Brewing tea was impossible; in fact, the catgirl maid didn't know how to brew tea. She simply went out to find the butler, relayed my request to him, bowed slightly, and then left to do her own work.
The butler, though somewhat puzzled, suppressed his curiosity upon seeing me and nodded, bowing slightly, "Good morning, Young Master Roa."
"Young Master" was just a title; Roa didn't mind it and nodded slightly in polite response.
The butler brewed a pot of tea for Roa, still using the familiar recipe, and the taste was almost the same.
It wasn't particularly good, but it wasn't bad either.
After waiting for a moment, Philip finally walked out of his room.
The young noble was dressed appropriately, looking gentlemanly in his brown suit, which seemed to be his trademark. He looked somewhat surprised to see Roa, as he usually didn't interact much with him.
Surprise aside, Philip still smiled, sitting across from Roa, and nodded slightly, "Good morning, Roa."
"Good morning, Mr. Philip," Roa nodded in return.
"It's rare to see you looking for me; you must have something to discuss?" Philip got straight to the point without any small talk.
Roa nodded and expressed his prepared thoughts, "I want Eris to come with me to the Holy Land of Swords. It would be beneficial for her, and since you've been with Eris for so long, you know what kind of girl she is. The noble life doesn't suit her; she has shown enough talent in swordsmanship and enough resilience. I admire her and hope to take her further."
Philip looked at Roa, the golden-haired, golden-eyed boy, with a half-smile and said nonchalantly, "Is it just admiration?"
Roa shrugged, leaning back in his chair, "More or less."
Philip nodded in acknowledgment, but then his expression turned serious. He said solemnly, "It seems you still don't understand. I didn't hire the Sword King Ghislaine specifically to be Eris's teacher; it's just that Ghislaine can be her teacher, so I arranged for her to be temporarily beside Eris. Ghislaine's real duty is to protect the family's safety, not to be a teacher."
Roa nodded, waiting for Philip to continue.
Philip continued, "I don't know what you think, but since Eris was born into the family, I can indulge her in small matters. Even if she wants to do something excessive, I will try to satisfy her as much as possible. However, in the face of family interests, she doesn't have much choice."
Roa's eyes narrowed slightly, and he didn't speak, as the atmosphere fell into silence.
Philip still wore a smile; their positions were not opposed; he was merely stating a fact.
A fact that Eris had never considered.
If it weren't for Roa, if it weren't for Rudeus's appearance, Philip had decided to wait until his daughter was older, send her to the king's palace, and then find a way to eliminate the emperor.
Since she was a noble enjoying the conveniences that come with being a noble daughter, she had to bear the obligations of a noble daughter.
Don't talk about fairness; this is normal; that's how nobility works.
There was nothing to complain about; it was just that now there was a better option, and Philip chose to suppress that idea.
Roa's strength was formidable. If he could truly become the Sword God of the Seven Great Powers, then there would be plenty of room for maneuvering.
Even if Roa wouldn't charge into the Asura Royal family to eliminate all the scum, he could still use his influence.
In a way, their thoughts were not far apart.
Philip wanted to use Roa's reputation and emotions to manipulate things, while Roa wanted Philip to leverage the old Sword God's prestige to do the same.
Both ideas were valid; this approach could provide a certain degree of protection. At the very least, the Royal family's wolves would be somewhat wary.
But the difference was that Roa only thought about the Philip family's self-preservation, while Philip wanted the possibility of further advancement.
Becoming the old Sword God's disciple? No, no, no, that's not enough.
Why not directly become the new Sword God's wife?
That was Philip's idea, and he indeed noticed that Eris had a high regard for Roa. Since that was the case, why not go with the flow?
The idea was good, and in reality, there weren't many flaws.
But Philip didn't expect that Roa would take the initiative to discuss this matter.
So the question arose: should he agree to Roa's request?
Let Eris accompany Roa to the Holy Land of Swords.
Philip tapped his fingers on the table, a subconscious action when he was thinking.
Philip spoke, "Does Ghislaine need to go too?"
Roa nodded, "Ghislaine needs to go as well; not just Eris, I also need her introduction."
"That's reasonable," Philip pondered.
Then he looked up at Roa and said, "I need a promise from you that you will help us in times of danger."
Roa didn't immediately agree but countered, "Just in times of danger?"
Philip sighed, gazing at the distant sky, which was gray and overcast, the sunlight obscured by gray clouds, indicating that a light rain was likely.
"Just in times of danger. So, if you agree, I can let my daughter and Ghislaine temporarily follow you. Of course, it can't be for too long, just one month. Ghislaine must return within a month; that's my bottom line. If those nobles find out that Ghislaine is not by our side, they will definitely think of other things."
Roa shrugged, showing little reaction to Philip's words.
However, the originally lazy Roa suddenly straightened up, raised a finger at Philip, and said, "I hope you agree to one more condition, a very simple condition."
Philip raised an eyebrow, quietly waiting for more.
"I want Eris to be able to follow me in the future; there's no need for her to make any sacrifices for the family."
Roa's expression was calm, but he unconsciously exuded a chilling aura.
Philip's smile froze, feeling an unprecedented pressure.
Taking a deep breath, Philip's smile faded. After thinking for a moment, he surprisingly didn't propose any additional conditions and directly agreed.
"Okay." Philip's lips curled up, restoring his previous smile.
Roa looked at the handsome and elegant noble before him, gave him a deep look, and nodded, "Then it's settled."
Philip was a competent businessman; the so-called promise was not his true purpose; he sought more.
Roa could make such a request, indicating that he cared about Eris.
Regardless of whether they would become each other's spouses in the future, their relationship would certainly not be simple.
With this layer of relationship, many things could be resolved.
This was far beyond what a verbal promise could compare to.
Rather than making a slightly larger request, it was better to give the other party a face, allowing them to accept this favor.
Philip's calculations were precise, and his abacus was almost hitting Roa's face, but Roa didn't mind Philip's little thoughts.
Everyone has their own way of survival. Philip was a noble and also a businessman. He wanted to find a backing, which Roa could understand. As long as it didn't touch the bottom line, Roa didn't mind helping him a bit.
After settling things with Philip, Roa found Ghislaine and briefly explained the situation to him.
Ghislaine frowned, gave a faint "oh," and didn't say anything further.
Ghislaine was like that; once hired by the employer, whatever the employer said was what it was.
Nodding to indicate he understood, Ghislaine asked, "When do we depart?"
Roa thought for a moment, "I originally planned to leave today, but since you're coming with me, let's leave tomorrow. Prepare what you need."
The beastman warrior looked up in confusion and asked, "What do we need?"
Roa thought for a moment and said, "Things like clothing, food, and drink."
After detailing what needed to be brought, Roa considered that since he was taking Eris away, Rudeus would definitely not stay behind. After all, the back of the red dragon was large enough to accommodate another little blonde kid.
What was originally a solo journey instantly turned into a four-person team vacation.
Finding Rudeus and explaining the reason, Rudeus showed a happy expression upon hearing that he could travel and that Roa would protect him along the way.
But thinking about going to an unfamiliar place, Rudeus's introverted nature made him instinctively want to back out.
However, even if he wanted to back out, it was useless; under Roa's coercion, he had to go this time.
That evening, in Roa's room, he explained the situation to Eris, who immediately threw herself into Roa's arms.
"In short, here's the situation. Of course, your stay won't be too long, just one month. After one month, even if you want to stay there, I will have Ghislaine bring you back."
Roa warned Eris, "So, how much you can learn depends on your progress over there."
Eris obediently nodded, looking like she wouldn't cause any trouble while there.
The more she acted like this, the more Roa felt a headache coming on.
But still, it was a case-by-case analysis; we would see how things went at that time.
The next morning, Roa prepared to set off with the family.
Because his daughter was going out, Philip and Eris's mother came to see them off. Eris's mother looked unhappy; she didn't understand why Eris had to go so far away.
Philip patted his daughter's head, said a few encouraging words, and waved goodbye as he watched Roa and the others leave.
The weather that day was slightly better than yesterday; although it was still gloomy, it didn't rain lightly.
The autumn air swept in, and a gentle breeze rustled everyone's clothes.
At Roa's request, Eris and Rudeus specifically wore long robes.
Eris now basically followed Roa's words; even though it was a bit early to wear such clothing, she didn't ask any questions and obediently walked along with everyone.
Stepping out, they headed toward the small town beneath their feet, where the intricate and complex streets lay before them, bustling with merchants coming and going.
Shouts rose and fell, creating a scene of prosperity.
Roa ignored the merchants; he wasn't there to shop, as he had already brought most of what he needed. The Holy Land of Swords wasn't far from the Asura Kingdom, but because the Asura Kingdom was vast, being not far from this country didn't mean it was close to Roa.
However, for the red dragon that could soar through the sky, this was not a problem; it would only take about half a day to reach the destination, while traveling by horse would take at least three days.
Leaving the small town, they stopped under a crooked tree. Roa asked everyone to wait. Under Ghislaine's curious gaze, Roa chose not to ride a horse.
Roa unleashed his magic, and the vast magical power transformed into threads, rapidly spreading around him.
The dark threads burrowed into the ground, instantly enveloping most of the surrounding area, transmitting information back to Roa.
On a distant cliff, the red dragon was resting with its eyes closed. Upon sensing the familiar power, it suddenly opened its crimson eyes, stretched, spread its massive wings, and soared toward Roa's location, following the familiar aura.
In no time, everyone saw a red dragon approaching them at high speed.
Ghislaine frowned, instinctively gripping the hilt of his sword, and warned everyone, "Red dragon? Why is a red dragon here? Everyone, be careful!"
Roa stopped Ghislaine, who was about to strike the red dragon with a Sword of Light, feeling somewhat embarrassed, "This is my pet, um, also our means of transportation. If you damage it, our journey might be delayed by a few more days."
Ghislaine furrowed her brow, staring at Roa, fully displaying her inquisitive nature.
"Aren't red dragons impossible to tame? Roa, are you sure it won't throw us down when we're flying in the air?"
Ghislaine didn't distrust Roa; it was just that this matter seemed a bit absurd.
"It won't, Master Ghislaine; the red dragon is a very docile dragon," Rudeus chimed in to explain.
Seeing this, Ghislaine didn't say anything more and nodded, "Alright then."
The red dragon descended from above, its enormous wings spreading out, blocking what little sunlight there was, and landed successfully.
When the Red Dragon saw Roa, it moved forward and rubbed its forehead against him.
As soon as Eris saw the Red Dragon, her eyes lit up, her throat bobbed, and she swallowed nervously.
A giant dragon.
This was a living, breathing giant dragon. Although the Red Dragon's combat power was not as formidable as the black dragon in fairy tales, there was no doubt that it was a dragon-type creature.
Look at those smooth scales; even high-level magic could not penetrate the Red Dragon's scales. The Red Dragon's breath could instantly turn everyone in a small town to ashes.