After Nathan calmed down, Patrick and Nathan stepped down from the wagon. Arielle was crying with Ashley at the dining table, while Maya and Chana comforted them in their warm embrace. Meanwhile, Thomas was cleaning up and putting away the breakfast.

"Would you and Harold like to pay your respects to Jonathan?" Patrick asked in sorrow.

"Okay," Maya said, and went to get Harold, who struggled in pain to pay his respects to Jonathan along with his family.

Arriving at the side of the bed, Harold remembered what Jonathan had said to him yesterday, as if the resting man had just spoken from the afterlife, "You don’t look so well, Harold."

Harold still remembered answering "Better than you" yesterday. However, with his new injuries, Harold resembled a mummy, with only his head, right arm and right leg not being wrapped in bandages. Ironically, Jonathan no longer had bandages on him.

"You certainly look better than me now," Harold smiled bitterly and answered in his mind.

Jonathan and Harold were childhood friends, as close as brothers. They went to school, and joined the Knight Order together. Therefore, Harold was also well acquainted with Patrick and Emily. He was part of the reason why Jonathan chose to get married and became a farmer at a young age, when his knighthood career was going smoothly.

"Rest in peace. Don't worry about your children. I will help look after them," Harold declared in front of his family.

Maya gazed at her husband in surprise. The responsibility of parenting three more children was not to be taken lightly. Not to mention that their grandfather was still alive, so there was no need for them to. However, Maya remembered how Patrick saved her family by inviting them to leave the village. Grateful for Patrick and honoring her friendship with Ana, she nodded and said warmly, "Not just you, we will," as she tenderly held her husband's hand.

After tending to Nathan's and Harold's wounds, the families continued their journey to the west. An hour after their departure, the families took a detour into the mountains. On the path, they found a small patch of land on the side of the road. There, Patrick created a cremation furnace and burned Jonathan's and Henry's remains. On top of the furnace, Patrick also added a device with Ice, Water and Wind Spells to prevent smoke and steam from raising into the sky, which might alert knights or bandits.

"You seem familiar with making a furnace," Maya commented after she returned from collecting firewood from the nearby forest.

"Yes, for unfortunate reasons," Patrick answered in sorrow, his voice almost cracking.

"Sorry," Maya noticed it wasn't the right moment to comment on it.

After everything was ready, Patrick started cremation of his son and youngest grandchild.

"No parent should have to bury their children twice." Patrick said, gazing at the fire, as tears dripped from the old man's stern face. Watching her grandfather and the fire, Nathan, Arielle and Ashley wept again.

Patrick collected Jonathan’s and Henry’s ashes in two temporary bottles and stored them alongside Emily’s and Ana’s ashes. After dismantling the furnace with a Sink spell, the families returned to the highway.

Throughout the journey, Nathan and Ashley did not speak to each other. Arielle attempted to play with Ashley, who just tempered with her toys while puckering her brows and lips. Apparently, she was time-killing rather than having fun.

"Nathan, would you like to play with us?" Arielle said, worried about her brother.

Nathan blurted out, "No." However, he did not want to be so cold to Arielle. So he softly added, "Let me be alone for just a bit longer." Nathan continued to sit on his bed, blankly looking at the scenery as the wagon moved.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Ashley suddenly tossed her toys aside in frustration. Then, she climbed onto her bed and soberly looked at the scenery, mirroring Nathan. Seeing that, Arielle sat next to Ashley and held her hand, offering comfort.

After thirty six hours of continuous journey, the families finally arrived at the Silverlake City, the capital, and Sacred City of the Kingdom of Avalon.

The city wall at the north gate was grand and stunning, towering over a hundred meters in height. Scriptures depicting many holy tales were engraved on the white marble, evoking the mercy of Goddess Liliana, loyalty of her revered Saints and the prowess of the legendary Holy Knights. The gates were decorated by the scriptures of two colossal watching knights who stood as tall as the gate itself. As the families arrived from the east, the morning sun shone upon the wall, allowing the holy figures to come alive with the holiest of otherworldly radiance.

No army had reached the wall for more than a hundred and sixty years. Only a few knights were stationed at the gate as a part of their routine. There were more wall cleaners than knights around. Obviously, keeping the white marble wall clean and shiny was a much more daunting task than defending against a nonexistent enemy.

A row of hastily constructed makeshift booths had been set up in front of the city gate to scrutinize the identities of travelers entering the city.

Patrick sneered at the sight, muttering, "These temporary booths are useless – just a show for the top brass. All bandits and demon spies are citizens anyway. But we can't afford to be held up for questioning by the knights."

Patrick led the families to a nearby rest stop before the city gate. "Let's pretend to be one family on vacation. Thomas, Arielle, Chana – call Maya 'Mom,' and me 'Grandpa.' Maya, if anyone asks, refer to me as 'Dad.'" The group nodded in unison.

"What about me?" Ashley asked, feeling left out in the impromptu family arrangment.

"Ashley, can you call Maya 'Mom,' like Thomas, Arielle, and Chana?" Patrick asked, expecting that it would be difficult for Ashley.

"Mom," Ashley whispered to Maya, before dissolving in tears, overcome by the painful memories this morning.

"Shh, just stay quiet for now, okay?" Patrick said gently while making preparations for Harold and Nathan..

Patrick asked the wounded to hide in the hidden storage compartment inside his wagon, since a mummy and a boy with an arrow wound would be the most appropriate for knight questionings. He then stowed away one of the bunk beds in each wagon so that the number of people matched the number of beds.

With all preparations complete, the two families drove toward the makeshift booths stationed in front of the city gate. Patrick took out the ID Cards for the families. The cards had their names, places of birth and birthdays written on them. The clerk scanned each ID card, and the scanner's light flashed green after every scan.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" The clerk asked politely.

"We've just returned from a week-long camping trip in the mountains and are now heading back home," Patrick answered with a warm smile.

"Where do you live?"

"Mount Olympus."

"I have family in the Mount Olympus area too. Speaking of which, don't you love the Jaguar Express – it's a local favorite, right?"

"Wait, there's a Jaguar Express in Mount Olympus? I wasn't aware of that. Can you tell me where it is, exactly?"

"Oh, I apologize for the confusion – I meant the Fried Chicken, the one next to the horse rental."

"Ah, you mean Mr. Ken's Fried Chicken? Yes, it's good. We dine there from time to time." Patrick said, knowing that the clerk was testing him.

The clerk peeked inside Patrick's wagon, his brow furrowed in suspicion, before inquiring, "That's quite a lot of belongings for a week-long camping trip – what's the story behind it?"

Everyone held their breath, awaiting Patrick’s response anxiously.

Patrick warmly smiled as he explained, "We've got four kids, so we're prepared for anything. A week's worth of food for their picky tastes, plus tools, a spare wheel, and virtually all of their toys. I'm sure you'd understand if you have kids of your own." The clerk nodded thoughtfully, then turned his attention to the second wagon.

The hair and eye colors of Fornians were diverse, ranging from red (Ruby), yellow (Amber), green (Emerald), blue (Sapphire), purple (Amethyst), to black (Onyx), with varying shades. Given Patrick's claim that they were one family, the clerk focused on their hair and eye colors.

Hair color-wise, Patrick's was gray, Thomas' and Chana's were brown, Maya's and Ashley's were black. Since gray, brown, and black were different shades of the same general color, that checked out. The only one special was Arielle, who was blonde, but it could from their father. Moving on to eye colors, the clerk observed that Patrick and Thomas shared Sapphire eyes, while Chana and Maya had warm Amber eyes, and Arielle and Ashley both had piercing Emerald eyes. "Perhaps the girls' father was a blonde with Emerald eyes?" the clerk pondered.

Then, the clerk's gaze met Ashley's, who was crying and holding hands with Arielle. A sympathetic smile crossed the clerk's face as he thought to himself, "Raising kids can be tough indeed." With a gentle nod, he returned to his booth.

Not wanting to hold back a family with a crying girl, the clerk let the families into the city, "Welcome home! Have a nice day!"