assistirfilmes Chapter 22 – Eris’ Birthday
Chapter 22 – Eris’ Birthday
Chapter 22 – Eris’ Birthday
— Leon Greyrat —
Two months had passed since my tenth birthday, and in that time, Rudy had turned eight years old, and as Eris and my brother’s birthdays were only a month apart, the Young Miss’ tenth birthday was fast approaching.
With my amazing present from my family, I was now technically an Advanced-rank healing and detoxification magician, though I still had more than a few spells to master.
I let Rudy use my textbook too, of course, but since the spells became increasingly difficult and had a much longer chant as you went up to the Advanced rank, he had yet to catch up to me.
He had the skill, and he had more than enough mana for it, but since he couldn’t silently cast these spells, the long chants were simply too long to remember and took too long to cast in an emergency.
So, considering he could easily just use X-Healing chantlessly with extra mana to mostly the same effect, he decided to leave the Advanced rank healing to me.
The keyword being ‘mostly’ to the same effect.
As it turned out, Advanced-rank spells weren’t just the better versions of Intermediate-rank spells, contrary to what I had previously thought.
At this level, the spells begin to defy the laws of natural healing, instead of simply boosting or aiding in recovery.
For instance, if I was healing a dismembered finger, previously, I would have to bring the severed digit to the cut before casting magic, or the healing would just create a stump, but with Advanced-rank healing, it was able to completely regrow the digit.
Now, this didn’t work for entire limbs or anything, but it was still a step above the Intermediate-rank with its effects.
Anyway, while Rudy may not have become an Advanced-rank healer, he did become an Intermediate-rank swordsman thanks to having a good sparring partner in Eris and Ghislaine fixing his mistakes.
Paul always called Ghislaine stupid, but I think the word ‘simpleton’ suited her better, and for the Sword God style, that word was not an insult, but rather something closer to a compliment.
Ah, and Eris had also improved her swordsmanship.
While not increasing in rank, she had slowly refined her abilities, and according to Ghislaine, it wouldn’t be long before she reached the Advanced rank.
It seems that she was quite the genius at the sword.
As for Eris and Ghislaine’s academics, as long as they knew the word in speaking, they could now roughly figure it out on paper through sounding out the letters, so I would say that they were now fluent in reading and writing.
Their arithmetic was... not as good, but still passable.
You could only do so much with practical lessons and fun games, after all.
And magic?
Well, they had both basically stopped with those lessons after I gave them their wands, but that was okay.
The two were swordsmen, and they would never be magicians, so just learning how to cast a water and fire spell, as basic as it was, was enough for survival.
Unfortunately, Eris seemed to have slowly lost interest in her childish love for ‘shiny hands’, instead having swordsmanship take the forefront of her mind.
It was a shame, since I found that childish part of her extremely cute.
Anyway, as a noble lady’s tenth birthday was an important time when they would be introduced to the noble world, the preparations for a large party for Eris were in place, with maids running about and numerous invitations being sent out.
With the upcoming celebration, Philip had cancelled all of Eris’ academic classes so she could take more etiquette lessons instead, hoping that she could catch up by the time the party was to begin and not embarrass herself.
The girl in question though...
“No more!” Eris shouted before dashing through the hall.
Well, I guess learning that stuff from morning till night became too much.
As the redhead disappeared around the corner, Edna, her teacher, came chasing after her. “Young Mistress!”
Looking back and forth, she sighed before suddenly noticing my presence. “Why, hello there, Lord Leon.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Edna,” I returned. “It looks like you’re having some trouble.”
“Ah, yes,” she said. “It’s a bit embarrassing, but the Young Mistress ran off.”
Well, yes. I could see that.
Edna’s lips curled into a troubled frown. “I have been trying to teach her dancing lately, but she just can’t seem to get it right. Now every time I try to teach her, she just runs off.”
“I see,” I said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
This wasn’t my first rodeo with the girl.
“Thank you, Lord Leon,” she said with a bow.
Edna... while she wasn’t a bad teacher by any means, that was only when dealing with normal nobles and those who enjoyed her lessons.
Eris, on the other hand, needed a bit of a... delicate touch to learning, and while she liked the woman herself, she detested the subject of etiquette.
Which consequently led to this disaster.
Normally, since I also disliked etiquette and thought of it as useless, I would just shrug something like this off, but...
“At this rate, the Young Mistress will embarrass herself in front of her guests at the party,” Edna said sadly. “Becoming a laughingstock on such a special day... that would simply be too cruel.”
“I get it, I get it. I was already going,” I said, walking away.
“Thank you, Lord Leon!”
With the help of my touki-enhanced senses, as well as my knowledge of where Eris liked to run off to, I was able to quickly find her sprawled out on top of a haystack in the stables.
Not saying anything, I then hopped up to sit beside her, to which she turned her head away from me.
Sitting together in silence, I then noticed a few loose straws of hay tangled within her hair.
Ever since my birthday, she had begun to wear her hair in a bun, whether it was because of my compliment, or because it felt better when using a sword, I didn’t know, but I made sure she knew I thought it was pretty whenever I could.
After all, while Paul’s advice was given to me for more... nefarious purposes, it was always nice to give honest compliments to those you were close to.
Especially troublesome girls like Eris.
Gently picking out the straws I had noticed, I then brought up the topic at hand, “You don’t want to dance?”
“Hmph!” she huffed. “Why would I need to know something like that?”
“Because your tenth birthday is coming up,” I answered.
“I won’t dance on my birthday either!” she proclaimed.
Haa... yep, this was expected.
“Why do I have to do something I’m not good at? And something so useless?” she said with a pout.
“You’re right, it is useless, at least in real life,” I said. “But you’re a noble, right? Some things you have to just do, even if it’s useless and stupid.”.
Her pout deepened.
“You... think it’s stupid?” she asked.
“I do,” I answered. “But people have to do a lot of stupid things.”
Time passed silently for a few moments.
“You’re not gonna keep convincing me?” she eventually asked.
“Well... right now you just need some rest, I think. And after... well, I’ll try to figure something out,” I answered, lying down beside her.
She turned her body to face away from me. “You always figure something out, don’t you, Leon?”
“I try. Isn’t that the most important thing?” I answered.
Blinking one eye open, I saw Eris turn back to face me, her eyes downcast.
“...Could you... come learn with me?” she asked.
“I was planning on doing that anyway,” I said, closing my eyes once again. “Now, do you want to go back now? Or do you want to rest here for a few minutes?”
I felt the hay rustle as she shifted her body a little closer to me. “The second one.”
“Got it,” I returned with a nod.
Letting the springtime warmth lull me to a nap, I then felt a hand clench around my shirt.
“S-So you don’t fall off...” she mumbled.
Hmm? My balance was fine though.
“Thanks, Eris.”
But it was good to be polite anyway.
— Leon Greyrat —
“Lord Rudeus! You’re truly skilled at this! Lord Leon as well!” Edna cheered from the side.
“Hmph!” Eris was quite annoyed.
It seems that both my brother and I were pretty good at dancing, and while I didn’t know how Rudy was so talented, for me, it just felt... natural.
I suppose knowing the different footwork of the three styles of swordsmanship helped, but what was most important, was that I could follow instructions and was able to control my tempo.
Two things Eris was not good at.
Contrary to the smooth, elegant movements that were required for dancing, Eris’ steps were fast, rigid, and sharp.
Perfect for a Sword God practitioner, but not so much for a dancer.
She also liked going her own speed, regardless of what her partner was doing and paying no heed to the rhythm of the music, which quickly led to someone tripping over themselves.
In short, she was a walking, or rather, a dancing disaster.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything but keep hold of Eris as I tried to regain the tempo, yet whenever I tried to tell her something or pull her along, she would squirm around, messing up the whole thing.
“Umm, I have an idea!” Rudy suddenly said.
I looked back at him curiously. “What is it?”
“Ahem!” he then pointed to Eris. “Please close your eyes and try swinging your body to your own rhythm.”
...What?
Eris cast a doubtful frown his way, but without a fuss, she relented to his advice and shut her eyes.
My brother had decided to join to see if he could offer any help, but as he had said on the way, he was mostly here to learn to dance himself in order to ‘seduce some young ladies’.
I was definitely telling Mama this on my next trip back, but as long as he didn’t make me an uncle, I wouldn’t get too angry.
Nodding his head, he continued, “I’m going to clap my hands now. Try to match that rhythm with your steps as if you’re dodging an incoming attack.”
Huh? Oh... So he was going this route, huh?
Well, let’s see how this plays out, little brother.
Rudy then began clapping at a regular beat and calling out “Yes!” and “Hyat!” before them at certain intervals.
And as for Eris and I...
“Th-this is! How wonderful!”
As Edna said, it seemed that Eris just needed some extra guidance.
She was still a bit too fast, and still pretty sloppy, but she was infinitely better than before, as she was now matching my rhythm instead of sprinting past it.
Finishing with a final twirl, I caught her in my arms as the song, played by a single musician, came to an end.
“You did it, Young Mistress!” Edna cheered.
Eris opened her eyes with a wide smile. “Really!?”
Rudy then interjected, “Okay, but keep your eyes closed. You need to remember what you did just now.”
“Remember it?” Eris said. “I’m just watching for opponent’s feints and dodging them!”
Yeah, this was something Rudy and Eris practised with Ghislaine’s swordsmanship lessons, where they would learn to distinguish real attacks and feints, and consequently, how to correctly dodge the actual attacks.
“Eris. You can use things you learn in one lesson in others,” Rudy lectured. “When you struggle in one lesson, try to think if you’ve done something similar in another.”
“Okay...” Eris said with a nod.
She already knew this from my lessons that melded all the subjects into one, but it seemed she had forgotten about it.
“Anyway...” I said, looking down at Eris.
While she was roughly my height when I first got here, over the years I had shot up to where her eyes now met my lips.
“Do you want to continue?”
“Yes!” she said happily before closing her eyes once more.
And so, our dance continued.
— Leon Greyrat —
“Leon... what are we doing here?”
“Getting a present for Eris, of course.”
“But didn’t you already get her one?”
“I did. But did you, Big Sis?”
“No. Gifts are not a part of my culture.”
“Yeah, but Eris would be upset if you didn’t get her something. That is the reason we’re here. Now let’s go. That shop has some nice trinkets.”
Leading Ghislaine toward the shop, I felt her pull me back.
As soon as she set her eyes on it, Eris’ face lit up before she engulfed Ghislaine in a hug. “I love it!”
Just as I expected, Eris was overjoyed with the gift.
Especially since it was something that made her look like her idol.
“Me next!” Sylphy exclaimed.
Wait... why was her face already so red?
Was she... a lightweight, perhaps?
I had a feeling this was going to be troublesome... I might have to cast some detoxification magic if it gets really bad.
“My father likes to hang stuff from his quiver, so I thought I’d make you something!”
She then handed Eris a piece of braided twine, very similar to the one she gave me, with a green gem at the bottom.
“I thought it’d be nice to attach to your sword sheath,” she said, turning a bit reserved. “I know it might not be-”
“I love it too!” Eris exclaimed, quelling Sylphy’s worries as she gave the smaller girl a hug.
Mhmm... just like I thought, bringing Sylphy over was a great idea.
Placing it next to her eye patch on the bedside table, Eris then turned to me with expectation, though she tried to hide it by averting her eyes and playing with her hair.
Damn... I really wanted to tease her and pretend I didn’t get her anything... but that might be a little too mean, even for me.
“Here. I got you this, Eris,” I said, taking out my gift.
As for me, I had gotten her a band that would tie up her hair, with a pendant attached to the end, fitted with a red jewel that perfectly matched her hair.
This style of jewellery was relatively uncommon here in the Central Continent, but apparently, it was common for women of the Begaritt Continent.
Apparently, in their tradition, it was worn by a woman as a symbol of marriage, similar to how a ring was here in Asura, though there were no ulterior motives for it.
I just thought it would look nice on her.
Seeing her trace her finger across the gem with an expression of wonder, I didn’t need to ask if she liked it.
“Here, I’ll put it on you,” I said.
She hastily turned around without a word, presenting her back to me, her posture rigid as she tilted her head forward.
Slowly letting my hand drift across her bare neck, I gently picked up her hair, marvelling at how soft it felt against my skin as that weird heat I felt at the party returned.
Shaking those thoughts away, I then gathered her hair in a bun before tying it with the band, letting the pendant rest against her hair and neck.
“Well? H-How does it look?” she asked.
“Tell me yourself,” I said.
I then cast some ice magic, creating two mirrors so she could easily see the ornament.
“...I like it... Yeah... really like it...”
Her eyes growing glassy, Eris then crawled away from me before refilling her glass with wine in a hurry, trying to look away from me.
Though, because of the window, I could still see her wide smile in the reflection.
It seems I chose my gift well.
“Hmph!”
Hearing that cute harrumph, I turned my attention over to Sylphy, who’s wearing a displeased pout.
“Only because it’s her birthday, okay?” she said.
“...Sure, Sylphy. I plan on getting you something good for your tenth as well,” I said.
That seemed to quell her dissatisfaction, at least a little.
As the night continued, Ghislaine decided to sit at the end of the room, opting to watch the three of us instead of partake in any conversation, which made sense considering she was the only adult.
But as we children kept talking, the girls’ words slowly became more slurred as they began to succumb to their intoxication, and the conversation shifted to an... odd direction.
“It’s my birthday, so you’ll do what I want, right?” Eris said.
“...Within reason, yes,” I answered.
“Then!” she said, standing on the bed as she pointed down at me. “I demand you call me ‘Eri’ from now on!”
“...Sure,” I said.
She then sat back down in front of me. “And pat my head!”
I complied with her request.
Sylphy, now pouting again, crawled over to sit closer to us.
“L-Leon! Can you... can you kiss my cheek?” she said with a gleaming blush.
Hmm... I didn’t want to give her any mixed feelings when I didn’t even know my own yet, but a kiss on the cheek was innocent.
In some southern kingdoms, it was even used as a common greeting.
But before my logical reasoning could come to a conclusion, the heat within my chest willed me to action, and I planted a chaste kiss on her rose-tinted cheek.
“H-H-Hya!”
Sylphy then buried her face into the pillow, hiding from the world in embarrassment.
But from how her legs were kicking up and down excitedly, I guess she didn’t mind it.
“L-Leon!” Eris exclaimed, pointing to her cheek. “My turn!”
I did the same to her.
Although she didn’t bury herself in a pillow like Sylphy, her lips did curl into a giddy smile as she rubbed her cheek.
And the warmth... it was back once again.
What... what was happening to me?
— Leon Greyrat —
When I woke up, I found myself sandwiched between Eris and Sylphy on my bed, both of their faces relaxed as they slept.
Sylphy was cuddled against my right side, while Eris simply sprawled out across the top of both of us, and her hair seemed to have come undone during the night, as it was now splayed out across my chest and face.
I could even feel some of it in my mouth.
Yuck.
Letting my mind slowly get into gear, I then thought back on the night that led to this situation.
After having more than their fair share of wine, emptying the whole bottle in the process, Sylphy and Eris soon found themselves extremely sleepy and quickly passed out on the bed we were conversing on, both holding me in place as they slept.
I didn’t want to wake them, and I found the situation quite comfortable myself, thus, we all slept together.
But it was time to start a new day.
As I prepared to get up, I noticed an odd... tingly sensation.
A sort of tightness that coiled around my... lower parts.
And this feeling increased each time I felt either of the sleeping beauties’ breath against my skin.
Feeling weird and confused, I quickly slid out of the two’s grasp, manoeuvring myself to not wake them.
“Mmm?”
Sylphy seemed lost for a moment, clawing at where I had previously been before her hands found Eris’ waist, which she then quickly wrapped around for comfort.
I guess she was a cuddler, huh?
With Sylphy holding onto Eris, I looked at the now ten-year-old girl.
She had her two gifts from Ghislaine and Sylphy held tightly in her hand, and as for the pendant, it was still holding a good portion of her hair, but in a ponytail rather than a bun.
A bit messy, but in my opinion... I liked that look of hers even more.
But that tingly feeling... it felt like that warmth from last night... and looking at the two enhanced that feeling even more.
“I can smell it, you know,” Ghislaine said from the side.
I nearly jumped out of my skin in surprise.
I knew she was there, but I thought she had fallen asleep against the wall like the rest of us.
“S-Smell what?” I asked.
She looked at me with a teasing smirk. “Your arousal.”
Taking a moment to process her words, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment a moment later, and before I could form a response, I felt my feet carry me out of my room in a hurry.
A-Arousal?
Then that meant... I was finally going through it.
Puberty.
Feeling an odd sensation in my underwear, I brought my hand down, only to notice that there was a wetness that wasn’t there before, and one that wasn’t urine or water, and feeling my ‘little Leon’ poking against my pants...
Haa... this was going to be weird, huh?
And to think I got like this next to those two... how embarrassing.
As I began walking around the manor to cool off, with the hallways lit by the light of dawn, I passed by my brother’s room just as he slowly closed the door behind him.
“Hehehe,” he chuckled perversely with a proud smile
...
“Brother?” I asked.
“Huh!?”
Quickly turning his head in surprise, he noticed me before releasing a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s just you. You scared me!”
Placing his hands behind his back, he then beckoned down the hall with his head. “Here. Come share a walk with your dear brother.”
...What the hell was going on?
Following behind him, I took a few moments to calm myself down before asking him, “What did you do?”
Don’t tell me he did that.
“Huhu. I guess you could say I climbed the stairs of adulthood... kind of,” Rudy said.
Oh my god, he did that.
“What do you mean ‘kind of’?” I asked.
“Well, you see, Leon,” he said. “I mainly played with her cute nipples until-”
“Never mind. I don’t want to hear it,” I cut him off.
But one thing was for certain: I was definitely telling Mama about this.
“Don’t you know they may use this to reel you into their political schemes?” I said.
“Don’t worry!” he said. “Father taught me all about keeping the ‘playtime’ as ‘playtime’... if you catch my drift.”
...I was also telling Mama about that too.
— Lilia Greyrat —
“I can’t believe my sweet Rudy’s already eight, and Leon’s already ten! It felt like yesterday I was teaching him healing magic for the first time, and now he’s off taking his little girlfriend to the city on horseback,” Zenith said as she gently rocked the sleeping Norn.
“That is one of the joys of parenthood, Zenny, so let’s just enjoy it and watch them grow into the wonderful men we know they will be,” I replied.
“I suppose... anyway, you said you got Leon something for his birthday, right? I forgot to ask what it was,” she said.
Cutting up the last of the vegetables, a smile spread across my face. “I simply... sent a letter to my father, asking if he could find Leon a teacher.”
“Oh? Is your father that high up in the Water God style?” Zenith asked.
“In terms of ranks? No. He’s a humble Advanced-rank swordsman with a somewhat successful dojo,” I replied. “But, back when I was with him, he was friends with the current Water God, Rieda Reia.”
“Wow... that’s something. Do you think he would do something for a boy he doesn’t know, and one he isn’t related to?” she asked.
“Yes. From the letters we exchanged, it’s obvious he’s quite fond of Leon, and also interested in his skill,” I said.
After all, Leon, along with Rudeus, were the ones who saved me.
Although my father didn’t think highly of me as a warrior, he still loved his daughter and those I viewed as my child, which Leon absolutely was to me.
“I just hope he still has a connection with the Water God, and if so, I hope she will send someone to help train Leon. He’s been annoyed at the ‘imbalance’ of his swordsmanship for a while,” I continued.
I just hoped that my letter comes to fruition.
I’ve been sending most of my pay to my parents since I departed from the dojo, so it’s the least my father could do to pay me back.
“Well, I’m sure Leon will be happy if it does happen. You... really love him, don’t you Lilia? Rudy too,” Zenith said.
“Of course, Zenny,” I said, feeling my lips curl up as I looked at the rising sun out the window. “I love this family quite a bit... my family.”
Yes... I truly do.