A Celebratory Feast

Meanwhile, Ina was watching the children. When Ryker didn't return, she told her parents she would stay at the inn. Her parents allowed it, seeing that it could lead to a blooming relationship with the young man.

After waking up, she had slept with Ariana, Ina led the children to the dining area of the inn to have their breakfast. After finishing eating, she decided to take them back to their room. After all, their brother might return soon.

"Big Sis Ina, are you in love with Big Brother?" the perspective Amari asked timidly, making the young woman blush at the sudden question.

"Yes, apparently so," Esran answered for Ina, making the blush on her face turn redder.

As they waited, they heard a commotion from the outside.

"What's happening?" Fenrir asked, his senses telling him that a crowd of people moving towards the village's outer part.

"I don't know, but all of you stay here. I'm going to check if it's the bandits or something else," she ordered the children, who nodded.

She went out, only to see almost the entire village gathered where her home was. She asked one of the village girls, "What's happening?"

The girl looked at her with joy, "The chief announced that the bandits in the area were exterminated. There were even bodies of the three leaders, so the news is real. To think that those scums finally get their due,"

Hearing the bandits were all gone, Ina almost couldn't believe it. The only reason she didn't doubt the news was because she knew her father the best, with the exception of her mother. Her father won't lie about something this big.

She decided to head back to the inn to gather the children, before telling them the news. They looked shocked, though the eldest four looked at each other, all of them having the same thought, 'Big Brother is definitely involved,'.

As they went to the chief's house, they spotted Ina's father, along with their big brother, standing side by side.

The village chief looked at the gathered villager before making his speech, "All of you must wondered if the rumours that the bandits were all killed is true or not. I'm here to confirm that the rumors are true. Every single bandit was killed to the last men.

All of this is thanks to our benefactor over here. If not for him exterminating those scums, we would still be plagued by the bandits. So, for tonight, we going to have a feast, both to celebrate the end of the bandits' reign of terror and to thank our savior,"

Hearing this, the village was shaken by its inhabitants' cheer. They all looked at the young man with gratefulness. Deciding he had shown enough of his face, he decided to leave right there and there, spotting his siblings and Ina in the crowd.

Quickly disappearing, he appeared next to Ina, making her jump in fright. Ryker quickly held her in his arms before looking at his siblings and motioning to the inn. They quickly got the message and ran towards the inn.

Thankfully, the chief quickly told his people to not bother him and get to preparing the feast. They complied, eager to celebrate such a joyous day. Meanwhile, Ina looked at the young man in front of her with scrutiny.

"So, the business you said is clearing the bandits, am I wrong?" she asked, Ryker merely nodding.

"Why, why do you help us so much?" she just couldn't think of why the person in front of her would do such a thing.

"Let's just say, my parents told me a lot of things. One of them is to help others if you can. And I'm going to listen to their advice," Ina's heart did a flip at his words, and she opened her mouth but words failed to come out. She decided to hug him instead.

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said, tears trailing down her cheeks. Ryker stroked her hair, before letting his hands trail down her cheek, wiping her tears in the process.

Sobering up, the young woman blushed at their proximity before slowly leaving his hold. After doing that, she wished to go back to be in his embrace but to embarrassed to do that. She settled to being close instead.

"You should wait inside the inn. The villagers would all be busy preparing for the feast. I also needed to help them," Quickly making her excuses, she said her farewell before leaving, though not before promising them that she would bring them lunch.

Esran looked at his older brother, "So, what did you get from destroying the bandits?" he asked.

Ryker chuckled, leaving it to his smartest siblings to guess it. He quickly told about the energy crystals veins he got, plus turning this village into his territory thought that was unofficially and he would remain the shadow ruler.

"I see. Having a foothold in the middle of nowhere is a start, we need to build a force before we can think of going to a resource-rich area," he said out loud.

"Let's not think about those things for now. That's for the future talk. Now, let's wait for the feast," Ryker told them, his siblings nodded before they all went to their room, all eager for the feast tonight.

-x-

When night comes, the siblings are greeted with lanterns and lamps decorating the village's path. While there were lights used to brighten the village when it was dark, it couldn't compared to tonight.

As the siblings walked the street, they spotted many tables and stalls, all offering free food. It seems the village is so joyous that all of them worry about the loss for tonight. As the siblings walked the streets, they sampled all the delicacies presented to them.

As they eat, they spot Ina, who is wearing a blue dress, one prettier than her usual brown and white clothing. Spotting them, she waves at them. They quickly joined her, who quickly told them some of the dishes and snacks that were prepared.

As they walked around the village, snacking on the many items, Ina looked at Ryker with a blush.

"Ryker, I like to talk to you, alone. Would you mind going to my house?" Raising his brows, he nevertheless nodded. Unseen to the young man, his siblings gave Ina a thumbs up, even little Ariana, who did it because her older siblings did it.

They left his siblings with Ina's parents, the young woman's parents knew what she planned and agreed to it. She then leads Ryker to her house, opening the door before letting him in.

After they entered, she brought him to her room, a modest one with one bed and little decor. He looked at her with a puzzled look. She opened her mouth but no words came out, her blushing intensified. Seeing how clueless Ryker is, Ina decides to take drastic action.

She walked towards Ryker before placing her lips on his own. The big brother to 13 younger siblings looked at her in shock.

"Ryker, when you saved me from those bandits, I feel grateful towards you. When I saw you for the first time, my heart skipped a beat because of how handsome you were, but I thought it was just a small crush.

When we spent time together, seeing how you cared for your younger siblings made my feelings for you grow, and hearing you take down those bandits just because they were causing trouble and you do it because you can, I can't stop this feeling of mine anymore.

Ryker, I love you,"