“Father!”

Lavinia stared at the Dragon licking his father’s face like the most adorable creature in the world with a ridiculous look on her face.

Just…

What was happening…?

She slowly turned her head, looking at the giant crater that had formed in front of her, then she turned back and saw the one who caused it receiving hugs and pats from a human close to her size with a joyful look on her face.

“You were amazing as always, Igni.”

Kael laughed as he gently rubbed his child’s head.

“It was nothing.”

Igni nodded confidently.

Then suddenly,

“Father.”

Imperia called out.

“Sister Vita is waiting.”

The Ant informed.

Kael nodded.

“Father.”

Igni’s eyes shined with expectation. Kael chuckled at that and quickly sat on the Dragon’s back.

“I’ll be back.”

Kael spoke as he glanced at Lavinia, who simply nodded in return. She did not have the heart to sit on Igni again.

Without waiting, Igni soared into the air.

“Hahaha~”

Kael laughed as strong winds brushed past his face. To impress his father even more, Igni raised his speed even further.

The Dragon only had one goal.

To tell his Father that he was faster than that bird.

Not just faster, he was better in every way. There was no need for his Father to ride on her when he had him.

Kael already knew what his firstborn was thinking and continuously patted his head. Within seconds, the Dragon was hovering where Vitaria was.

Kael looked down and saw thirteen Aberrants, all chasing after something. Now what they were chasing, Kael had no clue.

To him, it just looked like the Aberrants were much angrier than they should be and with how Vitaria was constantly laughing as she watched them,

Kael could tell that the little Fox was having her fun playing with the mindless creatures.

Honestly, somewhere in his heart, he pitied the poor things.

Vita was definitely the worst match for them.

In the end, Igni descended, and once Vita jumped into Kael’s arms, the Dragon flew up again, then, wanting to put the poor victims out of their misery, Kael patted Igni’s head.

His firstborn instantly realized what he wanted and,

WHAAMMM

Just like other Corrupted Beasts, the Aberrants were scorched out of existence as well. The only difference between the two was that—

BOOOOOM

After their deaths, the Aberrants exploded, not that it made any difference. Igni, Vita, and Kael were in the air, too far away to get hurt.

Just like that, the Aberrants were wiped out as well.

Igni returned and landed in front of Lavinia again, Kael asked Imperia for the report and the Ant answered quickly,

“All the Sky Beasts, Brutes, and Aberrants are dead, two Swarm Beasts and eight Crawlers are left. It would take about five minutes for the defenders to clear everything.”

“Casualties?”

“Fifteen defenders dead, twenty-one injured. Fortunately, none of the injuries are too severe, they will live. The people hiding in the granary and cellars are completely safe.”

“These fifteen…”

“All of them died before we got here. After our arrival, no defender died because brother Igni killed half of the Beasts.”

Hearing those words, Kael stared at Lavinia, who nodded back.

Could they have saved everyone and avoided those fifteen deaths?

Yes.

That was possible.

With Igni, taking down the Corrupted Beasts before they appeared in the Town was possible, but if 71 Beasts surrounded them, there was a chance that they could have been injured.

A chance Kael didn’t wish to take.

Plus…

Lavinia had another reason she told Kael to wait, a reason she hadn’t revealed yet.

Reputation.

Kael was a Hero.

Ignoring all the politics and schemes, the people in general were on Kael’s side. They supported the Hero and believed that he would protect them.

In conclusion, Kael had a positive reputation.

And Lavinia knew how important that was.

However, the Hero had spent the last three weeks with her, no one knew where the Hero had escaped to.

And while three weeks isn’t a long time, it was definitely long enough for panic to set in.

…long enough for the enemies to paint the Hero in a negative light and ruin Kael’s reputation.

Saving this town was Lavinia’s way of countering that.

The people, who were saved, would spread the news.

‘The Hero saved a Town from a Corrupted Beast Tide.’

This will prove Kael’s stance against the Corruption and show that the Hero was indeed working hard for the people, making it harder for the enemies to paint him in a negative light.

As to why Lavinia told him to wait, while it was true that she did it in order to take command more easily, that was only part of the reason. The true reason was simpler,

The higher the desperation, the higher the Hero’s importance.

Saving desperate people was a much more sure-shot way to imprint a positive, noble image. Of course, from her interactions with Kael, Lavinia knew he would never agree to this, so she decided to keep this part to herself.

She had played this dirty game with a pure heart before, and she had seen the results.

Now, she would play it like how others played it.

With only two people’s interests in her mind,

Hers and Kael’s.

Lavinia’s eyes shined with a ruthless light as she thought about it, soon however, her eyes returned to normal as she smiled at Kael.

“My Lord!”

On the other side, Darnic dashed towards them with a wide, desperate smile on his face. Without waiting, the captain kowtowed and,

“Please accept my deepest gratitude, My Lord!

You saved us! You saved everyone!

I—”

“Captain Darnic.”

Before the Captain could complete, Kael quickly crouched and grabbed him.

“I only did what I was supposed to do, it was nothing special, please do not act like this.”

“M-My Lord…”

Darnic blinked, he did not know what to say.

“Please let us compensate you in some way, My Lord.”

Elda bowed her head as well.

“I did not do this to get anything.”

Kael instantly shook his head.

“Bu—”

“Please don’t make this too difficult for me, Town Head Elda. If you wish to give us something, a place to stay the night would be more than enough.”

“O-Of course! You can stay here for however long you wish!”

Elda’s face brightened up.

“We only need a place for one night.”

Kael laughed lightly.

Very quickly, he and the others were surrounded, people of all ages came to thank him. It was slightly overwhelming, but Kael held on as he accepted everyone’s gratitude with a smile.

Time passed just like that, Lavinia went around healing the injured, she still wore a cloak, hiding her identity.

The bodies of corrupted beasts were burned, the dead defenders were buried, people who lost their homes adjusted somewhere else while Lavinia, with her Earth Magic, helped rebuild the Town’s infrastructure.

Just like that, the sun fell.

It was time for dinner.

A dinner Town Head Elda was looking forward to.