Chương 442: [Vol.4] Quest 331- Surprise

Hestia Familia home.

"Sorry for barging in all of a sudden," Cirrus said, laying on their couch.

"That’s fine, but what brought you here?" asked Bell.

"Marital problems?" Hestia said with a smirk.

"I doubt one such as he will have such problems." Said Karen Morris, a level 4 in the Familia.

"One such as the great Lord of The Night is truly perfection!" said Clarice Boyd, a level 3 tamer in the Familia.

"Boyd, even after so many years, I find your words hard to bear," said Enoch, a level 5 in the Familia. "Sir, would you like something to drink? I can ask Haruhime to make her wonderful tea."

"No, I’m just here to kill time, and speaking of it, are most of your children in the dungeon?"

"Well, yeah, but if you're talking about the actual kids, Vento and Hippolyta are in the dungeon with their moms, while Natsune is reading with her mom," Said Hestia. "And seeing as Gersemi isn’t by Bell’s side, she's off with your kid."

"Hmm... well, that’s nice." He reaches into his coat and pulls out a book. "I’ll be gone in a bit. I’m just here to kill time for them to finish preparing my surprise party."

"Oh, it is your birthday today!" said Hestia. "I was curious why you weren’t working today."

"Yeah, it’s pretty nice not working during the weekday. Oh, have you met with the Xeno?" He glanced at Bell.

"Yes, I visited them two days ago. They seem a bit on edge for some reason. Even Asterius was concerned about this."

"Even him, huh?"

‘Does it have to do with what Ouranos and Fels were discussing before I came?’

"It seems you know something," Said Hestia.

"No, just some theories, that's all."

Cirrus simply read his book until it was time, which was when Alise came barging in.

"Dad! We need to hurry home!" she shouted.

"Alright." He gets back up. "Did you have fun?"

"Hm!" she nods.

Cirrus picks her up and waves the Hestia Familia farewell.

 

Arriving back at the entrance to the Moonlight Tower, Cirrus found it very barebones.

"Welcome back, captain." Said one guard.

"Thank you." He nods at them while walking in.

He could feel a familiar feeling, and he put Alise down.

"Is something wrong, Dad?" Alise asked.

"… Hm. I feel Ai is around." Cirrus looks around.

"You just miss her, Dad! Come on, let's go in!" Alise tugged at his pants.

"Alright, alright. I’m coming."

He then opened the doors to find it dark. He took a step before the light turned on.

"Happy birthday!!!!" several people shouted.

"Cirrus!!!!"

"Gah!!"

Ai headbutts him to the ground.

"Happy birthday, Cirrus!" she said with her bright smile on top of him. "I just barely got here! Haku, come over and hug your father as well!"

"Ai… We are too old to keep doing this."

"Nonsense!" She gets up and extends her hand. "You still look pretty young to me!"

Cirrus grabs her hand and gets back up.

He saw Haku, 11 years old, walk up to him.

"Happy birthday, Dad! I, um, tried to tell Mom not to do that, but then she just blitzed towards you."

"It’s the thought that matters." Cirrus patted Haku’s head. "Oh, have you seen your little sister?"

Alise looked up at Haku, and he gazed at her.

"Oh, it has been a while since we met." Haku bent his knee. "Do you remember me?"

"A little," Alise remembered him vaguely when she was born.

"Well, I am Hakushika, your older brother."

"By like a minute!!" Callisto shouted.

"Shut up!" He turned his head towards Callisto. "That doesn’t lessen the fact that I am older than you!"

"Well, why don’t you two get to know one another?" Cirrus said. "The night is long, so have some fun." Cirrus looked out to see a lot of familiar faces. "I hope the damages are very minimal."

With that, the party began.

The party began, and many of the friends Cirrus made were there, from Jane to even Captain William, who brought him to Yamato.

"Hahaha!! So he threatened you!" William said.

"He had a spear to my throat. But look at me now!" Jane said.

"So how goes your business?" said Bann. "Last I heard, you were vying against the Poseidon Familia."

"We still are."

"Yup!" said Poseidon. "Gotta say he is a hell of a sailor! Bahahaha!!"

Even Bache from Telskyura, along with some of the Amazoness Kali brought with her. It was a festive day with tons of food and drinks, and there were even kids running around having fun.

"Kahahah!!" Kali laughed while drinking some alcohol. "Then he sent her flying!"

"Hahaha!!" Lance laughed. "Was that why you wanted to know if he was with us when we returned?" Lance looked at Argana.

"No! Shut up!" She said, embarrassed. "Oy! Bache, were you gonna try to get in with him?"

They looked at Bache, who was looking away.

"N-not really. His wives are really scary."

They looked at the wives, and each one was fearsome in their ways. But they have heard what Malion had to do and sort of just let her pursuit of Cirrus go.

"Was that why you went and had a kid with another guy?" Argana raised an eyebrow.

"He is a sweet guy!"

"Oh? Then were you the one to name your child—Mmph!"

"No! No!" Bache covered Kali’s mouth.

During the party, Cirrus took a moment to take in the moment. He could see friends of old friends and friends from foreign lands. He smiled warmly, having been surrounded by so much happiness.

"It has been a long journey, hasn’t it, Cirrus?" Said Hermes, coming up to him.

"It has."

The two lean against the wall in the corner.

"You know, I still remember the day I first met you." Hermes closes his eyes and remembers that day in the Room of Prayer. "Your eyes were like a cold edge, but now... well, they're warmer now."

"Really?"

"Very." Said Astraea, coming to his side. "I still remember those cold, fierce eyes behind that deer mask of yours. I asked myself, How much have you seen for such a young boy to have those eyes? It’s nice you have so much warmth around you now." She smiled at him.

"Yeah… I like this. I feel normal. Far better than those days, but there was one person to make it better."

"Yes her. I’m sure she will return one day. She did always say you two were bonded together—"

"Dad!!" Callisto comes up to Cirrus and grabs his hand. "Come! Come! We've got you something!"

She pulled Cirrus from his conversation.

"Alright, I’m coming. Lead the way. Sorry, Lord Hermes, Lady Astraea." Cirrus bows and goes where Callisto drags him.

"Hmm." Astraea looks at Callisto as the father and daughter leave. "Hermes, you don’t think she’s..."

"Who knows?" He shrugs his shoulders. "But seeing as she isn’t turning into an owl or having the same or even similar aura to her, She isn’t Nox."

"But what if the same thing happened to her as it did to Cirrus? She has the other half of Elpis."

"Then we really don’t know. When the time comes, she will come to his side."

 

Going up to one room, Cirrus opens it to find Auberon and Alise with a small box. Haku was also in the room with a larger box than his siblings.

"I’ll go first," Haku said, walking up to his father. "So um… I didn't know what to get you, so I got you this." He holds up his gift.

Cirrus picks it up and opens it to see a pair of brown boots.

"Oh boots!" Cirrus smiled.

He walked over to a chair and sat down to take a better look at them.

"I asked Mom what you would like, but she listed too many things, so I thought you would want something pract—Thud~," Cirrus took off his boots. "You're going to wear them now!?" Haku said, surprised.

"Yeah, why wouldn’t I use the gift you gave me?" He took off his boots and put on the ones Haku gave him. "Oh! They fit like a glove!"

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"It’s our turn!" said Callisto.

"Go on," said Auberon.

Alise walks up and hands him the box.

The box had their names on it.

"You three got me a gift, huh?" He gets the box.

"It took us a while, but we spent a lot of time and money on this," said Callisto. "Thankfully, the people we got really got their money’s worth! Even Haku chipped in!"

"I told them to say who their parents were so they wouldn’t try to scam them," Haku added.

"Nun-huh! You didn’t say that!" Callisto rebutted.

"He did," Auberon said.

"Yup." Alise backed him up.

"The only reason this was done so well was because we told them who our family is and the Familia."

"Whatever, just open the box, Dad!" Callisto ignores everything else and just wants her father to open the gift.

Cirrus opens his gift to find a pendant. He picks it up and opens it to find a masterful drawing of his family. It has Ai, Artemis, Malion, Ryuu, Haku, Callisto, Auberon, and Alise all in a portrait.

Seeing them all swelled his heart with joy, happiness, and various other synonyms for being happy.

His eyes widen, and tears fall.

"D-dad, are you alright?" Alise said, concerned.

"Dad!" shouted Callisto and Auberon as well.

All of his kids stand before him a bit worried. This was the first time they saw his father cry.

He, of course, taught them that there is no shame in crying; the ability to cry is there for a reason to express and process emotions. Be it sadness, anger, or joy, crying is as natural as breathing is.

"I'm… I’m fine." He had a sweet smile. "Sniff. Thank you." He opened up his arms and hugged all four of them.

"D-dad?" said Auberon.

"Um… Are you okay?" Haku said.

He hugs them tightly in his arms.

"I love you kids... thank you."

They looked at one another, and they hugged him as tightly as they could.

"Love you too, Dad," Haku said, hugging him tightly.

"I love you more, Dad!" Callisto boldly said, hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Dad!" Auberon said, hugging him firmly.

"Happy birthday, Dad!!" Alise said, hugging him as tightly as she could.

They remain there for a while.

Cirrus soaks all of this in as if to remember this scene by searing it into his mind and body.

 

A bit later, when the party died down.

"Haku," Alise said to her older brother.

"Hm? What’s up, Alise?"

"How long are you gonna stay in Orario?"

"Ah well… about one more day, I have school and... well, yeah. My ride is the Poseidon Familia, so..."

"Then can I sleep in your room?"

Her proposition didn’t really surprise him. They are family.

"Of course." He nods. "Anything for my little sister."

"!!" Her eyes shone brightly. "Can Calli and Auby join too? I want us all to sleep together!"

"Uhh…" He remembers how small his bed was here. "I don’t think my bed is big enough?"

Haku also remembers the early days when he and Callisto shared a bed. She was rough.

"Don’t worry about that! Calli!! Auby!!" Alise rushed to get her siblings.

"Welp, guess that happened." Haku looked over to his mom, who linked her arms with his father. "Mom said she would be staying the week with Dad. Hm."

"Thank you for making her day," Ryuu said, coming up beside him. "She has been talking about this to me for weeks."

"Oh, hello, Aunty— What are they calling you? Or do you want me to call you Mom?" Haku looked at Ryuu. "Sorry about not going to your wedding."

"Callisto called me Liom. After my surname, Lion. It’s fine, Haku; I know you had stuff to do."

Haku felt pretty bad for not going.

"Sorry again. But the name Calli gave you isn’t that good."

"Considering Artemis is Moomah, Ai is Fom, and Malion is Mama, mine is..." She leaned over to him. "It can be better."

"Did Calli change what she called Moon Mom?"

"She did. She keeps thinking of better names. Personally, Moomah and Mama are really good."

"They are good." A question surfaced at the top of Haku’s head. "Hey Liom, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, ask away." Ryuu nods.

"Has Moomah kept treating Callisto like her child?"

"You know Artemis has a shine for her."

"I know, but we are twins pretty much. Yet Moomah spends more time with Callisto than her actual mom?"

"A preference. I would know; I have several older siblings myself. I was not the favorite."

"So you guys do have favorites!" Haku pointed at her.

"Between you and me, Haku." Ryuu got in close. "We like our children the most since Artemis can have any; she picked Callisto to dote on and nurture." She leaned back.

"Okay…" He understood why Artemis cared for Callisto so much. "So who is Dad’s favorite?"

"He doesn’t have any. He loves you all very deeply. But he does like some specific traits from your four."

"Like what?"

"He loves your independence and maturity. With you around, he knows your siblings will be fine. He loves Callisto’s love for him, but it is also something he doesn’t like as it becomes overbearing at times. He worries about her future."

"I can see that."

"He loves Auberon’s empathy and his art. He is happy with whatever path he takes in life but is worried that his soft nature will come back to bite him one day. He loves Alise’s energy; she moves around so much it’s a bit dizzying at times."

"Hmm..." Haku nods. "Can I also ask you why you and Dad are so serious about the expeditions?"

Ryuu took a moment to phrase her words.

"Because our fellow sisters-in-arms are down there."

"?" Haku raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Haku, even after marrying your father, I still did not convert. I take a week off so I can go and meet with my goddess, Lady Astraea. Many years ago, your father was also part of the Familia but left for your mother’s homeland. While he was away, the whole Familia was killed, with me as the sole survivor."

"I…" Haku's lips fell. "I am sorry."

"To this day, we are working to go and get their bodies."

"But shouldn’t they have been—"

"Haku." Ryuu cut him off. She put her hand on his shoulder. "There will be a time when you will learn more of this. Today is not that day."

A secret as to why the Familia goes on expeditions so much.

"Fine. I’ll just have to bide my time so I can help you guys."

 

Room of Prayer, six days later.

"Lord Ouranos…" Royman said it with a solemn expression.

Ouranos’ expression darkened.

"Is it as we feared?"

"Yes." He lowers his head. "We have confirmation from the other Guilds around the continent. The Black Beast, the Behemoth, has returned with a purple-dark flame."

"Haa~" Ouranos closed his eyes and focused. "I wished this was just old age." With his Arcanum and duty as the watcher of Gekai, he fine-tuned his senses to detect three great powers radiating into Gekai. The powers were refined and growing, yet they did not give off a wave that would cause Rifts to form. They gave off the same feeling as humans when in a large group.  There was only one explanation of how. "The flame has survived and mutated, evolved to escape the gods, my notice, from its previous defeat, and given life to that which humanity distains... Give word to all other Guild locations to monitor the Behemoth. We will need to send people to the sea off the shores of Yamato."

"And... what of the Black Dragon?" Sweat dripped down the elf’s face to form a pool under him.

"It most likely has been emboldened by the flame. Get ready Royman, the city will soon wake up to this."

 

The strings of fate have strummed their cords.

The hero must take to the stage and put on a show no one will forget.

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