Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 14: A talk between Father and Son

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It has been an hour since the incident with those three adventurers…

I was sitting alone on one of the sofas in the living room. My face was being illuminated by the bright game-like Status Screen...

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STATUS

• Name: Julius / Crux ♦♦v♦♦ 
• Race: Human
• Age: 7 years old
• Ability Points: 25 points
• Titles: Reincarnator(?) / Transmigrator(?)
• Jobs: Unemployed
• Level: 2

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• Attributes

• HP: 92 (75 → 92)
• MP: 110 (50 → 110)
• STR: 26 (16 → 26)
• VIT: 79 (55 → 79)
• DEF: 18 (15 → 18)
• RES: 20 (14 → 20)
• LUCK: 34 (26 → 34)
• SPD: 32 (18 → 32)
• INT: 130 (106 → 130)

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Skills 

• Cooking / Level 4
• Crafting: Soap Making / Level 1
• Stealth / Level 1
• Archery / Level 1
• Hunting / Level 1
• Magic: Fire Element / Level 3 ↑ LEVEL UP!
• Elemental Resistance: Fire / Level 1
• Magic: Dark Element / Level 1 NEW!
• Elemental Resistance: Dark / Level 1 NEW!
• Magic: Earth Element / Level 1 NEW!
• Elemental Resistance: Earth / Level 1 NEW!
• Magic: Wind Element / Level 1 NEW!
• Elemental Resistance: Wind / Level 1 NEW!
• Magic: Light Element / Level 1 NEW!
• Elemental Resistance: Light / Level 1 NEW!
• Magic: Water Element / Level 1 NEW!
• Elemental Resistance: Water / Level 1 NEW!
• Mana Manipulation / Level 3 ↑ LEVEL UP!
• Mana Perception / Level 3 ↑ LEVEL UP!
• Swordsmanship / Level 3 ↑ LEVEL UP!
  
• Poison Resist / Level 2
• Pain Resist / Level 1
• Paralysis Resist / Level 2
• Charm Resist / Level 1

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I couldn't stop examining my own status over and over again…

I leveled up, got new skills, and some of them even leveled up, but I don't feel happy about it…

"..." I hugged a cushion while looking at my status with a blank expression.

I was still feeling a lot of guilt and shame about the fact that I almost killed those people in front of my sisters and Mia… I know they were bad people, but I can’t help but feel ashamed about it…

"Still thinking about what you did huh..." My Dad spoke to me as he came into the room with two mugs in his hands.

"Guilty…" I looked at the ground with a lot of shame.

My dad didn't respond. He quickly walked over to the sofa and sat beside me.

"Here. Have a drink." He offered me one of the mugs.

"Thank you…" I accept it without protest.

I immediately took a sip from my mug. My mouth was quickly taken over by the sweet taste of fruit juice…

"How are they feeling?" I asked while averting my gaze.

My Dad took a sip from his own mug before replying. He took his sweet time enjoying his drink…

"They are all pretty much unharmed. Your mother had to use a bit of her healing magic on Liliana, but she'll be fine." My dad replied with a relaxed expression.

"I'm glad…" I let out a big sigh of relief.

I'm really glad that they are all okay… That was one of the things that were troubling me after my parents managed to calm me down...

"Do you think they will be afraid of me after this…?" I asked my second biggest worry.

Fred looked at me and then smiled bitterly thanks to my question.

"Afraid of you? They have been nagging us to let them come to see you! Well, Klein not so much but he did say something about thanking you for defending him and his sister. So don't worry too much about it! Hahahaha!" My Dad let out his usual easygoing and comforting laugh.

I simply let out another sigh of relief as soon as he told me that…

I would be really depressed if my sisters started being afraid of me because of what happened…

"Well, I can understand why they want to see you, but before that can happen, I want to have a man-to-man talk with my son." My dad ruffled my hair before taking another sip from his drink.

I mimicked him and also drank from my mug.

"Now, guessing by your reaction when we arrived, you realized that you were going to kill those guys in front of a bunch of kids, right?" He asked.

I simply nodded in response. I was ashamed…

"I know they were bad people, but trying to kill them just makes me a worse person than them…" I looked at my reflection in my juice. I couldn't bear to look at my reflected eyes in the drink…

I almost became a murderer… I almost killed actual people… No matter what the circumstances were, it doesn’t change that fact...

"Does the concept of self-defense not exist in your former world?" My Dad asked while patting my shoulder.

"It does, but…" I averted my gaze.

The images of the magician woman with my dagger stuck on her arm, the martial artist woman wailing in pain while laying on the ground and the unconscious man all crossed my mind...

Yeah, that feels more like excessive use of force instead of self-defense…

"Well, I don't know how that works in your former world, but in this one, what you did was not only perfectly legal but also morally acceptable. In fact, I will say that it was quite admirable." My father said with confidence.

…

"You protected your sisters, your fiancée, and your brother-in-law and beat the crap out of those idiots. As your teacher and as a father, I couldn't be prouder!" My dad ruffled my hair and smiled warmly.

"You are proud of what I did…? I could have killed them… I was about to take their lives… If it wasn't for all the kids being there, I would have really killed them…" I was still feeling guilty.

I still can’t believe how quickly my mind came to the conclusion that killing them was the easiest and most logical choice...

"Of course, I am proud of you, kiddo!" My dad immediately wrapped his arm around my neck and brought me closer to him. "Julius, I have no idea how otherworlders see these kinds of things, so I don't know how you must be feeling right now, but I'm sure as hell that I can tell you what this world is like. This world is rotten and dangerous. It is as simple as that... Our current life might not show you how this world actually is, but sadly, when you get older, you'll be able to see what this world really is like." My dad patted my back.

I was going to retort, but I didn't have anything to say about his statement for some reason…

"What you saw today was nothing more than a glimpse." My dad spoke with a grim tone. "I have killed many in order to keep the life I currently have with my family and many more for less important reasons. That's just how this world is, there's not much I can do to change it. If the gods haven’t changed it thus far, what can a man like myself hope to do? I can only shield those I care about from the terrible things that lurk in the shadows while reminding myself of the good things this world has to offer." He ruffled my hair as he took another sip from his drink.

Ah…

I could only look at my Dad with amazement…

Now that I think about it, Earth was not the best of places either… We had a myriad of issues that were simply swept under the rug most of the time… And despite that, life seemed so wonderful to me…

Hmm...

"That is why I'm proud of you, son. You fought for the sake of protecting others and spared the lives of your enemies. Your actions are nothing but admirable, Julius." My father looked me in the eyes with a serious expression.

He then smiled warmly like he always does… His smile was reassuring as always.

Even while accepting the reality of this world, he still looks hopeful and happy to be able to be alive...

I think I admire him much more than before...

Seriously… I must look so pathetic… Instead of just being happy that my sisters, Mia and Klein are okay and that I was able to handle that situation on my own, I was here depressed wondering what they were thinking of me because I beat up a few criminals and thought of killing them…

To think that, me, an idiot who is looking to get revenge against an actual god, felt bad about thinking of killing a bunch of nameless criminals…

"Thank you, Dad…" I couldn't help but hug him. 

He simply patted the back of my head as I was hugging him.

"Julius, can you guess why I told you that this world is rotten?" He suddenly asked. "I said that because it is more than likely that you'll have to actually kill someone in the future." My father spoke awkwardly.

"I know…" I nodded.

I want to get revenge after all… That desire of mine has not changed at all...

"But, you should know that, when you're doing it for the right reasons, neither man nor deity will judge you for it. Never hesitate when it comes to protecting what you love. A moment of hesitation might make you lose everything, do you understand, my son?" He asked with a really serious expression.

"I understand." I stopped hugging him and nodded.

 Thanks to the conversation with my Dad, I started feeling a little better about what happened...

"Julius, I can't express how proud I am of you. What you did is something that most people struggle for a long time with, or sometimes even all their lives... You were able to act in the middle of a dangerous situation without allowing fear to control you. Please engrave that achievement in your heart and keep that bravery of yours." My dad smiled warmly.

His big and warm smile only made me want to smile back at him.

"I will!" I showed him my best smile.

I'm not going to say that I am entirely okay with murdering someone for the sake of my vengeance or even if it is in self-defense… The morals from Earth are still ingrained in me after all. 

But I can say with certainty that I will not let anyone treat my family and friends to be treated like those bastards treated my sisters, Mia and Klein!

I will kick the ass of anyone who tries to do that!

"Dad, I was wondering… Could you tell me the story of when you killed someone for the first time?" I asked after getting a new resolve.

"Are you sure you want to know that…? That is not something I should be telling to a child…" He hesitated while scratching the back of his head.

"Didn't you tell me a few moments ago that this world was dark and rotten? That I would have to kill someone eventually? Also, you know that despite my appearance, I'm not a kid like the twins." I retorted.

I need to hear how it felt to him… I need to know in order to be prepared for when the time comes…

"Sigh… Alright… But I hope this doesn't change how you look at me…" My Dad seemed worried about what I would think about him after hearing the story.

"I promise that I won't look at you any differently!" I tried to reassure him.

If I did, I would be a massive hypocrite considering that he comforted me and reassured me that I did nothing wrong...

"Fine…" He let out a sigh as a sign of his defeat. "The story begins when I was 12 years old. It might be a bit unbelievable but I was already 1.80 at that age. I was a very big and robust kid, as you can imagine." My dad closed his eyes and started remembering his youth.

Ehh? He was already 1,80 meters tall at 12 years old!? He could have been mistaken for an adult!

Needless to say, I was very surprised by that revelation...

"I wish I could say that I was a well-behaved kid like you or your sisters, but I wasn't... I was a little shit through and through." My dad confessed with a bitter smile. "Not that my father and my siblings helped me to correct that part of me, as they were pretty much worse than me…" He added.

My father ruffled my hair again before continuing with his story.

"Because of my height, people often thought of me as an adult, so I used that to my advantage. I started going to bars and hanging with the wrong crowd." My dad averted his gaze. He seemed ashamed of that part. "One particular day, I was in a bad mood thanks to some crap my siblings and father had done to me, I went to the bar I used to frequent and got into a fight with the guys I considered my friends." My dad was still averting his gaze from mine.

Oh…

"They said some nasty things about me that only those close to my family would know… I was enraged and tried to leave before I did anything stupid, but one of the guys didn't like that, and well… He tried to headbutt me..." Fred scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

I think I see where this is going…

"The guy broke his skull as soon as his head came into contact with my skin. That was when I discovered my Unique Skill and when I gained my nickname." My dad finally looked at me and smiled bitterly. 

“Ah… So that’s how you became the [Skull Crusher]...” I nodded to myself.

"I'm sorry if the story about my nickname  wasn't as grandiose as you imagined, but it doesn't end there." He suddenly apologized.

I just stayed silent in order to hear the rest of the story.

“Those guys belonged to the criminal organization that my own father runs in the underworld of the Empire. My father, Gabriel Laurent, had ordered them to get close to me and then provoke me… He wanted to make me snap… In his words, he wanted to make me “strong” so I could make myself useful by working on his “business”.” I could feel a lot of shame coming from his voice. “And as usual, my father got what he wanted. I snapped and killed the guys for their betrayal. I did it with my own hands... I punched them so hard that pieces of their brains and skulls were scattered everywhere… Afterward, I just simply felt numb about the whole ordeal... I burned the bar down to see if I would feel anything afterward… But I still felt that same numbness... Sigh… Thanks to the connections and the money of my father, I didn’t face any kind of punishment...” Fred averted his gaze while he spoke with a cold tone.

Oh shit…

I started to feel chills down my spine while he was telling the story...

“After that, I ended up working in my father’s “business”... What else could I do? I was a child who yearned for the love of his father... I was hoping that by doing what he ordered me to do, by beating the crap out of other people, by extorting, and even by torturing people, my father and my siblings would stop calling me “Bastard” and that they would finally accept me and love me.” My father looked at the ceiling with an expression filled with emptiness. 

He started talking to me as if he had acknowledged me as an adult for this conversation...

“Three years. I worked in his organization for three long years… I tried my hardest to become worthy of their recognition... You could even say that I was desperate for it… After all, there was nothing I wanted more than that.” My father drank all of the contents of his mug in one gulp. He looked at the ground with the same empty expression from before.

“Dad…” I struggled to find words to console him.

“Don’t worry about me, kid. Those days are something that I have put behind me a long time ago.” My Dad quickly smiled in order to not make me worried...

“Dad… You said that you were an illegitimate son of the Duke… Where was your mother during all that? What about her family? Why didn’t you go to live with them?” I asked my dad with a sad expression.

“Those are difficult questions… But I guess I cannot keep this from you since I have told you so much already...” He struggled for a bit before he opened his mouth to continue. “The short version is that she died during my birth... That’s what my father told me at first.” My dad seemed somewhat enraged.

“I’m sorry…” I closed my eyes to pray for her despite not knowing her name.

“Me too, kid. Me too…” My father suddenly muttered something. “Sigh… But the story about her is much darker and tragic than that. My mother was the youngest child of another Duke. She was kidnapped from her home by a group of criminals and then taken to the capital city of the Empire.” My father looked at the ground with sadness.

As soon as the realization hit me, I ended up clenching my fists with indignation…

"I believe you can imagine who kidnapped her and what happened to her afterward…” My Dad started scratching the back of his head awkwardly while pointing at himself. “My father told me in great detail of all the inhumane things he did to that woman and the ways he tortured her the day I left his "business"… The mother I never knew was called Aleisa Vauquelin.” Fred looked at the ceiling with an expression filled with sorrow.

I had a knot on my throat thanks to my Dad’s story… I didn’t really know what to say or what to ask him…

“I thought of going to meet my mother’s family, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth since I would become a reminder for them of what happened to her… So I decided to leave them be..." My father let out a sigh.

“But knowing all this, why didn't you inform the Emperor? Does her family know she's dead…?" I asked most of the questions that had suddenly come to my mind.

"They know she's dead because my father sent her corpse to them through his "company"... As for why I didn't tell the Emperor or her family about this, it is because it would have been futile… For the Royal Family, the Laurents are useful pawns to keep the underworld of the Empire in check. And like I said before, I don't think I will ever be capable of telling them the truth... Well, even if I found the courage to tell them, the Emperor would still protect the Laurents as they are valuable subordinates for him..." My father said with a pessimistic tone.

"But wouldn't they still try to get revenge against them? They deserve to know! Dad, you're the strongest in the continent, you should be able to handle something like this!" For some reason, I ended up getting fired up and yelling at him… "Ah… Dad… Sorry, I didn't mean to…" I immediately apologized.

"No worries. I have yelled at my own reflection because of this countless times." He looked at his empty mug and smiled bitterly. "Well, I might be the "Strongest", but that doesn't mean that I cannot be defeated. The Emperor has several trump cards that could be used to defeat me, and I am still a man... I cannot fight the entirety of this country." My dad patted my head.

"I'm sorry…" I apologized again to him...

I was way too unreasonable… I shouldn't have said something like that to him…

"Don't apologize. The fact that you care so much about someone you have just heard about that you would actually yell, tells me that you have a heart of gold!" My father smiled warmly while ruffling my hair vigorously… "Well, I got a bit deviated from the story I was telling you, so I guess I will simply continue."

"Dad, you don't need to…-" I wasn't able to finish my sentence...

"It's fine, kiddo. We are getting to the part I really wanted to tell you about!" He interrupted me and smiled from ear to ear. "Anyway, I worked for three years in my father's "business", so I was fifteen when what I am about to tell you happened…" My Dad started looking excited and even a little nervous.

I started getting a little nervous too...

"I met your mother at that time… I was in the busy docks of the capital with my father's goons. We were going towards the house of someone who owed my father money… Just when we were about to reach the house of that person, I spotted her… An angel with short brown hair, a delicate complexion, and those mesmerizing blue eyes that looked like the most expensive of sapphires…" My father then smiled innocently thanks to the memory of my mother.

Ah… So my Dad is apparently a romantic…

"I had never seen a woman so beautiful in my life… My heart was completely taken as soon as my eyes saw her delicate figure…" My Dad grinned from ear to ear.

Yeah, he is definitely a romantic…

"Did you talk to her at that moment?" I asked.

"No, I didn't." My father suddenly toned down his enthusiasm… "I was able to get close to her… Close enough to hear her conversation with her teacher. She was an orphan who was doing her best to enter into the Imperial Academy in order to become a magician that would bring pride to her teacher, the person who had taken care of her all her life... Just from the way she spoke, I could tell that she was full of dreams and ambition." He got a little flustered.

"I see…" I nodded.

"Just from getting close enough to hear her conversation with her teacher about her dreams and her goals made me realize something about myself… I was obviously not a good match with her… I was a thug with no dreams and no goals in life…" My dad smiled awkwardly. "But I didn't want to give up so easily… I wanted to meet that angel that had a lot of goals and shone so brightly… I wanted to be like her and get closer to her... My determination only became real the moment I saw that angel smile…" He scratched the back of his head while flustered.

I wonder what Mom would say about this part of the story.

"Then? What happened? Did you introduce yourself to her!?" My interest was about to peak.

"Actually, no…" My dad averted his gaze. He looked extremely embarrassed. "I left the docks and ran back home… I went back to my father's mansion to tell him that I would no longer be working for him, he told me the truth about my mother and then kicked me out while yelling that I was disowned. Well, it is not like I had anything to inherit since I am a bastard." He admitted with an innocent smile.

Huh…? He didn't even introduce himself to his first love!? 

If I didn't know how the story ends and the fact that I would get hurt by doing it, I would be beating the crap out of him! Jeez!

On Earth, it was so difficult to meet a stranger again in a similar situation, I can't imagine how low the possibilities would be in this world…

Apparently, the probabilities weren't that low since we are here, but the fact that my dad almost messed everything up is really annoying me!

"Ahaha…" My dad laughed feebly.

He must have noticed how annoyed I looked at him because of what he did...

"I didn't really know what to do after being disowned… I thought that I could maybe test my luck as an adventurer, so I immediately started walking towards the guild. I wasn't even able to reach the Guild's building… I came across a small battalion of soldiers who were being led by a knight. Their strong sense of camaraderie and their organized marching were all I could think of after watching them for a while… So, I went to the nearest barracks and enlisted myself as a guard. In the end, I became a guard instead of an adventurer." My father smiled bitterly. "Because of that short glimpse of your mother, I realized that I wanted to change. I no longer wanted to fulfill the expectations of anyone but my own. I wanted to become an excellent man who would be able to stand beside that magician who would make her teacher proud!" He spoke with a lot of excitement while throwing the empty mug back and forth from one hand to another.

"And I'm glad that you succeeded, Dad. When did you meet Mom again?" I couldn't help but smile seeing how excited he seemed.

"It was a long and thorny road, but I managed to become what I believe is a decent person." He stopped playing with the mug and started rubbing his chin. "I was twenty-five, I think? I believe it was when I became the commander of my own order of knights." He tilted his head.

Wow… He didn't see her until ten years later… 

"And wouldn't you know it? We were actually in the same spot at the docks again! I was patrolling with Tiria and my other subordinates when I saw her." He smiled bitterly.

And in the same place as well!?

"You two were meant for each other." I ended up smiling thanks to his love story.

"Aye!" My dad nodded vigorously.

"So? What did you tell her?" My interest was about to reach its peak once again.

"Ah… about that…" He suddenly started twiddling with his thumbs. "I spent ten years thinking about her and well… I wasn't sure of what to say to her after that long… I didn't know how I should introduce myself..." He averted his gaze from me.

If looks could kill, my Dad would have reincarnated a thousand times by now…

"So, you froze…" I facepalmed.

"Yes… I was even thinking of doing a tactical retreat and then going back later after putting some thought into what I wanted to tell her…" He admitted while trying to avoid eye contact with me.

Correction… If looks could kill, my Dad would have reincarnated ten thousand times by now…

"So? How did you even start talking?" I asked with a bit of annoyance.

My dad suddenly made eye contact with me… He looked extremely happy.

"That's the thing… She came to talk to me out of nowhere! She started making small talk about the weather and my job and well… One thing led to another and I ended up asking her for a date! The encouragement I received from my subordinates also helped me a lot!" My dad nodded to himself with satisfaction.

I don't know why, but I have the feeling that it was probably due to my Auntie's intervention… I think I can picture the scene in my head...

I would like to ask Mom for her version of the story though. I'll definitely ask her later! I need to know why she approached Dad!

"Things get way more simple after that. We got married that very same year and we had twins two years later. The end!" He smiled from ear to ear at me.

"Hey! Hey! You're skipping the part about your date! Don't give me such an anticlimactic ending!" I protested by the abrupt end of the story.

Correction… If looks could kill, Dad would be eternally stuck in the realm of the Goddess of Death…

"Julius, what I wanted to teach you with this story is that you simply need to look at me whenever you feel guilty about what you did today, or what you could do in the future. I killed a lot of people for all the wrong reasons, while you stood up and protected those you care about… You haven't killed anyone yet, but I know that you won't make the same mistakes I made... I wish I had been like you when I was your age!" My dad started patting my head while showing his usual easygoing smile.

Ah…

Being suddenly told something like that by my Dad is a bit embarrassing...

"But, if something like what happened ever troubles you, I will be there to have another talk and tell you another story or two." He patted my head and smiled before standing up.

He turned around and started walking towards the door.

"I'll be going to buy some stuff. Please go and tell your mother and the twins that you're feeling okay." As soon as he said that, he left the house without waiting for an answer…

I kept staring at the door for a few minutes after he left…

"You wish you had been like me huh…" I muttered while still looking at the door.

The words of admiration of my father made me feel at ease.

"I will try to live up to your admiration, Dad." I smiled before standing up from the sofa.

I immediately started stretching since I had been sitting for a while…

"Now then… I guess I should check on everyone." I spoke to myself as I finished stretching.

I walked towards the stairs to the second floor feeling pretty good thanks to the long conversation I had with my father.

So many terrible things happened to him and he did a lot of bad things as well, yet he was able to turn his life for the better, all for the sake of becoming worthy of being together with the woman he loved… That is nothing but admirable. 

My Dad definitely has gained all of my respect.

“I guess this will turn into one of those stories that I will probably tell my own children and grandchildren about…” I smiled while thinking about something that might happen in the distant future. “I’m too young to be thinking about something like that... I want to take my mind off this whole ordeal, so I hope Liliana, Luna, and Mia are in the mood to have some fun.” I said to myself with a relaxed tone.

It didn’t take long for me to reach the stairs to the second floor. Unfortunately, I would not be able to reach the second floor...

As soon as I arrived, I noticed a trio of girls waiting for me at the top of the stairs. There’s no need to say that those girls were Liliana, Luna, and Mia… All three of them were smiling from ear to ear.

For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this...

All of them quickly started coming downstairs while keeping those innocent smiles.

Perhaps I should turn around and quickly go back to the living room...

“Don’t run on the stairs!” Natalie’s voice was heard from the room the twins and I were sharing.

“Yes!” The three girls shouted in unison.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to reach the end of the stairs and close the distance between us.

Although I was not feeling guilty about the incident with the adventurers, for some reason, I felt a bit awkward being in front of them...

“Are all of you feeling okay? That was a scary experience...” I smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of my head…

Ah… I ended up mimicking Dad… I should try to prevent this from becoming a habit…

“I have such a gallant younger brother! How cool!” I was immediately hugged by my older sister while my mind was distracted… She was overflowing with excitement.

“You were so amazing! You suddenly ran at them and then blasted them away with magic!” Luna’s eyes were literally sparkling… This was one of the few instances where her excitement completely overpowered her shyness.

“Right!? It was all like SWOOSH! and KAPOW!” Liliana hugged me even tighter than before as she started using onomatopoeias to describe my fight with the adventurers.

“Yeah! The explosion of the fireball he used was like a big KABOOM! I want to try that!” Luna nodded vigorously.

“I guess that’s a pretty accurate way of telling the story... Hahaha…” I muttered.

Contrary to the excitement from these two, Mia seemed a bit quieter than usual.

The smile she had on her face was nowhere to be seen. Her cheeks were painted in the same shade of red as her long hair and her ears were moving frantically in odd directions every time she looked in my direction. Her blue eyes wandered around the room when I tried to make eye contact with her. She was repeatedly opening and closing her mouth like she was trying to join the conversation but was struggling to do so…

It is actually quite a surprise to see the normally excitable Mia looking so shy and embarrassed.

“Mia, are you alright?” I asked.

“Eeegha!?” She made a weird noise as soon as I called her name. Her ears started moving wildly.

That strange noise was kinda cute.

“Ah, I forgot!” Liliana suddenly shouted. “Julius, the three of us thought of something amazing to give you as a reward!” Liliana stopped hugging me and looked at me with a confident expression.

A reward? Are my sisters quest givers now? I really hope they don’t tell me my princess is in another castle...

“Knowing that you three are okay is plenty enough.” I smiled at them.

As soon as I smiled, the wild movements of Mia’s rabbit ears became even more frantic and strange…

"Don't be shy and take the reward! In books, a Hero always gets a reward from a Princess after being saved!" Liliana smiled from ear to ear.

"We also haven't given you the reward from our game… I think you should accept it now as well..." Luna blushed and showed me an innocent smile.

Well, I'm not going to say no if they are insisting on it.

"Okay, then I'll accept the rewards offered to me by the princesses in front of me." I said playfully as I bowed to my sisters in a theatrical manner. 

"Ohoho!" I heard Natalie letting out a strange laugh from the second floor…

"Good! Close your eyes and don't open them until we say so!" Liliana said with increasing excitement.

"If you open them, you won't get any rewards!" Luna's expression was filled with embarrassment.

Jeez… Why so much secrecy with these rewards? They must be pretty amazing, that's for sure.

"As you command, my princesses!" I said with a teasing tone. I was still feeling really playful, so I went along with it and closed my eyes.

"Absolutely no peeking, okay!?" Luna started sounding a bit excited as well as nervous.

"You'll get pranked if you do!" Liliana added.

Jeez...

I then started hearing some muttering and giggling from the twins…I eventually heard Mia joining their muttering giggling...

Seriously, what is this amazing reward? Knowing Liliana as well as I do, I can imagine that it is most probably a hug.

The giggling and the muttering then stopped completely…

"You can open your eyes now!" Liliana allowed me to open my eyes again.

As soon as I did, I felt a very familiar sensation on my cheeks and my forehead…

Oh…

I froze from the surprise as soon as I noticed what was going on…

Mia and Luna were kissing my cheeks while Liliana was standing right in front of me and kissing my forehead…

So that was the reward… I guess I should have seen that coming…

It seems like I never learn. My sisters from Earth used to do the same all the time when we were little.

I could only smile thanks to how incredibly similar this adorable scene was to what I had lived on Earth…

"Thank you for saving us, Julius. You're my hero…" Mia whispered in my ears with embarrassment. "I want to be with you forever… I love you, my Beloved Prince..." She whispered before kissing my cheek again.

I was caught off guard by Mia thanks due to me being lost in my nostalgia…

Oh… I might have ended up making her like me more…

"It was nothing. I'll do it any time, Mia." I muttered in such a low volume that I was sure only Mia would be able to hear it.

Honestly, I was not expecting this kind of reward, but I obviously could not reject their affection. It is not like I wanted to do that in the first place though.

I'm just content with the fact that none of them are traumatized by the incident and that they seem more energetic and happier than before.

I still need to check on Klein, but I think he should be alright.

Hopefully, nothing like what happened with those adventurers will happen again… 

I'll make sure of it.

---

-----Tiria's POV-----

A tall and muscular man came through the door and came downstairs to meet me.

"So, did you get anything from them?" Fred asked me as got close to me.

"They weren't related to the Laurents or the Emperor. They are just a few idiots from Valciar who registered at the Guild a week ago." I explained before taking a sip from my now cold tea…

Bitter…

"Martin, bring me more sugar! Also, don't forget to heat my tea up again!" I yelled at my employee.

"Yes, yes…" Martin spoke with his usual pessimism.

He quickly got up from his chair and walked towards me. As soon as he was beside me, he pulled a bag from his jacket and placed it on the table. He then touched my cup and started heating it with fire magic.

"Good job, thank you." I smiled at him.

Despite his usual gloomy and depressive personality, he has been doing well as my assistant.

Perhaps I should give him a raise...

"Tiria, so are you telling me that these guys attacked my children just because?" Fred looked understandably pissed.

"Pretty much." I shrugged while looking at the three idiots who were chained at the wall. They were also unconscious.

Man, what a pain… I brought them here into the basement thinking that I would have to rough them up for information about who they were working for and it turns out that they are just assholes… That is so disappointing!

Well, I did end up roughing them up a bit because of what they did to my nieces and nephew. These fuckers deserved it!

"You should have seen their faces when I introduced myself as the Guild Master! The three of them almost had a heart attack! They actually thought Martin was the Guild Master! Can you believe it? Haha!" I ended up chuckling. 

"..." Martin kept silently heating up my tea.

Well, that more or less explains why they started a fight without caring that they were in front of my house.

I have already made them regret that...

"Guess that makes sense. You've been gone from Norvek for a while." Fred nodded to himself.

"Yep." I just agreed with him.

"The tea is ready." Martin stopped touching the cup and walked back to his seat.

I grabbed the bag of sugar and my spoon and started pouring some of it into my cup.

"I gotta admit though, I was expecting this place to be more… I don’t know... Bloody? Why did you hold yourself back?" Fred asked with a serious expression.

Ah, he noticed that? Damn…

"Well, in normal circumstances, I would have beaten guys like them within an inch of their lives. This time, however, I discovered that one of them is related to a troublesome gal that I don't want to deal with." I kept adding sugar to my tea.

"Someone troublesome huh…" Fred started rubbing his chin. It was clear that he was trying to figure out the identity of that person.

"She's related to the Guild's Grandmaster in Valciar." I quickly solved the mystery for him.

It is not like I couldn't beat her in a fight, on the contrary. She's still quite green. What I don't want to deal with is her incessant nagging that reminds me of my own mother…

Ugh… What an annoying brat!

"So which one of these dumbasses is related to that girl?" Fred asked while cracking his knuckles.

"The magician woman. The one who got stabbed in the arm by your son." I said while still pouring sugar into my tea.

I am obviously still incredibly pissed about what they forced Julius to do. He's still too young and inexperienced to fight an actual fight.

Of course, I'm proud that he managed to win and protect everyone using what he learned, but he was lucky that these guys are Rank E adventurers, the lowest rank among adventurers. Things could have gone badly otherwise.

If it wasn't for the consequences of not following the rules of the Guild, I would have actually dumped these guys in the deepest hole within The Great Forest of Falgren and let them rot there a long time ago.

However, as the Guild's Grandmaster of the Empire, I can't further punish these guys without turning into an issue with the Kingdom of Valciar.

"Fred, you can scare them, but don't harm them any further. We don't want the Emperor and [The Ten Songs of Rokkshar] to come crashing down on us when that brat starts to complain…" I warned my mentor as I finally stopped pouring sugar on my tea.

I immediately started to mix the sugar with my tea using my spoon.

"Dammit, what's the point of this then?" My mentor looked extremely annoyed that he couldn't blow off some steam with the three idiots.

"I get how you feel, Fred. Since we cannot beat them up some more without getting in trouble, I have taken a few liberties with my authority and decided on a nice and fair punishment for these three idiots! That brat should not complain afterward." I grinned before taking a sip of my tea.

As soon as I took a sip, I placed my cup back on the table.

I can't believe it… This shit is still bitter… I poured half a bag of sugar!

You know what? Forget about that raise for Martin…

Seriously, where does he buy these crappy tea leaves?

Ugh…

"So what is this punishment then?" Fred asked with a little bit of interest while looking at three idiots very intently.

"Pretty simple. They cannot work as adventurers in the Empire for the next twenty years. Each of them will have to pay 5000 Des to your family and Mia's family as reparations. Failure to pay that sum within a month will make them unable to enter this country for as long as I am a Grandmaster." I explained the fair punishment I had imposed on them.

 "Fifteen gold coins huh… The kid got a small fortune all of a sudden." Fred started rubbing his chin. "I'll have to ask him what he wants to do with that much money, but I have an idea about how to use it that I think he will like." Fred spoke with a lot of satisfaction.

"I knew you would be happy about this arrangement! Hell! I'm happy as well because I can take all of Harold's money again!" I smiled warmly at him.

"Tiria…" Fred looked at me with an empty expression… He suddenly started cracking his knuckles again…

"It was a joke! Just a joke! I promised that I would never gamble in my life again!" I immediately panicked as soon as I noticed the terrifying look on my mentor's face…

I don't want to go through such hellish training again… Just thinking about it makes me feel chills down my spine… 

…

Perhaps I should really stop gambling… I don't want to be woken up and then dragged to face such harsh training that early in the morning ever again!

While I was busy thinking about that terrible training trip, something really unexpected happened...

(Tiria.) A melodic female voice resounded in my head. That voice called my name...

(Lady Lia? How strange for you to talk to me all of a sudden… The last time we talked was five years ago, I think…) I couldn't help but wonder why she decided to talk to me again.

Lady Lia, the Goddess of Knowledge and Emotions is the deity that my family has worshipped for generations.

For some reason, she started talking to me inside my head when I was 9 years old.

In other words, I have known the Goddess for a long time now.

(It has been 1,811 days, 3 hours, and 20 seconds since our last talk, Tiria.) She corrected me.

(There's no need to be so accurate about it… I have been very lonely in your absence.) I admitted to the Goddess.

Some may consider this blasphemy, but I actually think of Lady Lia as one of my closest friends.

Her absence during the last few years has been difficult to deal with for me…

(I am aware of that. I'm sorry.) She replied in a very serious tone. (Things have been very difficult on my side the last five years, I once again apologize for not making contact until now.) Despite using the same serious tone, she seemed regretful.

(You don't need to apologize for that much. Just don't disappear all of a sudden.) I smiled awkwardly.

(I am not sure if I can promise that, but I will try to contact you as frequently as I can.) She sounded a bit unsure but she agreed.

(That works for me!) I felt satisfied with that answer. (By the way, I'm guessing that you didn't talk to me all of a sudden just wanting to reconnect, right?) I said with a teasing tone.

(Although you haven't grown in size at all, you really have become a grown-up, Tiria.) She teased me back using my height… (Truth to be told is… I need a favor from you.) I felt a bit of desperation in her voice for some reason…

(A favor from me? Unless it is beating someone up, I don't know if I could be of much use for you, old friend.) I smiled bitterly.

(You don't need to beat anyone this time. I need you to bring me someone to my temple in Norvek.) She started sounding really serious…

(Well, that sounds easy. Who do you want me to bring?) I asked.

(I want you to bring Julius there.) She immediately declared who she wanted to see.

Despite having heard the name of the person she wanted clearly, it took my brain a few moments to process what she had asked...

Not only that, at that moment I also remembered the mission given to Julius by the God of Creation…

He has to meet Lady Lia…

(Tiria, bring him to my temple first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, I do not possess enough time to answer any questions you may have about this. We will talk again soon. Farewell, Tiria.) Lady Lia left as quickly as she arrived…

I could no longer feel her divine presence...

Her departure was so sudden that I couldn't even manage to reply…

I could only stare at the empty space and wonder…

How does she know about Julius? And why did she sound so desperate for a moment?

Hmm…

Unfortunately, before I was able to reach any type of conjecture, my mentor interrupted my thoughts...

"Tiria! Wake up!" Fred shouted so loudly that dust started falling from the roof…

I ended up having to cover my ears because of how loud his shout was...

"What was that for!? I was thinking of stuff, Fred!" I complained as soon as he stopped shouting.

"I said that I'm going back home to the party. You were dozing off and The kids would get sad if you weren't there." Fred turned around and started walking towards the door.

Jeez! I really hate it when he interrupts me when I'm thinking deeply!

Well, It is not like I could have reached an answer to my question without asking Lady Lia directly.

I guess I'll just do this favor for her and then I'll ask all I want to know.

"Oi! Wait for me!" I yelled at my mentor. "Martin, you're in charge. Clean this up and kick these idiots out of our country." I yelled at my subordinate.

"Understood…" He said with his usual unmotivated attitude.

Both Fred and I left the basement of the Guild's building to go back to my home. During the whole way back I could not stop wondering what Lady Lia really wanted from my nephew...

---

Chapter 14: A talk between Father and Son

END