Chapter 172 Volume IV - Chapter 17: A Returned Father
Silence, the silence of the quiet library.
Even if there are people around me and they are all looking at me, the relief that I can just read the book I want to read without caring about any of them. And the fascination of the book I'm reading, at least for me.
A smile formed on my face, under my mask, and I couldn't stop thinking.
I wish every day could be like this. Quiet, calm, peaceful. How nice would it be to spend a day without having to interact with anyone?
"H- hey, hi... Lucia, right?"
This is exactly what I was talking about...
My eyes drifted up from the paragraphs of my book. A boy came into my view, a handsome boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He couldn't make eye contact with me. He was that shy and had a forced smile on his face.
Sighing slightly, I pulled my mask up a little, hiding my face even more.
"If you're going to be like this, you shouldn't have tried in the first place, please don't bother me."
The boy stepped back. He didn't look scared, but really surprised. So much so that his eyes were focused on my face, his cheeks flushed.
"Y- you mean I have a chance if I behave properly?"
I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes.
"No."
I tore my eyes away from the boy and went back to my book. I heard him saying a few more things, but I didn't care, I ignored him, and after a while he gave up, realizing that I wasn't taking him seriously. Once again, a peaceful silence enveloped my body.
No one bothered me until I finished my book, and I happily closed it.
Satisfied with the time that had passed, I got up from the table and went to hand the book back to the librarian. When I went outside, I sighed and imagined a screen opening in front of me.
<<------------------------------
--Personal Information--
Name: Lucia
Last Name: Quie
Race: Human
Age: 18
--Statistics--
General Level: E+
Strength: E
Agility: D-
Vitality: E
Endurance: E-
Luck: C+
Magic Power: D-
Mana Efficiency: E+
Charm: S-
--Masteries--
[Swordsmanship(E+)] -- [Mana Expert(D-)] -- [Flame Elementalist(E+)] -- [Quie Family Slender Swordsmanship(D+)]
--Active Skills--
[Accumulated Speed(C-)] -- [Mana Barrier(E)]
--Passive Skills
[Temperature Stabilization(B+)] -- [Initial Damage Protection(C)]
------------------------------>>
My eye went straight to my charm statistic. The statistic, which is now S- grade, even though one would logically think that it should be an advantage to have it high, wasn't really like that at all.
Yes, in the hands of a manipulative person it can indeed be a 'blessing', but I don't need it, I don't think I will ever need it. Even if I did... I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that.
This statistic is nothing but a curse, at least for me, even if some people are seriously jealous of it.
I remembered the times when the statistic, even if it was still high, was still only in the A grades. Yes, I had people approaching me then too. There were people who looked at me with strange expressions. They were everywhere. Still... I was at least happier back then. I didn't have to walk around with a black mask on my face all day.
~beep! ~beep! ~beep!
I woke up from my daydream, realized I was almost in front of the dorm buildings, and sighed.
~beep! ~beep! ~beep!
Ah...
I quickly looked at my watch. I pressed the small button on the screen and turned around again, heading back to my room.
"Mom?"
"Lucia, are you free?"
"Yes, I'm in front of my dorm building."
"Good, I have good news for you."
I raised my eyebrows in curiosity. Because my mom was not the kind of person who called me for everything good.
"What happened?"
"Your father came back, he also said he has a present for you."
I stopped walking, the curiosity on my face slowly giving way to confusion and at the same time meaninglessness.
"Dad's back?"
He... couldn't be back, he wasn't supposed to come back for at least two months.
After all, he went to that dungeon. A dungeon whose rewards are as immense as its difficulties are great, but at the same time a very dangerous dungeon, a dungeon where one has to tread carefully.
If my father came back, it must mean that he cleaned the dungeon, right?
I paused, took a deep breath, and smiled slightly.
"I'm glad..."
I may not be putting it into words, but I'm really glad. I was really worried about my father. The danger of the dungeon he was in was obvious. Even though he 'had' to go there.
I... I had even prepared myself for the bad news.
The smile on my face, and the joy that came with it, remained, but then it was replaced by curiosity as another thought occurred to me.
"Oh, wait a minute. Did you say a gift?"
My mother chuckled lightly from the other side of the call.
"Yes, he found it in the dungeon."
"So, I'll have to come there then? Tomorrow is Friday, so I-"
"You don't need to leave the academy."
"Why not?"
My mother opened her mouth, and was about to speak, but paused. She waited for a moment, then I heard her sigh and the call abruptly ended.
I continued to stare at the screen blankly. And then, at that very moment, a deep voice echoed through the area.
"Because I'm already here."
I looked behind me, in the direction of the voice.
There was a literal giant with short, shiny golden hair and blood-red eyes just like mine. He was dressed casually and thinly as if to ignore the cold winter. He was over two meters tall, but also molded and broad-shouldered. He deserved almost all the nicknames that were given to him about his 'gigantism'.
He also had a huge smile on his face. His blood-red eyes sparkled with excitement and impatience.
"Ah, Dad?"
My astonishment suddenly turned to shock. Still, I didn't do anything unnecessary or ridiculous. I restrained myself, calmed myself down quickly, and then put a slight smile on my face.
"Welcome, Dad."
He grinned, and he looked strange when he did that with his height of over two meters. He was aware of that too, but he didn't care. He never cared about anything anyway.
"Heh, it's times like these that daughters are supposed to run and hug their fathers."
"I'm not a little girl."
"Before I went to the dungeon-"
Memories suddenly flooded my mind... and most of them were embarrassing.
"That was almost a year and a half ago!"
He quickly closed the distance between us and tried to put his hand on my head, but I stepped back.
"Dad! Don't do that!"
His wide smile suddenly gave way to a huge disappointment at my words. His face quickly soured and he even looked like he was in some pain. Yet he didn't stop there. He put his hand exaggeratedly on his chest and turned to the sky.
"I haven't seen my daughter for a year and a half... and when we meet again finally, she refuses to even hug me! It seems I have not done my duty as a father well..."
He turned around, took a slight step, and then suddenly a long, huge sword appeared in his hand. It was a blood-red sword, just like our eyes, simple looking but majestic. And my father, holding this sword, was still looking up at the sky.
"I will kill myself!"
The sword went to his neck. It continued until there were a few centimeters between them. It moved slowly, yet I didn't say a word. I put my hand on my waist and didn't answer, narrowing my eyes at the same time.
The sword finally stopped. Then my father turned to me again.
"The last time I did this, you cried and hugged me!"
"I was nine then!"
He clicked his tongue. Then the sword in his hand slowly disappeared into the atmosphere.
"All I wanted was a hug..."
"Then you should have said it properly."
This time I didn't say anything to protest. With the small distance between us, I came to him in just three steps and wrapped my arms around him. My father bent down quickly so that his two-meter height wouldn't be a problem.
For a while, nothing happened. Not a sound, not a disturbing breeze, not anything to interrupt us. I just hugged my father, as I had done at his farewell a year and a half ago, without saying a word.
This time, though, I was different. I wasn't someone who got caught up in the moment, I wasn't someone who couldn't speak just because I was in an emotional moment.
"Welcome back, Dad."
He hugged me even tighter. I knew that he missed me, that even with all the work he had accumulated for me since coming back from the dungeon, and even though he could have caused a fuss in the whole kingdom just by being here right now, he had ignored it and come straight to me.
In the same way, he knew that I missed him, no matter how I reacted. That's why he was gentle, soft, and smiling, even if he did exaggerated things.
"Welcome, Lucia."
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