Steel and Mana

Chapter 563 – Ending on an Opening (2)

Pion had fought monsters taller than houses or walls, stood his ground against horrors that came back from beyond death, and marched into battles knowing full well that he might not come back. It was all the experiences of his life that he faced bravely, but... Somehow, today, he still felt... a bit afraid, not for himself but for his son. Of course, he wouldn't show it, so he just watched him pack his things, because this was his big day. Happily, Henrik moved around their house with complete confidence, lifting boxes, checking the lists he made, and making sure nothing was forgotten or left behind. He was no longer just a boy... He was stepping out into his own life. He was to be Knighted... and he will have his own home, his own life, so it was time to leave. Even if it meant that he was moving only a few blocks away from his parents.

"I had experienced this multiple times already," Matilda muttered, nudging her husband, "It never gets easier, but don't look at him like that!" She chukled, making Pion smile, shaking his head.

"Hm?" Henrik looked around, noticing his parents standing there in his doorway, "What is it?"

“You’re taking the old book too?” Matilda asked, nodding toward a battered cover Henrik had tucked into a box, standing in for her husband, who had no idea what to say, just looking at his son like he was about to be lost in a forest.

"Well... yeah." Henrik nodded, suddenly blushing, realizing that taking a children's book was... well, childish. But it reminded him of home, and he wanted to bring that feeling with him.

"You do know you can come back whenever." Pion finally spoke up, walking up to him and grabbing one of the boxes to help him carry it out, "Even if you are now your own man, we are still family."

"I know." He smiled at his father proudly, "And don't worry, I will visit. Promise!"

"And I believe you," Matilda joined by holding one of the remaining boxes, "More than your good-for-nothing siblings who don't even send letters back home anymore."

"They should be fine... no?" Henrik asked, trying to recall his half-siblings and their faces... but he only met them once or twice in his whole life.

"Honestly," Matilda shrugged, shaking her head, "I guess, because no news had come back, they were expelled from being Avalonians. That in itself is... good enough."

"Don't think too much about it," Pion chuckled, watching his son's unsure gaze, nodding with his head to let's bring everything out.

Outside their house, a newly built car waited for them, something that was given to Pion for his service, who, of course, quickly gifted it to his son as his gift for becoming one of Avalon's Knights. Henrik wanted to refuse it, as his father had never even driven it... like ever, but he waved him away, telling him he could get another one later.

"I'm not late, am I?" A voice echoed from the corner, rushing towards them as they stood around the red boxy vehicle, finishing settling Henrik's boxes onto the backseat.

"Captain!" Henrik saluted at once.

"Just Polo now, we are through the training, and we are not at the base." He laughed, but returned the Salute, glancing at Pion with a warm smile. "Worry not," He continued, "I'll make sure he acts like a proper Knight."

"I know." Pion nodded at him, his eyes smiling, "Where will your first assignment take you?"

"We are heading to Markoth," Polo answered, glancing at Henrik, who would serve under him, as he was assigned to bring the new blood to the Second Pass, for a training exercise. "But," He poked Henrik's chest, "You don't know that yet."

"Of course, big brother!" He grinned, acting as if he wasn't there. "My lips are sealed!"

"Good." Polo nodded, crossing his arms, "I can only be lenient when we are civilians."

"Don't worry," Henrik nodded resolutely, "I don't need special treatment!"

Watching the two, their little banter going back and forth... Pion suddenly realized it was like looking at two of his sons. And in that moment... he couldn't be any prouder than that.

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......

At the same time, a few streets away from their home, inside a teahouse, it was warm, quiet, and blissfully ordinary. Precisely what the gathering sisters were looking for, sitting down there, meeting after multiple months of chaos, and way too much excitement and near-death experiences. With everything finally looking like it was settling into peace, it was good to just relax for once.

Yet, Rashira sat there with a stiff back, her arms crossed, her cup untouched, feeling as if something was about to happen... And she couldn't tell why she felt like that. In contrast, Seltana sat opposite her, sipping on her tea calmly, already dressed in her new uniform with a colonel's marking on her shoulders. As for Jila, she bounced slightly in her seat, explaining that for sure, she would soon have a second kid... Going on and on about trying it every day, causing Meyli to try and hide behind Tarsine, who just ignored her babbling sibling.

“I was officially promoted this morning,” Seltana said, casually interrupting Jila, who tilted her head, looking at her sister, nodding as if it was perfectly expected.

"Duh."

"Duh?!" Meyli finally reacted, unable to hold it back, “That’s incredible!”

"It is," Tarsine agreed, “It was long overdue.”

"Not long before you will be a general," Rashira joined in the congratulations, finally raising her cup, taking a sip, feeling that her strange premonition was just because Jila couldn't stop talking about her husband.

"Thank you." Seltana smiled faintly, then set her cup down, glancing at her eldest sister, “Which reminds me. I also received a rather… interesting request.”

"Hm?" Rashira narrowed her eyes, questioning why she was looking at her like that, the warning bells already ringing in her head. “What kind of request?”

“Oh,” Seltana said lightly, “Brask submitted a formal inquiry to court you, and asked if it would go against military conduct to do so, considering that you two are now the front-facing celebrities of your branches.”

The reaction was immediate because Rashira almost choked on her tea, thinking Seltana waited for exactly the moment when she was about to drink. Wait... if that idiot asked formally, doesn't this mean everyone in the army knows about it?! What the... FUCK?!

"What?!" Jila clapped her hands. “Someone took an interest in Rashira?! Miracles do happen!”

“That is absolutely false!” Rashira snapped at her, slamming her cup down, finally stopping herself from coughing, “He is persistent, annoying, and entirely too confident!”

“And heroic,” Jila added.

“Isn't he also a famous Ace?” Meyli chimed in, getting excited.

“He is. And he is handsome,” Tarsine piled on, "I designed the uniform you and he posed for the poster, Rashira, the one you wore for advertising the Air Force."

"You all are..." Rashira’s ears burned at once, wanting to pout, holding herself back to the best of her abilities, “You are all traitors.”

"Well," Seltana leaned back, satisfied with herself, “Denial noted. I wonder what my answer should be.”

"Hmph!" Rashira snorted, ignoring her sister's jabs.

“Well,” Tarsine suddenly turned a bit shy, surprising everyone at the table, “since we’re sharing personal developments, be it a possible future husband or a second kid… I’m seeing someone too.”

The moment she dropped another bombshell, soon every gaze snapped to her, and even Rashira forgot to be angry or annoyed.

“Whoa… Who?” Meyli asked. "Do we know him?!"

"No." Tarsin answered, "I think not?" She added, unsure, "Maybe Seltana does."

"I do?" She pointed at herself while asking.

"I guess," She mused, pursing her lips, "She is a business partner of Krel, and you are a frequent visitor of his Emporium. Isn't his next expansion for the 'Sovereign's Battlefield' or whatever the name of that game is... Is it going to be designed by you, no?"

"Partially..." She blinked her eyes, turning a bit pink in the face, "It's not yet set into stone."

“Oh? I can help you with that if you want. I just need to speak to Orin,” Tarsine replied as if it were a perfectly normal offer. “He is who I am seeing, and he is the one financing Krel. Chairman Alvor’s son.”

"Huh..." Jila stared at her, slowly putting things together. “That explains everything...”

"Yeah," Rashira nodded, “You’ve been going to Atuvia a lot. A lot.”

“He listens,” Tarsine said simply. “And he doesn’t try to decide who I should be. Best of things... He has some really good ideas, and while we were exploring them, it turned out that we got along... Um... very well.” She explained, visibly happy, which was surprisingly rare, even with an ample pinkish glow appearing on her face.

"Well," Jila smirked, looking at Seltana and Meyli next, "Only you two are left without a, how did Leon say it to Arthur?" She mused, grinning, "Ah, yes... You girls are maidenless."

"We ARE maidens." Seltana retorted, rolling her eyes, "Idiot."

"And?" Jila grinned, unbothered by her gaze, "I thought Avalon was pretty open about that thing... no? Otherwise, how would the Sovereigns' wives get along so well?"

"Aaaand we won't explore that!" Rashira raised a hand before poor Meyli would sink under the table once again, "Haaaah... I'd say that you have been corrupted, but honestly? No. You are simply given too much freedom!"

"Isn't that why we're all here?" Jila asked, leaning back in her chair, sipping on her tea, watching her smiling sisters, feeling happy for each and every one of them.

And as for what was happening in Khulman...? None of them really cared. Their lives were no longer constrained by a place that only saw them as assets.

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Not long after waking up, walking out from their bedroom, Merlin had just reached for a scroll when Elena took it out of his hand.

“No.”

“I only need to—”

“I said no,” she repeated, looking at him, and when he tried for another parchment, that was also snatched out of his hand. “No.”

By the time Merlin had realized what was happening to him, he was sitting on the couch, empty-handed, staring ahead, afraid to reach for anything...

"Um..." He tried, but Elena was already there like a warden.

“You are forbidden from working today,” She said, her arms crossed before her chest, standing right in front of Merlin, making him realize that his wife was barely wearing anything... Only a loose dress? But before he could ask what's happening, she continued, “Our son starts school soon,” she explained, “You’ve missed enough! You are reverting to being a workaholic... Not good! So I'm turning you around to be responsible, not to be Merlin. Understood?”

"But I am Merlin," he muttered, not knowing what she meant by that, “…I suppose postponing research would not destabilize the country...”

"No, it won't," Elena smiled a little, “So turn off your brain a little... And,” she added, sitting down on his lap, “we are having another child.”

"Huh?!" Merlin flinched, “…We are?”

“Yes.”

“But... what? When?! I wasn't even home and...”

“Just now.” She continued, "While our little one is with my parents."

"Oh... Oh..." He tried to say something, but by then his mouth was sealed, and he could do nothing but allow himself to be pushed down as Elena climbed wholly on top of him, filling his mind with something more than research.

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"If you are here to remind me about looking for a girlfriend or whatever, just stop." Arthur moaned, opening the door for her sister to come in, making Leyla grimace.

"You know well that I'm not like our parents." She snorted, rolling her eyes. "I wish they would start pestering Morgan instead of us..."

"Maybe they will," Arthur shrugged, closing the door to his office, offering his sister a cup of coffee that she took without asking, "What's up?"

"Nothing," She moaned, sitting down in one of the chairs, "I just had to get out. Suddenly, I don't know what to do next, so... I ended up here."

"Want to become the Sovereign?" Arthur offered, "There is always something to do then!"

"I can help," She offered, surprising her brother, "At least I don't need to run into them for a while."

"Well," Arthur muttered, looking at his documents, realizing that... there wasn't much really. "Most of the issues are usually being taken care of by the departments... The Union itself is as stable as it could be, and besides keeping an eye on Khulman's internal strife, there is not much going on."

"What about the Gods Formation?"

"That's up for Dad to worry about."

"Monsters?" Leyla asked, getting a bit desperate, "Attacks? On one of the three Passes?"

"Nope." Arthur smiled, realizing that everything, for once... was normal. "Honestly... Looking at it... There isn't much to do."

"Haah... Let's make something up then! If I have to answer another question from my mom, I'm going to run away!" She moaned, pulling on her hair.

"If you really want to help, there is something..." Arthur leaned forward, crossing his fingers, turning serious, making her sister sit up straight.

"I'm listening."

"You can help me tame Ignis."

"Huh?" She flinched, twitching her eyes a little.

"In her human form, she needs a bath... And she refuses. I ordered her to take a bath, but because she doesn't know how, she ended up sitting in a tub of water as far as I know..."

"What?" Leyla asked, not knowing if she should laugh or not.

"It's complicated..." Arthur moaned, pinching the ridge of his nose, "She is stubborn, and you are a girl, too! Help me out here!"

"She is not even a girl... but a lizard."

"She has girl parts." Arthur moaned, making Leyla raise an eyebrow, "And she has no shame, but still calls me a 'disgusting Vasa pervert' and I am not dealing with her anymore... But I have to, because she started stinking up the rooms! I think she is doing it intentionally to fuck with me..."

"You want me... to bathe a captured, world-ending lizard-woman... Like a pet dog. Am I getting you right, Arthur?"

"Kind of." Arthur pleaded, looking very much troubled, "Please? If I am called a degenerate Vasa one more time... Haaah..."

"Okay, okay...!" She shrugged, smiling, shaking her head, "Leave it to me. It may be better than listening to Jila explaining how long Lancelot can go on..."

"..."

"..."

In the end, the twins just looked at each other one more time, sighing together, knowing exactly what the other was feeling in that moment.