CHAPTER 12

Hanan quickly finished his business and went to Fantasy Park. Although he trusts Zeno to protect Hirayon, he feels uneasy for a reason he can't understand.

When he arrived at the park, he immediately bought premium access and went inside. Instead of calling Zeno to ask about their location, Hanan called Oddi into his mind.

"Oddi, where is Zeno? Guide me to him." He asked, and a monotonous voice spoke in his mind.

"Zeno is in front of the Aura Sail, a ship ride that tours passengers around the park. The distance from your location is 2.5 kilometers. Depending on how fast you walk, reaching the destination would take more than 30 minutes. I suggest using a hover platform to reach the destination faster," Oddi answered.

Hanan followed Oddi's suggestion and rented a platform. When he finally saw Zeno and his son, he frowned as a group of children near the two were laughing while looking at Hirayon.

He was about to call Hirayon and approach them when his son spoke loud and clear.

"My father is a chief!" He said in a firm tone, confident after what Zeno said. Although Hirayon could have avoided all the mocking, he felt something inside him snap after Zeno said he was important.

In another situation, Zeno would've thought it was wrong for a chief's child to brag about his position. But as Hirayon was a special case, Zeno felt that Hirayon was finally accepting his identity, including Hanan. This made him look like a proud servant beside the child. He looked at Hirayon with so much happiness that the adults observing the situation frowned.

The kids stop laughing after Hirayon's declaration. They thought that the scrawny boy was imagining things and was hopeless.

They were surprised by what Zeno had said earlier but continued mocking Hirayon because of his appearance, not believing Zeno at all. Other than his unkempt look, the children think that no kin of a chief would look so malnourished and thin.

However, the adults with the kids called out Oddi and immediately searched for the Water Clan chief. When they saw the latest articles about the two being spotted outside the Oddity System building, blood had wholly left their system.

Amalia's guardian became particularly pale and nervous to the point that he could hear his heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears.

'We're dead,' he thought and looked around, trying to find anything to help them escape the situation.

Unfortunately for him, what his shaky eyes met were piercing silver-blue eyes that were intensely watching him and the group.

It didn't take a second for the man to realize who Hanan was, and his knees weakened, making him kneel.

He clasped his hands together and prayed like Hanan was a deity.

"Please spare my young miss for her insolence. I didn't teach her well, Chief Hanan. I will bear all the punishments, but please spare my young miss," he said, bowing his head more, not even thinking of meeting Hanan's eyes again.

"What are you doing?!" Amalia shrieked at the sight. Not once has she witnessed her steward ask forgiveness on her behalf. It puzzled her too much, which made her more daring and her mouth unstoppable.

"Why are you apologizing to a mere commoner?!" She shouted, completely appalled at the scene.

"Young miss, please stop," the man whispered with gritted teeth.

In the worst-case scenario, Hanan would take matters into his hands, and he wouldn't be able to do anything for her miss.

"No! I don't want to! I will not ride the ship with a dirty kid!" She shrieked.

"Yeah! I won't too! My mother said not to be with the poor or I'll be an idiot," another kid said, agreeing with her friend.

Before Hirayon could hear more insults, Hanan approached the group and used his ability Aura Pressure. Not letting even the kids off just because they are children. To him, everyone who degrades and points a finger at his son is the same and deserves to be put in the right place.

When the Aura Pressure was released, most kids slumped in the grass. Their eyes were opened wide, with tears continuously flowing out of fear. They couldn't even open their mouths to wail as they had lost control of their bodies because of the pressure. A kid even pissed himself, wetting his pants.

In the case of Amalia, she was already sitting on the grass with her whole body shaking out of fear. She was screaming in her mind, but no voice came out of her mouth. Her eyes were glued to Hanan, and it felt like a tsunami was about to hit her and drown her. It was the first time she felt like she would die, death looming over her as she stared at Hanan's cold, cruel eyes.

When Zeno saw the scene, he decided to intervene.

"Chief, they're still kids," He pointed out. He did not want to bring more trauma to the children even though he wanted to teach them a lesson earlier. He knows that his chief is ruthless and that something worse might happen to the kids.

Hanan ignored Zeno. His eyes clearly say that he doesn't really care. But Hirayon thought otherwise.

"Dad. I want to ride the ship," Hirayon said, getting Hanan's attention with the way he was called.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

When Hanan looked at where Hirayon was looking. The ship had just arrived and was about to disembark the passengers.

Although it seemed like Hirayon was only eager to ride, he was doing the children a favor. Even though he was insulted, he was mature enough to understand what Hanan could really do.

Hanan stopped releasing his Aura Pressure and offered his hand to Hirayon. When Hirayon took it, they walked passed the chaos the group had become and presented their golden bracelets to the dazed employee who witnessed everything. He was about to stop the commotion earlier but couldn't do so when he spotted Hanan. He was too scared to meddle.

When the three climbed a long set of stairs, they eventually reached the seats on the uppermost deck. As they wore golden bracelets, they were assisted like royalty and offered snacks for the whole ride.

Although the deck was beautifully decorated, Hirayon focused on the clear sky that seemed closer. He then ignored the snacks, walked towards the railings on the side, and looked down on the lower decks where people sat. He watched the ship get full. The group that had mocked him also didn't show up, making Hirayon think of what had happened to the group.

Although offended, he did not harbor any grudge toward the kids. Instead, he was uninterested in them, another reason he didn't feel anything when Hanan made the group shake in dread. He only stopped Hanan because he noticed that people were already watching them with fear, and he didn't want them to see Hanan as cruel.

What he did not know was that people's impression of the Water Clan chief was already bad. Because Hanan is talented and at the same time cold since he was a child, people look up to him and fear him at the same time. Oddities like that they are protected by a strong Prime Oddity in Diwana, but was also wary of the man, clearly indicating how they see chiefs as a celebrity and a figure of a ruler as well.

When the ship finally moved, Hirayon felt the warm breeze and felt fantastic. The ship elevated in the sky and sailed slowly around Fantasy Park. Below, Hirayon could see the colorful rides and stalls. Everything looked small, and oddities seemed like an ant from the sky.

He could see everything. From the people playing using their abilities, oddities lining up to buy food, and children running around. It was a chaotic but peaceful and glorious scene.

Completely different but somewhat similar to the forest he used to live in. Like the ride, he felt peaceful in the woods but also chaotic, with the monsters roaming around.

Hirayon enjoyed the ride so much that he did not notice Hanan approaching him. Hanan also didn't dare to bother the child and satisfied himself by watching Hirayon's eyes glimmer with awe. He was scared that Hirayon would behave differently after witnessing what he had done to the group.

Hanan didn't care about his image but didn't want Hirayon to look at him with fear. He realized too late what he had shown the child and was worried that Hirayon would think he was cruel. The good thing was that Hirayon seemed to not mind it.

"Dad."

"Hmm?" Hanan was surprised to hear Hirayon call him. He had already listened to his son address him as Dad, but he still felt surreal and elated. He wasn't sure if he was able to get closer to Hirayon these past few days, but this answers everything.

"Have you ridden this before?" Hirayon asked. Thinking of the father and son he saw earlier at the lower deck with an older man. The little boy was sitting on his father's shoulder and was holding his father's hair for support. The three were laughing happily while enjoying the view.

"This would be my first time," Hanan answered.

"You didn't go here with your father?"

Hanan looked at his son and remembered his relationship with his deceased father. "No. We weren't close, and he was always busy, so we didn't have the chance to go here."

"Where is he now?" Hirayon asked and looked at Hanan. He was curious about where his grandfather was after seeing the three.

"He's dead," Hanan answered, which made Zeno, who was secretly observing the two, close his eyes in indignation.

He kept reminding Hanan to always think first before answering Hirayon's questions, but he would still speak of such things like nothing.

"Oh..."

Zeno glared at the back of Hanan's head after seeing Hirayon's surprise and speechlessness. Hanan could've said it better as to not shock the child.

With that, the conversation ended, and they spent the remaining ride in silence.

After the ride, they went to a few more. Most were not dangerous, as Hanan was afraid for Hirayon's sake. When they were enjoying game stalls and winning continuously, people started noticing them and avoiding their direction.

The news of the commotion has already gone viral at Oddidily, and people were scared to get on Hanan's wrong side.

So even though some stalls have a long line, they would still be the first to play, not because of their bracelet but because people avoided the group.

After their tiring Fantasy Park trip, the group returned to the hover car. Maybe because Hirayon had so much fun, he fell asleep on the sofa. After Hanan tucked Hirayon into his bed, he left his room and sat before Zeno, kneeling on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Hanan asked and leaned his back on the sofa.

"I let them speak ill about young master and tried to stop you," Zeno admitted. It weighed on his mind how impudent he acted toward his chief.

"Yes, you did stop me... If it were a different time, I would've punished you, but it was good that you tried to stop me. I didn't want to show Hirayon my bad side," Hanan said.

"I appreciate you stopping. I didn't want people pointing fingers at Hirayon and avoiding him because he has a scary father," he followed, which made Zeno nod. He was about to say something when Hanan stopped him with a cold gaze.

"But why did you let Hirayon hear such things?" Hanan said, remembering how the kids insulted Hirayon's appearance.

"I apologize," Zeno bowed and resolved to accept any punishment. He didn't even make an excuse, as he felt he failed to protect Hirayon.

"Alright. Don't fail me next time," Hanan said. He then activated Oddilens and opened a hologram before him to do some work.

Zeno looked at his chief with surprise, "You won't punish me?"

The last time he failed Hanan's order, he was punished by going into the sea and killing one thousand monsters. That is why he was surprised that his chief would just let this go.

"Yes. But expect a grave punishment if you fail again," Hanan said while his eyes were focused on the hologram.

Zeno looked at Hanan with dazed eyes. It was the first time he let go of a failure without proper punishment. When he looked at his side, his eyes landed on Hirayon's room. He then realizes what has changed.

'Hirayon's existence was really good,' he thought. Hanan had already changed a lot after meeting Hirayon, and Zeno knew he might be able to work with a kinder chief in the future.

Zeno looked forward to that time but stopped when he thought of something. Because Hanan was obviously fond of Hirayon, he knew that people would take advantage of the kid and use him to get closer to Hanan. If that happened, a kinder chief would just be a hopeless dream.

'Let's just hope they're not too stupid to mess up with the young master, or instead of a benevolent ruler, we might see a tyrant with a scythe of death.'

R E H I L I Y A