Unlike Arthur’s birthday celebration, which only a select few could attend, the Remington Party was open to all the high-ranking people of the Aldebaran Continent.
Businessmen, Merchants, Officers of the Government, as well as other influential people that resided in the continent.
Literally, there were thousands of people that were at the party.
However, the Monarch Families were built differently.
The venue where they held their special events were as big as a coliseum, easily fitting the number of their guests with plenty of room to spare.
Since this event was held for the future Wanderers, who were bound to get Spirited Away in a few months, there were hundreds of teenagers present as well.
This was the first time that Mikhail had attended such a gathering, so it was hard for him to keep his composure.
Thirteen, on the other hand, wasn’t fazed by something like this. He had seen grander and more prestigious events in the thousands of years that he had served as a System to his Hosts.
Although Mikhail was intimidated, Thirteen didn’t fault him for it.
After all, his reaction was perfectly normal for a thirteen-year-old boy, who never had the chance to meet other people and have friends.
Simply put, the eldest of their family was overwhelmed due to the liveliness of the venue, and for some reason, Elijah’s eldest son, Harry, found Mikhail’s reaction quite amusing.
Thirteen didn’t plan to help or protect his brother during this event.
He wanted this to become a learning experience for Mikhail, who would soon enter a bigger world filled with danger.
Danger that didn’t only come from Monsters, but from his fellow Humans a well.
Elijah and Vivian were also paying close attention to Mikhail.
But, unlike their son, who was showing his inner thoughts, the two adults only smiled and teased Gerald for raising his son with too much love.
Gerald’s two friends brought them to their own personal table because they truly wanted to talk to him about many things.
They hadn’t seen each other for many years because Gerald didn’t want to involve them with the drama going on in his family.
Elijah and Vivian,both knew what kind of man he was like, so they did as they were told and only communicated with him using other means.
While the adults were chatting, the children headed to the buffet area to take something to eat.
“What kind of weapon do you use?” Harry asked Mikhail when the two of them had filled up their plates and were walking back towards their table.
“Axe,” Mikhail replied.
“Are you good at using it?”
“Good.”
Harry asked a few more questions after that, and Mikhail answered them with a word or two. The most he said were three words, and that was about it.
He was sticking to the rule that his little brother had given him.
When asked, answer with a word.
If one word was not enough then use two!
Ten minutes later, Harry stopped asking Mikhail questions because he felt like he was talking to a rock.
He just ate as quickly as he could so he could talk to his friends, who were also at the party.
His parents told him that he should make Mikhail and Thirteen feel comfortable during the event.
However, he felt bored talking to Mikhail, so he left the table as soon as he finished eating.
“I’m sorry about that,” Elijah said. “My son was not a good host.”
“They’re still young,” Gerald replied. “Mikhail also isn’t good at holding conversations. At least, Harry tried. That was enough.”
Gerald was well aware why his son was acting this way.
He was there when Thirteen told Mikhail how to act during the special gathering of the Remington Clan, and his eldest son was just following the orders of his little brother.
‘Lately, I feel like the head of the family isn’t me anymore,’ Gerald thought bitterly as he drank some wine, while eyeing his seven-year-old, who was enjoying the delicious food that was being served at the party.
Ever since Thirteen returned home from the hospital, he had started to act strange.
It was as if he was now a different person, compared to his timid son, who would sleep inside their room whenever there was a lightning storm because he was feeling afraid.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Thirteen was now the one calling the shots in the family. If he wanted something done, he would do it without fail.
He didn’t want to admit it, but the comfortable lifestyle that they were enjoying right now was all due to his son, who was already heading to the buffet area for round two.
When he was sure that Thirteen was out of ear shot, Elijah asked Gerald a question
“Did you train Zion at an early age?” Elijah asked.
Gerald didn’t answer right away. He was half contemplating if he should tell his best friend that his son didn’t receive any training from him.
In fact, the one that was training their entire family was none other than Thirteen.
“He received training right after he was released from the hospital,” Gerald replied. “He was more hardworking than me when I was his age.”
“That explains it,” Elijah nodded. “Every step he takes is very steady. It is as if he has full control of his body, and mind, not letting others see anything about him. I have been observing since your arrival, and he is like a tightly closed book, not allowing anyone to read the information it possesses.”
Gerald chuckled because he also felt this way in the past. However, after everything that happened, he no longer cared.
For him, as long as his family was safe, and living a comfortable life, that was enough.
Also, even if he was just doing blacksmithing, that didn’t mean that his fighting ability had degraded.
In fact, it even grew by leaps and bounds.
The Hammer for All Seasons, which Thirteen had imparted to Gerald, was originally a Martial Technique by a Blacksmith who fought on the front lines of a war to protect his people.
Every swing carried the years of experience he had in perfecting his craft, every blow held a force that could crush a boulder to pieces.
Even the enemies wearing heavy armor would be sent flying with a single swing of his hammer.
Gerald knew that he was far stronger than he was when he was still active as a Wanderer in Solterra.
If he faced off against the Assassins who had tried to assassinate him two years ago, all of them would die in his hands, without him getting injured in the slightest.
