Solance's father looked at him with a serious expression before it softened, the older man quickly hugged his son.
"Solance! I thought the worst when I didn't hear from you when you went on your trip," the older man said, hugging his son as tightly as he could like he was scared his son would disappear if he let him go.
"It's okay Father. I'm fine. Though, it's only thanks to my friend over here," Solance said, before narrating the summarised version of what happened. The older man turned his head to Ryker, looking at him with an indescribable expression before he bowed to him.
"As a patriarch of the Hal Family, I could give you great gifts and be done with it. But as a father, no amount of gifts could repay this gratitude. As long as you are in Mariz City, the Hal Family would help you as long as it didn't break our principles," the patriarch of the Hal Family said, before raising his head.
"Thank you for your gift, my Lord," Ryker replied, his impression of the older man getting higher. Oh, Solance had told him about his father but it was still a biased point of view of a son, so to see everything he said was true just proved the Hal Family is a friend he would like to have.
-x-
Ryker and the patriarch, who says his name is Solail, have some small talk, a servant bringing more snacks and drinks. As the drinks and snacks were brought, Solance looked at his friends with a smile.
"Ryker, do you mind staying here for a while? I would like to speak some important things with my father," hearing his friend say it, Ryker nodded, knowing it might be confidential.
"Sure, go ahead," he replied, the younger man nodding before leaving the room with his father. Ryker took the time to enjoy his time alone, waiting for the duo to finish his discussion.
-x-
Listening to a more detailed narration of the events, Solail looked at his son with a serious expression.
"So that's what happened," the patriarch sighed. "If that is the case, the rewards should be substantial considering the danger all of them were in,"
Solence nodded, agreeing with his father's statement. His friend had helped him and didn't even ask for any rewards. Of course, he will get them something for all their trouble. After all, he wasn't ungrateful for their help.
"Now, the matter regarding the Uru Family," when the patriarch mentioned the Uru, his eyes blazed in fury. While the Uru is a first-rate family, it still couldn't match the might of one of the Great Family. He intended to take everything from the Uru, one piece at a time.
"Yes, but one of the siblings said that the possibility of one of the other two Great Family might be involved, supporting the Uru from backstage," Solance said, relaying Esran's speculation to his father.
"The chances are high, as the Uru wouldn't want to mess with us unless they have a strong backing. However, with you safe, we could prepare our counterattack. By the time I'm done, the Uru would not have any power to be even considered a third-rate family," Solail said, plans to wreck the Uru began to form in his mind.
"Now you know the matter regarding my attackers, I think we should talk about Ryker's rewards," Solance pointed out.
"True. If he was traveling in such a large group, a large house would be appropriate, wouldn't it? But I'm surprised you don't want to give them a house in the Estate, we have plenty of mansions, even letting them use the room in the main mansion," Solail questioned his son.
"I thought about it too but I dismissed it. They already helped me so much. While they offer their help to me, they are still technically a neutral party as they didn't offer their assistance or service to the Hal Family so I prefer them to not get involved with politics if I can," he explained his reason, Solail nodding at his son's words.
True, in that case, I will give him enough gold coins to buy several mansions, plus use the backdoor to get the price as low as possible. I can also let him pick the house he wants. And let him pick one of the treasures from our treasury, along with some other cultivation resources," hearing his father listing all the gifts he wanted the give to his friend made Solance shake his head.
Nevertheless, he didn't disagree. After all, if not for him, he would have died already. And his father knew it. That's why Ryker was treated like an honored guest. He was the only child from the main lineage of Hal Family, his mother died when he was still young.
Because of him being the only child, his father had given him all of his attention, not enough to spoil him rotten but enough that he knew his father loved him wholeheartedly, letting him get away with some minor pranks and such.
But as the future patriarch of a Great Family contributing to the defense of the barony, he was taught discipline and honor from a young age. That is why he considered Ryker a great friend. Even though he was not obliged to help him, the young man had saved his life, so naturally, he would repay the favor. That is just the way he was taught.
"I think that is enough for now. If he asked for help, the Hal Family would give it to him, unless it was too excessive. We don't want him to leech off our kindness," Solail said. Solance agreed with his father's word, though he didn't think Ryker was the type to do something like that.
"In that case, do you think it will be a good idea to introduce your cousin to him?" Solail asked, making the young master look speechless. Mostly because he had thought the same thing.
The reason he was speechless is because he knew the number of women currently in a relationship with his friend. Mashia 's relationship with him was still a bit iffy but with the way it was going on, it's likely the two would pass the barrier of 'just friend'.
"He would make a good partner, except for-" he quickly told his father regarding the relationship of Ryker and the women around him.
"I see. Do you think their feelings genuine?" he asked, Solance nodding as quickly as possible.
"Yes, I think so. The way they acted around him, their feelings for him, all of it came from their heart and not because he controlled them somehow. They are genuinely in love with him," he told his father, who nodded.
"In that case, we can have the two of them meet each other. The way their relationship progresses is up to them in the end," his father gave his verdict, making Solance nod in agreement.