Meanwhile, in the City Lord's castle, four people had already been waiting for Eden and Ilya to arrive. The two of them were Fiona and the big brother who had saved her the previous day, Kasfi, and the other two were the youngest sibling out of the three, Nala, and the father, the City Lord himself, Inoka. All four of them were waiting in the insanely massive dining room while also enjoying the breakfast served in front of them.
"Brother Kasfi, Sister Fiona, it is not that I doubt your judgment, but are you sure that those two are worth our attention? I mean, if Sister Fiona wanted to have a bodyguard or two, it would be better to scout the knight academy or the magic academy, right? No need to pick up two beggars like this." Nala asked casually while also putting the food in his mouth elegantly.
Hearing this, the father, Inoka de Silvaris, couldn't help but frown. After all, even though he was the City Lord, the man had never looked down on his subjects so blatantly like this. There was something that even though they all thought the same, no one should've spoken about that loudly, and it seemed that Nala, his youngest son, hadn't learned about this lesson yet.
He wasn't the only one who was dissatisfied with Nala's words. No, if anything, Fiona was the one who was not pleased with her younger brother's attitude. "Nala, are you doubting my judgment here?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"Well, normally, I wouldn't do so, but now…" The boy trailed his words for a moment, not even knowing that his life was in danger. "Oh, I read a book that said, never trust anyone who is in love, because they cannot make even the simplest judgment with their head. It seems what the book said is right…" He sighed.
Right after that, Fiona's head turned red like a boiled lobster, with steam coming out of it. "H-Huh?! What do you mean by in l-love?!" She squeaked in panic.
This time, even the father narrowed his eyes dangerously, unhappy that someone wanted to snatch his little darling from him. Kasfi himself just laughed his ass off, not even caring about the formality and etiquette that any noble house always emphasized for. "Don't worry, Dad, Nala, if you cannot trust her, you can at least trust my judgment. Believe me, they are going to be the most surprising people that you have ever seen before." He said confidently.
"Oh?" Inoka crooked one of his eyebrows slightly, interested. He trusted that his eldest son would never lie about this matter. However, that meant Kasfi was really confident with the two youngsters who would come here, which was something that had never happened before. Not only him, but even Nala also smiled a little, somehow couldn't wait to see the two siblings who were about to arrive. "With that kind of introduction, I wonder, can they live up to the hype that Big Brother has already built?"
They waited for a while, but until the promised time, there was no news about Eden and Ilya's arrival. Fiona started to worry about this, while the three men there frowned deeply. After all, a first impression was important, and not being punctual was definitely one of the worst ways to leave a bad impression.
However, before they could do anything about it, one of the knights who was on guard duty suddenly scuttled frantically, his face pale in panic. "M-My Lord! T-There… T-T-There is a… A… A…!"
"Calm down!" As the eldest son out of the three, Kasfi reacted quickly. "Breathe first. If you are calm enough already, tell me, what is going on?" He asked calmly. His poker face was so impressive that it fooled the knight in front of him. However, the three other members of the Silvaris could see that he was alarmed at the knight's panic state, and honestly, they couldn't blame him as they also felt the same.
"A-A-A- There is a ferocious beast in the sky!"
"WHAT?!"
Kasfi was stunned for a second, then reacted immediately. He gathered the mana inside his body into the leg, then used it as a boost to speed up his movement. This was a magic that was unique to him. By regulating the mana inside his body into the targeted part, he could strengthen that part for a various period depending on the intensity of his activity.
In the end, there was no question that he was the first one to arrive outside of the castle, followed by the others who also rushed behind him. However, each one of them had their jaws slacked at the sight of the majestic beast in the sky. It had the strong body of the king of the forest, a lion, yet with the incredible agility of the best predator in the sky, an eagle. It flew high in the sky, soaring gracefully and looking very proud. Then, it suddenly swooped down to the ground, surprising everyone with its quick descent.
"Is that a griffin?" Nala muttered, still in awe.
"Well, I have never seen one in my life, but if the description in the book is correct, I guess so," Kasfi replied, yet not even blinking his eyes.
Yeah, just like dragon or even moon wolf, the griffin was also one of the rarest beasts in the world, with the last one of them reportedly extinct a couple of years ago. So, to see this kind of beast in front of them was enough to shock them to the core.
For Kasfi and Fiona, though, the presence of the griffin also made them evaluate their opinion of Eden. After all, just yesterday, they found that Eden managed to summon a few rare beasts easily, which meant that the boy had already made contact with them in the past. To do that, someone had to delve into the deep Agashi forest in the northern part of the town, where all the most feral and dangerous beasts in the country were living. It was basically impossible for Eden to have contact with a lot of dangerous animals, but now with a dragon, a horde of moon wolves, and even a griffin under his army, it showed that he was way more powerful even compared to the adult mages who all the Silvaris children had already familiar with.
So… Yeah, the misunderstanding about Eden's ability grew more incredulously, yet no one pointed that out even until now.
As the griffin started to land, though, that was when Kasfi realized the presence of three people on the beast's back. Kasfi was already familiar with the two on the back, as those two were Eden and Ilya, Fiona's savior in the kidnapping accident yesterday. They looked presentable today, with the girl acting like she was a trainee knight from the martial arts academy. However, the last person here, the one who rode the griffin on the forefront, radiated a dangerous aura once he stepped his feet on the ground. His attire was the old version of the Silvaris knight armor, with the color being dark and some parts of the armor had been worn out and torn apart. However, that was still far from over, as right after the man jumped from the beast immediately and asked with a calm voice, "So, you are the current Silvaris Family, huh? Tell me, how long has it been since Galana de Silvaris died?"
-0-
"Galana de Silvaris?" Hearing that strange name, all three youngsters furrowed their brows instantly. They even forgot to ask the old man's identity and scolded him for his arrogant behavior here, trying to think if there was such a name in their family history. However, no matter how hard they thought, that name didn't ring a bell at all.
Well… Or so they thought.
CLANK!
Suddenly, the sound of the iron sword falling on the floor rang throughout the balcony of the castle. All of them turned around, just to find their father who usually was calm and composed, could be seen pointing his hand at the old man with the hand trembling hard. "Y-Y-You! G-Galana! W-Why are you here, Uncle?! I thought you were dead!" He exclaimed.
"Huh?! Uncle?!" This time, not only the children of the Silvaris family but even Eden and Ilya were surprised. After all, this was the first time that they had a clue about the old man's past. "I didn't expect that this old man still has any living relatives in this world." Eden couldn't help but mutter.
"Oh, shut up, Brat!" The old man sent a light chop on top of his head, which Eden didn't bother to dodge at all. "Also, he is not my relative! I just helped his family deal with a traitor in the past, and somehow, all of the children here treated me as an elder." He explained. Then, the old man narrowed his eyes slightly at the squirmed City Lord. "Are you the son of Balai?" He asked.
Inoka, the head of the Silvaris family and the City Lord of the town, stiffened instantly when he heard his father's name coming out of the old man's mouth. "Yes, Sir! He was my father!" He answered truthfully.
"Then, why wouldn't I see the breath of a knight from you? I know your father also trained you as a knight, right?" The old man narrowed his eyes dangerously. The City Lord squirmed, trying to avoid the old man's gaze. In the end, the old man just sighed before saying, "Forget it. I am just here to accompany these two brats and make sure that they are not getting bullied by you a lot."
Inoka just nodded his head frantically like a parrot, losing his calmness and dignity as the City Lord. Fortunately, there was no one else here who saw his current situation, or his reputation would be destroyed before the day was over.
Meanwhile, right behind him, Kasfi and Fiona just stared at each other solemnly. After all, they had never expected two ordinary people who they picked up yesterday would have a strong backing like this old man. While they still didn't know who was Galana the old man was talking about and who was the old man himself, the two teenagers had been in the high society circle for all of their lives, and the most important thing that they learned was to always act politely and never asked something that would poke the hornets out of the nest.
However, Nala, the youngest one of them, still hadn't learned the same lesson, so the boy decided to ask casually, "Who is Galana de Silvaris? I have never heard about his name in the family tapestry."
"Nala!" Kasfi hissed immediately, wanting to shut his brother up. Unfortunately, it was too late, as everyone heard that question clearly.
"Him?" The old man sneered. "Just an idiot who wanted to have an undead army. Let's just say it backfired pretty badly, and we needed to make sure he was under six feet before delving into the deeper madness. As for why he is not in your family tapestry… Guess?" He smiled.
Nala winced instantly, knowing full well the reason behind it. After all, in this world, there were two taboo things that shouldn't be touched no matter how powerful a magician was. First was time, and second was death. By trying to raise an undead army, this Galana de Silvaris had already crossed the bottom line of nature, and no family would want to be associated with that kind of person.
Kasfi and Fiona were shocked too, not expecting someone in their family to be that… Ambitious? Powerful? Idiot? They couldn't even form the right word for this Galana. When they saw their father getting uncomfortable, they knew that what the old man said was true, which made it more unbelievable. The fact that their father even called this old man 'Uncle' meant the incident happened far before this lifetime, and the fact that the old man in front of them was still alive and accompanied by a griffin, a proud beast that only followed the strong, told them all just how powerful this old man was.
"Uh… Sir…?" Kasfi called the old man awkwardly, not knowing how to address him.
"Just call me Old Man Aki. Those two brats have been calling me this since they were children. Or uncle, just like your father." The old man barked laughter, giving the limelight subtly at the two teenagers who he brought here. While Eden rolled his eyes at the man, he still didn't shy from the attention, bowed his body lightly while putting one hand on his abdomen, greeting everyone elegantly. Even Fiona couldn't help but blush, losing herself to the boy's handsome appearance.
"Uh… Uncle Aki…" Kasfi greeted the old man once again, trying his best to ignore his sister's nympho state. He also didn't dare to address the man with that rude title 'Old Man Aki', knowing that the old man himself was not ordinary. However, knowing that the old man was a strong man, his desire to challenge the man burned instantly, and he bowed his head immediately. "Uncle, I know it is a willful request for me, but can you give me guidance in a sparing fight?"
All of the people here were surprised by the sudden request, with the father falling into panic at Kasfi's rudeness. However, the old man just crooked one of his eyebrows slightly while glancing sideways subtly at Ilya whose fighting spirit also burning brightly. 'Oh, well, it seems they have the same breath here, a warrior breath. Let's test it here.' He smiled.
The old man, eyes twinkling with a mixture of mischief and wisdom, suddenly charged at the boy without warning, a wooden stick that he usually used to train Ilya was in his hand. Caught off guard, Kasfi instinctively raised his sword, heart pounding, prepared to defend himself. Yet, to his astonishment, instead of swinging the wooden stick, the old man deftly parried the boy's strike with a gentle yet precise movement. In a fluid motion, he used the boy's shoulder as a pivot point, executing a flawless front flip as if gravity itself was no obstacle.
CLANK!
In the blink of an eye, the old man disarmed Kasfi entirely, effortlessly stripping the sword from his grasp, and with a calm yet commanding presence, pressing his wooden stick against the boy's neck, threatening him gently but firmly. The boy himself froze, not being able to react. He didn't know what happened here. After all, the old man moved in slow motion, and the old man's movement was seen clearly by his eyes. However, seeing it was one thing, and stopping it was another.
As the boy, Kasfi, stared at the old man in awe, the man himself nodded satisfactorily as if his test had just worked the best. "Not bad. In terms of calmness and reaction speed, you are just the same as Ilya. Unfortunately, you are still too green here. Fight more and get out of your comfort zone, and you will find yourself improving faster." He patted the boy's shoulder gently before walking back to Eden and Ilya, leaving the Silvaris Family staring at him with their jaws hanging wide.