"We're here," Lucas pointed towards a house in the same neighborhood of Chief Peter's house, "My wife is probably asleep with the kids right now." He whispered these words while carefully pushing the gate of his home open.
Aaron just nodded silently to show his understanding once he noticed signs of embarrassment on Lucas's face, he even made sure not to make any noise when he followed the man through the courtyard towards the only building behind the well-groomed garden.
'Damn. This guy's house is in a shape that's more than ten-times better and six-times bigger than my own! I need to do better or I'd lose face in front of my men.' Aaron thought to himself while looking at the inside of Lucas's house but the visibility was very bad and he could barely see anything because there wasn't a single lit candle in the first floor, despite that he could still see parts and pieces of leather and fur on the floor and some animal skulls on the walls thanks to the moonlight seeping through the curtains covering each window.
Lucas's feet stopped before the wooden stairs leading towards the second floor, "My apologies young master Ron but please be as quiet as possible on these creaking stairs because sometimes they make very loud noises and it'd wake my daughter, there'd be no sleep for any of us in this house if that happens."
Aaron nodded once again to convey his understanding before whispering : "Is that the one I'm supposed to share the same room tonight?"
"No," Lucas gave an awkward reply while sneaking a glance at the boy following behind him, "But... I don't mind if you want to sleep in Flora's room tonight."
Aaron rolled his eyes at the man before saying : "Wouldn't it be unfair for your daughter to share a room with a complete stranger? You'd be a failure of a father if you allow this to happen, not to mention right under your roof!"
"Heh," Lucas just sniggered and turned to look upstairs before shrugging his shoulders then took a step forwards while saying : "She's my true treasure indeed but she's only a month or so older than you young master Ron, not to mention that it'd be unfair to you if you share her room." Afterwards he carefully measured the force of his steps on the stairs and Aaron followed after him without giving a reply to Lucas's cynical remark.
Through the corridor he could see four doors, one directly in front at the end and two on the left-hand side.
The one on the right was open and it seems like it's the bathroom, judging by the amount of straw on the side and the wooden barrels filled with water.
Aaron immediately clinched his buttocks tightly once he saw the straw because he was reminded of the pain he once felt when he used unwashed straws to wipe his ass.
Lucas stopped in front one of the two doors on the left and gently pushed it open while whispering : "This is Shane's room, his bed is big enough for you two to sleep comfortably on it. If he gives you any trouble just handle him however you want, this here is my room... call me if you need anything."
Aaron took a peek inside the room and nodded in approval when he saw how clean and tidy the room looked under the moonlight, he entered the room and gestured for Lucas to go hug his wife to sleep.
Lucas nodded and pulled the door shut a quietly as he can.
Now Aaron was left alone in the one called Shane's room, he could clearly hear the sound of the owner's rhythmic breathing which indicated his state of being asleep.
'I'm not sharing a bed with a complete stranger, having a roof for the night is enough.' Aaron thought to himself while formulating a plan to have Tylus build him a small cabin to spend the nights temporarily until the construction of his house is completed.
At the corner near the window where the fresh air of the night tickled his face, Aaron spread the blanket on the floor and sat there for a while.
While watching the dimly lit street thanks to the moonlight through the window, Aaron couldn't sleep because he was thinking about the days to come and the Beast-Wave.
To be honest Aaron didn't think much of the Beast-Wave and the magnitude of danger that comes along with it, at least he didn't until he encountered the danger of the Emerald Ghost-Anaconda!
Even now after he survived it's sneak attack thanks to an instinctive feeling of extreme danger and luck.
The execution of the Emerald Ghost-Anaconda succeeded thanks to the perfect timing and activation of the Lucid Nightmare Skill which allowed Aaron to follow through with the right actions.
His Skills really helped in enabling him and his companions to live to see another day, but that was just one Anaconda and four Carnivorous Vines is all.
According to the tales of Peter, old man Sid, and the rest who happened to experience the horrors of Beast-Waves... this village would be lucky if it survive being targeted by a Minor-Scale Beast-Wave.
Simply because the number of Beasts would be in the tens of thousands!
Their wooden-walls no matter how tall or sturdy they're, wouldn't last long against the Beasts' first wave of attacks.
Without the protection of the village-walls, these villagers would be left directly exposed to the attacks of the Beasts.
Not to mention that most of the citizens of the village are civilians who lack the ability to protect themselves or sufficient experience to pinpoint the weaknesses of the different Beasts and target them.
Finally Aaron released a breath before laying down and stared at the moon through the window for a while before closing his eyes to sleep.
"Waah! It's Ron," Aaron felt himself getting pressured under another person's body and getting rudely awakened by a hug, "Why are you sleeping on the floor? Why didn't you come sleep next to me instead of sleeping in Shane's room? Come on, let's go."
Once he opened his eyes he saw a face staring at him, these green eyes made Aaron feel like he's staring at a forest from above.
The smile on that little girl's face said it all about how excited she was when she talked to him.
"Go where?" Aaron asked while pushing this girl away from him, she's clinging to him as if she already used to doing so.
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It just made him uncomfortable, not to mention the knee she's practically planting in his stomach which isn't a pleasant feeling at all.
He rubbed his eyes and yawned while storing the blanket Sera gave him, an action that he probably shouldn't have done in front of this girl.
"Whoa! What did you do? Where did it go? How do you do that?" A flood of questions entered his ears from the girl who kept circling around him over and over.
"Heh. You better get used to Flora," A boy exited the bathroom and smiled towards Aaron while using a towel to dry his face, "I didn't want to wake you up since you looked like very tired and it seemed like you needed to get some sleep, but I knew Flora would be very excited once she sees her little hero right in front of her."
Lucas's son Shane seemed like he's nine or ten years old, he was also a lot more handsome compared to his old man.
Shane looked towards his little sister who's beaming with smiles and hanging to Aaron's arm tightly clearly excited before shaking his head and smiling, "Flora. Go help mom prepare breakfast in the kitchen while Ron wash his face."
Flora held Aaron's arm tighter and gave her big brother a funny expression while shaking here head from side to side, "I don't like the kitchen, you should help mom since you're the one eating the most in this house."
"That's because I need to grow strong like father to protect you and mother!" Shane frowned at his little sister who's being unreasonable like always.
"Who said that I need your protection? Father would protect me and mom just fine, you don't have to worry about that." Flore argued back and Aaron took advantage of the moment she relaxed her grip on his arm to escape her hold.
With a swift step forwards and a twist of his waist, he was inside the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
Shane smiled when he saw Flora clicking her tongue before walking down the stairs towards the living area on the first floor.
"Is young master Ron awake yet?" His father asked once he saw him coming down from the second floor.
"He's in the bathroom, Flora woke him up once she saw me enter the bathroom." Shane answered before adding : "Father. You're spoiling her rotten, Flora is becoming more difficult to handle everyday." He sounded a little bit jealous of his little sister when he said that.
Lucas looked at his son and smiled before ruffling his hair, "She's a girl. What do you expect me to do with her? Teach her how to use a Sword like you!"
Shane blushed slightly before shaking his head, but he seemed like he's enjoying the gentle touch from his father a lot.
Usually his old man would be strict with him and rarely reveal any clear gestures of love to Shane.
"Flora. Come down." Lucas called his daughter.
"Daddy, I'm waiting for Ron to come out so we can eat together." Flora stood in front of the stairs and explained why she's not coming down yet.
Lucas raised an eyebrow before saying : "Young master Ron. That's what you're going to call him from now on, and I mean both of you." Afterwards he looked between his children and continued to ask : "Do you understand?" His tone of voice sounded much stricter this time.
Shane frowned slightly and didn't seem too pleased by the idea of having to call a kid who's younger than him with that title, but he's not young and ignorant like his little sister.
Shane witnessed a few incidents in the past few days and heard a few rumors about the kid, that's why he nodded before saying : "Yes father, I understand."
Flora on the other hand shook her head from side to side while saying : "No! Why should I? Ron and I are of the same age, he even looks younger than I am." She really looked very cute when she held her hips and protested to the idea of giving Aaron the title of young master.
Lucas felt a headache coming when he saw the attitude of his little daughter.
'This stubborn brat! Where did she get this unruliness from?' Lucas thought while looking at his child.
"Get your butt down here! Since when do you get to tell your father no. If you want young master Ron to like you then make him something tasty to eat or drink in his breakfast." Right when Lucas was about to say something sweet to persuade his daughter to be good and listen to him, the kitchen door was kicked open by his wife and she shouted these words while waving the wooden ladle in the air.
Flora shivered under the hard stare of her mother and slowly went down.
As much as she wanted to complain and shout the word unfair, this little girl understood from experience that saying anything in these situation would make her day much worse.
"I'll go make sure that there's enough fire wood in the oven." Shane said before running towards the backyard.
Lucas gave his beautiful wife a gratified look and a nod then she went back to the kitchen after giving him a smug smirk, an action that made him shake his head and smile widely before sitting on the comfortable couch in the living area.
Minutes later Aaron could be heard going down the stairs.
"Young master Ron. I'm here." Lucas called.
"I slept like a log, thanks for having me." Aaron said while taking a seat.
"No, no, no... not at all. I was very embarrassed when I saw you sleeping on the floor, Shane should be thankful because I really wanted to give him a beating once I entered the room." Lucas said.
"You shouldn't be too harsh on your kids, your son seemed polite, welcoming, and has shown that he's already more than responsible enough for someone his age." Aaron complimented.
Lucas scratched his head before saying : "Pio told me that usually you wake up early everyday, you must've been very exhausted after what happened yesterday." Clearly he's feeling proud yet shy to continue on this topic that's why Lucas changed the subject.
Aaron nodded, "Indeed I do wake up early most of the time but I didn't expect it to be noon already when I do," Afterwards he took a look around before continuing to say : "I like your house."
Lucas shuddered before saying : "Young master Ron. Do you wish for me to vacate?" He probingly asked in a hesitant tone of voice.
Aaron rolled his eyes at the man before reprimanding, "Of course... I don't! Do you see me as the type of person who would throw a family in the streets just because I find their home nice?" He really wanted to slug this idiot in the face but it'd be rude of him to do that to the person who gave him a roof to sleep under.
"No! I wouldn't dare assume as much." Lucas panicked when he saw frustration on the boy's expression.
"That's right, you're assuming wrong. Better yet if you stop assuming anything about me at all, because I wouldn't hesitate at all whenever I want or need anything in the future... I'd just make it easy for both of us and tell you everything directly to your face." Aaron waved his hand to dismiss all the worries from his host and continued to say : "I'm hungry and busy at the same time, is it going to take long for your lady to prepare the meal? It's alright if she is really. We can grab something to fill our bellies from Betty on our way to the forest."
"Let me check real quick," Lucas got up and walked towards the kitchen, "Ria." He called while pushing the kitchen door open.
"Yeah dear?" The one who answered was a beauty of the same standards Sera has.
Aaron could see the woman busy at work inside the kitchen from his seat and raised an eyebrow while thinking to himself : 'This Lucas is one lucky man indeed to land himself a woman this pretty, no wonder why Pio seemed like he's having an inferiority-complex towards this guy all this time.'
Flora slipped from the kitchen when her father opened the door and escaped right through his legs while giggling before throwing herself into Aaron's body very recklessly, it looked like she's trying to tackle him to the ground more than hugging him really!
"I missed you so much." Flora said while rubbing her face in his hands which stopped her from crashing into his chest.
Lucas, Ria, and Shane who just returned after stocking the oven with firewood saw what happened and heard what the little girl just said.
Ria squinted her eyes when she saw the lack of interest on the boy's face and the opposite from her own daughter, she thought to herself : 'This is bad, little Flora is fighting an uphill battle here with this kid.'
Lucas frowned because the actions of his daughter might result in dangerous repercussions that might reflect on himself, he thought to himself : 'Little Flora shouldn't be left alone with young master Ron, otherwise it might really be the death of me.'
Shane didn't care at all since it means that his little sister is finally going to get off of his back, he thought to himself : 'Young master Ron. Enjoy little Flora's annoying attention for the rest of your life.' Lucas's son was grinning from ear to ear.
"Forget the breakfast," Aaron said while looking towards Lucas before continuing to say : "Let's get the hell out of here!" He was doing his best to deflect Flora's hands and prevent them from latching on to his body.