"Start talking," James said as he looked at the three people who were acting in an arrogant manner when they first arrived.
Their hair was a mess, their clothes in tatters, and burn marks could be seen on their skin. Although they survived William's A.O.E attack, they still suffered due to its ferocity.
(A/N: Area of Effect - AOE.)
"You fools! You will all regret this!" the skinny man with brown hair and eyes glared at James and the men behind him. "You think this little town can handle the wrath of our organization? If you let us go now, we can still turn a blind eye to this incident!"
"He is right," the man with an eyepatch looked at James with a serious expression. "It will be folly to antagonize our organization. Our members are not something a bunch of country bumpkins could trifle with!"
Only the dark mage looked at James with a frown. As a wielder of magic, he was very sensitive to strong presences and right now… he was in front of not only one, but several strong people.
People that were far stronger than him.
"I see, so you don't want to talk," James replied with a smile. "That's fine. Jekyll, I'll let you handle them."
"Hahaha, this is going to be fun," Jekyll commented as he looked at the three people with a wide grin.
James and the others left the room and allowed the "Dentist" of Lont to handle the interrogation. Among them, no one could compare to Jekyll when it came to making people talk, including Ezio.
They were confident that they would get their answers in less than an hour after Jekyll was finished with them.
The two people looked at Jekyll with a sneer. They were still thinking that the prim, proper, handsome, smiling man in front of them was just there to intimidate them. This was not the first time they had experienced an interrogation and most of those interrogators all had the same ending and that was death.
Jekyll calmly took a chair and sat in front of the captives with a smile.
"Tell me, when was the last time you boys brushed your teeth?" Jekyll asked.
The man wearing an eyepatch spat on Jekyll and his spit landed on the dentist's well-ironed pants. The skinny man laughed due to his comrade's actions and did the same. His spit landed on Jekyll's clothes, which made the dentist's smile widen.
"I guess I need to give the two of you a crash course on proper dental hygiene," Jekyll commented with a smile.
Soon, loud, begging, cries for forgiveness resounded inside the room. The Dark Magician closed his eyes and gritted his teeth because he couldn't stomach what he was seeing. If possible, he also wanted to cover his ears, but his arms were firmly tied behind his back.
The only way he could keep his sanity was to close his eyes and use his willpower to endure the horrible screams beside him. He was already regretting coming to this backward place with the intention of lording over the newly built territories on the Western Edges of the Hellan Kingdom.
"I hope Jekyll doesn't break them," Owen said as he blew circles of smoke with his pipe. "I don't want to waste my potions on these low lives."
James just smiled at the stingy Life Magus' complaint.
"How are the townspeople?" James inquired. "Have they calmed down?"
"Don't worry about them," Owen waved his hand casually. "They are currently enjoying the grand feast that our hunters prepared. I'm sure that this whole incident will just turn into gossip in the future."
"That's good." James nodded. "I hope that my grandson and new daughter-in-law will not mind this small incident and enjoy their honeymoon."
Dwayne, who was drinking some alcohol at the side, grinned. "Commander, are you perhaps very excited to hold your great grandchild?"
"Indeed. But, I will still have to wait a few years before that happens." James sighed.
He had promised Sebas to wait until Leah was at least twenty years old before allowing the two of them to conceive a child. The overly-protective father didn't want his daughter to suffer the same fate his wife did when she gave birth to Cedric.
James also cared about Leah's well-being so he readily agreed to Sebas request. He also understood that both of them were still young. They were still studying in the Hellan Royal Academy and having a baby should be postponed for a little while longer.
As the three men waited for the result of Jekyll's interrogation, William and the others were enjoying the feast at the center of the town. Although the guests from Fushia and Xynnar were shaken, the original inhabitants of Lont treated the incident like it was just a passing cloud in the sky.
After experiencing two beast tides, the people of Lont were not easily ruffled by sudden attacks on their hometown.
"Where did you go earlier, Will?" Wendy asked. "When those scary men appeared, I looked for you, but you were nowhere to be found."
William finished chewing the apple inside his mouth before answering Wendy's question. "It was a dangerous situation, and I decided to evacuate in order to protect Eve from harm. Those men were stronger than us and it was not a good idea to confront them head on."
Spencer, who was seated beside his sister, looked at William with a serious expression. "Your uncle and grandfather were amazing. I heard that they helped in subjugating the dungeon in the Duchy of Aberdeen, but seeing them in action was truly something to behold."
William raised his chin in an arrogant manner, "My grandpa cracks coconuts with his bare hands. Handling a few small fries is not a big deal to him. You should have seen how he faced off against a Millennial Beast. That scene gave me goosebumps."
Ian was already used to William's narcissistic bragging and turned a deaf ear to his words. He busied himself in eating the delicious dishes that were prepared by the hunters of Lont.
Although the capital didn't lack high-class dishes, the local delicacies he was currently eating gave him a more "homely" feeling and they reminded him of his own hometown.
'I hope father and mother are doing well,' Ian thought as he took another bite of a dish that William had called curry.
The red-headed boy even bragged that he was the one who cooked it yesterday. He added that curry tasted better if it was eaten at a later time, so he prepared it the night before in order to bring out its true flavor.
"I wish I could stay longer," Wendy said with a sad expression. "Aunt Anna, Aunt Hellen, Uncle Mordred and Grandpa James are all good people. They are very warm and kind. Also, Lady Celine was really an expert when it comes to wielding a spear. I learned a lot from her."
William, who was currently tempting Dia to eat the apple in his hand, looked at Wendy with gentle eyes. "You can always come and visit them anytime you like. I'm sure that gramps and the others will welcome you with open arms."
"Can I?" Wendy looked back at him with a serious expression. "Can I really come and visit them anytime?"
"Of course."
"Good. Then I'll come and play with Eve again when there is an opportunity."
Wendy's mood was lifted due to William's words and she handed a drumstick to Thor in order to reward him for being a good boy.
Ragnar was currently eating a steak on a wooden plate beside William's feet. Although they only grew stronger by eating beast cores, it was perfectly fine for them to eat ordinary foods as well.
"I'm still curious," Spencer gave William an inquiring gaze. "Just who are those men? Do they have comrades? If yes, this needs to be reported to the capital and fast."
"You don't have to worry about that," William replied. "Uncle Mordred will be going with us back to the capital. He will deliver the news to his Majesty while waiting for his peerage to be bestowed upon him."
"That's good to hear." Spencer nodded.
He once again stared at his Head Prefect for a brief moment before focusing on the food on his plate. Whatever thoughts he had on his mind right now, he hid it behind a calm facade.
----
After the festivities, James called William to his room that night to talk about important matters.
"You're the one that manipulated that lightning storm, right?" James asked.
William nodded his head because there was no use hiding this secret to his grandfather.
"Is this the first time you have done such a thing?"
"Yes."
James sighed and massaged his forehead, "William, what you did was dangerous. Fortunately, the defenses that we installed in Lont kicked in right away. Also, the veterans were present so the damage was minimal. No one also got injured because Owen and the rest acted fast enough.
If you had chosen a different occasion to use that ability, I'm afraid that we might have suffered casualties on our side."
James said this in a calm manner, but William's guilt was enough for him to feel ashamed of his actions. He didn't think ahead when he used the skill "Thunder God's Wrath". All he wanted to do was to take the opportunity to test his ability.
"I'm sorry, Grandpa," William replied. "I will be more careful in the future."
James didn't punish William because he knew that his grandson was truly repenting for his actions. However, there was one more thing that he had to make sure of no matter what.
"Were there any witnesses when you used that skill?"
"Only Eve, but I doubt that she was aware of what was happening."
James nodded his head and only reminded William not to recklessly use the power of lightning again, especially when in public. After all, this was a secret that they had to keep until William became strong enough to protect himself.
----
Three days later, the group--including the newlyweds--returned to the Hellan Capital along with Mordred. Although their honeymoon only lasted a few days, the two people radiated happiness which made William envious.
Wendy chatted with Leah from time to time while giving sneaking glances at William from time to time. The two girls would giggle every now and then, which made William feel his stomach churn for some unknown reason.
They were currently on the back of Blitz and were flying towards the nearest town where a teleport gate was stationed. From there, they would teleport straight to the capital.
When they arrived at the capital city, Gladiolus, Mordred escorted the children to the academy before going to the castle to meet the king.
Before they left, James had given Mordred a confidential letter. The information that they squeezed out from their captives was quite alarming that James decided to share the information with the king.
He hoped that the Hellan Kingdom still had some forces left in order to deal with the new threat that they were about to face.