"You seem happy today, Master." Minami smiled as she helped him dry his hair after he came out of the shower.
"Am I not always happy?" He chuckled at her words and met her eyes in the mirror.
Those dark eyes of hers did not shy away even though her fair cheeks had started blooming in a blush.
"You are. But you seemed a lot happier this morning than you have been in the last few weeks." She answered him, and he amusedly smiled.
"Very observant of you, my dear Minami." He complimented her and then got up to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Yes. Something good happened, and I am happy about it."
"Mhm..." She shyly nodded her head and then picked up his shirt before helping him wear it.
His ever-so-adorable daughter took her sweet time as she helped him button up his shirt, and then she stepped back, smiling brightly at him as if waiting for a gift.
Keith knew exactly what she was asking for and leaned in to plant an affectionate kiss on her forehead. It was something that she sought every morning, and now, it had become their routine.
As usual, the kiss delighted her, and she smiled some more before leaving the room, saying that she was going to set the breakfast table.
"Ying'er." He called out to his Shadow, who was already dressed up and ready for the day and was sitting in a meditating position as she regulated the Aura inside her body.
"Master." She opened her light brown eyes and immediately got up on her feet.
"Something interesting is going to transpire today." He devilishly smiled, and Yingying had a hunch that it had something to do with the letter he had received earlier in the morning. "And you will be partaking in the fray..."
After briefing Yingying about certain things, Keith sat down at the table with the two girls and happily enjoyed the delicious breakfast his daughter had prepared for him.
"What are we doing today?" Minami curiously asked at the end of their meal.
"We are going to watch a fun show." He playfully said, catching her interest, and Minami curiously looked at him.
"Is something going to happen?"
Keith stopped and looked up, meeting her eyes. She was very perceptive yet again, and though he knew the reason behind all the changes taking place inside of her, he was still marvelling at it.
The most significant change he had observed in the last few weeks, other than her outrageous Cultivation Speed, was the enhancement of her senses.
Her sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste had all exponentially improved, but that was not all. Her sixth sense, her instinct, and her harmony with nature were now at a terrifying level.
Just yesterday, when they were on their hike, Minami suddenly stopped and informed them that someone was crying in heartache. And what they found shocked them.
The one who was crying was a little pup of a Red Fox, lying right next to the body of its late mother, but what was shocking was that they only came across it after walking for over a mile.
She had sensed and heard its cries from over a mile away, and the little pup was not even loudly crying, it was sobbing.
Yingying was quite alarmed when she watched Minami walk over and pick up the pup in her arms and start talking to it in weird voices, consoling it, and to her dismay, it actually worked.
The girl could talk to animals!
She had never before seen someone converse with animals, so Yingying's apprehensions about it were not unwarranted. And only after Keith assured her that everything was fine did she get a grip on her racing thoughts.
Keith was surprised too, but he had already caught Minami talking with Void a couple of weeks ago, and he had forbidden her from speaking to animals in the presence of strangers. What he was surprised about was how she was able to sense the pup's emotions from so far away.
It was something very remarkable, and it made him curious too, after all, whatever powers she possessed originated from him, and though he had always gotten along with all the animals, domestic and wild alike, he was very certain that he had never conversed with them.
To Minami, it all came naturally, and she did not even seem to realise that she was speaking to Void in weird voices when he had come across the scene. But being as obedient as she was, she promised him that she would not do it again when someone who could not be trusted was around.
And since no one other than him and Yingying was around yesterday, she took her time as she consoled the pup and then decided to bring it back to their cottage to nurse him for a few days.
"You already know the answer to it. Don't you?" He smiled.
"I did not mean to listen to your conversation, Master." She apologetically said, referring to the chat Keith had with Yingying in the room after she had left to set the breakfast table.
She did not mean to listen to it, but she could clearly hear what they were talking about from the kitchen.
"I know." He nudged her nose. "And since you know what might happen today, you must promise me that you won't get angry."
Seeing her frown, he could see that she was already a little angry about what was going to happen, but she nodded her head obediently, promising to keep her emotions in control.
Keith smiled and then planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Good girl."
As he was expecting, at exactly 9 am, someone knocked on the door of their cottage, and Minami left his lap to go and open it.
"Yes?" She indifferently asked the old man who was at the door, who was seemingly quite agitated and worried about something.
He was not alone though, and behind him was his granddaughter, and then there was the Sect Master of the Sect of Dusk and a group of Elders.
"We would like to apologise to Master Demiliore for the impudence of that dumb brat, my Lady." Elder Zola lightly spoke, keeping his eyes lowered.
"There's nothing to apologise for, Mr. Zola." A voice came from inside the cottage, and Keith walked out with Yingying, wearing a smile on his face. "I did not take his letter seriously." He informed the old man before smiling at the girl who was anxiously looking at him. "Good morning, Gina."
"Master." She immediately bowed to him in apology when she realised that she had not yet greeted him.
"It is fine." He simply said and then nodded to Gerald and the Elders behind him.
"You did not have to accept the letter, Master," Gina spoke. "I have nothing to do with him, and so he has no right to challenge you over my decision to follow you."
"I know." He patted her on the head, which subconsciously brought a smile to her face. "I was just thinking about what I could do today, and he provided me with an opportunity to have some fun. That's all there is to it."
His words eased a lot of worries of the people who were present here, and Gerald felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart. But his relief was short-lived, as the mistake of his life came haunting him again.
"I will see if you can keep that smile on your face when I beat you, Master Demiliore."
A confident and ridiculing voice sounded out from behind the Elders.
It was Kylian who had just arrived there, and to Keith's amusement, he was holding onto a sabre too.
"Kylian!" Gerald was beyond angry when he saw the weapon in his son's hand.
Bringing a weapon here meant that the duel Kylian wanted could no longer be considered a friendly duel. Weapons were only allowed in duels where there was some enmity, and since Keith had never done anything to harm him, and was even his benefactor who had saved his mother's life, it was utterly disrespectful and ungrateful to come here with a sword. Not to mention, Kylian had no right to challenge Keith over Ginara.
"Grab him and throw him into the dungeon!" Gerald commanded, and a few Elders immediately rushed at Kylian to put an end to this humiliation.
"You accepted my challenge!" Kylian struggled a little under the hold of the Elders, and instead of breaking free, his eyes taunted Keith, reminding him that he was only here because his challenge had been accepted.
"Stop." Keith sighed and spoke, and all the Elders who were dragging Kylian away stopped. "Tell me, Mister Kylian. Have I ever wronged you?" He asked rather seriously, and everyone felt even more ashamed at the actions of the young man, whose face had turned a little ugly at the question.
Keith smiled as he heard a System Prompt in his mind. He had been receiving them since yesterday, and he knew exactly what sort of turmoil Kylian was in right now.
The poor Child of Destiny could not raise his head to meet his eyes in shame.
"You can not have Ginara."
"Kylian..." Gerald was fuming when he heard those words, but Keith cut him off.
"She already belongs to me, Mister Kylian. But I am curious. Why can't I have her?" He raised his brow and Kylian gritted his teeth, glaring at him.
"I love her."
His answer shocked everyone, and no one was more shocked than Gianara. She looked at Kylian in disbelief, and soon her eyes looked at him with the same disgust that everyone else was reflecting towards the foolish man.
"How admirable." Keith sarcastically chuckled. "And here I thought you were doing all this out of spite and envy."
His words hit home, and everyone could see it when Kylian froze at those words.
"Fight me!" Kylian shrugged the Elders off and stepped forward, drawing his sabre and pointing it at Keith.
Everyone felt a cold chill run up their spine, and they all instinctively looked at the enchantingly beautiful girl who was standing next to Keith.
Her dark eyes seemed ever darker, and the coldness in them scared even the strongest of the people present there.
But the cold was gone as soon as Keith grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it, and only then did everyone realise that they had been holding their breaths.
Some sense finally came to Kylian's mind, and he finally started listening to his instincts that were yelling at him since yesterday to not go after Keith.
But it was too late now.
"You can not fight me, Mister Kylian. But my Shadow would be more than happy to teach some sense into you." Keith said, and though he had spoken lightly, everyone could now sense that he was unhappy at how Kylian pointed his blade at him.
And he had every right to be unhappy and even mad about what was happening here today. No one could blame him for it.
"Why, Master Demiliore? Sacred?" Kylian regained some confidence when he heard Keith's words, mistaking them as an attempt to hide behind the strength of his Shadow.
"You are too weak that it would be an insult if Master has to fight you." Yingying stepped forward under everyone's eyes and drew the Jian Sword she was wearing on her back.
And then without waiting for Kylian's response, she rushed at him at a break-neck speed, surprising everyone.
