"Wow. I never actually expected you to come here so quickly." Jet looked Leon up and down as Leon stepped into the mansion of the Armstrong Family.
Leon had only just arrived a few moments ago. Upon revealing his presence, Jet was the first one who came out to welcome him.
"Eh, I was passing by and made plans to stop here. It's no biggie." Leon grinned as he turned to look at the entry of the large mansion. It was even bigger than his own, as it was built to accommodate the needs of an entire large family.
Jet was his first true friend in this world. Leon felt a bit melancholic as he recalled the few times he, Megan and James had slept over at one of their apartments for fun. Right now, he felt as if he was visiting a friend and he would be meeting their family for the first time, only that he had already met a few of them.
Dion, Dorian, and Gael, were the family members that Leon had met. Dion was the Patriarch of the family and Jet's grandfather. Gael was Jet's father, and Dorian was Jet's uncle.
"Come, come. The others wanted to come to greet you personally, but I insisted that I would come. After all, how couldn't I?" Jet laughed and patted Leon's back while guiding him through the large mansion. It was much more grand than his own and made him feel a bit jealous. He did not hide his thoughts from his friend.
"Your mansion is pretty cool. Wish it was mine." Leon nudged Jet with a chuckle.
"Oh, please. This place, yours? I'm pretty sure you could do better if you just sat down and worked on it without running around all day." Jet laughed and pushed Leon back.
The two of them continued to joke until they reached the back of the mansion where the other members of the family were waiting. On the way, Leon let his eyes soak in the tasteful decorations, paintings and ornaments that were hung up all around the mansion. Jet also gave him a small rundown as they walked though the halls.
"This mansion has been passed down through the Armstrong family for the past five hundred and thirty years. It's quite old, but we Armstrongs are quite the builders." He flexed a muscle. "Look, that there is the founder of the family, Neil Armstrong." Jet pointed to a painting of a well built man. The painting captured him full body, so Leon was able to see that he was well built and looked like some sort of muscle fanatic.
"Neil Armstrong was a mage, proficient in Space, Earth and Fire magic. He single handedly lifted our family from farmers into a respected mage family." As Jet spoke, Leon saw that he had an awed look in his eyes. He really looked up to this founder.
"Let me guess, you want to be like him?" Leon asked.
"Like him? Ha! I want to be even better! He was a B rank mage before he died in battle, but he was powerful. The tales passed down through the generations say that he had killed many A rank monsters and enemies during his time. And they were not exaggerations. Many records tell those tales, and not just from our family. Even the Empire of Light's." Jet bragged.
"I made it my goal to surpass him. I will reach the absolute peak of this world and make sure the world knows the Armstrong Family's name." Jet said and sucked in a deep breath. A silence descended as they continued their journey and soon arrived at the back of the mansion. There, Leon had to pause when he saw the number of people waiting to greet him.
"Leon! Welcome!" Dion, the burly man with a stern face on the battlefield, was all smiles when he came over and embraced Leon in a tight bear hug.
"Oh! Thank you!" Leon coughed when he was let go. His pitiful lungs were squished in the hug.
"No need to act so formal! You're family to us! If we don't treat you as one of us, then who should receive such treatment?" Dion laughed and patted Leon passionately on his back. "Come, let me introduce you to everyone." He steered Leon to the others.
"You already know my sons, Gael and Dorian." Dion skipped the two men who gave Leon friendly smiles from a distance. He directly led Leon to the women of the family.
Leon's eyelids twitched as he felt that there was something strange going on. He turned to look at Jet who had a somewhat bewildered expression on his face and he realized what was going on.
Was this grandpa actually playing matchmaker?!
"This is Wendy. This is Abigail, and this is Abigail's twin sister, Celeste." One by one, Leon was introduced to the women and young ladies. Dion did not even spare any glance at Leon and merrily introduced them.
"Erm, nice to meet all of you. You must already know of me, but I am Leon Cromwell." Leon said when the line of women had come to an end. At another side of the backyard, Leon could spy the men of the family laughing through the corner of his eye.
'This old man is trying to get me to plant good seed in his garden. Like hell I will! I already have a fertile garden in my eyes.' Leon thought bitterly to himself as he gradually distanced himself from Dion.
"Grandfather, I think Leon has something he wants to say. Don't you, Leon?" Jet appeared when Leon was at the end of his tether and provided aid.
'Goddamn you, idiot! Couldn't you come any sooner?!' Leon glared at Jet before coughing to hide his expression.
"Yes, that's right. I came to extend an offer to Jet, in particular." Leon's smile reappeared.
"Oh?" Even Jet was surprised and intrigued.
"Yes. I am going to Rivera, the seat of the Elven Empire for a possible job. I cannot share the details freely, as it is a sensitive matter, but the payment should make it worth it." Leon said with a smile.
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