Chapter 3: Appraisal
"As I said before, I will raise the child. You do not need to worry about him."
"Yes, Mam. Sorry for leaving it all to you."
The duke sat on the ground and apologized to the lady. His complexion had improved a lot leaving only red eyes and a running nose.
"Of course, you can leave it to me. I'm your wife, after all."
"Yes."
The two chuckled a bit after which Raphael stood up.
"I need to go fetch my subordinates. I'll be right back."
"Okay. Come back soon."
Raphael slowly went outside the room then a person came.
"You don't need to go. We have already come."
Patrick (the knight from before) stopped Raphael. His nose was running, and his eyes were red but his eyebrows were creating a demon on the forehead.
"Ah, you came. I'm glad."
Patrick had a million complaints but chose not to say anything as the hidden final boss was behind his master.
"Don't be so tense. You are a vice commander now. You need to adjust and remain calm at all times."
Raphael poked Patrick's head which he responded by lifting the duke's finger.
"Yes, yes. Commander."
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'Although I was on the edge when father took me to the garden, it looks like I won't be abandoned, after all.'
"We're here, sweetie."
Shizue took Ragnar to a room that resembled a nursery. There was enough sunlight and a maid taking care of another child...
'Wait... ANOTHER CHILD?... The one earlier wasn't the only sibling I had?'
Ragnar looked around for any other abnormalities but failed to find one.
"Oi, maid. Bring out the spare crib quickly."
Well, the abnormality in the room was definitely the stepmom so Ragnar stopped looking around and behave nicely.
"You stay here, okay?"
Shizue kept Ragnar in a crib that was beside his sibling and went outside.
"Isn't it about time? That we call an appraiser."
Raphael was waiting for Shizue to come out.
"Yes, I believe so. We have to appraise 'Kumiko' as well."
"I'll ask one of my subordinates to go and find one."
Raphael tried to go but Shizue interrupted.
"Go yourself. It'll be faster."
"Sigh. Fine."
Raphael went out with a sad face while Shizue looked at him from the window.
"I can't wait to train these kids once they grow up."
A few hours later, Raphael showed up with an old man in the nursery. There, Shizue and her son were waiting in patience.
"Good afternoon, Lady Shizue, Young master Kouta."
The old man bowed down with a smile but...
"Skip the introductions, old man. Go appraise them."
"Ah, y-yes."
He quietly went to the cribs. Raphael, who was standing behind the old man, called Shizue and her son to come to see the appraisal. The boy looked at her mother and she gave him a pat on the head. He happily ran toward his father and Raphael responded in kind by carrying him.
"I'll start."
The old man gave Raphael a starting thumbs up and gently grabbed Kumiko's hand. He closed his eyes and...
"Hnnnnggh."
...made weird noises.
'...Again, there is that weird glittery energy coming out of that old man's hand and going inside... my sibling. And this time, it's orange.'
The man was sweating and his whole body was shaking.
'The energy is coming out of my sibling but this time, it's... sky blue?'
The energy went inside the old man and he seemed to have slightly recovered as his body was not shaking anymore.
"Her magic... the slashes kept multiplying. One slash, two wounds. Two slashes, four wounds. The number kept increasing until her opponent fell. As long as she persists, the attack multiplies. I name it, the Chain error magic. And its potential is light blue."
Raphael and Shizue looked at the child like a chunk of diamond and made the "This is my child" face. But, Ragnar was thinking of something else...
'Wait... why is he telling them that? Can they not see that energy? Or, no one can? No, no. Did the blonde guy give me this ability? To see others' magic ranks? And the appraiser's magic was orange. Is it stronger than sky blue? And mother had green energy. Which one is stronger? What are the effects?... Haha, so many interesting things. This world is so amusing.'
While Ragnar was lost in his fantasies, the old man grabbed his hand and started channeling energy again.
"Hnnnnggh."
...
Ragnar closed his eyes to at least feel what the appraisal was like. The energy went to his right lung where he could feel something pounding. It was not the heart as it had a strange rhythm to it. Almost like a melody. The invading energy revolved around the same area which helped Ragnar analyze something.
'This might be where my magic will come from as well. Although it looks intangible, it has a circular shape to it. And, its color... Purple. Hm?... The invading energy is fading?'
Completing his analysis, Ragnar opened his eyes. He looked ahead and saw Raphael carrying the old man somewhere. After a few minutes, the old man regained consciousness and talked.
"His magic... It's too dangerous. Letting something like that come out into the world could only spell disaster."
The old man had an excited tone. His eyes filled with determination that resembled a captured assassin.
"Even at the expense of your family?"
Shizue looked at the appraiser with determination as well. This time, the one that didn't resemble a captured assassin.
"O-of course not. I was... just joking."
The appraiser gulped once and opened his mouth.
"A blade that can cut anything permanently as long as the target has a physical body. The target cannot heal the wounds under any or only limited circumstances, considering that there are any at all. You may have already expected what rank it is but you are wrong. It's rank... it's a mixture of indigo and purple. Which means..."
"That it is an indigo rank and has a possibility to evolve into purple rank?... You're joking."
Raphael made his intentions clear as to what would happen in case the appraiser was wrong.
"You can call any other appraiser than me. I have appraised yours and almost this entire city's magic for 50 years. What do you think would happen if I start talking bullshit?"
"... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to belittle your experience. But... is what you are saying true? I have only heard of something like purple rank in the myths and legends."
Raphael made a curious expression with a half-sweaty face.
"I bet my life on it."
"..."
Raphael, Shizue, and the appraiser made tense faces.
"I'm having second thoughts. Is he really my son?"
"I thought that he had an impressive magic but holy shit..."
Raphael and Shizue's comments scared the appraiser so he hastily excused himself... or not.
'Now that the duke and the duchess know about it, I need to spread the news. There has been no one in history that had purple rank magic potential except the god of brilliant light. But that was thousands of years ago... I thought that something like purple rank didn't even exist and the god was a myth as well but to think it exists. Living such a long life was worth it. People who died yesterday, you missed out on the greatest news of all time.'
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It was 8 pm. Raphael, Shizue, and her son were in the dining hall. They quietly ate dinner until the boy spoke up.
"Father."
"What's the matter, 'Kouta'? Not hungry?"
"No, father."
The boy had a worried expression which was very understandable to his parents as they had experienced the same thing as him.
"Remember, Kouta. Before I'm a duke, I'm your father so I won't let you go just because Ragnar has better magic than you. Even my brother had better magic than me but my father didn't throw me out of the house. So, I won't do it either."
Raphael looked at Kouta with a smile which he reciprocated with a confused face.
"Eh? Wh-what?..."
The confusion only increased as Kouta was just a 4-year-old kid and he didn't know how to explain himself. But, deep inside him...
'I will prove to father that I can be the duke with my power alone.'
Kouta clenched his fist.
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In the nursery,
'Today was such a hectic day. I hope tomorrow would be the same as well.'
After that, Ragnar slept.
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In the garden, Raphael held a rose and pointed it at the moon.
'I will definitely find you, Serena.'
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Inside the mansion, Shizue was inside a hot spring while drinking sake.
'I wonder if a purple rank can destroy this continent.'
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Far away from the Kingsword duchy,
"Duke Granspace, I assume you have come here for that proposal."
A shadowy figure sitting in a throne room addressed the man with blue hair and eyes that came from a portal.
"Yes, Duke Chrony. We have captured Serena Kingsword... And, that man agreed to help us as well."
The shadowy figure stood up still covered in shadows.
"Very well then. I will accept the proposal."
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*12 years later*
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Meow_meow_bitch
Meow_meow_bitch Fun fact: What the appraiser sees is not the current magic power but the approximate limit that the magic can reach.
Thanks for reading the chapter.
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