“Are you done talking?” Duchess Lena finally returned from the battlefield after killing all the warrior class aliens. The rest of the soldiers and familiars should be enough to kill the remaining aliens, allowing her to get some rest.

She couldn’t help but find this small group chilling outside the battlefield.

“Oh. You’re back.” Duke Coline smiled.

Lena politely nodded. “Thank you for helping my city to pass the crisis.”

“It’s not a big deal. I have never thought that there is a ruin like that in our kingdom.” Duke Coline waved his hand.

“Indeed. Fortunately, we’re able to find it sooner instead of letting it explode out of nowhere.” Lena agreed.

“The kingdom seems to be planning to open up all kinds of records from hundreds of years ago. Even if they don’t, I’m going to force them to do it with these guys.” Duke Coline pointed at the insects.

“What was it again? The Shan?” Lena glanced at Nathan.

“Yes. If the alien can control the human, it’s going to create a whole new problem. And the fact that this kind of insect has made its appearance means there’s no telling when other unique aliens will appear on the front line.

“The kingdom… No, humanity has taken the aliens too lightly. We have always thought about how an alien is easy to kill because they rely too much on their physical ability, but if there are more unique aliens coming, we have to take it seriously.

“I’m afraid, thanks to this incident, they’re going to open the record and start the reinvestigation of the alien territory. We have to learn more about the aliens and counterattack instead of focusing on defending.” Duke Coline sighed. “Things are going to be even more chaotic from now on.”

“Indeed.” Lena clicked her tongue. “Anyway, we don’t have a choice. Just knowing this alone is enough. I will start reinforcing the city to prepare against all kinds of unique aliens I can think of.”

“Yeah. I will also bring it up to His Majesty.” Duke Coline nodded. “How is the loss this time?”

“Thanks to you and this guy’s familiar. We have only lost about 200 warriors for the time being. Even if this battle continues, it probably can reach 300, but it won’t go beyond 400 people. So, this city is still relatively safe. I will submit the report later.”

“Got it.” Duke Coline smiled. “Anyway, I will be staying here until we kill all those aliens. Once the battle is over, I will head to the royal court.”

Lena nodded and turned to Nathan. “You kids should go now. Thanks for your help.”

“I will remain here for a bit longer. This incident is caused by me, so I hope you don’t mind if I stay until the battle is over. I will let Anubis heal as many people as possible before leaving.” Nathan shook his head.

“Winning inevitably comes with a cost, so you don’t have to think about it. But thanks for the thought.”

“I know, right? This guy is too… melancholic.” Duke Coline chuckled.

“Still, are you sure it’s fine? Aren’t you supposed to go to the front line right now since he is waiting for you today?”

“Don’t worry. He will definitely understand. Besides, the time limit is today. He doesn’t specify the exact time I should be there.” Nathan smirked.

“Well, if you think it’s fine, then do whatever you want. I’m going to handle the cleanup.” Lena nodded before turning to Flora. “Visit your mother first before leaving.”

“Hehe. I can imagine Sullivan’s annoyed face.” Duke Coline chuckled.

…

Meanwhile, in the front line, Sullivan wasn’t annoyed. In fact, it was convenient for Nathan to be late.

After all, if he was late, it allowed him to have a private conversation with his granddaughter.

That was right. Because of what happened in the duchy, Alavenya, Sera, and Noelle ended up reaching the base first.

Alavenya and Sera remained in their room, but Sullivan personally summoned Noelle.

He was staring at Noelle with a serious expression. Noelle could feel an immeasurable pressure coming from his gaze.

Even though her grandfather loved her dearly, she had experienced this gaze a few times. Each time, her grandfather would be talking about a serious matter like her becoming Flora’s childhood friend as well as her guardian, or that she should join the academy together with Flora.

And this time, Sullivan showed that gaze again.

Noelle couldn’t help but feel nervous, wondering what kind of important matter he wanted to discuss.

“Grandfather…”

Sullivan closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m glad that you don’t follow in my footsteps. It’s a lonely path, one that you will regret. That’s why I have always wanted you not to follow in my footsteps. Thankfully, someone seems to be able to convince you.”

“…Yes.” Noelle had to thank Asmodeus for telling it to her face and Nathan, who helped her overcome that path.

“So, there’s one problem.”

Noelle’s body tensed up. They finally got into the main problem.

“Our Flamante family has always been repaying the favor others have given us. Have you repaid your benefactor?”

“That’s…” Noelle wanted to say something, but she stopped, knowing her grandfather wouldn’t accept an answer like, ‘We fight together,’ or something along those lines.

“So, you haven’t.” Duke Sullivan squinted his eyes.

Noelle looked down.

“Then don’t bring shame to our family. Repay him with your body.”

“Huh? What?!” Noelle’s expression first changed to shock, then to confusion.

“I’m telling you to marry him. If you’re worried about dowry or something else, don’t worry, I have taken care of them. You just need to marry him and give me a couple of children.”

“W-What are you talking about?” Confronted by Sullivan’s bluntness, Noelle couldn’t help but panic. Even though her relationship with Nathan was good, it wasn’t at that level.

*Sigh!* Sullivan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe I have been too soft on you that you end up being slow in this matter.

“After letting you live freely this whole time, have you been close to a single man? No. Do you know you can’t marry your sword? You know it, right?

“Then, if you don’t think Nathan is repulsive, have you ever seen him as a man once?

“Don’t forget that he’s a great person, so women will definitely be around him. At the same time, he doesn’t look like someone who will choose every woman who comes into his life.

“In other words, there’s a chance you will miss him if you don’t move fast. Besides, I bet you’re feeling satisfied with the current status quo.

“You have received a lot of things and you think you can continue fighting alongside him for a long time and keep your relationship like this. Pretty convenient, isn’t it?

“Have you ever thought about what the other party thinks? If I were him, I would stop if my feelings and efforts were not appreciated. Building a family is not one side’s effort. If you’re going to do nothing, I can’t blame him if he leaves.

“No. At this rate, it will look like you’re just taking advantage of his kindness for granted. It has been a few months since you first met, so you should know his character by now.

“Now, tell me, my granddaughter… Are you interested in him or not? If you are not interested in him, don’t waste other people’s time and effort. Just leave him now.”

“That’s…” Noelle was tongue-tied.

Sullivan felt a bit bad since he had to be strict with his granddaughter, but at this rate, Noelle wouldn’t do anything.

Sullivan was sighing inwardly, thinking, ‘If only you, my dear wife, were here, Noelle probably wouldn’t be this clueless and slow. It was thanks to you that Zack could even marry someone.

‘As expected, I couldn’t be the kind grandfather anymore. It’s time to drop my title as the Sword Saint and become a Matchmaking Saint just for this granddaughter of mine.’