Ryan:
After having a quick nap to get rid of my travel fatigues, I woke up right before the sun had set down.
Feeling refreshed, I stretched my arms and let out a powerful yawn. Finally being in a familiar environment felt good. I absolutely hate spending time outside my home unless I have to.
I just have such a hard time having a comfortable sleep unless I'm at a place I consider home. It's a mental comfort rather than a physical one.
"It's been a couple of days, let's take a look at it again." I spoke to myself to reaffirm my decision.
A couple of days ago, I had dived all to the very depths of my soul. There was a shining ball of golden light.
That golden ball is the cause of all my rebirths. It had been sleeping since I was born into this world but it seemed that it was time for it to wake up.
"Haaaa! Huuuu!" I took deep breaths and focused my mind.
My consciousness quickly adjusted since it had already been relaxed from a nap. I quickly found the vision of my soul and made my way past the many clouds.
At the center of my soul was the golden ball spinning with unmatched ferocity. It reminded me of how planets spin around on their axis.
It wasn't spinning like this a couple of days ago. It was barely moving then.
"Welcome back." I said in a chirpy tone.
[--------]
I received no response but that was fine. It still needed some time to fully awaken. It was barely getting started.
Slish! Slish! Slish!
Oh! Nevermind. It starts flashing different intensities of light. It could already hear me so it decided to let me know.
This meant that it wasn't long at all before it could talk. It should be ready around the night of the ball.
"I'll be waiting for you. Let me know when you're back." I said while taking one last look at it for the day.
I swiftly exited the zen state of my consciousness and got up from my bed. There was dinner to be eaten and gifts to be prepared.
I had to visit certain nobles who lived strictly in the capital and were in a positive relationship with the clan. We would have some small talk and give some minor gifts.
I believe there 5 or 6 houses we had to visit so tomorrow was going to be hectic. I also had to the SSB to get officially recognized.
Fortunately, unlike visiting nobles with gifts, the process of joining is going to be awfully quick. All I would do is read some basic oaths and then it would be official.
That was probably going to take up my entire day. The day after was going to be preparation for and attendance of the emperor's birthday ball.
An exclusive event for adult nobles and royals. My brain would probably be fried if I had to deal with all the politics there.
***
Morning came quickly. My parents, Risa, and I all hopped into one carriage and went to one of the nearby mansions.
This place was a more old-fashioned mansion with more arches and less bright material. I could see the age of the estate from how old all the materials had gotten. How the colors had faded from the bright white of the past to now a dull white, almost gray color.
Regardless, the place was well kept seeing as there were no cracks or damages visible.
"Does the Marquis of Dunsworth not renovate often?" I asked my father as we drove into the estate.
"The Dunsworth family are older than the empire. They have been here since before the Zlatans ruled. They like to preserve their heritage by not replacing the materials used to build this place." he explained.
"Wouldn't that mean this place is more than 1000 years old?" I said with surprise.
The Zlatan family had only taken the throne about a thousand years ago. If the Dunsworths had been here longer than that, they must be quite capable.
"Yes. They were one of the only families spared from the purge of nobles when the regime changed hands. As for why that was, only the royals would know."
The Vornix clan had only been founded a decent bit after the Zlatans had solidified their rule. This meant that we didn't have many records of the era during the pre and early Zlatan regime.
Honestly, I doubt that even 97% of the current nobility have any records for that time period. Most of our noble clans were established well after Zlatan's crowning.
"Did the Supreme Sword School not have records for that time period?" my father asked.
"No. Stuff that old is only kept for the best of historical scholars and high-ranking professors to read." I said with a disappointed look.
The school never allowed us to learn about things that happened too far back. This was an agreement they made with the local nations in order to keep their branch in the area.
The school had an agreement to keep historical records that went beyond 700 years out of the hands of their students.
"Whatever. There is no reason for us to speculate about things so far in the past. We owe the Dunsworths for the support they gave to our ancestors " Father said with a serious look.
I nodded in agreement. There was no point in thinking about these things that were beyond our time and energy.
Plus, the Dunswortsh are a long-time ally. They had provided a lot of help to the founders of the Vornix clan hundreds of years ago when we were merely barons.
Whenever we came to the capital they would be the first ones our clan greeted.
"Let's go." Mom hefted Risa into her arms and walked out of the carriage first.
My father followed suit with me right behind him.
There was a small group of people dressed in elegant suits and dresses ready to greet us. There were 6 people standing in front of the mansion. They had 8 maids and 2 butlers bowing behind them.
"Welcome back to the capitol good friend!" said the man at the very front." His tone was chipper as he donned a bright smile.
He seemed genuinely happy to greet us. His black hair had specks of red in it. His black and red goatee was as vibrant as his fiery red eyes. He was tall with long legs but his figure was skinny.
"Good to see you again my friend." my father said with an equally bright smile.
The two men approached each other with hate and went into a firm embrace. They quickly separated after a couple of heartfelt greetings.
"You finally brought your children this time!" said the man after turning his gaze at us.
"Let me introduce you, Relvus." my father replied.
"This is my eldest son Ryan. He has just recently returned from a triumphant victory while attending the Supreme Sword School. He is also an extremely talented swordsman. He is also the heir of our Vornix clan."
Father provided his friend with a lengthy introduction to me. The man named Relvus nodded with enthusiasm when he heard this.
"This is my daughter and youngest child, Risa. She has only recently picked up a sword but is already quite proficient in it. According to everyone who has seen her skills, she is an absolute genius who will surpass all her peers."
My father did not spare his praise for my sister which caused her pride to balloon further. She lifted her chest in pride when her father said this and looked at everyone with an air of superiority.
I hope this pride and confidence of hers can be useful in sharpening her skills. I'll have to teach her well.
"As expected of your clan. Not a generation has gone by where you haven't had at least one super-talented individual in the family." Relvus said while laughing.
He seemed to be truly praising our clan's ability to pump out genius like we pump out pills.
"Kids, this is Relvus Dunsworth. A good friend of mine from my academy days. He is the current head of the Dunsworth Marquisdom." our father turned to us and said.
"Greetings to the head of Dunsworth."
"Greetings to the head of Dunsworth."
Since it was the first time meetun the man, Risa and I gave our proper greetings.
Father and mother would visit the Dunsworths alone every time before this one. They would never take us before as we weren't very mature then and Risa was too young. Now I was 19 and an adult, and Risa was a bit older, they thought it was time we met the oldest allies and good friends of the Vornix clan.
"Hahaha! No need for pleasantries. Zayden is like a brother to me. You guys are like my nieces and nephews. No need to be so curt from now on." Relvus said with a chuckle.
(Zayden Vornix is Ryan's dad's name)
"That being said... where's your middle child?" Relvus asked as he realized that Jonathon wasn't with us.
"Haa." My father sighed and said "He's very busy with his business. His flavored potions are selling extremely well."
"Oh! Those potions are indeed quite good in terms of taste. I wish we had that stuff back during our hunting trips. They would be so much better than the nasty stuff those old geezers make."
Relvus shook his head as he remarked about how bad potions taste in general. My brother's creation had started to cause a small stir in the market. His potions sold well to the rich who could afford the premium of his flavored potions.
The average adventures, soldiers, and hunters think more economically so they weren't able to indulge in them.
But still, he was making good money from his more affluent customers.
"Alright then, let's go inside. No need to stand out here. I will introduce you to my family once we're in." Relvus led us inside the mansion.
It was definitely a wonderful sight, the tiles on the floor, the murals on the walls. The vases had defined age and character. The archaic yet elegant designs that decorated this house were indeed beautiful.
It held a rustic yet noble elegance that was hard to find in any other place. Even the imperial places weren't this ancient in style.
We quickly made our way into a reception area that was decorated with old paintings and classic furniture. There were a couple of tables that were filled with sweets.
I could see Risa's eyes sparkling as she was trying to climb out of our mother's arms. Mother wasn't going to let this little demon of consumption out of her arms.
Mother held very tightly. There were going to be more sweets at the places we visited later. She needed to make sure Risa didn't consume more than a certain amount.
"Now that were here. Let me introduce my family." said Relvus as he gestured towards the five people who had quietly walked in with him.
"This is my wonderful wife, Grace. She is the wonderful mother of my four children and a woman I love with all my heart."
Relvus gestured first to a middle-aged woman would light brown, curly hair that cascaded down to her waist. She was wearing a light green dress that matched her eyes. She was indeed a beautiful, mature woman.
She had a similar motherly aura to my mother. This aura was further amplified by the cute little infant that was in her arms.
When the woman heard her husband's declaration of love, her cheeks started to turn deep red as she blushed.
"Dear..." she said softly in embarrassment. Relvus ignored her embarrassment as he seemed to revel in it.
He then gestured to the young lady next to his wife.
"This beautiful young lady is my daughter. Her name is Lerena. She is a very talented academic and is a disciple of the Royal Academy dean. She will be turning 16 soon. You all are invited to her societal debut."
Lerena had inherited her mother's graceful beauty and looked like a vibrant youth. Her fiery red eyes held quite the allure when added to her light brown hair. Her body had the same robust curves as her mother's. She seemed to inherit both her parent's features well.
"Nice to meet you." she said with a soft tone. Her voice was pleasant as well.
"Nice to meet you too." Risa and I replied.
Lerena would definitely be someone who many young nobles will try to court when she debuts soon. By the way, debuts are big events where a noble girl officially becomes an adult at sixteen and can openly mingle with the rest of society.
Lerena was also holding a baby in her arms that looked almost the same as the one in her mother's hand. The only difference was that this baby was wearing blue clothes while the one in the mother's arm was wearing pink clothes.
"This here is Lucas. He is my second child and my first son. He has recently turned 10 and started learning the spear. He seems to have a decent affinity with it. His mana talent in the fire element isn't bad either."
Relvus gestured to the young child standing next to Lerena. He had the same black hair with a couple of red strands more than his father. He had a cute and pudgy face. His figure was also kind of weighty. It seems he ate pretty well.
Lucas gave us the same greetings as his sister and we reciprocated.
"Finally, the 2 cute little bays you see are my recently born twins. Emma and Elvin were born just 7 months ago. I have high hopes for them just as I do for all my children."
TRelvus looked at his twin children with deep affection. He even asked his wife and daughter if he could carry them for now but they denied him.
Apparently, Relvus wasn't very good at holding them. The twins would always cry whenever he took them in his arms. The affectionate man is deeply saddened about this but there seems to be nothing he can do.
"Okay kids, you guys can talk here. We adults will leave you be." Mom dropped Risa into my arms as she and her father walked away.
Miss Grace took Elvin into the other arm and now held a baby in each. All the adults along with the twins just left us 'kids' alone in the reception room.
As soon as they were gone Risa tried to wrestle out of my arms.
"Let me go, brother. I want to try those sweets." she said pleadingly when she realized I wasn't going to let go.
Mother had dropped the responsibility of handling her to me. I would make sure she snacks in moderation.
"Please..." she looked at me with puppy dog eyes that made.
"Hah." I sighed in defeat. As much as my resolution was strong, I knew Risa was a black hole when it came to treats.
She could eat truckloads and still be fine. So I released the devour of sweets as she ran up to the sweets and started munching.
This left me with the 2 Dunsworth siblings. We stared at each other in silence.
Neither of them seemed to want to break the ice.