A few weeks after my birthday, I was just walking to the dining hall with Sana, who was escorting me for breakfast. Sana and I chatted about some topics, though Sana kept talking about Aurelia, not due to jealousy but due to admiration, by the tone of her voice.
Soon, we reached the dining hall. Everyone was in the dining hall as I looked around.
Rina, who was wearing her armour, was talking with Lourel, who was in her wheelchair, like they were best friends, though I believe Rina was talking to Lourel about Aurelia's life when Aurelia was an apprentice knight in the Destenebres' Territory, especially the embarrassing moments of her life. I could tell because Aurelia, who was in her armour, was glaring at her best friend with the intent to kill.
My mother was wearing an apron over her clothes as she was learning to cook better from Seraphina, who was cooking with her magic, using two elements, ice and fire. Seraphina was dressed in a fitted, translucent white and silver dress that reached down to her thighs. The upper part of the dress was designed to accentuate the fullness of her bust, with gentle support that provided a smooth contour across her chest. The waist was neatly cinched to highlight her slim middle, while the lower part of the dress flowed closely around her hips, allowing the natural curve of her figure to be visible without being tight. The overall effect was graceful and balanced, with the shimmering material giving her hourglass shape an ethereal quality.
She wore an apron over a translucent dress that revealed her red undergarments. Her bra featured structured cups and a smooth band adorned with floral lace motifs and scalloped edges. The slim straps added to its elegant look, while the fabric combined sheer panels with embroidered details. Her matching red lace panties had a mid-rise cut with scalloped edges and a front panel of sheer mesh and lace, accentuating the curve of her hips.
Yukino was in her usual maid outfit behind the two of them, taking pointers from Seraphina as Seraphina was cooking with her magic.
The maids were setting up the tables as the food was almost ready to be served for breakfast.
Since Seraphina joined us, both the quality and variety of our meals have greatly improved. This change is primarily due to Seraphina being a former head chef at the Destenebres Mansion. The chefs who once worked under her are now supplying us with higher-quality and a wider range of ingredients. Letting us enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal.
Though seeing Seraphina's usual outfit in the morning, I still cannot get used to it. It has been like this since the day after my birthday. When I woke up early in the morning, I was still sleepy and tired due to the lingering effects of the Sloth Authority. Aurelia, who had also arrived early, escorted me to the dining hall.
We were taken aback to see Seraphina cooking breakfast in her current outfit, which was so translucent that it revealed her body shape and undergarments. At first, I thought I was dreaming, as I was still very tired, and I thought that my eyes were just playing tricks on me, but when I rubbed my eyes, reality proved otherwise. Normally, we might question such a situation, but Aurelia screamed in embarrassment and alerted everyone in the manor.
Everyone in the manor who was asleep heard her scream and quickly ran towards the scene, wondering what had happened. They reacted the same way as Aurelia when they saw Seraphina.
Everyone asked Seraphina why she was wearing that outfit, especially during the winter. Seraphina explained that it was comfortable to wear around the manor. She shared that it was her usual outfit for the mornings back when she lived in the Destenebres Mansion.
After observing everyone's reactions, she realised her mistake. In the Destenebres Mansion, she was accustomed to maintaining discipline by wearing the appropriate attire. However, ever since she arrived here, it felt as though the burden had been lifted, which led her to overlook her error.
Realising her mistake, she suggested that she would never wear it again in the mornings. However, I oppose her decision. It seems like it would force her to be in an environment similar to the Destenebres' Mansion, even though the differences between that place and here are significant. Additionally, it might cause her stress, so she should be free to dress as she chooses.
Though, as I said that. Everyone who looked at me was surprised because of the reason why, as I was the only male here, and I was actually there. Aurelia, who realised her mistake, used her hand to cover my eyes at that time.
After that, everyone debated whether they could allow Seraphina to wear her outfit again in the morning. The discussion lasted until the afternoon, when they ultimately decided to let Seraphina wear her usual outfit. I tried to convince them by explaining that I wouldn't be easily tempted and that Seraphina deserves the right to be comfortable, especially since she is a talented chef who cooks delicious meals.
After that, I saw Seraphina wear that outfit every morning.
"Be honest, you just want to see her wear it," Lust said playfully.
Are you saying I was lying when I said I would not be tempted?
"Yes," Wraith sneered.
What proof do you have?
"Every morning, I measure your lu—" Lust spoke honestly, but was interrupted.
Alright... Alright... You got me...
As I was having a mental chat with the devils in my mind. Sana, who looked at me, felt that I was having a troubled expression.
"Young master, are you alright?" Sana asked, concerned.
"I am alright, just marvelling at the view of everyone being so energetic," I lied calmly.
"You are right, everyone is very energetic. Aurelia is looking very beautiful as well." Sana smiled warmly.
I think our views are very different, but as long as the lie works, it works.
Then, after that, we all ate our breakfast. Once we finished our breakfast, I walked outside the manor, breathing in the cold, fresh forest air, considering it was still winter, as snow was everywhere, and the trees around us only had snow on their branches. Then I heard shouting, and I already knew whose it belonged to.
I turned my head to the side and saw Lourel shouting exercises to the three girls as she sat in her wheelchair. Rina, Sana and Aurelia. The three of them were panting for breath, as they could not endure the training regime that Lourel set up.
I even heard from Rina that the training regime that Lourel created is way harsher than the current actual Destenebres' Knight Training.
The reason Lourel was doing this was to enable the three of them to become as strong as knights soon, and that would require training as harsh as the one they were currently undergoing, especially considering the cold temperature for the month, which allowed Lourel to make the training even harder.
In my opinion, this training seems quite intense, and I do not believe it was wise to be trained under such circumstances, but I chose not to voice my opinion, fearing I might be in that state.
Though sadly, as much as I would like to avoid meeting them, the plan I had for today would require a reliable ally to help me. I am planning on finding herbs to make a potion to help me grow stronger, faster. These past few weeks, I have been reading the botany book and other books related to it to understand which herbs I am looking for. After all, I cannot just grow stronger slowly while people can grow stronger than me easily, especially after what happened at the Destenebres' Mansion.
Lourel, who spotted me walking close to them, waved her hand and asked me a question.
"Greetings, young master. It is great and rare to see you here. Do you perhaps want to train with them?" Lourel asked calmly with a bright smile.
Are you trying to militarise me? I am still a child who just recently reached the age of four this year.
I explained the reason why I came here. I told her that I required someone to guard me for a week, as I was planning to go to the forest and look for certain herbs that I needed. Hearing my response, Lourel asked me if I had my mother's consent for this.
When she said that, I gave her an awkward smile. I forgot to ask my mother for that. So she suggested that maybe during lunch, I could ask my mother for permission, which I ended up agreeing to. I do not want my mother to somehow find out that I sneak into the forest without her permission.
We waited during lunch while everyone was eating. When the moment felt right, I asked my mother if I could have someone accompany me to the forest for a few days. She looked at me after hearing my request. I pray that she would accept my request, but her answer has proven my expectation.
"No, the forest is too dangerous. You could get hurt," my mother said firmly as she had a worried expression.
Hearing her answer, it is understandable. After all, there are sometimes monsters that roam around coming here sometimes, but those are usually weak monsters. Of course, I am not arrogant enough to think that there are only weak monsters, but there are strong ones too.
But now it is winter. Usually, monsters would roam around for food, but now that it is winter, food will be scarce. Which leads to them hibernating right now, so this season period was the only way I could get the herbs I need easily.
"I understand your worries. The forest is indeed dangerous, but right now it is winter. So most of the monsters would usually be hibernating right now. It is the only chance I could get with a lower risk," I explained my reason.
Hearing my answer, my mother gave me a disapproving look, but I continued to explain that I needed to do this and kept pushing the reason. The others also agreed with my mother's opinion.
"Young master, please listen to your mother. The forest is very dangerous, and if you get hurt or possibly die, your mother would not forgive herself," Yukino said calmly with a worried expression.
Hearing Yukino's words, I can understand her worries. It is because I, too, have people I worry about constantly in my original life.
"Young master, perhaps you can explore the forest when you grow up. Once I recover my ability to walk and Aurelia gains her aura, we will be able to explore the forest together." Lourel said warmly with a warm smile.
Indeed, I could do that too, but if the world is flowing by the flow of the story I know in the game. This world does not have much time, and I need to use every little time I have in this world.
I looked at everyone with a calm expression and said my words.
"You are all right. The forest is dangerous, and I may die if I go now. It is also best to wait till I grow up and have my two knightess who would be strong to protect me when I wish to go to the forest when I have grown up." I said calmly as I looked at all of them with a calm expression.
"But... if I do that. I would be the weakest among all the children around my age when I reached adulthood. They would have reached heights that I am not able to reach because I had wasted so much time. This body that I was born with, its talent is almost nothing, it is so weak that I could get hurt easily, and it is so weak that I cannot fight with it, as it cannot even hurt my opponent. It is so weak that even the slightest hit from my opponent would make me tremble with pain. It is so weak that even accumulating mana into it makes even the muscles in my body scream in pain. My talent is so worthless that even my own father abandoned me without hesitation. So if I were to wait, the things I have right now, I am afraid that they would be taken away, just like rights to live in a fancy mansion when I had not even reached the age of one yet, so I do not have time," I continued calmly with a calm expression.
"I... do not wish to be weak or powerless in this life. I want to be strong... I want to be so strong that I would not lose the people or things that I have in my life right now. I want to be so strong that I will never lose ever again. I want to be the strongest, so that I would gain more than lose everything," I said calmly with a calm expression as I stared at my mother.
My mother, who looked at my calm gaze, understood. How could she not? She saw how badly injured her son was at the Destenebres' Mansion on the day of his birthday. His son was beaten up so badly that she did not sleep well at all. Fearing that one day, her son, who might go out in the world, may come back either beaten up or someone telling her that her own son died. After thinking for a while, she looked at my calm gaze with a tired expression.
"Alright... but on one condition," my mother sighed weakly as she looked at my gaze and said tiredly.
She approved my request to go to the forest. The condition was that Yukino and Aurelia were to follow me. At first, I wanted to debate that Aurelia would be enough as Yukino is a strong woman who could easily take down Aurelia, Rina and Sana in a fight, so her coming with me to the forest was a bad idea as in case a monster that Rina and Sana cannot handle were to come, it would be a bad thing, but those stuff happened when I had not reached the age of one so saying those would arouses suspicion. So I had a worried expression to see if this was a good idea.
"It is all right, young master Ragnar. You do not need to worry about me, I am quite strong, stronger than the three girls right here," Yukino said firmly with a calm expression.
Aurelia, Sana and Rina, who had heard that, looked down at the table, having a guilty expression.
I know you are strong, but I am worried about the defences here so I talk about the defences here.
"It is alright, I can use my magic to fight. My main element is Flame, Water and Ice," Seraphina said calmly with a mature smile.
I wanted to ask how strong she is instead of her telling me what her combat style was, but before I could even ask.
"I am at least the strength of a normal mage", Seraphina said calmly with a mature smile.
Everyone who heard that had a shocked expression. I know the strength of a normal mage, but I do not know if the world's standard and mine are the same. Seeing that everyone had a shocked expression, I just played along with it as I formed a shocked expression.
But seeing that Seraphina is strong enough for even Lourel to be shocked, I am guessing that her strength should be good enough. So I agreed with my mother's arrangement of sending Yukino and Aurelia with me. Just as I was smiling, my mother looked at me and said something else.
"I also have another condition," my mother said firmly as she looked at me with a calm expression.
What happened to having only one condition that has now become two? I did not question it, but just nodded my head to hear what my mother had to say.
"You are to follow what the two said, and you are to be very careful. Can you do that?" my mother said firmly, but her expression that I mistook for being calm was actually worry.
That is three conditions, but seeing her worried expression, I nodded my head.
"I will, I will follow what the two said during the trip. Regarding the safety part, I am very careful, so you do not need to worry about me. So yeah, I will be very careful," I said calmly with a calm expression.
"Are you sure about that?" Wraith sneered.
What do you mean?
"It is nothing," Wraith teased.
I ignored Wraith.
My mother, who heard my words, nodded her head.
After lunch, I went to my room and prepared for my trip to the forest to find the herbs that I am looking for.
I changed into a light outfit that wasn't tight but slightly loose. My shirt was plain white, while my pants were simply brown. I also brought a big bag with me that contains the things I need for the trip, such as empty parchments that I had found, metal vials with metal lids and many more.
After preparing, I slowly walked towards the entrance of the manor. I saw Yukino and Aurelia at the entrance.
On the left side, Aurelia was wearing her light leather-like armour, and her sword had its blade made of silron rather than wood.
Though I am not sure if it's me, but her breast seems to have got bigger, as the armour that she was wearing looked very tight around her body. Seeing that, I could tell that she has gained a lot of muscle, but looking at her armour tightening around her figure makes one know that underneath the armour, her figure could be quite voluminous. Though as much as she looks quite beautiful with the armour tightening around her body bit, featuring her curves, I believe that we should get Aurelia a new armour someday. I do not want her to die due to mobility restrictions because of her own gear.
"Aurelia, seeing your current figure makes me happy that I have you as my knightess, so thank you for being my knightess. Though I promise that someday we will get you a new armour," I said calmly as I expressed my thanks, as I am grateful for having a knightess who is willing to grow stronger and make a promise.
I could tell the amount of effort that she has been putting into her training with Lourel's training regime, and also because Seraphina take into account the nutrients that the girls need for their training and recovery has been invested into their bodies greatly. I guess it would not be long till my two knightess, Aurelia, grow into a true knight level and Lourel recover her ability to walk.
Aurelia, who heard that, gave me a warm smile but also had an embarrassed expression when she heard my first line.
"No, young master. I should be the one who should be thankful for saving my mother's life... and also for saving me..." Aurelia smiled as she expressed her honest feelings, but the last part, I could not hear, as she mumbled softly.
As she said that, she took my big bag away from me and put it on her back. As she wore it, I could say that the big bag that was weighing me down looked like a normal bag to Aurelia. I wanted to ask why she took my big bag, but she had already answered me.
"It would be dangerous if the young master were to carry something that would slow his speed and deplete his stamina, so it is best that I assist the young master by carrying it instead", Aurelia said gently with a warm smile.
Since she is offering, I just accepted it and let her carry it for the entire trip.
Then I looked at the right side, where Yukino was standing.
Yukino wore a sleek black bodysuit that clung to her body like a second skin. The material stretched smoothly across her chest, outlining the fullness of her breasts before rising to a high neckline that framed her collarbones and left her shoulders bare. It tapered sharply at the waist, drawing attention to the dramatic inward curve before widening again to contour her hips. Every line of her figure was traced with precision, the fabric tightening subtly with each movement to enhance her posture and grace.
Translucent black gloves and stockings added contrast, their sheer fabric offering faint glimpses of skin beneath. Black boots grounded her stance, while a short cape draped lightly over her back, the hood lending her an air of mystery. Her light blue hair was styled in a braided updo, with loose strands softening her look. Her large, dark blue eyes were expressive and focused, completing a presence that was striking and composed.
She was also wearing a leather-like belt surrounding her waist that held several pouches containing who knows what inside, as well as numerous throwing knives and a few sharp daggers.
Now that I look at her, she looks stunning with the gear that she is wearing.
"Yeah, even your lu-" Lust sneered, but was interrupted.
Shut.
"Thank you. Aunt Yukino. I will be entrusting my life and will follow your instructions for this trip," I said calmly.
"No worries, young master Ragnar. I swore to protect you and guarantee your safety without a single scratch to you, so I will protect the life you have entrusted to me with all my might", Yukino said firmly as she looked at me with a warm gaze and smile.
I am starting to feel that I should not have said that.
Soon, the three of us departed for the forest. As we were departing, we could hear the others' goodbyes and words of coming back safely.
I pray that there would be no trouble for this trip.
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In the deeper part of the forest, with a huge cave on the ground with a huge hole at its ceiling, allowing the sunlight to pass through.
There were many different varieties of herbs growing around the soil in the huge cave. Every one of them was showing their vibrant colours. In the centre of the cave, there was a huge patch of land that was surrounded by a huge lake, showing an even rarer kind of herb, growing healthily.
Though in the centre of that patch of land, there was a huge creature slumbering on it.
The huge creature resembled a bear, with features and a shape that were unmistakably bear-like. Its body was covered in thick rocks that looked like armour that would protect its body. It was also adorned with many embedded gems, though if one looked carefully, those were mana crystals. The creature had numerous scratches, indicating a long and difficult life that it had lived. Both its armour and body were marked by many scars, evidence of its harsh experiences over the years. Notably, a large scar ran across its right eye.
It was the ruler of the forest.