Raising the Elf’s Genius Slayer

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Chapter

Tsukiyo followed him all the way home.

Rionne displayed a clear discomfort, but perhaps Enok just didn’t care much? Rionne didn’t say much about it either.

Surprisingly, Enok didn’t have a bad impression of Tsukiyo. First off, she wasn’t human, which was a plus. There was no malice in her actions, another plus. And she was strong, so that added even more points.

He did lose some points for saying a few bad things to Rionne, but it didn’t bother him that much.

Well, he had a decent gut feeling. For someone like Enok, who relied on instinct for most of his judgments, a person who felt alright would be a good person.

“…So you’re going to intrude into my house?”

“Yep! Is that a problem?”

“It’s not that it’s a problem, but… isn’t she going to end up sleeping over or something…?”

As Rionne rolled her eyes, Tsukiyo snorted.

“Hmph! I’m not planning on sticking around! I’ll just hang out for a bit and then leave.”

Tsukiyo approached with her tail swishing and settled on Enok’s lap…

“What are you doing…!!!”

Rionne exploded in anger. Undine, who barely managed to stop her from immediately drawing her sword, shouted in panic.

[That crazy cat…! Is she not getting off soon!? At this rate, it’ll be a disaster!]

“What’s wrong with me getting cozy with my butler?”

Tsukiyo sprawled out completely on Enok’s lap and began to purr.

Enok instinctively scratched Tsukiyo’s chin. With her chin stuck out and purring away, she was just like a cat.

“Hm.”

Maybe having a cat wouldn’t be too bad? Enok seriously pondered.

Of course, Undine was losing her mind.

[Why are you like that again…!]

Can’t she feel the silent pressure? At this rate, that cat might end up in hot soup.

“Whew…! Whew…!”

Rionne, who was holding back her rage and breathing heavily, finally opened up a power she typically wouldn’t use. It wasn’t drawing a sword, but the Eye of Truth, a power that most elves vaguely possessed.

A light shimmered in her green eyes as she scanned Tsukiyo. An elf’s eyes could distinguish truth from lies. And when it came to High Elves, there were even stories of them seeing through one’s innermost thoughts.

While it wasn’t exactly mind reading, it was true that she could at least grasp some emotions, and Rionne calmed the killing intent that had started to bloom towards Tsukiyo.

‘Still, it doesn’t seem like she’s after anything rational.’

Honestly, she wanted to sneak a peek at Enok’s emotions too, but… that would be a cowardly and foolish thing to do.

Tsukiyo? She was just a cat, so it was fine.

Anyway, thank goodness. She was contemplating making butterfly soup for dinner tonight, but it seemed like it wasn’t going to reach that level after all.

“Ugh…!”

Still, her annoyance couldn’t be helped. That was her spot. A cat she met for the first time today couldn’t have dibs on it.

“Ugh…?”

Rionne caught Tsukiyo by the scruff and threw her far away, reclaiming Enok’s lap. Sitting boldly on Enok’s lap, Rionne wore a smug smile of victory.

“…Rionne.”

“Yeah?”

“…Never mind.”

Enok felt a bit flustered by the soft, squishy feeling, but it wasn’t a major issue.

*

Upset, Tsukiyo stood with one foot and one hand in the yard. No one knew the reason. Enok, simply going with the flow, comfortably sat down in front of her.

“So what’s my issue?”

He had come out to council her about something he wanted to say.

“Well, it’s a bit ambiguous to call it an issue,” she said.

Tsukiyo landed on the wall with her tail flicking and stretched out like a laundry hung out to dry.

“So?”

“You have too many things you can do as a butler.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Just from what I saw in our duel, you have magic, martial arts, spirit arts, powers, and even a variety of techniques that are hard to categorize. Don’t you sometimes forget some of them?”

“That’s true, but when I need them, I always remember.”

Flipping over on the wall, Tsukiyo replied.

“I can see that. It seems you naturally weave them all together, so is that right?”

“The Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique?”

“What a grand name.”

Tsukiyo bobbed her head, then hopped and landed in front of Enok.

“But still, it’s excessive. You need to let go of some things.”

“Rionne wasn’t saying anything.”

Tsukiyo looked disdainfully at Rionne, who was peeking her head out from behind the door. Rionne’s ears perked up at that. Tsukiyo clicked her tongue at her.

“I can tell even at a glance that that elf is a dimwit. You were making a fuss about how amazing it was that your butler finished his rice bowl.”

“Oh.”

How did she know? Enok gazed at Tsukiyo in surprise.

“R-really?”

“Yep.”

The genius of rice-eating, Enok felt a bizarre sensation even though he was just talking about eating. He felt like eventually, he’d be praised just for breathing.

“How did someone like you end up as a butler under such a master…?”

“Rionne teaches well.”

“No. I can say for sure. You’re just a genius.”

Actually, the Swordmaster wasn’t wrong. Given the butler’s talent, he might someday weave this all together to create something new.

But that would take too long. It was better to discard what could be discarded, lighten himself up, and then combine everything later when the time was right.

The Swordmaster probably just let the butler do whatever he wanted or didn’t want to get involved unnecessarily.

Perhaps it was a foolish thought of, ‘Could Enok manage it?’

Sigh… Tsukiyo let out a long breath and waved her hand at Rionne, who was still just peeking from behind the door.

“Anyway, Swordmaster, you should just head out now. You’re scheduled to duel with the butler in a few days, right? Prepare to be surprised for that.”

*

Pouting, Rionne returned inside and closed her Ki Sense.

“Hmph, stupid cat. What do you mean throw anything away? Enok will handle it all by himself anyway.”

Grumbling, she plopped down on a chair in front of the dining table. Given the situation, she planned to look for the fragments of emotion her father had mentioned during the spare time.

“Since we share the same root, it shouldn’t be difficult to find… it must be related to the Heart Law, right?”

[That’s possible, right? Unless we have to search the entire continent, which would take way too long.]

Nodding at Undine’s words, Rionne slowly closed her eyes.

She closed her eyes and delved into her own mind. A great tree grew piercing through the sky. This tree was the foundation of Estor, the totality of the time accumulated over nearly nine hundred years.

The Tree Discipline established by Kyle Estor was based on the foundational Heart Law passed down through generations in the Estor House.

That basic Heart Law that Enok learned was indeed correct. Initially, Kyle had planned to teach him the Tree Discipline once he grew sufficiently, but after he created his own Heart Law, it had become unnecessary.

Anyway, Rionne and Kyle shared their Heart Laws. Even if their inner visions differed, they shared the same soil.

This was of greater significance than inheriting blood, and as Kyle said, he could guess the location of the lost fragments of emotion through some kind of resonance.

Rionne extended the branches of the tree within her mental vision. The branches grew as if they were piercing through the sky, eventually covering the entire continent, overlapping not just in her mind but also in reality.

Even for Rionne, it was a daunting task, so she was sweating profusely when she succeeded in sensing a faint presence.

‘This place…’

She couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. But since the range wasn’t that vast, Rionne could specify it to some extent.

‘Tetika Kingdom.’

Ironically, it was a nation connected to the Elf Union through the dungeon.

Rionne opened her eyes and squinted.

“Could this be a coincidence?”

Connected with Rionne, her spirit read her thoughts and responded.

[Well, we don’t know how many fragments there are, so it could be a coincidence.]

“Somehow, I feel like it’s unlikely.”

[Then it’s probably what it is, huh?]

Rionne sighed at Undine’s nonchalant reply.

“For now, when Enok leaves, I need to head to Tetika…”

Bang! Bang! Bang—!

With an urgent knocking sound, the door burst open.

“Lady Rionne! We have a big problem!”

“Youonia?”

“It seems the monsters have crossed over to Tetika!”

Rionne jumped up from her seat. The distance to Tetika was considerable. It was entirely clear what Youonia’s words meant.

“Through the dungeon?”

“Yes!”

Oh no… Rionne furrowed her brow.

When they entered with Enok, the entrance had been hidden within the space, but over time it had become visible outside.

‘Maybe I should have taken the trouble to eliminate them after all.’

Clicking her tongue, Rionne hurried her steps. Enok was already staring intently at her, as if he had already heard the news from Youonia.

“Rionne, you’re heading to Tetika?”

“Yeah. It looks like we need to hurry.”

“Do we really have to go?”

It was a perfectly valid question, especially from Enok. He tended to be surprisingly oblivious to his surroundings.

All of his attention was directed solely at Rionne.

“Hehe…”

Tsukiyo looked at her all grumpy as she suddenly laughed cheerfully. But Rionne, having learned to ignore such indifference from Enok, didn’t bother to care.

“Anyway, since the monsters from the Elf Union crossed over, we ought to help out morally, if nothing else.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. If it’s a capital city, maybe it’s fine, but the city connected to the dungeon is a small territory. If left alone, many people will die.”

“Uh-huh.”

Rionne forced a smile. She knew, but it was clear that others didn’t care at all.

That wasn’t wrong either. No matter how much Enok doesn’t care about others, they couldn’t say anything to him.

Sometimes, kids having a rough puberty read novels and prattle about how it’s a strong person’s duty to protect the weak, but Rionne didn’t quite think that way.

There’s no such obligation. Whether it stems from goodwill or weakness, the strong helping the weak should entirely hinge on one’s own volition.

Enjoying the privileges while shirking the obligations would be an ethical dilemma, but frankly, no one else contributed to Enok’s strength, did they?

Instead, the young Enok received only wounds from humans. Because of that, Rionne didn’t hold very warm feelings towards humans either.

But,

“Enok, what would happen if Big Sis got hurt?”

“Rionne? That won’t happen.”

Enok’s expression was full of trust as he snorted. Rionne couldn’t get hurt. Perhaps it was because he had caught a glimpse of how strong Rionne had become?

“I mean, what if the Emperor suddenly comes and attacks Big Sis?”

“The Emperor would bother?”

Enok tilted his head in confusion. Then suddenly, Eri, who popped up, let out a sigh.

[Come on, Dad. That’s just a hypothetical, right?]

“Uh, yeah…”

Enok closed his eyes and began to ponder carefully. Then he flinched, and a prominent vein popped out around his eyes.

“…Honestly, I can’t quite imagine it, but if that happens, I’ll have to kill him.”

If anyone leaves even a little wound on Rionne. No, even if Rionne wasn’t wounded, if he were to attack her, Enok would resort to any means to kill him.

“That’s similar. If someone dies from a monster, their families will grieve just as much as Enok would. Maybe not just the monsters, but the elves may harbor grudges too.”

“Hmm… Yeah.”

This time Enok immediately understood. Logically, it seemed like a foolish thing, but if Rionne were hurt and someone had even indirectly contributed, Enok felt that he would rip that person into pieces.

“Big Sis has the power to stop that. Even if she can’t prevent every disaster, she at least has the power to handle what’s in front of her.”

Rionne smiled softly. It somehow felt like an adult smile that she hadn’t seen in a while.

“I’m just worried that if I leave it this way, Big Sis will be uncomfortable. In the end, it’s something for my comfort too.”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t exactly a relatable story, but since that’s what Rionne had decided, then that’d be how it is. If Rionne feels comfortable, it’s a good thing.

“Good thing then.”

Tsukiyo, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, suddenly jumped up and landed on Enok’s shoulder.Getting caught off guard with a piggyback ride, Enok looked up.

“What’s good?”

“With anything, if you add some practice, growth can be promoted!”

That’s true. Nodding in agreement, Enok found Tsukiyo stretching out her arms.

“Then let’s go! There’s a jackpot waiting for us over there!”

“Not that way.”

“…Anyway, let’s go!”