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After putting the eyepatch on and dressing myself, I decided to go meet my parents. They came here from the distant northern village after hearing about my injury, so I felt pretty apologetic. I had to at least show them that I was doing well to relax them.

“Good morning, mom, dad.”

I entered the room they were in and greeted them. I saw the two moving about restlessly inside while Hastur was trying to calm them down. Seeing me enter, Maria and Lyell stiffened for a moment, and then attacked me with an intense hug.

I accepted Maria’s embrace while kicking Lyell’s face away.

“Nicole, you’re looking all better!”
“Yea, sorry for making you worry, mom.”
“Wait, Nicole, I can’t accept this treatment! Let me hug you too! I demand a father and daughter emotional hug!”

Lyell exclaimed in sadness, having my sole planted on his face and unable to come any closer. But this and that was different. I’d rather avoid being hugged by a guy even during convalescence. I did feel bad for him, but still.

“More importantly, what’s with that eyepatch? Did one eye not regain its sight?”
“That’s not it. It seems I received an unnecessary ability, so this is for suppressing it.”
“I see, then it’s all good.”
“No, it’s not! Why are you saying that too Maria! I wanna hug Nicole too! With all my strength!”
“She’ll die so just give it a rest.”

Maria dismissed his appeal with one sentence. As expected, Maria was cut above him, or perhaps Lyell was being dominated. That said, I felt a bit too bad about it, so once Maria released me from her hug, I made Lyell lower his head and gave him a light hug.

It felt good being embraced by Maria’s voluptuous body, but I couldn’t just keep drowning in the sensation forever.

“It seems I made you worried too, dad.”
“You did, Nicole… But you’re fine now, right?”
“Yes. That Whitey is an even bigger expert of Magic than Maxwell.”
“I see, I’m glad… I’m so glad!”

He put his burly arms around me and hugged me tightly. I felt a wet sensation on my chest, so he was probably crying. His shaky words were proof of that.

“Uhh, sorry for disturbing your emotional moment, but how is that eyepatch?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s surprisingly not bad at all. It fits perfectly so it shouldn’t come off even if I move a lot. Having my vision limited is one fault though.”
“Just think of the limited vision as part of your training. Do you have a headache or dizziness? Or do you feel any stress on your optic nerves?”
“No, no problems. It feels like wearing an ordinary eyepatch.”
“I see. It’s sealing a Gift, so there might be some strain. Contact me immediately if you feel anything is off. Maxwell should be able to carry you to my home.”
“I’ve… I mean, I can use teleportation magic now too.”

I almost used manly speech, but Maria and Lyell were here so that would be bad.

“You may be unable to teleport due to dizziness or headache. I’m just saying not to push yourself.”
“I see, okay.”
“Lord Lyell, Lady Maria. I brought breakfast.”

As I nodded, Finia entered the room with the breakfast tray in her hands. Though she brought it, she hasn’t made it herself. This was an inn, so she couldn’t use the kitchen without permission. She probably just brought the meal she asked the inn staff to make.

She only called Maria and Lyell’s names, but she ordered everyone’s portion. She wouldn’t make a mistake in that regard.

“Thank you, Finia. You’re as thoughtful as always.”
“Not at all.”

She looked a little shy, but she briskly set the table in the room. It was a long time since she met Lyell and Maria, being praised made her feel a little bashful.

“More importantly, can you tell us now? Just who, how, and why would anyone injure you like that?”

Maria’s question was rightful.

Besides, I also thought I had to tell them about Kufar. It didn’t only involve me but Cortina too, after all.

He clearly targeted Cortina three years ago. She escaped danger because he encountered me before her, but the thought of what would have happened if that hadn’t been the case made me shiver.

Besides, I had Michelle and Finia with me too. If they were targeted as well, I alone wouldn’t be able to protect everyone. Moreover, there was the existence of the Slime body part that could move without the core. Even Lyell could be in danger if he took a surprise attack from it. Because unlike me, he wasn’t very skilled in evasion. His true worth was maintaining the front line using his resilience against attacks.

I had to let everyone know, so I said I’d talk once Michelle and Cloud were here too, so I went to wake them up. And once everyone was gathered, I started to tell what happened.

About him being a Disease Slime. That he could control parts of his body separated from his core. That he once aimed for Cortina and came to get involved with Cloud this time. I explained everything I could while omitting things about me.

“So that guy injured you like that…”

Lyell spoke while audibly grinding his teeth. Maria had her gentle smile, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all. But more than that…

“Lyell, I’ll be the one to take that guy down. I’m not going to hand him over to you.”

Cortina declared with unusual bloodlust. But Lyell protested too.

“She’s my daughter. He’s mine.”
“Then whoever gets to him first.”
“You’re on.”

As the three were giving off such threatening vibes, unexpectedly, Cloud joined in too.

“Master Lyell, sorry—but I’ll be the one to take him down first.”
“What?”
“He aimed for me and injured my comrade. No way I’m forgiving that.”

Lyell gazed in surprise at Cloud who couldn’t suppress his bloodlust. His expression was different from the time he was Lyell’s disciple.

“Fine then. You’re part of the race.”
“I won’t lose!”

Lyell pushed out his fist, which Cloud met with his own. Like this, Kufar ended up making enemies out of people he should not have.