Linggis stood in the middle of the arena, now cracked and utterly devastated. He raised his hands in the air, his expression a mix of exhaustion and sarcasm. With a tone full of mockery, he said, "Absolute cinema! What kind of family is this? Drama, action, betrayal... I didn't even have to pay for a front-row seat to witness all of this live."
Everyone stared at Linggis, either confused or annoyed. Kaelen scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "I don't know what you're trying to say, but this isn't a joke."
Linggis rolled his eyes, lowering his hands slowly. "Obviously not. This is far more entertaining than a joke. I just hope my popcorn didn't get lost in the teleportation earlier."
Nyra tried to suppress a small laugh, while Elira massaged her temples, looking exhausted by the escalating situation. Their mother shot a sharp glare at Linggis, her voice cold. "You can mock all you want, but we take protecting this family very seriously. Do not try to disrupt our balance again."
Linggis gave a small smirk and shrugged. "I have no intention of disrupting anything, Madam. Truly. I'm just a retired man looking for a peaceful life, yet I somehow got dragged into this grand opera. If I had known it would turn out like this, I might have brought a folding chair."
Arcelia, nearly out of patience, stomped the ground in frustration. "That's enough, Linggis! If you still plan to teach me that game, stop provoking everyone here!"
Linggis stared at her blankly, then let out a sigh. "Alright, alright. But I stand by my statement—your family is truly 'absolute cinema.' When are you guys filming the next season?"
Kaelen clenched his fists, looking ready to attack again, but Elira held his shoulder. "Enough, Kaelen. Don't make this worse."
Linggis only shook his head, walking over to a relatively flat piece of rubble and sitting down casually. "Okay, I'm ready if you all still want to fight. But if not, I seriously need a decent cup of coffee right now. Do you have a barista?"
The tension in the air remained, but some of them, especially Nyra, started to realize that Linggis, despite being annoying, was really just sarcastic without any actualill intent.