"Welcome, the King and Queen of Haegia..."

Hearing that voice, Markos looks around and then looks at Paulo and Helena for a moment. He then looks at Romain and asks as he points at Paulo and Helena,

"Wait... King and Queen of Haegia... Don't say it was them?"

"You will know it soon, right?" jokes Romain as Markos still show his disbelief.

The old man voice then continues,

"Sir Paulo Estrudiantes and Lady Helena Estrudiantes, welcome to my mansion. Please enter my home from the opened door. And then..."

The voice paused for a moment and says,

"Volya Portar, Romain Ambros, Gracia Ravelli, and Markos Luis... Please come on in, too..."

Paulo and Helena immediately walk to the door. They are followed by the other four. While walking pa.s.sed the door, Volya could see that Markos started to sweat after he knew the truth about Helena and Paulo. Even before he could say something, all of them are amazed at the room that they are entering now.

In the middle of the room, an old man around 50 years old with blonde hair is sitting on the chair. He is wearing a white s.h.i.+rt with brown pants and wearing a monocle. Seeing the visitor already gathered in his room, he started to stand up, bows at them, and says,

"Welcome, King and Queen of Haegia at my humble house. And for you too, young adventurer. My name is Thomas Gill, one of the Royal Mage from Ostonorid."

"The honour is mine, Sir Gill," answered Paulo as he bows at him

The other members are following Paulo and bow in front of Thomas together. After that, Thomas says,

"Please follow me, Sir and Lady Estrudiantes. Sir Brigandy and Our Gracious Lord King Anderson are waiting for you on the second floor,"

Hearing that, Markos' skin starts to become pale. Even though he has already become an adventurer for many years, this is the first time in his life to see and hear two kings from different kingdoms gathered and have a talk.

When Thomas is talking to Paulo and Helena, Markos looks quite scared with the situation, while Romain and Volya look quite normal for such a situation. Rather they are focused on the surrounding to make sure that nothing will cause harm for their King and Queen.

And at that moment, Volya could see that Gracia was looking at the bookshelf near them. He could see that most of the book is about low until mid-tier magic that is usually used by many mages. And Gracia looks intrigued to see one of them.

When Gracia starts to move, Volya, who stands right beside her, nudges her and gives her a signal.

'Please calm down for a moment... I know the book is interesting, but we need to show our manner first.'

Gracia looks at Volya and nods at him. She then looks at Thomas and sometimes at the bookshelf.

Thomas didn't miss that action and started to smile at Volya and Gracia. He then says,

"I will lead the King and Queen to the room above. The four of you could stay in this room for a moment."

He then peeks at Volya and Gracia and says,

"And if you want to, you could read the book from the bookshelf, young lady."

Gracia is quite surprised and she starts to blush from embarra.s.sment. Thomas laughs a bit and then starts to lead Paulo and Helena to the second floor.

Volya then says,

"At least he already gives us permission to read,"

"Yes..." said Gracia as she nods weakly with a blushed face

Volya laughs a bit at Gracia and then he feels someone is dragging him. He then feels someone is embracing him around his neck. He then looks beside him and could see Romain also got the same fate. The one who embraces them is Markos.

Markos takes a deep breath and says,

"So... For the last one week... I am talking casually with a queen... A queen from another kingdom."

"Yes," answer Romain

"And all of you already hide that fact?" asked Markos

"Yes, we are..." answer Volya

"As Helena's order to all of us," continues Romain

"And I called her casually as if nothing matters..." said Markos

"Well... If we called her 'Your Highness', she definitely will kick our a.s.s," jokes Volya

"And... The reason she is missing for several years because... She is already married to the King of Haegia..."

"About that... ask Romain..." said Volya as he pointed at Romain

"Sure... Maybe I could answer that question," replied Romain

Both Volya and Romain laugh together until they feel the grip become stronger. They peek a bit at Markos and they could see a scared face. He then says while trembling with fear,

"What if... The King doesn't like it? What if they will be punished for every word that I said..."

Romain and Volya look at each other and then pat Markos' hand. Markos suddenly feels someone tugs his cloth and sees Gracia is smiling at him. Gracia then says,

"Don't worry... Big Sister Helena will not punish you nor Big Brother Paulo,"

"Are you sure about that?" said Markos

"Yes," said Gracia as she smiles widely

Markos starts to sob and then says,

"Please stay pure like this, Gracia..."

"Ah... Eh... Okay?" said Gracia as she shows a puzzled face

Both Volya and Romain start to laugh again and this time Markos is a bit mad at them. Romain then proceeds to explain a brief history that he knows about Paulo and Helena's past, he even mentions Ludmila working as a knight at Haegia. Hearing that Markos was quite surprised and then asked him more questions.

At that time, Volya smiles at them and notices Gracia is holding a book. She is looking at the book, then at Volya, and then at the book again. She then points at the book and says,

"I can't read it..."

"Eh?"

"I... Can't read it... It's really hard..."

"Could I see it?"

Gracia gave the book to Volya and they tried to read the book together. When Volya reads it, he also can't read it. Volya looks at Gracia and starts to say,

"I'm sorry... But, I can't read it too..."

"Is that so..." said Gracia as she also tried to read it

"To begin with what is this alphabet?"

"That alphabet is Thoran Language, the ancient language used by the early tribe that once lived at the south part of Therious Island," explained someone with a soft voice

Both of them were quite surprised and they could see Thomas standing behind them. He smiles gently at them and then continues,

"It's rare to see two young mages that aren't affiliated with any big magus family, yet they still show interest to pursue magic."

Volya and Gracia look at each other and then they hear Thomas remember something. He then snaps his finger and Volya could see a glimpse of a magic circle on Thomas' finger. Thomas was quite surprised when Volya was startled and looking at his hand, but his surprise changed to a smile.

Not long after that, four cups flew in front of the four guests in the room. Thomas then bow at them and says,

"Let me introduce both of you myself, my name is Thomas Gill, the leader of Gill Family and member of the Royal Mage."

Hearing that Volya and Gracia bow at him and they introduce themselves one by one,

"My name is Volya Portar, a mage from Haegia and an adventurer. It's an honour to meet you, Sir Thomas."

"My... My name is Gracia Ravelli, a mage from Haegia... and an adventurer... It's an honour to meet you!"

Thomas smiles at them and then looks at Volya. At the same time, Romain and Markos looking at their direction and Romain start to ask Markos,

"Will it be fine for them..."

"Maybe..."

"Then, we only need to watch, right?"

"Yes..."

Thomas overheard their conversation and smiled at them. Romain and Markos immediately notice the sign and look surprised with that. But, they comply with Thomas' request where he wants to have a little chat with Volya and Gracia alone.

Thomas then looks again at Volya and says,

"Portar... That's a name that I haven't heard for a long time."

"Eh?"

"And I know that he only has one child back then, a child with silver hair and a stiff face. Just like the child mother."

"..."

"Yet, I never know that he had another child. Maybe you are a different Portar family than I know."

"..."

"Could you kindly tell me who your father is?"

Volya looks at Thomas and then answered,

"I never remember about my father as he is the one that sold me to become a slave with my sister,"

"Oh... A different..." said Thomas that is interrupted by Volya

"But, I could tell about my foster father name Damien Portar and also my foster brother Dimitru Portar,"

"Foster father? Ah... So, he adopts you."

"Yes, he is."

"Is it because he bought you as a slave in the past?"

Thomas looks at Volya's hand and Volya only smiles. He then says,

"I believe it's really rude to ask such a question, Sir Thomas."

"Ohohoho... I'm sorry, young man. It's just the old habit of mine," answered Thomas, smiling and bowing a bit at Volya.

"But because you ask me and apologize, I will let it slide. After all, when I see you, I know that you are a wise and kind man,"

"You flutter me a bit, young man."

Volya then lifts his right arms and shows the mark of a slave. He then continues,

"Rather than bought me, he brings me freedom. He releases me from the shackles that bind me and save everyone at that time,"

"Hoo... Let me guess, he attacks the slave camp?" asks Thomas

"Yes, he is,"

"It's indeed something that I could expect from him. From one of the greatest mages that is well-known in reusing the residual mana of the world and use it for himself. The person that is loved by the world."

Volya looks in awe after hearing the praise to his late foster father from Thomas' mouth. Thomas then stops for a moment and then asks Volya,

"Then, could you tell me... What happens to him? Is he still alive?"

"Unfortunately, someone murders him..." answer Volya

"My... That's too bad..." replied Thomas with a dejected face

Volya shakes his head and then says,

"Please don't show that face... My father always said that he was already happy with his life and enjoys everything about it. He always said to smile when remembering him,"

"Indeed... Something that he will say in his deathbed" replied Thomas

Thomas then asks a bit about what Damien Portar has done after meeting with Volya, and Volya happily tells everything about him. After he finishes telling his story, Thomas nods and then looks at Gracia.

Thomas then walks at her and smiles a bit. He then continues,

"The old you already died, and you reborn as a new person..."

"Eh?"

"The Smiling Angel of Death..."

The other three looked surprised and startled after hearing that question. Even Gracia's skin becomes a bit pale. She then asks Thomas,

"How you could... know..."

"Sir Damien once taught me how to differentiate between each residual mana in the world. From there, I could see the original owner of the mana..."

"..."

"And the residual mana that emits from The Smiling Angel of Death is identical with you,"

"What if..."

"What if there is someone who has the same residual mana type as yours? Unfortunately, that will never happen. Just think that the residual mana is like your fingerprint. No one has the same fingerprint,"

"..."

Thomas then looks at Volya and says,

"And I believe you know about it, and before she takes his job as an adventurer, you put it into your consideration,"

"You are... almost right..." answer Volya

"Unfortunately, the mage that could read the residual mana is indeed rare..."

"Eh?"

"So, you could say that she is safe for now. As far I know, she is a new person now..."

Thomas then walks to Gracia and pats her head. He smiles at Gracia and then asks her,

"Then... You must be the daughter of Theresa Ravelli, am I right?"

"Eh? You know... Mother's name?" answer Gracia with a surprised face

"Of course, she is well-known as the mage that is chasing for the magic artefact..."

Gracia looks at Thomas and then asks him about her mother a bit. Thomas smiles at her and then he nods. He then tells her that her mother is someone who loves to talk about the magic artefact until she met Gracia's father. Everything is fine for her until her husband died and her mind becomes a bit twisted.

Volya, Romain, and Markos could hear the sadness from Thomas' voice and they tried to act calmly. That's when Thomas continues that at least he knows that she does it for love. In the end, he asks her,

"Then, what happens with your mother?"

"She is killed..." answer Gracia immediately

Thomas was a bit surprised after hearing that answer and he also surprised to see Gracia's wrath shown on her eyes. Before Thomas could say anything, Volya suddenly closes Gracia's eye from the back and says,

"Come on... Don't show such a face..."

The surprised Gracia immediately move her head to hit Volya and says,

"Mooo... Volya... Don't do it..."

"Ahahahahaha... Now it's better..."

Gracia immediately pouts at Volya, while Thomas was quite surprised to see that. But he immediately laughs a bit.

Both Volya and Gracia are a bit surprised to see that until Thomas said,

"It seems you are the catalyst to stop her, huh?"

Both Volya and Gracia look at each other and they smile at each other after hearing that. They nod at Thomas with Thomas continues,

"I'm terribly sorry for the rude question to both of you."

"Ah... That's alright. We know that you will not do any harm for us... Rather only curious about us..." answer Volya

Thomas chuckles a bit at Volya, and then his face changes to a serious one. His tone also has changed when he asks his last question,

"Then... What about both of you becomes my pupil and joins our kingdom at Ostonorid?"