"Do we really have to go?" Glass Sano complained as he grumbled to his sister. She replied,
"The king has ordered the forces of the Sano and Flair families to assemble and head toward the Neumann family's province because of those lights that appeared."
Beliza Sano said this while staring at that majestic scene.
"But what am I supposed to do? I'm still only at the third level. I won't be able to help you at all."
"You may not be able to, but the ancestor will," she said, pointing at him.
"You possess the Sano family's inheritance. In that province, you might be able to unleash the power of that spirit and gain strength temporarily. You'll also be able to seize the chance to witness and sense the power of an eighth-level being."
Then Beliza looked at him with suspicion and said,
"Aren't you the heir of the Sano family? You should at least show some action that reflects that and come along."
But Glass Sano frustrated,
"All right, all right. But if what you're saying is true, then everyone who carries an inheritance will gather and head to that battle, won't they?"
"As far as I know, yes."
"Then I'll be able to see them there!"
Glass suddenly grew excited and said,
"Kin Light! Shion Lan! I want to see the power of your inheritances!"
Beliza could only shake her head helplessly at her brother's behavior.
'He shows extreme coldness toward everyone except me and his rivals. What an idiot! He lacks the noble demeanor that Shion Lan has,' she thought.
Suddenly, Beliza thought of Shion Lan again. She shook her head, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
'He's the same age as my brother! What am I thinking?! Besides, he belongs to a third-rate noble family—even if he's its head! And that family was only recently established; what history do they even have? And who's with him in that family? Just him and his mother!'
Beliza piled excuse after excuse onto herself until a guard entered, bowed respectfully to the siblings, and said,
"My lord and lady! The reports have arrived!"
Beliza snatched them quickly and read through them. Her eyes widened in astonishment, followed by shock and anxiety.
"What is it, Bliza?!"
"Shion Lan is currently in the province, restraining one of the pillars—and he's the one who unleashed that black pillar!"
She looked again, and her brother followed her gaze toward the rising lights. Within the black pillar of light, a small glow shone intensely at its center. Glass stared at the sight, excitement and a challenging glint appearing on his face.
"Damn it! He beat me to it!"
He turned to the guard and said,
"Go inform the commanders that we move in ten minutes! No delays!"
"At once, young master!"
Glass went off to don his battle gear, while Beliza stared in disbelief—then smiled shyly, a smile that could melt the coldest heart.
…
"I suppose we'll be meeting the king today, won't we?"
Shion spoke without anyone answering and continued,
"We've now reached the twelfth year. Solan Neumann has grown even more beautiful, and she's reached the age where she went out for the first time. During that period when she left the palace, I expected this area to expand and open a new path to the village and the vast lands beyond—but I discovered that I'm just a great dreamer."
The beautiful girl came over and sat beside him on the wall. Her childish voice had changed into the gentle voice of a young lady.
"Master Guardian!"
Shion looked at Solan, thinking,
"Whenever she goes out, she finds nothing. According to the scenario set by the recorded past, when she's not at home, she can speak to me in front of anyone, because we are invisible."
Solan spoke,
"For a while now, I've noticed that you've changed. Are you all right?"
Shion did not know how to respond, so she continued,
"Sometimes I find you sad while pretending to be happy. Please, give me some kind of sign!"
Shion sighed inwardly.
"For some reason, ever since she started going out and coming to me, she's been looking at me with sad eyes. Why, I wonder? When she leaves the palace, does she see me differently? I still remember the shocked look on her face the first time she went out. I felt pain in my heart then and blamed myself for her sadness, but… I don't know the reason!"
In Solan's eyes—where calm green blended with pure blue—Shion's image appeared, or rather, the image of a shadow. Solan Neumann thought to herself,
"I've seen many sorrowful spirits, but this one is the worst."
In her eyes, Shion was no longer just a black shadow containing a single point of light. He appeared as an empty mind and a broken heart, darkness spreading from both to cover his body. Cracks ran across him, as if he might collapse at any moment. Solan felt pity for him, but Shion still could not reply.
So she continued,
"If you don't know, Master Guardian, today the king will come to visit me. He wanted to propose marriage for his son, but he paused for a while before saying something else. In the end, he said, 'My son does not deserve her.' Hahaha!"
Solan laughed lightly, a laugh that delighted Shion's ears—a mixture of innocence and childlike purity.
"Master Guardian, I don't know how old you are, but can you see how funny this is? I'm sure you'd laugh, and then I might even be able to hear your voice."
"Funny?"
Shion felt helpless.
"The only funny thing in this recorded world is me. When I tried to tell Solan about the circles, since I couldn't speak and explain everything, I dragged her to the rooms and places where the circles were. When I tried to draw a circle with my sword, I discovered that the sword had merged with me and became indistinct as well. So…"
He tried to suppress his frustration.
"I ran around like an idiot. Since I couldn't find any diagram of a circle except in books, I had an idea. I grabbed her hand again and pulled her to the library, trying to make her open the book—but she didn't open the pages with the magic circle, nor change to any page containing the word 'circle.' Even though I had tried communicating with her years ago and learned that it was nearly impossible, I tried countless methods. I even dragged her into the kitchen and pointed at a round plate to convey my meaning—but she said, 'But you know that spirits can't eat food,' and the summoned spirits looked at me with pity, as if I were mentally deficient. Still, over time, I finally managed to tell her what I wanted. It took me nearly three months!"
Suddenly, the surroundings shook, and Solan vanished from his side. Shion thought for a moment.
"My number of cuts and threads has reached eight. Two more of each, and I'll have mastered these techniques. I've also conceived a new spell. With my fire power reaching the third level, I can transform it into stellar power. I just need to leave this recorded past so I can train it. With a stellar spirit, my techniques will be stronger and more refined."
Shion raised his sword and said,
"(Stellar Surge). I've changed some of its fundamentals by integrating (Cutting Flames) into it. When wrapped in stellar power, it won't be affected by the water element. Coming up with the idea is one thing; applying it is another. It took me a full year to solidify the foundations. All I need now is to finish it, and my power will surge explosively!"
While he was lost in thought, palace guards rushed in and lined both sides of the road. Shion recognized them.
"The royal guards! The king has arrived!"
Shion took notice.
"According to what Jina said, the queen did not die, so some things may have happened. I need to watch closely."
The rest of the family came out to receive the king. Among them stood Solan, pure beauty like a flower amid weeds. The king, Jord Joul, entered along with his first wife—whom Shion had never seen before.
"I must admit she's beautiful, but not to the extent that Imat Neumann would destroy everything for her."
The first queen was in her thirties, with an elegant appearance filled with grace—contrasting sharply with her husband's powerful presence, heroic spirit, and the composure of a wise ruler.
"Why would Imat think of competing with such a man? He has all the qualities any woman would seek: power, lineage, authority, wealth, courage, and wisdom! And what did Imat have? A malevolent spirit that controlled him!"
After a few steps, however, the king suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at the girl before him with her white hair and beautiful eyes. His eyes widened as he looked at her like a fool. Shion was shocked by the sight.
"I take that back. He's an idiot—so foolish that he halted his important visit and changed his demeanor over a girl. The contrast between moments ago and now is enormous!"
But he noticed the glow in his eyes.
"My son does not deserve her," the king said, preparing to leave. But Imat stopped him.
"It would be a disgrace for us if Your Majesty were to leave without being properly served. Please, stay."
Jord Joul knew that this man had once loved his wife. When he stood there, he wanted to cut off Imat's head immediately, but Sora Neumann intervened, pulling Imat away and saying,
"The Newman family wishes to serve His Majesty. Grant us this honor, sire."
After some persuasion, the king and his wife entered the palace. Shion followed them inside, thinking,
"It seems the king's eyes were affected by Solan, prompting him to say those words and want to leave. He seems to possess eyes similar to Jina's, who was badly affected when she looked at me. It appears this trait is hereditary."
Shion sat with everyone in the council chamber. The king did not speak about betrothing the first prince; instead, he discussed affairs of state. Although the Neumann family was of the second rank, they were treated as if they were first rank. Solan listened attentively to the king, yet she was extremely tense.
"What's going on now?"
Shion looked around and found that ominous aura drawing close to the queen.
"That's the malevolent spirit. But since this is the recorded past, I can't intervene. Even if I did, it wouldn't affect the present. Besides, I think I have an idea of what's happening."
Shion sat beside the queen, watching closely.
"This is an eighth-level malevolent spirit. No one had yet reached the eighth level to discover where it was hiding. But Solan, because she possessed a pure spirit, sensed something at the time. As she said, this was her first encounter with malevolent spirits, so she didn't think much of it."
The ominous aura penetrated the first queen's body and spread within her.
"What I'm about to do is somewhat unethical—but necessary."
Shion entered the queen's body as well. Solan looked on in shock, thinking,
"What is Master Guardian doing?! That's the first queen!"
Shion quickly exited her body, and the ominous aura vanished. He fell into deep thought.
"No wonder she survived after that attack! She's wearing an artifact that protects her from malevolent spirits and generates a kind of opposing power! Even though she was only at the sixth level, she survived an eighth-level attack! That explains a lot!"