"How is he?" James inquired after Owen finished treating William's injuries.
"Calm your tits old man." Owen snorted. "Your grandson is fine. Now, tell me, how did this happen? Are we under attack? Did the nobles make their move?"
"No." James firmly shook his head. "We are not under attack, and this has no relation to the nobles."
"Then how?" Owen narrowed his gaze. "Celine would never harm anyone in this town! Don't tell me this is her work? Even if you kill me, I won't believe it!"
"No, this is not Celine's work." James sighed and decided to come clean. "William has inherited the Ring of Conquest. Maybe he encountered a strong monster during his exploration."
"W-What?!" Owen exclaimed. "What did you say?! H-He!"
"Shhhh!" James glared at the stuttering old fool in front of him. "Don't tell anyone. The only people who know about this are Me, You, and my son, Mordred. You understand the consequences if this matter is brought to light, don't you?"
Owen clicked his tongue. If possible, he wanted to forget that James had shared this secret with him. The Ring of Conquest was a royal heirloom that belonged to the Demon Race. If they caught wind that it was in the possession of a ten-year-old brat then the Demon King would definitely send his generals to retrieve it, no matter the cost!
"Fine. I will not tell a soul." Owen promised. "However, we need to handle this matter properly. You were too reckless. Do you think that everyone in Lont are blind and deaf? You broke into my house and raised a commotion. It is impossible to cover this up. We need to think of an excuse!"
James sighed and felt slightly regretful. His worry had overcome his common sense. He had made a scene in front of everyone and their curiosity would lead them to ask questions.
Fortunately, Owen had erected a barrier around his house to prevent anyone from spying on them. Although they trusted their comrades, they couldn't risk letting William's secret be known by everyone. The less people in the know, the better.
"Let William stay with me for the time being," Owen said after thinking things through. "Tell everyone that he has suffered Evocation Madness and needs to be monitored for a few days."
Evocation Madness was a state where a magician's magic power went out of control. This was similar to becoming berserk. The only difference was that this time, magic was involved instead of physical prowess.
"That is indeed the best solution." James nodded his head in agreement. "Everyone saw William use magic. Encountering this state is very common among those who have just awakened their powers."
The two old men discussed for another half an hour before parting ways. James also promised that he would call a carpenter to fix Owen's broken door as soon as morning came. It took James a while to convince the worried Ella to return to the goat shed with him.
Ella was very reluctant to leave, but James managed to convince her in the end. The night's incident was wrapped up the next day and everyone accepted James' explanation.
Chronos, Aslan, and the rest of the goats were also on their way to a full recovery. Although they were still shaken by what happened to them, Ella's presence made them feel less anxious.
----
William woke up three days after the incident. Owen was a very powerful Life Magus and it was very easy for him to heal the young boy's injuries.
The reason why it took him three days to wake up was due to the mental exhaustion he suffered during the fight against the Hobgoblin Shaman.
"Thank you for everything, Mr. Owen," William said while bowing his head in a respectful manner.
"It's fine," Owen replied while casually waving his hand. "Are you hungry?"
"Very."
"Then eat. We will continue our talk after you finish eating."
William happily ate the chicken soup that was served to him by Owen's servant. The enticing aroma sharpened his senses and the delicious taste brought warmth to his soul. Owen watched the young boy eat with a smile on his face.
"Dear, are you here?" a soft and delicate voice of a lady sounded from outside William's room.
"I am here, sweetheart," Owen replied. "Come. It is a good time to introduce you to our guest."
"Alright, I'm coming in," the lady replied.
William raised his head to look in the direction of the door. A beautiful lady with blonde hair, and green eyes walked towards Owen with a smile. William could tell that the lady was only in her early twenties. He assumed that she was Owen's daughter.
The beautiful lady grabbed one of the other chairs that was sitting against the wall and carried it over, so she could sit beside Owen. She then sat down beside the old man and held his hand.
Owen smiled and made a gesture to introduce William. "Sarah, this is William. He is James' grandson. William, this is my wife, Sarah. I hope that the two of you get along."
"Pfffft!" William spat the delicious chicken soup inside his mouth when he heard Owen's introduction. "W-Wife? She is your wife?"
"Yes," Owen answered with a smug look on his face. He didn't seem to mind that William had created a mess inside the room. This was not the first time that Owen had seen this kind of reaction. He was already used to it. In fact, he enjoyed seeing this reaction from people.
"It's true." Sarah smiled sweetly. "Owen is my husband. We have already been married for two years."
'Hisssss! This old cow hit the jackpot and managed to eat beautiful young grass,' William thought. 'The old ginger is still spicy.'
Sarah chatted with William, but she didn't stay for long. After giving Owen a kiss, she left the room and returned to doing her duties.
"Isn't my wife a beauty?" Owen asked.
"Yes," William replied with a complicated expression. "Very."
"Alright, since you have finished eating, it's time to talk about serious business," Owen said. "James has already told me that you are in the possession of the Ring of Conquest. I'm sure that he already told you that this secret should not be known to many people, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now this makes things easier. Tell me, what did you face to suffer such injuries? Only a powerful Dark Magician can use curses of that level."
William decided to come clean and told Owen about his battle against the Hobgoblin Shaman. He didn't hide anything and narrated the event from start to finish. The old man listened as William told his tale. Although he didn't say anything, William could see the disapproving expression on the old man's face.