The master of the Mowish family sat on the sofa, reading the latest newspaper. The night had grown late, yet his two daughters had not yet returned home. Although he knew they were safe, as a father, he had to wait for their return.
When the grandfather clock in the living room struck ten at night, his daughter Margaret finally appeared at the entrance of the side garden with her young beau.
"Father, I’m back." Greeting her father, Margaret kissed Colin goodbye and watched him leave before the daughter in her father’s eyes finally stepped into the hall. "Father, haven’t you gone to sleep yet?"
"One of my daughters still hasn’t come home." The father named Goethe furrowed his eyebrows. "My daughter, did you enjoy your day?"
"Then off to bed with you, my daughter."
"Yes, Father, I’ll head to my room now."
Margaret bowed her head, gave her father a gentle kiss on his cheek, and then proceeded towards her room.
Watching his daughter disappear into the depths of the corridor, Goethe turned his head to his old butler. "How’s the intelligence on Colin Gaiate coming along?"
"There’s still a small issue that can’t be confirmed, sir," the old butler answered with a smile.
"Well, what’s the issue then?" Although Goethe had a guess, he was no longer concerned with the small issue.
"To this point, we have been unable to confirm the precise information of the child’s biological parents, but we can confirm through his bloodline that his maternal line is Frost Giant, likely from the first pregnancy." The butler chuckled, "The paternal lineage is unclear, likely an outsider, but at the very least, he belongs to the Silver Folk."
Bronze Mortals, Silver Folk, and Golden Blood—this is how this world differentiates the strength of species. Creatures like Elves and Frost Giants are of the strength of Silver Folk while humans are Bronze Mortals—of course, powerful humans can become as mighty as the Silver Folk.
But such a transformation demands a great sacrifice.
Goethe nodded, affirming his old butler’s words—actually, he was quite conservative about it; knowing his mentor well, this had to be at least a Legendary being of Golden Blood, capable of igniting Undead of a different kind directly with a Sacred Rite, a miraculous talent so fearsome that not even the usual Golden Blood could replicate it.
"This child’s talents are incredibly powerful, blessings ten, curses eight, shaping seven, support nine, protection two and a half, enhancement one."
"Good heavens, blessings ten, support nine, curses eight, and shaping seven..." Despite being prepared, these figures still shocked Goethe—he felt for the first time that there truly was no comparison between his daughter and this child.
"Yes, truly astonishing numbers, so as it stands, it seems like the miss is somewhat reaching for young master Colin," said the butler.
"Ha, she has her father’s good taste," Goethe was extremely satisfied, worthy of his mentor’s lineage indeed.
"It seems you are quite pleased, sir," the old butler noted, sensing that his master was very content.
"Of course, I am happy, after all Faye is my favorite daughter," Goethe said laughing. When he first saw that boy named Colin, Goethe knew without a doubt that he was his mentor’s child. Only his mentor’s bloodline could result in such an appearance, so Goethe had given back the pocket watch his mentor had given him to the child.
To outsiders, it appeared he was securing the boy for his daughter, but only Goethe knew that even without his daughter, he would still protect the child.
That pocket watch was his warning to all those with malicious intent—that any action against this child would provoke the wrath of a Legendary Transcendent being.
Just then, the sound of the main gate being pushed open was heard, and the old father of the Mowish family immediately put on a smile, looking at the child who had brought his daughter home.
"Welcome back, my daughter, and little Colin."
"Your Highness, good evening."
Facing his own greeting, the child shyly smiled, while his daughter laughed and embraced him before they said their goodbyes.
"It looks like you’re very happy, my daughter," Goethe said, watching his little girl wave goodbye to her young lover, feeling a tinge of jealousy—oh, he wasn’t so fortunate in his youth. He didn’t meet Manli until he was nearly twenty and missed out on the sweet romance of his younger years, which had always been a regret in the old father’s heart.
"Of course, I had a great time with Malin today, and I’ll be helping Shela Ib Mischael complete a task with him tomorrow."
"Then get to sleep early, my daughter, and be well-rested."
"No problem, Father, good night."
After a kiss goodbye with her father, Faye happily ran up to the second floor.
"Don’t forget to take your medicine, my daughter."
Having seen off his little girl, Goethe tossed the newspaper onto the coffee table: "Alright, I’m going to bed too."
"The information about young master Malin, I’ve placed it in the study for you to look at tomorrow morning."
"That’s best, you should rest too."
After seeing the girls home, Malin returned to the Church dormitory with his sister, took a quick shower, and couldn’t wait to lie down—his day had been truly fulfilling.
Having slept till the next morning, Malin began preparing the equipment needed for his task while Maya got up to make breakfast.
It was a very simple meal of scrambled eggs and cheese.
"Brother, when do we leave?"
"Around noon, after eating lunch we’ll set out." Hunting the different kind was usually done in the afternoon, and they would wrap up before sunset—after all, the night was their turf.
"Then after lunch, I’ll go shopping with Lillim."
"No problem, wait for my messenger, and we’ll come to pick you up."
With money in hand, after splitting up, Malin and Maya would communicate using small spirit messengers—these small spirits were a type of domesticated, diminutive Spirits, loyal and hardworking, requiring only a little Spiritual Energy to keep them busy with tasks, and even though Maya currently lacked Spiritual Energy, Malin could sustain these little creatures with his own.
After the meal, as Malin continued assembling firearms, Maya finished up the dishes and left with Lillim, who had arrived at the dormitory.
The firearm Malin was assembling today was a high-caliber Shotgun with four barrels and two triggers, using number 8 buckshot—extremely large caliber with dual triggers capable of firing two shots at once, and among the four barrels, two were loaded with buckshot and two with Hollow Point Bullets. Malin was assembling such a heavy-duty weapon to better attract the attention of the different kind when the time came.
If a .44 Revolver could be considered just a gun, then this thing was almost on par with a cannon.
It would certainly give the other side an unimaginably tough memory.