Chapter 306: End Of The Party [2.]

Just as Kael was considering where to start, he noticed a familiar figure approaching from one side of the room.

It was his mother.

Hannah had apparently been helping some of the remaining guests prepare to leave, and she was now making her way back toward the living room.

Seeing her, Kael walked over.

"Mom."

Hannah turned toward him.

"Oh, Kael. There you are."

Kael smiled.

"Thanks, Mom."

"Hm? What for?"

"For everything today," he replied. "The party went really well, and that’s mostly thanks to you and the girls."

He glanced around the room.

"Honestly, I don’t think it would’ve turned out nearly as well without all the work you put into it."

Hannah looked at him for a moment, then smiled warmly.

"Oh, don’t be silly." She reached out and gently stroked his hair. "You helped plenty too, you know. Your efforts also played a part in making today a success."

Kael smiled faintly.

Hannah continued stroking his hair for another moment before taking a closer look at him.

"Anyway, you look exhausted."

Kael blinked.

"Do I?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded. "You’ve been moving around all day. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest?"

Kael glanced toward the scattered dishes and trash.

"But we still have to clean up all of this."

"Oh, don’t worry about that."

Hannah waved off his concern.

"Some of Lyra’s friends offered to stay behind and help us clean everything up."

"They did?"

"Yes. Such thoughtful girls, aren’t they?"

She smiled.

"So you don’t need to worry about anything here. We’ll take care of it."

Kael hesitated.

He didn’t particularly like the idea of leaving all the work to them, especially after everything his mother had already done that day.

However, before he could say anything, Hannah continued.

"Besides, it looks like you still have a few things you need to take care of tonight."

Kael paused.

Then he nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose I do."

There were indeed a few things he wanted to handle before going to sleep.

And since his mother seemed determined to take care of the cleanup, he decided not to argue.

"Alright, then. Please thank Lyra’s friends for me."

"Of course. I’ll make sure to tell them."

Kael smiled.

"Thanks, Mom."

Then, almost without thinking, he leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Mom."

Hannah blinked in surprise.

Before she could respond, Kael had already straightened up.

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks as he suddenly became aware of what he had just done.

Although it was nothing particularly unusual for a son to show affection toward his mother, it had been so long since he had done something like that.

For some reason, he felt a little embarrassed.

"Anyway, I’ll be heading upstairs now."

Without waiting for a response, he quickly turned around and made his way toward the stairs.

Hannah watched him leave.

For a moment, she simply stood there, looking at his retreating figure.

Then a gentle smile spread across her face.

"My dear boy..."

She chuckled softly.

"He’s still just as adorable as I remember."

Despite everything that had happened over the years, and despite how much her son had grown in her absence, there were still little things about him that hadn’t changed.

And seeing them again made her happier than she could put into words.

With that thought, Hannah smiled once more before turning around and returning to the remaining cleanup.

---

Meanwhile, after returning upstairs, Kael headed straight for the bathroom.

It had been a long day.

Between preparing for the party, entertaining guests, and dealing with Vice President Jonas’s unexpected visit, he hadn’t had much opportunity to relax.

And now that everything was finally over, he wanted nothing more than a nice warm bath.

Fortunately, there was no longer anything demanding his immediate attention.

Kael filled the bathtub with warm water before stepping inside.

"Ahh..."

He let out a satisfied sigh as he settled into the water.

The warmth felt incredibly relaxing.

For a while, he simply remained there, allowing the water to wash away the exhaustion that had accumulated throughout the day.

His thoughts occasionally drifted toward the conversation he had with Jonas, but he quickly pushed them aside.

There would be plenty of time to think about those matters later.

For now, he just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet.

And so, Kael spent quite some time soaking in the warm water before finally deciding that he had relaxed enough.

After finishing his bath, he dried himself off and changed into a comfortable set of ordinary house clothes.

Feeling considerably refreshed, he returned to his bedroom.

However, rather than heading straight to bed, Kael walked toward an open area of the room.

There was still something he needed to do.

"Alright, let’s get started."

With that, he began bringing out the gifts he had received during the housewarming party.

One after another, various boxes and packages appeared before him as he retrieved them from his Inventory.

Although he had accepted the gifts from his guests earlier, he hadn’t had the opportunity to properly examine most of them.

And considering that some of the people he had invited were Hunters, he was rather curious about what they had brought.

Kael picked up the first package and opened it.

Inside was a small magical ornament.

After examining it for a moment, he discovered that it was designed to regulate the temperature of a room, keeping the surrounding area comfortable regardless of minor changes in the weather.

"Not bad."

He set it aside before moving on to the next gift.

This one contained a rather unusual flower.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary decorative plant, but upon closer inspection, Kael noticed that it was emitting a faint magical aura.

Apparently, the flower continuously released a pleasant fragrance capable of spreading throughout an entire room.

And unlike ordinary flowers, it didn’t require much maintenance to remain healthy.

Kael examined it briefly before nodding.

"Mom would probably like this."

He placed it beside the previous item and continued opening the remaining gifts.

As he went through them, he discovered that most were magical household items.

There were decorative objects with minor magical effects, plants that could improve the atmosphere of a room, and various other items designed to make everyday life more comfortable.

Some were quite practical, while others seemed to exist purely for decoration.

One by one, he examined everything.

Although none of the items were especially valuable compared to the treasures he possessed, Kael still appreciated the thought behind them.

After all, they were housewarming gifts.

Their purpose wasn’t to increase his combat strength or provide him with some extraordinary advantage.

They were simply things meant to make his new home more comfortable.

And considering how enthusiastic his mother had been about redecorating the house, Kael was fairly certain she would enjoy going through them.

"Well, I guess I’ll just give these to Mom tomorrow."

He nodded to himself.

She was already in charge of everything related to the house’s appearance anyway.

Rather than trying to figure out where each item belonged, it would be much easier to let her decide.

With that, Kael turned toward the final gift, the long box Zoey had handed him, the one from the Sword Saint.

"Now then..." A faint smile appeared on his face. "Let’s see what the Sword Saint gave me."