"Hey, don't give me that look; maybe you should be strong enough to help your wife." Setting the boxes down, I flashed Jackal a smirk, causing him to blankly stare at me. "You're just asking for a fight, aren't you? Just because I've gotten older, don't think I've grown softer."
Seeing Jackal hike his sleeves up, I just chuckled while shaking my head. "You sure you want to do that? I didn't become an A-class adventurer because of my handsomeness." "Tch, if they ranked people off appearances, you would've been kicked out of the guild." "Says the pot calling the kettle black." "Alright! You cheeky punk!"
Grinning, Jackal lunged at me, prompting me to outstretch my arms as we grabbed each other's hands while trying to push the other. Of course, neither of us was using our full strength; we were merely horsing around. "Heh, you've gotten strong, Alex; I remember when I used to be able to toss you around like a piece of paper." Rolling my eyes at his words, I clenched his hands lightly, causing Jackal to bite his lip.
"You putting up a strong front for your wife?" "I-I don't know what you're talking about." Even without the skill [Omni-lingual], I could tell he was lying; it seemed he wanted to regain some semblance of pride after I helped Kurina. However, just as I was about to push him back, Michelle and Kurina moved with practiced ease, each grabbing one of our ears simultaneously, as if they had spoken to each other beforehand.
"Yokich! Behave yourself!" "Y-Yes, Dear!" "Alexander, that's not how you should be treating a guest." "S-Sorry, Honey!" Satisfied with our responses, our ears were released, prompting Jackal and I to rub our heads while we silently exchanged gazes, understanding that the two of us were clearly whipped men. Seeing amusement held within his gaze, I rolled my eyes and clicked my tongue, annoyed that we've become a lot more similar in the years.
"Kurina!" "Michelle!" After having dealt with us, the two of them hugged, while remarking on their appearances, prompting Jackal to approach me. "Heh, I see you've become a proper married man." "I will punch you." "Hahahah!" Sighing while Jackal laughed, I lightly pushed him by the shoulder, causing him to stop. "Oh, don't be so upset, being married isn't all bad. You get to eat delicious food." "I'm the one who cooks the food. Did you forget that?" "Yes, I did… Damn, you have it rough."
Softly laughing while shaking my head, Jackal gestured for his two children to approach, prompting me to rein in my laughter. "Alex, let me introduce you to my children. Canzer and Rancor." With a smile that was all pride, Jackal pointed at Canzer, a young man who was a mix between Jackal and Kurina, before gesturing to Rancor, a teenager, who, unlike his older brother, had more of his father's features.
"Heh, why are you introducing me to them like I hadn't met them?" "Well, it's been a while." Nodding in agreement, I stepped forward, outstretching my hand to Canzer, who took it. "You should have some recollection of me; you were five years old last time we met." As we shook hands, Canzer nodded while faintly smiling. "I do. Though it's not much." "Ah, that's fine, better than nothing."
Breaking our handshake, I shifted over to Rancor, who should be either fourteen or fifteen. "We've met before, but there is no way you could remember me; you couldn't even walk back then." Smiling, Rancor, and I shook hands, though I could tell he was a bit nervous; it seemed he wasn't that comfortable with meeting new people. 'Well, it's probably because he's still young.'
After breaking our handshake, I wrapped an arm around Jackal. "So, either of you guys interested in being an Adventurer like your old man?" Smirking, I aggressively patted his chest while Jackal stood proudly, though Rancor shook his head. "N-No. Seems dangerous." Rancor responded while glancing between Jackal and I, causing me to nod.
"It seems interesting, but Mom prevents us from being adventurers. She says it's too dangerous." Wryly smiling, Canzer gestured to Kurina, who was in a deep conversation with Michelle, before shaking his head. "Ah, yeah, Kurina still has some, let's say, reservations since THAT day, you know. She doesn't want her sons to end up like I did, which I can't blame her for; I don't either."
With a wry expression, Jackal scratched his head while looking at Kurina before softly sighing, causing me to nod as I clearly understood their sentiment; I, too, wouldn't want my children to wind up nearly dead. "Ah, understandable, understandable… Anyway, C'mon, let's take your stuff to your new house, and then I'll introduce you guys to the rest of my family."
Patting Jackals' back, I approached the boxes of luggage and used [Shrink] on them, shrinking them to less than a third of their size, allowing me to carry all of them without a problem. "Damn, wish I had that." While Jackal muttered to himself, I called out to Michelle and Kurina. "Hey, the two beautiful ladies, c'mon!" Grabbing their attention, we walked around the mansion, heading to the far left of the estate, where the three guest houses were located.
"Whoa, is that thing our house?" "Yep." "Fucking huge." "Unlike a certain something." Mocking Jackal, who was too stunned by the size of his new home to even react, Canzer, Rancor, and Kurina weren't any better. Entering the house, I set the boxes aside, allowing them to return to their normal state.
"Alright, you guys can look around later." Dimissively waving my hand, I grabbed Jackal by his collar, practically dragging him out of the house while we headed to the mansion. Entering through the front entrance, we headed to the living room, where everyone was relaxing on the couch and chairs; though when they saw us, their conversations died down.
"Hah, how are you doing, Yuki? Still scaring others?" Jackal, spotting a familiar face, flashed a grin while approaching Yuki, who scoffed. "Hmph, still a pervert?" "I guess that answers that question." While Jackal awkwardly scratched his head from Yuki's comeback, I took the liberty of introducing them to everyone.
"Guys, this is Jackal, a good friend of mine; he's the one I sent the letter regarding the position of the steward. This is his family, Kurina, Canzer, and Rancor." As I gestured to the family, three out of four of them responded appropriately, but one of them had to try to stand out. "A pleasure, my ladies. My real name is Yokich Tazban, though feel free to call me Jackal." I could feel my face twitching as I watched Jackal greet everyone.
"I'd also like to add he's a huge pervert." Immediately, the friendly gazes everyone gave him were replaced with looks of disgust, causing me to faintly smile as I nodded. "Oi, that was uncalled for! Also, I'm not a pervert!" "What about the old trip and breast maneuver?" Folding my arms, I merely raised an eyebrow while eyeing him, causing him to awkwardly cough while averting his gaze.
"You were the one who did it to that elf that one time." "Tch, I actually tripped. Also, her breasts were small; if I were to use that 'technique' I would've done it on a big-breasted woman." "Heh, I see you've learned from the best, Alex."
Rubbing my face in exhaustion at his stupid antics, I stepped forward and punched his stomach, causing him to keel over while holding his stomach. "U-Uncalled for, Alex." "Thank you, Alex, I've been meaning to do that for several years now." I flashed a smile to Kurina. "No problem at all."
Grabbing Jackal by the collar, I lifted him while gesturing to my family. "You already know Michelle and Yuki, so I'll skip them. She's Lazuli, beside her is Jasmine, next to her is Vanye, beside her is her brother, Vanimo, alongside his wife, and my best friend, Talis, then finally, we have Chloe."
While they were a bit hesitant to deal with Jackal, they warmly greeted Kurina, Canzer, and Rancor. "Excuse me, Chloe, but you don't happen to be Michelle's daughter, right?" "Hmm, yes." At Chloe's words, Kurina shot me a suspicious look, causing me to tilt my head before quickly denying whatever she was thinking.
"Hold on, hold on, Kurina. I know it probably seems weird, but I promise you, I did nothing wrong, I'm not a creep. I was just dancing with a 13-year-old, and I felt super uncomfortable." I should've chosen my words better as Kurina narrowed her eyes at me, and to make matters worse, Chloe thought it would be great to play a prank on me.
"Eh, Alex, what happened? I thought you said I was the only child you were interested in." Chloe's innocence only made it even more believable. "Chloe, the hell are you talking about!?" "You don't remember, it was 8 years ago, on my tenth birthday, when we were bathing together."
"Whoa, I didn't know you were like that, Alex; I may be a pervert, but I'm no creep." Glancing at Jackal's disappointed gaze, I heaved a deep sigh before glaring at Chloe, who was all smiles. 'Oh, I'll get my revenge.'