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  “For now, father shouldn't be an immediate danger,” said Caesar. “I know he’ll at least never e here personally. But he might send his men, or even my other siblings, after me for having defied his orders.”

  “I see. Well, the only thing we do is wait and prepare for the worst.” I nodded. “But you said you were the stro of your siblings?”

  “That’s right, none of them could beat me at swordsmanship,” Caesar said. “With my wife’s healing, there is no way I could lose against any of them.”

  “Such fidence…” I smiled. “I like that; you could make a good disciple. King, you have tremendous untapped potential. I could unlock it for you and teach you eveer swordsmanship.”

  “T-That’s…” He seemed surprised by my offer. “I’ll o think about it... As the King, I ot hastily make decisions after all.”

  “I uand. Well, I’ll give you a month to think about my offer then,” I said. “Ohe month is over, you’ll have a week to give me an answer. If you don’t say anything, then I’ll take it that you didn’t want to, and I won’t accept you as my disciple anymore iure if you ever ge your mind.”

  “Hah, alright, I’ll think about it,” he sighed. “I have many responsibilities... But perhaps my daughter, Cecil, could bee your disciple. She’s young and talented; if you could help her blossom her talents and abilities…”

  “E-Eeh?! What are you talking about, papa?! I don’t want to join her sect!” cried Cecil. “S-She’s a crazy witch that killed you!”

  “C-Cecil! How could you say such a thing? I did not teach my daughter to speak with such manners!” His mother reprimanded her, pulling her elven ears.

  “Ouch, ouch! Sorry,” cried Cecil. “But do you truly expect me to learn anything from that monster?! S-She’s evil! I don’t like her!”

  “Cecil!” her father roared angrily.

  “That’s fine,” I said. “Children are like this; there’s nothing wrong with her words; I was indeed a monster in her eyes.”

  “But you protected us; you aren’t a moo us,” said my mother.

  “That’s right…” Yanisse nodded. “Little Cecil, we've known each other for years, right? Could you resider your words? For Auntie Ya least?”

  “But you betrayed Dad and stayed with this woman instead!” said Cecil angrily. “And, um, huh? What? No… I don’t care!”

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, Cecil started talking to herself, pining, and looking at the floor.

  “Huh? What?” wondered Yanisse. “Cecil?”

  “Ugh, nothing! Leave me alone! I’m going bae!” she said, suddenly toug her ring, imbued with a blue stone.

  The ring fshed with a strong Aura of Mana, it seemed to be ected deeply with the Element of Space, and it was trying to teleport her away.

  However, my Pagoda was capable of stopping such tricks, so she was uo teleport away.

  “Eh? It’s not w! No way…” she gasped, looking at her ring.

  “Cecil…”

  As she was pining about the ring, her father and her mother looked at her with rather… angered expressions; they weren’t very happy with her right now.

  “My daughter, if you don’t want to be grounded for the whole month, you better apologize!” said Elphiette.

  “If you don’t stop this right now, I will not teach you any more swordsmanship teiques, and fet about ever askio buy you anything!” The king roared.

  “Eep! W-Wait, don’t get mad at me; it’s her fault…” Cecil cried, but then lowered her head.

  And at the end, she looked at me with an annoyed expression.

  “Sorry, I guess…”

  It was a bit funny, to be ho. Her parents are rather strict when push es to shove, though she’s still a very spoiled child.

  “It is fine.” I smiled. “And indeed! She has great potential and talent! I would gdly take her under my wing. I shall teach her the way of cultivation and also meditation; she must first learn to keep herself calm and not be driven by anger.”

  “Yeah, she attacked you madly without thinking.” Elphiette sighed. “Anybody else that wasn’t like you would have simply killed her; you are indeed very merciful, Bing Xue.”

  “To me, children are children; they are still learning and deserve to always be given new opportunities.” I smiled. “Cecil, let’s get along.”

  “Hmph,” she said, looking elsewhere without wanting to even talk to me.

  Oh well, I hope she soften a bit with Hekita at least; I know my little daughter is too cute to resist.

  I am looking forward to their friendship iure; Hekita needs more friends after all.

  “Anyways, moving on, we’ve addressed many things, but I am still quite curious about several things, and I assume you are of mine,” I said. “So you are free to ask some things in exge.”

  The King g the Queen as the two nodded.

  “Alright, here’s my first question,” the King said. “Are you an ally, Bing Xue? And would... would you also protect my people?”

  “That is an iing question.” I smiled. “I could say I would be your ally, as long as your heart is ho. Your people… Do you mean those that came from Floor 74? It's hard to say I wouldn’t protect them. I’ve even protected the people on Floor 1 a couple of times. If they live on my phen I would protect them, yes. That even includes you and your family. You’ve bee Earthlings, whether you like it or not. So you are under my prote... as long as you don’t suddenly try to kill me.”

  The king’s eyes widened alongside his wife, and they looked at the flain, seemingly surprised.

  “I see…” he sighed. “I was pletely wrong this eime… I should indeed have tried to talk first. Violence, violence, violence… Always violent, my head has been filled with that since I was a child by my father and my family. I was traio bee strohan anything and anybody, to quer and sughter. For the first time, I’ve realized that there’s another path than beginning everything with a fight.”

  “You’re learning then,” I nodded. “You probably have a couple of issues with your family, especially your father, I assume?”

  “Way too many, perhaps,” he sighed again. “But that is not something for you to be ed about, Bing Xue. Whatever happens in my family stays there. I will solve it on my own.”

  “I wonder how true that statement is... Caesar, you have a wife and a daughter, and there’s even another child on the way too. You should try to be more careful and appreciate your life. Don’t be reckless, and if possible, train,” I said. “sider my ain.”

  “I-I- huh? Another child on the way?!” Caesar looked at Elphiette.

  “I nning to tell you eventually, but I was a bit afraid you would be upset,” sighed Elphiette.

  “I would never be upset about such a thing, my dear!” Caesar hugged Elphiette, kissing her. “I thought it was very rare for ao be pregnant by a human. Cecil alone was a miracle... to think a sed child will bless us so soon.”

  “I don’t know which ge is; hopefully, a boy this time,” Elphiette smiled, caressing her husband’s face. “Let’s work together to make a pce where they live peacefully, dear.”

  “Yeah…” Caesar nodded. “I think I’ll accept your offer, Bing Xue.”

  “Oh? So soon!” I giggled. “It seems that knowing about a sed child made you resider things.”

  “Yes, it has bee even more urgent now,” he said. “If my siblings e for my head, I ’t stay as weak as I am. Nothing is saying they won’t be strohemselves after so long since I’ve seen them.”

  “Well said, you never know how your enemy could have progressed while you weren’t looking at them,” I nodded. “It is a saying ba Murim to never uimate those that run away and e back ter.”

  “A very true one.” Caesar said. “Cecil, aren’t you happy? Your father will join you as well, and you’re having a little sibling!”

  “R-Really?!” Cecil got happy immediately. “Wow! And- Hm? What do you mean this didn’t happen in the inal story? Agh, just shut up!”

  She talked to herself again. What’s wrong with this girl?

  Does she have some sort of mental problem, perhaps?

  No, I’ve analyzed her health, even her brain, and she’s healthy and fine.

  Something odd is happening with her...

  Maybe in her soul? But I don’t want to analyze it while we’re here; her father and her mother are very strong anyway and would easily detect it if I tried looking at her soul.

  They might think of that as some sort of attack, so I will refrain myself from making them panic.

  “Cecil, are you okay? You’re talking to yourself again,” her mhed.

  “S-Sorry, won’t happen again…” Cecil sighed. “And I’m happy about it too!”

  It seems that not only the King but also the Princess will bey disciples.

  If possible, I would also take the Queen; she has potential and great magic powers.

  “The Queen is also invited; your entire family could e train below my wing. I won’t be here personally, but I will leave my doppelgangers, es made out of my powers ected to my mind directly,” I said.

  “Me too? But I am not really a fighter,” the Queen said. “I… well, I am a Priestess of the Spirit Tree. My tears heal any wound, and my magic is mostly healing and prote.”

  “Hm, but you’re still frail yourself, right?” I asked. “There is no harm in being stronger; it is not something you ’t do. Even if you’re a pacifist, I teach you ways for pacifists to also fight and defend themselves. The Meditation Teiques and the Defeeiques of the Monks of Murim e to mind; they are all very good at that.”

  “There’s such a thing?” wohe Queen. “Well, I suppose I could do it if the entire family is ing!”

  “Very well, three new disciples then! A good harvest indeed.” I nodded with a smile. “I think I could tell you more about Murim as I train you. For now, I o ask you more questions, your majesty. Your father… How many worlds has he quered so far? And do you have aimation of his power level?”

  “Our inal world was Floor 74, but Father has quered seven worlds so far, from Floor 73 to Floor 66,” he sighed. “There are also a few other dozen worlds not iower, but where the tower is anchored, which he is in the process of quering through his children, me included with Earth.”

  “S-So many worlds?!” Yanisse gasped. “All of them from the Tower too, with their own Gods and heroes…”

  “He’s truly a monster…” my mhed.

  “Hm…” Seth remained in silence.

  “So that’s how he works; he’s going down, not up?” I asked.

  “He’s amassing power and gods to fight the gods of Floor 75,” he nodded. “He wants to quer the eower and reach Floor 100 to receive his wish.”

  “Wait, wish?” I wondered.

  “You didn’t know? I guess I old you…” My mhed. “Yes, it was stated at the beginning that those that reach Floor 100 will be given a Wish by the Tower Master. It is one of the main driving forces of all climbers.”

  “It’s different for the Gods, they have to defeat the worlds above their own to climb the tower with each floor,” said Caesar. “As a result, they gain more power and create world aions, where several worlds bee one. But aside from my father’s quest, no other world has dohis so… effitly.”

  “A true queror and tyrant,” sighed Seth. “And your wife, I suppose she es from one of those worlds, right?”

  “I don’t really like your tone, oner, but yes,” the King said. “I will let those manners slide because you are Bing Xue’s disciple. My wife Elphiette is one of the princesses of Floor 71, the daughter of that floor’s only goddess, the {Fairy Empress of the World Tree}.”

  “Yeah…” nodded Elphiette. “My mother and my entire family—no, our entire world has bee part of the Empire, annexed. My people are now sves to the empire. The Emperor forcefully married my mother, making her one of his many es. And the rest of her daughters and sons were married to his own children. My marriage with Caesar was also like this, but over time, I got to know him, and I learned of his pure heart and fell in love with him. He gave me hope, hope that I had long ago lost.” She held his hand tightly.

  “Sving and quering, huh?” I smiled. “He’s a prime didate for some deicide, isn’t he?”

  -----

  Pach