THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

Quirking his eyebrow at the people's tense expression, Basil hummed to himself in wonder. He had announced his presence clearly because none of them could detect him even though he had been faintly exuding his Mana.

He had just wanted to not shock them by suddenly appearing amongst them, but contrary to what he had expected, announcing his presence had shocked them quite greatly.

Since there was a possibility that they were just shocked at the fact they couldn't sense him until he announced presence, Basil immediately shrugged it off, and walked towards them with a smile.

They immediately stepped back the moment he did so, and that made him think what made them so cautious towards him.

Frowning lightly, he retracted all of his Mana and Qi. The moment he did so, the people relaxed visibly, and that made him chuckle in amusement.

"Has the Monsters exhausted you that much—you can't even recognize your ally?" Basil quirked his eyebrow. "Have you forgotten who your Master is?"

Ione and the Knights of Hauler blinked their eyes at those words, but they immediately realized those words weren't directed at them in the next moment. Basil was addressing the Shadows kneeling respectfully behind him.

Kuzo, who was amongst the Shadows, pulled his hood down, and represented the others. "We were too overwhelmed by your presence—we thought you might be not the Master whom we have pledged our loyalty to."

"Is that your other way of saying that you can not believe your Master will ever move forward?" Basil smiled lightly.

"We never have the audacity to think like that, Master."

Snorting lightly, Basil said, "Take a rest. You lot are tired."

"We will!"

The exchange between Basil and Kuzo, who was representing the other Shadows happened without Basil facing Kuzo. He kept looking at the people in front of him, who were looking at him in wonder and silent amazement.

Basil had painted an image of someone who was only good by himself in their mind, but they were sure Basil had an amazing leadership. Despite so, upon seeing directly how Basil's relationship with his subordinates was, they couldn't help sighing in admiration.

To possess such a charisma at such a young age—to be able to instill such a respect in his subordinates, Basil was surely amazing.

"Now, you can also relax your muscles." Basil smiled at the Knights of Hauler and Ione. "I know you are surprised, but I am not your enemy—you can rest assured."

They immediately heaved a sigh of relief and sat back down on the ground as they relaxed themselves. They looked at Basil with trust now, but none of them struck a conversation with him.

"I have been waiting for you."

... Except for Ione.

"It is a great pleasure to finally meet you." Ione put her hand on her chest, and lowered her head. "Now, can we talk privately?"

Basil silently gazed at Ione before nodding his head casually. "Let us go inside first." Turning to the Knights of Hauler, he said, "The next wave of Monsters will come in three hours, so you can use that time to rest."

The Knights of Hauler had actually been resting for two hours and a half. That was the time they had spent talking about Basil with Ione, and that was also the time Basil had used to reach Raneil Barony.

Ione, who knew how fast one could travel alone didn't question how Basil could arrive there so quick, but if the Knights of Hauler knew how long it had taken Basil to arrive there, they would definitely be shocked.

Since they didn't know anything about it, they were only shocked at the fact that Basil could know the next wave of Demons would come in three hours. None of them questioned Basil; they knew his prediction would be right.

Everyone entered the hotel with Basil in lead. As soon as Basil opened the door, Danzel was seen standing not far away from him.

"You have come back, son." Danzel went to hug Basil.

"Don't get your hopes up though—I won't be here for long."

"I know, my son is a busy person after all." Danzel smiled as he let go of his hug. "I have heard what you did in Woster County. I am proud of you."

"Good." Basil nodded his head lightly. "Being proud of me is the only thing you should do."

"I know you hate being called a Hero." Danzel smirked. "I hate my son being a Hero too, so I'll never call you a Hero. Only idiots can be a Hero, and you are too smart to be one."

Chuckling lightly to themselves, the father and son duo bewildered the people behind them with what they had just talked about. They had never thought Danzel had such a Basil-like mindset.

"Greetings, father." Ione stepped forward and bowed politely at Danzel. "My name is Ione, your son's companion."

"... Is this my second daughter-in-law?" Danzel blinked his eyes.

"Ione is my childhood friend, who has come from a faraway land to meet me," Basil lied as easy as breathing. "Our bond is indeed special, but still nowhere near as special as my bond with Iliana."

Danzel sighed in relief. "I am glad, son." He patted Basil's shoulder. "You are still too young to die after all."

Basil, who didn't quite get what Danzel was talking about, blinked his eyes, and Danzel smiled lightly at that. Turning to Ione, Danzel nodded his head at her, but immediately felt dread as soon as he saw her brief mischievous smile.

"... You can call me Danzel, pretty lady." Danzel laughed awkwardly. "I hope you get along well with my son ... Not too well though—he's already taken."

Basil blinked his eyes as he wondered what Danzel had been talking about, but immediately shrugged it off, since he knew what kind of a "unique duck" his surrogate father was.

"We will need a room," Basil said, shocking Danzel to the core. "Assign some maids to leave a few things to accompany ourselves with."

"O-Okay... J-Just do it safely, okay?" Danzel stammered.

"I feel like you have misunderstood something, but I will let you entertain yourself with that fantasy a bit longer." Basil passed Danzel with Ione in tow. "Oh, tell Shirley and Clarissa to meet me in two hours."

Leaving not only Danzel but also the Knights of Hauler in misunderstanding, uncaring towards whatever they were thinking, Basil took Ione to the topmost floor.

...

Basil and Ione had entered one of the biggest rooms on the topmost floor of Familia Hotel—Basil's room. He had initially wanted to take Ione to the guest room, but his extreme paranoia made him worry that their conversation might somehow leak out.

Unlike his room, there was no Isolation Rune Carved there after all, so he deemed his room the more proper place to talk, which was why he had brought Ione there.

"Your adoptive father... He is an interactive person," Ione remarked as she sat herself down.

"There is a sofa here, in case you can't see it, so you don't have to sit on my bed," Basil responded calmly as he sat himself in the sofa in front of his king-sized bed.

Shrugging lightly, Ione smirked. "It will be my first time, but I prefer doing it in bed."

Quirking his eyebrow at Ione, Basil snorted in amusement at how similar her behaviour was with the Iliana he knew. It made him wonder if every woman of Pacifer would behave like that once they reached 24.

"Let's cut to the chase." Basil waved his hand. "What is a Pacifer doing here?"

"Before I answer that, show me what you are capable of."

As soon as Ione smirked, she disappeared from Basil's view. Basil merely quirked his eyebrow at that, and tilted his head to the side to dodge the dagger Ione was thrusting from behind.

Ione smirked at how nonchalant Basil was throughout the time, and decided to spice things up a little bit. Activating her Pacifer Seal, she infused a part of her soul into her dagger.

Her dagger trembled, and she swiftly swung it horizontally.

Swish!

The dagger made a white line in the air as it cut through Basil's neck, and Ione was left disappointed at that. She, after all, hadn't gotten that serious, so she didn't expect Basil to lose that soon.

The moment she directly saw Basil, she could feel Basil was the real deal, thus why she had treated him politely. She, however, wanted to make sure if her judgement was right, and she was glad she did.

Now, she knew her judgement was wrong, and Basil was nothing but a fraud.

"You should never let your guard down."

"How?!"

... At least, until she saw the Basil she had cut swayed like a screen of smoke being blown by air and heard his voice behind her.

She could also feel a prick on her back, right behind where her heart was located, and she was sure it was the work of a Mana Needle. That utterly amazed her, since not just anyone could have such an absurd control over their Mana to make it.

"Is this enough proof?" Basil asked as he dispersed his Mana Needle.

"Yes, that is enough." Ione turned around and bowed politely at Basil. "Pardon this one from her insolence, O the Fated Child."

"I have a name—Basil. Address me as such." Basil frowned lightly.

"As you wish, Lord Basil," Ione answered respectfully as she raised her head. "Can you... Bless me, my Lord?"

Sighing lightly in exasperation at how Ione called him, Basil eventually nodded his head. He didn't think he had earned the right to be called Lord—he was slightly uncomfortable with it, but he soon shrugged it off since it wasn't his first time being called Lord.

Activating his Pacifer Seal in the next moment, Basil put his palm on top of Ione's forehead as soon as his Seal glowed in gold. Looking into her eyes with his golden eyes, he gave his blessing.

"My blessing shall accompany you."

Basked in Basil's extraordinary Soul Power, Ione closed her eyes in awe and excitement. The Fated Child had been born, and he was right in front of her—there was no reason she shouldn't be excited.

The glory of her Clan could be regained sooner than she had wished, and it was all thanks to her choice to come to Braxtein Kingdom. If it wasn't for that, this earlier than she had ever wished encounter with Basil would never happen.