When he woke, he first noticed that he was inside the carriage being held by his mother. Killian was on the seat in front of him, sleeping peacefully. Thankfully, none of his injuries appeared life-threatening. It looked like all the blood on him from before came from several shallow wounds.
The more Ace looked at Killian, the wider his smile became. He had truly done him proud. Considering this was his first proper battle, he had done exceptionally well.
He then spread his observation haki and found Lance still steering the wagon despite his wounds. Out of all of them, he was the only one to suffer serious injuries.
By compressing his haki, he could see that Lance had four stab wounds. Thankfully though, judging by the strength of his aura, it looked like Lance also managed to achieve a breakthrough and had reached the fourth rank. Because of that, none of his wounds were fatal, but he’d still need a period of recovery before he was back in fighting condition.
All things considered, they had come out of that encounter with the best results possible.
Turning his attention back to his sleeping mother, he remembered the moments before he lost consciousness. That all too familiar energy…
‘That was definitely conqueror’s haki. Does that mean haki is useable by others, or is it something unique to our family?
It could be that, like in my former world, Haki is useable by all living creatures, or it could be that it’s something I brought over with me from my previous life, and mom somehow inherited it from me when she was pregnant with me.
Either way, until I know more, we should refrain from using it unless absolutely necessary.’
.
.
.
It took a few hours before they arrived at the gates to Fenlai City and were forced by the city guards to dismount, as only nobles were permitted to travel via carriage once past the city gates.
Not wanting to cause any trouble in unfamiliar territory, they did precisely that. Still, due to the injuries of Lance and Killian, who were still sleeping soundly, they decided it would be easier for the mother-son duo to search for a place to stay whilst Lance and Killian stayed on the carriage to continue resting and look after their stuff.
The good news was that thanks to the now-dead assassins, they could be considered to be fairly well off after having looted the bodies of their attackers. Each of them was carrying a few low-grade magicite gems, whilst the mage that Ace killed actually had a mid-grade gem.
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Ace knew from the books in the library that magicite gems were crystallized elemental essence formed naturally underground that had to be mined. Due to the energy they stored, they had several different uses for those with the right know-how.
As no one from their group had the required knowledge of how to utilise them correctly, all they could do was sell them off at a pawn shop in the city.
In the end, it managed to net them 150 gold coins which was ten times more than Lance initially had saved. Meaning, at least for now, they were okay financially.
‘Thank god Fenlai City doesn’t permit violence; our group isn’t in any condition to protect our lives, let alone our wealth.’ Ace thought to himself as he noticed the odd looks they were getting from others who overheard their transaction.
Next, they located an affordable and low-key inn and paid for three rooms for seven days, costing them 30 gold. They dropped the few bags they brought with them off in the rooms before returning to pick up the rest of their group.
As Ace and Milianna managed to carry most of their stuff with them on their first trip, it allowed Ace to carry Killian on his back and Milianna to be used as a crutch to help Lance.
The only annoying part was how they had to ignore all the weird looks they received. It wasn’t hard to understand why, though. Besides Ace, who managed to avoid receiving any external injuries, and Milianna, who didn’t directly participate in any of the fights, both Killian and Lance were covered in bandages.
As they walked on Fragrant Pavilion Road, the primary road of East Fenlai City, Killian found himself turning his head from side to side with awe-filled eyes. He’d never seen such sights. Unfortunately, his constant wriggling only served to agitate his injuries further.
“Would you stop moving about? You’re only making your injuries worse.” Ace said as he rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics.
“I know, but I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Killian replied, failing to hide his excitement.
“Just try not to worsen your injuries; the city isn’t going anywhere. It won’t be too late to go and explore a little after you recover.” Ace said
Killian nodded and settled down a bit, but Ace still felt the boy’s head shifting subtly every once in a while. Ultimately, Ace could only sigh, but he didn’t try to stop him again.
Unlike Ace, who had seen all kinds of kingdoms in his previous life, several of which were far more prosperous than this, Killian truly was just an eight-year-old child who’d never before today left the small backwater township of Wushan.
After settling the young and excited Killian in their room and convincing him to get some rest, Ace walked next door to speak to his mother.
*Knock knock*
“Mom…”
“Come in, sweetie,” Milianna answered softly.
Upon entering, Ace saw Lance sitting on the bed with his top off, showing off his very well-defined physique, and Milianna stood in front of him, showing great care as she changed his bandages. “Take a seat on the bed whilst I finish up.”
Looking at the scene in front of him, Ace couldn’t help but think that if he had walked in on them like this a couple of years ago, they would’ve jumped apart like they’d been caught doing something wrong. Their relationship has really come a long way.
‘I’m happy for you. Both of you.’ Ace thought to himself as his eyes fell on Lance. ‘But I refuse to call you daddy.’