"Why are you coming with us again?" William asked as he looked at Spencer who was standing beside Wendy.
"I want to see the hometown of Sir William," Spencer replied. 'I will also not allow you to lay your hands on my little sister.'
"I see…" William nodded his head. He then turned his head towards the snot-nosed pansy who had his arms crossed over his chest. "And your reason for joining us is?"
"This was an order from my Young Master," Ian replied. "I will witness the wedding in his place and present our gift to our seniors from the Magic Division."
"... Right." William couldn't find any flaw in Ian's reply because Matthew and Leah were indeed Est's seniors. Also, the younger boy had consulted the two of them and asked for pointers several times on how to become a good Head Prefect for the Magic Division.
Est needed to stay behind in order to monitor the Magic Division just in case they were dispatched for an emergency mission. Although the Dungeon Outbreaks were slowly getting under control, there was still a chance that the First Years would need to be mobilized to provide aid.
James didn't mind having more people with them and happily accepted to receive them as guests. He was extra courteous to Wendy and Spencer. William knew that his grandpa was thinking of having a private talk with Wendy again to discuss plans for marriage.
Fortunately, Spencer was there to act as a buffer and prevent his gramps from having his way.
When everyone was ready, the group used the academy's teleportation gates to travel to the town closest to Lont. The Dean had approved of this request since James did help in subjugating the Lair of the Ancient Queen and prevented the loss of more lives on the battlefield.
After exiting the town, Blitz shrieked in the sky as John chanted an enlargement spell in order to increase its size. It only took two hours on Blitz' back before William saw the familiar town where he grew up.
Wendy's and Spencer's eyes widened in surprise when they saw the Ourobro (Golden Ape) that was seated not far away from the entrance of Lont.
Soon, Blitz landed near the Ainsworth Residence. John and Jekyll took their leave and returned to their own homes to rest. James had promised them sufficient compensation for helping him save his grandson and subjugate the dungeon.
Helen, who saw them land near the mansion, hurriedly greeted them and hugged Matthew, Leah, and William with tears streaming down her face.
"I'm glad you are safe, Young Master," Helen said with a teary face. "You, too, Leah."
"Sorry for worrying you, Aunt Helen," Matthew replied while looking apologetic.
"I'm back, Aunt Helen." Leah smiled. "I'm also glad to see you."
Helen nodded his head and patted William's head. "Have you grown taller, Little Will?"
"A little bit," William admitted. "Aunt Helen, let me introduce you to my friend, Wendy. Wendy, this is my Aunt Helen. She has taken good care of me since I was a baby."
"Hello, Wendy."
"Nice to meet you, Lady Helen."
"Just call me Aunt," Helen smiled. "Since Little Will and you are friends then there's no need to be too courteous."
Wendy nodded her head. "Thank you, Aunt Helen."
William then turned to look at the tag-along brother and reluctantly introduced him to his Aunt.
"This is Wendy's older brother, Spencer," William said. "He likes to eat grass, so make sure to give him some fresh hay everyday, Aunt Helen."
Spencer ignored William's words and greeted Helen politely like how nobles did. Helen greeted him in return before making a gesture for them to follow her back to the residence.
Since Helen and Ian were already acquainted, there was no need for introductions between them.
Matthew and Leah had just entered the door when an anxious Anna hugged both of them while crying tears of joy.
A few minutes passed before Anna regained her composure. She apologized to their guests for showing them an embarrassing sight during their visit.
After kissing Matthew, Leah, and William, on the cheeks, Anna and Helen went into the kitchen to cook a feast.
William was left to entertain their guests, as Matthew and Leah took a nap in their rooms. They were still quite exhausted from their near-death experience and decided to rest for the time being.
"Later, I'll give all of you a tour of Lont," William said with a smile.
"Thank you," Wendy replied.
She was currently seated on the couch and was petting Thor, who was lying on her lap. The Husky had his eyes closed in satisfaction.
Dia and Ragnar followed Ella outside the residence to visit the other goats that belonged to William's herd. Oliver had also snuck away to return to Celine's house in order to give her the souvenir he had "found" during his short vacation outside of Lont.
"I heard from my father that there was a town that survived the Beast Tide many years ago, and that town's name was Lont," Spencer stated as he looked at William with a serious expression. "Is the Ourobro the reason why none of the monsters dared to attack this town back then?"
There were only four of them in the living room because James went to see Owen to discuss everything that had happened while he was away.
"No." William shook his head. "We were attacked by a Wolf Tide but Gramps and the defenders of Lont managed to stop their advance. The Ourobro that you saw outside of Lont was taken from the battle that took place at the Windkeep Citadel."
Spencer pondered for a bit before asking the question that had been bothering him since he entered the small town in the countryside.
"Who is the strongest person in Lont?" Spencer inquired. He was very curious about the power hierarchy of the only town that survived the disaster that happened many years ago.
"The strongest?" William pondered for a while. In fact, he didn't know who the strongest person in Lont was. If it was a few years ago, he would have readily answered that his Gramps, James, was the strongest. However, his Master, Celine, had shown amazing combat abilities in the battle against the Golden-Scaled Crocodile.
Then there was also the town's dentist, Mr. Jekyll. William had a nagging feeling that the dentist was a very powerful expert that even surpassed James' and Celine's battle prowess.
In the end, William decided to play it safe and gave an answer based on his preference.
"My Master is the strongest," William replied with a smug expression. "I wouldn't make her my master if she was weak, you know?"
"I want to meet your Master, Will," Wendy said. "Is it possible?"
"I'll ask her later if she will agree to meet you," William answered. "My Master is quite laz-- I mean, very shy around people."
Ian snorted when he heard the shepherd mention his beautiful elven master. The snot-nosed pansy was quite sensitive to magic power. When he first met Celine, he had already known that she was someone he didn't want to mess with, if possible.
However, that didn't change the fact that Ian hated her. The first reason was because she enslaved William. Ian loathed enslavement more than anything in the world. He even made a vow to eliminate all the slave traders he came across when he became stronger.
The second reason was the fact that Celine was extremely beautiful. Just the thought of Celine turning William into her boy toy irritated him to no end. He had also heard rumors in the capital that beautiful and handsome Half-Elves were sold to become the bed warmers of their new owners.
In some cases, the nobles even exchanged their slaves with each other in order to promote better relationships in the noble circle.
While Ian was deep in thought, Wendy and Spencer were looking forward to meeting William's Master. They wanted to see the person who had trained the red-headed boy and made him the way he was now.
"Is your master really that strong?" Wendy asked.
"Yes. Master is very strong." William nodded in affirmation. "She single-handedly dealt with a Golden-Scaled Crocodile and its lackeys. That is how strong she is."
"What is her profession?" Spencer asked.
"Master? She's A Da-," William forcefully closed his mouth as sweat oozed on his forehead. He almost forgot that Dark Mages were banned in the Southern Continent. If he were to say that his Master was a Dark Sorceress, he wasn't sure how his two guests would react.
Ian was different. He already knew that Celine was a Dark Sorceress, so he didn't need to hide it from him. However, Wendy and Spencer were different. Although William trusted Wendy, he wasn't sure if Spencer was tight-lipped or not.
Celine had explicitly told him about the prejudice that the common people held towards those who wield Dark Magic.
"Your Master is a what?" Wendy inquired.
"My Master is a Da-Dancer," William hurriedly replied. "She's a very good dancer."
"A Dancer?" Spencer frowned. "Your master is a dancer?"
Spencer looked at William in doubt. Although some dancers were very strong fighters, their main profession was more in line with the realm of entertainment. He didn't believe that a Dancer was capable of training William to become a strong warrior.
"Yes. My Master is a Dancer," William lied through his teeth. "She's a beautiful Elven Dancer. Anyone who sees her dance would be charmed by how graceful and talented she is."
The corner of Ian's lips twitched as he watched William's attempt to hide his Master's true profession. Although Ian was tempted to tell the others the truth, he decided that it was not worth it to make Celine his enemy. After all, Dark Mages were banned from the Southern Continent for a reason.