The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around
Chapter 120: Finally Found Eren

Chapter 120: Finally Found Eren

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Eren stared at her blankly for a moment.

"...No."

Then he turned around and kept walking.

Seraphina’s eye twitched.

"...Why?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Because you need to look more poor and dirty," he replied coolly, not even sparing a glance back.

Her forehead bulged with rage as flames flickered in her eyes. But she restrained herself—barely.

What Eren didn’t tell her was that he planned to have them "accidentally found" by someone. Since Useless had already informed him about the situation in the Aisman Kingdom and the uproar caused by his disappearance, all Eren had to do now was wait until someone found them. Until then, they’d just wander the forest like vagrants.

But honestly, Eren didn’t mind to spend extra days camping in the wild. now that he has someone new to play with.

—Step.

Suddenly, Seraphina stopped walking. Her nose twitched, sniffing the air.

Eren noticed. "What is it?"

She frowned. "Someone’s approaching."

Her tone was cautious, and her ears—though hidden—twitched under the illusion, "They are heading towards us".

"They?" Eren raised a brow.

Beastkin demon like her were known for their enhanced senses. At her level, Seraphina could detect living beings from miles away.

"How many?" he asked.

Seraphina closed her eyes and focused. Her senses sharpened. "Thirty-seven... thirty-nine... fifty... sixty-one. All of them are Awakeners," she muttered. "Most are around level three to four."

Eren whistled. "Wow. You can even smell their levels?"

She rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone.

But then—her eyes snapped open.

She sensed a sudden spike of movement. One figure was closing in at an incredible speed. Even Eren can now sense that person was moving very fast towards their spot.

"They’re coming,"

She murmured, narrowing her eyes slightly. But oddly enough, Seraphina didn’t seem too concerned. She and Eren simply stood there, unmoving, waiting for whatever was approaching.

Then—

–Suuush!

A figure landed right in front of them, wind magic swirling around his armored body. The man wore a silver-and-blue knight armor with the Valmont Crest gleaming proudly on his shoulder. A fresh breeze followed him, carrying the scent of magic.

"Young master!!"

It was Leon, panting heavily and sweating from head to toe. His eyes widened in relief as they locked onto Eren.

’Oh, it’s blue Kirito,’ Eren commented inwardly, instantly recognizing the guy who was one of the Valoria’s game characters.

Leon dashed toward him in a panic. "Are you okay, young master!? Are you injured?!"

Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Eren by the shoulders and started inspecting him like a worried mother hen.

"...I’m fine. You can stop now," Eren said stoically, his expression flat as ever, while Leon continued circling him like a health inspector.

Leon finally snapped back to reality and took a step back. "Ah! Y-Yes, sorry, my apologies!"

"Anyway, how did you find—"

But just as Eren was about to ask, more voices cut him off.

"Young master!!"

From behind Leon, a whole squad of Valmont knights came crashing through the woods, weapons drawn and faces flushed with urgency. Among them were familiar faces—Commander Gareth, Kristoff, Hector—and a handful of the elite knights who had accompanied him during the Dry Forest training trip.

"It really is him!"

"Thank the Goddess!"

"We finally found you!"

"Young master Eren!"

"Were you hurt when you got kidnapped?!"

A whirlwind of armor and worried faces surrounded Eren as the knights bombarded him with questions and began inspecting him like overprotective nannies. Some even started patting down his clothes.

Eren’s eyes glazed over into a dull abyss of irritation.

He didn’t understand. Why were they all acting so... sentimental? He had expected scolding or maybe even silence. Not... whatever this was.

On the sidelines, Seraphina stood awkwardly like an outsider at a family reunion. Her brows furrowed in bewilderment as she watched a bunch of grown men fuss over her new master with hearts practically in their eyes.

"Okay, that’s enough, everyone. You’re making him uncomfortable,"

A familiar voice cut through the air, calm but firm.

The knights immediately stood aside, parting like the Red Sea to make way for Commander Gareth.

–Step.

He stopped in front of Eren, the serious frown on his face making the entire atmosphere freeze. Without hesitation, he knelt down and bowed his head, his voice heavy with guilt.

"...I’m sorry, young master,"

His eyes remained closed, his voice deep and remorseful.

"Because of my negligence... I failed to protect you."

The knights behind him all looked awkwardly, shame weighing down their shoulders.

Then, Leon stepped forward and also knelt. "Me too... I failed as a knight."

Kristoff followed. "And me."

Hector as well. "I failed too."

Then one after another, like dominoes, every knight present dropped to their knees with heads bowed low.

"Forgive us."

"Please punish us."

"Shame on us...!"

"..."

Eren stared at the mass apology parade in front of him, one brow twitching. His face twisted into a rare, subtle cringe.

’Is this a joke? what kind of cringe scene was I put at?’

He let out a long, bored sigh and crossed his arms. His voice came out cool and casual:

"...Well. At least you’ve all learned something from this embarrassing failure. Let it serve as a valuable lesson."

His completely emotionless tone stabbed harder than a sword. The knights flinched. A few clutched their chests as if physically hurt.

"And..."

Some of the knights’ eyes lit up with anticipation, thinking perhaps—just maybe—their young master would follow up with a kind or heartfelt word.

"...To make sure you really remember this failure..."

Eren’s eyes sharpened slightly as he declared:

"I’m telling my father to reduce your salaries by half for the next six months."

"""ARGHHH!!!"""

Groans of despair filled the forest. Several knights collapsed dramatically to the ground. Cries of, "My rent!" and "My sword maintenance bill!" echoed in their heads.

"Anyway, let’s head—"

But Eren stopped mid-sentence as a sudden shout rang from above.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT—!!"

A shadow plummeted from the sky like a meteor, crashing toward him with intense bloodlust.

"DIIIIEEE!!"

–BAAAAAANG!!

The ground shattered violently, erupting in dust and shockwaves as a massive crater formed right where Eren had been standing a moment ago.

The knights flinched back in alarm, weapons drawn, eyes wide.

As the dust cleared, a single figure stood tall in the crater—

Cedric.

He held a massive greatsword buried into the earth, his aura flaring like wildfire. His blue energy spiraled wildly around him as he slowly stood up from his landing pose.

–Stuk!

"You dodged that?"

He pulled his sword from the crater with a low grunt, glaring at Eren, who stood a few paces away with his hair slightly wind-blown from the near-death experience.

Eren blinked. His face looked bewilder and suprise by the sudden attack.

’...Did he just try to murder me?!’

"So it’s true..."

Cedric growled, rage thick in his voice.

"You really did awaken your Signet, you little piece of shit!."

His aura flared again, exploding outward in a storm of hostility.

Despite the bloodlust, Eren put on a smiling brightly face and waved awkwardly.

"Big brother! When did you come—!"

–BOOOOM!!

Before he could finish, Cedric launched forward with a roar, swinging his greatsword with murderous intent.

"DIIIIIEEEEEEE!!"

As the blade of the greatsword came dangerously close, Eren dodged with a sharp sidestep, narrowly avoiding the slash.

Cedric’s frown deepened. His brows twitched in visible irritation as he swung faster and harder, but Eren continued to evade each strike with increasing breathlessness—just barely avoiding the blade, sometimes by a strand of hair’s width.

–Whoosh!

–Clang!

–Crash!

It was a relentless onslaught.

Meanwhile, Commander Gareth and the other knights stood frozen in place, watching the chaotic scene unfold in complete confusion. They didn’t know whether to intervene or... cheer?

–Step-

Leon finally stepped forward, gripping the hilt of his sword. His expression was serious, and it was clear he was ready to stop the elder young master before things got out of hand. But just as he took a step forward—

A firm hand landed on his shoulder.

He turned in surprise to see Kristoff shaking his head gently.

"It’s better if we don’t interfere," Kristoff said calmly.

"What?!" Leon frowned. "He might kill him!"

Kristoff let out a small chuckle, "Come on, you should know by now. Master Cedric might be violent, but he wouldn’t actually kill his own little brother."

Leon paused, his hand still hovering over his sword. His senior’s words forced him to stop and think.

Then Kristoff added with a smirk, "Besides, he’ll probably just beat him up a little. He needs to vent."

Leon looked conflicted but reluctantly eased back, deciding to trust his senior. Around them, all the other knights stood in silence, watching the sibling clash without a single attempt to step in.

Behind the elite knights, a group of ten black and blue-armored knights emerged—Cedric’s personal squad, the Wave. Among them were Elbow, Seka, and Ino, the latter holding a faintly glowing ring floating in her palm.

Just moments earlier, Ino had used her Special Skill to trace Eren’s location through the ring, which she had acquired from Leon after his mission capturing the bandits. Initially, her tracking ability yielded nothing. The ring showed no signal—completely inert.

But after trying for the twelfth time in a row (and nearly giving up), the ring suddenly activated—glowing brightly and pointing her directly to the spot they were standing in now.

As the members Wave stood watching the "battle," Seka crossed her arms and raised a brow.

"Huh... the kid’s actually moving pretty well. I guess those knights weren’t exaggerating after all," she whistled in faint amusement.

The massive greatsword Cedric was using? It was actually Seka’s. She had loaned it to him, never imagining her boss would use it to literally try and flatten his little brother like a pancake.

Next to her, Elbow adjusted his glasses, narrowing his eyes with suspicion as he watched the younger boy move.

"Did he... level up?" he murmured to himself, voice full of analytical curiosity.

From the reports he’d heard, Eren had already fought against a Thunderclaw, an ogre, and even clashed with a knight from the d’Armand house. Elbow had estimated him to be at least a level 2 Awakener, given he might have some powerful skill—but now?

Watching the way he dodged Cedric’s attacks with speed and fluidity...

’He’s keeping up with Cedric’s pace... almost equally. That’s not level 2 movement.’

Elbow’s eyes narrowed further.

’could it be... he’s Level 3?’

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