"You knew?"
"Mhm," Alissa hummed as she absent-mindedly moved around the kitchen.
Melchior and Zale stood somewhat to the side, watching her work.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Zale asked.
"Nope, I figured he had a reason not to tell us about it so I pretended not to know," She shrugged, moving once more, "He's no longer a kid, Z."
His father looked down, thinking.
"I know."
Melchior still struggled to wrap his head around the whole situation, but it wasn't the craziest thing he had experienced these past few days.
"How did you know?" he questioned.
Alissa paused, then turned a little with a wide grin
"Hehehe, that's a secret," she smiled. "Anyway, you two better stop standing there or come help me out."
"Yes, ma'am!"
About an hour and a half later, they were all done and seated at the table with a bunch of food in front of them. It was a large portion of food as a celebration of Melchior's new status as a Bonded.
"Oh, Melly, go give invite your friend inside. It's rude to keep a guest waiting like that,"
Zale grunted, then stared at his wife. "We're not even sure who she is. She was ordered to escort him over to the trial room!"
"Yes, yes, but she's a good person,"
"How are you so sure about that?"
"Mother's instincts,"
'I doubt it's just instincts…'
"Instincts. Is that what you're usi-" Zale continued in-between chews.
"Yes, it is. I don't want to hear a single rude or snide comment from you when she enters, Z-bear."
"Don't call me that…"
Alissa giggled, ignoring him and returning to eating. It was completely different from the stale conversations from just a day or two ago.
They felt more like a… family now.
Melchior wasn't so sure about his father before, but after seeing the lengths he went through, he could confirm that the large man wasn't as cold-hearted as he tried to make people believe.
'Could he be a tsundere-'
His eyes widened at that realisation, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted by his mom once more.
"Get going already,"
He nodded quickly and made his way out of the house to the empty front. There was no one there at all.
"Did she go back?" he muttered under his breath. "... Circe?"
And then suddenly, a familiar Tap! Tap! Sound rang out from the void as Circe floated down to the ground from nowhere.
Her blonde strands flew back before settling when she landed.
"You called,"
Tap!
"We're having lunch now. Would you like to join us?"
She blinked quickly, wearing a vague look of shock that disappeared quickly.
"Of course I would,"
"Alright, please be on your best behaviour in front of my parents as well. No shenanigans,"
Circe nodded, then put her hand up in a mock salute.
"No shenanigans, got it!"
Unwilling to spend any more time thinking about it, he just entered the house with her in tow. When they got there, an extra chair waited, allowing them to take their seats without any disruption.
Very appropriately, the next few minutes were awkward and mundane things that seemed like years with how slowly they passed. No one uttered a word other than the occasional murmur to pass food items across the table.
Eventually, he got tired of it. There was no point in wasting time being awkward when there were much more pressing situations at hand. Especially with the fact that he had goals in sight to achieve.
"Are the Zatanians still in the area?"
"Probably," Zale responded.
Then Circe spoke.
"They are. We weren't able to locate where they were specifically, but they managed to narrow it down to the mountain range where the mines are located. There's been a slew of activities in those areas, but whoever hides their tracks is good."
"How are you so sure?" his father asked, furrowing his brows slightly.
"I was the one that determined all that information,"
Before the situation could escalate any further, Mel continued talking."What do you think they're after? It certainly doesn't seem very wise to send soldiers this deep into enemy territory. Granted, Blackmount isn't very far in the kingdom, but it's a foolish gambit,"
"It's war," Circe pointed out with a fork. "Most of the time, your enemy's moves won't make any sense till it's over."
Mel paused to assimilate those words. From everything he had studied about wars and warfare in his previous life, it definitely added up. However, reading about them and participating in the tensions were two different things entirely.
Zale nodded. "In any case, a war would drastically hinder the kingdom's growth, but I think we could take it on."
"We can take it? How so?"
"The talent of the recent generation hasn't been something to scoff about. Extraordinary individuals are being reported all over the lands at an alarming rate,"
"Academies and organizations, which were once stagnant, are now overflowing with talent. There have also been talks of the King wanting to impose a brief mandatory army stay for graduates of the academy,"
There was a momentary pause, as Melchior thought.
"That's an odd coincidence. As war tensions rise, the King suddenly suggested something like that,"
"No." Circe shook her head.
"Huh?"
"It isn't a coincidence. Academy kids are often nobles, so they get swept up in politics as soon as they graduate. The few who aren't enter organizations way before that. The nobles and these organizations have too much power, and talents are kept far away from the battlefield. It is said that if the Academy spared 70% of the graduates, then they'd be able to handle external opponents with ease, but internal competition doesn't allow for that,"
It made sense, and the boy was able to put two and two together.
"So over the years, they neglected Zatania and other foreign threats, letting them grow to a level where they could threaten the Kingdom."
"Correct. Which is why the king is in a hurry to go through with this. A bit too late if you ask me,"
Mel fell into deep thought. The short conversation there gave him more insight into the structure of the kingdom.
"You sure know a lot about this."
She shrugged.
'Welp, whatever. This helps with several things and… oh shit, Erin!'
The name thundered in his brain like lightning. Melchior stood up, remembering his one and only friend, then ran out of the house without saying anything more.