Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

Whoooosh—

"Ahahaha! So fast!"

Taking the headwind full on with her whole body, Hagipherione burst into delighted laughter, thrilled by the incredible speed. Her cute reaction got me excited too, and I casually asked.

"Want me to go even faster, Harpe?"

"Yeah! Faster! Go go!"

"Haha, then hold on tight."

Physical Enhancement Art — Shinsu Limiter Break

My body was enveloped in white light, and after placing a light shinsu barrier over Hagipherione before accelerating, I immediately shot toward the destination like a launched projectile. It was obviously much faster than before, and I worried Hagipherione might get motion sick, but...

"Hahahaha!"

It was completely unnecessary worry. Far from getting sick, she was even more overjoyed, and watching her made the corners of my mouth rise too. We both laughed happily as we drew closer and closer to our destination.

...Ah, there it is. Black Thorn Mountain—a region where rare resources were buried, though the exact quantity was uncertain, and it overlapped with the habitat of high-danger deep-sea species, plus it was close to disputed territory with other factions, so no mine had been constructed yet.

Heron had said that Lo Po Bia intruders had entered that mountain. Did they think that just because we weren't developing it, we'd be lax with surveillance? The 78th Floor was one of the Tower's disputed zones, but their constant trespassing was irritating in many ways.

Rumble rumble rumble—

Upon entering the underground cavern of Black Thorn Mountain, the dark, massive cave was filled with loud mechanical noise echoing throughout the chamber. There were several Rankers and just over ten Beast-kin. One of the Lo Po Bia Rankers was diligently running the machines and driving the Beast-kin who were mining ore with pickaxes.

"Hurry it up! Grab the samples, rough data, and the tribute for the Branch Leader, then get out of here as fast as possible!"

Flicker, flicker—at that moment, the lights illuminating the dark cave all began flickering in unison. Irritated by the on-and-off visibility, the Lo Po Bia Ranker lost his temper.

"What the hell's wrong with the lights now? It's dark enough in here as it is, how annoying..."

"Lord Kuroku! The work is almost done! What should we do with the machines?"

"It'd be nice if we could leave no evidence, but this time we withdraw the instant work is finished. The White Whale is a meticulous one. We don't know when he'll catch wind and come here."

Flicker, flicker—unable to stand the constantly flickering lights any longer, the Ranker finally shouted.

"Somebody fix those damn lights! Or just smash them entirely! So annoying...!"

Flicker, flicker, flicker—CRASH!

At that moment, one of the ceaselessly flickering lights shattered. In the slightly darkened space, the Ranker wore a somewhat startled expression.

"...Huh?"

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

"Wh-what the..."

All the lights shattered sequentially, one after another. The panicked Beastkin stopped the machines, and darkness returned to the cave that had been artificially lit.

Step, step.

"The White Whale might catch wind at any moment, you say..."

In the darkness, I—white enough to be the only thing glowing—walked slowly toward them. The Lo Po Bia Rankers all saw me at once and began frantically backing away.

"Y-you can't be..."

"I'll answer for you. I knew from the very beginning. I was going to deal with it gradually, but it seems you've gone and done something interesting."

My gray eyes, emanating a gleam in the darkness, turned toward where the machinery was. The rare ore primarily buried in this mountain was piled up nearly a full cartload. They'd already stolen that much.

My eyes shifted back to the thieves.

"Lo Po Bia's thieving cat friends, I presume?"

"...."

The Rankers didn't answer. The Beastkin could only sense my presence instinctively, cowering and trembling. To think they considered sending such pathetic things into my territory.

"Oppa, that person is moving."

Hagipherione, nestled in my arms, pointed her finger at a Ranker who had been about to make a suspicious move. I had thought the only ones with proper vision in a place this dark were me and the Rankers, but there was one more.

"Good eye, Harpe. I suppose I should at least subdue—"

At that moment, one of the Lo Po Bia Rankers gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Wangwang! Buy some time!"

"Hm? Wangwang?"

What kind of name for a person is—

At that instant, I sensed a presence behind me. My shadow and someone else's shadow overlapped, growing darker. He had already finished preparing his attack right behind me.

"...!"

The moment I turned my head to look back, a man was bringing both fists down on me in a hammer blow.

KABOOOOOM!!

The attack slammed down powerfully, the cave shook, and clouds of dust billowed up. And the man soon couldn't help but flinch in shock.

The fists he had brought down with all his might were far too easily blocked—by a single hand.

"Hmm... judging by the fact that you got right behind me, your movement seems decent enough, but the power is seriously lacking. And your name—was it Wangwang?"

"...!"

Apparently shocked that he'd been blocked so easily, Wangwang immediately leaped far away to create distance.

"Oppa!"

"....!"

While I'd been lost in other thoughts, Wangwang had closed in right in front of me in an instant, just like before, and swung his fist. I simply extended my hand, same as before. Well, judging by the power from earlier, he wasn't much of a threat to me...

Crack crack crack—

"....?"

At that moment, Wangwang's arm began to change. It became covered in something spiky—impossible to tell if they were feathers or thorns—and his now-enormous arm slammed into me.

"Hm?!"

Power incomparably greater than before. Unable to keep up with the sudden change in force, I was sent flying toward one wall. But just before hitting the wall, I barely managed to brake with my feet and stopped my movement.

"O-oppa... are you okay? Should I get down..?"

"No, Harpe. Just stay in oppa's arms. It's safer that way."

So he transforms specific body parts in a peculiar way, and the transformed parts gain exponentially increased power... I felt like I might remember something about this, and it was quite an interesting ability, so if I'd been alone I would have played along a bit, but with Hagipherione here, I had no choice.

Shiiing—

About fifty glowing shinsu swords formed in an instant, orbiting around me in a fixed trajectory. The brilliant light restored illumination to the cave, and I could see Wangwang's appearance more clearly now.

Aha.

"You're of the Canine race."

"...How did you know that... mm!"

Fifty shinsu swords fired at him. The flustered Wangwang hurriedly transformed his legs, and with greatly increased speed, he leaped around in every direction.

KABOOM BOOM BOOM!

"Hmm, he's holding up fairly well."

"Wooow...."

Perhaps displeased at the sight of me leisurely firing off endless shinsu swords from a distance while spectating, and my little sister marveling at it, Wangwang gritted his teeth hard and transformed both his legs and both his arms.

"Don't look down on me!"

"...Well then."

Hoaqin-Style Shinsu Manipulation Art — Living Sword Control

Shiiing—

Eight shinsu swords flowed naturally along my arm. Toward Wangwang, who was charging at me, I hurled those eight swords. Wangwang's fist rushed toward me, but I summoned a shinsu sword right in front of his fist to block it, then immediately manipulated the eight swords with a gesture of my hand.

Lion's Cross Strike

Shwaaaa—

The eight swords moved on their own following my hand gestures, executing the Lion's Cross Strike. Ten living sword strikes per sword—a total of roughly eighty slashes rapidly descended upon Wangwang, and naturally, he could only block or barely dodge some of them while being mercilessly cut down by the remaining dozens of strikes, sending him crashing to the ground.

"GRAAAH!"

Whether he overcame the pain and injuries through sheer willpower, he immediately scrambled back up and charged at me once more with a beastly roar. This time his form had changed even more than before—I thought it was probably a half-body transformation. Accordingly, he was faster and stronger than before, but...

"Not as impressive as I expected."

"....!"

Thwack, thunk, thunk—

Before Wangwang could reach me, three longsword-shaped shinsu swords pierced through his body. He even ripped all of those out and kept charging at me to the bitter end, but the result was the same. Shinsu swords that each moved in unpredictable and dangerous patterns as if alive were launched at him, and after dodging, blocking, or breaking a few, he ultimately hit the wall of physical endurance and sheer numbers, and was once again mercilessly slashed apart.

Through all of that, I had not drawn Baekya even once.

"Kh... aah..."

Truly tenacious. But this time he had no strength left to move, only letting out feeble sounds, sprawled on the ground gasping for breath.

"I do appreciate that you targeted only me and not my sister.."

The entire time he'd charged at me, his gaze had been fixed solely on me. The occasional attacks that nearly landed were also aimed at me, not my sister Hagipherione. I liked that.

At my words, Wangwang answered as if it were obvious.

"...Because it would be unbecoming of a warrior."

"...I won't kill you, so take all of them and get out."

"....!"

Killing members of the 10 Great Families would mean paperwork, and that's a hassle anyway.

Still carrying my little sister in my arms, I emerged from the dim cave. Wangwang, who cautiously followed me out, was stunned by the sight spread out before him. About twenty enormous shinsu swords surrounded the mountain. Not merely encircling it, but forming a massive barrier that had trapped the others—who had tried to dump things on Wangwang and flee on their own—inside the mountain.

The Lo Po Bia Rankers, now like cats caught in a trap, saw me emerge from the cave and frantically signaled their surrender, begging for forgiveness.

"P-please spare us, White Whale!"

"We swear we'll never trespass again..."

"Quiet."

"".....""

Looking at the intruders who had instantly clamped their mouths shut, I let out a low sigh. If they were going to be this scared, they shouldn't have come in the first place. Why make things so troublesome?

"This incident will be formally protested to the Lo Po Bia Family at the Arie main house level."

"...."

"Tell them that if they trespass again next time, I cannot guarantee their lives from that point on, and now get l—"

Just as I was about to finish my sentence, I belatedly noticed Hagipherione in my arms. Whoops, I need to watch my language. She might pick it up.

"...Get out. Now."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Q-quickly, withdraw!"

Judging by their reactions, they clearly hadn't come here willingly... and with Hagipherione present, killing people in front of a child probably wouldn't be great for her upbringing either.

After flashing a brief smile at Hagipherione, who had been gazing up at me with sparkling eyes for a while now, I looked at Wangwang as he withdrew along with the Rankers and Beastkin. If my guess was correct, that one would soon... well, it wasn't my concern.

After watching the Lo Po Bia members disappear from the floor for a moment, I finally turned my gaze back to Hagipherione, who had been staring at me fervently this whole time.

"Hoaqin oppa..."

"Hm? What?"

She, nestled in my arms, dove in once more and now clung to me entirely.

"Oppa, you were so cool! Is that what a branch leader does?"

"It's what I do as a ruler and a branch leader."

"But why didn't you use your sword? Our Arie Family is a swordsman family."

"Well... I didn't really need to?"

"Teach me that too! The thing where swords fly around everywhere!"

That requires having a sword-attribute shinsu... Looking at my adorable little sister gazing up at me desperately with sparkling eyes, I found it hard to tell her that she couldn't use it if her shinsu attribute didn't match. Well, she's my blood sister, so maybe she inherited the same shinsu attribute.

I peeled her off where she clung, held her back in my arms, and smiled warmly.

"Okay, I'll teach you swordsmanship and that together when we get back. Promise."

"Promise... urk."

She had been smiling as she hooked her pinky with mine and had just finished a high-five when she suddenly grimaced in pain. What's wrong? Did I fail to properly block that Canine's attack earlier?

"Harpe, what's wrong? Was it from earlier when that..."

"Mm, n-no... it's not because of that... I just bumped into a desk corner on the floating ship on the way here.."

"...Are you really okay?"

"Y-yeah... More than that, oppa, I'm cold. Let's go home."

"Sure. It is cold now that we've been in that cave. We'll have to visit the shopping district tomorrow instead."

I layered multiple shinsu barriers over Hagipherione so she wouldn't be cold, held her snugly in my arms, and returned to my branch as quickly as possible. The one who greeted us upon arrival was, of course, our branch's reliable head butler, Heron.

"Well done, Branch Leader. I've already informed the main house that you carried out the mission splendidly. And as per your request, a mine will be constructed at Black Thorn Mountain in the near future."

"Good work, Heron. Where's Orca noona?"

"She's currently training the Rankers. Shall I escort Lady Hagipherione to her quarters? It's gotten late."

Heron's and my gazes turned to Hagipherione. She was shaking her head vigorously from side to side.

"No! I'm not going to sleep yet, Hoaqin oppa said he'd teach me swordsmanship!"

"Hm..? You want to start learning today?"

"Yeah! Starting today!"

Hagipherione looked up at me with those trademark sparkling eyes of hers. Ah, seriously. When she does this, I can't help but give in. But our Hagipherione needs to grow tall—what do I do?

"Oppa....."

"...Ugh, just tonight. Only tonight, and starting tomorrow, you go to bed after 10:30."

"Yeah!!"

In the end, I took Hagipherione into the private training room and had her lightly practice forming a Bang. What surprised me was that she could already form a Bang, and beyond that, her talent in virtually every aspect exceeded my imagination. Swordsmanship, shinsu, physical ability—every single one boasted overwhelming talent.

That got me quite greedy, and while I was teaching her a bit more of this and that, Heron suddenly came by.

"Branch Leader, a rather important matter has... it's from the main house. I'm afraid you'll need to come right away."

"...Understood. Harpe, I'll be back as fast as I can. If I'm not back by midnight, just go ahead and go to sleep."

Entrusting Hagipherione to a nearby Ranker, I headed to the branch leader's office. Four hours later, only after the hastily convened branch leader meeting ended was I finally able to stand up. Oh no, Hagipherione must be disappointed. That took way too long. She's probably asleep by now.

"...?"

Thinking that, I stopped by the guest quarters, but she was nowhere to be seen. Only then did I notice that the lights in the training room were still on.

...Don't tell me?

I flung open the training room door, and sure enough, there was Hagipherione.

"Harpe, why are you still here...!"

"Hah, hah, hah... hyaah!"

Thwack—I hastily grabbed her sword hand to stop her mid-swing. It had already been four hours—four hours—and it was nearly 2 AM. And yet, she had been swinging her sword without rest, endlessly. If she had just been swinging a sword casually, it wouldn't have been much of a problem for a child of the 10 Great Families, but the issue was that she had been mimicking my swordsmanship for four hours straight. My swordsmanship was already one that put enormous strain on the body, and a nine-year-old had been doing it for four hours...

"Oppa... why'd you stop me... I need to swing more..."

"Harpe, you've been at this this whole time? And what were you doing?! I told you to take her to her quarters and put her to bed by midnight!"

I whipped my head around and glared at the Ranker who was supposed to be watching Hagipherione, shouting furiously. He had been fidgeting anxiously and simply staring at Hagipherione without doing anything.

I had told her to rest well before leaving her with that Ranker because Heron had called me urgently, and he just watched while letting the child overwork herself for four hours?

"Th-the thing is... Lady Hagipherione insisted on continuing... she even pulled rank on me..."

"My rank is above Harpe's. You're under my command, so all you had to say was that! "

"I-I'm sorry! I'm newly promoted to Ranker... I haven't yet fully learned those kinds of..."

"....."

She had been doing this of her own volition for four hours? A child who's barely nine years old? Why on earth?

"Harpe, why are you pushing yourself this hard?"

"...I have to win."

...Win? Against whom?

"...That way... will... like..."

"...Harpe? Harpe!"

The exhausted Hagipherione collapsed unconscious on the spot. The first day of my beloved sister's visit came to an end in a truly unexpected direction.

.....

Softly breathing in her sleep.

"....."

After the examination was finished, I gazed at Hagipherione, who was now lying in bed, sleeping peacefully. Such a tiny child, such a young child—what could possibly be so desperate that... Even Vicente, whose achievements were born of effort, had played at this age. But this child...

"...Haah."

I think I understood a little of how Mascheny felt, always telling me to take better care of my body.

.....

Hummmm—

"Oh, you've formed a Bang! What truly remarkable talent!"

"As expected of Branch Leader Hoaqin's sister. She must have inherited his splendid talent."

"But... compared to him, she does seem slightly lacking..."

"Now now, even so, it remains an outstanding and magnificent achievement, that much is unchanged."

"After the civil war, the Family is in a chaotic state. Naturally, expectations are high for Lady Hagipherione, being Branch Leader Hoaqin's kin."

"That's true. If someone on par with Branch Leader Hoaqin were to emerge, our Arie Family could further solidify its undisputed title as the strongest. Hoho!"

Hagipherione, with a glowing orb formed in her hand, looked up at her mother with an innocent face.

"Mother? This is amazing, right? Did I do something great?"

Her mother, Raphir, glanced down at Hagipherione briefly, then gave her no further attention.

"My child, and your elder brother, Branch Leader Hoaqin, achieved far greater things. Shouldn't you at least surpass him? If you are to become a Princess of Zahard in the future and gather all Thirteen Months, that is. Try harder—a little more, no. Many times, tens of times, hundreds of times harder than you are now."

"...Yes, Mother."

After that, she worked even harder. Never resting on her talent, she swung her sword until blisters formed on her hands—hands that belonged to the 10 Great Families and should have been resilient—and she manipulated shinsu until the sturdy internal shinsu flow of a 10 Great Families member was on the verge of breaking down.

"Hmm... she certainly has remarkable talent, but..."

"Compared to Branch Leader Hoaqin, she seems a bit lacking..."

"Branch Leader Hoaqin had already, by age twelve..."

"But Lady Hagipherione is still young, so if she grows a bit more..."

"Even accounting for that, she still seems to fall below Branch Leader Hoaqin's level."

"Hmm... it's an overwhelming, incomparable talent compared to other children, certainly, but given that her kin is Branch Leader Hoaqin... shouldn't she be able to show at least this much as a matter of course..?"

The endless evaluations of her brother that echoed around her. And the evaluations of herself. Hagipherione paid no mind to the voices around her. She only needed her mother—that one person—to acknowledge her. If only that person would permit her love.

"Mother...?"

"I heard you placed second in the last swordsmanship sparring."

"Ah, that's because my opponent was seven years older than me... and I was up late practicing the night before..."

Slap—

"...M-Mother?"

"How foolish! Don't make such pathetic excuses to run from your defeat! Your elder brother, Branch Leader Hoaqin, never once relinquished first place! He even achieved overwhelming victories against opponents eight years his senior!"

"Hagipherione? You can certainly achieve greater things than him. You are destined to become the strongest Princess of Zahard. That is what you were born for. Surpassing Branch Leader Hoaqin—surpassing what he achieved in his youth—should be a given, shouldn't it?"

"...Yes, Mother."

No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much blood she coughed up, no matter how many blisters burst, no matter how much she cut her sleep—the evaluation clung to her like a tag: 'Still seems a little lacking compared to Branch Leader Hoaqin's childhood.'

Her body grew increasingly exhausted, and her heart shrank. The voices of others, which she had once ignored, now became daggers flying into her chest. Eventually, there was a time when she couldn't endure the fatigue and fell asleep, resulting in a forfeit loss in a swordsmanship sparring match.

Her mother that day was terrifying—truly terrifying.

"M-Mother... I'm sorry... please don't hit me..."

CRAAASH!!

"Gasp!"

She bolted upright—startled awake by a sudden clap of thunder, Hagipherione shot up in bed. Her body was drenched in cold sweat, and her breathing was unsteady.

"Hah, hah... a dream...?"

She looked around. Beside her, sleeping soundly, was the brother she loved more than anyone—the one who had stayed with her all day today.

Only then did Hagipherione notice the cold compress that had been placed on her forehead. Did Hoaqin oppa put it there? Because I passed out? Back at the main house, nobody did things like this for me except the handmaidens...

She hung her head low.

Why did the adults keep telling her to beat such a kind and wonderful brother? Telling her she had to win, that she had to surpass him...

I just want to live happily like this, together with oppa...

Hagipherione lay back down in bed and burrowed deeper into Hoaqin's arms beneath the blanket. Feeling his warmth, more than enough to comfort her, she drifted back to sleep, reassured at last.

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