episode_0028

“I found a savior..! To think there’d be someone capable of something like that at that age.”

Freed from the parasitic bug Valdes had planted in her, Pisces cheered.

Ras, who had not only displayed incredible skill by eradicating the terrifying ‘Black Rose Vine’ organization completely, but also showed a unique talent no one else could, was a savior and a lifeline to Pisces.

“Heh heh..! As expected, I’m the embodiment of tightrope walking. I was so clever in that short time. Oh, my smart self.”

Of course, she didn’t forget to praise her own admirable self.

Pisces’s tightrope walking, or rather, survival instinct, was a natural ability she was born with.

The weakling’s intuition for survival had saved her many times at the crossroads of life and death.

However, even in this joyful situation, not everything was to her liking.

“But my pride is a little hurt, isn’t it? An unwashed puppy? When someone as pretty and cute as me says ‘Master-nim!’, shouldn’t they say ‘Yes, my puppy~’? Well… it’ll change once they see me clean.”

*Splash*

The water pouring from the shower was slightly cold, but equally clear and clean.

For the first time in a long while, Pisces scrubbed and shined herself, applying soap and even scented oil until she was squeaky clean.

A luxury she could never have dreamed of during her time with the ‘Black Rose Vine’.

Pisces, clean after truly a long time, gazed at herself in the mirror.

In the mirror was a stunning beauty who would surprise even herself.

Jet-black hair and eyes, slightly pale yet flawlessly white and delicate skin, and a perfectly balanced, slender figure that was neither too much nor too little.

“Hah… I’m this pretty just by washing up. At this level, that man will surely be smitten, right? No… considering how much he knew about me, perhaps he’s been watching me since before…?”

Although she had a tendency towards self-infatuation, it was true that Pisces was a considerable beauty.

As a species whose default racial characteristics were superior, any demon race individual on the street was a handsome man or beautiful woman, and such traits were strongly manifested even in half-breeds.

“Anyway! I need to butter him up and somehow secure a spot next to him. His abilities are amazing, his face is pretty and to my taste, and he even has a lot of money at home…!”

Grinning slyly to herself, Pisces changed into a slightly revealing black Gothic dress.

Her mind was already full of plans to completely ensnare her Master-nim within her charms.

She stepped out with elegant strides, but…

‘I’ve taken care of the cleanup and am leaving first today. Rest for now, I’ve registered the communication orb, so check immediately if I contact you. And from now on, wash every day. I’ll be checking . -Ras-‘

Ras had already disappeared, and only a memo remained.

Seeing the memo about the cleanup, meaning he would roughly establish order for the dismantled Black Rose Vine before leaving, Pisces thought her new master was quite thoughtful.

After all, she, who had already lost all her dignity with one flick on the forehead, couldn’t possibly re-establish order in front of the rough gang members.

“N-no..! Thank you, but it’s not because I’m dirty that I didn’t wash up. Just you wait!”

Meanwhile, Pisces was quite displeased with Ras for underlining and emphasizing the part about washing every day.

*

For now, the initial objective of entering the back alleys had been achieved.

Aside from her pathetic combat ability, Pisces had many capable aspects.

The thought of using her like in a previous life made me smile involuntarily.

Feeling better, I sat at a table in ‘The Rose That Eats Fish’ pub and took a long sip of ginger ale.

Compared to the idiotic cocktail from earlier, this ginger ale had the excellent taste of a commercial product.

“…Uhm… what will happen to us? Big Bro? Boss?”

“If you had poisoned it, I would have killed you all, but it seems you’ve bought yourselves a turn, haven’t you?”

From the burly guys sweating profusely and watching me nervously, I could feel the vivid fear of prey.

Anyway, I had already killed off the guys who were running around trying to rack up achievements in the organization, so I had no intention of killing these ones additionally.

After all, petty thugs get scared and can’t harbor other thoughts if you just threaten them appropriately.

“Look around. All the superiors who used to chew you out for not working and stab you in the back are gone, right? There’s no unlucky squint-eyed bastard either. I sent them all to the burning hell of flames. Everyone from the lowest-ranking executives to Valdes.”

Draining the rest of the ginger ale, I roughly instilled fear in them.

“From my perspective, it’s harder to just injure pathetic guys like you without killing you. Don’t think about spreading your notoriety; just live quietly like dead men. For now, think of it as begging, not paying tribute. Understand?”

“…Yes, sir!”

“I’m a busy man with a lot to do, so listen well to Pisces. Don’t even dream of insubordination. Even if she’s pathetic by my standards, you wouldn’t even be able to pick up your bones.”

Of course, this was a lie, but it didn’t matter since they had no way of knowing about Pisces’s pathetic combat ability.

Anyway, Pisces wasn’t going to remain boss here; she would be following me soon.

The guys, looking utterly disciplined, bowed deeply to me and made unsolicited promises to live good lives.

Whether they lived good lives or not was none of my business, so I tidied things up roughly and left the pub.

“Ah… I should go buy some pants.”

My wounds had already healed, but my torn pants couldn’t, so I headed downtown.

Checking my watch, I was relieved to see I still had time before dinner.

*

“Thank you so much today, Ras. I should have bought dinner…”

“No, it’s nothing. I’ve been so grateful for everything until now, this is nothing.”

The dinner that followed with Rosalie was also excellent.

Although I was quite fatigued from the aftereffects of using the Nine Heavens Destruction Flame Art, such fatigue couldn’t act up in front of our Health Mama.

After finishing dinner and walking, we were soon in front of the hotel where Rosalie was staying.

“Dinner at a restaurant with a beautiful terrace in April… It was so lovely. The breeze was cool, the food was delicious, and Ras was cute.”

Rosalie smiled faintly and gently stroked my head.

Her fresh smile, like a spring breeze, seemed to gently dust away today, which had been stained with blood and flames.

Is this what healing is, and a true date?

“I enjoyed it too. Let’s try another place tomorrow evening. I know quite a few good spots in the capital.”

“I’ll look forward to it, then? Get home safely~ You must be tired from wandering around, so get a good night’s sleep. And make sure to take your medicine for a while, okay?”

“Yes. Teacher-nim, you also get a good night’s sleep. I’ll contact you later.”

She bustled away, and my pleasantly elated mood slowly began to settle.

And so, I walked quietly through the night of Sephiroth.

Although I had returned to 10 years ago, the memory of burning the Imperial Capital Sephiroth was as vivid as yesterday.

In terms of real time, ‘I’ had actually gone crazy and rampaged, turning this city into ashes roughly a month or two ago.

Before my regression, the final button of my grueling and terrible revenge had been fastened here.

“I don’t want to do it twice. Mass arson, massacres, cultural property destruction… It’s not like I’m crazy about committing crimes.”

If I walked around lost in sentimentality for too long, I felt I might merge with my past self, so I quickly broke free from the reminiscence.

This was not the time to be consumed by pointless nostalgia, but rather the time to strive for a new future.

I had already avoided the situation of becoming a cripple unable to control my own body.

Furthermore, even if I didn’t know the specifics of how the future would unfold beyond my own personal one, I knew the general flow.

There’s a saying on that distant Eastern Continent, “Cultivate oneself, regulate one’s family, govern the state, bring peace to the world” [a Confucian idiom about the path from personal cultivation to global harmony], and doesn’t it somewhat fit my current situation?

Since I had succeeded in taking care of myself, it was now time to take care of my family.

Instead of taking a carriage home, I walked along the familiar road of my hometown.

As a wealthy man from the city, I walked on, inhaling the scent of clean paved roads and neat roadside trees instead of the smell of soil or cow dung.

“Even after a long time, it’s still magnificent. So dazzling.”

The Etgard family mansion appeared before my eyes, grand and practical rather than flashy and antique like noble estates, yet still incorporating trendy designs.

“State your name and purpose of visit.”

The night guard, standing with a solemn demeanor, had excellent work etiquette.

“Ras Etgard. Purpose: family visit.”

When I replied just as solemnly, the guard was startled and saluted.

“You are the eldest Young Master. I apologize for not recognizing you.”

“It’s fine. Standing so strictly is proper. I haven’t seen your face before, are you new?”

“Yes! That’s right. I’m Scott, a new recruit who joined in early March.”

I gave a casual wave to the guy, who was stiffly giving his full name and rank, and went inside.

As soon as I entered, a small figure came scurrying like a puppy.

“Big Brooooo!!!!”

“Oh, my youngest. You’ve grown so much again in just a few months. Why aren’t you asleep, you rascal?”

My cute younger brother, Rinaldo Etgard.

They say kids these days already hit puberty at twelve, but this one is just innocent and gentle without any of that.

“I waited because I missed Big Bro. I was almost sad, thinking you weren’t coming today.”

I picked him up, held him in my arms, and walked further inside.

“Ras, you’re here. I thought you weren’t coming today because it was late. Rinaldo, Big Bro is tired, stop pestering him there and come here.”

From deeper within the mansion, a young lady emerged and took Rinaldo from my arms into her own.

“It’s been a while, Mother. I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to contact you at all.”

My mother, Brida Etgard.

For the record, she is not my birth mother. My birth mother passed away when I was young.

Therefore, Rinaldo and I were half-siblings.

“No, academy life is naturally busy. And you have a fiancée, so you must be even busier, right? There’s much to talk about, but this isn’t the best place. Your father is waiting…”

Though she wasn’t my birth mother, she never mistreated me like the wicked stepmothers in old stories.

Should I say that even if there wasn’t an incredibly strong maternal bond, they definitely recognized each other as family?

“Let’s talk more in the morning. I’ll go see Father right away.”

“Alright. Heidi, take Ras to the family head’s study.”

At Mother’s instruction, a familiar maid bustled out.

This was Heidi, who had been my exclusive maid since I was young.

My father had assigned her to me early on as both a companion and a maid when I lost my mother and felt lonely.

At this point, I would be seeing her after about three months, but in reality, it’s been about eight or nine years, hasn’t it?

Heidi led me to the family head’s study with a slightly downcast expression.

As we neared the family head’s study, I spoke to Heidi first.

“It’s been a while. Is everything alright?”

“Yes… I’m always the same. By the way, it’s unexpected. For Young Master to ask about my well-being first…”

In this era, I barely spoke to women outside of my relatives, maintaining ‘courtesy between lovers’ for Lizley.

Especially in Heidi’s case, as she had been the closest to me for a long time, Lizley had openly expressed discomfort.

“Well, there are days like this and days like that. Besides, I’m always as fickle as boiling water anyway.”

“Young Master? Weren’t you always pure, devoted, and loyal since you were young? In my memory…”

No.

That died a while ago, and Ras Etgard has been reborn.

Pure, innocent love, single-hearted devotion… All of those kindly went to the afterlife together.

Well… I couldn’t say such things openly, so I just greeted Heidi appropriately and sent her off.

Before I knew it, I was standing alone in front of the family head’s study.

“Phew… Even for me, this is a bit much…”

It was Father, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.

While I was glad to see him, I already felt a little reluctant and my heart was heavy.

Because from now on, I had to act disobediently towards my father, whom I was seeing for the first time in almost 10 years.

*Knock knock knock-*

“I’m coming in, Father.”

“Yes. Come in.”

When I opened the door, a middle-aged man with a fiery presence was seated.

Logier Etgard, my father and the man who was the last head of the Etgard family.

And the man who was about to receive a harsh scolding from his fire-attributed son in this very place today…