Agamemnon turned to Archer with a smile, "Who are these lovely young ladies behind you, Arch?"
Upon hearing the man refer to him by his nickname, it made him narrow his eyes, causing the older man to laugh.
Approaching him with a shit-eating grin, the man leaned forward to whisper, "Why can't I refer to my son-in-law by a nickname?"
Archer looked at him with a grin of his own and replied, "That's good, at least you already know she's mine."
Agamemnon chuckled upon hearing his response and walked away while saying, "Hemi, I'm happy for you, girl."
When she heard what her father said, she blushed and quickly looked away, causing her mother and sisters to laugh at her reaction.
Archer shook his head and began introducing the girls. "The blonde is Ella. The one with blue hair is Teuila Aquaria. The little redhead is Sera, and the pink-haired girl is Nef..."
Before he could finish, Agamemnon spoke. ''Hati's daughter. How could I forget such a girl? I heard she is an Empress now. I'm not surprised she was always an ambitious girl when I knew her.''
Nefertiti smiled and nodded her head. ''Yes, Mother is an ambitious woman.''
The man nodded and continued. ''I met her when Hemi brought her home one day, and she stayed here for a few years studying. I'm glad I get to meet her daughter.''
He then motioned for them to sit down. Archer made his way over to the table and sat down, Ella and Hemera beat the other girls and sat next to him.
The three other girls took their seats as Cassandra spoke. ''How was your journey so far? Did you get to Larissa?''
Hemera answered her mother. ''Yeah, but we headed to western Mediterra; we found the location the creatures appeared from that was in the Delphosia Republic.''
Cassandra nodded until she actually understood what her daughter said and quickly asked. ''What happened, Hemi? Why were you there?''
Hemera's reply was not the one they heard; instead, it was Archer who spoke up. "She accompanied me, but rest assured, everything was perfectly fine. If there had been any danger, I would have sent her away to safety."
Agamemnon was about to speak, but the second prince, Dimitrios, beat him to it. ''How could a boy of your age keep my little sister safe?''
Archer looked at the boy who had golden blonde hair and green eyes. He grinned before answering. ''Oh, I can keep her safe. It's not an issue to be worried about.''
When the girls heard his response, they started giggling, causing Dimitrios to get sulky and quickly stopped talking.
Cassandra and Agamemnon exchanged a laugh, while Archer averted his gaze from the man.
''So, Hemera said you wanted to talk to me?'' Archer asked Agamemnon.
The man stopped laughing and turned serious. ''Okay. The Solari Empire owes you a great debt for helping us with the swarm. As a Father, I also want to reward you for saving my daughter during her test.''
Agamemnon whistled, and a guard entered the hall. He approached the Emperor, exchanged a quiet conversation, nodded, and then departed.
Ten minutes later, the heavy wooden doors of the hall swung open, and a group of guards entered, carefully carrying large, ornate chests.
Archer's curiosity was piqued as he caught the glimmer of gold and jewels decorating the chests.
Three chests were carefully placed near him, and Agamemnon gestured for him to take a closer look.
With anticipation, Archer approached the chests, his heart racing with excitement. As he opened the first one, a dazzling array of gemstones greeted his eyes.
Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds sparkled under the ambient light, arranged with intricate precision.
Archer's eyes widened in amazement as he beheld thousands of shimmering gold coins, a sight that brought him great joy.
Agamemnon spoke once more. "I heard Hati's husband gave you a villa by the sea, but the Solarians can offer you something better, a grand mansion in Oceana Port. After all, you will be known as the White Prince of the Solari Empire."
Archer didn't pay much attention as he was examining his new treasure.
Archer quickly stored it in his Item Box and then looked at Hemera's father. ''What are you going on about? I'm not a prince; I'm just an adventurer.''
The older man smiled before speaking. ''Well, you will be if you'd like to marry Hemera.''
Archer knew this was coming, so he quickly replied. ''She's already mine. But yes, I'll marry her. I've come to like her a lot.''
Cassandra smiled as she looked at her embarrassed daughter, who was staring at the table, but she noticed the girl's bright red ears.
All of Hemera's sisters giggled and started whispering among themselves. ''The dragon has already claimed little Hemi. I'm so happy for her.''
''Yes, sister, she deserves to be happy. She's always had her head in tomes, and I'm surprised she found someone to share her life with.''
Hemera's two younger brothers were joyful and congratulated Archer and her, but Dimitrios couldn't contain his temper. ''Father, why are you marrying her off to a lizard? He doesn't deserve her!''
Archer observed the older sibling and a thought crossed his mind: 'A sis-con.'
He chuckled to himself, causing Dimitrios to grow even angrier as he shouted again, ''Why do you think you deserve my baby sister!''
Agamemnon and Cassandra were about to intervene, but Archer waved them off and chose to handle the situation himself.
With a grin, he teased the boy while holding Hemera close.
Archer playfully hugged Hemera and started toying with her ear, which made her yelp in shock. She covered her mouth, blushing again.
The girls found her reaction adorable, and their smiles only grew wider. Hemera retaliated by pinching Archer, prompting him to yelp in response.
Seeing this, Dimitrios yelled out, ''I challenge you to a duel. If you lose, you won't marry her!''
Archer laughed at the proposition and asked, ''What do I get if I win?''
Dimitrios looked stumped, so Archer clarified, ''I'm not going to fight without a reward. Give me all your gold if you lose. If you agree, we can fight.''
Hemera's older brother reluctantly nodded and stormed out of the room. Agamemnon apologized to Archer, explaining, ''Sorry about that, Arch. He's overprotective of Hemera since she's the youngest.''
Archer understood and got up with the girls, following after the angry young man.
The group was accompanied by Hemera's and Dimitrios's parents. They walked for ten minutes and arrived at the palace's training grounds, where Dimitrios was already waiting with a spear and shield.
Archer stepped onto the field while the girls went to sit with Cassandra.
Facing each other, Archer stopped not far from the older boy and spoke with a smile, ''When do we start, sis-con?''
The boy's face twisted, and he rushed forward. Archer summoned his tails and claws, blocking Dimitrios's first attack.
Archer swiftly grabbed the spear and pulled the older boy closer while holding him still as he whispered something, ''Your sister's lips are so soft and taste amazing. I wonder how the rest of her tastes.''
Hearing Archer's taunt, Dimitrios got even angrier and attacked faster, but Archer skillfully dodged the strikes.
Using his tail, he knocked out the boy's legs and then kicked him, sending him flying.
In a flash, he used Blink to appear behind Dimitrios, swiftly grabbing a hold of him while effortlessly tossing him across the training field.
Dimitrios managed to land on his feet and cast the spell Moon Blast that flew toward him. When Archer saw this, he cast Anti-Magic.
The spell hit him causing a massive explosion but Archer was fine. The older boy rushed at him and lunged at him with his spear.
Archer sidestepped the attack as he lashed out with his tail and smashed into the boy's body sending him flying away yet again.
Dimitrios was disoriented and tried to get up, but Archer fired a Mana Blast at him using Mana Manipulation.
The impact of Archer's powerful counterattack knocked the older boy unconscious, and he lay sprawled out at the edge of the field.
Concerned for her brother, Eudora rushed over to him and began tending to his injuries.
Everyone looked at the fight with wide eyes, Teuila's eyes were narrowed and she walked up to him.
When she got closer, she bopped him on the head before speaking. ''You have no clue how to fight. Every night I will teach you.''
Archer looked at her and saw her blue ponytail swaying and nodded his head; he wouldn't say no to spending more time with her.
Agamemnon appeared next to his son as the healers rushed to his son to help out Eudora.
Archer saw that he was injured more than he thought. He walked over to the boy and cast Cure Wounds on him, his injuries started healing but he still groaned.
The girls and Hemera's family were surprised when Archer healed him. He smiled and said, "He should be okay in an hour, but he might be sore."
Cassandra thanked Archer and apologized for Dimitrios attitude. She added, "We can see how much Hemi likes you, so you have our blessing."
[A/N - Leave some comments, power stones, and gifts. It all helps support the book. Artwork in the comments or discord]
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