Science/Magic

As always, Regina's cooking was mouthwatering. Using modern technologies and her machine-like accuracy, she was able to cook dishes more delicious than any dish in this world.

Bloed, Liu Ying, Elwha, and Eres were already somehow used to Regina's cooking, but when the old man tasted Regina's cooking for the first time, his eyes became bright like a lamp.

"W-What is it... So delicious!!!"

He then turned into a tornado that swept up the table of dishes.

Bloed watched that with a speechless look. For an instant, he wondered if this man was really the strongest powerhouse in the world.

If Bloed did not see him intimidate seven gods by himself, he would have thought that he was just a strange but slightly eccentric old man.

'I guess that appearances can be misleading, huh.'

At that moment, Bloed saw the old man's sword, which had been put on the table, buzz softly.

The old man smiled and patted the blade of the sword.

"It's very delicious, a shame that you can't eat it."

The sword buzzed again, and the old man put on a bitter smile.

"Okay okay, I promise you that one day, I will let you taste all the world's delicacies."

The sword buzzed again in acceptance before staying quiet.

Bloed and the others looked at that scene dumbfounded.

"T-That... Were you talking to the sword?" Liu Ying asked hesitantly.

The old man nodded.

"Yeah. She is a bit childlike and curious, so when she saw how I was enjoying the food, she could not help but ask me if it was delicious."

"... So the sword can talk," Elwha stated incredulously.

The old man nodded, not noticing the strange gazes of Bloed and the others.

"I guess something like that is possible if a sword has a soul, huh." Bloed showed an expression of understanding, however, he was not sure if the sword was really talking or the old man was senile.

After all, seeing someone talk to a sword as though it was alive was shocking to anyone.

At that moment, Eres spoke to the sword.

"Miss sword, do you want to get a body?"

Bloed and the others were startled, but to their surprise, the sword buzzed.

"Is it so? So your dream is one day to become human, huh." Eres nodded. "I wish you luck. By the way, what is your name?"

The sword buzzed again.

"Filo is it. A nice name."

This time, even the old man was stunned.

"Wait, you can understand her!?" The old man stood up from his seat in surprise.

Eres tilted her head in confusion.

"Is that strange?"

"Never has anyone besides me understood her words before. Not even the gods! I even thought that I was crazy!"

Eres tilted her head again. She could understand the sword's words easily.

The old man looked at Eres like she was a strange object. Then, his eyes became hot.

"Girl, do you want to become my disciple?"

The group froze.

"Wait, do you want to make Eres your disciple?" Liu Ying was shocked. "Sister-in-law, what are you waiting for? Agree!"

Bloed and Elwha looked at Eres in excitement. Becoming the disciple of the Sword Absolute was something that anyone would kill for.

But unlike them, Eres did not seem excited.

She frowned slightly and looked at the old man.

"What do I need to do if I become your disciple?"

"Nothing much. You just need to follow me around the world while I teach you my swordsmanship. With your talent, becoming a peak demigod is just a matter of time. Perhaps, you will become the world's fourth Irregular."

"I'm sorry, I refuse."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to leave my brother. If I need to leave my brother to become your apprentice, I prefer to decline."

The old man was stunned.

He was the Sword Absolute, the strongest man in the world. Countless people had begged him to make them his disciples, however, he had refused them firmly.

But he never thought that when he finally decided to take a disciple, he would be rejected as well.

"W-Wait a moment, think again. I'm the strongest. I-If you become my disciple, nobody will dare to bully you!"

"I don't care."

"H-Hey, please. I promise you that I will teach you everything about y swordsmanship without hiding anything. I will even lend Filo to you!"

"Not interested."

"Come on, do it for this old man, please? I'm already old and weak. I need someone to pass my skills on."

"No."

The old man seemed like he was crying. He continued to beg Eres to become his apprentice once and again, however, Eres was adamant about her decision.

Finally, after almost five minutes, the old man sighed.

"Okay, I promise you that I won't force you to leave your brother. Is that enough?"

Eres showed an expression of hesitation as though she was thinking if she should accept, but finally, she reluctantly agreed.

The old man sighed in relief.

"Great! Then, from today onwards you are my disciple! Call me master!"

"... Master."

"Good disciple! Your master is very satisfied with you!"

Bloed, Regina, Liu Ying, and Elwha looked at that scene with strange expressions.

In the last five minutes, their expressions had gone from surprised, astonished, dumbfounded, speechless, and finally suppressing their laughter. This was the strangest apprenticeship they had seen in their life.

Moreover, one of the two parties was the Sword Absolute, the indisputable strongest powerhouse in the world, but now, he was practically begging Eres to accept him as her master.

It was a very surreal scene.

"By the way, master. Now that I have become your apprentice, doesn't it mean that you must help me if I'm in trouble?"

The old man was startled and subconsciously nodded.

"Then, I need your help now. The gods and the churches want to rob our Heart of the Forest. Please, make justice for us."

The old man fell silent before putting on a bitter smile.

"... I'm starting to regret accepting you as my disciple."

"Too late for that."

"You... Sigh..." The old man heaved a sigh and shook his head. "It's not as easy as you think, I'm the strongest, but it doesn't mean that I am invincible.

"The Heart of the Forest is very important to the gods, they won't give up on it easily. The reason why they agreed to my demands was that I left them with a way to get the Heart, but if I try to stop them completely, they won't hesitate to fight me.

"Don't underestimate the gods. They are indeed afraid of me, but if push comes to shove, they won't care. I'm confident I can defeat any of them in battle, and even if I fight two or three of them at the same time, I'm still confident in my victory; but if I fight the seven of them, then I will definitively lose. At most, I will bring a few of them with me to the grave."

The old man's expression was solemn. He stared at Eres, then at Bloed, Liu Ying, Elwha, and Regina.

"Don't ask me for help regarding this matter, I have done everything I can do. However, I promise you something. If you manage to bring the Heart to the Boerner Forest, I will make sure that the gods accept their loss, even if I have to fight them."

Bloed and the girls looked at each other with serious expressions and nodded.