Shadow Monarch: Heroines Could Hear My Thoughts?!

Chapter 20- Rin Vs Aria (Part 1)

[A few days prior to the visit]

"Are you sure?" A handsome middle-aged man said as he tapped the table in front of him rhythmically seemingly in deep thought.

In front of him was an extremely handsome boy who looked very similar to the man in appearance albeit way younger. His eyes were looking straight at the man with no hesitation or shame.

"Yes. It's something I need in order to control my strength." Rin replied confidently.

Hearing his son, Damian rested his back on the chair again as he sighed quietly.

"It's not safe at all, Rin."

"Was gaining strength ever safe, father?" He asked as he smiled slightly.

"That's true. Still, you barely awakened yesterday, and yet you want to enter a dungeon today?"

Rin knew his father's concerns but he still didn't want to just keep on doing the daily quests and hope for the best. He needed to fight actual monsters and face actual danger in order for him to gain experience and learn how to use his powers.

"There is no other choice. I already resolved myself to do this."

Damian eyed the boy for a few seconds before he asked.

"Are you scared?"

"Even if I was scared, it won't be a good reason to give up."

'This child…' Damian thought with a complicated gaze.

For some reason, the boy in front of him didn't sound like a young man at all and instead sounded like a war veteran who saw death multiple times before and also faced great threats. But, the problem is, where did he get that aura?

Rin wasn't the type to leave the house at all and even if he did leave the house, he would just stroll around the city, maybe buy something or go play somewhere but never really fought any monsters, trained, or even showed any interest in those kinds of things.

But, he quickly shook these thoughts away and focused on the conversation again.

"Did you ask your mother?"

"No. But, I know she will understand if I show enough determination."

"What about Aria?"

"Umm… Well, not yet." Rin seemed troubled for some reason but Damian didn't try to ask why.

"Well, I guess I can allow you to get inside a dungeon. But, you are prohibited from anything higher than G-Rank dungeons until you are strong enough, got it?" He asked.

"Understood." Rin nodded his head with a smile.

"Another thing father."

"Hmm?"

"Do you know any person that goes by the name 'Elise'?" He asked.

"Ah? You mean her highness the princess?"

"The princess? The princess of this empire?" Rin tilted his head confusedly.

"Yes, Elise Aviresion. That's the princess." Damian nodded.

'Oh god! So Elise reincarnated at the princess?! Damn it! Talk about the inconvenience.' Rin tried to keep a calm front but his mind was in shambles.

"Why are you asking?"

"Nothing. I was just curious. Anyway, I will excuse myself now, father." He said and walked to the door.

"Wait, Rin."

"Yes?"

Damian seemed troubled as he tried to speak but then shook his head and said.

"Don't overdo it."

"Ah, I will try my best not to." He smiled and then left the room.

There, resting on the wall right to his left, Aria was waiting silently. Rin was surprised at her sudden appearance but then calmed quickly.

"Are you about to enter a dungeon?" She asked with a serious face.

"You heard, huh? Well, I intended to tell you either way." Rin scratched his head with an awkward chuckle.

"Let me go with you."

"Huh? Why?"

"You can get yourself harmed without someone protecting you as you trained."

"I will be fine, Aria. I'm not completely clueless about this as you might assume."

"Still, you lack strength. Even if this is a mere G-Rank dungeon, you can still put your life at risk." Her voice was stern yet also worried. That's why Rin kept smiling at her gently.

'She really cares for me a lot. I'm grateful for her.' He thought to himself.

Instantly, Aria turned her face away and coughed a few times. Rin watched her weird reaction with an interested look. He could see her ears turning slightly red for a moment.

Chuckling at her cute behavior, he approached her and patted her head gently.

"How about this? We can have a spar now and you can judge my capabilities that way."

Aria, who was secretly enjoying the pats, replied with a less stern voice.

"You won't be able to hold for long."

"That's not the point. I just want to show you that I'm not a pushover. That way, you can let me enter the dungeon."

"..."

Thinking carefully about it, Aria sighed at the end and then nodded her head in defeat.

"Fine. I agree."

"Good and thanks for your concern, Aria. It means a lot to me." He thanked her with a soft tone before walking away.

Seeing his silhouette as he disappeared slowly, Aria touched her chest with her left hand and a weird expression appeared on her face.

"You're unfair… Rin." Her lips pursed into a small pout before she followed him.

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The two ended up walking to the backyard of the mansion. There, apart from a huge garden filled with all kinds of flowers and exotic plants, there was a training ground that was specially made for Aria to train when she was young.

It went unused for some time but it still looks in good shape since the maids cleaned it thoroughly every once in a while.

There, in the middle of the field, Rin and Aria stood face to face.

On the side, there was Selina who came to watch. Her face looked very worried but she didn't try to stop them. All she could do was watch carefully and be ready in case she needed to do anything.

"Be careful, kids." She said.

The two nodded their heads at the same time at her request.

"Are you sure you won't use a sword? It will be disadvantageous to you." Aria asked as she eyed the pair of daggers he held in his hand.

"I'm more accustomed to these and they also feel way more comfortable in my hands."

'Weird. Daggers aren't really that popular. Ah, right. I forgot that he was actually from another world. Every time I think about it, it sounds weird in my head.' Aria had many questions she wanted to ask but she shook them away and focused on the spar.

"As I said before, we won't use mana or any abilities. Just a pure swordfight to show skills. The first to surrender loses."

"Got it. Mother, could you be the judge for that?"

"Ugh, fine. On my mark. Three…"

The two gripped their weapons tightly and took a fighting stance. Their eyes turned sharp as their breathing became shallower and shallower.

"Two…"

Rin felt his heart starting to race and adrenaline rushing to every corner of his body.

'I feel like I didn't fight in ages. My limbs are getting rusty.'

"One… Start!!"

At the sign, Rin dashed toward Aria quickly, closing the distance between them quickly and slashing down with his right dagger horizontally. It was a swift and lethal attack that he liked to start fights with.

Aria was already anticipating the attack and easily dodged it with a sidestep before slashing with her sword at his abdomen. Both weapons were made out of wood so the chances of sustaining a lethal injury were near impossible. But, those weapons could still break bones in the right hands.

Rin felt the tip of the sword almost touching his shirt so he used the left dagger and parried the sword slash. The sheer strength of the hit made him retreat slightly to create distance.

"That was really good, Rin. I didn't expect that." Aria praised him honestly.

"You are also amazing, Aria."

*Swish*

Then, both of them charged toward each other and clashed weapons. Rin had to use both daggers to be able to hold on to her power.

'I guess the training did help slightly. My self from a few days ago would've probably been thrown away immediately after clashing with Aria. But, now I can hold on for a few seconds.' He clenched his teeth and swiped the two daggers in opposing directions.

That made the pressure from Aria's sword vanish for a small moment. However, that small moment was more than enough for Rin to be able to send a kick to her side with his free leg.

'She can't avoid this. Hehehe!' He laughed as he felt his leg almost hitting her.

However, Rin forgot one small thing during this clash… He was fighting one of the strongest awakeners of their generation.

(A//N: It was at this moment that Rin knew… he fucked up. Hehehe! :) )

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