One of the perks of being an overpowered Villain, especially one who was only slightly weaker than the Protagonist and trained like a gym addict with abandonment issues… was simply that disciplining idiots was extremely easy.
Ren folded his arms as he watched the noble sons scrambling up the rocky wall like discount mountain goats.
Most were slipping, grunting, or struggling to hold their balance. Only a few made it up with any dignity.
And surprisingly, the third person to reach the top was Randy… or Reina… whichever one applied at the moment.
Ren blinked.
Despite being a woman disguised as a man, she climbed with the lightness and nimbleness of a hunter.
Her movements were efficient and she looked like she practiced a lot… Reina scaled the cliff like she belonged in the mountains.
She reached the top, dusted her hands, and stood quietly, avoiding the rowdier heirs.
'Not bad,' Ren thought. 'She really is agile… and for a crossdressing heroine, she's doing a damn good job.'
"There's no need to rush it though…" he muttered under his breath, placing one foot on the rocky wall.
Ren had something the others didn't:
Mana Wall-Suction.
A technique Ren Crowhurst had learned by accident during one of his many obsessive training sessions though it wasn't in his skill section.
By channeling mana to the soles of his feet, he could stick to surfaces and treat walls like floors.
It was meant for mobility and evasive maneuvers.
Ren was using it for farming screen time and flexing dominance.
He lifted his other leg, channeled mana, and casually walked straight up the cliff like the world's most arrogant insect.
The moment he disappeared over the top, all the clan heads visibly relaxed.
The Briarhallow clan head stomped toward his half-drowned son as the boy dragged himself out of the water and was now in a coughing fit.
"Father…" the heir croaked, expecting sympathy, maybe a towel too…
POW!
A kick hit him right in the head, sending him rolling across the wet stones like a soggy log.
"GET TO THE TOP, FOOL! FIND THAT ITEM!"
"Yes, father!!" the boy yelped, scrambling upright.
He ran back to the wall.
Climbed… Got halfway up… Slipped… Slammed onto his ass… Groaned… Got up again as his father's glare burned holes into his skull.
And somehow, through pain and pure filial fear dragged himself to the top.
"That's better," the Briarhallow head grunted.
He turned around, completely satisfied. "Now… we can get to some chilling."
He removed his robe, flexed his shoulders, and prepared for peaceful relaxation.
Alina, meanwhile, wandered toward a large warm rock and climbed onto it.
It was smooth, heated by the waterfall's steam, and perfect for sitting while sketching scenery.
She opened her drawing book with her legs tucked neatly beneath her.
A shadow loomed beside her.
The Evermere clan head, still dripping from earlier after his assassination via ice cube plopped down next to her with a grunt.
He still clutched his precious goblet as if it were his child.
"You're the little sister to that brat…?" he asked while sniffing loudly with water still dripping from his nose.
"Brat?" Alina looked up. "You mean my big brother…? Yes, but he's not a brat."
"You all are brats to me," he shrugged, conjuring a cup in his hand.
With a twist of his wrist, he uncorked the bottle and poured golden beer into the cup. "You want some beer?"
Alina stared at the cup with a torn expression.
"I'm not old enough to drink beer…"
"Come on, have some. It builds resistance later," he insisted, pushing the cup toward her.
Alina hesitated.
Her mother's voice rang in her head:「Never decline a gift offered sincerely from the heart.」
She peeked at her father… who was too busy arguing about bathing etiquette with the other clan heads.
She swallowed.
She took the cup.
Just then…
WHOOSH!
A griffin dropped from the sky like a furry missile and landed directly on Evermere's head. The poor man collapsed under the giant creature's weight.
"Ahahahahaha!! I have arrived!" a loud voice echoed triumphantly.
Standing on top of the griffin like it was a parade chariot was a brown-haired girl wearing loose, adventurous clothing.
She posed dramatically with one hand on her hip and her cape fluttering.
Her eyes locked onto Alina.
Then onto the cup.
"Is that hot chocolate…? For me?"
Before Alina could say anything, the girl snatched the drink and chugged it down.
In one go.
She threw the empty cup aside like an anime protagonist.
"Why does this taste so different…?" she murmured, wobbling slightly. "My hair… feels light…"
Her legs buckled and she collapsed onto the back of her griffin, twitching as the alcohol hit her soul.
Meanwhile, the Evermere clan head resurfaced from the spring, looking around in horror.
His bottle… the Infinite Beer Cup's companion rolled toward the edge…
Rolled…
Tilted…
And fell into the water.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
He dove forward in slow motion, pushing the griffin and Esmeralda off his back, and splashed head-first into the spring in pursuit of his bottle.
"Ah, Ryan has initiated it," Jeremiah Morcant observed, removing his robe to reveal elastic swim shorts.
The man cracked his neck and pointed to the steaming water. "Dive men!"
The clan heads all exchanged a solemn nod.
Then threw themselves into the springs like overgrown children at a water park.
SPLASH.
SPLASH.
SPLASH.
SPLASH.
Steam burst upward everywhere.
Alina blinked.
'They're acting like children…'
She shook her head and looked back at the girl who had fallen onto her griffin. The girl sat back up and shook her head wildly, spraying droplets everywhere.
"Hey!" she said, leaning forward with a grin. "I'd like some more of that… it makes my hair feel light!"
Alina blinked. "Um…"
"What's your name?" the girl asked. "I'm Esmeralda Morcant!"
"I'm Alina Crowhurst."
Esmeralda gasped dramatically, slapping her cheeks. "Great! Let's be friends."
Alina blinked again.
'Friend…?'
Her small smile grew slowly. "Okay."
…
Meanwhile, Ren was having a much less relaxing time.
He stood deep within the upper forest and in his hands?
An unconscious tomboy heroine.
Reina Dawnlarke's body dangled across his arms like a limp ragdoll.
Her face was peaceful.
"How did this even happen…?" Ren muttered.