Chapter 3367 Still Home (Part 2) "You and I practiced in the tower, but that was our real home." Menadion said. "And it still is! I can't believe I've been home all this time without knowing it!" Solus hugged her mother, making her feel guilty. The more time they spent together, the more Ripha realized how much happier Solus was compared to Epphy. As Elina, Solus, and Ripha, walked toward Lutia, Kamila stood by Lith's side with a guilty look on her face. "Do you mind if I invite Zin over and leave you here?" She asked. "We haven't seen each other since the day of the attack and it would be nice to spend a bit of time alone without children around." "No problem." Lith shook his head. "Have fun. You deserve it." After her marriage to Lith, Kamila had very few friends left. Taking a sabbatical from work to look after Elysia had made things worse, making her lose contact with most of them. On top of that, ever since Lith had been rescued, Kamila had never left his side to make sure he would fully recover from both his physical and mental scars. "My liege?" Varegrave raised his hand. "The Blood Desert is always wonderful but we are people of the Kingdom. I request permission to take my family for a picnic." "Don't ask, just go." Lith replied. "Why a picnic and not a restaurant and some shopping? You do have money, remember?" His Demons still received their pay as army officials and had been rewarded for their deeds during the War of the Griffons. "Actually, I got tired of fancy food." Varegrave's wife said. "They always stuff us with delicacies at the Overlord Palace and my family misses my cooking. As for the shopping, we've got so many clothes I needed a dimensional amulet just for them." Salaark was a generous host and treated all members of Lith's retinue as family, showering them with gifts. The rest of the Demons took their leave as well. Valia went to Lutia with Elina while Locrias decided that after being surrounded by sand and luxuries for so long, a bit of dirt and green were nice for a change. Soon Lith was completely alone. Elysia and Valeron had calmed down enough to be left in Tyris' care, away from their parents. 'Ripha is right. Things really have changed around here. Lith moved along the paved road that lay where only pebbles and mud once existed. He could almost see the old trail in the grass created by the farmers' carriages during their trips to Lutia to buy tools, look for Nana's help, and rarely buy white bread. The once open fields were now plowed into orderly squares, the weeds and tall grass replaced by all kinds of crops. Lith turned back to look at his home, recalling the time when it was made of wood and he had to walk for hundreds of meters to reach the closest house. Now it was a large two-story high stone cottage that cobblestone paths connected to Lith's neighbours. I can't believe I miss all that empty, depressing space. He thought. 'Even weirder, I miss Zinya's old house. They never rebuilt it after-' A sudden bump cut him short. With his mass, Lith experienced no pain, let alone discomfort, but the surprise startled him. It was really hard to catch him off guard, unless his head was lost in the past, of course. "Watch it, you idiot. Don't you know who I am?" A young angry voice said, but Lith failed to find its source. At least until he looked down on the ground. Like many other nobles, after the King's broadcast about the return of the Forge Magus, Baron Lestrame was taking a tour of the noble part of Lutia, the area called "The Verhens". He was looking for a plot of land to buy in order to build a country house that would give his family the opportunity to establish a friendly relationship with the two only Magi in the Kingdom. Lestrame had been looking for an empty area, big enough for a noble house but far away from the stink of cattle, when he had absentmindedly crashed against a brute. The farmer was big, but his humble clothes betrayed his status. I'd had him whipped, if not for the fact that Verhen treasures his farmhands. My father will kill me if I cause any trouble and he starts things with Verhen on the wrong foot.' The young Baron thought. His gold-embroidered frilly silk clothes were worthy of the Royal Court whereas the brute wore a loose white shirt and brown linen pants. "That and because I've crossed doors narrower than his shoulders. The nobleman swallowed a lump of saliva. The brute had the rough hands of a worker and was very tall. What scared Lestrame the most, however, were his empty cold eyes. There was no fear or shame for dirtying a noble, just the indifference of someone finally noticing the pebble he has stumbled upon. "I don't." The brute replied with a voice that matched his eyes. "Watch where you walk, kid." "Kid? I-" The outrage from being called like that by someone clearly younger than him died in Lestrame's throat when the brute grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and put him back on his feet as if he weighed nothing. "Is that guy bothering you, Lith?" A shorter, dirtier brute carrying a shovel over his right. shoulder said. "Do you want me to get rid of him for you?" "No, Rizel. Don't worry. I was about to leave and so was he. Isn't it right, kid?" Lith replied. Rizel, Bromann's son, had grown into a healthy young man over 1.75 meters (5'9") tall thanks to Lith's discounted medical care for farmers and the food Bromann put on the table. He was now taller than his father and the hard work in the fields had given him solid muscles. He had joined the local militia at fourteen and enrolled in the army at sixteen to gain merits and receive training. His goal was to follow in Bromann's footsteps and have the strength to defend the family legacy. Weird things happened in Lutia and despite all the protections Lith put in place, Rizel hated feeling helpless. Yet more than his height, physique, or the sharp end of the shover he gripped like a weapon, what struck the young Baron the most were his words. "Lith?" He echoed, looking at the brute and finding a certain resemblance with the pictures of the Magus in the news. The brute lacked the horns, the wings, and the high uniform but the rest fitted the bill. 'Sure, the name Lith has become really popular and this might just be a coincidence, but that happened only after Verhen was crowned Magus. This guy is too big to be a child.' "Lith Verhen?" "No, I'm his sister." Lith scoffed, waving goodbye at Rizel before walking around the stunned noble and toward Lutia. "That's Tista Verhen? Lestrame was flabbergasted. He had heard that Divine Beasts could shapeshift, but there was nothing in that amazon of the beauty he and countless others had admired in the pictures taken at the Royal Galas.