Feeling the wind brushing through my cheeks, I gaze at the imperial capital of Auro Empire. Peeking behind me, I see Theia Aran lying down unconscious along with her group.

'Should have listened the moment I said it.'

Having those thoughts, I can't help but feel a slight sense of discomfort as the imperial capital looks different from the one from my memory of hundreds of years ago.

The sense of helplessness as everything changes as the time flows made me feel suffocated. Knowing that I can still feel this way made me see that I still have humanity even when I'm fragmented. Knowing that made me feel relieved that I still haven't lost it.

"Greatpops, Grandpops should be waiting for us at the landing zone. He told me that he got something to talk to you about."

Moving beside me out of nowhere, Hafran talks casually without any honorifics or respect as he takes off his helmet. Just like how an unruly kid talks to their relative that they are close with.

Having slightly long purple hair that acts as a symbol of royalty and a pretty handsome face, he can be said to be one of the most popular princes in the empire. Until he lies down on the saddle lazily not caring one bit about his image in front of the other knights.

Knowing this kid, I was sure that he just acted like I knocked him unconscious to avoid working. A truly lazy kid who wants to avoid his duty even though he can be said as one of the princes who's in line for the succession of the throne.

"I'm sure he's just planning to talk about some problems with the imperial court as well as how some of those greedy new generations of officials are planning to start a rebellion."

"Maybe. Grandpops really find those young ones who think they are some chosen ones troublesome. Just because they inherited some authority from their parents, they think they should have a higher position."

Seeing him frowning as he lies down on the saddle made me realize that some of the branches of the empire are slowly turning rotten and problematic and they are starting to think of cutting it off. And, for Hafran to mull over those issues shows that he's starting to grow into someone who can lead.

Keeping silent as I looked at Hafran gazing at the imperial capital made me feel that the young ones that I was having trouble how to protect them before are slowly growing up to be dependable leaders, a lonely but satisfying feeling that I'll never get used to.

"Don't bother with those people. I have a question for you, Hafran."

"What is it, Greatpops?"

"How's your progress with Natalina? The last time I heard something from you was a year ago when you visited Lottie and her parents."

Flinching the moment I mention Natalina, I sigh out of frustration as I already figured out his progress with the girl that he was interested in. Looking at him avert his eyes, I felt that the way he was going on now would make him unable to get together with the person that he loves.

Placing my hand on my face, I felt annoyed that he was starting to become like his father. It took him a hundred years before he was able to steel his resolve and ask for his wife's hand for marriage. Just thinking of how troublesome it was trying to convince Grava, Hafran's father, to confess already for a hundred years drained me of my energy.

"Hafran. Don't be like your father and confess, your father was lucky because your mother was only waiting for him to have the courage. But Natalina is different."

"I know, Greatpops… it's just that with the way I am right now, I doubt her father would even consider me as his opponent…"

Clenching my fist as I forcefully stop my urge to punch him. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I look below to see the Arfa circling the landing zone before slowly descending.

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Looking around the landing zone, I noticed some buildings not far from the landing zone.

Waking up Theia Aran and her group with a slight injection of lifeforce. Through the injection of the life force, I was able to know that they were able to recover enough to move around now.

Seeing a group of people standing with a group of red armored knights standing behind them.

Noticing an old man smiling as he stands in front of the group made me greet him with a wave as the Arfa lands. Waving back at me, he starts approaching the Arfa along with the other people behind him as well as the knights.

Jumping down from the Arfa, I approach the old man with a smile.

"You're looking old now, Varda."

"Haha, I really look old now compared to you, Grandfather."

Smiling as he greets me joyfully, he hugs me tightly making me hug him while patting his back.

"Welcome back, Grandfather."

Muttering those words as he hugs me, I can't help but smile.

"I'm back, my annoying grandson."

"Haha!"

Laughing as he separates from me, I look at him properly to see that his life force is still strong but not as vibrant as before I left the capital to live somewhere before Lottie's parents came to me to live a peaceful life away from the empire's politics. A sign that he was well past his time of being the strongest warrior in the world.

Leading us towards a gigantic building, I looked around to notice that it was the building that acts as the Arfas' stable. Seeing the Arfas varying in size amazed me as their number became much bigger compared to the time when we just started taking care of the Arfas.

Going past the stable, we arrived in front of a line of carriages. Seeing one of the knights lead Theia Aran's group to a carriage, I got dragged away by Varda along with Hafran towards the frontmost carriage.

Taking a seat on one side, I looked around the carriage to see that it was pretty spacious.

"Did you guys use spatial expansion magic circle for this carriage?"

"Of course!"

"That's pretty wasteful…"

"Bah! I know that you and father were so stingy because both of you were inexperienced in managing a country. But now that I made our country into an empire, like how I promised that time, I will enjoy this life!"

Leaving the country after it became a kingdom to find a place to hide the crystal, I never returned until the day a messenger came to inform me about Dainsel, Varda's father's passing. That day, Varda declared that he would make the country prosperous and enjoy life to the fullest as his offering to his father.

Watching the young Varda cry as he made that declaration made me remember that life was finite. Even if they were a long-living race, they would die in the end because of the passage of time.

I once again left the kingdom after some time in Varda promised me that the next time I visited, the kingdom would become so big that I would hear it no matter how far I was.

Seeing him brag as he recounts his achievements as well as how the empire slowly became what it is made me smile. Looking at him brag made me slowly see the young Varda that kept being energetic and innocent when we were resting after a day of battle.

"Oh yeah, Grava should be coming in here."

"Father? Why?"

"I'm sure he's going to ask Grandfather for a duel. The city that he manages is too far for him to always challenge Grandfather."

Talking casually as if they were just a normal grandfather and grandson made me feel that our family really is different compared to the other royalty that I encountered from other planets.

'It would have been harmonious if the brats of Varda even got a single bit of motivation to become a successor instead of trying to avoid the responsibility…"

Remembering how all of them were trying to pass over the title of Crown Prince to each other as they planned to focus on their way of life instead made me suffer from headaches. As for Varda, instead of trying to encourage his kids to take over the throne, he encourages them to live their lives.

"It's been thirty years since I last met Grava, was he able to reach the third level of Concept?"

"He was able to comprehend it last year. He asked me for a spar as soon as he stepped on it but I gave him the best beating that I could before he became stronger than me."

Looking at Varda as he shamelessly admits that he gave Grava a beating before he became stronger made me speechless.