First Meeting

"Minos, sir, my name is Minos." Little Minos answered, his eyes a little red.

"Isn't that the boss's name?" One of the employees asked with shock, causing another one to quickly seal her mouth shut, but by then it was too little too late.

Hearing her words, little Minos looked towards big Minos, as if to ask him if that was true.

"That's right, my name is Minos too…" Minos said, as if confirming a truth that was already known.

"You, you are my father." Little Minos said after a moment of silence, not even asking a question, having already confirmed that Minos was his father in his heart.

"Is your mother Lilia?" Minos asked.

"Yes!" Little Minos replied excitedly.

"Then I am your father." Minos said after some thought, not wanting to lie to the little boy that looked exactly like he once did.

"Why, why did you leave us! My mother loved you so much, you're all she ever talks about." Little Minos said, his jubilation at having discovered his father turning into anger as he thought about him abandoning them.

"It's a long story… Come here son, I'll tell you everything you want to know." Minos said, leading his son into his office.

Preparing a seat for him in front of his desk, Minos took a seat, looking towards his son awkwardly for a moment before speaking, though not in the way little Minos anticipated.

"Do you play chess, son?"

"Chess? All the time, in fact I'm one of the greatest in the empire." Little Minos replied, wanting to brag in front of his father, as if to show him what exactly he had missed.

"Are you? That's good, I'm quite a competent player myself." Minos smiled, taking the board out from his spatial ring.

"You can go first." Little Minos said arrogantly, not thinking much of his old man.

"Sure." Minos smiled, not minding his son's ego.

Picking up a piece, Minos placed it down haphazardly without much thought, causing little Minos to tsk, looking down on his fathers skills.

However as the game progressed, Minos's chaotic move placement slowly started to form a grand strategy, one that little Minos only noticed after it was too late.

By the time he realized, Minos's offensive was already complete, having claimed his king without him having a chance to fight back.

"How is that possible!? Your moves were completely random, but they suddenly came together at the last second!" Little Minos proclaimed in shock, not understanding at all how Minos pulled it off.

"You're quite good, but do you know what your weakness is?" Minos asked with a smile.

"What?" Little Minos asked, looking at his father differently now.

"You're like a flower in a greenhouse, only knowing to move your petals to an artificial light, having never nurtured a brilliance of your own."

"Your moves are smart, straight from a textbook, but it's exactly because of this you're so predictable, you have no pattern of your own."

"A book can only teach you so much son, never take it as the end goal, in fact, you should only ever see it as a stepping stool so as to reach an even higher level." Minos finished, having prepared a new board for the two of them as he did so.

Hearing Minos's words, little Minos's eyes couldn't help but shine, feeling a budding sense of admiration for this good-for-nothing father he just met.

"I think I understand, let's play another game!" Little Minos said excitedly, this time making the first move himself.

However instead of basing his moves based on what he read in his textbooks and learned from his teachers, he paused for a moment, trying to come up with a strategy of his own.

But what he didn't expect was that using his own strategy caused him to lose even faster, his tomato-red face causing Minos to laugh out loud.

"Hmph, I did exactly as you said, but I lost even faster, I don't get it…"

"Do you think a pattern is just formed in a single game? It takes hundreds, if not thousands, and until then, you'll lose every single time, so the real question is, are you enough of a winner to lose?" Minos asked with a smirk.

"Of course I am, come on, let's keep playing!" Little Minos said, having never lost like this before in his life.

As the two played, little Minos couldn't help but ask his dad some questions, Minos slowly explaining his life story as the two chatted.

"So what happened between you and that guy, did you kill him?" Little Minos asked as Minos was telling him about his time in the Thousand Split Sword Sect.

"What do you think?" Minos asked, as he put little Minos in another check.

"But he was stronger than you, how'd you do it?"

"I was more prepared then he was, striking from an angle he would have never expected." Minos smiled, as he moved his piece and got a checkmate.

"What the-" Little Minos proclaimed in shock again, taking a second to look at the board before finally realizing where he went wrong.

"Do you understand now?" Minos asked, as his son seemingly realized the mistake he made.

"I get it! He made his moves, and you made yours, but yours were better."

"Exactly."

"Awesome!" Little Minos said, his eyes glittering in admiration as he looked up at his dad, having never heard these stories from his mother.

While his mother always bragged about him, he just assumed she was exaggerating, but as he finally met him, he realized his mother wasn't lying.

"So how did you and mom meet, and why did you leave us…?" Little Minos finally asked as he lowered his head, Minos having been waiting for this question from the start.

"How do I put this… Your mother is not well, and she treated me very badly, to the point where I had to leave for my own safety." Minos explained, obviously not telling the whole truth.

"My mother isn't like that, she has never once raised her voice or hit me! Come back, I promise she'll treat you right this time." Little Minos shouted excitedly, as if already imagining their family coming together.

"Son, as much as I'd like to believe that, I know it isn't true. There simply is no longer any chance of me and your mother having a relationship, so please don't try to force it." Minos sighed.

"But-"

"No buts, if your mother ever finds out about me, I'll be forced to leave, so please, promise me you'll keep our meeting a secret." Minos interrupted.

"Can we atleast try…?" Little Minos said in a low-voice, still not satisfied with such a resolution.

"Trust me, I've tried, but tell you what, as long as you don't tell your mother about me, you and I can still have a relationship, father and son, what do you say?"

"... Okay! I won't tell her, but you've got to teach me everything you know and tell me all your stories, no secrets!" Little Minos said, reaching his hand out for a shake.

"Deal." Minos smiled, shaking his son's hand.

"So tell me, what brings you here today?" Minos asked, finally getting to the main point.

"Oh yeah, you just reminded me! I'm here to talk to the creator of the Rovo, our family wants to get in on the business. Do you know him by any chance?" Little Minos asked as he made his move.

"Know him? You're looking at him." Minos laughed, making his own move.

"You created the Rovo?!" Little Minos asked with shock and amazement.

"Who do you think you got your smarts from, your mom?" Minos smiled.

"No, but the Rovo is like nothing I've ever seen before, how'd you do it?" Little Minos asked curiously.

"That's because it's my own creation, nothing you'd be able to learn from a textbook." Minos explained.

"Really! You made it all by yourself?" Little Minos asked, eyes shining, having always had a strong fascination with Lukalu Technology, which he had felt a hint of in his fathers Rovo.

"Well, you can't completely say that, I've definitely had my inspirations, but the main idea was created with my own two hands."

"Amazing… Can you teach me how you made it?" Little Minos asked, his voice a little low, as if knowing the question was a bit personal.

"Didn't I already promise to teach you everything I know? As my son, everything I've created will eventually be yours, so it's only natural you learn." Minos smiled.

"Really! Thanks D-d-dad!" Little Minos said after some struggle, finally saying the word that felt both foreign and yet completely natural.

"No problem, son." Minos smiled, his heart leaping with joy as he heard his son finally call him dad for the first time.

"Here, hand me that Rovo, we'll take it apart and put it back together and I'll explain as we go." Minos said, gesturing for his son to grab the Rovo right behind him.

Jumping up, Little Minos quickly grabbed the Rovo before handing it to his father, Minos sitting next to his son as he used his tools to slowly take apart the Rovo, explaining each part as he did so.

Like that, the two spent hours slowly taking apart and remanufacturing this same Rovo, Little Minos learning at an incredible speed due to his strong foundation and high intellect.