Chapter 146: Uncomfortable Family Relations

Late Evening - Early Spring : Springarrow City, Elynnor

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*Creaak*

*Tap-step-Tap-step*

Walking through the door was a tall and unkempt man. He wore all black clothes covered in holes and wore a fair amount of solid gold jewelry. His beard and hair were black, long and frizzly, and he had a peg leg starting below his ankle.

He carried a heavy air of oppression, to the extent that my instinct told me he was strong, extremely strong.

He quickly looked around the room as he walked in and locked his eyes on Emelia. "Emelia.." His deep voice filled the room.

Emelia was frozen, sitting on the edge of the table with a face devoid of color, seemingly unable to even look at the man.

-How can the daughter of a pirate captain fear a pirate..- I knew the situation was more complicated than it seemed, but it piqued my curiosity.

"I'm not here for what you think." His face looked angry but his voice sounded oddly caring.

Emelia slowly started to ease up. "Then what are you here for.." She nervously looked over at him.

"She's dead... You were right.." His voice sounded cold but had a hint of guilt in it.

Emelia's pale face was instantly washed over with a mix of sadness and suppressed anger. "I told you not to trust that bi*ch but you didn't listen.."

"I know, I... I'm sorry.." His face was covered in guilt.

"Do you know.. how many years I suffered because of her?! Do you know what she did to me?!" Tears were slowly coming to her eyes. "Do you remember how many times you came to try and drag me back?!" She was gritting her teeth as she talked.

The man's face darkened a bit as he spoke in a gentle tone. "I don't have any excuses.." 

-Ah.. That's what this is..- Although I was still in the dark on basically the entire situation, I managed to piece together enough to where it made me uncomfortable.

To shake off the discomfort, I tried to slip away to the bar to get a drink.

As I started refilling my mug though, both Emelia and the man stared at me in confusion. "Just act like I'm not even here." It was clear that I was interrupting their emotional moment.

"Do you know him?" The grizzly man turned back to Emelia.

"Ah.." She wiped her eyes with her shirt as color slowly returned to her face. "He's-"

"My name is Vasilias Whyte." Wanting to simply get out of the situation now, I just walked up and held out my hand. "Sorry for interrupting."

The man's expression quickly turned serious as he reached for the handshake. "I'm Adrian."

He quickly clamped down on my hand with a ferocious strength.

"Haah.." -Is he seriously trying to test me? In this situation?-

Just as I was about to crush his hand though, Emelia came over and broke us up. "STOP! What are you doing, Father?!"

He quickly yanked his hand away as soon as I released my grip. His face was a bit pale but I didn't think much of it.

-So, he really is her Father.- I cringed a bit as it reminded me of a feeling I had on earth, but I couldn't figure out why.

I wanted to just leave, but after seeing how scared Emelia was of her own father, I felt like I should at least follow through and help her like I originally planned to.

Trying to shake off the discomfort, I walked over to a table in the corner and called over Ilios. "You two can continue."

Emelia quickly noticed Adrian's expression and assumed the worst. "F..father.." Her previous 'scared dog' look started to show itself again.

"Haha.. what am I doing..." He let out a nervous laugh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is there to drink here.." He made his way over to the bar and grabbed a mug as well.

-He's picking Orange Death as well?- I had expected a pirate like him to pick something stronger.

"Thanks for not crushing my hand.." As soon as he finished filling his cup, he chugged it and refilled it.

"Thank your daughter, not me." 

He paused for a minute before sitting down at the bar. "Are you some descended god or something?" His voice was somehow completely devoid of sarcasm.

"Haha.. I'm just a bit outside of the realm of humans is all.." I gave an awkward laugh and a vague answer to try and dodge the question.

"Sorry.. I was rude." He lowered his head slightly, finally dissipating the oppressive air he carried.

"Seeing such a strong man as yourself bow your head so easily, it makes me wonder if you're really as strong as you seem." I gave him a judging look as I probed him with my aura.

Although I was being sneaky, he clearly felt it since he instantly broke out into a cold sweat.

There was a short silence before he finally said anything else. "I don't mean to be rude but do you mind stepping out for a minute? I'd like to talk to Emelia.. privately..." He awkwardly glanced over at Emelia who was nervously standing in the middle of the room.

Although not clear by the way he acted, he seemed genuinely scared of me. -I doubt he'll try anything stupid.- Plus, from what I could tell, he was also quite smart and had impeccable instincts to back it up.

I glanced over at Emelia to see what she wanted and she just nodded. 

"I'll be out front. Just yell out if you need something." I walked out with a light wave.

Walking outside, I looked for a place to sit and found a stool next to the announcement board. -That should work..-

As I sat down, Ilios ran up and sat in front of me.

A warm smile crept onto my face as the discomfort finally subsided. "Sorry I haven't played with you since we left Bahamut... I'll make it up to you, I promise." Time quickly passed as I petted him. 

"H..hey.. you're still here.." After about an hour, Emelia peeked her head out. She looked as if she had let out quite a lot of pent up tears.

"Did you and your father get everything resolved?" I used my aura to scan the room and saw Adrian refilling his drink with a warm smile on his face.

"Y..yeah..." She awkwardly leaned against the open door. "T..thanks for sticking around.." Her cheeks were a bit rosy from crying.

"No problem... Well, I'll leave you two alone now that things have settled. I should be getting back on the road." I stood up and brushed off my clothes.

"Ah, about that. You said you were going to the Western Continent right?" She wore a hopeful smile. "We can give you a safe ride across the strait if you need." (The channel between Elynnor and the Western Continent)

"Ah, that's not.." Although I could easily just fly across it and not waste any time, I figured it could be a good chance to learn a bit about the oceans. "Haah, alright." -Pirates are definitely my best bet to learn about it without going into it myself so..- "When are we going?"