Opening the door, I saw mom carrying dad on her back, while Dad’s face seemed to be a few shades paler than usual. As always, both were bickering unceasingly, even after I opened the door.

Both came in and settled down as they recounted the events from earlier.

Expressions from the two men went back and forth between seriousness, astonishment, and helplessness.

“And then, that regiment commander grabbed a hold of Zack. But then… I beat him up and, in what looked like a desperate attempt to save himself, he handed Zack over. But he was crafty and attacked using that as a cover. Somehow, I managed to get across that and finished him on the spot. That was one hectic battle alright.”

But then I asked Zack to come back and… he refused. It doesn’t seem he will calm down anytime soon. Instead, he asked me to get Zhu to take him as well. He looked really… how do I put it… regretful? upset…? Heck, I don’t even know what to say. I… I really failed big this time. Oh right, Samuel, your mom will cook some food for both him and you. You take it and go…”

In summary, dad told us how the ambushers attacked and tried to take Zack as a hostage. But dad used the night and concealed himself, taking down all the ambushers one by one. But somehow, during the end of battle, their leader, a supposed Legion Commander, got a hold of Zack and used him to make an attack, but dad fended him off and defeated him, getting a little injured. Later on, he went ahead and described the bet he made with Zack, and his resolution to grow stronger.

However, my natural inclination was against the idea. In opposition, I said, “Dad, how will you know if I falsified the result? Or even lost on purpose?”

Dad’s hand stretched out as he placed his palm atop my head, patting it gently as he said menacingly, “Samuel, do you think I don’t know you well enough?”

Beads of sweat popped up on my forehead as I felt a chill pour down my spine. Although I would never admit it, I feared my dad when he got angry. Maybe even more than mom.

The menacing look on his face disappeared as he continued, “Besides, if you win, I’ll give you something you can’t really say no to.”

I blinked before asking impatiently, “What is it?”

Dad rubbed his chin, before looking towards mom as he said, “I’ll have to lend you my sword for a while in that case. I know you had your eyes on that for a while now.”

I gulped as an endless joy engulfed my fear sprouting within. I even felt a slight urge to go back to the initial terms, but they had settled the matter already. Subconsciously, I turned my head in the direction dad was looking, only to see mom holding a glass of water in one hand while her other covered her mouth. She looked a bit distressed.

She gave my dad an inquiring look, to which he replied by giving her a thumbs up while wearing an expression of ‘Don’t worry, I got this.’

Mom rubbed her temples at this, heaving out an audible sigh while shaking her head.

At the side, the two uncles who came to visit were snickering non-stop, their expressions showing how much they wanted to roll around while laughing unceasingly.

It was like this before dad got injured, right? Everyone was laughing and having fun.

I couldn’t help but blink as I remembered the time before Dad got injured. A fuzzy, yet warm feeling filled my chest, as I felt a little at ease.

“Well, ready for breakfast?” Uncle Marseil asked, opening his bag as he took out some packed food.

“Good work, Andrew!” Dad whistled.

Oh right! I need to take it to Zack as well. I wonder how that lake dad mentioned looks…

My curiosity got the better of me as I picked up what seemed appropriate for the both of us before leaving.

“Mom, I’m leaving!”

“Come back before the sunset.”

I turned around to leave. Just as I was about to close the door, my ears picked up a heavy voice, contrasting to the cheerful ones from earlier.

“William, what about that bastard Damaskions?”

The one who spoke was Uncle Kyle. His voice was serious, even containing a bit of anger within.

In reply, dad said calmly, “If he knows what’s best for him, he will stay cooped up for a while. He knows well that if he crosses the line, even his father, Old Man Graham, won’t be able to save him. And after the commotion from last night, I bet he would be tipping on his toes for at least a month straight, if not more.”

“That is true…” Uncle Marseil said in a pondering tone.

Then that means that fatso won’t come to trouble us for a while. Good job, dad!

Heaving a breath, I left while feeling even better than before.

Before long, I made my way downhill through the forest, seeing many flowers of various shapes and colours along the way. The scenery passed me by as I hummed a tune while walking, my head bobbing up and down along with the tune in my head.

Before long, through the tree leaves, I could spot a lake. My steps hastened as I closed in. A patched up cottage right next to the lake drew my sight. The cottage was relatively big, wide enough to have at least two rooms, if not three. A slanted roof covered the top of it as what looked like a chimney came out of the cottage. It was open on three sides, its fourth side merging into the rocky mountain wall next to it, reaching high up in the sky.

Whoa! That’s one huge cottage alright. What if… it is going into the rock wall for more rooms? Wouldn’t that make it like… really big? Zack got a good place to stay! Speaking of, where’s he?

My pupils shrunk in realisation as I turned my head left and right with unease.

Zack… where did you go?