Riding on a Clarence always felt so cool; it kinda made me feel like I was riding in a car like in the real world, but Lucia, who frequently suffered from motion sickness, didn't find it so amusing.

"Uhhhh...", he groaned.

The amusement of his abdominal troubles edged a slight grin on my face; my mother, on the other hand, wasn't so amused.

 She used a hand fan and some of her ice to cool him off; this worked for some time, but after we trampled a particularly steep stone, he wailed even louder.

My father and I chuckled a bit but were quickly silenced under my mother's harsh gaze.

Our Chariot soon entered another small town, and my father said, "Let's take a little break".

We stopped around a free block of space which subsequently lay not far away from a marketplace, while my mother attended to Lucia and my father spoke with some of the accompanying servants, I immediately knew what I wanted to do.

I had gone out only a few times in my two years and only in my hometown on small outings; I could go explore properly and perhaps even get something.

"Damian", my father called out, possibly after watching me.

I need to learn to hide my facial features.

"Come with me".

My father picked me up and rested me onto ​his near six-and-a-half-foot shoulder, then advanced into the market square. While the servants went on to get a few fruits, we went to get something else.

I wonder where he's taking me off to. 

Admittedly, I don't believe I'm close to him in any particular way; from his frequent outings to his almost odd, at times disinterested attitude, it was hard to build very much.

Sometimes it feels like he just didn't know the best way to entertain a kid, but Lucia at the same time seemed far closer to him than I did.

"Oh, good morning, dear sir, what can I help you with today?"

The old lady at this stand was a bit different from the rest who sold food or weapons; she sold books.

Although I had been taught how to read very early as per the Vulture Empire's child training guide, I didn't see the need for any more reading books.

Humanity spoke one singular language, Anhidos. This is also regarded as the most universal language here, and it's the first one I studied, but I had also learnt to some extent Haja, the language for Intelligent monsters and Evean, for the Elves.

"...A bit much for a two-year-old...".

"Dad, what kind of books are these?", I questioned.

"Since you've learnt how to read, I thought you could learn more about magic, and since we're here, we might as well get some things for history".

After my dad picked out some books about history, he picked some weird looking books with various Sigils and even weirder names.

"Dominion".

"Transcendence".

"Damian these are grimoires; they contain official spells and a database of Sigils and enchanted and non-enchanted spellcasting".

I admittedly looked back at all the books with a bit of gleam in my eyes then said in a raspy voice, "Woah".

I knew Lucia didn't have alot of magic books or grimoires in general, as he was more focused on actual close combat, but I would find these more than useful.

My father smiled; a bit of pride glimmered in his eyes before he picked the books and started heading back.

Before, I wasn't so sure, but now I'm sure he really wanted to get something for me, and this may just be his way of doing it.

My heart clenched a bit as I realized he just wanted to be a better dad

"...Reminds you of your old one right?...".

I let out a deep sigh as memories of my past flooded in. I gazed down at the ground, the ground feeling eerily far. Then my focus shifted to the sight of my mom patting Lucia's back as he sat outside, clenching his stomach.

A smile crept onto my face as I pushed those unnecessary thoughts back.

The convoy rearranged, got back onto the black Clarence and set off. We reached the new Empire's estate in twenty or so minutes, their large gates parted, and we were set through.

The Lion's Den Empire had stunning rose gardens spanning for acres, which led up to a brilliant crimson red mansion adorned with a large crest at its head, and strangely at the centre of it all was a statue of a golden lion with two large wings, a Griffin.

We got off the Clarence and were immediately greeted by the head of the Empire, "Ah, Nathaniel, Mirabel, I'm glad you made it".

"How are you doing, Hume?"

"Ah, I'm doing great, Nathaniel".

" Glad you could welcome us. Where's Jina?"

"I'm here! I'm just getting Flower".

A beautiful young lady came walking while holding a child in her right hand. The mother and daughter shared uncanny features: long brown hair, pale skin, along with soft and elegant features.

I'd say the younger one was a clone if not for her having the larger sky blue eyes of her father instead of the dark brown of her mother.

They came and stood beside the head, joining in their conversation. The head, a tall bald man with sharp features along with a well-kept goatee, but what caught my attention most was the little white, almost hamster-like creature on his right shoulder.

It stood upon his fine red garments and gazed at all of us with disinterest. That was until he looked at me; our eyes locked, and there was a moment of pause.

This was quickly stopped when the head turned to Lucia and me, his eyes slightly twisting after seeing me.

He managed to play it enough for no one to say anything, or at least not say anything about it: "Oh, these must be Lucia and Damian, it's a pleasure".

After my brother and I gave a crooked bow, he followed up with "Let's head inside then".

We began walking through when I noticed the small creature looking at me. Looking through its core, I could already tell it was powerful.

END OF CHAPTER 8