Exposed [1] - Best Friend

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Silas asked with a calm tone that sent shivers down the spines of the two.

"W-Who are you?" Keira pointed her staff at him, making him raise a brow, but he didn't move.

His grandmother had an amethyst core. He didn't want to end up on her bad side and get himself killed by accident. His father also entered a battle stance, pointing his blade at Silas while bending his knees.

His sword was covered in more toki than Silas had ever seen.

'Lochras is... Strong.' Silas thought for the first time ever.

"Grandma, Dad... I'd rather not fight the two of you. You weren't meant to find out this way, but it is what it is. I'll explain later. All you guys have to do is back my words, okay?" Silas asked. Instead of responding, Keira muttered something under her breath while Lochras shot forward at a moderate speed.

'Did I not reel in my killing intent? Why the hell are they attacking me?' Silas gritted his teeth and jumped back.

He didn't even have enough mana to activate mana fusion, his least mana-costing 'spell,' if you could even call it that.

However, before Lochras or Keira could attack Silas, a wall made of earth suddenly erupted out of the ground between them.

Looking to the side, Silas saw the earth bear slowly walk out of the shadows. Its body was in top shape, but it barely had any mana in its core.

Silas frowned. Was the bear trying to fight him again? If so, could he even take it on? No mana and no stamina were a horrible combination. The fact that he was unable to use toki only added to his bad situation.

Silas released a sliver of his killing intent toward the bear, but it didn't retaliate with its own killing intent. Maybe it was trying to get his guard down. If that was the case, then he clearly underestimated the beast before him.

However, when he looked into its eyes, he didn't see a shred of malice... Well, technically, it wasn't even staring at him. It was looking at Lochras and Keira.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded from the wall as flames burst through alongside a man draped in black armor.

"Prove to me that you're my son, and I won't kill you." Lochras pointed his blade at Silas, making the beast beside him bear its fangs at the armored man.

"Uhh... My sister's name is Syra. You're Lochras, the old woman behind you is Keira-"

"I'm not old!" Keira snarled while walking through the flames as well, her robe flapping in the wind.

However, her expression quickly softened.

There were only two people who called her old, mostly because everyone else was far too afraid of her to try such a thing.

"Silas? Is that actually you?" She asked as tears welled in her eyes.

"Who else would I be? Are you not seeing these muscles? I can't think of anyone else my age capable of forming muscles like these." Silas asked with outrage.

Her body moved on its own. Within an instant, Keira shot forward at breakneck speeds and appeared before Silas, instantly wrapping him in a hug. Her movement was far faster than the bear could react to, especially in its current state. However, after seeing that there was no malice, the bear quickly stood down.

"I'm going to kill you when we get back home, but for now... I'm happy you're not..." She paused as her entire body quivered uncontrollably.

'I've had a lot of firsts today, huh...' Silas thought while hugging his grandmother's back, holding her tight as she cried in front of him for the first time.

On the other hand, his father stood a few meters away with his hand on his chest. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down.

It took them a minute to calm down, and by then, the chief and his men were close.

"Alright. Just do what I told you." Silas whispered while placing the topaz mana crystal inside his grandmother's pouch. He eventually toward the general direction of the incoming small army.

"Is anyone hurt?" The chief asked as he stepped out of the forest and into the clearing created by Silas' inferno spell.

"Yes. We're fine..." Lochras responded. He hadn't said a word after they had made sure Silas was actually his son, not some monster that had taken over his body or just looked like him.

His voice was a little cold, maybe even distant, but at that moment, that was the least of Silas' priorities.

"I see that you've not only killed the shadowswarm, but you've also found your child." One of the white knights sneered at the duo.

"The hell is your problem?" Silas instantly retorted, taking everyone aback not only by his rudeness but also by the state of his body.

Sure, he was physically fine, but hygienically? Even this world had a certain hygiene standard despite the clear lack of it.

"Watch your mouth, child. You don't want to get on the church's bad side." The man spat while waving his sword with a cocky smirk.

However, before he could ramble on further, he was slammed by an earth boulder that sent him rolling for several meters.

They all widened their eyes and pointed their weapons at the earth bear. Even Lochras and Keira were surprised.

How did all of them miss the giant bear standing next to them?

On the other hand, Silas had an agape expression on his face. It was his equivalent of pure shock.

"I no longer care about how you almost killed me. We're officially best friends now, okay? Just... don't bite my head off. Please." Silas announced while striding forward. Knowing his father could stop the beast's attack easily, he wasn't overly cautious.

The bear stepped toward him as well. However, even though he expected it to open its mouth and bite his head off, it simply drenched his entire body in saliva with a single lick.

"Ugh... Really?" Silas complained with a hint of disgust.

"Is it with you?" the chief asked.

"Yep... Did you not just hear me announce that we're best friends?" Silas crossed his arms while everyone looked at him the same way someone looked at a puppy.

After that, the chief continued a private conversation with Keira, while Lochras plopped down on a rock that the earth bear had created out of sand.

Keira took the blame for the fire vortex like Silas told her to, while Lochras simply stared at the ground.

At the same time, Gina, who had come with the chief, began to interrogate Silas, asking him dozens of questions. However, he always either answered without any restraint or turned the question back on her.

Sometimes, he avoided the question with such fluidity that most of it went over her head. At the same time, he tried to flirt with her. His weird crush on her had not dissipated yet. Since he was a child and no one could judge him, he chose to use this encounter to teach himself how to flirt with women

After that short exchange, Gina, the black-haired woman, felt like she had lost an argument to a 5-year-old. She wasn't wrong.

Eventually, Keira told Lochras and Silas that she had some business with the chief, so they had to go home without her.

The earth bear walked alongside them for a bit before licking Silas and walking in another direction. Silas still wasn't sure if the bear liked him or not, but from all the licking, he assumed that they were, at the very least, acquaintances.

Once they left the forest and their house was in view, Lochras opened his mouth and spoke, his tone icy and distant. It quivered with an uncontrollable rage simmered behind every word while being constantly stifled by the cool waters of his rationality and self-control.

"When we get into that house, I want a full explanation... And I swear on my unborn child's life; if you lie to me, I will make sure you regret it."

------------------

{A/N: Slightly longer chapter. I didn't want to waste any more time, so I made it a little longer. Also, the next time skip will either happen in the next chapter or the one after that.

Also, I will lock my chapters around early to mid-volume 2, which will probably be chapters 60-70ish.

Finally, 4 chaps tomorrow because you guys hit 300 power stones last week. Golden ticket goals will also most likely come out tomorrow.}

{If you have enjoyed this chapter and would like to support the author, please vote using your power stones or golden tickets. Also, you can join my discord server today to see illustrations or to converse about the latest chapters.}

------------------