The Dread Knight's Rage-Chapter 68: Persuasive Parenting

Yari would never have voiced it out loud, but she wished that Jiaoying hadn’t left her behind.

When her father arrived, she already knew what he had come to talk to her about before he even opened his mouth to speak.

She had not yet come up with a convincing lie about her progress.

"So... I hear that there are some interesting stories going around as of late. About how a certain hole appeared in the sophomore dormitories."

Yari hid her face from view and wiped her slick cheeks. "What stories...?"

A box of tissues was held out in front of her. She shyly accepted them.

"The student you are monitoring... they say he spontaneously changed into a minotaur after a fight with an older cadet. A fight he somehow won, mind you."

Raidis gently tilts Yari’s chin upward and helps her dab her face with a tissue.

His face is sentimental, but his eyes are full of thought.

From the outside looking in, they appeared to be a normal father-daughter duo.

"Do you know how any of that is possible..? What have you learned about that sword of his...?"

Yari swallowed. "Well, that’s... I haven’t actually learned anything about it yet. I’m still gaining his trust."

Raidis nods. "Yes, well... it has only been a week. I suppose, if he were smart, he would be keeping that kind of thing to himself."

A wave of relief arises to stamp away Yari’s anxiety. In response, her body relaxes slightly.

"We’ll have to intensify our efforts." Raidis sighs. "See if he’d be willing to allow you to conduct some sort of experiments on his weapon. You know, for academic purposes. That should hopefully loosen his lips a little. Men like to brag about their toys."

Yari made a wry expression. "Solomon A’kenai is not a very trusting individual."

"Well, of course he’s not. But if my beautiful daughter deigned to seduce him, then how could he resist?"

Yari’s face slowly became contorted in horror and bewilderment. "What...?"

"Well, does it not make the most sense? He’s obviously a hot-blooded young man, and you know how your people are all the rage these days... as an elf, you should be quite irresistible to him if he were to see your true face, don’t you think?"

Yari was so flustered she could barely speak. "I-I will not... that...! He’s a student!"

"He is an adult. I would think that to be all that matters."

Yari stood up, horrified. "How could you even suggest such a thing..? M-My body is not a tool to be used to gain advantage! It is sacred!"

"Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. But this doesn’t have to be a wholly negative thing for you either. You’ve been in the human realm for long enough, don’t you think it’s about time that you started doing as we do? You might enjoy the novelty of the experience."

Yari was beside herself. She had never felt so blindsided by someone’s behavior in her entire life.

"...Get out."

"Now Yari, let’s not-"

Yari could barely speak through clenched teeth. "I... hate you..!"

The dean seemed surprised by her firm refusal and rejection of him, even blinking to show his surprise.

He shook his head in exasperation as his hand moved around inside his robe.

"That’s... not very nice, Yari. Daughters shouldn’t speak that way to their fathers..."

Raidis’ arm slipped out of his robe.

Clenched between his fingers was a glowing purple orb with a slit sclera in the center.

Yari immediately backed away. "You..."

"Good children listen to their parents. Don’t you know that?"

Yari’s body slowly lost it’s rigidity. As she relaxed, her eyes briefly became cloudy and unfocused before returning to normal.

"...You’re right, father. It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I have also been a bit curious about human reproduction."

Raidis smiled as he placed the orb back inside his robe. "Oh? Wonderful, then. I congratulate you on your blossoming womanhood, my daughter."

Yari laughed, though she was immensely embarrassed. The sound of her voice lacked it’s usual levity and innocence.

-

"It’s rare for you to hang around me like this. Don’t you want to be stalking Nila?"

"Stop calling it stalking, it’s just... making up for lost time!"

"That’s a very sentimental way of thinking about it, brother. But I think watching her all throughout the day crosses the border into creepy territory a little bit."

"You also think having a cerberus as a pet in a dormitory is a good idea, so maybe you just aren’t very good at elevated thought."

"Ohh... you’re in a mood." Solomon chuckled. "What happened. Did someone flirt with Nila again?"

"....Nine. Different. Students... I swear when we leave here, we’re burning this school to the ground."

"Don’t say that, or we’ll add to our already impressive track record."

As the brothers turned into a hallway to head to class, Solomon found himself rubbing his jaw unconsciously.

"What does that feel like, by the way?"

"What, being dead or seeing the love of your life get harassed by pissant nobles?"

"I was more so referring to jealousy."

"What? You’ve never been jealous??"

"No."

"Never?"

"No."

Raizel seemed to be thinking about something hard underneath his metal helmet.

"...I suppose that makes the most sense. You wouldn’t really have any reason."

"Choose your next words very carefully, metal-man."

"W-Well, Rena was a splendid knight, you know? But in the eyes of the other cadets, she was a bit... Put it like this, she was the only girl in a barrack of pubescent boys and no one even batted an eye at her but you."

Solomon’s eyes became slightly reflective. "I wonder why that was..."

"You don’t have to wonder, you dunce, that woman was scary as shit. You don’t have to be jealous when you’re the only one in an entire castle who wants to get within twenty feet of someone."

"Oh... I guess not." Solomon mused.

Raizel rolled his undead eyes as the two of them stalked closer to Yari’s classroom.

"I think I like my women a little scary. It gives them character." Solomon continued.

"If that’s what you want to call it, sure."

"I don’t want to hear any judgment from you. Nila isn’t exactly the picture of daintiness and standard femininity."

"Ah, that’s where you are wrong, my brother. When my love wields her blade, no one in the realm is more graceful and womanly than she."

A thought bubble formed over Solomon’s head.

He envisioned Nila in training. A veritable woodland berserker who singlehandedly reversed every stereotype about elves being a ’timid’ people.

"...Uh-huh. Sure. And how exactly is she so much more graceful than Rena was?"

"I vividly remember when someone bumped into Rena at the canteen when we were fifteen. She shoved a wooden spoon up his nose, and he spent the next three days crying in the infirmary, refusing to go back to training."

Raizel stared at Solomon and found him making a blank, oafish expression.

"...I don’t see the problem."

"Of course you don’t."

Finally, the duo reached their destination, and Solomon paused before entering. "You sure you want to sit through all this? Yari’s lectures aren’t always the most stimulating."

"I’m sure. You’re starting those tests today, right? Someone has to be around to ensure that the witch holds up her end of the bargain and doesn’t torture you."

Solomon snickered. "This place is getting to you. You’re starting to sound like one of those whinging little servants following around their young masters."

"...I no longer care very much if she tortures you. In fact, I should like to see her split open your skull and your arse with the same rusty blade."

"That doesn’t sound like a very academic method at all. Maybe you really do need this class."

"Fuck off." Raizel stalked back the way they came, prompting a bit of laughter from Solomon.

He entered the classroom expecting to find it full of his fellow students.

He was surprised to find it empty.

"Good, you’re here. Let’s jump right into it then."

Solomon looked down the steps towards the stage.

Yari was behind her desk, beckoning him into the back room of her class.

Solomon closed the door behind him in a hurry. "Since when do you show your true face here...? Are you trying to cause a stir among the current student body?"

"I sent out a notice that class was canceled for the day so that we could work. Besides, I thought this would make you more comfortable."

Solomon tilted his head as he walked towards her. "Since when do you care about making me comfortable?"

"Today. I hoped to make everything a bit easier, is all. And I must say, your constant questioning of me is placing a bit of a damper on my self-esteem, so hurry up before I decide to test whether or not you can drown."

"I might take you up on that. It is something we are both curious to know."

Solomon followed Yari into the backroom. Unlike the last time he was in here, the setup was completely different.

Dozens upon dozens of magical instruments and boiling potions filled his vision.

While he was busy gawking, Yari patted her hand on a long wooden table.

"Sit here and remove your shirt, please."

Solomon complied , though he was beginning to question why so many things he was asked to do in this school required him to remove his clothes.

As he sat down, Yari pulled a metal pot on his left side and grabbed his arm gently.

She extended his arm over the pot and brandished a small knife from her back pocket.

"Due to your regeneration, I’m afraid I’m going to have to twist the knife around a bit to ensure I can draw a sufficient amount of blood. You have my apologies."

"...Since when are you this nice?"

"Shut up, boy."

Yari sliced the vein in the crease of his arm. As she had claimed, she had to bury the blade and twist it around a bit to ensure proper blood flow.

It was uncomfortable for Solomon, but he was a bit too distracted by his instructor to really care.

He hadn’t noticed it before, but her clothes were much more... revealing than normal. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Her stomach was exposed, revealing the criminal brands on both sides of her stomach and a small bit of gold jewelry hanging from her navel.

Her maroon skirt was ankle-length, but there was a large slit on the side that practically exposed her entire right leg.

She had brands there too... Though that wasn’t exactly where most of his focus went.

"You’re sitting well. I guess it must not be that bad."

Solomon had been trying to avoid staring directly into Yari’s face.

But the moment he did, he wished he had tried a little harder to stick with his intuition.

She was so beautiful.

Her face was textbook, unspoiled perfection.

Looking at it almost made him feel stupid and silly.

Yari was infinitely more dangerous than any sword or magic he had ever come across.

Nothing in the world should have made an immortal man feel this powerless.

Their eyes met.

Solomon could tell he’d been silent for a long time. Too long.

He started to ask Yari why she was dressed so strangely and why she seemed a hair bit nicer than usual.

But all of his thinking went out the window when he noticed her leaning in.

She gently placed her soft, manicured fingers on the back of his neck and pulled him in for a single kiss.

No more than a second passed before Solomon’s eyes snapped open.

He quickly pulled away from Yari and tried to put as much distance between them as possible.

However, Solomon was still sitting on a table.

Hence, when he tried to get away, there was nothing but air for him to land in.

He hit the floor hard; cracking his head on the stone and filling his vision with duplicates.

Yari leaned over him with her brow furrowed.

"...Am I bad at this?"

Solomon would have greatly preferred torture to these kinds of mental gymnastics.