.
"This... I can't decide on my own..." Receiving the call in the middle of the night, Luke was left feeling anxious and helpless.
He felt like he was caught between two falling guillotines, doomed if he leaned left, doomed if he leaned right—truly... a predicament that could crush a man.
He decided to report the situation, passing the dilemma to Silva.
Under the mid-moon,
Silva, draped in a blanket, opened his bedroom door, and on the large bed behind him lay the deep-sleeping Killua.
A white leg hung over the edge of the bed. Luke quickly lowered his head as he relayed everything Wutong reported with utmost clarity.
Through the hallway's glass window, Silva gazed into the dense night, silently listening... Meanwhile, Luke bent even lower, cold sweat streaming down his back after his report.
"How many days has he been away..."
After a while, Silva suddenly spoke up.
Luke, recollecting his thoughts and respectfully replied, "Four days, and five including tomorrow."
"Five days..." Silva fell silent. Moments later, he said: "Do as he said."
"Yes." Luke retreated with a bow.
As the door closed, a soft hand slid over Silva's broad chest lazily asking, "Who was it?"
Silva said nothing, pulling the woman's arm skillfully, pinning her against the door...
The woman's screams pierced the night, shattering the tranquility of the ancient castle.
In a dimly lit little room, an old man swayed in a rocking chair, listening to anime, tapping merrily on the armrest, his mouth twisting into a satisfied grin...
"A bit over half an hour... not bad, better than last time..."
Age brings understanding, seeing through everything...
For a family to be kept together, it ultimately comes down to 'legacy'....
Having many children is good, unlike Zeno, unlike Jager, and unlike Maha, who each only had one child in their lifetime. That's why... Silva is commendable... The old man thought of Milluki, thought of Illumi, and lastly, he remembered the boy who greets him every day as he passes by, smacking his lips, realizing it's been days since he tasted the meals he prepared...
"Hmm... When is Roy coming back... Oh right... tomorrow... tomorrow will be a good day..." Mumbled Maha to himself, his voice dwindling until a faint snore could be heard when closely listened to...
...
"Young Master, I checked the weather forecast, tomorrow will be a good day, get some rest early."
The night grew deeper as Wutong finished packing the luggage, turned off the lights, and lay down on the sofa beside him.
On the floor below, a boy hugged his knees, shadowed in darkness, his hollow eyes fixated on Room 9 across the same floor, waiting for the lights to go out.
In Room 9, after finishing his call with his master, Haseki Dorou was packing his luggage alone… He suddenly stopped, glanced upstairs, pondering... should he bid the Young Master goodnight on his first day as a butler?
What answered him was Roy's faint snores, and the lightly overlapping hands rising and falling with the rhythm of his abdomen.
"Sss~ah..."
A corridor of colorful brilliance lay beneath his feet; crossing it led to the familiar sea. Through deep sleep, Roy, as always, rolled up his trousers and arrived at his dream world, lingered by the sea for a while, then pushed open the door to the Demon Slayer.
The familiar sensation of falling descended upon him...
As he opened his eyes once more, he didn't see those beautiful big eyes, prompting him to curiously rise and search around—
Turned out Makomo had followed into the kitchen, crouching beside Urokodaki Sakonji as he prepared a fresh river fish.
"We're having fish this morning."
Urokodaki Sakonji heard the commotion behind him, and without turning, said.
With rhythmic hands, he sliced the raw fish, tantalizing Makomo with envy....
"Master treats Eiichiro so well, going to the river to catch fish for him late at night, huh~ Sabito, I'm so jealous..."
The little girl pouted, puffed her cheeks into a baozi face; the fox-like boy leaned against the beam, cast her a glance, and shook his head helplessly: "A gifted boy deserves a prodigy's treatment..."
"If you and I achieved the same prestige as Eiichiro in life, the master would gladly catch fish for us every day."
"Hehe, let me tell you a secret, Master caught fish for me too~" Makomo playfully nudged her eye corner, sticking out her tongue at Sabito as she made a face.
Sabito's breathing hitched, he glared at her with a mix of humor, catching a glimpse of Roy coming over and mimicking his stance leaning against the beam, quietly watching Urokodaki Sakonji busy in the kitchen. After a moment, he asked: "Master, where's your limit?"
Biscuit's presence stirred Roy's thoughts on Netero's past; he, alike, prayed with ten thousand punches daily, the limit... finishing within an hour, estimating he could perform at least a hundred thousand punches a day excluding prayer time if serious!
Urokodaki Sakonji's ears twitched as he faced away from Roy, giving no answer.
Roy explained with a smile: "I just want to know, at the depths of swordsmanship, to what extent can it reach."
This time, Urokodaki Sakonji turned around, looking at him earnestly, holding a plate of sliced raw fish,...
"There is no deepest, only deeper."