"Drake?!" Ansel yelled, seeing a familiar figure also valiantly dealing with the mob.
When Garan 'smuggled' him into the special forces training grounds, Drake was one of the people he was thrown to. The guy's training was very harsh and his entire body would be dead tired by nighttime.
Later, Ansel found it was because he looked too feminine and Drake happened to have a great (emphasis: great) weakness against 'beautiful women'.
Ansel was offended at first, but then he learned to take advantage of that by acting like a sissy, and Drake couldn't wait to escape from him—successfully lightening up his load. Hehe. He was a genius even at that age.
It had already been a few years though, he heard that Drake had already retired.
The man raised an eyebrow looking him up and down as he slashed, giving him a nod in the end. This was all done as he got rid of several monsters using his weapon.
Was that a nod of approval? Did he finally look masculine?
Ansel also noticed a couple of people around Althea, protecting her. Some of which were in-charge of long-range attacks.
There were not only close-range fighters, but there were also archers with a special bow.
"Are those crossbows?" He asked no one in particular. Was this available in any weapons store he had been to? Didn't seem like it?
He also couldn't help but notice their states. Everyone looked so… stable.
It was in stark contrast with the haggardness and panic on their side… which was the normal bearing through all the territories they'd been to so far.
Why did it feel… so different from what he'd encountered?
Then, a wall of fire appeared in front killing a handful of monsters in one go.
"What the heck!!"
"Magic?!"
"Whoa! Awesome!"
Despite being grossly outnumbered, the fights became increasingly easy from this point.
Anyway, seeing the newcomers deal with the monsters so well—someone could even make a fire whip!— injected stimulants to their side.
Their group of nearly a hundred people fought hard for their lives, hope revitalising their lackluster energies, and there were no more deaths after that.
Eventually, the mob thinned, and the miserable group noticed there were no more monsters attacking.
"We did it!!"
"Yes!"
They cheered, while some groveled on the ground, some due to extreme joy and some due to sadness for those they lost.
"If only you got here sooner, my daughter—" she sobbed, hitting the nearby guard. However, the guard did not do anything and let her vent.
Of course, most people were just thankful and gave the guards a hug.
On the other side, Ansel was finally within a few meters of Althea. The woman smiled and opened her arms, welcoming him.
His feet moved on their own and he went to her without another thought.
When he entered her embrace and felt her warmth, his tear ducts that had been pouring since he saw her seemed to have a renewed water source and snot also came out.
Althea was not disgusted. Instead, she laughed and good-naturedly rubbed his back. "Still a kid. Crying so miserably."
The people who had been used to Ansel's cool and collected image were taken aback by the sight.
Althea raised her head and finally noticed this group, and then she saw their miserable appearance.
She patted Ansel's back. "Let's deal with your friends' wounds first."
Ansel finally remembered he was with a party and quickly swiped his snot with his back to them.
When he turned around, he was all cool again.
If they couldn't see his reddish eyes and nose, they'd have thought everything was a hallucination.
Ansel watched as Althea dealt with the injured using copious amounts of potions and herbs. As his eyes followed her body, his heart was full.
He knew he had somewhat ambiguous emotions towards Althea. It was no longer platonic but at the same time not entirely sexual.
The process of this realization had hit his worldview very deeply, to the point that he started dating around to see the difference.
However, he never acted on it. He knew the dynamics of their relationships would be ruined if he did so.
Althea being awkward with him would've been the greatest torture.
Ansel always knew that there were plenty of things where one choice changed everything.
Just like when they were children, had he not gotten out of hiding when Althea was in danger, they wouldn't even be acquaintances now.
In any case, Ansel had felt an unprecedented sense of peace with Althea now only a few meters away from him. He barely noticed his injuries until Althea went to treat them.
"Here, drink this." She said and he looked at the ceramic bottle (did she take this from Terran?) in interest, before drinking its contents.
Just like this, his spirit improved fully.
"This is amazing!" He exclaimed and Althea smiled, but she then went to treat his friends so he couldn't ask any more questions.
Half an hour later, everyone was administered first aid, including Leo who was rescued from certain future disability.
It was amazing, how quickly his blood clotted. There was no medicine building in their past territories, but it seemed that Althea's had, and the effect was very good. Even certain disability was dealt with ease.
Disability…
It was only now that he remembered: wasn't she pregnant? What was she doing with a flat stomach?!
His heart dropped.
Ansel immediately walked to Althea and held her shoulders, eyes staying worriedly at her stomach.
Althea blinked, startled, but soon realized what this was about and gently patted his hand. "They're fine. They are at home."
"Premature birth?" He voiced out, heartbroken. How much had she suffered when he was away?
Althea shook her head. "It's a long story." She just said, "I'll tell you when we get home."
And so, the group of over a dozen expanded to hundreds. What's more, the battles were easy and a lot of people relaxed enough to chat.
One of these was Ansel and the duo, primarily because Althea was busy discussing with the cool Fire Magic guy what to do with so many of them. "You could really fight! What style is that?"
"It's a family legacy," Helios said with a grin, looking at the other man next to him. "I still have a lot to learn compared to my uncle."
Ansel realized what he meant and gaped, "You're actually uncle and nephews? I thought you were brothers!"
"Well, the age gap between my dad and uncle was huge." He said, "Dad practically raised us both side by side."
Ansel nodded, very interested, but his head brewing some other—unimportant—thoughts.
The older one was about Garan's age, and the younger one was closer to him.
He smirked.
Hey, he thought maliciously, should he start calling Garan 'uncle'?