Chapter 20: 20. Four to Five
Licht Eralith's POV
After the invited guests and the Priest left for the day, it was just us the Twin Horns gang that remained so we all retired to the Leywin's house and made ourselves feel at home. Alice didn't even need to say this twice as we were already in the process of doing so when she first said it. Adam got us some drinks and much to Rey's dismay, the redhead banned the now-married man from drinking anymore and shared it with Durden.
"Well it sucks to be you Rey but no drinking for you today.." Adam said, sticking out his tongue.
"Just you wait. I will get back to you on this one for sure.." A dejected Rey responded.
"When? When Adam finally gets married?" Angela sarcastically commented, earning a laugh from everyone.
"Let him be Reynolds. I mean he only has alcohol to give his single self some company.." I chided in, my comment a good round of laughter from everyone present.
"Why you little brat.." A flustered Adam rebuked before something clicked his mind. "Hey! You have yet to answer me about that thing I asked ya before. That time you just bailed on me."
"You have got a pretty sharp memory.." I shook my head before getting off my chair. "Time for a little surprise."
I could see Helen, Rey, Jasmine and Durden all sitting with knowing looks on their faces while Angela, Adam and Alice were lost causes at the moment. Slowly I removed both the mask and the illusion earring at the same time. I could hear gasps from the onlookers. My eyes returned to their usual sky blue color once the earring was removed. My ears went back to being pointy.
"You are a fucking elf!?" Adam had his jaw dropped to the ground at the reveal while I sat back on my seat, pulling in the mask and illusion artifact inside my dimension ring.
"Yeah that's how we reacted as well." Durden added.
"Minus the cursing on our part.." Helen pointed out.
"Wait! You guys knew!?" Adam turned to face his party members still having the same shocked face.
"How else would we have convinced the elven slaves back then and who you do think dropped them back home?" Helen replied, rolling her eyes.
Quieting Adam put two and two together to figure out the entire mystery, occasionally nodding his head as if reaching an understanding.
"Aren't you the cutest little thing!"
Before my sword-obsessed brain could actually register what was going to happen, I was pulled into some sort of death hug with my face being suffocated between what felt like twin abyssal hills but actually were Angela's special-grade assassination weapons. Sitting right beside her proved to be a fatal mistake.
Mumbling something along the lines of "I can't breathe" that mostly came out as a muffled mess due to being trapped with the well-endowed blonde's gigantic breasts, I pulled myself away from her grasp.
"Were you trying to end my adventuring career right here?"
"But your face is too cute to resist. I mean ask Jasmine.." Angela threw a wink at the black-haired girl who quickly hid her face behind a plate.
Was my face actually that appealing? I had never bothered to check before. Did basic characteristic features from last birth get carried over in the next birth? I did take occasional looks in the mirror back in the palace to see what sort of appearance I had ended up with after being reborn. I inherited my father's bright silver hair and my mother's sky blue eyes, while my face-cut was an exact carbon copy of my father. And father himself was no less of a handsome man as narrated by mother in her tales of the past so I think good looks run in the family. Even Grandma Rinia told that there was a time when Grandpa Virion had ladies drooling over him.
"So in short you are a rich bratty elf named Licht who is out here to become an adventurer." Adam finally summarized.
"I will let the bratty part slide.." I had no brainpower left to deal with Adam's momentary immaturity at all so leaving it be was the best course of action. Instead I change the topic of discussion. "Anyways, isn't it high time for us to give our gifts?"
"Oh yeah, the gifts."
Soon enough everyone began revealing the nicely wrapped up box of gifts and presenting them to the couple who accepted it with gratitude. Everyone had something of either necessity or simple accessories as their gifts for them. Angela had gifted Alice an empty journal, knowing full well about Alice's habits of reading and writing.
"Hey Licht. What's this supposed to be?" Reynolds curiously inquired as he unwrapped my gift and noticed a notebook with the title, "Guide to becoming a great dad 101."
"Hahahahaha!" Adam couldn't help but hold his stomach in laughter once again upon reading the title of the book. "Man Rey! The kid has got no trust in you that you will be able to raise a kid properly! This is frigging hilarious!!"
"Do you really think that way Licht?" A dejected Rey tried to find hope in the middle of despair. To his question I responded with an innocent whistle. Getting even more dejected he turned to Alice as his last ray of hope. "Alice dear?"
"I can't bring myself to trust you on properly raising our children either.." The auburn-haired woman playfully replied, crossing her arms as if thinking about the prospect deeply. "Can't have them ending up as reckless as you are."
(A/N - Little does she know)
(E/N - Not reckless, just a little masochistic fucker)
"Where did you get this from?" Durden asked with curiosity while patting the dejected Reynolds on his back.
"I made my grandfather write the tips down.." I responded. 'AS IF!!! Grandpa Virion is the last person I would ask for parenting advice! Launching a newborn in the air and a months later, spinning him around isn't called taking care of a baby. I wonder how he raised father or was it all Grandma's grace?'
"I mean as a team leader you are the best and no one can deny that part about you." Helen added.
"That reminds me.." Angela spoke up upon hearing the word 'team leader'. "Since Rey is retiring don't we need a new leader?"
"About that.." Rey had recovered from his dejection and rejoined the conversation. "I have come to a decision on who will be the new leader of the party."
The drawing room of the Leywin household felt silent with everyone looking at Rey's face rather expectantly and simultaneously trying to figure out who he would be nominating as the next leader of the Twin Horns party. It was a big decision to be undertaken after all so the lingering silence was no surprise. I had to hand it to Rey for creating such a good suspense in the atmosphere.
"The next leader of Twin Horns is going to be Helen.." Rey finally broke the lingering silence, looking at the archer with a dead serious gaze in his eyes. His decision is final and absolute.
"Huh me?" The archer in question still couldn't believe her ears for a few moments. The declaration took time to sink in.
"I think she is the perfect leader to replace Rey.." Durden said, giving a thumbs up.
"You are right. She has that same positive vibe around her that makes us feel like it is possible to achieve something.." Angela added.
"She is level-headed..." Jasmine commented in support as well.
"I-uh I.." It was clear that Helen was getting overwhelmed by the sudden shower of supporting compliments and needed time to process all of that. "You guys..."
"Plus she is the 'mom' of the gro--!"
The smack received this time was powerful enough to leave me making out with the floor.
"Fine fine I get it!" Helen composed herself before taking on a persona that clearly said, "I am in-charge". "I will make sure to be a capable leader that will take the party to new heights."
__________________________________________
Months Later
"And that's another successful raid.." I commented with a tired yawn, stretching my limbs a bit as we walked down to the town of Valden. Our destination being the Adventurer's Guild in order to collect our rewards from the raid and also submit the findings and hunts from the Dungeon.
It is said that even skins of mana beasts are sold at good prices and accessories are made out of them such as clothes, shoes and whatnot. Even bones of mana beasts are beneficial, especially the high-class ones. I even collected a few tougher bones myself to use them further to create more swords for myself once I get back to Elenoir.
That does remind me, it has been a good while since I last visited home. I would need to make a visit sometime or else mother is going to have my head.
"Yeah. Plus the other party collaborated with us well enough for this dungeon. You could say it was our first successful raid where we had to team up with another party." Durden commented.
"And the loot was great too." Helen said pointing at our bags which contained whatever valuable material we picked from the Dungeon. These materials would then be exchanged in the reception counter for cash. "And we got our hands on a few Beast Cores too. This time we're gonna earn a great deal of cash."
Beast Cores have an unlimited amount of uses, making them very valuable and highly sought after. Of course, the higher the classes of beast cores, the more valuable they would be. Mana beasts just like Dungeons are classified anywhere from E-Class to your SS-Class monster.
Rule of thumb says that one should always assume that mana beasts are stronger than humans of the same class. Simply because, even if we were to take mana out of the equation, a beast's physical body is said to be much stronger than an average human.
Once in a while there would be missions posted up that would require a couple parties of adventurers. Those were usually for trying to clear and map the harder Dungeons that weren't fully explored. If a mana beast had the power to create its own lair and have other mana beasts serving it, then one can bet there are treasures to be gained.
Our recent raid was one such mission request where we coordinated with another party and were asked to clear and map down half the number of floors of a higher B-Class Dungeon. The full mapping was to be done on some other day by another group. Going too deep on ourselves would have been a suicide attempt and the Guild had warned us against doing so until further notice.
"I am going to get a new spear with the money we're gonna get." Adam said, holding out his weapon. "This one's got old and rusted."
"I also think Angela should get a more effective wand for her spells." I pointed out. "For a wider range and effective incantation of the spells."
"In short we all need new gears." Helen summarized. "Then let's not dilly-dally anymore and quickly get the needed cash."
As we were about to step in the town, the Communication Device, a tool used for two-way communication between people started vibrating. It was another of those items given to me by my family in order to keep in contact with them. These Communication Devices are rare and sort of hard to find. They had some weird markings on them as well and according to my father, the people have no idea how these were made, which meant no further production on them is possible. It was another of the gifts left behind the rumored Ancient Mages just like the Teleportation Gate.
"Could you guys wait for a few moments?" I grumbled before climbing up a nearby tree. Can't risk showing off a rare device in the public. "Ye--?!"
"Licht! Get your ass back home! After you went away, your mother felt so lonely that your father needed to rely on some old methods to comfort her and as a result we are going to become 5 instead of 4. So get your ass back here before it becomes 6!"
That blunt, crass, rough and snappy voice. There's no mistake. It's grandpa Virion through and through. Even my party members standing down could hear his voice loud and clear. And with his oddly specific way of speaking, he just conveyed a message that I am going to be a big brother...
Hold up
I heard that right didn't I? He is not pulling any sort of idiotic prank is he?
"Grandpa? I sincerely hope you are not joking about this.."
"Do you honestly think I am gonna joke at this serious issue! Now stop wasting your and my time and haul your ass back home!" And he abruptly cut the connection off.
Looks like my date of visiting back came sooner than I had anticipated. I looked down to see the shock-stricken looks of my party members with Adam doing his best to hold off his laughter but unfortunately failed in the end. He began laughing like a wild dog mumbling how he finally figured where I got my straight-forwardness from though mine is still leagues below my grandfather. Eventually the others who still seemed petrified from the initial shock followed suit, but none were wilder than Adam in terms of reaction.
If I may, Adam had naturally won the best reaction award right away.
"Old methods to comfort her. I really need to meet your grandfather at least once.." Our redhead spearman still had it going with his laughter spree.
"Yeah yeah.." I rolled my eyes before facing the others. "It seems I would need to rush back home right about now. Sorry about that.."
"Don't be Mr. Soon-to-be Big Bro." Helen responded. "I would have personally smacked you back home anyway after we would have got our reward money for the quest. It is a good thing that your grandpa called in the right time."
"I know adventuring is good and fun but you shouldn't neglect your family for that reason. It is selfish.." Angela reminded.
"When did I...forget it." I didn't bother to argue here since I would be at the losing end anyway and it had been a good chunk of time since I last visited so I had to get back either way. Sighing I took out a Communication Scroll from the Dimension Ring and tossed it to Helen. "I will contact when I will be back next."
"That isn't something you be should be worrying about now. Be a responsible son and big brother. Spend some time with your family." Helen replied before curling her hands into a fists. "You slack off and I will personally instill some leftover manners into you."
"Got it mom.." Quickly taking out a broom also stored within the Dimension Ring, I took off for the skies before the archer had a chance to give a smack on my head. "Later guys!-Ouch!"
I turned back to see there was something similar to a dart in my butt. My eyes trailed back to Helen who was tossing another dart in the air with a smile on her face.
'No matter what, you should never mess with mommy archer.' With that thought in mind, I plucked the dart off and flew.
"Don't forget to get me an autograph of your grandfather!" Adam hollered, waving his hands.
___________________________________________
Three men paced around in the palace hallways in front of a big set of door s that were closed from the other end. The tension in the air could be felt pretty easily especially from father while mine and grandpa's combined level of tension and anticipation couldn't even compare to his. The speed of him pacing around increased even more as time ticked by.
"Ah Alduin cool it." Grandpa grumbled with a tsk. "Be a man will ya. First you do the deed and now you pace around like a wimp."
"Father!" Dad protested. "You don't expect me to calm down at this moment, do you? No matter what I try, I cannot calm down right now. Also could you mind your words. Licht's right here."
"Bah! His mind is even more dirtier than you think it is. These words are nothing to him." Grandpa waved his hands in dismissal.
And why am I being pulled in the middle of all this again? I really have no idea and personally I don't even want to know. Moreover I was looking forward to what my younger sibling would be like.
A boy? A girl? Whoever it is, I will make sure to cherish them, spoil them rotten and let no harm befall on them.
In my past life I never had any siblings and kind of envied Lumiere. Yes, there were Patri and the others but they mostly looked up to me because of my four-leaf Grimoire and the fact that I was the leader of the tribe but there wasn't anyone I could call my sibling. It is a blessing that I will get to experience what being a big brother feels like.
Mother's cry of labor broke father and grandfather out of their mini banter and me out of my train of thoughts. The tension level simply rose and father seemed like he was about to break the damned doors right in front of him and barge in right next to his wife. Grandpa kept a hand on his son's shoulder to prevent him from doing something rash. Someone who has experienced what being a father is like and has lived double the life than my father, he knows when to take charge of the situation. Keeping a level head is important and this is one admirable trait about him.
Her cries died down a few minutes later and were replaced with dead silence. Father resumed pacing around much to Grandpa's annoyance but this time he didn't comment anything and simply let out an audible sigh. Crossing his arms, he leaned his back on the wall.
Another minute or two ticked by before a child's cries were heard which made the three of us nearly jump on our feet and the doors were opened for us. There on the bed was mother with a tired yet warm smile plastered on her face. I remembered correctly. This was the same face she made when I was born. At the moment, she half-sat on the bed, leaning her back on the cushions and in her hand she held a little bundle of joy aka our fifth member according to grandpa.
"Congratulations! Your Majesty and Her Highness! You have been blessed with a healthy baby girl."
The three of us quickly made our way to the bedside, where father took a seat beside mother while me and grandfather stood on the opposite sides of the bed. The baby girl had stopped crying and opened her gleaming teal colored eyes as if observing each one of us. She began flailing her tiny arms.
"A lovely granddaughter this time. You two really made this old coot happy like no other." Grandpa Virion muttered, trying to show off his goofy grin.
"Did you think of a name for her mom?" I excitedly asked. I wouldn't even need a mirror to see the excitement on my face. Also knowing how she had named me, I was pretty sure she had a name decided for my younger sister too.
"This time we will go with the name your father has in mind." She said gazing at my father expectantly.
"Really?" Father asked with a glimmer of hope in his voice. Earning a nod from his wife, he took my sister in his arms and brought her closer to himself. "Her name will be Tessia. Tessia Eralith, my lovely girl.."
"Your father had already come up with this name when I was pregnant the first time. We had no idea whether it would be a boy or a girl so we picked out names in advance." Mother explained.
"Let me--"
"Oh no you don't!" I protested even before Father could commit the mistake of handing Tessia in grandfather's hands. "I will not let you terrorize her by launching her in the air."
"Ah you remember that you brat.." Grandpa sheepishly responded.
"It was traumatizing. How do you even expect me to forget that!" I retorted, earning a round of chuckles from my father.
"Why don't you hold her then?" Father suddenly spoke up.
"Huh me?" I inquired earning an affirmative nod from him. He gently placed her in my arms. 'Be careful Licht! You have never handled a baby before but you will be fine! Believe in yourself and take a deep breath...1....2...3....Everything will be fine as long as you don't drop her...'
Having calmed my nerves down to a good extent, I held her gently in my arms and slowly did little movements to see her reaction. Her expressions were sort of frightened at first and it would seem she was about to cry but then out of the blue as if feeling safer in my arms, she let out a squeal followed with the brightest smile I ever saw that day.
'Looks like I got another smile to protect..'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone