Half a year had officially passed since Shirou started teaching swordsmanship in Boreas.
The weather was gradually turning into a gloomy late autumn.
Recently, Shirou had noticed that Eris was becoming strangely irritable.
Although she didn't react much in front of him and Ghislaine, she was often violent towards the servants and maids for no reason.
Since Shirou had built good relationships with the servants of the Boreas family and often talked to them, he decided to find a way to solve this problem after learning about their troubles.
He thought it would be complicated, so he cautiously asked Eris what was bothering her.
The answer he got was surprisingly straightforward.
Eris had been staying at home for too long and hadn't left the house in a long time.
This was too boring for a child her age.
After all, there were no phones or computers in this world. Even nobles would get tired of seeing the same flowers and plants every day and needed to find something to pass the time.
But Eris didn't like the social events of the nobles and had no interest in chatting with strangers in her room, so she naturally became more and more depressed, to the point of a complete breakdown.
Shirou hadn't realized this problem before.
Because he himself had a lot to do every day, so much so that he didn't have enough time and didn't notice that Eris had long become unable to endure her boring daily life.
In the past, he had been very concerned about his sister Miyu, because Miyu, as a god child, never left home.
Shirou was very concerned about Miyu's mental state at the time, so he prepared many books for her and also put a TV in the living room.
Now, he had forgotten this concern for Eris. Shirou realized this was his fault.
Yes, although Eris's personality was quite bad, they had been together for so long, and Shirou basically regarded her as his own sister.
Whether from a student's point of view or from a sister's point of view, taking care of Eris's mental state was something he should do.
Shirou then went to Philip and suggested taking Eris out.
Philip's attitude was surprisingly cheerful. He directly agreed, but he made a suggestion that Shirou didn't expect.
"Actually, I'm also planning to go out to attend an auction. Why don't you come with me?"
"Auction?"
Hearing Philip's words, Shirou was stunned at first, and then his expression became a little strange instinctively.
Because he remembered that the forged weapon he had given to the old blacksmith for auction - the indestructible Holy Sword - was about to be auctioned recently.
Wouldn't it be too coincidental to run into it?
"Where is the auction being held?"
Shirou thought about it, but he didn't want to reveal his identity as a blacksmith, so he asked tentatively.
Philip smiled and said, "Of course, it's the auction in the royal capital. Although we Roa also have auction houses, their standards are far inferior to those of the royal capital. Shirou, you probably haven't been to the royal capital, so you might be able to see it."
"This..."
He didn't expect it to be an auction in the royal capital. Shirou's ominous premonition was getting worse and worse.
Although he didn't really care if people knew about the weapon he forged, it was like having a work you wrote in private being known by someone you know. It always made you feel a strange sense of shame.
But he couldn't show his unease, so he hesitated and said, "Are Eris and I going to attend that auction?"
"No, there's a limit to the number of people who can attend the auction, and I heard that there will be extremely special items up for auction. If you don't have a certain status, you're not qualified to enter."
Philip shook his head. "So you and Eris can just travel around the royal capital. After I finish the auction, we'll meet up again."
"Okay."
Hearing that he didn't need to attend the auction, Shirou breathed a sigh of relief.
He then started to look forward to what kind of reaction his forged weapon would cause at the auction and what price it would fetch.
He immediately told Eris this news.
Unsurprisingly, this excited the red-haired young lady greatly.
"Well done, Shirou, I love you to death!"
The young lady was so happy that she hugged him directly.
If he hadn't sensed any malice from her, Shirou would have almost instinctively thrown the girl over his shoulder.
There was nothing he could do. His psychological trauma was too great.
But seeing the smile on Eris's face, Shirou couldn't help but smile as well, realizing that the distance between him and this young lady had finally been narrowed a little.
...
The next day, the time to go to the royal capital arrived.
After his usual morning exercises, Shirou came to the castle gate to meet up and found that Eris, Ghislaine, and even Philip had already arrived.
Eris's expression was very excited.
Since it was her first outing in more than half a year, she was now so happy that she was restless.
Shirou looked at Ghislaine and asked curiously, "Is Ghislaine going to the royal capital with us?"
"That's right. Even if you and Miss Eris weren't coming, I was originally planning to go on this trip as Lord Philip's bodyguard and attend the auction."
Ghislaine replied silently.
"I want to go to the auction too!"
Hearing this, Eris, as expected, wanted to interfere.
"No."
Philip seemed gentle, but he was actually strict. "You just stay by Shirou's side and don't act alone."
"Damn it! I'm not a child anymore!"
Eris tried to argue.
"Have you already forgotten about being kidnapped before?"
"This..."
Hearing Philip bring up the previous incident, Eris showed a look of fear and didn't dare to say another word.
As a father, Philip could easily control his daughter.
So, with Philip present, Shirou could finally relax a little and didn't have to focus too much attention on disciplining Eris.
He then looked at Ghislaine and asked, "Has Ghislaine ever been to the royal capital?"
"I've been there once."
Ghislaine said hesitantly, "At that time, my master, the current Sword God, took me to challenge the Water God Style dojo. Although I defeated all the disciples in the dojo, I still lost when facing the dojo master, the current Water God."
"Challenge?"
He didn't expect that there would be such a custom between sword schools in this world. Shirou couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
Eris was even more interested in this topic and pestered Ghislaine to tell her more.
Ghislaine then said silently:
"The relationship between Water God Style and Sword God Style has always been very bad. The reason is obvious: the Sword Sanctuary, which is now the Sword God Style's main base, was originally a treasure owned jointly by the Sword God Style and the Water God Style. Both sides believed it to be the foundation of their strength. However, when the Sword God Style became strong, it ruthlessly drove out the Water God Style.
"The Water God Style naturally refused to be outdone. When it became stronger, it immediately launched a counterattack and retook the Sword Sanctuary. The two schools have occupied the Sword Sanctuary in different eras, and have accumulated a lot of conflicts and hatred over generations. Whenever a Sword God Style swordsman with enough talent appears, they will be taken to the Water God Style to challenge them, proclaiming their own strength. Conversely, if a Water God Style swordsman with talent appears, they will also be taken to the Sword God Style to challenge them.
"Today, although the current Sword God is the strongest, occupying the Sword Sanctuary, the Sword God Style's successors are not strong enough to suppress the Water God Style. It is even rumored that several outstanding young disciples have appeared in the Water God Style based in the royal capital, and they may break the Sword God Style's blockade."
"..."
Ghislaine's words opened Shirou and Eris's eyes.
For the first time, they learned that there was such a complicated history between the Sword God Style and the Water God Style, like a story.
While they were talking, the carriage gradually left Roa and, after traveling for most of the day, left the Fittoa territory.
During the journey, Eris would run around excitedly whenever they stopped to rest, and even Philip and Ghislaine couldn't control her.
But Shirou was still very experienced in dealing with Eris and could always grab her first and discipline her, making her stay by his side.
Originally, Eris would definitely be very dissatisfied with this kind of discipline and even make personal attacks. Many tutors had been driven away by her in this way.
But Eris had now developed a certain degree of obedience to Shirou. She would listen to him more or less when he advised her.
But afterwards, Shirou would inevitably be the target of the girl's crazy retaliation.
But this was an unavoidable situation.
In short, Shirou had now established a relatively normal teacher-student relationship with Eris. At least, in the eyes of outsiders, they were a teacher and student with a good relationship.
"Shirou."
Halfway through the journey, Ghislaine suddenly said to Shirou, "I'm leaving the young lady in your care."
"This..."
Shirou knew that Ghislaine meant that after arriving in the royal capital, she would go with Philip to attend the auction, and Eris's safety would be entirely in Shirou's care.
So he nodded seriously and said, "I understand."
"Okay."
Ghislaine nodded with satisfaction, full of trust in Shirou, but she quickly said, "But Shirou, don't trust your own strength too much. There are many strong people in the royal capital. Even you may encounter enemies you can't deal with. It's best to ask for my help when necessary."
"You mean ask Ghislaine for help?"
"That's right. My hearing is very good. If anything happens, call me. As long as I can hear you, I'll come to save you immediately."
"I see."
Shirou glanced at Ghislaine's ears, realizing that she might have special hearing as a beast race.
But the royal capital was so vast that it would be very difficult to seek her help if they were separated.
Most of the time, he would probably have to rely on his own strength.
Shirou secretly made up his mind and at the same time noticed that the scenery outside the carriage had changed imperceptibly. A huge group of buildings spanning the mountains appeared before them.
The capital of the Asura Kingdom, the royal capital of Ars.
They had officially arrived!
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