Outside the Greyrat family's house in an open space, Shirou and Paul faced each other with a certain distance between them.
Unlike the pure sword training clashes of the past, today the weapons in their hands were not wooden training swords, but real, incredibly sharp blades. And unlike the friendly, harmonious father-son relationship they once had, now both Paul and Shirou were looking at each other with serious and cold expressions.
"Paul, I have always seen you as my second father."
Shirou held his sword in one hand, his eyes fixed on the blond middle-aged man in front of him. "Although you have always been a bit wild, saying irresponsible things, and seeming unreliable, I think that whether it's me, Rudy, or Zenith, we all believe you played the role of a good father in this family."
"Shirou..."
Unexpectedly, Shirou would say something like that, and Paul was a little taken aback, because he had never really known what kind of image he had in his family's eyes.
He felt like there were many things he hadn't done well, but he also knew he didn't have the ability to do better.
But he had always tried to do things that way.
Unfortunately, he might not have a talent for being a father. His actual performance was indeed terrible. When Rudeus was born, he couldn't even change diapers, let alone help with laundry, cleaning, or other housework.
At that time, Shirou, who was just five years old, was forced to take on some of the housework, although Shirou himself didn't complain.
And if Shirou hadn't helped out, Zenith, who had just finished her pregnancy, might have had to get up and do all that troublesome work herself.
As a husband, Paul realized that he was indeed useless.
In fact, it wasn't just these things. Since his youth, he had been very untalented in most things. Only sword fighting and picking up women were things he could be said to have a natural gift for.
However, due to his personality, he was still just a half-baked failure.
The reason was simple: he was a jerk.
Whether it was sword fighting or women, he had never been truly dedicated. Every time, after a while, he would suddenly lose interest and go after different sword skills or women.
Because of this, Paul had advanced levels in the Sword God Style, Water God Style, and North God Style, but hadn't mastered any of them to the Saint level. In fact, with his talent, as long as he spent time on one skill, it wouldn't have been impossible to reach the Saint level.
But Paul lacked the patience to focus on one thing. Every time he did something half way, he would uncontrollably give up.
Similarly, he also lacked sincerity and patience with women. When he was a noble, he often flirted with women in the royal capital, but every time he got what he wanted, he would suddenly change his mind. Calling him a jerk was perfectly reasonable.
His personality continued even after he became an adventurer. Even after meeting Zenith, he still frequented brothels and slept with different women every day.
Fortunately, his jerk personality still had a bit of conscience.
After accidentally getting Zenith pregnant, he finally realized that he couldn't run away anymore. He decided to marry Zenith, and to settle down, he decisively retired from the adventurer life and became a knight with the help of relatives from his noble days.
But although his actions were those of a husband and father, Paul's heart hadn't completely changed from his adventurer mindset.
He lived each day carelessly, relying on his smooth talk and experience to get by until today.
Paul even felt that he was doing better than he imagined.
At least he had done the things a father should do, and he didn't want to be the kind of meaningless father who only had authority, because he had grown up under the control of that kind of father. He didn't think those people had the right to be fathers, so his goal was to be a father who lacked authority but was close to his children.
And he had indeed done that.
Unfortunately, it might have been because he was doing better than he imagined, achieving surprisingly good results, that Paul became carried away.
He was the kind of person who would get cocky as soon as he achieved something, otherwise he wouldn't have given up so easily.
So, he did something he shouldn't have done, betraying Zenith, at the worst possible time, when he should have been most careful.
In fact, it would have been reasonable for Zenith to go back to her parents' house because of this.
After all, Zenith had been a devout Millis follower since she was a child, adhering to the doctrine that required monogamy. Before marrying Paul, she specifically made an agreement with him, requiring that Paul must not cheat after marriage, otherwise she would immediately end the marriage.
But Paul violated his agreement with Zenith, hurting her, and had completely lost his qualifications as a husband.
He was even unwilling to admit his mistake, was beaten by Shirou, and embarrassed himself in front of his children, completely losing his qualifications as a father.
Was this God's punishment for him?
The thought involuntarily occurred to Paul.
Gradually, he even felt that it would be better if the fight didn't happen. He might as well just admit defeat, let Shirou defeat him, and then leave with Zenith and Rudeus.
He, a useless adult, could just live out his days alone in this deserted countryside...
He became more and more self-destructive.
"Paul..."
Suddenly, just as Paul's will was weakening, the boy's voice came from a distance.
Paul instinctively looked up, and what met his eyes were Shirou's eyes, which were without any confusion and seemed to be filled with some kind of power.
"Failure is not a terrible thing."
Shirou spoke slowly, as if he had seen Paul's inner helplessness, and described it in calm words. "Anyone can fail, accidentally make the wrong choice, but what's important is not the consequences of failure, but whether we have the courage to face failure and make up for the mistakes we've made."
Shirou understood Paul's thoughts very well, and he could understand his thoughts as well.
When he faced the Ainsworth family taking Miyu away, he had also felt despair, felt pain, and felt powerless.
Because of his mistakes, because of his incompetence, important family members had suffered pain. At that moment, his heart was also in pain, and he wanted nothing more than to kill himself and end his useless life.
But Shirou later realized that making mistakes was something everyone would do. What was important was not the mistake itself, but the courage to face it.
Courage gave people strength. Although it couldn't completely make up for mistakes, it could at least allow them to do their best to protect their family, to protect the people they wanted to protect.
"If you give up, you'll have nothing left. But if you fight with courage, there will at least be a chance."
Shirou looked at Paul's pale face slowly. "So, pick up your sword and prove to me, to everyone in the Greyrat family, that you are my and Rudy's father, you are Zenith's husband, and you can protect everyone in this family!"
"..."
Even though he was the adult, Paul felt as if he was listening to his father lecturing him.
He felt more and more ashamed of himself.
He was already over twenty years old, but he was still being lectured by a child.
Whether it was a man's pride or Shirou's words touched his heart, or perhaps both, Paul took a deep breath and pulled out his long sword.
It wasn't the sword he used for training, but the sword Paul used in real combat.
The wide-bladed greatsword, which could only be swung with both hands, was covered with special patterns. It was a custom-made weapon made by a special craftsman, which could further cover the sword with battle spirit.
At the same time, this wasn't Paul's only weapon. As an advanced user of the North God Style, he actually also had a sword hanging on his waist. The sword's appearance was even more peculiar, belonging to the kind that made people feel a special uniqueness after looking at the scabbard.
He didn't draw his second sword at this moment, in a sense, he was also showing mercy to Shirou.
"Shirou, if you really want to fight me, be prepared."
Paul took a deep breath, as if he had finally made up his mind.
"..."
Shirou also had a serious expression about this. Although he had now reached the advanced level of the Sword God Style and was also proficient in sword magic, he still didn't have the confidence to completely defeat Paul.
Not only was there a difference in strength itself, but also a difference in practical experience.
But he couldn't back down at this moment.
Before he could cheer Paul up and make him realize his responsibility as a husband and father, he would never retreat here!
"Then let's do it!"
Paul had just finished saying this.
His attitude suddenly changed.
He exuded a murderous aura from his whole body that even a layman could feel.
"!!!"
The moment Shirou felt that unspeakable pressure, he retreated almost instinctively and barely dodged Paul's sword.
Death.
If he had been a second slower, death might have caught up with him.
The instinctive thought flashed through Shirou's mind, but at the same time, the burning feeling as a Swordsman rushed into his heart.
He had always wanted to fight Paul without regard for the consequences, and now he finally had the opportunity to realize this wish.
Every one of his cells, every one of his nerves was now filled with an excited sense of passion, and in the next second, he controlled his body to swing the long sword in his hand!
"Clang,"
At the moment the crisp sound of the blades clashing rang out.
A storm erupted from the father and son's sides, overturning some of the dirt and revealing clear rock layers!
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