Family Reunion

Mika knocked on the door and it did not take long until someone opened it.

"M-Mika...?!"

The one appearing was his mother. Eli Elbar.

"H-hi, Mom, how are you doing...?" he asked nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"..."

His mother just stood there with wide eyes and an open mouth.

She was surprised and happy to see her beloved son returning home.

But what was more shocking to her were the people in the back.

"Who's there on the door, honey?"

Shortly after her, Liam Elbar, Mika's father, showed up from behind her only to freeze up as well.

Now, both of his parents stood there flabbergasted at the door.

"H-hi, dad..."

A few minutes later.

Only the ticking of the clock was heard in the house.

Sitting across the table from Mika and the girls were his parents.

Both sides were partly nervous and did not know how to start a conversation.

Lily was somehow more nervous and averted her gaze.

Sylvia remained calm.

And Ophelia sat with crossed arms with a stern gaze directed at Mika.

"So..."

Eli Elbar finally broke the silence.

"I suppose that you've passed the entrance exams for Loogam, right?"

Mika nodded.

His parents'eyes widened again.

"That's my son!"

Liam Elbar rubbed his nose while leaning back on his seat with a relaxed demeanor.

"This calls for a celebration! Let me cook you up a feast!"

Mika watched the two of them with a delighted expression and smile as they were genuinely happy.

"It's fine, mom. No need to go that far!" Mika waved his hands to deny her offer.

"But let me introduce to you my team."

The parents shifted their focus to the girls.

Then, Mika began to introduce each one of them by stating their name and how he met them.

In addition, he explained to them that they were on their way to a quest in the Great Jungle, thus deciding to stay in this village for a night.

"So that's how it is..."

"I see..."

They both seemed relieved suddenly when they each heaved a sigh.

"We initially thought that you had brought back home three girlfriends with you..." his mother admitted jokingly.

"Yeah, not even I had the guts to do that back th- Ahem!" his father tried to save himself in the end.

All gazes were on him.

"A-anyways, make yourselves home here!" he said with a sorry smile.

Eli sighed.

"I'll prepare the food, then."

"L-let me help you!"

"I'm coming, too."

Lily and Sylvia stood up and offered their help.

"Thanks, that's kind!"

Now, Mika, Ophelia and Liam were left at the table.

For a moment, Ophelia glanced at the others in the kitchen.

It seemed like she made sure that they could not overhear their conversation.

"Mika."

"Hm?"

"Your father knows about that, does he?"

"What are yo- Ah, I see."

If it was Ophelia, then he did not necessarily have to hide it anymore for the most part.

"What does she mean, Mika?" Liam asked confused.

"Could you tell him what you mean?"

He stared sharply at her.

Personally, he wanted to know as well, how much she figured out from their fights.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?"

Her usual smug smirk crept onto her face.

"Mr. Elbar, I wanted to ask you about your son's power."

After mentioning that, even Liam turned serious.

"On the surface, your son is just an E-rank student with physical abilities better than the average. However, when I fought against him, not only did his magic power rise significantly, but he also wielded a strange sword."

"..."

"From what I've seen, it negates any kind of magic within a certain time frame."

"But what intrigued me the most was that this sword was nowhere found in the register with the 66 mystic relics." she added.

[Not bad. She sure did her research.]

Liam breathed out deeply.

He glanced at Mika, who in return slightly nodded his head.

"Well, I guess I somehow know about it."

"Then..."

She rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands.

"Can you tell me what you know about that sword? Is it a relic? If not, then from where does the sword come? And are there even more things that Mika is hiding?"

Her curiosity knew no bounds.

"..."

Liam was pondering. No, he was pretending to be in thought.

"Sorry, but I just know as much as you."

Ophelia turned to Mika, who triumphantly shrugged his shoulders.

"You nasty..."

"Why do you want to find out more about me? I think you're starting to overrate my power." Mika stated smugly.

"Tch!"

Annoyed, she also stood up and went into the kitchen.

"I still don't understand. Why aren't you telling them?" Liam asked as he looked at the merry scene in the kitchen.

Mika looked up to the ceiling.

"It's better for me..."

His eyes shifted towards the kitchen.

"...And for them."

Time passed.

After they all ate dinner, everyone prepared themselves to go to bed.

"I deeply apologize, but that's everything we can offer for now..."

Eli bowed her head slightly.

"No need to apologize. After all, it's us who came here without prior warnings." Ophelia said with a kind expression untypical of her.

She and the other two girls had to sleep in the living room.

Ophelia had to sleep on the couch, whereas Lily and Sylvia shared a mattress.

"Well, good night everyone!" Liam said half asleep as he and Eli went upstairs.

"Good night."

Mika also went upstairs to go to his own room.

It was deep in the night and the moonlight shone through the thin curtains in Mika's room.

[Can't sleep?]

"..."

He was wide awake on his bed.

"I still don't understand..."

[What do you want to know?]

"Why can't I talk about you and the sword?"

[The information about me and especially that sword must not be spread in the world yet.]

"But why?"

[If certain people hear about us, then you will be their greatest target.]

"Target? Why should they target me? I haven't done anything wrong."

[That's true. You did not do anything wrong yet. But just like that Ophelia girl said, this sword is not a relic. It is a sword, whose existence alone is a threat for a certain group. It-]

Suddenly, a faint knock was heard.

The door creaked when a person slowly opened the door.

Quickly, Mika put a blanket on him and pretended to be deep asleep.

He did not know why he did that, but he had a feeling that he should.

"A-are you asleep...?"

The voice was sheepish and quiet.

He could not look, but he recognized that the person was Lily.

"I-I was thinking about it a lot..."

"This village, the wide grass field and the forest... I remember them. When I was saved by the angel, it was near from here. So could it be that the boy came from this village...?"

"You said that you knew him-"

At that moment, the footsteps from someone else approached the room.

"!"

"?!"

Mika screamed internally.

'What the hell, are you doing?!', he thought.

Even though he tried to look like he was sleeping soundly, cracks started to appear in his facade as he felt the warmth of someone else clinging to him.

His back was facing the door, whereas his front was facing a body.

With a heated-up face, Lily managed to snuggle herself under the blanket and clung onto Mika.

"Hmm~ I thought I heard Lily here~"

Both of them started to sweat bullets.

A sleepwalking Sylvia appeared in his room.

"?!"

Without opening her eyes, she headed to the bed and also got under the blanket.

"So comfortable~" she muttered in her sleep.

'Comfortable, my ass!', Mika thought as he tried to focus on himself.

'S-S-Sylvia?!', Lily also screamed internally in shock.

Mika opened one eye slightly and took a peek.

In front of him was Lily, who began to fidget under the blanket.

'Yes! Go for it!', he cheered her on.

He guessed that she tried to stand up and leave.

However, fate had other plans.

"Mika, let's talk. And don't you dare pretend to be asleep."

'Noooo!', he cried in his thoughts.

Now, even Ophelia arrived and she seemed rather annoyed.

"..."

Mika held onto his luck and acted like he was sleeping.

"Do you think you can fool me?"

Mika noticed her approaching him and with each step, his heart beat louder.

Then, with a swift move, she removed the blanket.

What she saw was an unforgettable sight.

She witnessed Mika lying between Lily, who clung onto his chest with red cheeks, and Sylvia, who calmly slept hanging onto his back.

"..."

In an instant, her usual smug and yet stern expression turned into a surprised one as her cheeks got warmer.

A small tear strolled down his cheeks, as he realized that it was over for him.

"W-w-what are you guys doing?!" Ophelia yelled, which surprisingly did not wake his parents up.