Glimpse of the Capital

“Y-You’re Alice’s grandfather?” he stood there dumbfounded.

“Yes—her dearest one at that!” Fied smirked confidently, flexing his muscles as he did. “And my dear Alice… you can’t hide your pretty face,” he teased, pointing straight at her.

“A-Ah… Old Man Fied…” she answered robotically, stammering and mumbling as she responded to his calling.

“So you are…?”

Luciel straightened his posture, bowing his head slightly in respect. “Luciel,” he introduced himself simply, unsure how to match the man’s calm authority.

Fied’s eyes softened as he studied him, “Ah, the boy my dearest granddaughter has been talking to me about—”

Quickly, she ran towards him, wearing a flustered expression on her face. “G-Gramps! Don’t tell him that—please.” she covered her grandfather’s mouth, preventing him from continuing even further.

Luciel chuckled, unable to resist. “She’s always like that,” he said, managing to compose himself again.

Fied then broke out of Alice’s grasp, and walked towards Luciel. “Well, nice to meet you, Luciel…” he said, offering him a handshake. “Anyway, with that strength… I want to test it…” he grinned menacingly.

“What does he mean, Alice?” he whispered, leaning closer to her.

“A-Ah!” she jumped, caught off guard by his gesture. “He wants a sparring match… probably—”

“Yes! I would like to spar against you, Luciel. I want to know your strength.” Fied interrupted, his eyes full of excitement.

Luciel then stood there in shock, holding his sword with a tight grip. He looked at Fied, then Alice, and back to Fied, weighing whether he should fight him head on. Luciel sighed, finally landing on a decision.

“If that’s your challenge, I’ll gladly accept.” He grinned, reaching out his hand to seal the agreement.

“That’s the spirit!” Fied remarked, as he accepted his humble handshake. “Let’s get this started shall we?”

And before Luciel could utter a word, a streak of light rushed past him—too fast for his eyes to follow. Just then, he heard something cut through the air, and that’s when a heinous glare struck him.

BOOGSH!

A solid gust of wind blew right in front of him. But thanks to his reaction time, he managed to dodge in time, avoiding a possible deadly attack.

“Did you just try to kill me!?” he asked, gasping out of shock.

Fied smirked, “Maybe yes, maybe not… Who knows?” he laughed, but noticed that he did manage to react in time from his attack. “Quite impressive that you managed to dodge that.”

Luciel chuckled nervously, “W-Well… instincts, I guess?”

“Then that’s some very impressive instincts young man!” he commented. “But can you block this attack this time—”

But before Fied could do his attack, Luciel went on the offensive and dashed in without hesitation, rivaling the speed Fied generated—or maybe even faster.

“Playing dirty huh, young man?” he scuffed, blocking his sudden attack.

“Finally getting the taste of your own medicine, old man?” he retorted, giving back a sly smirk.

And just like that: They seemed to have vanished into thin air—with their clashes echoing up above the field, only their visage can be seen blurring across the blue sky. It was intense, shockwaves reaching the training field below.

They traded blows for minutes, and it would seem like they wouldn’t stop for an eternity—that was until Fied was sent hurling to the ground. He wasn’t gravely injured, but was merely cornered by Luciel. Before he could recover, Luciel stood over him, sword at his neck—ending the spar in decisive silence.

“Very impressive, Luciel…” Fied muttered with a defeated sigh, reaching out his hand.

“You’re impressive yourself, Sir Fied.” he reached out for his hand, pulling him out, “No one has pushed me this far before, so I must admit that you’re a very strong person.”

They exchanged humble words of praise, unaware of the quiet snickers from the onlookers who had witnessed their duel.

“They’re both monsters, aren’t they?”
“Yep they are.”

Despite their comments, they continued to bond over their recent duel, talking about possible combos, or spells they could’ve used. It was like a father and son relationship between them, nerding out on everything battle related.

“That’s enough, Luciel. Time to go home,” Alice said, giving him a quick head chop and tugging him by the arm. “Anyway, Gramps—hope you enjoyed your match.”

“Of course I did my dear granddaughter,” he smiled, waving them off, “Don’t drain him off too much!”

“W-What do you mean by t-that…?” she stammered.

“Nothing dear,” he laughed, “Take care!”

“What a weird old man…”

As they made their way home, a handful of lesser spirits followed, their soft glow illuminating the path ahead. Their walk home was not only warm—but also comforting. It gave a sense of warmth that could only be felt by two really close people.

Moments later, they finally arrived home—only to be greeted by an unexpected sight. A greater spirit, taking the form of a dog, sat waiting by their doorstep.

“Since when did we have a dog?—let alone a greater spirit?” Luciel blinked, jaw dropping at the sight of the creature.

“Beats me… but it’s so cute!” Alice exclaimed, running toward it with sparkling eyes. “Who’s a good dog? Yes, you are!”

“I guess we should keep this dog,” Luciel smiled, as he watched Alice play with the dog for a while.

As the night deepened, Luciel’s thoughts began to deepen as well. Thoughts of returning to his village lingered, making him feel lonely all of a sudden.

Sensing the shift in his mood, Alice crept up behind him and wrapped her arms gently around his waist. “Guess who’s behind you?” she giggled, stretching to reach his head—but she couldn’t quite make it.

“It’s obviously you, Alice.” he laughed, turning his head towards her. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing… you just look lonely all of a sudden.”

“Oh, that…” He paused, his gaze softening. “I just started thinking about my parents again. Guess I miss them more than I thought.”

“Then let’s visit them sometime,” she said with a gentle smile, hugging him once more. “But actually, I have something to suggest…”

Luciel tilted his head slightly. “Hmm? What is it, Alice?”

“How about we travel to the Empire Capital? We could pass by your village—and maybe even meet your friends along the way.”

Luciel’s eyes lit up at the idea. “I’ll take you up on that offer,” he said warmly, returning her embrace. “Thank you… really.”

“Then we’ll talk to the elders tomorrow about us leaving this village—”

“Wait that instant!?” he muttered, surprised by her sudden inkling to go.

“I mean, we can leave whenever we want to…?” she muttered, “Is there something wrong?”

“Well…” he sighed, “I just didn’t expect it to be that early…”

She laughed, pulling him closer to her face, “Anything to someone I hold dear.”

But before she could proceed any further, both of their faces flushed a deep crimson, prompting them to look away from each other. As red as a beet, both of them agreed on one thing.

“Let’s not keep our faces too close…”

***

Well the KADOKAWA competition is coming to a close, but this novel will not!
It's finally ramping up for the Empire Capital Arc... One my favorite as of writing this. 
The next chapter would be a meeting with the elders about their departure!
Anyway, as always, it will be weekly.

See you guys!
Chapter 23: Meeting with the Elders (Oct 5, 2025, GMT+8)