"Minister."
Minister Honest, who was still excited after regaining his youth, saw a guard enter to report and waved a hand, asking what had happened.
The guard was just about to explain, but before he could open his mouth, an impatient male voice came from outside, followed almost immediately by the sounds of fighting.
"Get lost!"
"Stop blocking the way."
"Too slow."
The man outside kept complaining, pushing aside one person after another who tried to stop him, his temper gradually growing worse.
He looked at the guards who dared to block him, his eyes widening in anger.
Then he directly drew the golden curved blade at his waist and slashed one guard across the arm.
The guard's entire arm separated from his body and fell to the ground with a thud as blood sprayed out.
He screamed loudly.
The man who had attacked him burst out laughing.
"You dare to stop me? die!"
Listening to everything happening outside, the smile on the Minister's face cooled slightly, and a faint trace of displeasure appeared in his eyes.
The guard inside looked at Minister Honest with cold sweat all over his face, afraid that he would fly into a rage.
But to his astonishment, the Minister did not get angry.
He did not even scold him.
Feeling as though the sun had risen from the west, the guard did not dare say anything more and directly withdrew.
The one who entered in his place was the man who had been shouting outside just now.
No, he was a young man.
What was surprising was his appearance.
If it had been before, it might not have been very obvious, but now that the Minister had returned to the appearance he had at thirty, the comparison made it clear that the two of them shared many similarities.
This person... was the Minister's son?
Noah looked at him curiously.
[Syura]
・Human
・Male
・Son of Minister Honest
As expected.
He was the Minister's child.
Noah had heard that Syura had started traveling outside to broaden his horizons from very early on, and that he did not spend much time in the Imperial Capital.
He had not expected to actually meet him today.
"Dad!"
Syura shouted as he barged in, immediately seeing Noah standing there.
At the sight, he raised an eyebrow, then ignored Noah entirely, his gaze jumping straight to Minister Honest.
That one glance instantly froze his previously arrogant posture.
His mouth fell open, yet he could not make a single sound. He stared wide-eyed at the now-younger Minister, his face completely blank.
"You... are you my dad?" Syura asked in a daze.
Seeing his reaction, Minister Honest's joy became lively again.
"Oh, so you're back. Hahaha, perfect."
Minister Honest stepped forward and patted his son Syura on the shoulder.
"It seems you've been training decently outside."
"Ah, oh, I guess I have... no, wait! Compared to me, Dad, your change is way too big. You look like you're twenty years younger!"
"Hahaha, you can tell?" Minister Honest laughed wildly. "That's right. This is my body from when I was young."
The Minister flexed his arms, and the soft flab on his body instantly tightened and hardened.
That originally soft fat actually became firm under his control, spreading evenly across his body.
Ever since his thirties, he had become increasingly unable to control his appetite, causing his weight to rise greatly.
But his martial foundation was still there, and the secret art of the Four Rakshasa Demons was absolute control over the body.
Seeing the father who had always been obese in his memories suddenly become imposing and domineering completely overturned Syura's understanding.
He greatly admired this father of his.
His greatest wish was to surpass him.
But today, he only realized that his understanding of his father was still far too shallow.
This feeling...
He had trained in martial arts since childhood and had achieved a certain level, but he might not necessarily be a match for his own father!
Not that it was strange.
Why would someone who offended the Minister ever need the Minister to personally deal with them?
The Minister needed only a single sentence to decide those people's life or death.
No matter who they were, even Imperial nobles and officials were the same.
Syura understood his own position very clearly.
As long as he blindly followed his father while he was alive, then he could do whatever he wanted.
In this country, aside from that monster-like woman Esdeath and the stubborn old Great General Budo who controlled the Imperial Guard, even the Emperor himself could not truly stand above him!
To him, this country was a giant playground.
The people within the country were his favorite toys, and the most fun to play with.
It did not matter what he turned them into.
Because he was Minister Honest's son!
'Hm?'
At this moment, Syura noticed Noah standing nearby.
He furrowed his brow and asked the Minister, "Dad, who's this guy? Why is he standing here?"
Hearing that tone, which was full of provocation and contempt the moment he opened his mouth, Noah thought that he really was worthy of being the Minister's son.
He perfectly matched everything Noah had imagined.
He was practically the embodiment of arrogance and tyranny!
"Hm—?!"
Hearing Syura's tone, Minister Honest's face instantly turned cold.
He opened his eyes and glared at his son. "Shut your mouth! This is Professor Noah. You are not allowed to be rude to him."
"Hah?"
Syura froze.
He looked at his father's cold expression, a little unable to react.
"Dad?"
What's going on?
Had he just been warned by the Minister because of this guy?
Syura was somewhat surprised.
He examined Noah again, thinking that this guy could actually make his father treat him so specially, to the point that even Syura, his own son, had to show him respect?
However, since the Minister had spoken, he had to at least put on an act.
Syura put on a flattering smile and took the initiative to apologize.
"Ah, sorry. So it's you Professor Noah. I've long heard of you."
Long heard of him?
This guy was perfunctory even when doing surface-level courtesy.
Noah did not care.
He merely smiled faintly, then turned to the Minister and said, "Then I'll return first. I'll be rather busy for the next while and may remain behind closed doors."
Minister Honest thought Noah intended to further improve the pill's effects, so he immediately said with some excitement.
"Ohhh, is that so? I understand. Right, I have a villa in the suburbs. The scenery there is beautiful and it's very secluded. Compared to a gloomy underground laboratory, that place should be more suitable for your use, yes?"
Noah's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not refuse.
He casually agreed, "That does sound good. In that case, thank you, Minister."
Watching the way the two of them interacted, Syura began doubting his life more than once.
'Hey, hey, hey.'
'Was this a joke?'
This guy was actually speaking to his father so casually?
And his father too. What exactly was he doing, speaking to this guy as an equal?
He was treating him even better than his own son.
No.
Although he did not want to admit it, his father's behavior almost looked like he was trying to curry favor with this guy!
How was that possible?
What exactly was going on?!
Syura swallowed.
After Noah left, Syura asked the Minister, "Dad, that person just now was...?"
Minister Honest originally wanted to raise the red wine and drink it in one gulp, but remembering that Noah had said he could not drink for the time being, he had no choice but to set the wine glass aside.
Just as he put the glass down, he heard his son asking about Noah.
The Minister narrowed his eyes slightly, propped his chin with one hand, and said to Syura, "Don't investigate Professor Noah's affairs. You only need to know that he is very important to me. Also, don't let me find out that you intentionally approached him. Otherwise, even if you are my son, I'll kill you."
His tone was low and steady.
There was not much emotional fluctuation.
No anger or anything similar could be heard. It sounded almost like casual conversation.
But the words he spoke made Syura feel a chill run down his back.
This also made Syura understand one thing.
That guy Noah was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.
'Heh.'
'This was getting more and more interesting.'
'So someone like that actually existed.'
After traveling far and wide, Syura had discovered that the most advanced nation in the world was indeed still the Empire, and the Minister who controlled the puppet Emperor was his father.
It could be said that he had been born as an existence above everyone except one person.
Toward his father, who was equivalent to someone manipulating the strongest country in the world, Syura felt respect from the bottom of his heart.
But he also possessed the arrogance of youth.
For example, believing that his methods could already deceive that "great" father.
...
After leaving the Minister's residence, Noah arrived in the Imperial Capital.
He picked out some women's ornaments from the market.
These were meant as gifts for the maids at home.
Incidentally, ever since he had told Remus some things about the East, she had become interested in Eastern culture.
Recently, she had even developed an interest in the tea ceremony, so he had come here to buy some more tea leaves from overseas.
The tea he had cultivated himself had been destroyed before it matured due to Oarburgh's invasion.
Originally, he should have been able to greatly optimize those tea leaves.
The last time he came here, he had not been in the Imperial Capital for very long. Now, nearly eight years had already passed.
He remembered that some accident had happened back then too.
It was the incident where Dr. Stylish had secretly used the people of the Imperial Capital to experiment with enhancement drugs.
However, after Bill learned about it later, he had not intended to pursue the matter. Perhaps he simply did not care about the lives of ordinary people.
As long as the drug was ultimately eliminated, he was satisfied.
After eight years, things and people could change completely. But in this era, people's lives often remained the same.
Stepping into this shop again, Noah said "Excuse me" the moment he entered.
Then, rapid footsteps came from upstairs.
After a few breaths, two young women's faces appeared in Noah's eyes. Yes, not one person, but two.
Noah looked at the girls who had come out together and greeted them.
"Hello. It's been a long time, Mei, and Sheele."
"..."
Mei looked at him, her mind quickly working as if searching through her memories of him.
Compared to her, the purple-haired girl beside her immediately recognized the man in front of them.
"Mr. Noah!"
Sheele was somewhat excited.
Under Mei's surprised gaze, she uncharacteristically forgot her shyness and took the initiative to step forward, approaching someone else.
Noah?
Did she know him?
If he was such a handsome man, she should not have forgotten him.
Uh.
Right.
She needed to serve tea to the guest...
Huh?
Just as Mei's hand touched the teacup, a memory from seven years ago suddenly surfaced.
She cried out in surprise.
"Ah!"
Then she turned and pointed at Noah.
"You're the boy from back then! The one who saved us?"
That's right.
Noah.
His name was Noah! It was definitely him!
"Oh my god, so many years have passed that I nearly couldn't remember you." Mei smiled and waved her hand.
Noah noticed the ring on her hand.
It seemed that after all these years, Mei had already married.
As for Sheele, it seemed she had not.
Over the past eight years, both of them had grown into fine women.
"I came this time to buy tea leaves."
"Tea leaves? Sure. Wait a moment, I'll go upstairs and get them."
Thump, thump, thump.
Although Mei had already started a family, her personality did not seem too different from the past.
She was still somewhat careless and rushed.
Once she went upstairs, only Noah and Sheele were left.
In the sudden quiet atmosphere, Sheele lowered her head.
"Um..."
"Hm? What is it?" Noah looked at the shy Sheele, feeling that she seemed to have something she wanted to say.
"I... I..." Sheele tried hard to express herself.
She took a deep breath, and just as her mouth opened, a figure draped in a black cloak suddenly appeared from somewhere and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her several steps away.
From beneath that black cloak, Noah caught sight of something swaying, along with the presence of a companion.
Sheele looked at the "companion" who had pushed her away, somewhat confused.
"Leone?"
The one wearing the black cloak was a woman named Leone.
At this moment, she was holding up the cloak with one hand, covering the two of them beneath it, making it look as though they were whispering to each other.
But in reality...
Sheele looked at Leone's frightened expression and asked with concern, "Are you all right?"
All right?
How could she possibly be all right?
As an intelligence agent of the Revolutionary Army, Leone's access to various types of information was among the fastest.
And because of her special Teigu, she had extremely powerful perception.
Right now, she could feel a prickling sensation crawling over her body like an electric current.
This was her instinct warning her to hide as soon as possible.
There was a monster here...