Chapter 587 - 587 Meeting the In-laws (2)

Avery met Liesel's father with equal strength, showing that he could handle the man trying to crush his hand.

This seemed to earn him a look of approval, and Liesel's father's gaze softened just a little.

Avery took this as a good sign. Perhaps Liesel's father had just wanted to see if Avery was strong enough to protect his daughter.

"Okay mom, I know that you have a lot of questions, but this is hardly the place for a lengthy conversation." Liesel said, clearly embarrassed by what was essentially her mother interrogating her.

There was no one else around currently, but they were still in a public area. Other members of the crew could show up at any time.

Truthfully, with him being an outsider, Avery had expected some security personnel to escort them around.

Yet, it seemed that Liesel's aunt trusted them not to get into any trouble.

This ship had been Liesel's home for most of her life, so Avery supposed that the woman in charge figured that she and her parents would keep Avery from going anywhere he was not supposed to.

"You're right. Let's head to our quarters. We have some special food capsules set aside for occasions like this. Plus, I'd like to talk to my new son-in-law as well."

Avery felt Liesel's mother turn her gaze towards him. She wore a smile, but it was not entirely warm.

No doubt she had similar worries to his own mother when he had first introduced Kasandra and Jasmine to her.

Liesel's parents led the way through the ship on their way to their quarters.

As they moved through the corridors, they passed other members of the crew.

A lot of them seemed shocked to see Liesel, as he had been gone for a while now and had just suddenly shown up after they had just finished an intense battle in a war zone.

Most were polite enough to her and her parents, but Avery did notice a few that subtly sneered at her or made veiled deriding comments.

Avery knew that she was not treated the best on this ship, with a lot of other members her age having teased her when she was young.

Yet a couple of the young men and women they had passed looked at her with what amounted to almost hostility.

"Don't worry about them. It doesn't really matter. They're some of my cousin's closest followers. I'm sure they feel like I betrayed him." Liesel whispered to Avery after noticing him glowering.

Liesel was originally supposed to help prop up her aunt's oldest son in his own bid to become the next leader of the fleet.

However, once she was out on her own, Liesel had eventually joined up with Avery and essentially run away from home.

Some of them might have even been worried that she was somehow trying to use Avery to aim for the position.

"Here we are. It's not much but its home."

The door in front of them slid open once its sensors identified Liesel's mother.

Inside, the first thing that Avery noticed was a decent sized living space and a small kitchen area in one corner.

There was a hallway with a few doors on either side to his right where he figured the bathroom and bedrooms were located.

While Liesel's mother had said it was not much, Avery knew that a space like this on a warship was not for common members of the crew.

They basically had their own two-bedroom apartment. Somewhat of a luxury for space travel.

Though, as Avery thought about it, this made sense.

Liesel's father might have decided against being a mercenary and leading a force himself like most of the members of the Kaizer family did. But he was still a part of the family.

Plus, he was the vessel's chief engineer, and the captain was his sister. There was little doubt in Avery's mind that Liesel and her parents had one of the better quarters on the ship. It was close to being as nice as the officer quarters on the Intrepid, if only a little worse.

"Come in and make yourselves at home. I'll have lunch ready in a couple of minutes."

Avery took the seat offered to him at the dining table next to Liesel.

Her father then went to a counter in the kitchen and opened it up to reveal an extensive bar.

"What do you want to drink? Being a mercenary, I'm sure you can hold your alcohol. I don't have anything weak."

"I'll have whatever you think tastes the best. It takes a lot to get me drunk, so it doesn't matter how strong it the drink is." Avery replied.

Liesel's father gave him a slight, but genuine smile at this answer.

He then pulled out a couple of bottles that had an unfamiliar label on them. Avery did not recognize the brands, but he could see the labels and saw that they were all at least fifty percent alcohol. Some were close to seventy-five though.

Soon there were four bottles placed on the table, with lisle happily taking one herself. She was no stranger to drinking, having grown up on mercenary ship.

They sipped on their drinks in silence for a couple of minutes before Liesel's mother brought over lunch for all of them.

"Since this is the first time you've been back in over two years, I went ahead and made your favorite. Dravinimeir Stew with a side of Versanael Crumble Bread." Liesel mother said, a proud smile on her face.

Liesel dug right in, wearing a nostalgic expression.

Of course, Avery knew that she ate this meal all the time back on the Intrepid. Normally she had it at least once a week.

He had tried it himself, and the flavors were good, but a bit stronger than he typically preferred.

Fortunately, the version that had been served to him was a bit more subdued than normal. Likely either due to the difference in the capsule or autochef that was used to create the dish.

During the meal, Liesel's parents kept to subdued topics, mostly asking Liesel how she was doing and what she had been up to.

Obviously, Avery could tell what they really wanted to do was grill the two of them about their relationships.

Their daughter had gone out on a journey to rank up as a mercenary, but instead of coming back home once she achieved her goal, she instead got married and joined a completely different mercenary group.

Needless to say, they had been concerned, though after getting to know Avery for a bit, they seemed at least a bit less worried.

At least that was what Avery hoped.

Still, once they finished eating, and everyone was a little loosened up from the alcohol, Liesel's father finally started asking some tougher questions.

"So, Avery, you're not trying to use my daughter, are you? I know that you already had two wives when you two met. We were watching the stream of the competition and cheering Liesel on. The two of you teamed up a couple of times, but how did that end up with you two together?"

Avery knew that this was coming, though it still did not make it any easier.

He answered to the best of his ability, making sure to stress that he had no intention of using Liesel to try and integrate himself into the Kaizer Fleet or take it over.

"Dad, I'm the one that tried to recruit Avery to help my standing among the family. But he's the type that wants to grow his own force and stand on his own. That's part of what drew me to him. Plus, he's handsome, respectful, and strong. I don't think that I could find a better man if I searched the entire galaxy." Liesel said, turning and looking at Avery proudly.

He certainly was not immune to her praise, and her words helped to lift his spirits a bit.

"That's all well and good. But Avery, we are a bit worried about the fact that you're married to two other women. Both of them are older than either of you as well."

Liesel's mother clearly wanted to understand the dynamic of Avery's relationships.

Thankfully, Liesel went ahead and responded this time, making sure to tell her parents that she got along great with Kasandra and Jasmine. That the three of them were like close friends or even sisters.

Another one of their concerns was Liesel's finances, but when Avery broke down how she was paid, and their daughter showed them her bank account that had more than thirty million Krenin in it, they were both stunned silent.

"And she's soon to receive a lot more Krenin. We just completed a job for Cerise Gunvald, and the total payment is going to be in billions." Avery said, his lips turned up into a smug gin.

After learning about their daughter's situation and hearing how rich she was, her parents were far less concerned than before.

Still, Liesel's father wanted to have a one-on-one chat with Avery, and so she and her mother retreated to the main bedroom in order to have a private conversation as well.