Chapter 120
After downing five bottles of liquor each, Caron and Kerra finally returned to the place where Kerra's house had stood. Caron couldn't help but let out an involuntary gasp.
"Oh, wow..."
The wooden house, which had been sliced cleanly in two earlier, now stood perfectly restored, looking just as it had before. Smoke drifted lazily from the chimney, suggesting someone had already lit the hearth.
"How is this even possible?" Caron murmured, his disbelief evident.
It was undoubtedly Aqua's doing. There was no other way the house could have been rebuilt in such a short amount of time.
Kerra, catching Caron's muttered comment, beamed with pride and nodded. He then said, "It's a draconic incantation. Even a hatchling like Aqua seems capable of performing simple magic like this. My niece is pretty amazing, isn't she?"
"And the reason why Aqua calls you Uncle is?" Caron remarked dryly.
"Well, I was like a brother to you, Commander, so wouldn't it be natural for her to call me Uncle?" Kerra replied.
When Caron considered this for a moment, it did make sense. Still, his expression stayed firm as he corrected Kerra flatly. "You weren't exactly like a brother."
"Aw, Commander, why do you have to be like this?" Kerra replied with a mock pout.
"And where's your respect for your superior?" Caron demanded, his tone sharper.
"Well, I'm stronger now, so, doesn't that make me the superior one here? Not to mention, I'm older too..." Kerra continued.
Age had certainly given Kerra a boldness Caron didn't remember. Cutting him off before he could continue, Caron turned toward the house and started walking. He said decisively, "Let's head inside and hold a meeting with my comrades."
"A meeting? Haven't you already heard everything you wanted over drinks?" Kerra asked, puzzled.
"That was the story of Cain Latorre. What we'll discuss inside is the story of Caron Leston. So, it's something everyone needs to hear together," Caron answered.
Reminiscing with Kerra could wait for another time. For now, more urgent matters demanded his attention. Caron opened the door and stepped into the house.
Inside, Aqua, dressed in blue pajamas, greeted him with a radiant smile. She exclaimed cheerfully, "Dad! Did you make up with Uncle?"
Caron looked down at Aqua, his expression conflicted. Kerra's earlier words echoed in his mind—Aqua was a being born because of him.
That thought stuck with him, and as he gazed at Aqua, he felt an odd connection forming. It was a sense of kinship that seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment. There had to be a reason why she'd felt so familiar to him from the start.
Perhaps that was the reason why the word "Dad" didn't feel as strange to him now as it had before.
"Yes, we did make up," Caron said softly. "Did you fix the house, Aqua?"
"Mmhmm," Aqua mumbled, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "It made me a little tired, though."
As she spoke, she clutched a wooden doll in her other hand. Seeing it made Caron recall their first meeting, and an inexplicable weight settled on his heart.
"...I'm sorry, Aqua," he said, his voice unusually soft.
"Dad, why are you apologizing?" Aqua tilted her head in confusion.
"I was being mean to you earlier. That must've hurt a lot, didn't it?" Caron asked.
The heartfelt apology was so rare that Leon and Leo, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but chime in.
"Leon, the world might end tomorrow. What's up with this sudden change in Caron?" Leo asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"How much did they drink? Wait—are we the ones who are drunk? Leo, let me test that theory," Leon said.
"Argh!" Leo groaned as Leon punched him lightly.
"Strange, this isn't a dream..." Leo muttered before straightening up.
"A warrior who can apologize for his mistakes is truly admirable. Caron Leston, you're as incredible as ever," Utula declared theatrically.
Their antics, honed by years of enduring Caron's presence, only added to the absurdity. Caron ignored them with practiced ease and knelt down to meet Aqua's golden eyes. Those eyes, shimmering with an almost mystical beauty, always left him momentarily stunned.
"I won't do that again," Caron said.
"Hehe, I've already forgiven you," Aqua said brightly. "But now you can't complain when I call you Dad!"
"Alright," Caron replied with a nod, resigned but oddly at peace.
Beaming with happiness, Aqua nodded back and said, "I'm tired, so I'll head to bed first. You'll play with me tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, what should we do tomorrow?" Caron asked.
"I'll think about it while I sleep!" Aqua said, giggling as she rubbed her face against Caron's chest one last time. Then, with a polite clasp of her small hands, she added, "Goodnight, everyone! Leon, Leo, Uncle Utula, let's all play together tomorrow!"
"Sleep well, Aqua," Leon called back.
"I'll play with you until you're exhausted tomorrow, so rest up!" Leo added with a laugh.
"Why am I an uncle? I'm a little... disappointed," Utula muttered under his breath.
Once Aqua had returned to her room, the atmosphere shifted.
"So, Aqua's off to bed?" Kerra's voice came from the doorway as he stepped inside.
His entrance froze everyone in the room, except for Caron. The others, having witnessed the overwhelming display of power Kerra had unleashed earlier, stood as still as statues. It wasn't everyday they saw someone rain down dozens of moons in an almost casual display of dominance. Faced with such an absolute force, their instincts told them to shrink back.
Kerra, however, simply smiled warmly, his demeanor disarmingly relaxed. "What's this? Heroes who've faced a fragment of Slaughter acting like scared hamsters? Come on, lighten up. I'm not here to eat you."
He threw an arm around Caron's shoulders and added, "I've heard a lot about you from Caron. Grandchildren of Duke Halo, right? Duke Halo was a benefactor of mine too, so there's no need to worry. And if I wanted to kill you, well... I'd have done it already. Haha!"
That joke was meant to ease the tension, but it had the opposite effect. The group's expressions grew even more grim.
"He's definitely been isolated from human society for too long," Guillotine observed.
Caron, recognizing the worsening situation, sighed and prepared to intervene, but before he could, Kerra broke into a bright grin.
"Come on, I was joking. Why are you not laughing?" he said.
In response—
"Hahahahaha!" Leon laughed.
"Sir Kerra Acht! Was that one of those legendary old Imperial Guard jokes? Amazing! Trends really do come full circle," Leo said.
"Such refined humor from a mighty warrior! I must learn from this," Utula said in praise.
Their laughter came fast and loud, accompanied by exaggerated gestures as they clutched their sides. But beneath the raucous display, their thoughts didn't agree.
Why does it feel as if there are two Carons in this room now? Leon thought.
No wonder he and Caron hit it off so quickly, Leo realized.
Oh, dear Tuhoran, why are the strongest warriors always like this? Utula wondered.
It was Caron's survival skills at work—the art of navigating chaos, forged through years of enduring Caron's antics. In a way, his comrades had been trained to handle disasters exactly like this.
***
The drinking session soon spiraled into chaos once more.
"Come on! Is this all the proud Leston family can handle? You can't even hold your liquor properly?" Kerra bellowed, his voice ringing through the raucous living room.
Thankfully, there was no need to worry about waking Aqua, who had just drifted off to sleep. Caron had already ensured that Pluto's magic shielded her from the racket.
"P-Please, Sir Kerra, can I at least use mana circulation to sober up a little?" Leo pleaded, his voice wavering.
"What? How dare you waste liquor by sobering up? That defeats the whole purpose of drinking! Back in my day, pulling all-nighters with endless rounds of drinks was a rite of passage for the Imperial Guards. Tough it out, Leo Leston. That's what makes a knight, and that's what makes a man!" Kerra shouted.
"...You old..." Leo muttered, swallowing the rest of his words.
"What was that? Have another drink," Kerra demanded, pouring him a full glass.
Perhaps he liked Leo's attitude, as he now had his arm slung over the younger man's shoulders, matching him drink for drink. Normally, Leo would have purged the alcohol from his system by now, but under Kerra's influence, he was getting thoroughly intoxicated.
Strangely enough, the drinking seemed to lighten the previously tense atmosphere. What had once felt like ice slowly began to thaw, and a warmer, almost convivial mood spread through the room.
It was in this slightly softened atmosphere that Caron finally broached the subject he'd been holding back. He began cautiously, "Sir Kerra, there's something I need your help with."
Kerra leaned back in his seat, raising an eyebrow. "Say that again?"
"...Sir... Kerra," Caron repeated.
"Ha! That's more like it. Always add 'Sir.' Now, what do you need help with?" Kerra asked, nodding with satisfaction.
Caron let out a small sigh, then pressed on, "Three days from now, the pirates and nagas are planning to attack Eär Village."
Kerra's jovial expression darkened as he asked, "Pirates, you say? Are we talking about the ones under Kynda Reynolds's banner?"
"Yes. Do you know anything about them?" Caron asked.
Bang!
Kerra slammed his bottle onto the table, his displeasure palpable. He snapped, "You should've mentioned something that important earlier!"
"You didn't ask," Caron replied dryly.
Kerra ignored the remark, muttering to himself, "There's no way that lunatic would move without a reason. The Pirate Queen... She's not the type to mobilize just to raid some elf village."
It was clear Kerra knew a great deal about the infamous Pirate Queen.
"Are you sure about the pirates teaming up with the nagas?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"The nagas opened the sea for them, and more importantly... I saw it myself," Caron said firmly.
At that, Kerra frowned deeply and drained his drink in one long gulp. Then, with a deep exhale, he did something unexpected.
Sssshhh.
White steam poured from his mouth as he exhaled, the visible effect of purging the alcohol from his system by converting it into vapor. In moments, his eyes, which had been slightly dilated from the drinking, regained their sharp clarity.
Kerra, now fully sober, spoke in a low, measured tone. "Two months ago, some nagas infiltrated the forest and tried to approach Etyron's lair."
"We saw the lair on our way here," Caron replied.
"There were twenty of them," Kerra continued. "Nineteen were killed, but one got away. It used the corpses of its comrades to cast some sort of spell and vanished right before my eyes."
He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table, deep in thought as he murmured, "Nagas... the Pirate Queen... Etyron's lair..."
The combination of words didn't make sense together, at least not to Caron and his group. But to Kerra, the pieces seemed to form a clearer picture.
"I interrogated the one that got away," he said, his voice taking on an edge. "Naga language is similar to Elvish, so I was able to make out one word."
He inhaled sharply, then said in a low voice, "Treasury."
"Treasury?" Caron repeated.
"It must be referring to the treasury inside Etyron's lair," Kerra explained. "It's a well-known story. Etyron is said to have stolen sacred artifacts from several races."
A strange alliance between nagas and humans wasn't something to be taken lightly. Two races that normally couldn't coexist had to have found a powerful common interest to bring them together.
In the Southern Great Forest, only a few things held that kind of value. Those are the elves, the World Tree, and lastly...Etyron's lair.
"So you're saying that they're teaming up to target the treasury?" Caron asked.
Kerra nodded slowly and answered, "Most likely."
"But if that's the case, why aren't they heading straight to the lair? Why are they attacking the elf village first?" Caron asked.
"Because the treasury is sealed with a draconic incantation," Kerra explained. "To break it, they need a dragon—specifically, a dragon that carries Etyron's bloodline. So they plan to harness the World Tree's roots to empower the nagas first. With that power, they can use abyssal magic to track down the dragon's traces."
The implications hit Caron like a wave because he immediately realized who the "dragon" Kerra was talking about was. There was only one dragon alive who bore Etyron's bloodline.
"...They're after Aqua," he said grimly.
"Damn it!" Kerra growled, slamming his hand on the table. A sharp crack ran through the polished wood. "I shouldn't have let that one get away."
"The naga that escaped must've detected Aqua's mana while it was in the lair," he muttered, his expression dark. "That's the only reason that greedy Pirate Queen would bother moving her forces. They're after Aqua's power."
The nagas' true objective was now laid bare. Caron sat in silence, replaying Kerra's words in his mind. At last, the missing pieces of the puzzle fit together.
"Can't we take Aqua out of the Great Forest?" he asked, breaking the tense quiet.
Kerra shook his head and answered, "A hatchling needs abundant mana to grow. There's no place more suitable than the Great Forest. Once she matures, it'll be different, but not now."
"Then the answer is obvious, isn't it?" Caron said.
In truth, the answer had been clear from the start. What had changed was the urgency, the necessity. One more reason to see it through had been added to their mission.
Caron nodded solemnly before locking eyes with Kerra and said, "Our mission is technically complete, you know. But just walking away now... doesn't sit right with me."
The mission that Azureocean Castle had tasked them with was confirming whether or not Kerra was alive or dead. This was a side mission—No, to be precise, it could hardly be called a mission at all.
"How about lending a hand?" Caron asked.
At those words, Kerra asked in a low voice, "What are you thinking?"
"The solution is simple, isn't it?" Caron said as a thick sense of killing intent seeped out from his smile.
"Just kill them all."