"Chryses, right? Don't be nervous like that~. Have some tea and snacks. I made the cake myself~. I don't know if it will be to your liking, but it should be alright~."

My voice was genuine, and he flinched as soon as he heard this warm voice.

Well, tool or companion, he was just a kid to me first.

And this young boy, he was a brave one.

Others might have hesitated for a while before accepting these refreshments by me, a high noble and the young master of this house.

Children like him, actually, all the knights in the training grounds were, in the end, servants of this house.

And that wasn't all.

I was quite famous among the young children as the hero of the empire and all those things and I knew that he, this young boy before me, looked up to me for some reason.

Maybe he was also inspired by those stories and stuff but, he was the brave one to still accept the tea after saying it just once.

This was different from the vice-captain, and it wasn't like this boy didn't know what he was doing.

His eyes said it all, so I didn't even have anything to ask.

He knew it was a great thing to be summoned by me for a private talk like this.

But that was it... he was clueless about everything else.

And still, he was confident.

He had read and heard about me and he believed I was a good person, so there was no need to have any worry or have a guard up towards me.

He took a sip of the tea, and a surprised expression covered his face.

And he couldn't wait and just finished the whole cup of that milk tea..

And then, with sparkling eyes, he looked at the delicious-looking chocolate cake.

But he didn't directly jump on the cake.

He hesitated for a moment, his hands shook for a brief moment too, but he just shook his head as if there was nothing to worry about.

That behavior right there... I knew that one.

And if he showed this, then it meant there was more to him than just being a normal boy that grandpa picked up from the streets.

And whoever he was, I would naturally find out one day but, one thing was clear.

I liked his attitude, bravery, and sharp senses... or more like survival instincts.

They were not even close to mine for now, but... there was the potential for growth.

And there was also the sense of a wild beast like Carla.

But... unlike Carla's senses, which just focused on overwhelming power and dominance like the king lion, his were different.

They focused on faster thinking, sneak attacks, and using less strength for better results... like a tiger.

He himself didn't notice this, but he had scanned the entire room in the few minutes he had been here and that wasn't all.

He had subconsciously prepared himself for many probably uncertain things.

And even if he just wanted to shake every one of these feelings, he can't let go of them entirely.

A special one who has seen things children his age could not handle mentally.

'Someone who had seen dread and death and is driven by revenge while having a strong desire for strength.

And in this journey... he wants to enjoy something he would do.'

He was an interesting fellow, and after seeing him in person like this... I wanted him even more.

Sitting on the other side of the young boy who enjoyed the cake, I watched him enjoy his sweets and just waited for him to finish.

And he didn't hesitate, thinking he might not actually get any chance to eat something so delicious as this.

That was cute, and I didn't mind it at all~.

He can eat many things like this if he follows me in the future.

I smiled warmly as I looked at him and I knew he knew I was looking at him like that but, he only met my gaze after finishing the cake.

"T-thank you. This was impeccable..."

L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on N0vel--Biin.

'He is definitely from a fallen noble house... maybe one outside the capital. Damn... amazing.'

It was easy to deduct this much from the way he said that, and this was a pretty common thing in a story.

Finding a child of some fallen family, whose parents were killed, and he met a great person who recognized his talents and gave him an opportunity and they bloomed with their support.

A normal rat becomes a swan through his talents and swears his loyalty to the one who helped him...

I could already see where it was going.. if I was right, that is.

This was just speculation and theory and there was only one way to actually find out about this and that was by making him tell me about himself.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time for today even if I can do that.

Rein was getting ready for the date and I had to finish things with him soon.

So, I just got straight to the point after his thanks and he visibly flinched from those words...

"You think something is wrong every time you wield the sword for training, right?

Like you are forgetting something but, it isn't necessary so you just let it go.

You have this feeling when you are in the practice, but then, you would just forget about it... like someone just erases the memories... right?"

The expression on his face fell, and a sudden horror and confusion covered his face.

I knew this feeling well and just like what happened to me when my master told me about my origin skill... this one triggered something inside him.

His skill would try its best to block these trains of thought and all but, not this time...

A pure white light appeared on my hand and I gently patted his head as he looked up at me with the same chaotic eyes.

"Don't think about it. Focus inside yourself without thinking anything and just take a deep breath, Chry..."

It was already difficult to go against an innate skill and, even more so against powerful ones like these.

And I knew it was futile until he was actually strong enough to handle it. Not even this resistance would do anything well, anyway.

So instead of thinking too much about this question, just forgetting and not thinking about 'why?' was the best way to handle this sudden storm of thoughts.

And this materialized Solnova would help him quite a bit to fight against the rebelling skill effect.

The problem with strong innate skills... they had some control over the body even while not being some intelligent skill like Lucy or my three eyes.

As the skill was fundamentally a spell imprinted on the body or certain parts of the body, they can control the body in times of need and emergencies.

And in cases like his, the skill's power would be far more than his current body could handle, and the realization of this skill would naturally incur some form of curiosity in him.

And naturally, if he even tried to use his second ability, he would be blasted into pieces or just go (poof!) or something.

And even if his passive first innate skill improves his growth speed, he still wasn't ready to use it with the weak, small body he had.

He will need some things that can boost his growth as well as his physical body.

And I had an abundance of those things thanks to my dear grandma and the tower.

I had resources, and he was the best one I had seen till now to invest in them.

That would be fun, and I knew he had calmed down now.

This sudden weirdness was first for a small young boy like him, but he was no normal person.

He had calmed down, and after he could think properly, this whole thing greatly confused him.

I could guess all the thoughts he might be having but, there was only one thing for me to do now.

Looking at his uncertainty-filled eyes with a warm smile, I whispered in a low voice.

"Let's go inside. Lemme show you something that will open your eyes..."