"Do you have any information regarding our divine vessel?" asked a man in a red robe.
A man bowed and replied, "Yes, esteemed brother. According to the information we have received, the divine vessel plans to visit several places outside his family's territory."
The dim lighting in the room did not fully reveal the man's true features, but one could tell he was smiling. "Good, very good. We proceed with considerable caution. Remember, we need the divine vessel alive."
"What about the rest of his entourage, esteemed brother?" asked the low-profile man. "We don't need any non-believers alive."
"As you wish, esteemed brother." Silence returned to the dark place.
***
"Stop the carriage! Hehehe! Give me all your possessions!" A man with a sharp spear blocked Millie and Ferguson as they were riding in a carriage. He wasn't alone, as his accomplices also surrounded the carriage. The father-daughter duo, dressed in simple clothes, were terrified by the threat.
"Ple-please, spare us! Ju-just take whatever you want from the back!" Millie trembled. A man immediately checked the back of the carriage and climbed inside. A pair of hands clamped over his mouth, transforming the man into a hideous baseball bat with a pair of eyes and a mouth.
"What took you so long, dumbass!?" His companion went to check the tightly sealed back of the carriage, but Eric smashed the baseball bat into the bandit's face. The bandits were startled and attacked him, Eric retaliated by throwing the bat at the bandit holding the crossbow.
The bat exploded, spraying blood and flesh, blinding many of the bandits' eyes.
"Fuck—" several bandits who were wiping the blood from their eyes suddenly had their heads roll off, thanks to a lightning-fast strike from Ferguson. Meanwhile, Millie cast her spell, Light Shield, around Eric and her father.
It didn't take long for Eric and his two new employees to finish off the bandits. Ferguson wiped the blood from his sword, and Millie approached her father and asked, "Are you two okay?"
"I'm fine," Ferguson replied as he sheathed his sword. The old adventurer then voiced his thoughts, "Lately, I feel like we're the ones who've become the bandits and ended up killing them."
Millie echoed the same sentiment. "Yeah… ambushing bandits while disguised as merchants isn't exactly new, but… how do I put this…? It's kind of unconventional…"
Eric kept it simple. "That's the fastest way to lower their guard. Especially after seeing you two wearing simple winter jackets. Let's go—we still have plenty of targets."
Several weeks had passed.
Ever since teaming up with Ferguson and Millie, Eric had been sneaking out of the mansion after his physical training and breakfast to take on quests—mostly involving the extermination of bandits and monsters in the Ostheno region.
He did this to get used to Mahito's techniques, and so far he's been doing quite well, despite some discomfort. Even now, in the middle of the Second Month, the three of them are on another quest.
"Huff… huff…!" Eric ran across the snow-covered ground in a small forest in the southeastern part of the Ostheno region. Behind him was a horde of goblins led by a hobgoblin.
"What's that sound!? Something's coming!"
"Watch out!"
Eric leaped in, landing in an area with small tents. The bandits sitting around the campfire discovered uninvited guests at their hidden campsite and stood up one by one. But Eric moved first, darting so quickly that the bandits didn't even have time to react, and he swiftly grabbed the two bandits closest to him.
"Soul Multiplicity!"
The two bandits, realizing too late, felt their bodies soften, changing shape before finally shrinking. Eric kneaded those unfortunate souls like dough, then jumped high into the air and landed behind the bandits, waiting for something.
"You kiddo!"
"What the hell are you doing!"
The bandits brandished their weapons, but before they could attack Eric, the sound of thundering footsteps was heard from the opposite direction. A horde of goblins had arrived, their leader roared as it pounded its thick, rusted steel pole into the snowy ground.
The bandits and monsters lined up perfectly, and Eric unleashed his technique.
"Body Repel!"
The two transformed bandits in his hands pulsated and expanded beyond their limits. Eric envisioned a giant cannonball hurtling at full speed. A rumbling explosion echoed as the "cannonball" obliterated the goblins and hobgoblins without a trace, leaving only pools of blood. The bandits were also caught in the attack's trajectory, most of them lost half their bodies.
The technique also damaged the trees within a radius around the campsite and left a deep carved trail on the ground upon impact. Eric looked around and clicked his tongue when he saw one bandit still alive. The bandit had lost his legs and arms, he was crawling, trying to escape.
Ferguson then arrived accompanied by Millie, and once again they were stunned by the destructive power Eric had unleashed. "If you can do all this, why bother needing the two of us?"
Millie glanced at her father's question, and Eric readily answered the old adventurer. "Just because. I still need the two of you even if I couldn't do all this."
Ferguson hesitated to ask further questions. Aside from Eric's indifferent and somewhat arrogant attitude, Millie had no issues with him. The much higher pay and the accommodations Eric provided exceeded both her and her father's expectations.
Eric himself didn't mind when the two of them probe him about something, because so far he's satisfied with their performance. Apparently, Ferguson and Millie's synergy is better than he expected—for instance, Millie is perceptive of the situation and quick to cast her spells, while Ferguson understands Eric's intentions and objectives in battle without him having to say much.
For this quest, the three of them took on a bandit extermination quest as usual. However, they also noticed that not far from the bandits' camp, there were reports of a horde of goblins terrorizing the surrounding villages. So Eric decided to take on both, luring the goblin horde toward the bandits' camp and destroying them all at once—essentially killing two birds with one stone.
"P-Pardon me…but what is your ability… Sir Eric?" Millie mustered the courage to ask after fighting alongside her employer for over a month. Ferguson was about to scold his daughter but held back because he was also curious.
"Hmmm… to put it simply, my ability allows me to reshape any soul as I see fit." Eric walked toward the remaining bandit.
"Reshaping souls? Necromancy?" Ferguson replied. Eric looked down at the bandit, who was trembling in fear. "Not quite. Necromancy is identical to raising the dead or building an army of the undead. This power literally distorts existing souls, like this."
Eric grabbed the last bandit and restored his body. "Agghhhhh!!" The bandit screamed in pain throughout the process, but was stunned when his hands and feet returned to normal.
"It is said the soul and the body are unity. If I reshape and distort a soul, then I will also affect the body that houses that soul. In this way, I am also able to 'repair' the soul's defects."
Ferguson and Millie widened their eyes, understanding Eric's power. "Just like me and my daughter...you reshaped our souls and 'healed' us."
"A power like that… I've never heard of it before… it seems The Goddess has blessed you, Sir Eric." said Millie with a small smile. Ferguson was a bit curious and continued to ask, "Where did you acquire that ability, Master Eric?"
"I can't tell you right now. Millie brat, you said this ability is a blessing from the Goddess, huh?" Eric's tone sounded slightly mocking.
Eric grabbed the bandit who was trying to run away and touched his neck. "It depends on my intentions too—I'm also capable of manipulating that soul until it ends up like this." He let go of the bandit, and the poor man ran into the forest. But suddenly his body swelled up and exploded into pieces.
Ferguson's face hardened, and Millie clenched her magical staff so tightly. "Oh come on, chickening out? You guys willingly let me touch your souls." Eric said irritably.
The old adventurer shuddered as the truth dawned on him, because he had just let a man with terrifying power grasp his very life so easily. Meanwhile, Millie was shocked because Eric's power had never been explained or taught to her when she became a priestess at the Radiant Church.
They both still clearly remembered the repulsive feeling and the sense of wrongness that enveloped their entire existence when Eric touched their souls. But there was no denying that thanks to Eric's help, they had been completely healed.
"Oh, right. We'll take a break from our activities until I call you." Eric explained his orders briefly. "My old man told me that next week Ostheno will be receiving an important guest."
Eric walked calmly toward the horse that had brought him here earlier, the horse was quite a distance from the site of the battle. Ferguson and Millie silently followed him, and thus the quest they had accepted, the extermination of a horde of goblins and bandits, came to an end.
***
A few days passed, and Eric returned to his usual routine: morning physical training, breakfast, lounging around in his room, and perhaps an occasional visit to the Ostheno family's private library.
After freshening up, Eric joined his family for breakfast. "When will the test results be announced? Before spring?"
"That's right, Father. The Academy will send out the results by the end of this month," Laurene explained briefly. "Ugh, I swear the exams were hard this year! Is it because there are so many talented aspiring students?"
Melissa chimed in, "I think so. Some of the duke's sons and daughters are taking the exams this year. And also, the First Princess and the Third Prince are both entering this year too."
"I hope we both pass, Mother, Father." Lucas hoped, wiping his mouth. Melissa and James smiled at that. James spoke after remembering something, "Recently, the number of bandits and monsters roaming and causing damage in our region has dropped sharply. Apparently, there are some adventurers who are very eager to tackle those issues."
"I thought those adventurers were reluctant to take quests far from the city because of the extremely cold weather right now?" Lucas asked curiously. James shook his head. "To be honest, I'm also puzzled. I received a report that a Gold-rank adventurer has almost wiped out all the monster-hunting and bandit-hunting quests."
"Maybe they're desperate for money?" Eric chimed in, causing the rest of the family to turn toward him. James nodded, "It's possible, since the rewards for those quests are quite significant."
"And also, get yourselves ready. The day after tomorrow, we'll have guests. Lord Videno and his family are coming here for a brief visit." James's words startled Lucas and Laurene. Eric merely raised an eyebrow.
Melissa chuckled at her children's reactions. "It's been a while since you've seen the Videno siblings, hasn't it, Laurene?" The girl nodded cheerfully, "Yes! Is it true, Father!? I can't wait to meet them!"
"Me too. It's been a long time since I've spoken with Lord Jonathan." Lucas replied firmly. James was pleased to hear that. "The reason they're stopping by briefly is that they're traveling around the surrounding region in search of medicine or a cure for their second child. And they've also heard rumors that in the Ostheno region, there's a healer skilled enough to cure any illness."
Eric cleared his throat upon hearing that. The family's arrival brought a painful memory to the surface in his mind, but it was dispelled as his family chatted enthusiastically.
"Eric, I hope you don't hide away and actually go meet them. I don't know much about your life at the Academy, but this is your chance to formally greet your childhood friends."
"...I guess? Don't get your hopes up too high, though." His family looked at Eric with resignation. After breakfast, Eric didn't go straight to his room but instead took a walk around the mansion.
When he had walked far enough, he left the mansion and walked on until he reached a large garden. In the garden stood a shady tree sheltering a large aviary.
He found his younger sister, Laurene, feeding the birds inside the aviary. A bird landed on Laurene's hand, and the blonde girl giggled as she stroked it. One of the maids accompanying Laurene whispered to the girl, who immediately turned to face Eric.
"What do you want?" Laurene asked coldly. Eric sighed, gazing at the birds chirping inside the aviary.
Eric knew why Laurene hated him so much. Back when they were children, Laurene had secretly kept a bird in her room. James had forbidden keeping pets because Melissa was often allergic to animal fur or hair.
The previous Eric discovered Laurene's secret, and the little girl panicked, begging the previous Eric to keep it a secret. Young Eric agreed, and Laurene was relieved, but it turned out Eric had a sinister plan.
Soon after, James and Melissa invited their children to visit their grandmother's house, but the previous Eric refused, claiming he wasn't feeling well. While his family was away, young Eric "played" with the bird. Plucking its feathers, throwing stones at it... Eric's behavior was extremely cruel. He even forbade the servants from treating the bird and threatened to fire anyone who helped it.
Eventually, the bird died. When his family returned, Laurene wept uncontrollably, and the servants revealed the truth after being pressed by Lucas. When Eric was asked why he had done that, he replied.
"It's just an animal. What's the big deal? You can buy another one."
Lucas immediately punched Eric upon hearing that. Melissa and James punished Eric by forbidding him from leaving the mansion for an entire season, and James eventually softened his heart, allowing Laurene to keep the birds as long as they were kept outside and far from the mansion.
From that moment on, Eric and Laurene's relationship grew strained, because Eric was Eric—a cruel, selfish bastard who would hurt anyone for his own pleasure.
"I heard from Lucas that you've happily stepped down from your position as heir to this house." Eric blinked at his younger sister's words.
"Just because you've suddenly turned nice doesn't mean I forgive you. Now, you'd better leave, or I'll call Sebastian to have you escorted out." Laurene said coldly.
"Kindness or soft-spokenness cost nothing, you know?"
"I absolutely won't spare my kindness or even my time for you."
"Hmmm…whatever, suit yourself." Eric took no offense at the girl's words and left the place.
Once again, Eric was still confused about how to properly act around his 'new family'.