Chapter 185: A Daughter’s Yearning
Alancho’s words caused the two servants to gasp and prompted Auri to exclaim, "What?!"
Angel, on the other hand, merely furrowed her brows slightly as she looked at Alancho, wondering if the famed general was being serious.
Natalia obviously had a similar thought as Angel, as she quickly interjected, "Father, don’t mess with Drai like that."
"Who’s messing with him?" Alancho replied, still with a grin.
"But—it’ll just be a light spar, right?" Natalia asked, visibly worried.
Instead of answering her, Alancho asked, "Drai, would you prefer a casual spar or a serious duel?"
Everyone there turned to Drai and finally realized that he wasn’t shocked or wary. Instead, his eyes were brimming with excitement.
"If possible, I’d like to try going all out against you," he replied before shyly adding, "...Uncle."
Drai’s answer prompted a hearty laugh from Alancho, then he said, "See, my dear daughter? That’s how a real man responds to a challenge! How admirable, young friend!"
Alancho then stood up and asked the butler, "Tom, the arena has been repaired, right?"
"Yes, Master," Tom replied with a small bow. "Would you like to use it?"
"Of course. Where else can we fight to our heart’s content?"
"Then I’ll get it ready, Master," Tom said before leaving in haste.
Alancho then walked over to Drai and patted his shoulder, saying, "Let’s go, Drai."
Following this, the two left without a word, leaving the rest of them speechless.
Eventually, Auri said, "Shouldn’t we follow them, Nat? Surely you want to watch."
It took a moment for Natalia to reply, "Okay."
The three ladies stood and left the table, leaving the maid to clean up.
Natalia led them deeper into the mansion, where they entered a hallway and passed several rooms until they reached a dead end, facing a knobless door.
Natalia pressed her thumb on the small scanner beside the door and waited. A few minutes later, the door slid open, revealing a small compartment.
Natalia stepped in, followed by Auri and Angel. Shortly after, the door closed, and the compartment began to descend slowly.
"How modern... Our houses don’t have elevators," Auri remarked as she examined the plain surroundings.
"If it weren’t for my father’s special arena, we wouldn’t have one either. He had it built really deep, so stairs wouldn’t be practical," Natalia replied.
Noticing her friend’s concerned look, Auri asked, "Are you that worried about Drai? Uncle Alancho wouldn’t get carried away, would he?"
Hearing this, Natalia heavily sighed before saying, "It’s not like that. I’m just... anxious. Not about the fight’s outcome, but about my father’s course of action after that."
"Huh?" Auri exclaimed, puzzled. But before she could question the statement, Natalia had already continued.
"Aside from personal might, there’s only one other thing in the world my father can get unusually greedy about—talent. Based on the stories I’ve heard, since his captaincy days, my father had been constantly taking in talented people, whether they were found through scouting or stumbled upon incidentally. If I have to guess, my father will probably ask Drai to join his ranks if Drai impresses him enough, which I’m sure he will if he really doesn’t hold back."
"Hmm, that makes sense," Auri remarked. "It would’ve been nearly impossible for Uncle Alancho to obtain his current rank in record time if he had fully relied on himself—he must have plenty incredibly capable subordinates. But why are you anxious about this, Nat? Are you against Drai becoming a soldier? Do you secretly hate the military or something?"
Natalia went silent for a few moments before she finally replied, "I just don’t want to lose the small bit of attention my father is currently giving me."
Auri’s jaw slightly dropped upon hearing the completely unexpected answer. Standing behind the two girls, Angel also silently shifted her gaze toward Natalia.
"Why are you surprised, Auri? You should’ve known how insecure I am ever since you heard me ramble back in the underground jungle," Natalia said with a strained smile upon noticing Auri’s expression.
"Well... I thought that side of you was mainly due to peer rivalry. I didn’t realize you have daddy issues too..."
"Daddy issues, huh? I never thought of it like that, but maybe you’re right. You know what, Auri? I actually have been thinking that the attack on our campus was a blessing in disguise."
"Eh?"
"Shameful, isn’t it? While others had suffered and even died from the incident, I instead feel grateful for being mentored by my father again. The abduction attempt and my quick level up seemed to have ignited his long-lost personal interest in my growth. Although his lessons are brief and not really personalized, I can’t deny that they mean the world to me."
Grabbing Natalia’s hand, Auri asked, "So you’re worried that Drai will take all your father’s attention?"
Natalia silently nodded.
"Come on, Nat, aren’t you overthinking it? I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think. Can’t you request for at least an hour of daily mentoring to Uncle? Surely that’s not too much to ask."
"You don’t understand, Auri. Like I said, when dealing with talent, especially one that’s as exceptional as Drai, my father will gladly spend most of his free time nurturing him—he’ll even free up his schedule if needed. Why else would such amazing people stay so loyal to him? He was basically more than a father to them, which I found ironic, since he had to neglect me, his only daughter, in the process!
"I know my talent isn’t much compared to his countless mentees, but still... If only my mother were still with us, I wouldn’t feel this bad. But the reality is, he’s my only family left, Auri..."
Tears swelled up in Natalia’s eyes, prompting Auri to hug her tight. Auri knew that unlike the Velles, the Skyward wasn’t a well-established family.
It was publicly known that Alancho was but a nameless migrant who had moved to Rivideria in search of better opportunities. Amidst his rapid rise, he fell in love with a young lady he met during one of his border missions, who turned out to be an orphan with no other relatives. The two ended up marrying, which should’ve marked the start of a new familial dynasty.
Unfortunately, fate had a different path in store. After giving birth to Natalia, her mother couldn’t seem to conceive a second child. Eventually, when Natalia was still pretty young, her mother suddenly fell ill. From then on, her health only worsened until one stormy night, she finally breathed her last.
It was unknown why Alancho never sought to remarry, but considering the Skyward’s current situation, their glory was in risk of being short-lived.
Just then, their descent halted, and the door soon slid open, revealing an ivory-colored hallway, seemingly constructed out of some kind of metal. Out of nowhere, Tom’s voice was heard, seemingly from speakers.
Miss Natalia and our dear guests, as per Master Alancho’s instructions, please proceed directly to the spectator room.
Wiping her subsiding tears, Natalia said, "Let’s go."
Auri let go, and the three exited the elevator, heading down the hallway. Soon, they reached a junction. Identical hallways stretched to their left and right, whereas in front of them was a staircase leading up.
Natalia walked up the stairs, so the other two followed suit. After a brief climb, they finally arrived at a large room. The area was mostly empty aside from the stacks of chairs at a corner and a table with a water dispenser and several stacks of paper cups on it. And spanning across one side of the room was a transparent wall that overlooked the arena.
"Honestly, I had expected more when I heard ’spectator area’—I guess the ones pictured in martial arts movies aren’t that accurate," Auri remarked.
"What did you expect? Lavish sofas, sumptuous refreshments, pretty boys on standby, maybe a champagne tower too?" Natalia asked with a smirk.
"That and a few other female fantasies," Auri replied, giggling a little. "Anyway, can you grab a few chairs for us, Angel?"
Angel immediately blurred and returned with two chairs in each hand shortly after. She set two of them just before the viewing wall and put the rest aside.
"Thanks," Auri said as she took a seat. Natalia settled into the other chair, her gaze focused on the two figures standing apart far below.
Despite being referred to as an "arena", the space before them, several times larger than the room they were in, was just a huge metal room that was completely unornamented. In Auri’s eyes, the sight before her looked more like the interior of a warehouse than a dueling venue.
Just then, Tom’s voice was heard again.
Arena audio feed is now active.
Following this, Alancho’s voice resounded in the observer room.
Ladies, are you watching? Make sure to make yourselves comfy, okay? If my hunch hasn’t gone rusty yet, this duel will probably last longer than a minute.
While Natalia murmured incomprehensibly, Auri remarked, "Does Uncle Alancho plan to hold back that much? If he also goes all out, the duel should only last a few seconds at most, right?"
Surprisingly, it was Angel who responded, saying, "Based on Miss Natalia’s account, the general will want to assess the young master’s ’talent’ before concluding the bout. Otherwise, this event holds no meaning."
"Oh—you’re right," Auri replied, a bit perplexed by her aide’s uncharacteristically long answer.
However, Angel’s commentary didn’t stop at that, as she went on to say, "I don’t think you should worry much, Miss Natalia."
Natalia was now the one perplexed. Turning to Angel, she asked, "What do you mean?"
Standing beside Auri, Angel’s gaze shifted toward the arena below, where the two men were removing their outerwear, changing into plainer ones.
"Young master Drai’s potential... seems to be beyond comprehension," she whispered. "It’s something that perhaps nobody can truly conceive, appreciate, and nurture—even for someone like the Great General."
Angel’s cryptic statement caused the two girls to eye her in bafflement.
"W-what the hell are you saying, Angel?" Auri blurted. "If that’s the case, isn’t Drai better off not attending the academy?"
"Surely a sixth-stager like my father has plenty of things to teach him, especially since they’re both melee fighters," Natalia added.
With her eyes glued onto the white haired youngster below, Angel flatly replied, "I didn’t say that the young master cannot learn from others. However, he would likely soar above his mentors long before they could impart even half of their knowledge and wisdom."
Still unconvinced, Natalia questioned, "How come you’re so sure about this?"
Instead of replying, Angel diverted mana into her eyes, causing them to change colors and glow, resembling embers.
Seeing this, Auri remarked, "Is that a skill?"
"Yes, and a practically useless one. It gauges one’s potential, portraying it as a fire in my mind."
"What?! That should be overpowered, shouldn’t it?!" Natalia blurted as she pictured the possible uses of such a skill.
"I thought so too when I first acquired it, but my perception of it has completely changed after witnessing that bright flames could dim and tiny sparks could also burst aflame. Even yours fluctuates slightly on a daily basis, Young Miss Auri," Angel said while bowing slightly, somewhat apologetic for her permissionless peering.
However, Auri totally ignored the matter as a more important question filled her mind.
"So how big is Drai’s fire?" she asked. Beside her, Natalia gripped her chair tight as she stared hard at Angel, similarly desperate to know.
Without turning, Angel said, "It’s my policy to never precisely reveal these ’potentials’, so I’ll just give you the general idea. Compared to both of yours, the general’s fire is overwhelmingly brighter. However, compared to the young master’s, his is but a fleeting torchlight. That’s all I can say."
Auri and Natalia looked at each other before shifting their gazes to Drai, who was moving around in the distance, presumably warming up. Both girls’ expressions were mixtures of disbelief, astonishment, and apprehension.
Meanwhile, Angel peered through Drai with her skill a bit longer before finally deactivating it. She then raised her hand in reflex and massaged her sore eyes, which had become extremely strained from the raging inferno that had just flooded her vision.
