Chapter 269: Shopping.

Chapter 269: Shopping.

After leaving the Sword Saint’s house, Kael didn’t head straight home.

He had a few things to take care of first.

Although the Association had made sure their new home was fully equipped with all the basic appliances and necessities required for day-to-day living, there were still plenty of personal things Kael needed to buy. Clothes, groceries, cooking utensils, and a number of other small items that hadn’t been included.

Fortunately, getting everything he needed didn’t take long.

By the time he finished shopping, the sun had already begun its descent, and Kael finally made his way back home. It didn’t take long before his bike pulled up in front of the house.

Kael stepped inside.

The entire house was quiet, as if no one was even home. Yet Kael could still sense Lyra’s presence upstairs.

More specifically, inside the room where their unconscious mother lay.

Kael made his way up the stairs and followed her presence until he eventually stopped in front of the bedroom door. He pushed it open and immediately saw Lyra sitting beside their mother’s bed.

A chair had been placed close to the bedside, and Lyra was sitting on it while gently holding their mother’s hand. Her fingers slowly stroked the back of their mother’s hand again and again, almost unconsciously.

Their mother remained completely still.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing quiet and steady as she continued to lie unconscious beneath the blanket.

Kael walked farther into the room, but Lyra didn’t even react to his presence. She was so focused on their mother that she hadn’t noticed him enter.

Kael stopped beside her for a moment before lightly tapping her shoulder.

Lyra’s body jolted slightly.

She turned around and looked up at him.

"Oh, you’re back."

"Yeah."

Kael glanced toward their mother before looking back at Lyra.

Lyra remained seated for another moment before asking, "So?"

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

"Any good news?"

"Oh, about that."

Kael pulled over another chair and sat down beside her. His expression became more serious as he began telling her everything that had happened.

He explained what Varek had discovered about the Modreta Gu and how the parasites were connected to their mother’s condition. He explained that killing them carelessly would broadcast their location and potentially attract the attention of whatever existence had sent them.

He told her about the decision they’d made, to deal with them gradually instead, allowing Varek to eliminate the offspring of the Modreta Gu, which was the main cause of their mother’s condition, without triggering it’s dangerous consequences.

Then he explained the necklace.

He told her everything Varek had discovered about the strange necklace, how it seemed capable of hiding their mother’s presence from divination and every kind of magical investigation.

Lyra listened silently.

The more Kael explained, the more her expression changed.

Anger occasionally flashed across her face whenever Kael mentioned the Modreta Gu or the possibility that someone had deliberately placed them inside their mother. Her fingers tightened slightly around their mother’s hand, but she never interrupted.

She simply listened.

Eventually, Kael finished explaining everything.

Silence settled over the room.

Lyra lowered her gaze toward their mother as she processed everything she had just heard.

"So Mom is safe for now?"

"Yes."

Kael nodded.

"As long as Varek keeps dealing with the Modreta Gu without triggering whatever mechanism they have, there shouldn’t be any problems for now."

Lyra released a quiet breath.

"That’s better."

There was a noticeable difference in her expression.

For so long, she had been forced to watch their mother slowly deteriorate without understanding what was actually happening. The doctors had diagnosed her with mana sickness, and at the time, there hadn’t been any known cure.

All Lyra could do was watch.

She had watched their mother become weaker.

She had watched her body slowly shrink away.

She had watched the life inside her gradually fade while knowing there was nothing she could do about it.

Then Duns’ potion had appeared.

It had given them hope, but even after their mother began receiving the potion, her condition hadn’t improved as much as they had expected. The shadow of death had continued to hang over her, never completely disappearing.

That uncertainty had always terrified Lyra.

But now they finally knew the truth.

Their mother wasn’t simply suffering from mana sickness.

There was something else inside her.

Something deliberately placed there.

And the person who had discovered it wasn’t some ordinary doctor or Hunter. It was Kael’s subordinate, someone who had once been an ancient and incredibly powerful existence.

If someone like that had made the diagnosis, who was Lyra to think otherwise? More importantly, Varek hadn’t simply identified the problem.

He had already begun dealing with it.

Lyra lowered her head slightly.

"I’m really glad you have someone like him."

Kael looked at her.

"If you didn’t have someone like Varek, I don’t even know what we would have done. He’s already solved so many things for us, and now he’s even dealing with the thing inside Mom."

Her voice became quieter.

"I’m really grateful to you for that."

Kael didn’t say anything for a moment.

He simply nodded.

His gaze shifted toward their mother.

The two siblings remained beside the bed for a while, neither saying anything.

Eventually, Kael stood.

"Okay. I’ll get going."

Lyra nodded.

Kael opened his Inventory and picked up the bags he had brought home and handed some of them to her.

"These are yours."

Lyra looked inside.

Clothes and a few other things she had needed were neatly packed inside.

"You bought all this?"

"Yeah."

Lyra nodded quietly as she set the bags beside her chair.

Kael looked toward her.

"And I hope you haven’t forgotten about our training."

Lyra looked up.

"I haven’t."

"I’ve been busy today, but not tomorrow. We’ll have another training session tomorrow."

Lyra nodded without complaint.

She had already decided that she wanted to become stronger. She didn’t want to spend her entire life relying on Kael whenever something happened.