My memory was far more incomplete than I had expected. Since the diary didn't even have any information about me, it probably wasn't a good thing. Forgetting was my own choice.
"… How does it feel to suddenly become a father? Does it feel good? "
"It's complicated. Also, if you purposefully use the word 'father' again, I'll make you into ammunition for my next experiment. "
I smiled, nodded, and completely accepted Heloise's taunt. Then, I threw out my own threat.
However, seeing how she didn't seem to care at all, I knew that such a common punishment wouldn't be enough to scare her. (The common punishment in your family is to throw them into an engineering cannon as explosives?)
"Beifeng …"
"I'll be careful. There won't be a next time."
I nodded in satisfaction. As expected, threats didn't need to be new. It would be fine as long as they were scary enough. For a certain Banshee Queen who was becoming more and more accustomed to her cat form, a Saint-rank Beast Tamer would definitely be a mega enemy. Fortunately, Beifeng still had some basic morals. At the very least, I didn't receive any complaints about him using force.
But, to be honest, I felt rather complex when faced with Heloise's intentionally twisted teasing.
First of all, I didn't even know if she was my descendant. After all, there were many methods of determining family relationships in this world. However, most of them wouldn't be useful this time. The final result would definitely be unreliable.
To determine if two people were related by blood, apart from the completely unreliable divination and prophecy magic, one would have to start from the physical body. No matter if it was the secrets of blood or witchcraft that traced the origin of souls, they all required a part of the physical body as the source.
But after this revival, my physical body had been completely reconstructed. Although my physical appearance was exactly the same as before, and I looked quite human, I was likely no longer human inside.
"System?"
[…]
As expected, this system was completely unreliable at critical moments. However, as the Weaver of Fate, Cher had her own opinion on this.
"I can tell that your fate is related to the source of my birth. Even if you're not my ancestor, you're still deeply connected to my ancestor."
Besides, with Renée and Donglan as precedents, even if she was indeed related to me by blood, that didn't mean that she was my descendant. After all, I still had a younger brother who gave me quite a headache.
"This has nothing to do with me. Second Brother Cavendish said it."
Alright then, looking at Renée's delighted expression, I didn't know what to say anymore.
"Are you happy?"
"Yes, yes, of course, if she's your descendant, Big Brother Roland, isn't that also my relative? Other than Little Sister Grimm, I have another family member. "
"Little sister Grimm? Sister Glina, right? "
Only then did I recall that perhaps it was because the Mist descendants had a difficult fate. No matter if it was Glina or Renée, they both fit the criteria of being orphans. Yet, the two of them just happened to have a poor relationship … Fine, from a certain standpoint, neither of them could be considered normal people. This was especially true for Glina, who was a strange person who was difficult to get along with.
"By the way, how's Glina doing?"
"It's going well. Now that the North and East have calmed down, there's nothing to worry about. The Sleuweir Kingdom's recovery is in the best condition. At the very least, she was complaining in her letter two days ago, saying that she wanted to go out and play. Hmph, Little Sister Grimm's workload is much easier than ours. How could we give her such an opportunity? "
Although Sleuweir had suffered many losses in the Northern War, it had a strong foundation and was able to recover very quickly after it recovered. Sleuweir was originally an important trading country, and it was also able to do business with elves and new beastmen, so it recovered very quickly after it reopened its trade routes.
Donglan, on the other hand, was limited by its population and basic industries. Apart from basic military and defense activities, it would be quite difficult for the country to devote all of its resources to spring plowing. That was why even though Renée and Glina were both rulers of a country, there was actually a huge difference in difficulty between them.
Of course, if one looked at military affairs, it would be the complete opposite. As my most important base in the Northlands, as well as the headquarters of the Church of Law, Donglan's military strength was already at the forefront of the Northlands despite its small size. However, it was also because of Donglan's emphasis on military development that even the royal Knight squadron had to participate in the spring plowing.
"Sleuweir is still fine, but Donglan's development seems to be rather abnormal. The military and military industries take up far too much of the country, and the land isn't suitable for agricultural development. I hope that Amelia's new crops will have a great harvest this year. Otherwise, I'll have to think of ways to scam money from her."
Considering the current situation, I was a little worried. Those domain lords had their own expectations and ambitions. If Renée continued to wander about outside, there would be a lot of trouble if something happened in the country.
"Why don't you just go back and support the overall situation? I have more than enough manpower here. "
Although Renée hadn't become Queen yet, everyone knew that she was already the ruler of a country. It was evident that she wasn't the type of person who would obediently sit in the royal palace. This time, she came here with the Borealis under the pretext of supporting us.
"If I go back, won't I just be a rubber stamp? So annoying."
Pouting, Renée had a nonchalant expression on her face.
My head hurt even more. In a way, she wasn't wrong. The military was taken over by my Red Hunting Hounds, and the political affairs were taken care of by Kelly. Furthermore, the Church of Law was already beginning to surpass the authority of the royal family. From a different perspective, we were no different from traitors who wanted to take control of an orphan daughter of the royal family.
"Fine, fine, forget it. Do whatever you want. But here … "
"Yeah, it's boring. I don't understand those mages' stuff, so I intend to say goodbye to you. "
"Goodbye? Where are you going? "
"The Forest of Dreams or the Ottoman Empire."
Although she still had a mischievous smile on her face, it was easy to understand just from the beginning. There was no need to explain the rest in detail. Judging from her calm tone, she had already made up her mind and was only informing me.
"Yep, it's both practical combat training and to earn some Justice Points. There are many treasures that I'm interested in. "
Since the rules were set, they couldn't be easily changed. Renée, who had always followed me, naturally knew just how important Justice Points were. Since she wanted to become stronger, she was obviously quite interested in Justice Points. She also knew that this was probably the best time to earn Justice Points and strengthen herself.
Many of the items that I could exchange for were unique. If I wanted them, I would naturally need to act quickly. According to the latest news from the Forest of Dreams, many people had already reached the frontlines in the Forest of Dreams, including many powerful hermits.
However, Renée's plans weren't so simple.
"If you need manpower, just say so. If there's nothing else, I'll take the entire Silver Cross Squadron with me, as well as those brats from the Aurora Knight squadron. It'll be too much of a waste to have them work as shop assistants in the Cloud Tower. I've already bought five thousand sets of 'armlets.' I'll just treat it as using them for my personal use. "
It was obvious that she had planned this farewell beforehand. She intended to go to the battlefield. Not only would she be able to train herself, she would also be able to train her troops. In fact, she would even be able to help her Knight subordinates obtain Justice Points together to help them grow stronger.
Not only that, she had chosen to lead her own tribe and Knight subordinates to grow together and overcome the difficulties together.
The light of the spring sun shone through the window as the smiling female Knight waved goodbye to me. For some inexplicable reason, I felt as if I had experienced this scene before.
Her silver armor gleamed with a thick metallic sheen. Her handsome face had long since lost its former timidity and hesitation. Her smile wasn't forced at all, and the silver Roland Sacred Sword at her waist was glowing with a resolute will. When I woke up from my daze, I discovered that so much time had passed. Unbeknownst to me, this girl had already become a warrior capable of fighting on her own.
"Right, I also brought that flag with me. You don't mind if I use it, right?"
The famous Dragonslayer Princess from the Northlands War was still wearing the tattered Mist War Flag on her back. At that moment, I paused in surprise for a moment, but then I understood everything.
It was obvious that Renée had long since planned this. She wasn't trying to avoid her responsibilities as the ruler of a country. In fact, she believed that there would be endless calamities in the future, and that it would be meaningless to only defend her own territory. After all, that would be a passive defense. Only by obtaining sufficient power would she be able to overcome the difficulties. And now, it was time for her to obtain fame and power.
In this world, even an illusory reputation could transform into actual assistance. In the face of calamities and dangers, the title of a hero would attract countless people's trust and allies.
That was why she made a choice. She chose to bring the Knight squadron to experience the battlefield in advance. She chose to leave my protection and obtain the power to protect herself and her people in the face of life and death. Not only would she establish her own reputation, but she would also inject new history and fame into the Mist War Flag, allowing the entire land to see what it meant to be a descendant of the Mist.
She knew that it would be impossible for her to directly raise this idea in her own country. As the only royalty, Kelly and many other old ministers would definitely oppose her to the death. That was why she used the excuse of providing support and went to the frontlines first. Once she had full control of the situation, she would act first and report later.
At this moment, although the girl in front of me still had the same appearance, the timid "Vase Princess" of the past had disappeared. The one smiling in the face of the future calamities was now a Knight Princess who had shouldered the trust of her country and citizens.
For a long while, I didn't know what to say. Although she was asking for my opinion, she probably hadn't considered the possibility that I would refuse.
Would I refuse? Of course not. Since the young eagle had already matured and was ready to spread its wings and leave the nest, how could I force her to hide under my wings? That would only make her an idiot.
"You're setting me up. Do you really want to see Sister Kelly nag me to death?"
"… Hehe, Brother Roland, is there something you're afraid of? I'm sorry, I'll write her a letter. In that case, you'll approve, right? "
"If you don't approve, you'll just run away. Honestly, there's not a single person who doesn't make me worry."
I smiled and shook my head. I felt both gratified and regretful.
"I like you the most, Brother Roland."
Discovering that her request had been approved, the mature female Knight instantly thawed like an iceberg and transformed into a shy young girl with a smile as beautiful as a flower … And then, she pounced on me along with my chair.
* Pop! *
My cheek felt a slight chill. By the time I reacted, all that was left in front of me was the faint scent of orange perfume and the figure of a beautiful girl who had escaped.
I touched the soft sensation on my cheek, as if her red lips were still the same. I didn't know what to say anymore. It was only after a long while that I managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"… Hehe, this little girl sure is passionate."
"Sometimes, it's gentlemanly to intentionally act dumb when seeing something embarrassing. But sometimes, it's quite excessive to intentionally act dumb even though you know what's going on. Little Roland, what kind of person are you? "
"Shut up, Heloise. Otherwise, I'll feed you to Beifeng."
"…"
Tactical weapons were far too powerful. The silly cat fell silent for a while. But after a while, I couldn't help but ask another question.
"Am I really being too excessive?"
"… Scum, demon, pervert, bastard, gentleman, Roland, Beifeng!"
Alright then, it would seem that our names were changing into adjectives. But since I was only one rank lower than Beifeng in terms of evil, I really needed to reflect on myself.
After Renée escaped as if she was hit and run, my emotions, which had been messed up by Cher's death, became even more chaotic. And, the silly cat just happened to continue adding more trouble for me.
"… Oni Father, Beifeng, Roland, Oni Father, Beifeng, Roland …"
Just as I was seriously considering whether or not I should taste her sour cat meat hotpot today and was about to take action, she finally bared her teeth and disappeared into the shadows.
After thinking about it for two minutes, I turned my attention to something else.
"Renée is becoming more and more similar to that guy."
For some reason, my impression of Renée was becoming more and more similar to that idiot who would do anything for power. But, from another perspective, her determination to fight on the battlefield gave me even more warning.
"Since I've already made all my plans, it's time for me to focus on my own cultivation. After all, in the end, it's all about power. Even Renée has noticed the main point, so I can't fall behind. Once I'm done with all the recent matters, I'll find a place to cultivate and earn some Fate Points. "
As long as this place stabilized, the mortal plane would still have a period of stability before the Undead Emperors could fully descend. Cavendish's overwhelming power level was like a heavy rock weighing down on my heart. Ten years later — no, perhaps only seven or eight years later, the Undead Emperors that would fully descend would all be threats to me.
I had already established my foundation and found my own path for the future. All that was left was to persevere on this path and madly fight to earn Fate Points in order to increase my power level at an extraordinary speed.
"Right, if I want to enter Legend rank, I need to recover at least three Soul Imprints. I can't use Holy Light and Law for now, but this is the country of mages. My undead magic has long since reached a bottleneck, so I should be able to find the corresponding knowledge here. I need to level up my Frigidwinter Earth, and I need all sorts of elemental materials. It seems that I'll have to properly rob an old friend — er, have a chat with an old friend. "
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