Chapter 287: We are here.
“Father.”
Igni, who had been silent for a few minutes, called out.
“Hmm?”
Kael, who was currently pampering Cirri, turned towards his firstborn and tilted his head in confusion. He had noticed Igni’s silence, but this wasn’t the first time it had happened. Kael knew Igni was a responsible big brother, he always backed down whenever it was his sister’s turn to get pampered.
The big brother loved his little sister too much to interrupt her happy moment. Heck, most of the time, he was the one pampering her.
Right now, however, there was something Igni did not understand—no, more accurately, something he did not like.
“Why did we hide?”
The dragon questioned.
Kael’s frown deepened and Igni continued,
“They were weak. If I wanted, I could have burned them to ashes. So why did we hide instead?”
“Ah…”
Kael finally realized the problem.
Igni was a dragon, a prideful being who would rather die than sully his pride. Running away from a bunch of weaklings was extremely humiliating for him.
Of course, he still followed through because that is what his father wanted, but…
Igni still had questions.
Kael gently rubbed Igni’s body, showing his affection, and then,
“I did not wish to kill them.”
“They were the enemies who were here to abduct you, Father.”
Igni countered.
Kael, however, shook his head,
“They weren’t enemies.
Most of them truly believed that they were here to invite the Hero to their home country.
They were merely following orders they were given.”
“…”
Igni turned silent. He did not agree with his father’s reasoning, and Kael knew that, but he smiled lightly and,
“I know what path I walk on. I also understand there will come a time when I will have to kill another human, and I am not scared of it.
If it is to protect all of you, I will do whatever it takes,
But if it is possible to deal with things without any bloodshed, I would like to have that option.”
“…Then why meet them anyway?”
Igni asked another question.
“Cirri already told you they were coming. With our speed, we could have easily avoided them and the matter would have settled without them even knowing we were here, yet you still waited for them and allowed them to surround you.
Why did you do it?”
“I cannot always avoid them, can I?”
“Hmm?”
“The moment I decided to reveal you, I was prepared for what was about to come. Many will come looking for me and try to recruit me.
I needed to let them know that winning me through enough enticements is possible, and since they were a relatively weaker group, I knew I could end it without any unnecessary casualties and chose them to send the message.”
“But you do not plan on being recruited by anyone…”
Igni did not understand.
“That is correct.”
“Why did you lie to them?”
“It will be fun to see how far they will go, won’t it?”
Kael chuckled.
“And it will also buy me more time since they will try to buy me off with their riches before they resort to using force.
The more time I have, the better I can prepare for what is coming.”
“That… makes sense…”
Igni nodded.
Kael smiled at his response, leaned forward and hugged him as gently as he could. He then kissed his firstborn’s head and,
“Mhm.”
He closed his eyes.
After all, he was absolutely safe with his firstborn guarding him.
A light smile appeared on Igni’s face as he was embraced by his father. The dragon purposefully slowed down, wanting this moment to last longer.
Cirri, who saw everything, expanded into her Sky Form silently and allowed her brother to enjoy his time.
Yes, it wasn’t just the older brother who sacrificed for his sister’s sake, the little sister didn’t hold back either.
About 6 hours later, just as the sun was about to set, Kael and Igni appeared next to the ship. Kael jumped down and landed on the ship while Igni and Cirri returned to the Sanctuary.
“You are back.”
Lavinia, who was currently carrying Vita in her arms, walked towards Kael. The moment she saw her father, Vita jumped into his arms.
Kael held her gently and,
“She didn’t make things difficult for you, did she?”
“Why do you always assume that I will cause trouble?”
Vita retorted, defending herself.
“…”
“…”
At those words, both Kael and Imperia stared at the fox with deadpan looks on their faces.
“Whaaaat?? When have I caused trouble??”
Vita was offended.
“Also, you little imp, the only reason your ants can roam around freely is because I am here. Don’t you dare look at me like that!”
“…You better mind your words, young lady.”
“I am older than you!!”
Vita shouted.
“Hmph!”
Ria, however, just turned her head away.
“You—”
“Alright, that is enough.”
In the end, Kael jumped into the conversation and started rubbing Vita’s fur, instantly calming her down. The fox even started purring as she made herself comfortable in her father’s arms.
Kael then glanced at Lavinia, who nodded lightly.
“Lady Vitaria didn’t cause any trouble, she was excellent.”
At those words, the fox’s grin widened even further, but she didn’t open her eyes. She was a little too comfortable to react.
“You do not have to feel threatened, Lavinia. We will not leave you alone with her anymore, you can speak your min—”
Imperia spoke up but,
“Ria.”
Kael raised his voice, stopping the ant from teasing her older sister anymore.
“…”
Ria turned silent.
“Anyways, how much time left?”
Kael questioned as he glanced at the sea ahead. He could already see a shore.
“About half an hour.”
Lavinia answered.
Kael nodded at those words and glanced at Imperia, who nodded back.
“I will tell Xix’rah to gather everyone inside the boxes.”
The ant went to work. Kael also walked towards the edge of the ship and,
“Nyrri!”
He shouted and in an instant, a not-so-little Nyrri jumped out of the water and directly landed in his arms.
“Papa!”
“Tsk.”
Vita, who was forced to move away, snorted in annoyance. The fox was already planning her revenge.
Kael just chuckled at that and opened the portal.
“Go in, we will be leaving soon.”
“Yes!”
Nyrri nodded and jumped into the portal, where his eldest sister waited for him.
Yes, Cirri and Nyrri had gotten quite close.
As Kael made more preparations, half an hour passed by just like that. The ship arrived at the shore. He paid the shipmen leader the remaining money, took out all the boxes, and finally glanced at the cold, rugged mountain range that he had arrived on.
Yes, they were finally here at the Ashen Heights.
An important moment that would mark the rise of the strongest empire in the history of Nerathis.