章 42: Eris' Birthday
Eris' 10th Birthday came and went. To celebrate his beloved granddaughter's birthday, Sauros hosted a grand party and invited all the aristocrats in Roa as well as prominent member of their city to their mansion.
What was absolutely hilarious to Rudeus was that Eris had to learn to dance in a formal, noble ballroom setting despite seemingly being born with two left feet when it came to moving in rhythm to the music.
Her birthday party was not just a celebration of her tenth birthday, it was also a debutante ball meant to introduce Eris' first formal appearance in aristocratic society. There was also an element of displaying her to eligible bachelors and their families. As such, there were certain traditions to uphold, customs to practice and formal rituals to follow.
Despite finding success in swordsmanship and even magic, Eris was just rubbish at dancing. Seeing her lose her balance and fall on her rump while desperately trying to act like she wasn't bothered by it made Rudeus lose his calm bodyguard facade once or twice.
As such, she became even more of a handful after her dancing lessons and Rudeus often had to bear the brunt of her tantrums since he was her bodyguard.
Not wanting to continue being the target of the little lady's frustration, and also, frankly, out of some pity for the poor child, Rudeus stepped in to help her dance lessons. He came up with a rudimentary 'Sword Dance' martial art style that incorporated the dance steps she had to learn, and taught it to Eris.
By translating dance steps, which the girl had absolutely hated, into footwork techniques belonging to a sword art which she did shown passion for, it was incredibly effective for teaching her dance steps.
The Sword Dance style was rudimental, possessing more flourishes and swirling twirls than was practical for combat. It was elegant, but for all the wrong reasons. Even then, Eris still fell in love with the sword techniques for reasons unknown to Rudeus, and even Ghislaine praised it to be 'very interesting'.
Eris managed to learn her dance steps in time for her party thanks to Rudeus' Sword Dance techniques. She showed her gratitude by withholding her violence for one day, and offering her dessert to him during dinner that evening. For the once unruly Boreas scion who did not even know the meaning of gratefulness and appreciation, it was a big improvement.
The party itself was extravagant. No expense was spared in the decoration and catering. The servants frantically rushed about, preparing the manor without leaving any room for error. In just a week or two, the Boreas estate was transformed. The proud smiles from Philip, Hilda and Sauros lit up the manor in the days leading up to the party.
Their guests arrived in order of their prominence. Minor nobles arrived first, while the more powerful and wealthy individuals had the privilege to make the lesser wait for them. This was also another unspoken rule amongst nobility.
Because of his special status, Rudeus had been instructed to take a backseat in his body guarding duties. Instead, he roamed around and observed the interactions of nobles and powerful men, while offering the occasional pleasantries to kids his age that approached.
He watched the adults socialise, carefully noting their mannerisms, idiosyncrasies and particular vernacular of the nobility. It was part of his training, for when he eventually entered the arena of politics and aristocracy.
Rudeus wanted to see if he could pick up any rumours or news regarding the Notos family, but was unfortunately not able to learn anything new. The communication network in this world was after all too primitive, and transport systems were similarly undeveloped. Transmission of information took months or even years on horseback. Messenger birds were expensive to train, and were not used for things like gossip.
When the time came for her debut, Eris was introduced formally to the gathered nobles and high-born guests. She looked completely different from her usually boisterous and rough self, dressed in a exquisite white dress and even had some make up put on her face.
Sauros loudly declared to the young men in attendance to take her hand for a dance if they wanted his favour while Philip and Hilda watched proudly.
The usually fiery and ill-tempered girl was uncharacteristically nervous. And her nerves only grew when a noble boy of the same age walked out of the crowd and asked for a dance.
Thankfully, the girl managed to retain her composure. Eris calmed down the bundle of nerves in her heart while silencing the butterflies flittering around in her stomach. By keeping in mind the steps of the Sword Dance she learned from Rudeus, Eris managed to get through her first formal dance of her noble debut without an issue.
The crowd applauded and Eris breathed out a sigh of relief, glancing appreciatively at Rudeus who mouthed the words 'I knew you could do it' to her.
After the first dance concluded, the rest of the party proceeded in full swing. Rudeus also had to fend off the advances of some of the more daring noble girls who asked him to dance. The boy was dressed in fine clothing fit for nobility, and he was naturally good looking as well.
The scar on his face, which should have been off putting for delicate noble girls, instead appealed to their tastes. The perceived ruggedness gave Rudeus a roguish charm that the privileged and sheltered noble girls were not familiar with and found fascinating.
Eris, who was forced to put on an appearance of decorum and elegance, boiled at the sight. Rudeus could feel the sharp, piercing glare from the debutante who had a forced smile on her face.
After the party was over, Rudeus gathered Ghislaine and Eris in the little girl's room.
Seeing as it was her tenth birthday, he had prepared a gift for her as well as his master.
Rudeus produced a short sword that looked exactly the same as Blue Fang, with the only difference being the colour of the crystal embedded in the hilt which was a bright red.
"Here, Eris. This is for you. Happy birthday!"
The girl accepted the sword with almost a hint of reverence, "This, Rudeus made this for me?"
"Mmh. Magic teachers usually give their students wands. Since you have learnt chantless magic, I thought a Magic Sword would be more useful. I drew the magic amplification arrays and enchanted the sword myself. I only recently started learning enchantment, so it is not very impressive. I will improve upon it when I get better."
Eris held on to the sword silently for a moment. Emotions ran through her small, but developing body. She felt a strange feeling in her chest, it was something she had never felt before.
Rudeus looked at the quiet girl worriedly, "Um, if you don't like it, I can-"
"No! I love it, Rudeus! This, I will take care of it, I promise!" Eris immediately interrupted, hugging the sheathed blade with both arms tightly as though afraid Rudeus would take it back. She stroked the handle of the short sword almost lovingly, while her eyes shined with exuberance. "This is the best gift ever, thank you Rudeus!"
Rudeus smiled warmly, glad to see his gift had been so well received. He then took out a wooden dagger and offered it to Ghislaine. The curved blade of the dagger was made of wood as well, and it seemed like the entire wooden dagger was made from a single log. On the base of the handle was a magic crystal embedded in it.
"Here, Master, this is for you."
Ghislaine looked surprised, "Eh? Something for me too? It is not my birthday though."
Rudeus laughed, "Though Master is Master, I have also taught you magic as well. Like I said, magic teachers usually give their students wands. I thought that a normal wand wouldn't really fit your style, and any sword I can give you wouldn't be as good as Hiramune, so I made this for you. It looks like a dagger but it's actually just a dagger-shaped wand. It is carved from the limb of an Elder Treant, so it is a good conductor of magic."
Eris eyed the dagger with some jealousy, "Rudeus seems to have put in more effort for Ghislaine's gift than mine…"
Rudeus laughed off her accusation, despite the truth in her words. The small log he purchased through the supply channels of Waltz Magical Emporium cost a hefty Gold Asura Coin, even with the lowered price. He had also painstakingly carved it with all his heart before varnishing it with high quality alchemical reagents. The dagger was more durable than stone, after he inscribed magic circles on it.
Eris' gift cost him a couple silvers, while he spent a little over two gold for Ghislaine's. After all, he felt like he owed Ghislaine a lot more than the familial affection for Eris.
Ghislaine held the wooden dagger with familiarity. She smiled faintly, remembering the time she had spent in Great Forest when she was still a feral beastgirl who was ruled by her instincts rather than her mind. Nobody would have thought that one day she would 'graduate' from learning magic, and even grasp both Fire and Water magic. Even if it was only Beginner-rank magic, it was still a far cry from her wild and savage past.
And it was this boy in front of her who helped her do so. Rudeus, who was both an accomplished swordsman and an impressive magician at the same time, was able to accurately explain how mana circulated differently between Battle Aura and spell casting. Thanks to this, Ghislaine managed to comprehend this difference as well, and learn magic.
Though she taught him a lot, Ghislaine did not think it worth more than everything he taught her, from reading, arithmetic to magic. At first, she had only taken Rudeus in as a disciple because he was Paul's son. But then, his brilliant talent was revealed, and Ghislaine, for the first time in her life, felt excited to teach someone, to impart her skills and legacy.
If it was Rudeus, her legacy will be upheld proudly, was what she had thought.
Who would have thought that the 8 year old child managed to break through to Saint-rank at such a young age. Now, she didn't think that Emperor rank or perhaps even God rank would be out of reach for the boy one day.
Ghislaine held back a grin at the thought of her apprentice besting Gal Farion and slaying him, as was Sword God style tradition, so as to snatch the throne of the Sword God. He still had a long, long way to go, but Ghislaine honestly thought that Rudeus, if he kept up his rate of improvement, had a chance to do so one day.
"Thank you Rudeus. Sorry I don't have a gift for you as well. I will think of something." She said, while keeping the wooden dagger.
He waved off her offer, "A shabby gift like that does not even come close to the weight of your teachings, Master. As your disciple, it is still insufficient to show my gratitude."
Ghislaine laughed, "Your tongue is still as sweet as ever. You must have learnt this from Paul. He is a bad influence."
"My father has taught me many things, but he did not need to teach me admiration and respect for one's teacher. This is only natural."
Eris' looked rapidly between the two and a childish jealousy blossomed in her heart seeing how close master and disciple were.
"Y-yes! I will also think of a gift for you too, Rudeus!" She interrupted, declaring with gusto.
"Ah, okay. I look forward to your gift." Rudeus replied offhandedly.
'He didn't even try to be modest about it… Why does he treat Ghislaine and I so differently!?' Eris pouted but sat down dejectedly anyways.
Rudeus saw her downcast look, and was slightly confused. Changing the subject, he asked, "Have you thought of a name for your new sword yet, Eris?"
"Hm? A name?"
"Yeah. All good swords need names."
The girl thought about it for a moment. "Rudeus sword is called Blue Fang right? Then I will call mine Red Fang!"
He chuckled, "Yeah I thought you would name it that."
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