The Beast's Proposal

"There is no separating the wild beast from its nature."

Thus, after sweeping every last one away and rescuing the children, they had tried to entrust them to others. Yet the person who had accepted every other child singled out the smallest one and refused, claiming he could not take him.

"His aggression is considerable. Once triggered into a rampage, the resulting damage is no small matter. Look at him. Even now he rampages like that. This will not be a one-time occurrence. In that case, it would be better to simply kill him…."

They could neither entrust him to anyone nor release him, so he must be killed.

Having heard this argument, Raven silently gazed into the distance at the child who bared his teeth, biting and clawing at people in a frenzy. He watched as those approaching to subdue the child were bitten in some place and hastily retreated.

Indeed, the child was too small.

"……You want me to kill something that young…?"

"He does not stop until he has drawn enough blood to kill one person. There is no other way. Even when we barely manage to knock him unconscious, there is a fifty-fifty chance he wakes even more ferocious. That would mean keeping him unconscious until he calms, but given how difficult it is to knock him out even once, how could that be feasible? This child cannot be socialized."

"Blood enough to kill one person……."

He roughly understood why.

The spectators in the arena preferred gory, agonizing deaths over instant kills, so that was how the child had learned. He had mastered the method of killing with the maximum amount of blood, as cruelly and slowly as possible.

Raven, having casually murmured about such a grave matter, let out a faint laugh and stepped forward.

"It's no big deal."

And so he had declared that he would take the child. Since he was likely the only one who could calm the boy without causing any harm, it had been the natural decision.

Rowina seemed to have judged Raven—who permitted no attacks and offered no counterattacks, only dodging or blocking—as something like a wall. Her interest fading, her gaze began to drift elsewhere. Without hesitation, Raven drew a dagger and sliced open his own arm.

"……!"

"Child."

Blood welled up along the cut and immediately spilled down his arm.

The orange eyes locked instantly onto the wound. Raven smiled and slowly extended his hand.

"Come here."

Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips. This too captured Rowina's gaze. Just as he intended, she paid no attention to anyone else around them and focused solely on the man before her.

Step.

Rowina closed the short distance in a single bound. She ignored the offered hand, seizing instead the wounded arm in a crushing grip. Her thumb, nail raised like a claw, dug sharply into the gash.

"Yes, that's a good girl."

Despite the considerable pain that followed, Raven remained silent. He gently pressed on the now-quieter Rowina's back and the back of her head, drawing her against him.

Fortunately, instead of resisting or thrashing, she seemed to return the embrace, pulling him close.

A little time passed.

Squeeze. The arms wrapped around Raven tightened with sudden force. Sensing the change, he tried to push her back slightly to check her eyes, but before he could, she sank her teeth hard into his shoulder.

Knowing this was both her way of signaling that she had regained her senses and a habitual display of spoiled affection, Raven patted her back instead of forcing her away.

"Looks like you've come back to yourself."

"……."

"I told you this kind of spoiled behavior is troublesome……."

When he had taken her as his disciple, the part he had devoted the most effort to teaching was precisely this matter of rampages.

Controlling a rampage by one's own will and stopping it was so difficult it could be considered impossible at present, so he had set that as the ultimate goal while prioritizing instruction on how to prevent it from triggering in the first place.

By the time he had gone into hiding, she had not only mastered perfect control but had moved on to practicing that final goal.

In other words, she could have chosen not to rampage at all.

In the past, whenever she wanted to act spoiled, she would deliberately trigger a rampage.

Especially during the times he had been neglectful while looking after the other disciples.

He had told her over and over that it was dangerous and she must not do it.

Surely she hadn't continued doing this even while I was gone.

With Altare present, there probably hadn't been any major problems, but…….

For now, he really ought to scold her for this behavior. The moment Raven opened his mouth to continue, Rowina spoke abruptly.

"My name."

"……Yes?"

"Call me by my name. You said you were the one who gave it to me."

Ah.

Raven understood.

"So this was the last test."

Everything she had done until now had been to confirm it was truly him.

With no memories of him, she had tested the things written in the diary, doubting and verifying over and over.

The rampage had been a test as well. In the end, this situation had arisen because of him. How could he shamelessly lecture her now?

Thus, Raven closed his mouth and recalled the child from the past who had asked him to give her a name.

"Child, a name is proof of one's existence and proof of one's worth. It must be chosen with care. Asking someone like me to give you one is……."

"I don't care. You decide it."

"That's exactly why this isn't something I should be the one to—"

"You decide it."

"……."

He had been quite flustered back then.

He was not entirely certain, but he remembered hearing that the name Rowina contained meanings of honor and happiness. It seemed to also imply beauty or independence.

Either way, the connotations were positive, so it did not matter. Yet the Raven of that time had focused on honor and happiness.

"……It seems you've already seized the honor."

Even if that were not the case, the fact that he had chosen it with such a meaning in mind gave the name its power.

A name given with specific intent, and the many people who would call it throughout one's life.

This too would become a form of positive jusul.

So Raven had asked.

"What about happiness, Rowina?"

"……That's right."

"I'm not entirely certain, but according to an old man, this name contains both honor and happiness."

"You are already strong. You will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only grow stronger. Since you are going to become strong anyway…"

"Grasp every honor and find happiness."

"Rowina."

"You really are my master."

He thought he now understood why his past self had clung to her so desperately.

The voice and demeanor that could not hide their affection made his instincts leap toward her. Conversation? The urge to lock her up immediately was far stronger. Rowina smiled fiercely.

She wanted to slap her past self for not searching for him more aggressively. This did not even require a spar to settle. Not that she wouldn't actually do it.

"Father. Master."

The voice that called him was thick with emotion.

Raven, sensing that Rowina had gained certainty about him, tried to pull away, but she only tightened her arms around him.

The words she had sharpened like a blade for so long finally spilled out.

"Marry me."

"……What?"

Raven froze on the spot.

Hwan, who had been watching the pair, muttered under his breath.

"Would you look at this fucking son of a bitch…."

To turn the master's back into a bloody rag and then propose marriage?

It was the height of shameless absurdity. Altare quietly nodded in agreement. The man who had been tracing the blood-soaked back now stepped boldly forward into the space where silence hung as if the very air had been severed.

His outstretched arm pushed Rowina aside and pulled Raven close.

"Master truly is a reckless person."

Seen up close, it was even worse.

The master's back could not be described merely as injured. The traces of clothes torn away without mercy and the persistent scraping and digging aimed directly at the heart—how could anyone call that a simple wound?

The upper garment had been drenched in blood for some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, and even the lower half was stained red. Sky-blue eyes followed the trail downward, discovered the blood that had soaked all the way to Raven's ankles, and narrowed.

"You know perfectly well how to control it, yet you allow something like this."

Rowina's embrace before she regained her senses had not been an embrace at all. Without reason, she had wrapped her arms behind Raven's back in an attempt to draw more blood, raising her nails to target his heart.

Had he been an ordinary human, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the volume of blood lost would have killed him long ago from hemorrhage.

To call this "spoiled behavior" suggested the master was not entirely in his right mind either. No—before that. From his words and attitude, it seemed this was hardly the first or second time. Was he truly sane?

That's a rather brutal way to act spoiled.

Meanwhile, Raven was lost in his own mental chaos.

Never mind the disciple who, despite having no memories, proposed marriage mere moments after their reunion, or Hwan who cursed her with such fluency…….

Stop. Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't.

He had thought it was more positive than expected… The deductions were far too severe. And something strange seemed to have slipped into the middle of it all.

Why would he feel proud about the baby receiving a proposal and award points for it?

Even though they were only messages, he could feel the man speaking through gritted teeth.

Yes, at least he wouldn't draw his sword and start swinging it. But there was no need to go that far.

There's nothing that needs to be accepted.

He had no intention of becoming trash. He had never even considered that sort of thing in the first place.

Still, the guardian seemed calmer than expected, so that was fine. Raven turned his gaze to Altare, who was speaking. The man did not spare them even a glance, instead watching Rowina with a cold, wary look.

"We should treat those wounds first. Let us return."

"Hah?"

Rowina snorted, clearly dumbfounded.

"The one who wanted to kill Master more than anyone else is talking nonsense."

Altare turned away as if he had not heard.

Personnel responsible for clearing the debris of the destroyed building and handling cleanup arrived to manage the scene. Seeing this, Raven did not linger any longer and turned his steps toward the mansion.

Hwan had remained behind to retract the formation he had deployed, and Rowina had been sent back separately as punishment for deliberately triggering her rampage. Therefore, the one walking the path with Raven now was Altare.

In the silence where not a single word was exchanged, Raven fiddled with the paper in his hand. It was something Eckhart had handed him as he was about to leave. The excited members, hearing that this was their first battle that could truly help their benefactor, had tried to keep him there by any means.

"This is the location of our mercenary group's lodging. The address I gave you previously was only a temporary residence, so it is no longer in use. Please keep this in mind."

"Why are you giving me this…."

"So that you may visit anytime, of course."

"……."

Altare, who had been walking in quiet for a long while, suddenly spoke.

"What did you think of the system we created?"

"……."

"Many procedures were omitted today, so I could not show it to you properly. But in general, when a Gate opens, the installed jusul sends a signal. That signal becomes a warning alert that echoes across the entire area within five kilometers. Immediately afterward, at regular intervals, the forces stationed in each divided zone responsible for the Gates are deployed."

This time, because the association presidents and their master had stepped forward, there had been no opportunity for them to demonstrate their role.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It was also thanks to the skilled mercenary group that had suddenly joined and lent their strength alongside Rowina.

Altare fell silent for a moment, then nervously rubbed his cheek with rough motions. A cold murmur followed.

"The world Master desired is finally being built, yet the disciple who wished to show it to you is no longer here."