An Invitation and a Gift for a Promise: Chapter 106

His next set of goal was to go to his homeland in the hopes of gaining strength from its harsh environment. Remembering everything that went back in "Hamil Crux's" past life and by the novel's description, the Crow Talon Clan was one of the most feared clans in the story. Its reputation was nothing to scoff at by the people who knew of its identity. And by coincidence, in his reincarnation, he was able to attain the life of a boy who had the misery to go through such childhood in such a group.

But before he could ever leave to such a place, he had to make sure that he had settled his affairs here in the Kastelyst kingdom.

Right now, he was at a certain private room that was guarded by one of Dottingham's strongest guards. In there in front of him, Marcos was pouring whiskey down a glass, seemingly sharp with his gaze, looked to Hamil ever so red in questions.

"...Tell me Hamil, What do you think of the Dottinghams?" he asked as he mixed his whiskey with a spherical ice.

"Why do you ask?" said Hamil in the same respect as Marcos was giving him.

At this point, after Hamil's battle with Liam, Marcos could not help but be intrigue by his overwhelmingly powerful presentation of power in the event. As not only has Hamil overwhelmed Liam in the battle, it has seemed quite obvious to Marcos that Hamil has not yet shown his full capabilities yet. One reason he thought of this was because he has seen Hamil stop one of Liam's powerful arrows that were capable of taking down a Wyvern in one shot. Wyverns were known to be B-ranked monsters who resembled that of a Dragon. Their skin was as hard as steel and there power could topple down a small city by their own, yet one of Liam's past achievements was that he took down a Wyvern by his own.

For Hamil to be able to stop an attack from Liam without even a single scratch meant that Hamil was a man who had the capacity to go beyond the current Liam's abilities. It meant that he was a treasure of power and talent. Even at his age, Marcos has never meet anyone who had such potential in his life. He would bet it in his life that in just a few more years, there will come a time that Hamil might even surpass Marcos as well.

And it made Marcos smile knowing that Hamil had this potential in him. Which could only mean that he had to plan a way for him to get Hamil into his side….into his family.

"The Dottingham's have a line of great potential…great kin, with that in mind, the people who come into our family were the only people who were recognized by the patriarch of the family and by our own God. My Wife, she was a powerful person capable of matching those of the many S-rank characters of this kingdom, and she might even be in the top ten strongest. She was one of many who came to be acknowledged by our God. And with that, I was ecstatic, yet the qualifications of being simply just strong wasn't enough. One must have a character fit to be noble of heart and our God had the ability to see into the people and their character with just his gaze alone. He saw her kindness…and her beauty fit to be a part of the Dottingham's. I was joyous of knowing that she was acknowledged." as he ended his words, a soft gaze remained under his eyes.

"..." and that moment of description, Hamil was already getting the gist of why Marcos had invited him into his quarters for a drink.

"I came to see that you have just as much of the strength in quality there is for a man fit to be a Dottingham….you could be my son if my God would allow it."

".…I see, so you came here to invite me into the Dottinghams." as Hamil replied, a glimpse of a sly smile was seen.

"Hmm, I see. I can see it in your eyes…an impression of no interest…even with the mention of my God."

"Your exactly right." said Hamil in his ever so quick judgement.

"Do you hate the Idea of my invitation?"

"...I do." said Hamil as he smiled in affirmation to Marcos's question.

"..."

"I don't hate you or your family…or even the God that you worship, but I do hate the Idea of having to be looked over by a God to simply judge me as a character. It is but a sickly thing to define me as to what I am by his eyes alone."

"...What do you mean by that?" asked Marcos in question of his statement that seems to deny God's abilty.

"A God does not decide who I am or What I am…I am who I am, and I wont let a God simplify my existence by his words." he said with his voice that echoed in the room that felt quiet from the tension.

"...Those are big words boy…and do you realized that you just insulted our god by your words alone?" as Marcos said this in a cold tone, bloodlust began to seep out from his body.

"Hmm, might as well be an insult if anything else." he said in return.

Heat begins to envelope the entire room and in doing so, sweat was dripping from Hamil's skin.

As Marcos tries to intimidate Hamil by his fiery presence, he could still see no change in the boy's eyes. Truly, by his stand, the boy felt no fear from Marcos's aura.

"...I see." having understood something from the boy's unchanging gesture, Marcos understood that this boy was true to his own will, and no fear was going to ever change that.

'...His eyes…it reminds me of someone who I dearly grow fond of as a child. He's just like my friend.'

As his mind began to see Hamil for his words, his presence began to simmer and the heat in the room dissipated into nothing.

"...I don't think I have any chance in inviting you into our family…so instead, I would like to say this as a fact." as Marcos spoke, Hamil's expression change into someone who had interest in the subject.

"..."

"By my words…You are strong Hamil."

"..."

"And in fact of my experiences, strength invites nothing but another force of strength…be careful with your words boy and your actions, because not everyone is as understanding as I am." said Marcos as he smiled to the boy with a hint of a warning. He raised his whiskey and he drank from the glass…as he did so, Hamil stood from his seat and made his way out of the private room. There were no other intentions for this invitation, so there was no reason to stay in the room any longer.

He left.

As he exited the room, he was meet in the ground floor by Iris who was as nervous as a newborn dog. With her fingers tapping down to her sleeves, she was clearly in the essence of worry for her King.

"What are you still doing here Iris?" asked Hamil as he went to approach her.

"Ah, your back." said Iris as a glint of happiness came into view in her eyes and smile.

"I'm sorry that I waited for you, it was just very bizarre to know that the Boss wanted to talk to you." said Iris.

"Hmm, I can understand that." he said as he continued on his way to the exit of the building. Iris followed by and as they went out, it was clear for them that it was time to go home. So with that said, Hamil looked to Iris and offered to take her home.

"...H-"

But before he could say anything, out of her nervous tendency, she spoke out a second faster than he did.

"W-would you like to eat at my place?" she said as she looked to him with her ears as red as ketchup.

"...Why are you asking me out?" Hamil asked, as he was oblivious to the intent.

"W-well since we didn't get to eat today….and since it looked like you were going home now, I thought it might have been a good chance to visit my place." said Iris as she tries to explain herself to him.

"hmm?"

"M-my home is a Bakery!" she said in reaction to Hamil's curiousity.

"Your family runs a bakery?" asked Hamil

"Y-yes! My father is usually the one who manages the shop for most of the time, but I too can handle some of the baking…and I was hoping I could show you…my home." she said as her voice gets lower and lower for each time her explanations went further and futher…

"That would be nice." said Hamil as he was fond of the idea of visiting one of the homes of his people.

"R-really!?" Iris was ecstatic of his response. She didn't waste anytime and proceeded to call for a cab. In just a few minutes, they arrived at the sector of Fester Town where Iris's house was situated in.

It was small bakery…a family owned home-shop that felt warm and tender in one simple gaze. Hamil smiled as he saw the great atmosphere this simple bakery showed itself to him.

Iris saw his expression and thought giddy, knowing that Hamil wasn't disgusted by a small shop owned by her family…unlike the nobles who actually bully down on these types of businesses.

Hamil wondered of what type of reaction would Iris's father show to him. Knowing how Iris usually is towards Hamil, he thought that her father would also be sensitive to the sight of him.

As Iris tried to open the door for him, she quickly noticed that the shop was locked.

"...Huh?" and looking into the issue, she noticed that the "Closed" signed was turned. Implying that the shop was not open for the day.

Having not give up on inviting Hamil to her home, she picked out her key from her bag and opened the door.

When she turned it open with her key, she opened the door for Hamil. Hamil made his first step into the shop. And he he noticed that inside this shop, there was not a single customer to be found nor even a single person managing the counter of the shop. It looks like nobody was home except for Iris.

"Huh? That's weird." said Iris as she was a bit confused as to why the store was closed today.

"Are you guys usually close at this time of day?" asked Hamil.

"No, usually my Dad would at least text me if the shop was closed for a reason, but today he didn't texted me anything." she said as she wandered throughout the front of the shop, looking for anything like a note of some kind from her father.

But to no avail, a note was nowhere to be found.

"Hmm, he must have gone to the market to buy some ingredients." said Iris as she tries to wonder for an excuse of her missing father.

".…" Hamil simply stood around the shop, looking around at the great look of interior of its design. It reminded him of your typical fantasy bakery founded in the usual bakery descriptions in the novels. It was freshly inviting. Making Hamil quite hungry as the view of the breads stored at the at the glass shelves lured him into a state of grace and hunger.

"Let's go inside, I can cook you something while you rest in the living room." said Iris as she invites him into the home which was at the back of their shop.

As they made their way inside more, Iris opened the door to their living room which was also open to the kitchen. With the kitchen being quite bigger than the living room, Iris had to sit Hamil down in front of the television. As she did so, she went to her fridge and pulled out an cold ice tea to serve to Hamil.

"Here, please have some." she said as she pours down a drink for Hamil.

"..." having nod his head, Hamil accepted her offer.

In her mind, as she gave the drink, she was nervous of the thought that Hamil would reject her offer, but judging from how simple it was to treat him as any other guest, her heart calmed a bit lighter than before. He was simply there to enjoy the time he had experiencing the moment of visiting a friend's house.

There in that moment, she proceeded to go to the kitchen and started preparing for a meal to eat.

"What would you like to eat?" she asked as she began to check her surroundings for any ingredients she could use.

"Anythings fine, you don't have to worry about me."

"I see…" as she heard his answer, she smiled and felt confident with what she planned to cook at that moment. With what she had in her kitchen, she could make a simple but great tasting pasta meal.

With that in mind, she began to boil some water and started preparing for her work.

As she worked in the kitchen, the silence in the room was a bit bothering, so she had to stir up some sort of conversation. And knowing how Hamil is to her, she wondered what his plan was going forward with his identity as a King to her and the other people.

"Say…What do you plan to do now?" she asked in a nonchalant way.

".…"

As she asked that question, Hamil's silence was only ever so stiff that it made her nervous. as for each second that passed, it felt very tense and airy.

"...For now I plan to get stronger." he answered.

"So you plan to get stronger?" she asked.

"People only acknowledge a king if he can prove his worth with an action worthy to move a country." he said it with such a deep feel, that it made her stop working for a glimpse of a second.

"H-How?" she asked.

"...I know this may sound a bit surprising, but in a few days from now, I plan to leave the academy for a few months to train."

"W-what?" she was surprised to hear his answer, to a point that it made her stop her hands all together.

"With what happened at school yesterday, I was not strong enough to completely stop them."

"...T-that wasn't your fault. And besides, the school was able to have solve the issue with it because of what you did. You were strong enough to stop them from going forward with their plan. Isn't that what you said!?"

"...Its not enough…I was only ever lucky this time. Who knows what would happen if another problem like that happens again. The Demons failed and with that, their only object of moving forward is to try again…bastards like them always try the stupidest things." he said in his somber tone. As if guilt was lingering in his throat.

"..." Iris could only stay silent as she could not comprehend the difficulty of his words. She was not there when it happened.

"...In truth, I don't really have a choice in me leaving the academy." He said. Revealing the fact that he had no choice in the matter against the Crow Talon clan.

"What do you mean?" asked Iris.

".…" but Hamil did not answer. He did not want to bring Iris into the knowledge of the Crow Talons. He only said those words because of his guilt of having to leave either way.

"...Well, if you do plan to leave, at least stay safe. And…and while your away, I plan to get stronger as well!" she said as she grips her hand on the knife and smiles at Hamil, filled with confidence.

"...?" Hamil only ever wondered why she would she those words. A promise to get stronger is no simple promise to keep.

But Iris simply blurted those words out in her frustration of knowing just now that Hamil was leaving in the promise of strength. It made her feel a bit worthless knowing that he plans to do more than what anyone would have suspected otherwise. So in the heat of her moment, she just blurted out a promise of strength as well.

"...You don't have to do that." said Hamil as he looks to Iris with worry.

"I do…and I will! Because if my king says that he wants to become strong, its his people's duty to be as loyal to his strength and follow him by his path!"

"..." Hamil was a bit surprised by her words that he was speechless.

But he smiled, nonetheless of how Iris seemed to smile, saying that she was willing to follow Hamil's words like a knight who believes in the words of the king.

It felt like this was a first to him.

After a while, Iris was finally done with her cooking. She prepared a wonderful serving of a classic Carbonara pasta.

She served it at the table and invited over Hamil to eat together. As they ate, it felt like it has been a long time since Hamil had eaten in a home with someone…

After all, in his past life, he had done nothing but live by his self in a small room…reading alone…eating alone…living as a lone man. It felt normal for him when it was at that time, but today, when he came to experience the feeling of having to eat with someone at a home again, it felt nostalgic and soft in his heart.

It reminded him of his life when he was still a child, eating together with his family…

Here in this moment, when he ate…it felt like he was tasting food that was a hundred times better.

"What's wrong?" Iris wondered, looking to Hamil as he had this soft gaze in his eyes.

"...Nothing, its just that you really good at cooking. Its been so long since I had tasted something this great before." he said as he continued to eat wholeheartedly.

"...So, um since you're here and all, I wanted to ask you about my name…my Family's last name. You said that it was Dragonfold but my father was a man named Bakersfold…is it that much of a coincidence how both of it sounds pretty much made up. You yourself said that I was a Dragonfold…so does that mean that my last name was false? Did my father lie to me?" she asked as if she was unsure of her identity at that moment.

"...I don't know. Your father has to be the one to answer that question. Although you worry that you might have been lied to, for your entire life, never doubt a parents decision when it comes to their children and their name…maybe they lied for a reason." he said.

"...I…I understand." although Iris answered right to Hamil, he could still see a sense of worry in her. But all of that should be fixed simply by a truth given to her father.

"If your dad ever wonders on how you were able to figure out your true name, be strong and try not to mention me as I am. Hide my existence from them…I'm not ready yet…not until I come with a confidence to face them head on."

"..O-okay." Iris could see that Hamil was still nervous with facing her father, and knowing the pressure behind something as heavy as being a king from a ruined kingdom, it would right for her to support her king as much as she could.

The minutes passed and when they finally finished everything, Hamil decided that he was finally going to leave.

"Thanks for the food." said Hamil as he stood by the door.

"N-no, thank you for accepting my invitation!…I was really nervous since I thought that you would not accept my offer."

"Not at all, don't be hesitant if you want to invite me again. I had a great time." he said as he smiled at her.

"Yes!"

As he stepped outside, he turned one last time to face her…

"...I'll live it to you to prove yourself to me when I come back."

"I will."

"...And also here."

Knowing that Iris uses a bow, Hamil was able to conjure a very highly developed bow that was similar to that of what Elves would use in their territory, but only with a few modifications to look different. He was able to create such a great item because of its iconic symbol in the Elven Kingdom. If Iris were to plan on getting stronger, she needed a better equipment to go along with her promise.

"T-this is!"

"A gift, from me to you."

As Hamil handed her the bow, Iris nervously received the item with her hands ever so shaking. But as she came to touch the bow, she felt a sense of connection when receiving a gift from her king.

A sense of connection similar to that of how when Hamil received his weapons from the past Rulers themselves.

"Take care Iris."

"...Ah! I will…and I promise that I will be stronger." she said as she look to him with such hopes.

With that, he went on his way...where until next time, he would expect that Iris will become someone who will show herself to be strong to Hamil. And Iris would come out as someone who is worthy to stand by Hamil's side.