Azzy left the Night Clan to visit the next one without any specific one in his mind. But, before he was about to leave, he remembered the disciple he had taken in but never taught her anything so far.
He inquired about her whereabouts with Avia and went to the Red Pavilion, where the girl was training.
Emma Night was in the middle of sparring with some boy Azzy didn't recognize. More than sparring, he was just taking the blows and Emma was attacking him left and right at high speeds.
As Azzy arrived there with the Assistant Pavilion Master who is currently presiding over Red Pavilion as an interim Pavilion Master, Emma halted her movements just as she was about to strike his armor once again, but couldn't exactly put an instant break and collided with the guy.
The guy didn't budge a little bit. She hit him and fell on her butt. "Ugh..."
Azzy walked to them in steady steps; the guy went down to one of his knees and greeted him with his sword pierced into the floor like a knight, "Your Majesty." Emma hurriedly followed the suit and did the same.
Azzy didn't respond to his greeting immediately and silently walked forward. The guy started being all nervous as Azzy walked toward him without an emotionless face. He couldn't help but wonder whether it was because of Emma. Yet, he was still rooted in his spot, continuing to kneel on one of his knees, although they were uncontrollably shaking. Not just him, but even the acting pavilion master couldn't help but slightly panic. According to his knowledge, the new clan leader's personality changed a lot from when he was a pavilion master and the clan heir.
Upon reaching him, Azzy looked down at him and finally opened his mouth, "Your name?"
"Jo... Joseph Silver, Your Majesty," replied the young man.
Azzy said, "What are you doing in this pavilion, Joseph? This is more of a training ground for the children, and neither you don't seem like a ten-year-old kid nor you seem to be in the privileged realms (rank-1, rank-2, and rank-3)."
"Umm..." Joseph glanced right and left in hesitation and replied, "Emma asked me for the spar."
Azzy shifted his attention to the girl kneeling not so far away. He cast a sharp glance at her, "Emma? Aren't you allotted to the Green Pavilion? Why are you here?"
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"How well do you know Emma?" He asked him, squinting his eyes. Maybe, it is because he had already accepted Emma as his own family. A bit of protective instinct took over him for the moment.
Joseph hurriedly shook his head, "we are merely acquainted through Green Pavilion. It has only been a couple of days. She was uhhh... having trouble because no one was willing to be her sparring partner as they were worried about hurting her and offending His Majesty. So, I volunteered to act as her sparring partner. Since I was born with a robust physique, I thought I was suitable for it."
"You have been acquainted for only two days and yet, she addresses you with a short name? It's not even a first-name basis and neither you are in the same age group as her." Azzy's tone slightly changed a bit. He couldn't help but suspect the man's intentions.
"Umm... um... it's a misunderstanding. She reminds me of my niece, who was studying at Freyles Academy," Joseph was sweating so badly at the moment that he wished to jump into the lake right away.
Azzy became calmer at his response and merely nodded, "It is fine, then. Rise."
As he slowly rose to his feet, Azzy raised his hand and summoned his storage card. He took out a rank-6 armor and tossed it to him. As the Elite realm expert caught it in reflex, Azzy said, "I saw that your rank-4 armor wasn't in good condition. It also had a lot of scratches, probably that came from a sword blade. Anyway, despite not being closely related, you still looked after my disciple for the past couple of days. Consider this a reward. "
Joseph kneeled again, stretching his arms forward as he carried the titanium-steel armor, "Your Majesty, I don't deserve such a reward. I only sparred with her a few times."
Azzy waved his hand, "when your clan leader is giving something, just take it."
"Your Majesty is too generous. I promise that I won't disappoint His Majesty."
"That's alright. I'm giving you as a reward for the past deeds; not giving you it for your future deeds. Anyway, with that said, return to Green Pavilion. If you wish, you can go and visit Emma, bidding her goodbye."
"Eh? Goodbye?"