Chapter 149: Early Education (4)

Mana gathered, and within it, thirteen attributes danced like they were in a frenzy. Louis could vividly sense this entire process unfolding. He knew exactly what this phenomenon meant, as it was identical to what had happened with Kendrick just yesterday.

The problem now was that this wasn’t occurring with Kendrick.

Louis stared incredulously at the red energy swirling around Tania.

…She’s awakened already?

He had given both Kendrick and Tania roughly the same instructions, but he hadn’t harbored high expectations for either of them. However, Louis’s predictions were about to be beautifully proven wrong.

No, it completely upended his expectations.

“Wow…”

At four years old, most children were just beginning to string words together, running after their parents with a repetitive “Ba-ba-ba.”

Kendrick, Louis’s six-year-old son, had astonishingly awakened elemental power, but now four-year-old Tania had done the same in a flash.

Any mystic or warrior on the continent hearing about this would dismiss it as nonsense, yet Louis bear witness to that unbelievable feat unfolding right before him.

“How long did it take?”

Louis checked his watch. It’d been roughly four hours since he first gave Tania a rough explanation of how to awaken her ability. His face reflected astonishment once again.

“Only four hours?!”

The Kendrick from Earth had taken half a day to become the first awakened human of his world—a remarkable feat even for someone bestowed with a unique genius quality in human history. Yet Tania surpassed him. This meant that, at least when it came to elemental power, Tania’s talent outshone Kendrick’s.

Louis observed the swirling red energy around Tania without saying a word. Flame attribute, just like Kendrick…

His expression turned solemn.

“How ironic…”

Both he and Tania were characters who hadn’t appeared in the original story because they died early on. However, this very same character held extraordinary potential beyond comparison.

As the first dragon with four attributes, Louis…

Even Tania, with abilities surpassing Sword Saint, the most talented of humankind.

“…Is this also part of the fate I was given?” Louis murmured as he glanced at Tania, who had opened her eyes.

She moved her fingers almost curiously at the sensation she felt. Then, after making eye contact with Louis, she eagerly rushed toward him.

“Hehe.” Louis looked down at Tania clinging to his leg and couldn’t help but chuckle.

This is truly…a clear sign that I should raise her.

It was like having a pumpkin roll up to me right before my eyes—I couldn’t possibly ignore it.

“Hohoho.” The corners of Louis’s mouth spread further into a smile.

“Tania.”

“Yes!”

“From tomorrow on, you’ll come with your big brother too.”

“Yes!”

“It’s yes, not yeah!”

“Yessir!”

And so, on that day, Louis gained another disciple.

Three years had passed since Louis accepted Kendrick and Tania as his disciples.

During this time, Louis had focused on teaching them basic social skills rather than attribute power or demonic scripture.

Of course, using Fin’s strength while refraining from relying on Pin during education sessions was essential for the spirit of fairness.

However, Louis didn’t completely withdraw from their education either. He took responsibility for nurturing their moral character.

“Today, we will discuss appropriate actions based on different situations.”

As usual, Louis gathered the children in a small space to teach them. He looked at Kendrick and Tania sitting side by side and asked:

“You see a traveler surrounded by bandits while traveling on the road. Here’s the problem! What should be your correct action?”

In response to Louis’s question, Kendrick raised his hand first. He confidently declared:

“We must repel the bandits and save the traveler!”

“What if we don’t have the strength to repel the bandits?”

“Then we must flee with the traveler!”

Louis shook his head at Kendrick’s answer.

“Nope.”

“W-What do you mean?”

Seeing Kendrick’s confusion, Louis calmly explained the correct answer.

“You should run away. Alone.”

“Huh?”

“I already said, you shouldn’t confront the bandits in the first place. Fleeing with the traveler together is too positive a way of thinking. You can’t assume that’s possible.”

“What should we do then?”

“When making any decision, you should always assume the worst-case scenario. Since you don’t have the strength to repel the bandits, how could you possibly escape with the traveler? If you did as you said, you’d both end up losing your heads on the spot.”

”…”

“When you recklessly undertake something without the ability to handle it, that’s called a bold move.”

Kendrick blinked at Louis’s brutally realistic advice, which shattered his childhood innocence. Even as he listened, he seemed uncertain if it was right or wrong.

Louis inwardly tutted at this reaction.

…This idiot has been a pushover since childhood.

In the original work, Sword Saint was a character overflowing with a sense of justice. That might sound like a good thing, but it made him more like a “cancerous character” or a “stubborn potato”—someone who caused endless frustration.

Thinking back on how many times his stomach had churned while reading the original, Louis couldn’t bear the thought of his own disciple making such a fool of himself.

He observed Kendrick, who was still blinking in confusion, and decided to probe further.

“Okay, then, next question. If you had the strength to repel bandits, what would you do?”

Kendrick now answered with certainty: “I’d repel the bandits and protect the pilgrim!”

“And then?”

“…And then?”

Kendrick looked lost, as if he hadn’t thought past that point. Louis’s frustration was palpable.

Just then, a small hand shot up from beside Kendrick.

“Then you should ask for money because you rescued them!”

Tania’s mature response, unexpected from a seven-year-old, made Louis slap his knee.

Thump!

“That’s right!”

The irritation he’d been building with Kendrick melted away at Tania’s comment. He gazed at Tania lovingly.

Look at our Tania! Our neighborhood has a budding genius!

Tania was a prodigy among prodigies—a genius who grasped ten concepts with the mention of one, and could accurately discern the fundamental intent behind the examiner’s questions.

Louis wore a face full of pride, but he quickly wiped it away. As a teacher, he shouldn’t be satisfied with such minor accomplishments. His disciple had awakened to one truth, so shouldn’t Louis apply this knowledge to provide further instruction?

With a solemn expression, Louis spoke, “Ahem. Well done, Tania.”

“Hehe.”

“Kendrick, listen well too. Every action has its price. Where would you get the strength to save a passerby in the first place? It’s all thanks to your hard-earned achievements. If you’ve exerted such effort to drive off bandits, you should demand a reasonable compensation. Let’s call it… let’s call it ‘labor expenses,’ shall we?”

Kendrick looked confused at Louis’s words, while Tania nodded with sparkling eyes.

Louis continued his explanation.

“Now, what if the passerby turns out to be completely destitute, lacking even a penny? That’s when we apply a bit of creativity.”

“How so?” Tania asked, her eyes brimming with anticipation.

Louis smiled at her query.

“First, you clear your mind of any preconceived notions. Ah, this guy’s got nothing? Well, it’s best to give up on such a prospect. What’s the point in wasting time trying to squeeze blood from a stone? That’s when we cast our net wider and consider our surroundings.”

“Our surroundings, sir?”

“Precisely! And where might we turn our gaze, Tania?”

“Hmm…” Tania crossed her arms, pondering the question deeply.

After a moment, an idea struck her, and she tilted her head, asking, ”…The bandits?”

“Spot on!”

“Woohoo!”

“If we’ve wasted our time and resources saving a pauper, then it’s only fair to seek appropriate compensation from someone else, namely, those bandits.”

Tania nodded in agreement with Louis’s plan.

Meanwhile, Kendrick looked flustered and raised a question, his face a picture of bewilderment.

“B-but is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Bandits are just thieves who steal from others anyway. Surely you can plunder the pockets of such shaaarps.”

“I see…” Kendrick cocked his head, looking puzzled. Then, after giving it some thought, he softly nodded.

Louis watched with a satisfied smile as the children absorbed the lessons he taught.

Tania is like a dry sponge, soaking up knowledge hungrily, and though slow, Kendrick is steadily improving.

Louis felt immense pride seeing these diligent children grow. Of course, their parents might have lamented upon witnessing this, but by entrusting their children to Louis, they were essentially courting disaster themselves.

And so…

Day after day…

The children, destined to make their mark on history, began to take on Louis’s unique perspective.

One day, a year later:

Whistle… Valentina hummed as she cleaned Louis’s room.

“Oh, my… Who does our son take after to be so neat?”

She gazed contentedly at the room, which didn’t need much cleaning anyway. Suddenly, she stifled a laugh as her eyes fell on the rabbit plushie named Toto sitting by his desk.

He looks just like our son.

Its white and purple eyes matched Louis perfectly. Although he was too old for plushies now, Louis cherished this one because his father had made it for him.

As she took a last look around the room, she heard a familiar vibrations:

Buzz…

Every day for several weeks now, this sound echoed once a day without fail.

“Heh-heh.”

The faint chime seemed to urge her to answer quickly, and Valentina smiled softly. She took out a pure white sphere from her bosom and infused it with her elemental power. In no time, a voice came through the stone:

“Hello dear? Is this you, Valentina? Can you hear me?”

It was the voice of her beloved husband, and she couldn’t contain her joy.

“Your voice sounds wonderful.”

“Oh… This is truly amazing every time I see it.” Genelocer’s voice was filled with awe.

Valentina, holding the communication stone, also marveled at its capabilities.

How incredible. How did Louis manage to create this?

Just a few days ago, Louis had come to her with several small spheres. His face, blushing as if embarrassed, as he offered her one of these treasures was still vivid in her memory.

Mother, Father, please take these communication stones I made. You should be able to reach even the Silver Flower Castle with them.

Louis handed over the communication stone and disappeared as if feeling ashamed.

At first, Valentina was unsure what to make of it, but she decided to give one of the stones to Genelocer at Silver Flower Castle. Then, just for a test, she tried communicating with him…

Huh? It works! Honey!

Darling!

Just as Louis had claimed, the communication stone’s signal could indeed reach all the way to Silver Flower Castle thanks to its superior performance. This allowed Genelocer, Valentina, and Louis to converse with each other at any time.

Son, how did you create this?

Heh-heh, Mom, it’s a trade secret.

Trade secret or not, you’re still calling me ‘Mom’…

Although Genelocer and Valentina were unaware, Louis had crafted this talisman years ago to lessen his own suffering due to constant interactions via the communication stone.

But why distribute them now, after creating them years ago?

I’m the only one who finds frequent contact painful, you see.

Could Louis really have been unaware of his parents’ nature?

It was obvious that if they knew about the communicators, the communication stones would ring all day long. Yet he still distributed them, knowing full well the implications. This was because ever since adopting Kendrick and Tania as his siblings, Louis had been spending more and more time away from home. He wanted to ensure his parents wouldn’t worry about him.

Little did Louis know, his worries were unfounded, as the communication stones began to ring incessantly after that day:

Louis’s ominous prediction had unfortunately come true. The incessant vibrations raised his blood pressure with each message. He finally managed to calm down Valentina and Genelocer by threatening to confiscate their communication stones if they continued using them so recklessly.

Since then, Louis ignored all their messages unless it was something he absolutely needed to know. Consequently, the communication stone had effectively become a dedicated line exclusively for the Genelocer-Valentina couple.

“Fin told me those children are quite talented, didn’t she? She said Louis is pouring all his love into raising them.”

…If he had any love to spare for humans, shouldn’t it be for this dad? :::

Valentina couldn’t help but snicker at the dejection emanating through the communication stone. She spent the rest of the day comforting her disheartened husband and catching up on their missed chatter. Naturally, their conversation revolved around their one and only beloved son.

While this exchange unfolded between the couple via the communication stone…

Louis, who had ventured into the village, was now…

Ding-dong-ding!

”…What’s that sound now?” He furrowed his brow, bewildered by the sudden chime.