"What? Why would you not want to tell others? My son has achieved..." Avni protested, and this was when Aric's father spoke up.
"If you want to live a happy and safe life, then you will not say a word outside of this room."
"But?!"
"If you tell anyone, it will spread soon, and it won't be surprising if some gangster comes up and demands money from us. Word will travel fast, and it will jeopardize our safety and security," Aric's father replied.
"But they are our blood and even our parents, and what about the tax? If we pay tax, they will know about it," Avni replied.
"Mom, we have taken care of the tax. Since I am a minor, my name will not be published, and only an alias has been used. Tax will be paid, and my name will not be there," Aric said. Avni looked at his father, who also nodded his head. Though Avni understood where it was coming from, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
"But your name will come after you turn of age," Avni said.
"We will leave this country soon. Why will we bother if they come to know or not?" Aric replied. Avni was appalled by this, and Aric gave her a glimpse of what he wanted to do and where he wanted to settle. He even showed her some pictures, as now Aric had the first-gen iPhone that he had bought and also gifted his parents.
In the end, his mother was finally convinced about the moving part, and Aric also told her to make her heart and mind strong since they would be leaving the home, place, and country they had been born in. It was still a long time to go, but they needed to slowly start the process.
Starting from the passport.
----
A few more days had passed since the deal was made, and Aric now was being treated as the golden child of the family. Though he was the only child and was treated quite fairly, it was different now. Avni had hired a full-time maid and asked her to take care of the home, while his father got two workers to work on their field and take care of it.
The home also needed some renovations, and Aric's father had decided to renovate some places so that when selling the home, it would fetch a great price. Aric, of course, didn't care, as a small amount of money wouldn't even be 0.001% of the net worth when it would be sold in the future. His father also had ordered a car for himself. They had a huge yard to begin with, so a car wasn't that much of a deal.
Of course, with the mindset that Aric's parents had, Avni protested, as she felt that it was a waste of money since they would be leaving the country soon, but Aric's father was adamant about having the car as it would allow them to have good family bonding time.
Avni finally won a small battle in this regard, as she didn't allow the father and son duo to buy a costly car, just a small, middle-class family car.
"You want to hide your money, but the way you both are spending money, people will get suspicious." That was the justification Avni gave.
The money which they had was looked after by Mira so that they could invest in some good places and not lose the money. Being the golden child of the family allowed Aric to have more freedom now.
Aric bought himself a computer too, which was, in the end, for show, as he already had one in his hand, but he didn't want to raise any red flags. The influx of money had allowed his parents to live the life they had dreamt about.
-----
"I am in Vallin capital city. Where are you? I want to thank you for saving my life last time."
"It's fine. It is not a big deal."
"Still, allow me to treat you to a meal."
Aric was back in Vallin city after he had finished working on things in his place and also delivering things to the Distant Wind city. Now that he had access to Echorysia, he effectively had two bases. Well, the other one was on the verge of being acquired.
"Uh... Why are you named Pandapolo in the chat? Are you a fan of Lord of the Rings too?" The one Aric was texting was Komin Vallin, the same person who had once saved him when he had landed in Echorysia. Now that he was back, he wanted to at least say thank you properly.
"Uh... I am the author of Lord of the Rings," Aric replied.
"Get out. It is impossible. The author of Lord of the Rings is supposed to be legendary and has never shown his/her face. Many fans all over the universe want to meet him and are even ready to pay huge amounts just to get a glimpse of him."
"I don't know about that, but here is the proof that I am Pandapolo," Aric replied while attaching a screenshot of his admin page where in the works page, there were the different books of Lord of the Rings listed.
After sending it, there was no reply for the next 1 minute, and then a virtual call came. A virtual call was not something like a video call. The call would show almost the whole body and also generate a 3D holographic picture. It was from Komin, and Aric readily accepted the call.
When the holographic image opened, it was Komin bending his knee with his head held down. Aric was taken aback. He didn't know what was going on.
"Umm... What are you doing?"
"I am bowing to you for making one of the greatest literatures of the universe," Komin said.
"You are thinking too much. Such stories where there is a chosen King who is on the good side and a bad man on the bad side," Aric said.
"Did you oversimplify a legend?" Komin lifted his face and looked at Aric with anger, as if Aric had just insulted his girlfriend or something.
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Read 20 chapters ahead on my p@treon.com/thelightedghost