"What's wrong?"
"Actually, I'll be turning thirty in two years, and..."
Considering the distance, even though Ash did not answer him directly, Ghislaine still subconsciously assumed that he had not seen the letter and repeated what the letter was trying to convey.
It was worth mentioning that in this world, birthdays were normally celebrated once every five years. They would celebrate turning five, ten, and so on, but did not celebrate the other years.
Although his birthday was still some time away, Ghislaine still hoped that he could help teach Eris a little. Of course... it was mainly about educating her.
After all, over the years, Eris had already beaten so many teachers that they ran away.
And Ash had repeatedly boasted in front of her that he had outstanding achievements in education, and that all the students he had taught had flourished in every aspect of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics.
"And most of those children had rather strange personalities at first, but afterward, because of your teaching, they all became sensible, obedient, cute, and very understanding children."
Ghislaine explained this with an utterly serious expression. Her gaze was also completely sincere, without the slightest hint of mockery. If anything, there was even quite a bit of admiration in it.
However, Ash could not feel happy about it, because...
'No? Sis? When we're out and about, we make up our own identities! Don't people all brag when they're drinking? Even someone as innocent as Roxy didn't believe me, so how did you actually take me seriously? How am I supposed to get out of this now?', He opened his mouth intending to refuse, but after thinking for a moment, he said tactfully, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but didn't you say she was cute before? Why are you suddenly thinking about educating her now?"
"To be precise, it's actually Sauros... that is, my employer who's worried. He's afraid that Eris won't be able to marry well later and will become the laughingstock of the nobility. After all, most of the servants in the household have been beaten by the young lady whenever she loses her temper. It wouldn't be appropriate if this continued for too long, so I recommended you."
"Is that so?"
'What should I do? This girl seems to be seriously asking me?', Ash really wanted to refuse, but because of the things he had bragged about before, as well as Ghislaine's expectant and trusting gaze, he really could not bear to break that trust.
With his brain short-circuiting and his thigh getting slapped, he agreed, "Sure! What's so difficult about that? I can train her, discipline her into a proper good girl in no time!"
"'Discipline'?"
"I mean, educate her the way Gal taught you."
"If possible, please be gentler. After all, the young lady's body isn't as sturdy as mine, and she isn't the sort of person who will easily submit just because she can't win a fight. Of course, I'm not either..."
Ghislaine was not very optimistic about his strategy. After all, back then she had been alone, so her master could teach her however he wanted without anyone else around. But now they were in Eris's home...
Eris's parents and grandfather would probably find it difficult to watch their child get beaten black and blue. Once or twice might be fine, but if it happened seven or eight times, it would be difficult for the elders to keep turning a blind eye.
But after only one or two times, Eris definitely would not submit either.
Although being forced to take responsibility for the things he had said was already quite a headache, to the point that he even felt like quitting and running away,
Ash ultimately decided to make good on the boasts he had made himself. While researching all sorts of things, he would conveniently teach Eris on the side and treat it as some extra entertainment.
It would not take much time anyway. This was already a matter of trying to save a hopeless case, so if it really did not work, it could not be blamed on him, right? Maybe he could actually teach her properly and prove his educational abilities, giving himself a real example to cite in the future.
With this thought in mind, Ash glanced out the window at the real reason he had decided to stay, a strange point of abnormal magical power. Then, under Ghislaine's guidance, he went to meet the local lord, who was also the head of the Greyrat family.
And at just the first glance, Ash could tell that this old man with a cane, a curled mustache, and a broad, muscular build had a personality quite similar to Eris's. He was extremely....wild.
"The Sword Emperor? Not bad! With someone like you helping us, the Greyrat family will definitely rise to another leve! Ahahaha!"
The incredibly energetic old man, Sauros Boreas Greyrat, looked him up and down, nodding repeatedly as he laughed, "Join us! You can name any conditions you want!"
"I'm only going to teach her a little. Also, I won't get involved in your family's affairs, and don't tell outsiders about my existence. Just treat me as a guest."
"Fine, but you'll definitely change your mind sooner or later!"
Even after being straightforwardly rejected, the extremely loud old man, Sauros, showed no displeasure and instead chose to compromise.
If it had been someone else, though, he probably would have already cursed them out.
But Ash was publicly known as the Sword Emperor and was also the disciple of the Sword God. He was not someone they could casually offend.
And Ash only hoped to peacefully research his own things for a while. After all, if he lived as the Sword Emperor, life would not be peaceful either, and there would be no shortage of people trying to win him over.
However, before he could temporarily take his leave and head to the guest room, Sauros also voiced his opinion, hoping that he would not be too rough with Eris...
"Beating her a little is certainly fine, but going too far isn't good either. After all, she really is still a child. Just keep it moderate?"
"Moderate, huh..."
Watching the old man repeatedly gesture to indicate what he meant by "moderate," the expression on Ash's face became rather hard to describe.
Because he genuinely had no idea what "moderate" meant. It was like how he could never understand what exactly "an appropriate amount" of salt and sugar meant in a recipe.
Still, he readily agreed. He then simply ended the small talk and went to rest in the guest room reserved for honored guests when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Like the lord, the middle-aged servant with a broad, muscular build, the butler Thomas, silently entered after receiving permission. He also closed the door behind him and stared straight at Ash.
"I heard... you're the young lady's new teacher, right?"
"What's wrong?"
"Looking at you, you must have been tormented pretty badly by the young lady too. The master even used this room to comfort you," Thomas looked him up and down at his disheveled clothes and gave him a sympathetic smile, "You're not the first one, and you definitely won't last."
"Under normal circumstances, that would probably be the case," He glanced at his own clothes, which had been messed up after Ghislaine hugged him and he had used Eris to wipe himself off.
It was also at this moment that he noticed a red strand of hair hanging from his chest. Had it accidentally rubbed off when he used Eris to wipe away his sweat?
Thomas had obviously noticed the strand of hair too, and the sympathy on his face became even more pronounced, "You were pinned down and beaten by the young lady too, weren't you?"
"To some extent, I was indeed pinned down."
"Let me help you!", Thomas spread his arms, looking as though he were overflowing with compassion.
"I see that you and Ghislaine seem to have a good relationship. Tonight, you lure Ghislaine away and let me give her a proper lesson in your place..."
"Then you'll kidnap her?"
"Uh... w-what are you talking about?"
"You're clearly dissatisfied with the young lady and want to do something, right? Other than kidnapping her for ransom, I really can't think of what else you could possibly want to do with that spoiled young lady."
Although he said that, she really did make a pretty good rag, didn't she?
While speaking, Ash even sniffed the back of his hand. It really did have a girl's fragrance on it.
He was quite satisfied and nodded with a smile. While the servant's expression kept changing, he said, "It's fine. Go ahead and do it. Just give me a share of the money afterward."
"Y-yes... Is that so? Then that's good," Thomas nodded with a surprised smile.
And so, after agreeing on when he would lure Ghislaine away, Thomas silently left once they had settled everything.
However, as he left the room, a vicious look appeared in Thomas's eyes, along with a contemptuous smile.
"This new magic teacher is far too young. He actually dared to agree to something like this so casually."
After all, this matter was somewhat dangerous, so he had decided that once everything was done, he would have to get rid of Ash somehow.
And when they had reached their agreement, Ash had shaken his hand. Watching the butler's departing back, however, Ash's mood was somewhat complicated.
After all, he should have looked like a pretty upright person. Even that masochistic princess Ariel thought so. So how could this guy so easily assume that he would go along with him?
"Though it is indeed necessary. I'll just play along with his plan."
It would not be him doing the work anyway. Giving the child a scare was not necessarily a bad thing. And afterward, couldn't he just get rid of this guy?
"Young people these days really are getting worse and worse at judging people. They actually mistake an upright person like me for a bad guy. Isn't that a little rude?"
He sighed as he spoke, unconsciously turning his gaze toward the window and feeling somewhat troubled by the other man's opinion of him.