"...talking back then... would be a bad... idea..."

Roiso explained while leaning into Zoemi's hug, there was no doubt that despite Mizoe and Rokiana helping to snuck her out of the Efemare estate, the black-haired boy was the only person she trusted.

"True... forget I asked that embarrassing question."

The blue-haired girl raised her brows before furrowing them and looked away slightly pink in the face. That expression might or might not have something to do with the calm and collected light-blue-haired man sitting next to her and observing the conversation without butting in.

"Dad, did you order something for me too?"

"Hold on! Are we not going to discuss what to do with her?!"

Zoemi, satisfied with the outcome, asked Mizoe, but instead of him responding, rokaina's head snapped right back and the blue-haired girl gasped in disbelief.

"Excuse me? No one will do anything with Roiso against her will as long as I am here. There's nothing to discuss because both of us already agreed on what should be done."

The black-haired boy's expression darkened and he unintentionally hugged the hooded girl a lot tighter while glaring at Rokiana.

"Son, you surely understand why young lady Perserios said what she did. She got involved quite heavily in the whole rescue operation and she doesn't even know what was the reason. Honestly, I share her viewpoint this time... What exactly do two children of your age plan to do?"

This time Mizoe did get involved and asked before the pouting Rokiana could respond to the black-haired boy's declaration.

"Grow up strong. Roiso is a powerful variant magician who can become unparalleled if guided and trained the right way. Her attribute corrodes every other kind of mana, melting it into nothingness."

"!!!"

"..."

Zoemi revealed and his words made Rokiana and Mizoe flinch which in turn caused Roiso to cower, greatly upset.

"Before you will start explaining how dangerous it is to have her around, let me remind you that you traveled with her and nothing happened although it most definitely should."

The black-haired boy added hastily – truth be told, he was kind of making a show out of the reveal, but he realized that his way of presenting things was too effective in the worst way.

"You see, just as I explained to you before, mana and spiritual energy oppose and suppress each other. Roiso and I tested it before getting out of the secret room – just as the surrounding mana suppresses my star power from spontaneously combusting during training when I use it on Roiso, her passive corrosion is suspended."

Zoemi said and smiled at the neon-pink-haired girl who was looking up at him with awestruck eyes despite already knowing everything that he was talking about.

"...sounds like you two are meant for each other..."

"...!"

Rokaiana raised her brow and pointed out, to which Roiso immediately turned red and fidgetted.

"It's not as nice as you put it, unfortunately. I am the one who benefits the most from this solution."

Zoemi shook his head and admitted with a guilty smile.

"You see, when I use any of the shareable star powers on Roiso, I train that star power, causing it t become stronger as its star level will eventually advances. But it's not the same for Roiso – her magic doesn't get stronger while suppressed. She might not be melting things unintentionally either, but she is also losing the passive mana shield that she normally would upkeep without even realizing it."

The boy explained, glancing at the neon-pink-haired girl with an apologetic expression.

"...don't be like that... that's why you promised... to protect me..."

Seeing him act like that caused Roiso to actually return the hug and assure him as if she was greatly bothered about making him worry.

"Still! What do you plan to do?! Growing up strong is just as vague as saying that you want a fun and fulflling life! It's nice and all, but we asked you about your literal next step. Do you have any sort of plan? An actual one."

The moment's fluffy atmosphere was broken by the blue-haired girl who clapped her hands and demanded a grounded answer not polluted by some idealism.

For a few seconds, Zoemi stayed silent looking down at the table as if thinking deeply about the answer. During that time none of the other three had said anything, focused on the black-haired boy, waiting in curiosity.

"Our next stop is the Tencelion territory. I specifically want to visit the domain of the youngest daughter of the family. Who I am interested in is her partner and child both of whom should be martial artists just as I am. I want to train with them for a while, so if things go well while dad and lady Perserios will undertake the knight training, Roiso and I will stay with them."

When Zoemi raised his head and looked at his companions again, his expression was determined and his eyes shone with an unspecified inner light that was similar to that of the stars in the night sky.

The silence that befell the table was different than the one from before the black-haired boy's announcement. It was filled with a completely different kind of tension.

While Roiso was looking up at Zoemi in sheepish admiration, Rokiana was looking at Mizoe and her expression clearly portrayed how worried she was.

"You don't want to complete the knight training anymore?"

The light-blue-haired man took a deep breath and asked.

"Of course, I do, dad. I just won't do it at the same time as you. Sorry for purposefully missing on a bonding activity like that, but it has everything to do with the future..."

"Are you perhaps already gathering allies to execute the revenge on the people who robbed you of your family and land?"

The black-haired boy was speaking calmly but the light-blue-haired man interrupted him with a ridiculously insightful question.

"..."

Even though Zoemi was fully aware of his father's incredible intuition in anything that did not involve romance, he was still shocked by his words.

Although, the surprise lasted only for a moment.

"I will not lie to you here."

"!!!"

The black-haired boy was not aware of it, but at the moment his face lighted up with a smile that was not natural for someone so young.

It wasn't just some devilish smirk – it was a full-on diabolical grin of a bloodthirsty tyrant who takes pride and joy in crushing his enemies into a bloody pulp.

"Paying them back will be a stepping stone for the future. After all, if I won't be able to annihilate some measly nobles, I will never be able to destroy the filth that plagues the timelines."

Zoemi declared with might.

...although Roiso was the only one who had the idea about the filth that the black-haired boy was talking about...

"Wait. Stop. Hold on...!"

Rokiana raised her hand as if she was in a classroom and spoke up while rubbing her forehead with the other hand.

"That kind of sounded like you two aren't actually related despite calling each other father and son!"

The blue-haired girl pointed out, staring between the two.

"Whoops...?"

The sudden change of peace got Zoemi out of the vengeful mood and he snickered while glancing over at Mizoe.

"We shall discuss it after we eat. See? Our food is coming."

The light-blue-haired man cleared his throat and pointed at the innkeeper hurrying over to their table with plates in his hands.historical

"So you ordered something for me~!"

Zoemi smiled with satisfaction...

"...I ordered a big portion... so we could eat... together..."

Roiso fidgetted and revealed while the parts of her face visible from under the hood as she lowered her head turned pink from the intense blush.