Two weeks have passed since Rose's fight with Dalgodas.
Rose, who has lost to him, has no choice but to train hard every day as a girl. She studies hard sewing, etiquette, cooking, social studies, economics, politics, reading, writing, and art.
What about embroidery?
Fortunately, the teacher declined, which made Rose feel relieved. In that fight, Rose clearly said that she hated embroidery, so the teacher got angry and said she didn't want to teach her embroidery and she declined. The teacher also said she turned down Frey's offer, as did other embroidery teachers. In short, no teacher wanted to teach Rose embroidery. Even Yuri's teacher turned down the offer. Rose knew from the conversations around her that she had declined because she was busy with work. However, this situation makes her happy. Thank goodness she doesn't have time to wrestle with those damn needles anymore. Instead, it was time for art. Rose thought it was interesting as she drew pictures and learned about color sense.
The head chef is as kind as ever and teaches Rose how to cook. But he reminded her that she must eat in the dining room at mealtimes. She was told that an order had been given to her and that she had to follow it. However, even after two weeks, there is still some tension between Rose and Dalgodas. Although they eat in the same room, Rose doesn't feel better. Little by little her smile returned as she went about her daily life, but during her mealtimes, she felt like she wanted to escape as soon as possible. She doesn't feel good about being in the same space as Dalgodas. So when she sat far away and her meal started, she ate quickly and left the dining room as soon as possible. She ate in the dining room, so Dalgodas wouldn't complain. Besides, she hadn't been ordered to eat slowly.
Rose finished dinner quickly today as well. She finished eating in just less than 5 minutes. She put so much in her mouth that she couldn't remember if she ate anything. Then she hurried out of the dining room.
Rose found by sitting closer to the door she could go faster. Besides, she ate in the dining room today, so there's no problem. She went back to her room and practiced her letters. Recently, Prince Efergan complimented her on her improved handwriting. She thought so herself. However, it is still a far cry from the characters of Yanagi and Prince Efergan. Their handwriting was neat and beautiful.
Come to think of it, Rose hasn't received any letters from Yanagi. what is he doing now? However, Rose doesn't know where Yanagi is now. She wants Miraiya to teach her how to send magic letters, but she doesn't have the opportunity to meet her. Miraiya is now writing her report and hasn't returned from the lab. She's busy so Rose can't disturb her when she gets home. By the way, Rose can't even go out, so she can't even go visit her in the research lab.
Rose doesn't even run in the morning for a while. Many teachers questioned whether or not she was below level 0, so Dalgodas decided to refrain Rose from running just to be safe. They debated whether or not she should undergo a level appraisal, but Dalgodas said he would not allow her to do so, so the discussion ended. As a result, Rose was determined to be unable to work with children at a lower level. This made it impossible for her to make friends. In short, she doesn't have any friends. There were days when she had no one to talk to properly.
Rose sighed and looked at the open door without expression.
Her maid Liena entered the room and brought flower tea. However, the tea made by Moi was still the most delicious. Together with the tea, she received baked goods from the head chef. Apparently, the chef was planning to serve it after the meal, but since Rose was no longer in the dining room, they were delivered straight to her room. He was a kind teacher, thought Rose, as she decided to eat baked goods while reading her book.
A few hours passed, and the maid Liena entered the room again, preparing her nightgown and getting ready for bed. Changing into her nightgown, she climbed into bed and the light was off. She was alone again, Rose sighed. After about an hour or two, it became quiet outside. When she opened the door, there was no one around. She grabbed a blanket from her room and went up to the roof. Nobody is here. If it's on the roof, it's within the mansion, so Rose thinks it's safe. Unless she has been ordered not to climb on the roof, there should be no problem even if she is on the roof.
Rose thought bringing a blanket was a good idea since it was cold outside. Rose look at the night scenery while wrapping her body in a blanket. The starry sky looks beautiful. She wondered if Yanagi was looking at the same starry sky right now, she sighed as she stared at the night sky. She misses Yanagi. She wants to talk about various things. She wants to laugh with him. When she thinks about them, she can't help but feel very sad. All alone, she can do nothing but cry on this roof.
"Are you crying?"
The owner of the voice that came from behind was Dalgodas.
"..."
Rose quickly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her nightgown. Rose thought she didn't want to cause trouble again, so she should try not to give out as much unnecessary information as possible.
"Can I sit next to you?"
"Yeah."
Dalgodas climbed onto the roof and sat next to her. He is a much bigger father than she thought. Rose thought he was a good match against Keyaki.
"May I ask why you are crying?"
"..."
"I heard from someone watching that you are always here alone crying every night. Your mother is also worried. Can you tell me why?"
"Nothing."
Rose answered immediately.
"Nothing, huh?"
Dalgodas was quiet for a while and looked at Rose. He was speechless to see his little daughter wrapped in a blanket.
"Maybe you miss Yanagi?"
Dalgodas asked after a long silence.
"···Yeah."
"He has a good relationship with you. I wonder where he is now."
"I don't know."
There was silence for a while. Dalgodas sighed.
"Rose, do you hate me?"
"Yes, I hate you."
"You say it clearly."
"Yeah, but...thank you."
"Thank you?"
Hearing Rose's words, her father tilted his head to the side.
"Thank you for telling everyone so they wouldn't call me a monster after the battle."
"If you don't do that, false rumors will spread throughout the village. If that happens, you'll suffer even more. Just like Yanagi."
Dalgodas said this as he looked at the night sky. It's a moonless night, Dalgodas thought.
"Did he get bullied because he was a Demon God?"
"Yeah. Yanagi was suffering from that. I was busy with work, so when I noticed it, it was already too late. I tried all kinds of things but to no avail."
"Oh, I see."
"That changed Yanagi. He didn't show his emotions too much and only answered what was asked. He didn't speak on his own and became silent. Until he met you. He was worried about the graffiti he made on your face, so he visited you every month."
"..."
"He's never shown that much emotion to her other sisters. He's never shown his kind face, even to his parents. But I saw Yanagi's face look so kind to you."
"He always showed me a kind face."
Rose said and he nodded.
"That's right. I was surprised that he was so desperate when you got hurt."
"Was that at the time of the explosion?"
"That's right. He made it clear that the responsibility was on him. He offered to take on that much responsibility for you."
"But I ended up going to Ecoria."
"That's right. I was criticized a lot by your mother and Yuri, but I decided that it would be better to train under Miraiya. I couldn’t help it even if I got hit."
Dalgodas said this and sighed.
"Yeah."
"Yanagi seemed quite angry, but I didn't have a chance to ask Yanagi to understand. That child was always carrying the burden on his own. Yanagi confidently climbed to Level 5. On the day he was recognized, he left the village on the same day. He just left all his luggage here."
"Really..."
"I heard you met him at Escodria."
"Yeah."
"And he gave you that dagger."
"Yeah."
"When I heard about your battles and rumors, I wanted to meet you. When I heard that you had finally returned and that the prince from Dwipa had come with you, I realized things were urgent. I was planning on having a leisurely conversation with you guys later, but I just couldn't do it."
"Hmm."
"When Yanagi and I talked alone, Yanagi told me he would ask me to take care of you. Yanagi, who hates me so much, bowed his head and asked me to protect you. Then I asked why. He explained that you might be being targeted by the Morg."
"That's right."
"I understand how important he is to you. I also understand that he would have loved to protect you if he could. However, I also understand that Yanagi cannot do that now. I realized that. That's why I accepted his request. I promised Yanagi that I would protect you."
"Hmm."
"That's why I won't let you have your level appraised. I was convinced in the last battle that you can easily pass level 5 or higher. If you reach level 5, you'll go to look for Yanagi. Besides, you're strong, and no one has ever been able to hurt me like that."
Dalgodas touched his chest with his hand.
"Hmm, does it still hurt?"
Rose looked at Dalgodas uncomfortably.
"It’s already healed."
He was answered immediately.
"Do you want to heal the scar?"
"I do not need."
"Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I was the one who started the fight, so I was prepared for it."
"Hmm, I thought I was going to die many times."
"Because I have to teach you the fear of dying."
"What would you do if I really died?"
"The time is now. You fought intending to kill me, right?"
"Hmm."
It was a good idea, Rose thought.
"However, during the battle, you helped a guard. That's when I realized that you are actually a kind child. If you hadn't done that, you could have still fight me."
"Well, I didn't feel good if someone I had no connection to died for me, so I just helped him."
"The person asked me to convey his gratitude."
"Really?"
Rose said without turning to Dalgodas.
"Hey, Rose."
"Yes?"
"Did you know that before I came to this world, I was the king of a big country?"
"Yes, it's in the history books."
"I had tens of millions of soldiers and servants. I built a strong country. I became known as the strongest. I had countless wives and concubines. I had many sons, daughters, and grandchildren. I don't even know all their names."
"That sucks."
"Hahaha, you're the only one who can say that clearly."
Dalgodas smiled bitterly.
"So?"
"One day, I got tired of it. Just as I wondered what to do, the Dragon God called and asked me to come here."
"Huh..."
"I said I would be happy to go, and announced to my sons that the strongest would be king. They wanted to be king until they fought and killed each other. Of course, all the out-of-place fighting and killings were forbidden... I made them the targets of punishment, but they didn't stop. I was sad. I thought about why they wanted power. But they never followed my thoughts. I realized that it was also my fault."
Dalgodas said bitterly.
"Even though I had tens of millions of followers, only 200 people decided to abandon everything and join me."
"There were relatively few."
"Yes, if you think about it, those 200 may have been the only ones who wholeheartedly swore loyalty. That's why they are a treasure to me. Some lost their lives fighting the Morgs, but... The rest are still supporting me."
Rose thought that people like the head chef were also a treasure to Dalgodas.
"Yeah."
"The head chef, Seti, and the head maid have been my vassals since I was young. They are with me wherever I go. In addition, your instructor Darga, Kagemaru, and others who support this village now. Those who hold are my treasure."
"Yeah."
"In this world, Frey is my only wife. I have stopped taking multiple wives. However, even though I wanted to face my children, it was not going well. One by one, they left my side. Actually, I was in trouble too. I understood when Yanagi became a warrior. I understood when Keyaki became a craftsman. But when Yuri left here in anger, I thought about it. I may have been a bad father, and then I fight with you.''
"Father is clumsy. We could have had a normal conversation like this. Because we didn't, we can't understand each other."
"That's right. Something inside me hurts when you, a two-year-old, say that to me."
Dalgodas looked at Rose and smiled bitterly.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry. You're the only one of my children who's been this honest with me. The others may scared of me, or maybe I'm just a symbol of power."
"Because I'm a weird kid."
"Not at all. You're a very good girl. A bit of a shrew, though."
"Hmm."
"I have always lived as a warrior, so I have never had many discussions like this."
"Then why are you here today?"
"Frey, your mother asked me. Since we are parents and children, she told me to talk with you properly."
"Really..."
Rose nodded.
"I said what I wanted to say. Now it's your turn."
"Hmm, maybe I was just lonely."
"Lonely?"
"Yeah. I don't have anyone to talk to from the heart. Moi was always there, and Brother Yanagi was also there, so it didn't feel like it was that hard. But now, everyone has left me. I don't think Moi can help it, but I'm happy because she's happy."
"I see."
"And about Brother Yanagi, I don't know where he is or what he's doing now. I can't find an answer."
"Do you mean that you cried thinking about Yanagi?"
"Yeah."
Rose nodded.
"When that child feels overwhelmed, he always takes it alone. It's a problem because he wants to live without relying on anyone."
"He's clumsy, just like you."
"Oh, you say it clearly again."
"Sorry."
"Don't worry."
"That line is exactly the same as Brother Yanagi. I guess Father had a big influence on him."
"Is it so?"
"Yeah."
Rose nodded. They really do look alike, Rose thought.
"You know Yanagi very well. I didn't know him that well."
"Yeah. Because he is my precious Brother."
"I want you to call me a precious Father someday."
"Hmm, good though."
"Really?"
"But before that, I want you to teach me how to use Haki."
"Why did you suddenly talk about Haki?"
"Someday, I want to show my Haki and defeat you."
Dalgodas looked stunned when he heard her words.
"What kind of arrogance. And you said it clearly before the person you wanted to defeat."
"No good?"
"No. Because you said you want to defeat me someday, I can't teach you that technique."
"Stingy."
"Hahahaha, me? Stingy? You are an interesting girl."
Dalgodas laughed heartily.
"Hey, Father."
"What?"
"I haven't been exercising lately, so my body has become sluggish. Sometimes, I would like to invite a teacher who teaches light exercise. I want to move my body, even in the courtyard. Isn't it good for practice? I understand that practicing with a whip in the courtyard will mess up the mansion, but I don't think it will destroy it if it's just a light exercise."
"I'll think about it."
"Thank you."
Rose thanked him obediently.
"I heard that you always practiced your whip on the field of the Level 5 dormitory..."
"Yeah. Besides, there's no one over there, so I use it to practice."
"Did you practice the whip technique you used on me there?"
"Yeah. I defeated a big monster when I enchanted the fire attribute with 5 times the strength in Ooramorg. However, on the level 5 ground, I managed to get to level 7. But when I fought you, I made it to level 10. But I've run out of strength."
"That was level 10. I see, that's why it hurt."
"Sorry."
"But if you can produce that consistently, it will be difficult to defeat you."
"Hmm."
"Well, I'll think about it."
"Yeah."
The cold wind was blowing again, and Rose, wrapped in a blanket, was getting smaller and smaller.
"Is it cold?"
"Yeah."
"You can stay close to me."
"Yeah."
Rose moved a little closer to Dalgodas and sat down. For some reason, she felt warm when she was near him. Does she really have the aura of a Demon God?
"Father."
"What is it?"
"Can I listen to your heartbeat?"
"Did Yanagi always do that?"
"Yeah."
"I see. Good. Come on, Rose."
Dalgodas pulled Rose's shoulder closer to him. Hearing the sound of his heart beating, Rose felt relieved and before she knew it, she fell asleep. She did not remember whether she met Yanagi in a dream.