The knights were sitting on brawny horses. Amidst the chatter and laughter of the knights, at the end of the line, there were two people who were silent, not saying anything. They were the captain and Aether.
"So captain, what are you doing here?" The captain asked timidly.
"As you can see, Calus, I was camping with my son." Aether replied calmly. It could be seen that he didn't want to prolong the conversation.
Just like that, neither of them said anything.
Finally, because the atmosphere was too awkward, Calus spoke first: "Are you still as strong as before, captain?"
Calus was a young man with a beauty as radiant as the sun, with soft light green hair that framed his face. He had bright eyes that sparkled like a divine halo. He exuded a noble, calm aura. But now that person was timidly trying to communicate with Aether.
"No, Calus. I almost died because of that Beast. But thanks to my son's plan, I was able to survive." Aether said as he looked at the little boy in his arms.
"And you've been promoted to captain?" Aether continued.
"Yes, sir, but I still cannot compare to you." Calus deliberately underestimated himself.
"Don't underestimate yourself, you're strong, that position is completely deserved."
"Thank you…" Calus said shyly.
"By the way, I heard your son is really amazing. Should I invite him to join the knights?"
"Shut up. I don't want him working under you." Aether changed his tone. He looked at Calus with cold eyes.
"I was just joking…"
Just like that, the two of them didn't say anything to each other, they remained completely silent until they reached the town.
***
I slowly opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. It seemed like I wasn't in my room.
My whole body was aching but I could still move. Suddenly, I felt my right hand holding something soft and warm. I immediately turned down at my hand.
There, my mother was lying on the bed while holding my hand. It seemed like she was very fatigued.
I quickly looked around where I was. This room was very large and had many beds lined up in a row. It didn't take me more than 3 seconds to understand that I was in a hospital.
'Wait, where's my dad?' I quickly searched the room for my dad's presence but couldn't find him anywhere.
At that moment, the white curtain beside my hospital bed was pulled open, and my father was there, holding a cup in his hand.
"You are awake!" My father handed me the cup he was holding, which contained warm water.
I took a sip of the water and felt very agreeable.
"How was it, did we kill the Beast?"
"We defeated the Beast, and you weren't seriously injured."
"I see….."
My father glanced at my mother, who was sleeping soundly while holding my hand.
"Your mother was very anxious about you. I've never seen her so panicked like that in my entire life. She stayed up for two nights in a row to take care of you."
I choked up as I looked at my mother. The love she had for me made me feel mellow and delighted. I didn't expect her to do so many hard things for me.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"About 3 days."
"Oh…"
"How is your body, Lucian?"
"Although it's still a bit sore and sore, I can still move normally." I tried to force a smile to dispel my father's worries.
My father breathed a sigh of relief.
***
'So boring…'
It had been about 2 hours since I woke up. Currently, I was doing nothing but watching the bustling street scene outside the window from the hospital. Looking at the people down there made me feel extremely jealous since they could go anywhere, do anything they wanted while I must stay in this dull room.
My mother had awakened not long after I woke up. As expected, she hugged me tightly. I could feel her tears falling onto my shirt, it is obvious that she was very worried about me. Even so, she still tried to maintain the image of a strict mother and tried not to let me see her tearing.
After about 15 minutes, she finally left and went back home to prepare dinner for us since I had eaten nothing for 3 days straight, leaving only me and my father, who was reading a book. No one said anything. The atmosphere was genuinely awkward.
'I really want to go out…'
At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind. I immediately turned to my father.
"Dad…"
"No!" He said firmly. He answered before I could even finish my question.
"But dad…"
"No!" He was still adamant in his answer.
'Sigh… You left me no choice dad, it's time for me to use my secret technique!'
"Please…" I made a cute puppy dog eyes. I had learned that whenever I used this technique, all my requests would be granted, at least by my dad.
As expected, my father hesitated for a moment. Then he sighed.
"30 minutes."
"1 hour." I replied immediately, still using my secret technique.
"45 minutes."
"Okay." I smiled brightly and ran out of the hospital, leaving my father looking at me with a speechless expression.
***
I leaped through the wooden and brick roofs while enhancing my legs with mana. Doing that made leaping on the roof a lot easier and safer.
The strong and chilly winds blew against my face, causing my gorgeous golden hair to flutter. The feeling of being able to move freely after sitting on a hospital's bed for 3 days was so refreshing. My whole body felt like it had been reborn.
I glanced down at the street while still jumping over the rooftops. Suddenly, I came to a stop because I witnessed something that I could hardly ignore.
In a dark and trashy alley, there was a white-haired boy surrounded by a few kids who were about my age but much fatter and bigger than me.
"Kneel down and we'll spare you!" One of the fat guys said to the boy.
However, the white-haired boy still didn't say anything, it seemed like he didn't want to listen to those guys' orders.
'Should I help him?'
A thought flashed through my mind. Then I remembered the time when my former best friend was being bullied and I tried to save him only to receive an embittered conclusion.
'No no! This isn't like my previous life!' I quickly shook my head, I was a little scared at my own thoughts.
Even though my body was still sore from the fight with the Beast, I still had the confidence to handle those bullies.
"Hey you guys! If you don't want to get beaten up, then get lost!" I shouted, trying to look as scary and cold as possible. If it was possible to resolve things without fighting, that would be ideal.
The bullies and the white-haired boy looked up at the sky together. There, they saw a blond-haired boy with blood-red eyes staring at them coldly.
"What did you just say?" One bully spoke up.
"If you want to get beaten up, then come down here!" The next one interjected.
I sighed in annoyance, probably because they were self-assured of having the advantage in numbers. Then, I jumped down from the roof, landed on the face of a bully, and kicked him away.
Bully 1 was stunned, not understanding what had just happened. And because he was too embarrassed by the fall, he shouted to the others: "Beat that shit!"
***
As soon as the others received the order, the whole group rushed forward.
'Isn't it shameful for everyone to team up on just one guy? And I am a lot smaller than you guys' I thought to myself.
Bullies 2 and 3 rushed forward first, I simply gave each of them a punch in the stomach, which was enough to make them lie down and hold their stomachs in pain.
Bully 4 charged to me next, he raised his fist behind him but I slapped him right before he could hit me.
The 5th guy rushed forward in fear after seeing his teammates had all been completely destroyed by me. I just stared at him with a fearful gaze, then he punched himself and fell to the ground.
Realizing that they couldn't beat me, bully 1 - who seemed to be the leader - told everyone to run away. Now in the dark alley there was only me and the white-haired boy.