Lunch was undeniably great! My mom never missed when it comes to food. It was the reason my father even met her in the first place.
Eating that steaming beef and potato stew with a side of golden fried rice, fried shrimp, and even the chocolate custard made me want to cry.
"Oh, how I missed this taste!" I cried out and everyone just looked at me and started laughing. I am far from a quiet eater.
It didn't take long for us all to finish filling our stomachs as mom always made sure we didn't get before we finished at least three sets. It wasn't hard to do either with how good her cooking is.
The school cafeteria food was like slop in comparison to the heaven on a plate I just had.
Risa was taken away by Celes as she lured her in with the macaroons she brought. I had no idea how my little sister still had so much space left in her tummy. I was already bursting at the seams.
The two were chatting away in a corner while munching away like chipmunks.
"Let's go, son." I followed my father to my wing of the mansion. Mother was watching over Celes and Risa as she probably did not trust my friend yet.
My room was just as I had left it. Different kinds of swords adorned the walls as the floor was littered with my favorite books and sword manuals. The bookshelf was still half empty as I had not finished collecting all the history books that I wanted.
My bed was well kept as the maids were allowed to keep it that way, They couldn't touch anything else tough.
There was a sliding door on the other end of my room that I followed my father out of. It led to my personal backyard which was fenced in with patterned wood walls.
"The plants are quite healthy. Has mother been taking care of them?" I asked. I could see that all the flowers that I grew were standing tall and in full bloom.
Even the hanging cherry tree that I loved was more robust than how I had left it. Some of the pink petals even rode the slight breeze and caressed my face.
"Yes. She missed seeing you train your sword every morning. She didn't want the maids to ruin her reminiscing so she did everything herself." My father smiled as he was thinking of mother for sure.
"Even after being married to you for 19 years, she still can't get used to maids." I said.
"Her commoner background is not something she wishes to part from my son. You know how hard she has worked to keep herself from relying on others."
"I know Dad. Mom even took care of Risa, Jonathon, and me without any help from the maids. She also does not trust people easily. She only likes head maid Nuna."
"There was no way she couldn't fall to granny Nuna's greatness."
"Yeah..." Granny Nuna is our head maid and the one who practically raised Dad since his mother wasn't around much. She is also the one who raised the former patriarch, my grandpa.
Now that I think about it, she is at least 140 years old by now.
We walked up to the pond that was right in the center of my backyard. It was decorated with a variety of red and black stones that I liked and same color of koi fish swimming around.
There was also some small vegetation at the bottom that added to its serene beauty and provided oxygen for the fish.
"1..2..4..7 koi fish?" I questioned as I was sure there were only 3 when I left 3 years ago.
"Yes. She cleaned out all the leeches that you put at the bottom and felt that it had space for more fish."
"Then what happened to the leeches?" Those leeches were there for a reason. It gave a visual representation of how many leeches I had to discard.
"I have my eye on the leeches. You can come to my study if you want to know the details." I nodded in response to my father's suggestion as I would need to enter his study more often.
I needed to learn alchemy from him. It is something that's important for me to master if I want to become the next family head.
Honestly, if I could, I would let my younger brother take the position as he is much better at alchemy than me. I could barely make a Low-Quality Tier 1 pill.
Jonathon told me last time that was already able to make Medium-Quality Tier 4 pills with ease. He was even setting up his own little pill company in another city.
"I think I need to get rid of some leeches myself or I won't be able to focus on pills studies." I declare as my father raises a brow at this.
"Are you sure?" he asked with a grunt. He didn't like me getting involved in the politics of the family this early but he couldn't stop me either.
I had to start amassing power and getting rid of any possible opposition to me taking the head's seat. I knew there was going to be heavy opposition, especially with how bad my pill-making skills are.
"The elders won't want someone who is bad at pill making to become head. They would have no problem if I was as strong as before.
But now that my core has been damaged and my prospect of getting stronger seems bleak, they would never let me become head unless I do it the crooked way."
There was a stark moment of silence. I could feel my father's strength leaking out, his anger at the events that happened at the Supreme Sword School clear.
In a war with an opposing sect, I was ambushed due to a betrayal from one of my classmates. I was able to kill all the attackers but my mana core was damaged in the process.
According to the medical professors, I might not be able to recover the damage done. It will likely halt my progression to higher tiers of strength completely or at best make it gruelingly slow.
I really wish that day had never happened but I would be home this early without it. It feels good to be with family again, especially little Risa. Can't wait to give more hugs to that ball of warmth.
"Hah, do as you wish. I assume it's that lass named Celes who will be doing your dirty work?"
"Yes, father. As you can see, she loves battle. She won't miss the chance to sharpen that sword of hers." Celes was just itching to use her blade.
After the war ended between that sect and our school, she got extremely bored. She wanted it to go on longer so she could improve her skills.
Unfortunately for her, both sides had taken considerable losses and decided that the fight was no longer worth it.
With that being said, my father left me alone to breathe the incredible scents of the mansion. There were delectable pill scents coming in from the back of the estate where all our other family members and hired staff made our famed goods.
The scent in my garden was weaker than the entrance as I had a special formation installed to dampen it. I could now smell the calming scent of the black and red Hanasa roses and the Imperial Cherry tree.
I went back into my room and took one of the many swords I was fond of off the wall.
I unsheathed the masterpiece of a blade and scrutinized my reflection on its gleaming surface.
I swung it wide towards the wind's direction and felt as if the breeze was momentarily reversed. I felt one with my sword and the environment.
I felt one with who I was before I stepped out of this house. I felt one with the one motion that helped me relieve my stress.
I channeled the mana from my core as it flowed through my arm and into the sword.
ZLTTT!!! ZLTTT!!! ZLTTT!!!
Sparks of purple thunder danced on my sword as I continuously swung it toward the sky. I slashed and slashed and slashed.
My thunder element mana built up within the sword as I relentlessly swung. It only 30 slashes for me to sense that my sword could not hold any more mana.
I made my final swing toward the sky and let my mana loose from its shell.
BANG!!!
A thunderous roar followed a strike of purple thunder ascending into the afternoon sky.
-------------------
All through the western side of Sofenia City, the nobles and other noteworthy individuals who loved there looked up at the single line of thunder on the clear skies.
They were puzzled for a moment until they realized what had happened. Many were scared and others were anxious as they knew who had returned. They knew that things were going to get chaotic in the city.
Just yesterday, the Zocraten family's magic herb plantation was burned down. And the next day, their devilish future son-in-law had returned with a literal bang.
Everyone knew that the two families would surely not let the city be in peace any longer.