Homecoming

Oga City, East District, Mitchell Blacksmith Shop.

When Andres returned home, the shop doors were wide open.

It was nearing evening, almost time to close for the day.

There were few customers in the shop. Andres's mother, Helen, was holding an adorable child and teasing him happily.

Beside Helen stood two women, one about the same age as Helen, while the other was much younger, only in her twenties or thirties.

"Mother."

Andres stepped through the shop door.

Hearing his voice, Helen's cheerful expression froze as she played with the child. Then she turned and saw Andres standing in the doorway.

"Huh?" Helen's eyes widened. She seemed to think she had seen wrong and examined Andres carefully.

"Oh?" Helen looked excited, yet unable to believe it.

"Ah!" Helen finally confirmed that this was her eldest son, whom she had not seen in years, and cried out.

"Old man! Old man! Come out quickly! Our son is back!"

Helen handed the child to the woman around her age, then ran excitedly toward Andres and hugged him tightly.

"Our son is back, so why are you shouting? Why did that brat Alex come back so early today?"

Raul complained as he walked in from the backyard. The moment he saw Andres, he froze too.

His eyes reddened slightly and his cheeks twitched, but he quickly restrained himself. Snorting, he cursed under his breath, "You brat, you still remembered to come home!"

"Mr. Mitchell, Mrs. Mitchell, is he Andres?" the woman about Helen's age asked in confusion as she looked at Andres.

"Yes! Yes! He's my eldest son." Helen was already crying, her voice choked with sobs.

"Oh my, congratulations! You haven't reunited in many years, have you?" the woman said with a smile.

"Yes, it's been six years."

Helen took Andres's hand and introduced them. "Son, this is Mrs. Joseph. That is her daughter, and these two children are her grandchildren. The Joseph family runs a clothing store not far from our home."

"Hello!" Andres greeted the two women with a smile.

He suddenly remembered that Helen had mentioned the Joseph family to him before.

That had been six years ago, after he returned from Black Mountain City, when the family had discussed his marriage.

At the time, Helen had hoped that Andres would marry the Joseph family's daughter.

Six years later, that daughter of the Joseph family was not only married, but already had two children.

"Haha, it's rare for your family to be reunited. We won't disturb you any longer. We'll come by another day!" Mrs. Joseph left with her daughter and grandchildren.

"Andres, why did you suddenly come back?" Raul asked.

As soon as he said that, Helen became unhappy. "What kind of question is that? Is it bad for our son to come home?"

Raul glared. "That's not what I meant! But Andres is helping Marquis Inori manage her territory. If he left without permission and angered Marquis Inori, that would mean serious trouble!"

"Father, don't worry. Miss Inori knows I came back this time. There won't be any trouble," Andres said.

"That's good." Raul let out a long breath. "Andres, Marquis Inori is at the height of her power right now. Work hard and strive to earn her favor."

Andres smiled. He was just about to explain that he no longer needed to rely on Inori, but before he could speak, Helen said irritably to Raul, "What favor? I only hope he won't have to go back to Iron Mountain Town and can stay in Oga City so our family can be together."

"Hmph, women know nothing," Raul said disdainfully.

Helen ignored Raul and looked at Andres. "Son, don't listen to your father. You must be hungry, right? I'll make you something to eat!"

"Mother, there's no need. Let's go out to eat as a family."

"Go out to eat? That works too. It's rare for you to come home, so we should celebrate. Alex should be back soon as well," Helen said.

Raul said to Andres, "Alex has done well too. He's already joined the Kingdom Knights. He has to train every day and only comes home at night."

"Father, my younger brother told me in his letters."

Andres chatted with his parents, and before long, they heard footsteps outside.

Alex walked through the door wearing the Platinum White Armor of the Kingdom Knights.

"Brother!"

The moment Alex saw Andres, he shouted in surprise and rushed over.

The two brothers embraced tightly.

"Brother, why are you back? Why didn't you send word in advance? If I'd known you were coming home, I would've asked the captain for leave."

"I only just got back myself."

"Enough. Your brother hasn't even eaten since coming home. Whatever you want to say, we can talk while we eat," Helen said.

"Right, then let's go out for dinner tonight!" Alex said excitedly.

Raul laughed. "Your brother said the same thing."

Helen said, "Let's go to Old Charlie's Restaurant. Their stew is excellent, and the prices are fair!"

Old Charlie's Restaurant was in the East District, not too far from the Mitchell Family home.

Andres said, "No, Mother. Let's eat on Tulip Avenue."

"Tulip Avenue?" Alex and the others were all startled.

Tulip Avenue was Oga City's famous luxury street.

If Oga Avenue was where royalty and nobles lived, then Tulip Avenue was where nobles went for their daily spending.

The Oga Kingdom's most expensive clothing stores, restaurants, jewelry shops, and more were all on Tulip Avenue.

A single meal there could easily cost over a hundred gold coins.

An ordinary person's annual living expenses, meanwhile, were only a few dozen gold coins.

Although the Mitchell Family's life had improved greatly compared to before, they had never once eaten on Tulip Avenue.

Hearing Andres say that, Alex immediately patted his chest and declared grandly, "Fine, we'll go to Tulip Avenue today! Brother, I'm a member of the Kingdom Knights now. This meal is on me!"

Andres smiled. "You brat, as long as I'm here, it's not your turn to pay."

He looked at Raul and Helen. "Come on, Father, Mother. Don't worry. From now on, our family will never have to worry about gold coins again."

Instead of looking happy at Andres's words, Raul and Helen looked worried.

"Son, what happened?" Raul asked.

Andres's words made it sound as though he had suddenly become rich, and they worried that their son had done something improper.

"Father, Mother, don't overthink it. My gold coins are completely clean," Andres said with a smile, putting an arm around each of them.

"Come on. I'll explain everything to you slowly."

The old couple remained half-convinced, half-doubtful as they followed Andres outside.

The family hired a carriage and headed toward Tulip Avenue.