The day after their mission with the First Holy Knight Order ended, Ria decided to ask Ian about something that had been on her mind.

It wasn’t easy for Ria to bring up, but it was important enough that she couldn’t let it go. She stopped Ian during training and asked:

“Do you know that Lil’s birthday is coming up soon?”

Ian was completely caught off guard. When he first met Lil, he had asked her when her birthday was. But Lil had said she didn’t know. However, Ria was Lil’s twin sister. Which meant, of course, they shared the same birthday. They would both be turning seven soon.

“Ria, thank you for telling me. Let’s celebrate together.”

Ian felt a bit guilty for hearing it directly from Ria, but knowing her personality, it seemed more likely that she wasn’t asking for her own birthday to be celebrated, but rather that she wanted Lil’s birthday to be a grand occasion. So he thanked her sincerely. Ria looked relieved and said, “Let’s keep it a secret from Lil.”

The next day, Ian’s nephew Justin appeared and handed him a letter from Livian.

To summarize the contents: since the active period was approaching, it was decided that Lil and Ria—likely to become important figures—would be given a guard. Justin was to stay by their side.

Justin possessed the skill “Guardian.” It was the opposite of his father Livian’s “Sword God” skill, and when it came to protection, it was considered one of the strongest skills.

Up until now, Justin had ignored repeated invitations to become a royal guard, choosing instead to use his skill for the sake of divine beasts. No matter who tried to persuade him, he remained firm in that decision. What could have caused the sudden change of heart?

“Are you okay with this?” Ian asked.

Justin responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“They’re interpreters. I actually volunteered. For some reason, even divine beasts don’t seem wary of the older sister. I think Father’s right—these are people worth protecting.”

Ian thought it over. Justin had just turned fifteen. Being close in age, he wouldn’t be a bad choice as a bodyguard.

The only concern was Ria’s reaction, since she always boasted that she would protect Lil. But all things considered, it seemed like a good decision.

That evening, Ian officially announced that Justin would be acting as the girls’ guard. Ria clenched her back teeth and glared at Justin, but knowing she couldn’t beat him at the moment, she swallowed her frustration with a pout. Ian found her reaction endearing, a sign that he was beginning to feel a fatherly affection toward Ria as well.

Lil, on the other hand, was purely happy about getting to be friends with her cousin. Ria, meanwhile, was already fired up about defeating him someday. Ian had a moment of concern about whether the three of them could get along, but they were all kind-hearted by nature. He decided to leave things to unfold as they would.

Lil and Ria gave Justin a tour of the base. When they reached the facilities for the divine beasts in the front garden, Justin was genuinely impressed. The divine beasts looked completely relaxed.

“Jay-nii, do you like divine beasts?”

Since “Justin” was a bit long, Lil had asked if she could call him “Jay-nii” and was happily chatting away.

“I was saved by a divine beast once,” Justin replied. “I wandered into the forest and was almost killed by a monster, but a lion divine beast saved me.”

“The lion-san comes here sometimes,” Lil said. “Maybe they’re related to the one that saved you!”

Justin chuckled. He hadn’t seen that lion divine beast since the incident. Knowing he might see it again here made him excited.

“The lion-san has to protect the forest, so it’s hard for them to visit, but sometimes they bring meat as a souvenir.”

Justin was once again amazed by the interpreters. He’d never heard of divine beasts sharing their prey with humans before.

“Now that you mention it,” Ria added casually, “they brought me some too. I was so surprised they came to greet me personally.”

Justin became more convinced that these twins were special. He didn’t know what Ria’s skill was, but the fact that she wore a skill-sealing bracelet suggested it was something powerful. They both had far more mature thinking than the average six-year-old, and he’d heard they had guardian spirits too. He tightened his resolve as their protector.

When they arrived at the Warm Air Device area, everyone stared at Justin with curiosity.

‘Lil, who’s that?’ someone asked telepathically.

“This is Jay-nii! He’s going to be living here from today,” Lil replied.

Everyone kept a cautious distance but observed him closely.

“Since it’s almost our active period, he’s going to be our guard,” Lil explained.

Hearing this, the divine beasts seemed to relax again and returned to lounging comfortably.

One tanuki waddled up to Ria and begged to be held. It was the same one from the ice cream incident. Ria picked it up and sat down for a break. Lil also finished showing Justin around and began chatting with the others.

Justin watched the scene with admiration. Divine beasts usually didn’t approach humans or allow them to touch them. But the ones here stayed naturally close to the twins. It was a strange and wondrous sight.

When he was younger, Justin had desperately wanted a guardian like Merlin, who served his father. That’s why he’d gone into the forest to meet a divine beast.

In the end, all that happened was that he’d been rescued. But the admiration never went away.

That’s what made him become a Holy Knight. But once he did, he found himself powerless to help divine beasts, left only to watch from the sidelines.

But if it’s people—he can protect them. After all, he is a “Guardian.” Justin vowed to protect the twins with everything he had.