I slowly open my eyes, and beside me, Brendu is waking up as well. She stretches her body from side to side on the bed, every movement meant to keep herself from falling asleep again.
I reluctantly get out of bed. Today is one of those rare days when I want to stay lying down and do absolutely nothing, but I can't. I'm being kicked out of my own house today. I go through my usual morning stretching routine, and by the time I finish, my body is warm and my mind is clear.
Brendu is still staring at a shoe on the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the room. She hasn't moved for the last two minutes. "Come on, Princess, the day has already started and we're late." I'm not lying. It's about two hours later than when I usually wake up.
I pick Brendu up and throw her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She doesn't make any effort to resist, simply seeming to accept her fate. We both come out completely showered and ready to start the day, although she stays behind in a corner to do her makeup.
"See you tonight." I kiss Brendu on the forehead before leaving the house.
"Please don't cause any trouble. I won't be there to control you or save you, so be careful." She only gives me a brief glance, her eyes warning me to behave myself.
"I'm a saint. I won't cause trouble just because you're not around." I roll my eyes as I put on a cap and disappear from the room. I don't want to keep hearing that I'll cause trouble wherever I go.
Out of all the options I had in mind, I chose the simplest one. It's a perfect day to be someone peaceful.
"How's everyone doing? Did you miss me?" I appear in the middle of a large green courtyard, the grass neatly maintained. All the children around me turn at the same time. I hear several shouts before they all rush toward me in a stampede.
I'm happy to see most of them approaching without fear. Only a few come more slowly, carefully controlling every one of their movements. They're all among the oldest and understand my position better. The younger ones simply forgot what their caretakers had told them, or they didn't care.
I start handing out candy to all of them, answer a few casual questions, and tell them they can go back to playing with each other. Once most of them finally detach themselves from my body, I can stand up again.
I toss a couple of treats to each child who remained standing stiffly like a soldier, and all of them catch every little object by reflex.
I smile slightly as I watch their serious expressions change for a few seconds when they see the treats in their hands. They quickly compose themselves again, but not before putting everything into their pockets.
"You're not soldiers, and I'm not a general. You can relax a little, guys." I try to ease those tense faces and rigid postures.
I can see Mauricio glance slightly toward one of the orphanage windows. In that direction, one of the directors is watching the children through the window, although the curtains make her difficult to see. The woman nods energetically while they remain in that position.
I don't want to cause the children to be punished by forcing them to disobey orders, and I also understand that this is a good thing. Every one of them is following the director's instructions, which says a lot about the respect they have for the people who take care of them. I don't want to cause any kind of misunderstanding.
I'll make only one exception. The smallest of the entire group is standing just as rigidly, her eyes looking upward so she can meet mine. I definitely intend to force her to act like her usual self. I move so quickly that she doesn't have time to react.
Rafaela lets out a small squeal when she realizes her feet are no longer touching the ground. I've lifted her into my arms and I'm spinning around with her. "Did you miss me? It'll hurt to find out that I'm the only one who missed you."
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I grin from ear to ear. At first, she looks hesitant, but after a few seconds of spinning through the air, she lets out a loud laugh she'd been holding back and her adorable smile appears. "I missed you, Big Brother. It's been really boring without you."
The little girl's words touch my heart. The entire plan to adopt her is already ninety percent complete, with only a few minor details remaining. What surprised me in the middle of this entire process and story was Sers becoming involved in the plan.
My brother and his partner, Ivad, decided to take her in. They'll officially be responsible for raising her, and on paper, they're the ones who took in a distant relative after her tragic story.
Sers and Ivad want their son to grow up seeing Rafaela as an older sister. They're delighted with the little girl's personality and consider her the perfect person to serve as an example for their future son.
Rafaela also loves them very much, especially Ivad, who has come to visit her several times. They've spent time together and formed a strong bond. The two of them had great chemistry from the very beginning.
Rafaela is quite mature. Even at her young age, she understands that being a noble is something very important and dangerous, but Ivad has almost no responsibilities within her small noble family, and Sers isn't the heir either.
I'm quite happy that both of them decided to help me with this, and everyone benefits from it. So far, there hasn't been a single downside.
"I brought you a present." I take out two twin swords perfectly sized for her, made from a very expensive metal. This metal has excellent properties: its durability is many times greater because of the alloy; it conducts Imra and mana efficiently, with almost no obstruction; and it's quite light and easy to repair with the necessary materials.
Little Rafaela's eyes widen. I can see excitement radiating from her body—I can literally see and feel it through her Imra. She instinctively takes the weapons, but once they're in her hands, she hesitates slightly and looks back at me. I simply encourage her to use them.
She begins the routine we'd practiced before. Rafaela completes it as if it were something incredibly simple, without making a single mistake in any step or movement.
I can see the envy on the faces of the other older children. The funniest one is Marcus. The green-eyed boy is practically drooling as he stares at the pair of weapons in his little friend's hands.
"I brought one for each of you too." I memorized their preferences and had weapons made for them that are almost as good as Rafaela's. Although their quality is slightly lower, they're still something that would normally be impossible for them to obtain while living in an orphanage.
Maybe they'll have the opportunity to get something like this if they reach Sapphire Rank and become very strong. Who knows. The children lose their composure, each of them jumping in place and hugging one another in celebration.
"Lady Dolfi has them. She'll give them to you when she thinks the time is right." I hate ruining their happiness, but I also don't want to give them gifts while trampling over the authority of the woman who runs this place. She knows them better than I do and will know when to give the weapons to them.
The poor kids freeze for a moment and look rather miserable. Hearing the name of the woman in charge of the orphanage also reminds them of something, and they return to their previous positions. They look like the town guards... it seems they're taking this really seriously.
I wouldn't be surprised to see them become proper guards in a few years. They have enough talent to reach Sapphire Rank. If they're lucky and receive the necessary support, they could reach Ruby Rank without much trouble.
"You can keep training, soldiers. Get those stiff bodies moving a little." As if I'd given them an order, the children immediately obey me. Each of them grabs a wooden weapon and starts practicing; I can only roll my eyes.
I move on to the most important thing: practicing with Rafaela. "Let's practice. Come on, bring your new toys." The little girl looks excited, but then her expression turns ugly. She looks at her new weapons and then at me, her gaze shifting back and forth between them and me.
"Don't worry about hurting me. You couldn't even scratch me if I fell asleep." I mean it. No matter how talented she is at swordsmanship, she's still harmless to me. Even if she used a sword capable of killing Diamond Ranks, she wouldn't be able to do anything to break through my natural defenses.
She nods decisively and tries to take advantage of my distraction to land a hit. Although I can follow the attack and dodge it, I do the exact opposite. I remain still and take it head-on, strengthening my body slightly with Imra.
Rafaela's surprise attack does nothing. Her sword bounces off my face and she nearly loses her balance; I don't have a single scratch. "I told you, you can't do anything to me." Her control over mana and Imra is slightly better than that of other children her age, but it's still pitiful compared to mine when I was her age.
I'm amazed by her movements. This time, I decide to move according to her actions, my body reacting perfectly to each of her attacks as though we were at the same rank. That will give her more genuine combat experience.
Every one of her movements is perfect. There isn't a single wasted step, and her body dances rhythmically with mine. Her swordsmanship is fast, fierce, and intimidating; this girl truly is something unique. She has the potential to become even better than me at wielding twin swords.