...

Bang!

After a long time of waiting, Shin and the others finally saw Arthur emerge from the dark vortex.

"Finally!" muttered Leonard with a sigh after seeing Arthur. But at the same time, he also couldn't help himself but do a double-take at the latter when he sensed that the air surrounding him suddenly changed. "Tsk! This guy eats something good once again."

Despite Leonard's quiet voice, Arthur seemed to hear his words and immediately refuted them. "What are you talking about!? You are saying that I'm a gluttonous pet that becomes healthier after eating something nutritious. I'm not a pig! Dammit!"

The group started laughing out loud the moment they heard the exchange. And after hearing them bicker each other for a few more moments, Shin finally shook his head and said. "Alright! That's enough for now. How about we head back now and have some rest?"

Hearing that, the group immediately nodded their heads and prepared to leave. But before Shin and the others could activate their Teleportation Scrolls, Daulla suddenly walked forward and said. "Ahm… Wait."

Shin and the others stopped themselves from crushing their teleportation scrolls before turning their heads towards Daulla.

"Why? Don't tell us you already chance your mind at joining us?" asked Leonard in a joking manner after seeing Daulla's tensed face.

Hearing that, Daulla suddenly panicked for misunderstanding those words. "Eh!? No, we are not thinking of backing out from our words! We're just-… Ahm…"

Pfft!

Seeing her flustered look, the group started laughing once again before having an urged to tease him.

"It is rare to see Leonard tease someone not close to him. And a fine lady at that," said Cloe while giggling.

"Tsk! You should limit being together with Arthur, Leo. I think you are starting to get corrupted," comment Shin from the side which made the others laugh even more.

And due to being too overwhelmed by them, Daulla panicked a little more as she didn't know whether to cry or continue what she was trying to say earlier.

Seeing that, Archimedes couldn't take it any longer and butted in. "I thought we already had enough of fooling around? So, how about hearing us for now?"

The group immediately shut their mouths after hearing the serious tone of Archimedes' words.

"Sorry about that. I think I'm the one that is being influenced by these three idiots," said Cloe with an embarrassed smile before asking. "So, what is it that you want to discuss?"

In response, Archimedes turned his head towards Daulla, waiting for her to recover herself. And it didn't take long for her to regain her composure before continuing what she was saying earlier. "Ahm… we know that we are going to stay in your main Kingdom since it is going to be the base of our operation-..."

She trailed her words due to some hesitation but she immediately continued after seeing Archimedes nodded his head. "But we can't follow you there immediately as we got a follow-up quest after we killed both Garuda and the Serpent King."

"So, we want to ask for your permission for the two of us to stay here until we are done with our quest," she added with a voice that was becoming quieter with each word that came out from her mouth.

Hearing that, Cloe exchanged glances with the other members of the group before laughing alongside them once again. But at the same time, they immediately stopped before Daulla could even misunderstand their laughter.

"What's with that look? And you also don't have to ask our permission about this kind of matter since we clearly tell you that we are not going to restrict your freedom even after you join our team," said Cloe with a smile.

"Just being present during special events such as Boss and Dungeon raids alongside some expeditions are more than enough for us. We are also busy guys just like you, so we understand your situation," said Shin chucklingly.

"But giving us the head-ups is not a bad thing either," he added before resuming to activate his teleportation scroll.

Seeing that, the others immediately followed suit with Cloe being the last.

"Ah! And be sure to wrap everything up since we are planning to have a brief meet and greet when all of the members of the team gather together," she said while waving at the two.

Meanwhile, Daulla and Archimedes stared blankly at the spot where the group disappeared after being left behind. Then they exchanged looks with each other before wearing a bitter smile on their faces.

"They still have some members?" muttered Daulla before recalling how strong each member of the group was. "With that kind of lineup, it's still not their full strength?"

On the other hand, Archimedes patted Daulla's shoulder to wake her up from her imagination. "Let's go, we still have a lot of things to do."

************

Meanwhile, Shin and the gang went to do their own thing after arriving back in the Saint Heaven Kingdom.

Cloe went to the Church of Light, saying that she was summoned by the archbishop who was overseeing the branch in the Saint Heaven Kingdom. And since she also had some things that she needed to report, it was a good chance for her to visit the church now.

Arthur and Leonard dragged Chaotic Luck to the Battle Arena of Calderock Town, where Shin built his special training room. Those two said that they were planning to train the 'Solaris Lich' to improve his battle prowess.

Hearing that, Shin could only nod his head since he still had to prepare some things for the promotion of the Town. This matter was being dragged longer and longer due to the recent events that happened.

Alongside it, there were also some side quests that kept on being delayed since he was too busy at the moment.

Given that, he split up with the others while praying for Chaotic Luck's soul. "I hope those two don't torture this poor soul too much. I'm now starting to feel worried that he will leave after being bullied a lot by them."

After that, he immediately went to the Mayor's Residence to listen to Ribbit's reports. And the session made Shin grief once again due to the long list of expenses that the NPC showed him.

Moreover, he also had to listen to the reports regarding the future progress of the town, which was also about to be promoted into a city.

Hu~!

"So, what's only left on the table is our negotiation with Big Sis. Tsk!" muttered Shin as he walked back to his room after his meeting with Ribbit.

He then lied on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few moments before taking a look at the digital clock to check the time in the real world. "Eh!? Is it still too early? Should I log out now and have a few hours of sleep?"

He thought for a few moments before deciding to log out of the time in the end.

...…

A few moments after Shin woke up from his short sleep, he immediately did his usual daily routine before heading down from his room to prepare their breakfast.

After walking down the stairs, he was immediately greeted by the rowdy living room as the entire gang in the real world was gathered in their house once again. Well, aside from David, Jerimiah, and Vincent who seemed to be nowhere to be found.

Understanding what he was thinking, Leonard immediately walked over to his side before whispering. "The cousin duo already left early in the morning since they still have a lot of things to do for their application for the academy. I'm not sure about your senior brother, but he also left alongside those two earlier."

"Moreover, they also said that they are going to feel out of place if they join us in breakfast along with the girls. So, they said they will look for a good place to eat outside instead," he added before running back to Arthur who was already preparing a chess board. "Wait! I'll take white this time!"

Seeing that, the corner of Shin's mouth couldn't help but twitch before muttering to himself. "These muscleheads playing an intellectual game? I don't know if it is a good matchup or just plain idiocy."

Meanwhile, the girls finally noticed Shin after seeing Leonard running from his side.

Cloe smiled and waved after him before turning her attention back to the chessboard where Arthur and Leonard started moving a couple of moves successively. And after seeing their moves, she could no longer suppress her laughter before making fun of the two who were acting like professional players for moving their pieces so fast.

"Oh, Shin! We are here to freeload some breakfast again! I hope you don't mind!" said Lorraine right after seeing Shin.

"Nah~! It's fine," replied Shin in a nonchalant manner before turning his head to the other girls.

As usual, Shiella was already burying herself with the reports on her virtual screen early in the morning while Alice was also keeping herself busy with a couple of online magazines on her own virtual screen.

Looking at the lively scene made him remember some long-forgotten events of his past. But quickly after that, he shook his head to shake off that thought before heading towards the kitchen to prepare something good for their breakfast.

But before he could even step into the kitchen, everyone present in the room suddenly received a message on their respective Advance Watch.

After reading the contents of the message, Shin's lips suddenly curved into a grin before muttering with a quiet yet excited voice. "So, it's finally time."

...…