Chapter 30: It’s time for you to become an adventurer.

Paul’s POV

…

“And now, I introduce to you my greatest creation of all time. Made from magic formations, concentration, and mana foams. Behold, Timmy the caterpillar.”

Paul stared at the three kids showing off the caterpillar. Both he and Zenith thought they picked it up from somewhere. But seeing the trio show excitement and chattering with one another made Paul all giddy inside, so he ended up following along.

… And so, somehow Paul was led to sit on the chair with the entire family as he watched caterpillars painting the family portrait. Perhaps among the absurdities of this world, this one is by far the greatest.

Ah. Damn. The kids were downright terrifying. But for some reason, that made him happy. Up until now, Paul would’ve been jealous of anyone more talented than him… But where his sons were concerned, all he felt was pride.

That was Laurel. His boy. The weird little Miko with purple eyes that trots around the house. At first he was always quiet and non-responsive, but after that one time he had run away, Laurel had become much more open to expressing his thoughts.

Childish, sarcastic, and blunt, and he even had this abrasive, mundane way of talking that makes him sound crazy. Rudeus once described Laurel's way with words as that of a charlatan who actually does know what he is doing. He was like a little child with a few weird ideas, only a lot more mature than Sylphie in terms of personality but, nonetheless, a child.

That was, until Paul saw how Laurel actually fought.

The fight had changed Paul’s view of Laurel entirely. While he knew that even Rudeus held out well, he hadn’t expected Laurel to be this outstanding. Calm, calculated, and battle-ready. That was the only thing he could use to describe Laurel at that moment.

From the start of the battle, Laurel had always had control over the situation. Laurel knew Paul well, so well that he knew how to handle Paul. He knew Paul would rush at him, and he even used that and his height as an advantage to win against him.

In addition to that, Laurel had been controlling the distance. If Paul got too close, then Laurel would widen the gap, and if he were too far, then Laurel would turn that to his advantage. In the end, Paul kept getting stuck at Laurel’s arm length—close enough to get hit but never close enough to hit him back.

There was also the tempo and the strategic planning. Most likely, many of Laurel’s moves were done to rattle Paul’s concentration, enabling Laurel to sneak attack on him. Paul’s stamina was probably also within that boy’s calculations, withering down until he was equal to Laurel in speed.

And Laurel wasn’t even flinching at Paul’s unexpected speeds. He managed to survive a fatal blow of the sword by headbutting the hilt and even has fast enough judgment skills to immediately hide in the earth to avoid getting hit.

Not only that, but he even had a caterpillar to snipe him at the back… No, perhaps that would explain why Laurel had jumped out. He used himself as bait. A bait to lure him in. Paul would have noticed the attack if the caterpillar had only shot it, but he was so focused on the boy at that moment that his back was left wide open.

The little nonsensical things that Laurel had done during their training started to make sense. Why he started to hold the sword only in one hand, why he had been juggling water balls, why he had tried to strike Paul from below…

With every little ridiculous thing happening around Laurel, he had built it as a foundation for how he would fight in the future. And all that had been shown in the fight with Paul.

And all of this wasn’t just a close-call victory. No. Paul wouldn’t have thought about it in the midst of the fight, but Paul knew Laurel had a lot more powerful spells. Spells that can flood the area with water and freeze the entire vicinity, thunder, boiling water, explosive blue flames… Paul had watched the kids cast magic before. So he already knew what the kids could do.

Paul thought as he heard Zenith and Laurel talking to one another.

“Is dad okay?”

“Meh. It’s fine. Your dad’s just sulking because he lost. He’ll just get back to training harder for revenge. He’s always like that. Now give me a hug!”

"Mom! Bones! Bones! Can't breathe!"

Paul smiled bitterly. Even when he won, that kid still worries about his old man, huh?

Calm and refined steps that rarely run even when excited and a confident gait to back it up. A young face that resembled his own and a pair of sharp purple irises resembling the color of the sunset’s end. His demeanor was mild and somewhat lukewarm, but inside was a passionate and fierce personality that won’t back down easily… While he hadn’t completely shed off his somewhat naïve and childish sides, it was only a matter of time.

Watching the young back of a child being hugged by Zenith, Paul had no choice but to admit it. Laurel had grown. He had grown into a fine young man.

… So, when had he grown up? Was it when they were fighting? Was it around the time Norn was born? Or was it when Laurel found out about the affair? Or even before that, when Laurel had run away?

Paul couldn’t help but reflect upon his own life. He was supposed to be the father. He was supposed to be the man of the house. Nine and a half years. For nine years and a half, what had Paul truly done for his children?

When the twins were born, Lilia had taken care of them. When learning magic, algorithms, math, and everything… It was taught by Roxy—or at least Rudeus had claimed so. While Paul would love to claim that he had taught his children how to wield a sword, seeing how Rudeus rapidly advancing into intermediate swordsmanship under Laurel’s guidance told him otherwise.

Not only that, but Paul had also messed up. Twice. And funnily enough, those messes had been solved on their own. By that he meant it was solved by his children. And in the end, even when taking care of Norn and Aisha, it was the twins who helped out.

“I’m going to try to be the coolest, most perfect big brother ever."

“Say that when you stop your misconduct, you Asuran Pervert."

“Urgh… It’s not that bad.”

“Really now? Last time I checked, a triangle of our dearest professor was lying randomly in the room.”

“… Uh-that…”

“You’ll at least need another lifetime to prove that you’re cool and perfect in my eyes."

“Tch.”

Paul couldn’t ask for better children. No. Rather, Paul felt completely and utterly inadequate as a parent. Of course, neither of his children had really said that, but it was that gnawing feeling that kept chewing on him from time to time.

When Rudeus said he wanted to be the best brother for his younger siblings, it made Paul ask the same question. Was he ever the best parent for the twins? Last time he even coerced Rudeus to not go to school because they couldn't afford it. Now, he also has to do the same with Laurel.

Would the children have better opportunities and be raised better if the father weren't Paul? Was Paul instead hindering their growth? Normally he would have ignored it, but perhaps today he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

"Perhaps—perhaps it’s time for the baby bird to leave the nest, after all.”