"I'm not crying! It's just.. something's wrong with my eyes.."Rick said those words in a fluster as he tried to wipe away the tears dripping down his eyes. Ian and his two guards simply looked at him with caring and gentle eyes as he did so.After a few moments passed like that, Rick managed to control the tears rolling down his eyes involuntarily and finally sighed. With his ears and eyes turning red in the process, he didn't look as majestic as he did the first time they met.After that, although the atmosphere was a little awkward around the room, it was also more comfortable and soothing than before. There was a strange sense of tranquility."Brother requested for all your party members to be present in the luncheon."The King had arranged for a small luncheon since Ian refused to go public. The luncheon would only be attended by the royal family and Ian's party. But due to the status of the two party that would be attending the luncheon, the preparation was still pretty grand."
"The one I was having a fight with... "Richard thought for a moment and then looked to his right, where Amber was sitting. She looked a little awkward, unlike her usual playful expression as Richard finished his sentence."It's her."He pointed towards Amber with his eyes as he spoke. Ian almost dropped the cookie in his hands as he looked between Richard and Amber simultaneously."What?!"He was shocked. Clearly. And he also felt a little stupid.The two of them were Royal guards, Rick's exclusive guards to be precise. That alone was enough to tell him about their power level and rank within the tribe.After all, only the strongest could stand with the King. And if Richard and Amber were the two strongest individual after Rick at that moment, then the person Richard fought, or rather, the one who flung him away had to be either Rick or... Amber.'Am I stupid or what?'Ian slapped himself internally as he looked at the two of them with a contorted face. But in the end, it wasn't exac
"We can show you around.""I know a very good shop where you can buy souvenirs from."Hearing how Ian wanted to look around the town by himself, Richard and Amber offered various ways how they could be of help. Ian didn't want to bother the kids and let them have their own free time.But a part of him also felt a little lonely thinking how he had to go play by himself. It didn't seem too fun. That's exactly when their offers to be tour guide came."But don't you have to guard Rick?"They were Royal guards, Rick's exclusive one's at that. Ian wondered how they could leave their post so carelessly.'Is it even okay for me to take them?'The question popped up in his mind naturally. But unlike what he was worried about, the two of them had a confident smile in their faces as they looked at Ian."It's fine now.""This palace right now is the safest place on earth for him."They looked at Ian with a meaningful gaze and as Ian began to wonder what they meant, someone's strong presence and g
'Wow..'Ian exclaimed in surprised internally as he looked around. They were currently in the third shopping district, looking for things Ian could take as souvenirs.Although most of the items here were weapons, but nothing caught Ian's eyes since they were mostly old fashioned or useless. Wolves instinctively avoided weapons since their claws were more effective and had stronger output.'Weapons are useless.'According to the wolves. As such, the thing that made Ian exclaim in surprise definitely wasn't some rundown weapon shop or rare weapons put in display.The thing he was surprised about were the people. Listening to Amber and Richard's previous conversation, and the two past incidents where their identity was revealed in the middle of the market, Ian was sure that the people had already recognised him.Since rumours flew faster than light, Ian's identity as the King's benefactor was already well-known to the whole tribe. But they only knew two facts about him. His name and the
Huff HuffIan placed his palms on his knees and breathed heavily as he looked around.After playing hooky with his secret little admirers for a good thirty minutes or so, he finally managed to get rid of all of them.They were currently in an unknown alley of the town and all three of them were catching their breathe as they stayed hidden."Did we manage to escape?"Ian asked, confirming once again that nobody was following him. Richard and Amber did the same and nodded their head. Since wolves had high sensitivity towards mana, they had to run without using any mana all this time, which was quite exhausting."Then let's go back now."Ian dusted off his clothes and prompted the two of them."We're going back?""Don't you want to look around some more?"The two of them asked. Since they finally managed to get rid of the kids, they could look around a bit peacefully now. But Ian shook his head instead."It's almost lunch time."Ian looked up and sighed. They had an appointment with the
"What's wrong?"Ian asked, gently placing his hand on Ash's head and softly ruffling his hair. Seeing how he didn't back away, Ian was relieved.'There's still chance for persuasion.'There was no better way than persuasion when it came to kids and their anger. But before that, he had to figure out the reason.As Ian patiently waited for Ash to explain what's wrong, the poor kid was slowly losing all his will to protest and sulk. The gentle hand running through his hair made it impossible for Ash to continue sulking."That.."He tried to stop himself from explaining why he was sulking as he looked up at Ian, trying to protest with his rebellious gaze."Hmm? That..?"But as he looked up, Ian tilted his head slightly and was prompting him to continue speaking with a face so innocent that it looked like it belonged to some angel."......."Ash was momentarily speechless as he tried to process the view in front of him. It wasn't his fault though. Ian, being his idol, showing him that type
"Forget it.. I'll talk to him later.. We should get ready soon." Ian decided to think about useless matters later as he had something more urgent coming up. He wanted to get done with the dinner as soon as possible and then pack things up and go. He kicked out the last two people from his room and finally sighed in relief. It was exhausting having to deal with so many people at once. The introvert inside him had almost suffocated to death. Ian decided to take a shower since he had been running so much and was drenched in sweat at some point. When they travelled before, they either took a bath while they were in some Inn, or in a nearby river. Seeing the spacious bath of the royal palace, Ian was reminded of his home. Back there, he had all the luxury in the world. He hardly ever felt the need to ask for anything because even before he felt the need to ask, that thing was already there. 'I lived a pretty damn luxurious life for a while.' Even back in Noah's world, although the
The sun was up high in the sky. Air that was neither too hot not too cold entered Ian's room and ruffled the curtains in his window. Drip. Drip. A few drops of water slided down Ian's hair and fell on top of the paper on the table. He was writing. Twitch. His finely drawn brows twitched slightly in annoyance, seeing how the ink was getting blurry due to the water dropd. He grabbed the towel placed on his neck and wiped the wet hair which he would normally leave alone. "It's just a few drops. I don't need to rewrite the whole thing again, right?" He spoke to himself. Since he was feeling lazy and unbothered, he decided to finish the letter he was writing, ignoring the smudged parts. 'Won't you be giving that to the King? At least try to write properly.' The Phoenix nagged him like an old butler and sighed. But even he knew that Ian wouldn't listen. He was just that unmotivated. "I am trying my best, you know?" His plan was to slide the letter into the King's pocket at the