Would You Like To Return?

"What an interesting story." Jade noted in surprise, "However, the fact that the father needed help from another party must show that his bond with his sons wasn't very good."

"I don't know about that." Lotus shook her head, "Rather than saying it wasn't very good. I'd say that it was just very bumpy. Like one day, the new dog you were anticipating to have was suddenly a giant hellhound you couldn't even control. I think that, rather than a weak bond with his son, it'd be better to say that he struggled to bond with the third child due to how he could not figure out how to interact with a child he could not control when they threw a tantrum or have a strange background. Aside from that, he also had two other sons prior and is a general. His available time is limited and, with his inability to figure out how to act around the third child, the results became the way it was. The only one capable of doing both had been his wife, who loved the child with both and open mind and an open heart. She mourned after he had died and forgave him when things became bad. She had even tried to mend the relationship between the two numerous times, but it had never worked till a third party finally stepped in."

"Ouch. That poor mother." Cater pitied the parent.

"But do you remember?" Jade pointed out, "The boy who went from being called a demon later became a powerful god instead. Not only was it a story about family ties but it also was another story about not fitting in the mold set by others. What an inspirational story."

"You're right!" Grim looked up with a bright smile on his face, "In the near future, I will be just as great as both of these two are and be respected by others too!"

"And this is why you are still like this." Lotus smirked.

"Shut up!" Grim hissed, "Just you wait and see! I'll-! Hm?"

Sniffing the air, Grim paused before he started to drool, "Woah! It smells really fragrant!"

"Oh! I guess that means the fish is done." Jade hurried over and opened the smoker.

Sure enough, the fish were fully smoked to perfection and the guys were all drooling over them. However, as they continued to admire the product, Yuu, who had joined in at first, noticed her. Yet, her attention was not on him as her eyes noticed another individual standing off to the side. Yuu had also followed those eyes and was surprised too!

"Tsunotaro?" He muttered under his breath in confusion.

A sense of unease came when he saw her silently leave them and approach their friend. In the past, he had always noticed Lotus sneak out, often by distraction, when they were talking with others such as with Ace and Deuce. Each time he saw this, he always felt a great sense of unease. What was she doing each time she vanished? Who did she meet during those times? Will she return with more injuries? Hiding her pain and keeping them hidden from him. Why was it that she seemed closer to others than to him? In the end, he could only respect her decisions. However, what if those decisions is what led to her disappearance next time? The Lotus he knew was smart, witty and strong. Yet, he knew the days she hid her pain and pretend to be fine. It never surprised him at all when he walked in on things like that. After all, she had many secrets and who knew what was the truth? He no longer could care about that. Not when he doesn't have the capability to keep up with her. Was there a way for him to still stay by her side to keep her safe? His younger sibling really only knows how to make him worried rather than relieved!

When he noticed Malleus and Lotus walking away, he frowned.

"I never thought that you would be able to sense the presence of those guys so quickly." Lotus sighed, "It's no wonder they were gone as soon as you noticed them."

"Why is that?" Malleus looked to her in confusion.

"Because you haven't been able to withhold your mana properly." Lotus explained seeing that the guy was truly clueless, "I had thought that Lilia would've taught you this by now, but I guess there are some things that would be missed."

She sighed as she grumbled with ideas if it was the queen's idea to utilize him as her national messenger again before taking a deep breath and continuing, "You probably heard this before... Still, please try to ingrain what I say to you. One can always feel the aura of this around them. From feeling depressed to anger or violence, they would feel it. Like the moment you felt someone's eyes on you. You said that you didn't turn around completely, but that was already enough to let those cultivators know they had caught your attention and are able to assess how low your ability is at least."

"Just from that alone?" Malleus looked to her in shock.

"Hm? Is it alot?" Lotus raised a brow before waving her hand, "If you had done more, like turned around fully as you intended, they would've taken you as smug or ignorant. If so, they would have thought you would be much easier to deal with to recover their source of magic stones. For better or worse, you ended up proving yourself to be more vigilant than they expected. The moment you sensed them. They sensed that you noticed them and went scampering away before you could assess them further."

"How clever." Malleus huffed, "Still, this will be a problem. Those people. Do you really have no control over them?"

"If I told you they came here to take my life, would it be of any help? Or are you planning to just hand me over to them?" Lotus huffed before pausing, "Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"No." Malleus stated bluntly. Having been around her for only a few days have taught him that whatever plans she had was certainly anything but a good one.

"But you haven't even heard the extent of it-"

"No. I'm afraid that won't be necessary unless we want a replay of the time you dragged me over to Pomefiore's dorm to apologize but only made their dorm leader even angrier." Malleus recounted grimly, "I don't know what you were thinking, but I have no intention to be a part of your jests."

"Surely, you are the one jesting, not me. I can't help it if that person can't control his own temper. After all, I'm not the one creating a mess in his dorm just cause of their own mistake in etiquette." Lotus responded with a sigh.

"Back to the topic," Malleus scowled as he realized that the princess would just ignore his words no matter what he did, "Why do they want your life this badly?"

Hearing this, Lotus huffed seeing that he had changed the topic, "The answer is very simple really. There's bad blood within my biological bloodline. It's rather common when having such a big family. Knowing that I'm alive and developing well must've come as a great surprise for them to have even sent messengers to come to me."

"They want you back that badly?" Malleus laughed upon hearing this. Those people actually want someone they left behind back? What a farce! What's more hilarious is how they thought they could easily overpower her with just a few assassins!

"Laugh all you want." Lotus huffed, "It's not like you're the one they are throwing these mosquitoes at. Still, that being said, while those bugs are nothing, the old geezers themselves are nothing to scoff at right now. If it weren't for the fact that a physical barrier prevents strong people like them from leaving their realms, I doubt the countries would be at peace."

Hearing this, Malleus frowned as he paused, "These cultivators... How ambitious are they?"

"It really depends on the person's own experiences and desires." Lotus huffed, "Some are content with what they have while other have a bottomless pit that could never be filled. They are opportunists that seeks every opportunity to get stronger for their own desires because, in such a world, only the strongest gets to have the say. So the answer to your question is they can become really ambitious if they want to or they can be really boring if not."

"Would they try to invade the countries then?" Malleus frowned as he began walking back to the mines now with Lotus in tow.

"It really just depends if they can break the barrier preventing them from bringing stronger cultivators." Lotus frowned, "For the past decade, I've cultivated my power to keep them at bay. So for now, their attention is drawn solely to me who stands in their way of acting freely. However, while the fairy kingdom and the countries are acting like my home, it also acts like a cage for growing cultivators such as myself. If I want to get stronger and end this farce is to return where I was born and put an end to the problem there."

"I thought that would be the case." Malleus frowned, "Do you plan to return?"

"It really depends if I'll be strong enough to after that." Lotus shrugged.

"Would you like to?"