Jon dismounted from the carriage and imdiately opened his arms to embrace his half-sister Lillim’s enthusiastic charge—Lillim’s mother was a Rebbish sheep person; like other orc races, each one had their distinct traits, such as those beautiful curved sheep horns and her long, beige hair.
’Clang,’ her horns collided with the breastplate Jon was wearing, causing him a sharp pain. This made him both angry at himself for buying a piece of junk and at the sa ti delighted by the pain his sister had caused him—if it weren’t for Malin, he would never have seen his adorable sister again.
"Jon, you’re okay, I’m so glad." Little lamb was thirteen this year, a fourth-grader at the Shepherd’s Church and naturally petite due to being Rebbish, looking still like a child, yet already a young lady, but she still looked up to her brother, "The Church said you were in danger, and Lillim and the mothers were so worried."
"Look, didn’t I make it out of that damned place in one piece? Your brother Jon’s life isn’t up yet, and the loving gods didn’t want you to lose either," Jon laughed, lifting his sister high in the air, and then he saw his older brother walking carelessly towards them: "You actually didn’t die, you lucky bastard."
"Yeah, I t a benefactor who saved ." Saying this, Jon grimaced as he aggravated a wound in his mouth, which made his sister notice the state of his mouth.
"Your mouth is full of wounds! What happened!" Lillim raised her hands high, yanked Jon’s mouth open, and the rough gesture made Jon roll his eyes.
Fortunately, this ti his brother didn’t stand aside: "Lillim, if you pull like that, you might reopen the wounds that are healing," he said with a smile to Jon: "Father and the mothers are waiting to see you, you better recall everything you need to report."
"Don’t worry about it." Jon finally regained the freedom of his mouth and raised his eyebrows.
As he passed his older brother, he, as the younger sibling, gave the elder a sizing-up glance.
"I didn’t die, you must be disappointed."
"I am quite disappointed because our family motto tells not to kill you just because you have a foul mouth."
The conversation between brothers ended, and they parted ways unhappily.
"Look, our Jon the hero has returned." As Jon walked into the hall, he saw his grandfather laugh at him: "Co here, boy, let’s see where you got hurt."
Jon opened his mouth to show all his relatives the wounds inside, for their quick perusal.
"Hold on a second, my child, your wounds seem a bit unexpected for the whole family." Jon’s father took a mont of silence before he spoke on behalf of the family and asked: "We could understand if you’d lost a leg or an arm, but how did you get hurt inside your mouth?"
"If it wasn’t for Leon finding Malin Guest to stuff a bottle of Holy Water into my mouth and smash it, I would have been possessed by a Spiritual Body spirit," Jon explained the whole adventure from beginning to end—no artistic embellishnt needed, the night’s escapades were full of miraculous highlights.
"So, are you saying the Malin Guest who stuffed the bottle in your mouth and broke it is actually your lifesaver?" Jon’s mother listened to her son’s tale, sobering from her initial anger and smiling sowhat helplessly: "At first I thought, I had to kill whoever had hurt my son, no matter who it was... but now I have to go back on my word."
After speaking, the lady snapped her fingers, and a fla sparkled at her fingertips.
"My dear mother, please don’t think of it that way. Although my mouth was full of wounds, Malin later gave a wound closure, and what you all see now is almost fully healed," Jon said today. He was genuinely very grateful to Malin; without him, Jon was certain he would have been dead for sure.
"In any case, we should thank that Mr. Malin," Lillim’s mother spoke at this mont, looking at Jon’s mother: "Thanks to Mr. Malin."
"Yes, indeed, this Mr. Malin must be an extraordinary fellow, being able to rescue you from that hellish place. Is he an existence above step seven?" Jon’s grandfather asked while enjoying a shoulder massage from his eldest grandson.
"No, just step ten, like , an apprentice," Jon said awkwardly, because it made him feel like a complete waste—his apprentice self had one day needed a child in his tens to save him.
The whole family fell into silence. After a while, Jon’s father glanced at his wives: "I always thought I would have to bring out my treasured spirits to thank that gentleman."
And Jon’s biological mother furrowed her brows: "My child, are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?"
"I do wish I had, as that would make feel sowhat better, but the fact is, Malin is just a freshman at the Church of the Goddess of Harvest."
"Wow, from the Church of the Goddess of Harvest?" The eldest sister, who had been sitting there from the beginning, suddenly spoke up.
Her exclamation attracted everyone’s attention, and as the eldest sister, Mariana smiled: "In these recent months, a rumor has circulated among us upperclassn that there is a freshman apprentice at the Church of the Goddess of Harvest who has swept his way to eight-grade from his own level. We all took it as a joke; so sisters who have t him say he’s a very cute and charming child. Now it seems this cute and charming child is surprisingly formidable."
"Yes, surprisingly formidable," Lillim suddenly spoke up. The little lamb, shyly smiling under the gaze of the whole family said, "I have a sister nad Maya, you all should know her, right?"
"Yes, I rember that child, a very cute panthera leo spelaea kitten," Jon’s mother nodded with a smile.
"She is Malin’s sister. I followed her to the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and saw him," the little lamb said proudly: "A very handso and formidable boy."
Jon looked towards his brother expressionlessly, only to see his brother looking back at him with the sa lack of emotion.
"Why do you call him a very handso and formidable boy?" the brothers’ father asked, extending his hand and pulling his daughter into his embrace.
"Because he can knock eighth-graders from one end of the training ground to the other with a stone club."
The breath of the brothers with expressionless faces hitched at the sa ti.
"Good daughter, how did you know that person was an eighth-grader?" the old father asked, smiling at everyone in the room, then coaxing his daughter soothingly, as kindly as an old father-in-law who has t a satisfactory son-in-law.
"Because I recognize him, it’s the second brother from the Caiel family next door," Lillim replied with a smile.
The brothers’ stoic faces turned ashen—what?! The Caiel family’s second son?! That jerk who’s so full of himself because he has a tenuous giant bloodline getting into trouble on the streets every day, got sent flying by a hamr hit from soone else?!
"But your brother Oaer Caiel is a giant, he could lift ten of you," their father said with a smile threatening to split his face.
"Malin will bless himself, though. He’ll add the Blessing of Strength, Keen Instinct, Resilient Carapace, Fighting Instinct, and the Horn of Fortune, along with several Spell Formations I didn’t recognize." As a small lamb with secondary level eight in blessings and level seven in support, Lillim clearly recognized so of the Spell Formations, but there were others she did not know.
The expressionless brothers looked at their father and suddenly realized the cherished sister they both adored... would one day leave them.
Once again their gazes t, and this ti, the brothers had no grudges against each other, their eyes ablaze with determination.
"I see... Jon."
Their father’s call snapped Jon, who had been lost in a fantasy about a fight to the death with Malin, back to reality. He hastily responded, "Father, what is it?"
"Since Malin saved you, a debt repaid with gratitude, have you given anything in return?"
"Four thousand," Jon said imdiately—Thank goodness! Dad! You still love your child! Hurry up and let mom pay for it!
"Hmm, very good, that’s a suitable amount for you, child. I know you’ve been a helpful hand these past few years, so you can pay this sum yourself," his father said.
Dad?
Jon, stunned, watched his father turn to his mother. "Dear, our daughter needs an increase in her allowance."
"That’s right, I’ll inquire about this Malin kid, but no matter what, our little lamb indeed needs more pocket money," his mother said, smiling at her husband, completely oblivious to the desperate look on her son’s face.
Mom?
"I will dress up our daughter beautifully," Lillim’s mother said, smiling and clapping her hands.
Mom!
Jon felt like the sky was falling; that was four thousand! Although he could afford it, this paynt would leave him penniless!
The family’s second son turned his head towards his grandfather... and saw his grandfather’s satisfied smile looking at his sister.
He also saw his brother, who was massaging his shoulders, smiling like a radiant sumr flower.
Stop smiling! Your sister is gone!
.........
Richard carefully pushed open the door of the mansion, looking at the pitch-black hall. The young man carefully stepped forward, preparing to sneak back to his room—his family had initially objected to the day’s events, but it was only because his grandmother wanted to go see an opera that he had the chance to escape and lend a hand.
Using the moonlight, Richard reached the stairs and also, with the moon’s help, he saw the family mbers sitting in the hall.
In an instant, the entire hall was bathed in light, and as Richard watched in despair, the family mbers, seated in the hall, stood up in unison, smiling, cheering, and applauding together.
"Child, co, tell your father all about your adventure tonight," his father, who also followed the path of the Sage, beckoned to Richard.
"Child, co, do you rember what your mother told you?" his mother, equally a follower of the Sage’s path, smiled at Richard.
"Child, co over to your grandparents, tell us how you survived," both his grandmother and grandfather, also on the path of the Sage, said in unison.
His sister, brothers and little sister also smiled genuinely, sincerely, convincingly at him.
The only family mber not on the path of the Sage, Richard, smiled more hideously than if he were crying, his scalp tingling as he walked down the stairs and stood before the chair the Head Maid had prepared for him.
"Your cousin Leonidas returned ho ten minutes ago. Of course, we’re not here to discuss why you ca back late, we just want to know if there will be any differences between your story and his," his family said, smiling at him, making Richard’s face darken—there’s really no staying in this house, is the truth that important?
Of course, it was. The reporters of the eighth tier of the Sage’s path, the authors of the seventh tier, and the recorders of the sixth tier loved investigating, understanding, and the truth above all else.
In this house, nothing could ever remain hidden.
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