Dark actually knew a little about Alvit's preparations, but at first he'd assumed it was just a normal "summer tutoring session." He never expected it had anything to do with Gatomon and Leomon.
The "Hero Aptitude" that Gatomon and Leomon displayed was, even to him, rather hard to make sense of.
Especially once he learned that "Hero Aptitude" in this world was tied to bloodline.
Maybe "bloodline" here is some kind of metaphysical concept, rather than actual physical heredity.
But if that's the case, then where did Dragonblood Cancer come from?
Could that illness actually be some kind of curse?
Dark was still mulling it over when Alvit turned to look at him and asked, "So, baby, what do you think?"
Without thinking, Dark blurted out, "Hero? Not even worth a cat's whisker."
"Eh?" Alvit said.
Only then did Dark rephrase. "A Magic Guide Spirit's base attributes are fixed. Whatever level of Hero Aptitude Gatomon started with, it'll stay at that level, unless there's a second Forging."
"Aunt Montielfali probably thinks that since I'm the one who Forged Gatomon, I might share similar potential. But I don't think that's anything to worry about."
Suna asked curiously, "Why is that?"
Dark shrugged. "I can't actually awaken the true power of a 'Holy Sword.'"
"But maybe it just hasn't awakened yet," Suna said.
Dark sighed. "Awakening — I'm not fond of that word. Anyway, I have no interest whatsoever in becoming a 'Hero.' Even if I did somehow awaken Hero Aptitude like you two are worried about, as long as I don't go collecting Holy Swords, it should be fine, right? So about this vacation package you've put together for me..."
Just as Dark was about to seize the moment and wriggle out of the summer tutoring, he saw Alvit's expression darken rapidly from sunny to stormy, and she said, deeply crestfallen, "But Mommy worked so hard preparing it..."
Dark could never stand seeing that, and he changed his tune without thinking. "Well — I could give it a try?"
"Mwah!" Alvit made a happy little sound.
...
And so the matter of "summer tutoring" was settled.
Dark realized, with despair, that this vacation's schedule was likely to be even more packed than school itself, and his whole mood soured instantly.
The two families chatted a while longer afterward.
Then Head Maid Jasmine knocked and entered, announcing, "The rooms for our two guests have been arranged. They may retire whenever they wish."
"Well then, let's continue tomorrow," Alvit said, rising first, her gaze drifting toward Suna.
Suna caught the meaning at once. "Shall we soak in the bath together? It's been ages since I've had a heart-to-heart with anyone."
Alvit nodded, then turned to Dark. "Go to bed early. Tomorrow morning, take Aurora out to see the capital properly."
"Sure, Mom." Dark turned and nodded to Aurora. "See you tomorrow, then."
Aurora lifted her small hand and said in a soft, babyish voice, "Good night."
Dark smiled faintly and turned to leave the sitting room.
He knew perfectly well that City Lord Montielfali probably had other matters to discuss, but they weren't the sort of thing suited for him to hear.
Since that was the case, he'd let her and Alvit talk it out.
After he left, Alvit called for Claire and Aurora as well, and the four women went first to the dressing room to pick out clothes.
The duke's estate still held quite a few garments Suna had left behind long ago; though much time had passed, they remained perfectly preserved.
They even dug up a pair of Aurora's old split-crotch baby pants, which left Aurora blushing to her ears.
Once each had picked out something to change into for sleep, the four of them, attended by maids, headed into the indoor bathing pool.
Unlike the pool Dark used, this one was a bit smaller, already filled with hot water, steam curling thick in the air.
Alvit slipped off her robe, grabbed a towel, and stepped into the swirling mist.
Suna watched her flawless figure with a touch of envy. "Time really has been kind to you."
Alvit smiled and glanced back. "You're not doing badly yourself."
Suna sighed lightly and undid the last of her clothing.
Owing to her build, her frame was larger, her shoulders slightly broad, but the muscles of her stomach were taut, giving her a narrow waist.
And where her towel left off, the curves beneath were fuller than Alvit's.
There was a faintly rugged, wild beauty about her, head to toe.
Without any hesitation over the water's heat, she stretched her long legs in and slowly sank her body into the pool.
Perhaps her busy duties had kept her from proper training, because the fatigue of her long journey from the Free City showed plainly on her now.
She narrowed her eyes, drowsy in the steam.
Beside her, Alvit was wrapped in a faint glow, a soft radiance flowing naturally from her body — the manifestation of one who had transcended the mortal to become holy.
Only after this did Aurora carefully follow Suna into the water.
Her build, so different from her mother's — small and delicate — made people constantly assume she must be someone else's child.
Amid the rising steam, she looked as though she might vanish at any moment.
Claire slid in smiling from across the pool, leaving them proper space.
The four of them soaked with eyes half-closed for about three minutes.
Then Suna spoke slowly. "Alvit, about that old betrothal we arranged."
The corner of Alvit's mouth curved up. "Have you told little Aurora about it?"
Suna nodded. "That child's been precocious since she was little. There isn't much I can hide from her — and I couldn't if I tried."
"Mm." Alvit thought for a moment, then asked, "And what does she think of it?"
Gripping her towel, Aurora offered her opinion. "It's... it's pretty good..."
Suna shot her a quick, sharp glance.
Alvit couldn't help but smile. "It's been so many years. You know I only proposed the betrothal back then to set your mind a little more at ease. These days, the only ones who know about it are Claire and Eliza."
Suna asked, "Did you mention it to the Eldest Princess?"
Alvit smiled. "Well, you originally moved out of the kingdom as a resident of mixed blood, after all — it had to be mentioned to the royal family at some point."
In other words, it was precisely because of this connection that the Free City had gone unmolested by the kingdom for the past ten years.
Eldest Princess Eliza had lent a hand in this as well.
Suna, sighing at how many debts of gratitude she'd racked up, said softly, "Since even the Eldest Princess already knows about this marriage arrangement, why don't we just settle it, once and for all?"
"Eh?"
Aurora had assumed her mother was finally going to bring up breaking off the engagement — she'd even mentally prepared several arguments for the occasion, ready to reason her mother out of it the moment she brought it up.
This was the first time since she'd grown old enough to understand things that she'd wanted to defy her mother's wishes, and she'd agonized over it the whole time.
But just as she'd finally worked up the resolve, her mother suddenly seemed to change her mind entirely?
Aurora pressed her lips shut, realizing she could no longer guess at what her mother was thinking at all.
Alvit, however, showed little surprise. Instead, she asked, "That's not really why you came, is it?"
Suna's face was half-hidden in the steam, her expression unreadable.
But she answered all the same. "So you'd already guessed. Truth is, I originally came here meaning to call off the engagement."
Alvit smiled. "I could tell. You and I share the same worry. Before tonight, I was honestly afraid Dark might insist on becoming a 'Hero' no matter what. After all, wanting to be a 'Hero' is something every child of this age dreams of."
Suna said, "But now I know he has no intention of becoming one at all. A Hero's fate is hard to change — even those with a thin trace of the bloodline suffer for it. I don't want Aurora to end up like me, losing the person she loves most someday."
Alvit said lightly, "That won't happen. I'll keep him safe."
Suna said, "I understand that now. He's far more responsible than I imagined. If I let this chance pass, I can hardly imagine where Aurora would find a husband more suitable than him. So about this engagement of ours..."
"Can't be done," Alvit said abruptly.
Suna froze in shock.
"Eh??"
Aurora, who had thought things were back on track, couldn't help clutching her towel tighter again.
Across the pool, Claire, watching the girl's startled, hamster-like expression, couldn't hold back a laugh behind her hand.
This was getting more and more entertaining.
...
Having turned down Suna's proposal to fix the betrothal, Alvit went on in a matter-of-fact tone: "As a mother, I obviously can't go making decisions that go against my son's own wishes. As you've seen, my darling boy is quite popular these days."
"Whether it's Diana of the Greatbear family, Rose of the Flotly family, or Anna and Angie — they all have their eye on him."
"And he doesn't seem opposed to either Diana or Rose. If I forced this engagement on him without asking, he'd surely resent me for it. No, absolutely not!"
As she said this, she shook her head firmly, her expression full of distress.
But Suna could clearly hear the pride buried in her tone.
She was sure her own daughter was no worse than any of those girls, but this wasn't the moment to say so.
"Oh, right." Alvit added, "Since little Aurora's already received her admission letter from St. Marian, why not let her stay with me? Once term starts, she can go to the academy together with Dark."
Suna said, resigned but pleased, "That would work out well. If she's staying with you, I can rest easy. Aurora had far too much to worry about while we were in the Free City. Now that things have settled down a bit, I'd like her to have as much of a normal childhood as she can, for her age."
Alvit said, "Don't worry. Dark's there for her."
...
Deep in the quiet night.
Completely unaware that his "fiancée arrangement" had just fallen through, Dark carefully extracted his allotted portion of "Major Sin" material for the day.
Since his "Pride" reserves weren't sufficient today, he had no choice but to draw "Greed" instead.
After six days of extraction, the Major Sin materials currently stored in the Insect Tree stood at: [Pride]: 12.5;
[Greed]: 9.5;
...
This stockpile was enough to cultivate one Fruit of Pride and one [Fruit of Greed].
But in order to accumulate enough for Forging "Pride IV," he needed to keep stockpiling more Pride.
The use of Greed, on the other hand, had fewer restrictions.
Once he'd finished today's extraction, Dark turned to look at the Magic Guide Spirits pretending to sleep in the beds — the maids had already brought in enough beds for all of them earlier that day.
"Without even realizing it, I already have seventeen Magic Guide Spirits. Just three more and I can begin the first upgrade of the '[Paradise].'"
"If the '[Paradise]' reaches version 2.0, the Magic Guide Spirits will have much more freedom."
"Any Magic Guide Spirit registered into the '[Paradise]' won't need to be drawn back into a Magic Guide Card the moment night falls."
"Magic Guide Spirits don't actually need sleep — if they're diligent, staying up to study shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Dark ran the numbers in his head.
"Next I need to hire them tutors — ideally, they'd finish all their basic education within these three months."
"Anyway, let's take a look at the gifts for now!"
Just thinking about the gifts got him excited.
This year's birthday gifts had certainly opened on a strong note.
The gift from Suna, City Lord Montielfali, had been a wonderful surprise.
He opened the delicate box again and took another look inside.
Nestled within sat an egg about the size of a pigeon's egg.
The shell was faintly translucent, with the soft glow of firelight flickering inside.
"If I'm reading this right, this should be a spirit egg!"
The Spirit Race and spirits were two entirely different things.
The former were a Demi-human Species; the latter were a kind of elemental life form — and a rather high-ranking one, at that.
Professor Silf, for instance, was a spirit-user blessed by a [Wind Spirit], able not only to freely control wind but even to transform her own body into wind!
Of course, that wasn't something anyone could just do at will.
But the foundation of it all lay in the "Wind Spirit."
If Dark could manage to hatch the spirit egg in his hands, perhaps he too could earn a spirit's favor and become a spirit-user.
And even if that didn't work out, he could still keep it as a "Magical Beast" to raise.
The Magical Beast Club he planned to revive would need at least one or two magical beasts of its own, or else the name wouldn't fit the reality, and the club wouldn't last.
This spirit egg had arrived at just the right time.
"Pity that spirits bond most naturally with the Spirit Race — usually only members of the Spirit Race can become spirit-users. For someone like me, it'll be a bit of a challenge."
Dark, unable to hide his grin, closed the box, then laid out the rest of his birthday presents one by one.
"Let's start with Aunt Claire's gift."
He picked out the largest of the gift boxes first; the tag on it clearly bore Claire's signature and a message of good wishes.
[Grow up fast! — Claire Kite]
Dark carefully removed the tag and tucked it away before opening the box.
"I knew it — Aunt Claire would never let me down!"
Looking at the gift inside the box, Dark's eyes curved into crescents.
Inside, neatly sorted, sat a variety of materials, with a note tucked among the edges.
He pulled the note out — and sure enough, written in elegant, delicate handwriting were instructions for upgrading the "[Paradise]"!
"Recording new information for the '[Paradise]' isn't hard, but it needs to be adjusted specifically to match my own '[Paradise]'s' attributes. With these materials, I can try it multiple times."
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