While there was lively commotion under the tree, Noel and Chely started up their own grill. Naturally, Noel helped her season her food. Chely wasn't picky about anything in particular, but he could tell when she appreciated something delicious.
"He's a great boyfriend, isn't he?" Ethym smiled, almost smirking.
"Pff—hahaha. I guess," Rigeld replied. "Though, I'll be honest. I didn't see this pair coming."
"Really? How come?" Ethym raised an eyebrow.
"Well… Chely's always been uninterested in love, and whenever I bring up the topic, she always evades, saying she's got an operation to prepare for."
"I see… I thought Amethely to be the same too, so… imagine my shock."
"Sigh… You don't say. But at least your daughters got something going for them, my niece on the other hand…"
Rigeld glanced at Luna, who was under the tree, being pampered by Alum and Amethely, even Emerine.
Ethym, who'd followed his gaze, could only smile wryly. "W-Well… she's only 18…" he said.
"And at that age, you already married Lady Emerine," Rigeld replied, grinning.
"Yes, while that is true... Look at Chely… she's 23. And Luna is still a young adult, thereäs no need to pressure her or anything—or are you perchance worried?"
Rigeld shrugged. "You tell me. Although marriages of love are a custom, it isn't that uncommon for royalty without a partners the age of 20 to be set up for an arranged marriage."
Ethym didn't have a reply. At some point, the bloodline needed to continue, and Luna's younger brother was still too young. It was preferred if Luna could take over the throne so that her parents could retire; too long a rule wasn't good for anyone.
"She and her arranged partner could probably learn to love one another, but how often does that happen in an arrangement? Besides, you don't share my worry because of your daughters. One's a Saint and the other a Hero."
"You're right, You High… Lord Rigeld. I hadn't considered that. My apologies."
"Sigh…" Rigeld let out a mock-exasperated sigh. "I had a good candidate. But he fell for a saint. Then another candidate snugged the hero. Really? What am I to do? Nobody else gets along with that damn recluse…"
"Huh…? Wait does that mean…"
"Ah… Forget I said anything." Rigeld turned the meat skewer. "It's just an old man's rambling, hahahaha!"
"I… see."
—Well, no use thinking about it, Ethym thought.
A while later, Noel and Rigeld talked about something, and it's been a while since Chely and Ethym spent time together.
"How have you been?"
"Good. What about you and Mama?"
Ethym blushed a little as he scratched his head. "We're happy as usual. What about you? Are you happy?" he asked her in return.
Chely stared into the sizzling meat; her complexion was noticeably softer than it had been a few years ago.
"Yeah. I'm happy."
"I'm glad. That's all I could've wished for," he said, patting her shoulder.
"…Thanks, Papa…" Chely uttered, thinking he hadn't heard her; her ears were faintly red.
"…"
Ethym felt like a disintegration ray had hit his heart—Aww… It's adorable how she still calls Rine and me that…
..
Later that night, a young man stood in front of a personal training facility. His deep blue eyes shook ever slightly as he gulped down the heavy emotion that was about to come up.
—Psst…
The heavy metal doors slide open, behind them was another youth—someone he'd intentionally avoided interacting with.
"Why did you call me here, Alum?" Oliver asked, scratching his blond hair.
"To talk."
Alum didn't add anything else. He turned around and walked deeper inside.
"Tsk…"
Oliver followed.
In just a few steps, they were inside a well-lit white chamber, where there were practice weapons on the side and a changing room next to it.
"…?!"
Oliver jumped to the side, rolling on the cold metal floor as he tumbled. But nothing happened. Or rather, there was a small suction where he'd been just now—Alum had lightly applied telekinetic pressure where he just stood.
"I know you're a psychic," Alum bluntly stated.
Oliver's eyes widened, then his eyes reddened. "So what if I am?" he replied with a much deeper tone.
"I'm one as well. But you already knew that, no?"
"…"
With eyes returning to deep blue, Oliver calmed down and fixed his attire.
"What did you want to talk about? Don't tell me you called me out just for this?"
"I did." Alum shrugged.
"…" Oliver couldn't help but glare. "Bullshit…" But then, he noticed how Alum meant it. "Seriously?"
Alum nodded. "Yeah." And threw him a bottle.
Oliver caught it without issues and looked at the clear liquid—
"Isn't this just water?" he asked.
"Yeah, diluted with POC, that is."
"…" Oliver stared at it, then at Alum. "How…? That can't be… how did you get hold of this stuff?"
"You don't need to know."
"…"
—Surely, as a psychic, he must know how valuable psionic outburst control is… right? He's handing it to me? Just like that?
"With this, you won't go out of control when using your ability or abilities—you stopped developing at one point, no?"
"Tsk…" Oliver grumbled under his breath. "You powerful espers never understood our struggles…" A sigh escaped his lips. "Fine… but what about you? The fact that I can be this close to you without sweating bullets means that your powers aren't nearly as strong as they used to be."
Alum's eyes widened. "Oh… I presumed it was well suppressed—"
"Yeah, for normal people!" Oliver retorted. "Do you know how suffocating it was being near you? Like, I've met a few espers back in the days, but nothing screamed more eldritch than you!"
"Pffts…" Alum lightly laughed.
"Grrr…"
"Are you relieved to get that out of your chest?" Alum inquired.
"Urk… I guess." He bashfully looked down and scratched his head. "But seriously, where did you get this stuff?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Hey… Tell me."
Oliver demanded an answer; his face was only a few inches away from Alum's face as he'd grabbed his shoulders.
"All the POC that were ever produced… originated from me. The white blood cells used in the common pills were all propagated from mine originally, and in your hand is the purest POC you can get."
"…" Oliver froze on the spot as he looked at the bottle, then at Alum. "Gross…" he gagged.
"You don't get to be picky." Alum, indifferent to his reaction, materialized a crate of bottles. "Here, take this too."
"…Yeah. Thanks…"
Though he was thankful, he couldn't help but look at it with a hint of repulsion.
"Of course, you'll return this favor with something, right?"
"…"
—I knew it…
"Got it, I just hope it isn't something absurd. So? What's the favor?"
"Look after Emy for me, will you?"
"Sigh… I was going to do that anyways, so sure." Oliver shrugged.
"I thought you liked Miu?"
"Motherfu—urk… whatever, I'll look out after Emely, happy?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"…Don't. It's a transaction."
"Is it though? I thought you'd do it either way?"
Oliver's mouth was left hanging as he glared at Alum with an exasperated expression. He thought—Is this guy trying to drive me insane?
…
..
Two days later, on board the logistics airship heading to the ruins, Alum found himself on the deck looking down at the plains and forest below.
He'd gotten along with the Ilis couple better than expected, letting go of the meaningless projection. They were her parents, not his—at least, until the near future. And then, his mind wandered a few hours back.
When he had to say goodbye at the port, Emely hugged him and wouldn't let go for a while. Miu told him to be safe and handed him a few treats. Chely gave him a sisterly hug, while Noel naturally joined in on it.
"You won't easily beat me once you're back, Al," he declared with a beaming smile.
"Sure." Alum returned a smile.
Julia, Lova, Lena, Kurt, Kevin, David, and Daniel came to see him off as well. He even spotted Oliver in the distance.
"Let's hang out again sometime, Alum," they all said.
Luna, who'd been quiet all this while, said, "Take care…Al," with a soft smile. But with a gentle push on the back from Amethely, she spread her arms. The gesture was tiny, almost shy.
"Yeah, you too, Luna. Take care." Alum embraced her and patted her head.
He then met Amethely's loving gaze.
"I'll be waiting," she said, her calm soothing voice filled his heart with love.
Alum closed the distance as he placed his forehead on hers, clasping her hands and intertwining their fingers.
"Yeah… I'll be back."
"Nnh. I know."
He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and she placed a peck on his cheek.
"Bye bye…"
"Mm, bye bye…"
Alum sighed softly, then chuckled to himself. As for this upcoming operation, besides Night Ouen, Phantom Dusk would be joining them. There was also Aetlise, who was on the advance team, but he probably wasn't running into her any time soon. The rest were soldiers under Letisha's command. Except…
"Oh, this is where you were?" a familiar voice called out to him.
Alum turned around. Intense crimson eyes met his, his glassy blue hair covering them slightly.
"Did something come up?" Alum asked.
"No." Ottah shook his head. "The others were looking for you. It's our first mission as a unit, so they probably feel a little anxious, especially without any orders from the Captain himself."
"I told you to rest, did I not?"
"…"
"You're soldiers now. Not students anymore. Opportunities like this don't come by often. Don't mess it up, and you're up for a quick promotion."
—I can't believe he's only 19… Ottah thought.
"…You're right, Captain."
Alum's complexion relaxed a little. "Mm… If you're that anxious. I suppose we could play a few games."
"Game?"
"Yes. Games."
Alum turned his back toward the railing, his elbow resting on the cold metal. Ottah was caught off guard for a moment. Alum's jet-black hair fluttered in the wind; his golden eyes seemed to glow ethereally in the sun's light.
"Got it. I'll get the other two."
Alum watched as Ottah hurried to get the others. He had a vague idea this would've happened. His initial assignment was to help researchers translate ancient inscriptions on site to speed up the progress of exploration and to be a bodyguard.
However, Rigeld, as he'd suspected, had another role for him. It was to lead a team of newcomers, even though he's a newcomer himself.
His responsibilities were piling up. It was nostalgic in a way. But unlike the past, he wasn't only looking out for himself—he was now responsible for his small unit and the researcher's safety—the safety of Amethely's parents.
But can he really lead these people? Can someone who mostly saw himself as his own pawn really be a good leader?
..
A moment later, Ottah returned with Viona and Soliette.
"So… what game are we playing, Captain?" Soliette asked.
Out of the 30 recruits, Ottah, Viona, and Soliette were hand-picked by Rigeld to accompany him. It made sense. Ottah was a CQB specialist, Viona was a flexible support mage, and Soliette was a powerful archer.
—He really went ahead and picked the best recruits, didn't he? Alum chuckled inwardly.
He materialized a generic velocity rail pistol and a few cartridges. He loaded the gun and handed it to Ottah.
"I'll give you 30 seconds, shoot down as many plates as you can in that duration," he said, and conjured a dark blue ice sheet.
"Captain… I'm not a ranger…" Ottah glanced at Soliette, who already had a victorious smirk on her face. "…Never mind, I'm in."
"It's not my strong suit, but I'm also in," Viona added calmly.
Soliette, the ever-smug elf, puffed her chest. "And I'm in, of course," she declared.
"But… won't you get in trouble, Captain?" Viona asked.
"No. I already had a test run with Lady Letisha, though she used the ship's guns."
"O-oh…" The three of them seemed taken aback by how chill the HQ commanders all seemed.
"Alright, how about the winner decides punishment for the losers?" Alum asked the three.
"Hehe~"
Soliette was the first to bounce back. She grinned; her smug eyes darted towards her teammates. Ottah and Viona visibly flinched upon noticing her eyes.
"We're not going down that easily, Soliette," they both declared.
"…"
"…"
"I win!" Soliette declared.
5 minutes had passed since Ottah got 10 plates, Viona 7, and Soliette? 50 plates.
"It's not fair…" Viona grumbled under her breath.
"You don't say…" Ottah followed, distraught by the difference. "Dammit… I didn't know the non-catalytic counterpart had this much recoil…"
"Same here…" Viona sighed.
"Alright, as for the next game…" Alum said, conjuring a few hollow ice statues around the deck. "The one who can take down the most structures within 30 seconds using a sword wins."
This time, it was Ottah who flashed the girls a shit-eating grin.
"Ottah, you bastard, you better not use your victory punishment to do lewd things to us!" Soliette exclaimed as she hugged her chest.
Viona heaved an exasperated sigh—this elf thinks way too highly of herself, doesn't she?
"Are you an idiot? I'd gain more from a long career than a night with you." Ottah took a few steps back, looking disgusted.
And naturally, Ottah won, quickly slashing down any new structures Alum created. In the end, Soliette got a score of 7, Viona 5, and Ottah 32.
"It's not faaair!" Soliette was down on all four, slamming the deck with her fist.
"Haaah~ whose the sore loser now?" Ottah teased.
"Why you!?"
While the two bickered, Viona looked at Alum, her eyes filled with anticipation. They all probably caught on by now, but he deliberately chose games based on their best individual skill set.
"As for the last game…"
Viona's eyes twinkled with hope—
"We'll play hide and seek."
"…" Her bright eyes were suddenly devoid of light.
"Just kidding," Alum chuckled. "It's like the first game, but this time, you'll have to defend the targets from me, and you're not allowed to attack me."
"…!"
The usually expressionless Viona jumped in joy, and the other two couldn't help but burst out laughing.