Year 2 Chapter 5: Everyone’s Return

Keith woke up feeling refreshed the next morning; he glanced down to see Eri, who was still fast asleep, her hands clenching Mir and Lei close to her chest. I need a larger bed. Besides the usual residences, Saphir and the other spirits joined in. They were mostly soft and plush, but they added surface area. Keith was pushed close to the edge of the bed. Tucking the little ones in more, he turned to Aria, “Good morning, Girl.” He patted the owl’s head as he headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Coming out of the bathroom, Carolyn yawned as she headed for the women’s bathroom.

“Morning.” “Morning.” The two nodded to one another before Keith headed to the kitchen to grab himself a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Leader.” Arlo called out as Keith waved, “Morning. Want a cup of coffee?”

“Thank you.” As Keith poured a cup for Arlo, “Are Herrick and the others returning to the island today?”

“Probably.” Everyone should be returning in the next few days.

“I want to see them.” Arlo gave a warm smile.

“…Do you like training with Herrick and Melor?” The trio was close to one another: Herrick and Melor monitored Arlo’s training like two drill instructors. Sometimes, they took it too far, and Arlo would faint from exhaustion.

“It’s not that bad, and I’m stronger now, so I can handle it!” Arlo’s cheeks turned red.

Keith chuckled, “Yes, you are.”

“Well, today is a sunny day.” The two turned to see Aidiun entering.

Keith nodded, “Good morning, Instructor Aidiun.”

“Good morning, Keith. My apologies for not greeting you yesterday; I had plenty of work.” Elves were inherently beautiful, but the dark bags under this elf’s eyes undermined it.

“It is alright; the semester is starting.” The first day was always the hectic one.

“It is not only the new semester criteria but the entire academy.” Aidiun took the cup of coffee and downed it in one gulp.

“…” Coffee is not supposed to be chugged down. Aidiun grumbled as he poured another cup, “I will head out now. I probably will not return for dinner today either.” He trudged off while his back slouched down.

Keith and Arlo glanced at one another. What is going on today?

Later in the evening,

Two giant bulldozers rammed into Keith, launching the three into the ground. Carolyn was a step ahead as she grabbed Eri and took a big step to the left. The three dorm mothers shook their heads at the havoc caused by the three.

Keith was lying on the ground as the two giants cried on top of him; his eyes were cold yet understanding, allowing them to let out their tears. Although there came a point where he had enough, “Stop crying.”

“We missed you.” “Yeah!” The two’s grip only tightened on his clothes: Keith could only respond with a deep and heavy sigh as he continued to stare at the sky. So clear. Carolyn and the others ignored the crying mountains.

“It’s been a while, Sarah.” Carolyn hugged her friend.

“Two months is a long time.” Sarah giggled. While the two talked, Krystal and Faelyn nodded to one another.

“Hello.” “It’s been a while.” Few words, but all the info in the world.

“Arlo, you are stronger now.” Gabriel smiled at Arlo.

Arlo nodded, “Mmhmm, I gained muscle.”

“Alright! The two of you need to get off me!” A roar soon made everyone’s face turn wry: Keith launched both of them into the air as he got up. There were limits to all this hugging.

“What?! Carolyn and Alfia always do this to you,” Herrick argued.

“That’s because they’re light.” Keith rolled his eyes; there was a sizeable difference in weight between them. As Keith patted his chest, he turned to Jack, “What’s the matter with you?” The grim look on Jack’s face was unnoticeable.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Hmm? Did something happen to your family again?” However, the thought was scratched off; Sarah looked composed and calm, unlike the first incident with the Mills family.

“No, nothing happened with my family; I’m just tired.” A long sigh came out of Jack’s mouth.

His sigh only made Keith more confused, “Hmm? What do you have to do to make you tired?” If he recalled, Jack was the second son. His role was insignificant compared to the eldest since the latter would be the one to inherit the land and title. Little did Keith know his words were the wrong ones at the moment: the tired expression Jack had soon transformed into a beast, “That damn bakery you built is what’s causing me to be tired!”

“Huh?”

“Do you know how much trouble you caused me?!” Jack broke as he bawled. Keith blinked before Sarah explained, “You see, Jack is the one who is looking after the bakery.”

“Oh.”

“Knowing how close you two are, our father thought it would be wise to put him as a mediator between our family and the bakery.”

“Do you know how much work I have to do!” Jack roared once more as he shook Keith back and forth! Unfazed by this sudden move, Keith retorted, “Weren’t you the one who asked me to construct the bakery on your land?”

“I didn’t! You were the one who brought it up!”

“And you didn’t say no.” He stood there and watched with a nod.

“...”

“Bread or no? Your choice.”

Instant defeat. Jack slumped to the ground, “Why do I have to suffer so! I just want to sit back and lounge around while eating pastries. Why did my life have to be this difficult?”

“...” I think that’s the reason you were asked: Ryan understood his son’s temperament and used this to whip him into shape.

“Hey! You’re not allowed to complain!” Herrick roared.

“Don’t you dare speak!” Melor did one better as he lifted Jack by the shoulder! He was going to send him flying.

“We’ve been begging Keith for a bakery, and you are complaining about it?!”

“Yeah! Think about the ones who don’t have one!” Melor and Herrick had tears of blood pouring down their cheeks. The others watched in amazement at how much they liked the bakery.

But they did not stop them.

Where else could they find such flaky and delicious goodness?

“Sorry.”

“Don’t have that smug expression!” Melor shook Jack around.

“Not my fault you guys don’t live next to Keith!”

That was the last straw.

“Do it!” With no hesitation, two body slams took Jack out of commission. Keith ignored that and turned his head to Krystal, “So what about you? How is the bakery running?” Like Jack, the Rustchil dukedom also had a bakery stationed.

“Steady. You have seen the numbers, did you not?”

“I did. But I wanted to ask about the people’s reaction.” Rather than numbers, Keith always preferred looking at the customer’s reaction: it allowed him to gauge the feel for his food.

“You should already know.”

With his food, who would hate it?

Keith grinned, “That’s what I like to hear.”

“Instead of asking me something you know, there are more pressing matters you should deal with. We need answers from you, Keith.”

“We?” Keith froze before he realized: Alfia and Carolyn’s gazes were cold; he couldn’t see it because of his blindness to feelings. Staring at Krystal right now, her aura was off the charts!