"We can go in the morning, Mom. You come first. The lesson can wait." Lith replied. "Thank you, dear. Raaz, bring lots of dimensional amulets. We are stocking up." "Do you want me to come as well?" His face lit up with pride. Raaz knew that Lith was much stronger than him, but the feeling of being incapable of protecting his wife was still humiliating. "Of course." She giggled. "Who else is going to protect me if not my husband? Lith is just for my peace of mind." At first, Raaz was so happy that even the bland vegetable soup tasted like heaven. Then, the meaning of Elina’s words sunk in. ’Wait, stocking up means I’m going to spend hours going between shops, enduring gossip of all sorts and boring small talk. All the while Lith goofs off around Lutia.’ Suddenly the soup tasted sour, but he decided that his wife’s smile and happiness were worth the sacrifice. *** The next day, Lith and the rest of the family went to Lutia right after breakfast. The sun was still rising on the horizon when they reached the market district. "I want to take my time and avoid the morning crowd." Elina said. "Great idea, Mom." Rena said. The Verhen women couldn’t pass on the opportunity of spending quality time together and going on a little shopping spree. All for the sake of uplifting Elina’s mood, of course. "The babies won’t make a mess in the shops and you make up for the lost time with them. It’s a win-win situation." Kamila tucked Elysia and Valeron in the stroller and left Lith in the middle of the road as she bolted after the rest of the flock of women. "This is fine." Senton sighed while the triplets pulled at his pants in three different directions, each wanting to do a different thing. "First jam bread and then we go to the park." The triplets cheered and followed their father’s lead enthusiastically. "This is it, guys." Lith said with a somber tone. "There’s only you and I left. Poor Dad. May the gods rest his soul." Raaz was still alive but wished he wasn’t. ’Why do my ears burn?’ He thought while dealing with a crying Surin and weathering the most boring topics known to man. Elyna and Valeron giggled, having no idea what Lith was saying but finding Lutia an endless source of marvel. The people, the scents, the draft animals, and even the rats scurrying the side of the roads were a fascinating novelty to them. "Let’s take a brief tour of the old city. I want to show you where your dad grew up. Then we go to the playground. Deal?" He asked, obtaining nods in reply and making a few passersby faint. Lith was in civilian clothes and without his Supreme Magus robe, those who had recently settled down in Lutia failed to recognize him. Seeing a father talking to his toddlers was a regular occurrence. Seeing a father talking with his toddlers and receiving yes, no, and, in Valeron’s case, simple phrases in reply, not so much. "This is where I worked as a Healer when I was six." Lith pointed at Nana’s old house and the babies nodded. "You won’t have to find a job at such a young age but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you become spoiled brats. "I’ve worked hard to build what you see today. You won’t lack anything but if you want luxuries, you’ll have to earn them. I expect you to do well in your studies and help your mother with her chores." The babies looked at him in confusion. Those concepts were too difficult for them but they nodded anyway. "Let’s go visit Nana." Lith moved to the back of the house. Another Healer now lived there but he had accepted to leave the backyard intact. There, Lith had created a small garden that time had filled with wildflowers and weeds carried by the wind. Read exclusive chapters at freewebnovel In the middle there was a tombstone carved with the words: "Here lies Nerea of Lutia. Beloved Mama and Nana of us all." The tombstone was clean and the grass freshly cut. The old citizens of Lutia took good care of the old Healer’s final resting place. The wildflowers and the weeds were allowed to grow because that was Nana’s final wish. To keep nurturing life even from her grave. Lith cleaned the tombstone with a pulse of darkness magic, used air magic to cut the dead plants, and water magic to water everything. "Nana was my first teacher and employer. She was a mean old woman, harder to kill than any monster I’ve ever fought." Lith smiled at the memory. "She would have loved meeting you." The babies became even more confused but waved at the tombstone, feeling it was somehow important. "Thank you." Lith avoided standing there for too long or making introductions because the babies might have understood what had happened. ’They are too young.’ Lith thought as he walked away. ’The concept of death would only sadden and scare them. Valeron might even figure out what happened to his parents.’ "This is the bakery of Vexal Cornerstone." Lith said. "He’s a bad man, but he makes good bread. He’s not a friend but you can buy from him." Elysia and Valeron nodded with a serious expression at the words "bad man", looking at the bakery with suspicion, as if it might jump up and bite them at any moment. "What in the gods’ names are you teaching small children?" A peal of silvery laughter coming from behind made Lith turn around. "My father is not a bad man and our jams are the best in the Lustria county." "We’ll have to agree to disagree, Brina, and not about the jams." Lith replied. Brina Cornerstone was a young woman nearing 24 years of age, about 1.54 meters (5’1") tall with waist-long golden hair and clear blue eyes. She was wearing a sky-blue day dress that emphasized her tanned skin. She was quite cute, especially since her diminutive stature emphasized her curves. "Stop badmouthing my dad." She chuckled before running inside the bakery. She came back a few seconds later carrying a small jar and dragging a young man with clear brown hair and eyes slightly older than her. "A man that prepares such a sweet treat can’t be bad, right, kids?" Brina opened the jar and put the creamy part of the strawberry jam on the lips of the babies, making sure there was no piece of fruit in it. Elysia and Valeron sniffed at the jar like hunting dogs but licked their lips only after Lith gave them permission with a nod. The babies sucked their lips clean and asked for more. "Just another bit, Brina. I don’t want to spoil them with sugar." Lith said. "Who is this guy?" "There is no sugar." She reassured him. "This is my boyfriend, Varn Fairfield, the son of a local merchant. Varn, this is my good friend, Lith Verhen, and his children, Elysia and Valeron." "Verhen?" The young man gulped hard. "That Lith Verhen?" "In the flesh." Lith replied. Varn looked him in the eyes, facing what Lith’s academy mates knew as the murderous glare, his comrades in the army as the death stare, and the original citizens of Lutia knew as "Lith’s face".