"How's the progress on the manufacturing of the detection artifacts for Abyssal gates?" Horace asked, his usual jovial attitude is absent.
The Steel Emperor is personally attending the Elden House of Zemof's family meeting and discussing current affairs. In the meeting hall of the council, most of the attendees have the signature silver hair of the Zemof family. Notwithstanding the old people who naturally have graying hair, the hair common to the Zemof family has their unusual sheen, and sharp quality that is unique to this clan.
A young man with silver hair and dark brown eyes wearing a badge with the number four, signifying his rank as a mage, replied, "Lord Zemof, currently, the manufacturing facilities have accrued 900,000 units made. The order was placed nine days ago, and it is estimated that we will reach the millionth unit tomorrow. As more manufacturing facilities are built, the speed of the process can swiftly rise to double its original speed. The only problem we have is procuring materials from the Pyrus family."
"What's the problem with the procurement? Last time I checked, Pyrus and I are as close as brothers."
A voluptuous woman who appeared to be in her early twenties sported a hair with combination of red and silver answered, "Lord Zemof, there are transportation issues in the deserts of Pyrus. It seems like the Sand Serpents are blocking the borders of Pyrus."
"Are there reports from the Pyrus family regarding this matter, Phoebe?"
Phoebe replied, "Your Excellency, it's the mating season of the Sand Serpents; the culture of the dunes of Pyrus prohibits the disturbance of their guardians during this month of the year. We have contacted the Elden House, and the representative said that they have their hands tied as all routes surrounding the borders are blocked by the Sand Serpents."
Adrian, the young man with brown eyes and silver hair added, "Meanwhile, the teleportation gates do not have the capacity so send out large loads of raw materials. On the other hand, the spatial storage is being used in another project. The amount we have isn't enough to use it for the transportation of materials. I have also contacted the Adventurer's guild; they said that the space mages are also busy redistributing the artifacts around the Republic."
Horace played with his beard as he was listening to the reports. He thought about sending his puppets personally to fly to Pyrus and receive the materials, but the security in the estate would be compromised. The main estate of the Zemof family is huge and it requires large amounts of puppets to ensure security and peace among the people living in the state of Ziront. It would be spreading his resources too thin if he forced the acceleration of the project.
He acceded to the situation and said, "We have no choice but to reroute. Show me the closest route without disturbing the Sand Serpents."
A large screen appeared in the meeting hall, and the map of the Republic was shown.
The screen showed its calculation and calibrated the rerouting map to show the next closest direction. From the great dunes of Pyrus, it pointed northwards the state of Ziront. As it moved forwards, an indicator of the large Sand Serpents blocked, and the pointer moved northeast, towards the rivers of Ainsel, a territory of fairies and sprites.
"Oh… this is going to be a pain in the ass." Horace grimaced at the possibility of going through the rivers of Ainsel.
Fairies and sprites are unreasonable creatures that demand the most outrageous requests. It's not a matter of price or material things, it's about them wanting to see or have 'fun.' Fairies and sprites have a different definition of fun, as it is usually harmless, but incredibly annoying to go through. Their toll gates vary from turning yourself into a frog, to eating a frog that was originally human. Of course, the frog that was eaten wasn't actually a human. They will only trick the passer-by and mean no harm, but the people that go through the Rivers of Ainsel will never wish to go back there.
Lars Zemof, a boy of fifteen years old, felt like his opinion needs to be heard. His parents had always praised him for being talented and breaking all the high expectations that he had been given. As it was his first time attending a council meeting, he felt like the family needed to recognize him and bring honor to his parents.
He was also confused as to why no one was suggesting flying the materials yet, and so, he suggested, "What about flying? We have fleets of airships that can transport the materials."
"Lars Zemof. Son of Gerban and Zilda Zemof, right?" Horace spoke in a grim tone.
"Yes, Lord Zemof." Lars felt like he was being stared at like he was naked; like he was a powerless prey in the jungle as the leering silver eyes of the patriarch pierced through his mind.
"Lars Zemof, Son of Gerban and Zilda Zemof, have you seen how huge a Sand Serpent is?"
"Records show that they are huge, Lord Zemof."
"How huge?"
"I-uhm…"
"HOW HUGE?"
Lars panicked and immediately looked at his magitech device to check the length of a Sand Serpent.
"SIR A SINGLE SERPENT IS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS IN LENGTH, SIR."
"And how many serpents are actively looking for mates?"
"Lord Zemof… it is estimated that there are thousands of them lurking in the borders."
"So, you see why no one was suggesting about airships?"
Lars looked down at his feet and he saw how his legs were shaking involuntarily. The impending feeling of urinating increased as he saw the disdainful and disappointed stares of his clan members. He saw the disappointed looks of his parents and held on to the peeing in his first clan meeting.
"With the Sand Serpent's length and irritable mood, any moving object will be detected by them, and summarily destroy anything that comes close to them."
"Thank you for your insightful lesson, 'Professor' Lars." Horace sarcastically said as he motioned for the teenager to sit down.
The Steel Emperor continued, "You see, I'm usually a happy-go-lucky person. All of you know that. Especially the Elders."
The members of the Elden House straightened their backs as they knew a sermon was on its way.
"I don't condemn the lack of knowledge of this young man. It's really not his fault that a youth lacks the information regarding our neighboring state. I assume he's practicing various spells and mastering the mysteries of mana. He must have a lot on his plate, handling all that pressure."
The Zemof clan felt like the Patriarch calmed down and sighed with a breath of relief. But as they were feeling safe, Horace changed his tone again, "But who in their right mind would instill the values of irrational pride and yearning for useless recognition?!"
Their backs that were supposed to relax, once again, straightened like a ruler. Sweat dripped from their faces.
"Gerban and Zilda Zemof, stand up."
The first who stood up was a middle-aged that sported a short brown hair. Meanwhile, the wife Zilda had the signature silver hair of the Zemof family. They nervously stood up and felt the gazes of their clan members.
"Gerban and Zilda Zemof, what are the values of the Zemof family?"
"The Zemof family embodies the resilience of a shield, the sheathed pride of a sharp sword, at the adaptability of a steel."
"In your opinion, do you think your lessons as a parent embodied the values of the Zemof family? Do you think your son displayed admirable traits when he suggested an uninformed idea, believing that he would be the pride of the family?"
"No, Lord Zemof. As parents, we take the responsibility and know that it is our failure."
"The reason that I'm being hard on you, my family, is to prevent you from repeating the same mistakes that I did. From the history of the books of Zemof, I'm sure you already know how I lost my family. Too much yearning for recognition. I felt the need to impose my superiority over others because of a useless pride. It was the burden and folly of my own powers."
Lars forgot why he was sulking as he remembered the story of the Patriarch.
He knew that his wife and daughter died because Horace let down his guard because of a duel of pride. He wanted to prove to the world that he was the strongest as he challenged the Elden Houses, the top adventurers, sacred knights, and all the other fighters he could see.
He won every duel he challenged, and he even fought the other races like beasts, dwarves, orcs, and his biggest mistake, demons.
The last demon he defeated was a demon from the clan of Pride. His loss was a huge deal, and he wouldn't take it lying down. That demon let Horace roam the skies and seas as the world decreed him to be the strongest person below the age of a hundred.
But that was one of the biggest mistake Horace had made. He let down his guard.
In his journey, he felt that his family was safe under the protection of his steel puppets. After all, they were rank-6 and wielders of aura.
But suddenly, on his way back home, he was assaulted by demons in large groups. He was forced to summon his puppets to his side and deal with the invaders. As fate would have it, the moment the security in his estate was decreased by a small amount, more demons went behind his back, and assassinated his wife and daughter.
He was titled the strongest man below the age of a hundred, but at what cost?
From that moment, Horace learned that recognition, honor, and pride meant nothing compared to the life of his wife and daughter.