"Everything is ready, Master."
Hinako said to Thorn, who sat across from her, leisurely enjoying a cup of tea in a relaxed posture that contrasted with the strict demeanor he usually maintained during their training sessions.
"Good. Then we'll depart tomorrow morning."
He replied in his usual calm and concise tone.
Nearly a year had passed since he had settled in this village and begun training its people to help them eliminate the demon leading the stone puppet army and spreading destruction throughout the surrounding region. During that year, much had changed in his life in ways he had never anticipated when he first arrived. His mood was no longer as heavy and gloomy as it had been at the beginning of his journey. Instead, he had become more emotionally stable and far calmer in the way he viewed the world around him.
His life within this warm village had played a major role in that transformation. From the very beginning, its people had treated him as the hero who had saved them from certain destruction, and that treatment carried with it a genuine human warmth that had quietly affected him. Training their warriors and repeatedly destroying the military puppet detachments that had targeted the village over the past months had gradually forged a bond between him and these people.
One of the greatest influences behind his gradual growth was the blonde girl now sitting before him. Because of her endlessly cheerful and inquisitive personality, she constantly dismantled the quiet emotional walls he kept trying to build around himself in order to preserve the cold, detached temperament that had accompanied him since childhood.
After observing her for some time, he eventually realized she was doing it deliberately and intelligently. What appeared to be random chatter was, in reality, entirely intentional. So after resisting her efforts for quite a while without accomplishing anything, he had simply given up.
While listening to Hinako enthusiastically explain the details of tomorrow's battle plan and everything she had prepared for its opening stage, Thorn's expression beneath the black cloth covering his face suddenly became serious.
He had heard his father's voice.
He raised a hand toward Hinako, and she immediately fell silent, looking at him attentively without asking a single question.
"Hello, my son. I've missed you. You seem much more mature now."
Thorn answered,
"Hello, Father. I've missed you too... and my brothers, and Mother."
The instant he uttered the word Mother, both his expression and his tone changed slightly in a way he couldn't conceal.
Dan noticed the subtle shift but calmly chose to ignore it.
"Good. I see that your village's battle against the Demon of the Other World is approaching. You still remember everything I explained to you before?"
Thorn replied steadily,
"Yes, Father. I remember, and I'll handle everything exactly as you instructed."
"Good. Very good, my son."
Dan paused briefly before continuing.
"Also... I'm satisfied with the girl named Hinako. You may take her as your bride."
The words came without any warning.
"N-No... Father, I don't have that kind of—"
Before Thorn could finish, Dan interrupted him.
"You're such a shy child. I already told you that I'm satisfied with her. That means she possesses the qualities necessary to become a wife within the Walt family. Stop being so shy, child."
Thorn remained silent, unable to answer his father.
Dan continued as though the matter had already been settled.
"I've sent her a gift. You'll find it inside your storage space. Give it to her as an engagement present."
Then he added,
"However, if you truly marry her, I want you to remain in the village until you have a daughter to inherit it. After that, you may return."
Dan paused once more as he organized his thoughts.
"There are many details involved. I'll explain them later. For now, focus on helping them seal the demon in the way that suits our plans. And remember don't interfere too much."
Thorn replied,
"Understood, Father. Don't worry."
The brief conversation ended, and Thorn's attention returned to the room around him.
Across from him, Hinako was still sitting exactly as before, staring at him with eyes overflowing with curiosity . she neither knew how nor even tried to conceal. By now, she had become remarkably skilled at noticing even the slightest changes in his mood.
He looked at her for a moment before gesturing for her to continue from where she had been interrupted.
Hinako resumed explaining the details of tomorrow's plan and everything that had been prepared for the coming battle, but part of Thorn's attention remained occupied by his father's final words and the implications they carried . implications that represented a direction he had never imagined his journey would take when he first departed from the family's headquarters.
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