Ch. 103

"Zain, it's not what you think it is."

I said, looking over at him. But Zain couldn't hide his smile, looking far too pleased about something.

"Yeah, right. You could see the fire in the Prince and Princess's eyes as they looked at you."

"I told you that's not it."

"Come on. So what if it is? As if there's any secret between the two of us."

Zain laughed out loud, continuing to tease me. He annoyed me, so I pulled out a mace from my inventory, and he immediately turned pale.

"M-Master?"

"I said no."

"Okay, I'm kidding! Sorry!"

"Stay right there, you punk."

I quickly chased after him as he scrambled to get away.

"Eek!"

He needed a good scolding to come to his senses.

***

After thoroughly scolding Zain, I went back to cleaning the temple. After cleaning the cult leader's office, I then dusted the hallways. Even though we didn't spend much time on it, the place was spotless, looking ready to open right away.

'We might need to postpone the opening date a bit because of the prince and princess though.'

As I was organizing the cleaning supplies, I received a message from Alphius.

[Leader! A letter has arrived from the Holden family.]

A letter?

"Okay, Alphi."

Last time it was a visit; now it's a letter.

Curious about what it could be, I headed straight to Rovel. Zain was still lying in the hallway...but that was my own doing.

When I entered the cult leader office at Rovel through the portal, Alphius was waiting for me.

"Master, you're here!"

"Yeah, Alphi. So, about that letter?"

"Yes, here it is."

"Thank you."

I patted Alphius' head and took the letter, noticing the Holden family seal on it. When I opened it, I recognized my mother's elegant handwriting.

[To my beloved son, Revelof.

How have you been? I hope you got your birthday present. A belated happy birthday to you.

The reason I'm writing to you today is... ... .]

Fortunately (or unfortunately), the letter was for Revelof, not Leviathan. It was simply a letter from a mother to her son, Revelof.

I skimmed through it. The message was straightforward: my mother's mother, the former head of the Holden family and my grandmother, was very eager to see me.

Apparently, she missed me more, especially after hearing the news that I left right after completely recovering from my illness.

The letter explained how much my grandmother had worried about me due to my illness when I was young. Now that I was healed, she longed to see me fully recovered.

'Grandma...'

It was a heartfelt letter, filled with various worries, but ultimately, it asked me to visit her with Sevenus soon.

'Hmm... Not bad.'

I recalled my grandmother's face through Revelof's memories.

Since she didn't appear in the original story, little is known about Leira's mother or grandmother. But from what Revelof remembers, his grandmother, who once led the Holden family, was highly competent aside from her title.

'A Sword Master.'

Revelof's grandmother had reached the level of a Sword Master, skillfully combining magical powers with swordsmanship.

And the place where my grandmother currently resides isn't the Holden estate, but a village further north called 'Hasis'.

'She passed the title to Mother and retired.'

It's like a villa, but it's a spacious and cozy mansion.

If I try to recall, I only have fragmented images, so it seems Revelof sometimes went there to play when he was young.

'The distance is...about two days.'

In fact, even though I received the letter despite my already busy schedule, I didn't necessarily have to go to Hasis. But, there was a small city called 'Nezen' near Hasis.

When I visit Hasis, I plan to stop by Nezen as well.

'It wouldn't be a bad idea to take this opportunity to look around.'

In the original story, Nezen is where Terdius and his younger brother lived and carried out missionary work.

So, I planned to visit my grandmother and also stop by Nezen to see Terdius's younger brother, Ivan Austin.

So I wrote a positive reply in my response to the letter.

-Hey, you're thinking of going to see your grandmother. That's a good idea.

'I just wanted to see her again.'

-Yeah, yeah. I don't know where Hasis is, but I'm looking forward to it.

Kyros, unaware of my true intentions, simply praised me.

***

After writing the reply, I gathered the kids in Rovel: Zain and Troy.

"Master, how can you just leave someone after doing that to them?"

Zain rubbed the shoulder I'd hit and whimpered.

"Well, who jokes around like that?"

"Tch, getting so worked up over something small. You're pettier than I thought."

"This kid..."

As I grappled with Zain, who had no intention of stopping his complaints, Troy, who'd been watching silently, squeezed Zain's shoulder.

"Ow!"

Zain's body jerked in pain as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"Zain, don't harass the Leader."

"Hey. Why would you do that?!"

Now the two of them started bickering. So, when will they finally get to the point?

"Alright, alright, quiet."

I motioned for them to be quiet. But they kept arguing, so Alphius and Chester, who were sitting on either side of me, grabbed the two of them.

"Haaa."

I let out a small sigh and spoke.

"I'll be away for a week at the shortest, maybe two weeks."

"Huh? Are you going somewhere?"

Zain asked, looking surprised.

I nodded and replied,

"Yeah, I'm going to see my grandmother for a bit."

"Oh, if that's the case... I guess it can't be helped."

"So, please take good care of the temple while I'm away. If anything urgent comes up, contact me immediately."

I left an emergency portal, so if there's a big problem at the temple, I can come through it. And since they usually handle things on their own, there shouldn't be any big issues.

"Yes, Leader."

"D-don't worry about the temple!"

"...We will take good care of things."

The children nodded with smiles. Zain reluctantly replied,

"Understood, Master."

"Don't worry, Leader. Everything will be fine."

Finally, Troy, who had been quietly worrying, managed to put his mind at ease with those words.

"Oh, and Sasha, please fill the Temple of Merilseus with statues and paintings."

"...Yes. Leave it to me."

"The Temple of Merilseus will probably open sometime next month, so you can take your time."

"...Okay."

Since there aren't any major events happening in the original story right now, it should be fine for the time being.

"Alright, I should get going now."

I said goodbye to the children once more and then left.

***

The next day, a carriage from the Holden family arrived at the temple in the morning, likely in response to the quick reply I had sent.

I was sleeping in the cult leader's office, but when the children called, I quickly got ready and went outside.

As we got to the temple entrance, I saw the elegant Holden family carriage and the knights tasked with escorting it. The carriage door opened, and Sevenus, dressed in white, stepped out.

"Levi."

He looked more polished than usual and greeted me with a bright smile, quite different from his previously somber demeanor.

"Good morning, Brother."

"Alright. Let's go quickly."

Sevenus gestured for me to get into the carriage.

"Just a moment. Let me say goodbye to the high priest."

"Okay."

I bid farewell to Alphius, Chester, and Sasha, who had come out to see me off. Zain and Troy didn't show up since they were still sleeping in. Anyway.

"I'll return safely, High Priest."

"Take care on your journey, Brother Revelof."

After smiling at the children, I headed toward Sevenus and got into the carriage, where he sat across from me.

'I can't believe I have to go to Hasis with him like this.'

Although I had grown closer to Sevenus, it still felt awkward. Now, I was Revelof Holden, not Leviathan, the leader. Ironically, without the cognitive dissonance glasses, a relationship that should have felt closer now felt even more distant.

I sensed Sevenus watching me and turned my gaze to look out the window.

There, I saw the children waving. As soon as I waved goodbye to Alphius, Chester, and Sasha, the carriage began moving.

'Two days until Hasis.'

Since I didn't want to just sit idle for two days, I opened the small suitcase I had packed in advance and took out the knitting supplies that Zain had given me the other day.

-Hey, are you planning on doing that again?

'I think I can really do it this time. Even if it's not perfect, that's okay.'

I calmed Kyros, who sounded concerned, and took out my knitting needles and yarn. Just as I was about to start the first stitch, Sevenus spoke up.

"Levi."

"Yes, Brother?"

Just as I was trying to concentrate, Sebenus called out to me. When I looked up, he was watching me with a curious expression.

"So you have this kinda hobby too, huh?"

"Ah, yes. Well...I picked it up after coming to the temple, and it turned out to be kind of fun. Um... Later, if I manage to finish a scarf, I might give it to Mother or you as a gift..."

The idea of giving it as a gift had just occurred to me. Honestly, at first, I wasn't sure why I was doing something like this, but as I kept going, I found myself wanting to improve. It's a little disappointing that I haven't managed to make anything useful yet.

Meanwhile, Sevenus, after hearing my response, blinked for a moment, then smiled as if he found it interesting.

"Really? Then I'd like to learn as well."

"...What?"

"Levi, I think it'd be fun to try what you're doing. Why not?"

Was Sevenus really asking me to teach him how to knit? Knitting didn't seem like something that would suit him at all, but suddenly, Zain came to mind---the guy who used to tease me when he was teaching me.

With a smile, I handed Sevenus the extra knitting supplies and said:

"Alright, Brother. This is the yarn, and this is the needle."

"...Uh...what are you doing right now?"

"Shh! Be quiet and focus on what I'm teaching you!"

***

Two days had passed since we left Rovel for Hasis, and during that time, Sevenus and I had become fully engrossed in knitting while traveling in the carriage.

At the same time, I started feeling a bit inadequate.

"Levi, maybe try this over here?"

It turned out that Sevenus had a natural talent for knitting. I'd only taught him what I had learned from Zain, yet within just two days, he had already far surpassed me.

In such a short period, he'd mastered the techniques so well that he was now even teaching me.

'Damn it. Turns out I'm not cut out for knitting after all.'

In the meantime, Sevenus had managed to create a rather nice hat.

What I made in two days still looked like a rag.

-Child, it seems like...your older brother has got the talent for knitting.

I never thought I'd feel this defeated over knitting.

I looked at Sevenus with a touch of jealousy. Then he held up the hat he'd finished and said:

"What's wrong, Levi? Do you want this?"

"Huh? No, that's not it."

"No. You're the one who introduced me to this joy. I'll give you my first creation as a gift."

I tried to refuse, saying it was fine, but Sevenus insisted, pressing the hat into my hands. In the end, I couldn't help but accept his hat.

'Damn it, I'm jealous.'

As I swallowed my envy, I noticed the quaint village scenery outside the window.

Hasis wasn't as bustling as Elwin, but it was filled with cute houses clustered together.

The village blended beautifully with the surrounding forest, giving it a serene, harmonious feel.

"This place is always beautiful no matter when you visit.".

I nodded as I listened to Sevenus' admiration.

As we traveled further along the village road, a grand mansion finally came into view.

It was a villa-like estate that felt warm and inviting rather than overly refined. It looked exactly as it did in Revelof's memories.

'That place is...'

This was the residence of the "Sword Master" Helena Holden, the former head of the Holden family.

I swallowed nervously. This was a place inhabited by a character who didn't appear in the original story, and I had to rely solely on Revelof's memories.

Just as things were beginning to feel a bit tense, the carriage came to a halt in front of the mansion.

"Let's get down, Levi."

I couldn't help but feel a bit envious of Sevenus, who stepped forward with such calm confidence.

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