SSS-Knight in a Hero World-Chapter 112: Watering a flower

Ferris emerged from the front entrance victoriously, as if he had just finished a harsh battle. "They should be alright now. I hope you can take care of them, especially your brother."

Ferris warned Tailor in advance, a strong-willed person is unusually hard to get along with.

"Thank you." Tailor bowed deeply before announcing something important. "I've been thinking about how I should reward you. Is there anything in particular you would want?"

Finally! Ferris' subconscious screamed.

Thank you! He thought.

Ferris shook his head. "No, spend it on your orphanage."

He had no regrets saying that. He was already content with what he had at the moment, and he was sure that material power would eventually come along its way as long as he made a name for himself.

Though, he didn't want to outright refuse everything and leave it at that.

Instead of requesting something for himself, he wanted to do the opposite.

Normally, I doubt Tailor would even agree to this, but I hope this situation pressures him.

Ferris cleared his throat inconspicuously. "Do you have Miss Elizabeth's contact?"

That request undoubtedly surprised Tailor in a way in which Ferris wasn't so fond of.

Not like that.

Tailor nodded. "I do, and in fact, she's one of my clients."

Clients? Ferris thought. He knew that Tailor was stacked with wealth, but he also knew that his hero rank couldn't support such a large property.

I wonder what other job he has?

For now, he concentrated on what mattered most.

Ferris spoke in a calm manner. "I want you to send your brother to someone under Elizabeth. His name's Lionheart. You've met him before."

Suddenly, Tailor formed an uneasy expression towards Ferris, but that didn't surprise him.

Ferris knew that Tailor would easily connect the dots to Ferris' strange request.

To send a brother you lost for so long to train to fight.

Sure, it would benefit them both Tailor and his brother, greatly, but would the elder brother agree?

Ferris added more to his words. "He has potential, and his blessing is unusually strong.

I'm not saying this so that his abilities aren't wasted. I'm saying this for both of your sakes."

Tailor looked away in fear, unsureness filling his eyes with a cloud of doubt. "I'm... not so sure if I can agree with you..."

Ferris also looked away in thought, but he returned his gaze eventually.

"A teacher of mine told me this.

A brother who protects his siblings is great.

And a brother who needs protection is a fool."

With that, Tailor finally returned his gaze to Ferris.

"Doesn't it sound ridiculous? Who told you that?" Tailor laughed a bit.

Ferris smiled. "Like I said, a teacher."

"...I'll see what I can do, but that will depend on whether Zaku agrees with me or not."

Although Ferris felt bad for pulling such a ridiculous quote from his old world to pressure Tailor, it was for the best.

"I understand."

After that brief exchange, the two continued deeper within Tailor's property, and at that point, Ferris couldn't help but bring it up.

"Your property's size keeps surprising me. How are you able to maintain everything? I haven't seen any servants since coming here."

"It's noon, they're all on break at the moment.

Most of the children here are attending school as well, so it's quite emptier than usual."

No wonder this place felt a little empty.

Tailor continued. "Actually, Soleil would also be absent around this time if she continued her education.

You see, unlike her brother, she didn't graduate high school."

"I... see," Ferris responded. He questioned if this was how parents would usually talk about their child behind their backs.

He observed Tailor's current mental state, and he had a feeling that Tailor was simply telling him this to calm their broken heart.

"Did she drop out?"

Tailor nodded. "Yes, she did."

At that point, Tailor slowed his pace in thought before changing his tone. "Blessings are such a strange thing, aren't they? People can easily live without them, and yet they exist for an even stranger reason.

But why do we call them blessings when those same blessings harmed my daughter?"

Ferris thought about that statement for a second. "She's a psychic, yes? That's what Judas told me."

The word Judas made Tailor shiver, though he pressed on for the sake of telling her daughter's troubles.

"That's what she calls it," Tailor replied, "but others call her blessing differently.

I prefer to not address her blessing differently like her former classmates, but the word psychic is usually tied to negative connotations."

Occult, supernatural, paranormal, spirits, a whole host of words came to Ferris' mind. It disturbed him how easily he could twist an idea.

I'm not sure how far Judas' sister can take her psychic blessing, but I'm sure her classmates can simply guess what she can do.

Mind reading, cursing...

Having those is practically asking to be shunned upon.

Hmm. Ferris covered his mouth. Surprisingly, he could only think of how useful such a blessing could be.

And her blood ties with Judas, who was already strange enough himself, those guesses made from her bullies suddenly turned into a reality.

Ferris smiled. "Referring to your previous question,

I think blessings are called blessings simply because they're blessings. Don't you think?"

Tailor blinked. "I guess I was overthinking things."

Ferris had no reply for that as he looked onwards with patience. "Are we there yet?"

"We're already here."

From the dense forest to an open field, Ferris wasn't surprised at what he saw.

Tailor did say solar panels after all, but this field required a rather long s at that.

"Although I spent a hefty amount on automatic cleaning, she prefers cleaning everything herself."

Everything? Ferris doubted. The field of solar panels would've at least covered the width of a large oval. "Why?"

Tailor took a deep breath and stared at the sky. "I love the warmth of daylight. These solar panels are the only ones that relate to me.

That's what she said. I think it's a lovely statement."

'The warmth of daylight.'

Hah... that makes more sense to me than you, Sir Tailor.

Ferris wished he could say that to Tailor, but he couldn't for the meantime.

The two stopped just on the outskirts of the field. It quickly became an awkward silence.

He sighed inside. He's here to deliver the sad news... but why's he standing still now?

. . .

"...I'll do it, with your permission," Ferris requested.

Tailor twitched his face, unsure how he should respond to the benefactor's request, but in the end, he wasn't strong enough.

Ferris didn't need to hear an answer, as he already received the answer from the silence.

Pat!

Before leaving, Ferris softly hit Tailor's spine to jolt him back to his senses.

As Tailor saw Ferris moving into the wave panels, he eventually lost sight of him.

***

Since Ferris saw the field from a ground angle, he underestimated the vast scale.

With this amount, Tailor could sell the excess energy for passive income...

The idea slowly chipped away at Ferris' moral guard. 'Perhaps he could ask for a tiny slice of the pie,' he flashed himself that idea.

"Ahaha..."

To dissociate himself from such thought, he decided to practice his essence control instead.

Using a less advanced form of essence steps, Ferris walked along the edge of the thin panels without breaking or bending them.

To combat blessing users that can ambush him from unexpected angles, he needed to improve his essence step ability, which would vastly improve his overall dexterity.

Being speedy was a good thing, but agility was something else entirely.

I could do the complete version, but that's unlikely to happen with my current layer.

And even if I did, the essence efficiency would be abysmal. It would be like flying a passenger plane with a cup of fuel.

It's thanks to the suit Anvil, or Yaromech created, that allowed me to do essence steps. Even though the efficiency was shitty, the sheer amount of essence it buffed me with was enough to keep it activated.

Lost in thought, he focused his mind on the soles of his feet.

Feeling the essence of the panel and stepping on that essence to drive himself forward.

Feeling and sticking to objects' essence was the key.

With enough training, he could increase the inclination so that he could potentially walk on walls.

But the essence steps he was performing wasn't its final form that allowed him to see the world under.

His body was still very much in contact with the physical world.

Slip.

Shit.

Why's that solar panel so slippery?!

Unbeknownst to him, during his focused training of essence steps, he failed to see that he walked over to one of the solar panels that was being cleaned by Soleil.

Though, for Ferris, the fall was still recoverable thanks to his increased strength.

But before he could twist himself to land on his feet, he felt a warm blanket engulf his body, and he was suddenly unable to move a muscle.

He saw the world upside down as he floated above the tiny grass.

But the first thing that caught his attention was Soleil facing her palms towards him.

Ah, so this is what her blessing looks like.