Chapter 182: A Loving Family

Sidney narrowed her eyes as she looked between the two of them."What are you two doing?"

Ambrosia immediately froze.

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Sidney slowly walked closer, looking at Amon first before shifting her attention toward her mother.

Her eyes moved between them several times before she finally frowned. "Why are you sitting so comfortably?"

Amon looked down at himself before looking back at her. "What’s wrong with it?"

Sidney ignored him and turned toward Ambrosia. "Are you going to dance for him?"

Ambrosia’s eyes widened. "What?! No!"

She shook her head so hard that a few strands of her hair moved across her face.

Sidney continued staring at her with suspicion. "Then what are you doing standing there like a statue?"

Ambrosia’s face gradually became red. "I..."

She didn’t know how to answer that without making the situation even more awkward.

Then, as if the situation hadn’t already been embarrassing enough, a loud growl suddenly came from her stomach.

The room became completely silent.

Ambrosia slowly lowered her head. "I haven’t eaten anything."

Amon couldn’t help but chuckle. "You could have just said you were hungry."

Ambrosia looked away. "I was busy."

"You should take some rest. I’ll make something to eat."

Ambrosia immediately looked toward him. "You don’t have to--"

She stopped when she noticed Sidney staring at her.

Ambrosia sighed. "Fine."

She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away with an embarrassed expression.

"I’ll take a bath first."

She turned around and practically hurried toward the stairs.

Amon watched her disappear before shaking his head with a quiet laugh.

"She’s acting strangely." Sidney walked behind him. "Something definitely happened."

Amon glanced over his shoulder. "It was nothing."

Sidney narrowed her eyes. "You always say that when something happened."

"You’re becoming too suspicious." Amon laughed and continued toward the kitchen. "Since you’re already here, can you help me?"

Sidney immediately became interested. "Sure. What do I have to do?"

Amon opened the refrigerator and began taking out vegetables. "You can cut some of these."

Sidney looked at the vegetables for a moment before pointing at an onion.

"I’ll cut one onion."

Amon slowly turned toward her. "What am I supposed to do with one onion?"

"Cut one onion."

Amon stared at her. "That’s it?"

"That’s it."

"What am I supposed to do with the rest?"

Sidney calmly picked up the onion. "One onion."

Amon sighed. "Sidney."

"One onion."

"What?"

"One onion."

Amon groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Fine. You can do whatever you want."

Sidney immediately giggled like a little child who had successfully managed to annoy someone.

"I’m only joking."

She moved toward the counter and picked up a knife before beginning to cut the vegetables.

Her movements were still a little clumsy, so Amon occasionally glanced over to make sure she wasn’t about to cut her finger instead of the onion.

The kitchen slowly filled with the fresh smell of vegetables as Amon began preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Sidney suddenly called his name. "Amon."

"Yeah?"

She continued cutting the vegetables as she spoke. "I want to go into a dungeon."

Amon’s hand paused. He slowly turned around and looked at her. "What for?"

Sidney placed another piece of vegetable on the cutting board. "I want to awaken now."

Amon frowned slightly. "Your academy will take you through an awakening dungeon eventually."

"That will happen next year." She lowered her eyes toward the cutting board. "I don’t want to wait that long."

Amon remained silent for a moment.

Sidney continued cutting, but her movements had become slower.

"I don’t want to fall behind you." Her voice was much quieter this time. "I don’t want to become a liability to you."

Amon stopped what he was doing. He looked at Sidney for several seconds without saying anything.

She wasn’t wrong.

Amon had already reached a level where the gap between them was becoming enormous, and that gap would only continue to grow if Sidney remained unable to awaken.

He didn’t expect her to catch up to him.

Honestly, that would be ridiculous but she still needed enough strength to protect herself.

A dungeon could also give Sidney something that ordinary academy lessons couldn’t.

The ability to make decisions when something wanted to kill her.

Those things couldn’t be completely taught inside a classroom.

Amon turned back toward the food and continued preparing the ingredients.

He also couldn’t ignore another thought. ’I’m probably going to spoil her with high-grade items anyway.’

Amon sighed quietly.

If Sidney awakened with even a decent potential, he already knew what he would do.

He would find something useful for her and maybe something far too expensive for someone her age.

He had never been particularly good at saying no to the people he considered family.

"Alright."

Sidney stopped cutting as she looked at him. "Really?"

Amon nodded. "I’ll take you into a dungeon."

Sidney’s entire face immediately lit up. "Really?!"

"Yes, but there’s a condition."

Before Amon could finish speaking, Sidney put down the knife and walked around the counter.

She hugged him from behind and squeezed him tightly. "I knew you’d listen to me!"

Amon laughed.

"You’re getting ahead of yourself." He gently patted her head. "Before we enter a dungeon, you’ll need to learn how to fight."

Sidney immediately nodded. "I’ll be a good student."

"You’d better be."

"I will."

Amon smiled. "Good."

Sidney released him and returned to the counter. "Then when are we going?"

"Not today."

Her face immediately fell. "Why?"

"Because you’re not ready yet." Amon pointed toward the knife in her hand. "You nearly cut the wrong vegetable twice."

Sidney looked down at the cutting board. "That doesn’t mean I can’t fight."

"It means I don’t trust you with a sword yet."

She puffed out her cheeks. "I’ll practice."

"I know."

The two continued talking while Amon prepared the food, and the kitchen gradually became livelier.

By the time the food was finished, Sidney’s curiosity had already turned into a long list of things she wanted to learn.

---

Once the food was ready, Amon carried the dishes toward the dining table while Sidney brought the remaining plates and Ambrosia finally returned from upstairs.

She had changed into comfortable clothes, and her hair was still slightly damp from her bath.

The moment she sat down, she looked at the food in front of her. "You actually made all this?"

Amon sat down. "Did you think I was going to serve you raw vegetables?"

Ambrosia smiled. "I wouldn’t have complained."

Sidney immediately pointed toward her. "You were hungry enough to eat the table."

Ambrosia looked at her daughter. "Watch your mouth."

Sidney grinned. "I’m just saying."

Amon laughed as he began eating.

The conversation naturally shifted between different topics as they ate.

Ambrosia asked about Amon’s trip to the capital, while Sidney wanted to know everything about the Royal University.

Amon told them about the massive campus, the professors, the different factions among the students, and some of the strange people he had encountered.

Sidney listened with fascination. "So you’re really going to study there?"

"Yes."

"Then you’ll have to tell me everything when you come back."

"I’ll tell you the interesting parts."

Ambrosia shook her head while eating. "You two are going to give me a headache."

Sidney immediately looked at her. "You’re the one who started talking about being hungry."

Ambrosia frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means you’re already complaining."

"Sidney."

"What?"

"Eat your food."

Sidney grinned and returned to her meal.

Amon watched the two of them bicker over something completely meaningless and couldn’t help smiling.

The argument continued for another few minutes, with neither of them willing to admit defeat.

Amon leaned back slightly in his chair and looked at the two people sitting across from him.

’...I really hope things can remain like this forever.’

He looked at Ambrosia and Sidney as they continued arguing over the smallest things.

’Maybe that’s all I really want for my family.’

A quiet smile appeared on Amon’s face as he continued eating.