The morning slowly dragged into midday.
Lys helped unpack the rest of the groceries, carried water from the washroom to the kitchen, and fixed a loose board on the backyard's step-stairs like nothing heavy had happened earlier.
Every now and then, he caught Selene watching him from across the room and Mitsu giving him those quiet, steady looks. The secret sat between the three of them like an unspoken agreement. For now, it stayed there.
When the sun climbed higher and the house settled into its usual rhythm, Lys finally worked up the courage.
He found Elara in the kitchen, wiping down the table. Mira was upstairs, and Mitsu had gone to hang laundry out back. It was perfect timing for him to ask Elara.
"Mom," he said, leaning on the table with one palm. "I need to go out for a bit."
Elara straightened up, cloth still in her hand. She looked at him for a long second, eyes narrowing. "No."
Lys blinked. "But I'm fine now. Really. I just need to handle something in the village."
"No, you're not healed yet," she said firmly, turning back to the kitchen counter and wiping it harder than necessary. "Your body went through a lot. You almost died, Lys. I'm not letting you run around out there again so soon."
"I know what my body feels like," he tried to convince her anyway. "The pain in my rib is gone. I can move normally, see." He tried to show her by stretching himself sideways.
Elara shook her head without looking at him. "I said no. End of discussion."
He stepped closer. "Mom, please. It's important."
She finally turned around, hands on her hips. "Yeah? Important enough to risk opening your wounds again? I don't think so."
Lys exhaled through his nose. He had known this wouldn't be easy.
So, without thinking too much, he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and open, exposing his bare chest right in front of her.
"Look," he said. "There's no wounds. It's all healed. See? Even my hand is fully healed."
The kitchen went dead quiet.
Elara stood directly in front of him, eyes locked on his naked chest. The skin was smooth, with no scars, no bruises, and definitely no sign of the damage that had nearly killed him just one day ago. Seeing the scene, her lips parted slightly.
For a moment, she stood frozen. Then her cheeks flushed deep red. Her ears turned pink. She stared at the defined lines of muscle, at the way his chest rose and fell with each breath, seeing her son, really seeing him, as a man for the first time.
Then she quickly looked away, flustered. "O-okay… I see it." Her voice came out higher than normal. She reached forward, fingers trembling just a little, and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it closed. She kept her eyes on his shoulder instead of his face. "Put it down. Cover yourself."
Lys let the shirt fall back into place. "So… can I go?"
Elara stepped back, composing herself. She cleared her throat twice. "Fine. You can go. But no adventuring. And no fighting anything. Do what you need to do and come straight back home safely before dark. Understand?"
"Yeah, I understand," he said, trying not to smile at how red her face still was.
The unsaid part hung thick in the room, that he was probably going outside the village to ask Tresta to come live with them.
Elara knew. He knew she knew. But neither of them said it out loud.
Lys headed upstairs to grab the CorpseSlayer from Selene's room, where he had left it earlier.
As he came back down the stairs, Mira's door was wide open. She was sitting on a small table, carving a wooden doll just inside. Hearing the noise of someone closing the door beside her room, her eyes flicked toward the open door of hers.
She looked from the sword at his hip up to his face. She didn't say anything, but the look she gave him was long and thoughtful.
Lys noticed, but he didn't read too much into it. He just gave her a small nod and continued down.
In the kitchen, he grabbed a quick glass of water, drank it in one go, and walked out the front door.
The garden at the front of the house caught his eye as he passed. The new plantings Elara, Mira, and Mitsu had put in were starting to show, tiny green shoots reaching up toward the sun. They looked fragile but determined.
He paused for half a second, feeling a little proud of his family and the view of his house, then kept walking.
The village road was busier than it used to be just days ago. People turned their heads when he passed. A few called out.
"Hey, Lys! Is it true you took down a whole hobgoblin pack by yourself?"
"Kid, you really came back from the dead twice now?"
He nodded politely, answered a couple of quick questions, but didn't stop to chat. The story of him fighting the hobgoblin had clearly spread fast in just a single day's span.
He reached the guild hall first. He wanted to check in with Vessa and Pell before heading out, and he had promised to bring Sara along to see Tresta, too. She had asked for it, and he didn't want to upset her by going alone.
When he came close to the guild, he saw Sara's shop was busy with customers- lots of customers. Business was booming for her. So, he continued straight into the guild house, thinking he would go inside the shop after meeting Vessa and Pell.
The moment he stepped inside, he stopped suddenly.
The guild wasn't exactly as what he left it just days ago. It was full.
Not just village-full, new faces everywhere. Extra desks had been added overnight. Women in sharper clothes were moving with purpose, carrying papers and talking in low, efficient voices. Capital-staff energy radiated through the room.
Lys scanned the crowd, looking for Vessa.
He couldn't see her anywhere, but he found Pell sorting through some papers. So, he started walking to the guy.