Chapter 21

"Will!"

"Father!"

Will, who had arrived at Shiro's side guided by a gust of wind, landed on the ground under the guidance of magic and ran to Shiro.

Held tightly by his father, Will squirmed uncomfortably.

"You really gave me a scare..."

"Me too..."

Shiro sighed in relief, and a piece of the wind looked down from above, nodding in agreement.

"What kind of child have you raised, you fool?"

"How would I know? It seems Will has a talent for magic; his magical energy flow is visible to the naked eye."

Shiro cursed at the large wolf.

The people around them watched the piece of wind with trepidation.

"Sir Shiro, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used magic in front of Master Will..."

Elise and Aika, who had followed behind, bowed their heads in disappointment.

Holding Serena and Nina close, Shiro smiled.

"It's not your fault. The blame lies with this stupid dog."

Shiro glared at the piece of wind, who retorted.

"Who's the stupid dog! It's because you told Will about my existence! If you hadn't carried me around from the start, we wouldn't have wasted time on these low-level riffraff!"

"Ha!? Nonsense! I wouldn't let you out against thugs! You'd be cut in half!"

"Don't curse in front of the children! It's bad for their education!"

"You're one to talk!"

Shiro and the piece of wind glared at each other, while the children looked up at them with puzzled expressions.

Seeing this, the other knights intervened.

"Come now, calm down."

"I've heard about it... This is the phantom beast Shiro commands, a piece of the wind, right?"

"We've never seen it before. We only knew of its existence..."

"It never shows itself at home..."

Elise and Aika looked up at the wind wolf again.

Serena and Nina seemed unsure how to react to the talking large wolf.

"Right."

Will, as if remembering something, handed his father the magic sword.

"Here's your sword, Father."

"Thanks, Will."

Shiro ruffled Will's hair, and Will leaned into the touch, looking content.

Letting go of Will, Shiro reattached the magic sword to his waist.

"It feels right again."

"Of course it does."

The wind wolf said confidently, and Shiro chuckled.

"Excuse me...?"

Morgan, who had been watching from a distance, hesitantly asked.

Shiro tilted his head, encouraging her to continue.

"Go ahead."

"Is that phantom beast really a piece of the wind? Is that a magic sword? The Wind Magic Sword and Shiro... Could it be...?"

Morgan's voice trembled, and the children tilted their heads in confusion.

Elise and Aika smiled at the sight.

"Enough of this!"

Gram, who had been watching from a distance, raised his voice in frustration.

"You're completely ignoring us... I won't stand for it! Prepare for a magic attack! Fire!"

Following Gram's command, his private soldiers unleashed various spells.

Morgan cursed as the attack spells flew towards them.

"You've been causing a ruckus without thinking about the children... I've had enough!"

Morgan placed his hands on the ground and cast a spell.

"Come forth, spirits of the earth! Guardians of the earth, obey my command and rise as earth giants!"

The ground beneath them rumbled and rose, forming a large golem that protected Morgan and the others from the incoming spells.

"Hmm... A golem creation spell."

The piece of wind narrowed its eyes in admiration.

A four-meter-tall earth golem slowly stood up, resembling a human but with a broad frame and long arms.

"Wow..."

Will's eyes sparkled as he looked up at the golem.

"This is one of my favorite spells. Those low-level spells won't faze it."

Morgan boasted, and Will clapped his hands.

Gram snorted in response.

"Hmph, annoying... But, unfortunately, your magic has just given us the right to act."

Gram sent a signal, and four golems appeared behind his private soldiers.

Will, seeing this, laughed and clutched his stomach.

"What's so funny, brat!"

"Disgusting..."

"What did you say!?"

Gram compared his golems to Morgan's.

Others did the same, but despite some differences in appearance, there was little difference in quality.

Both were impressive golems.

"It's about the flow of magic. The precision of the other golems' magic is lower."

The piece of wind added, "They probably haven't had much training," but Gram didn't hear it.

"Ridiculous!"

"Not at all."

Will turned away, and Gram shouted in frustration.

"Annoying brat... Go! Make them pay!"

The private soldiers charged.

The piece of wind sighed.

"Didn't they learn their lesson from Will... Stupid fools."

"Do they still think they can win with brute force? How naive..."

Shiro sighed.

The enemy outnumbered them, but that was all.

Their fundamental strength was vastly different.

"Will, step back. Stay with the girls."

Shiro drew his magic sword and gestured to Will.

"No."

"...Will?"

Shiro's smile froze.

"N-no!"

Will turned away.

As they argued, the private soldiers drew closer.

"Why not, Will?"

Shiro asked, trying not to upset Will.

"I want to use magic too."

"That's not allowed, Master Will!"

Aika tried to stop him, but Will continued to throw a tantrum.

"Look, Will, I'll show you my special magic."

"Really?"

Will, who had been looking away, turned his head halfway, looking up at Shiro with a pout.

"Come on! The enemy is coming! What are you doing!?"

Morgan's anxious voice echoed as the situation grew tense.

Despite the golem's strength, they couldn't defend against such numbers.

However, Shiro calmly drew his magic sword.

The white blade appeared, and the wind magic that emanated from it captivated everyone.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Yet, the atmosphere remained relaxed because the sword's owner was playing with his son.

"I'll just cut the enemy golems, okay?"

Shiro pointed the sword at the sky.

The wind tensed, and the wind spirits straightened their postures.

Shiro's expression hardened as he focused on his target.

"Piece, the second one from the right. I'm going to cut it."

"Understood."

With a short exchange, Shiro swung his sword.

An expert would have felt a chill down their spine at the precision.

There was no wasted movement in that single strike.

Will's eyes widened as the magic was released.

The magic flowed seamlessly from the blade, drawing a thin, silent line from the tip.

This line absorbed a massive amount of magic, extending through the air to draw a similar line above a distant golem.

"It's cut..."

Will muttered in amazement as he watched the magic line expand and cut through the golem.

"What...?"

Morgan gasped.

In the next instant, the golem split in two and crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

"Impossible!?"

Gram, unable to comprehend what had happened, shouted.

The private soldiers stopped in their tracks.

They had seen Shiro swing his sword, but they hadn't perceived the magic's activation.

It was that sharp and refined a strike.

Morgan and the others stared at the fallen golem, mouths agape.

"Wow, Father is amazing!"

"Right?"

Shiro smiled at Will's applause.

Morgan, watching from behind, muttered.

"Amazing... So this is the legendary 'Dragon Slayer' Shiro Hazama..."

Turning to the children, Morgan saw them looking back at him with puzzled faces.

"Huh? What!?"

Morgan was surprised that the children didn't recognize the name.

Seeing the maids looking disappointed but chuckling, Morgan realized Shiro hadn't told the children anything.

"Huh... Was it a secret or something?"

"No, not really."

Shiro smiled and ruffled Will's hair.

"I thought the kids would find out eventually. Since I'm retired, there was no need to mention it."

"I see..."

Morgan sighed in relief, realizing he hadn't inadvertently revealed anything.

"What's going on?"

Selena, who was confused, looked around at the adults.

Elise placed her hands on Selena's shoulders from behind.

"Sir Shiro's former surname is Hazama. He hails from the distant Kyō country and is known as Shiro Hazama..."

Aika continued, placing her hands on Nina's shoulders.

"One of the ten strongest adventurers in the guild, a wind magic sword user. He is known as the 'Dragon Slayer' for cutting down a flying dragon with a single sword. He is the former third-ranked member, Shiro Hazama, and the father of Nina, Selena, and Will."

"Ten-rankers..."

Selena, who wasn't particularly interested in adventurers, knew the name.

The guild ranks from 1 to 9, and only ten people, recognized among the top 9, can achieve the highest rank 10, known as Ten-rankers.

There is no hierarchy among the ten, and they are chosen based on their strength and character, so not all ten seats are always filled.

Those who become Ten-rankers are considered the best adventurers of their time and are often admired.

"Father is..."

Selena sighed in amazement, and Will tilted his head.

"Really?"

Morgan nodded at Will's question.

Morgan, also an adventurer, knew Shiro's reputation well.

Conversely, the private soldiers, who had heard the conversation, turned pale.

Shiro's fame had grown even more after his marriage to Cecilia, a member of the Filfarria royal family.

In other words, they had unknowingly challenged a member of the Filfarria royal family, a crime with severe consequences.

"Hmm..."

Will crossed his arms and tilted his head.

Hearing that his father was a famous adventurer didn't quite register with him.

His father often joked around and got hit by the maids.

"But, Father, you always get hit by Ren, right?"

"Ren...?"

Morgan, tilting his head, nodded at Will's question.

Turning to Shiro, Morgan saw him scratching his head with a wry smile.

"Yes, Ren."

"Ren...?"

The private soldiers repeated the word, and a murmur spread among them.

Just as the murmurs grew, a carriage pulled into the school courtyard.

The crest on the carriage made Gram's face pale.

It was the dragon crest, reserved for the royal family.

As a noble's son, Gram couldn't have mistaken it.

The carriage stopped, and servants and maids began to emerge.