Chapter 75 Saying Goodbye Part 2

The king and Henry were both silent hearing Vance answer truthfully they could tell he also thought the same. Only after a while did the king speak up: "Alice can you stay here tonight and keep me company one last time?"

"Mmm.. I am sure Sally wishes to spend some time with Uncle, and Vance probably wants to see his parents as well." Alice replied with a smile. To spend one more night having dinner and talking with her father before she left was not a bad thing.

Vance said goodbye to Alice while he went back to Henry's estate. He did not go to the main house so after saying goodbye to Sally he headed to the small cottage his parents were given on Henry's land. It even had a small backfield that his father could use to grow crops if he so wished.

The cottage was surrounded by a wooden fence and had vines and moss growing over the roof. It looked more like part of the landscape than a house, but it was well maintained. Vance walked up to the door and knocked on it to hear Maybel inside telling him to come in. "Oh? Vance!"

Ricky was the first to see him as Vance walked in. "Father." Vance walked over and sat down on the blue couch, pushed up against the wall. Ricky smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "So, what is with the sudden visit? You are alone, don't tell me you and the girls broke up?"

Vance smiled and shook his head. "No, I plan to stay here for a night to keep you and mother company. I will be leaving the capital tomorrow to go out on an adventure. I want to see the world and grow more powerful. Alice and Sally will be coming with me."

"Oh? Going on an adventure, huh?" Ricky sighed as he leaned back. "When your birth mother and I were young, we did the same. Back then, we went to many lands. It was only when we were in our late twenties did she decide she wanted a child. That was when you were born. She was happy, and I was happy.

"Sadly, after you turned two, she grew sick. To this day, I still don't know what caused her to be sick but just know that she loved you dearly. Hell, she wouldn't put you down no matter what. She kept saying you were her pride and joy. The only man she would ever love." Ricky chuckled as he playfully punched Vance in the arm. "You are the only bastard to make me wear a green hat!

"Joking aside. She truly loved you deeply and wished for you to have a happy life. Life can be short. It can end suddenly for some. Your mother was one of those who were destined to leave early." Ricky had tears welling up in his eyes as he lowered his head. "Damn, woman is burning food in the kitchen again."

Vance chuckled but did not call his father out on the lie he just made. He could tell his father truly loved his mother. "Father, what was Mother's name?"

"Pam…" Ricky's words sent shock waves through Vance.  He began seeing scenes of his mother in the real world. It was of her working with a small smile on her face. She seemed at ease as if things were going well for her.

She was in a small office in what seemed like her house. On her desk was a picture frame, but the photon on it was blurry. He couldn't make it out. "Vance!? You okay!?"

Vance snapped out of his daze. He looked at Ricky with wide eyes before nodding his head. "Yeah… Just tired, is all. It has been a busy day." Vance replied. He wondered if it was because the mother of his current body was named Pam, the same as his real life mother, or not but the scene he just saw seemed very real. But strangely, he could not remember what it was about. He only knew the images were very real and it was of his real world mother.

Seeing how Vance was kind of out of it, Ricky decided to change the topic. "So, where do you plan to head?"

"We will be going south. I plan to stop off at the spot where I first met Alice."  In truth, he was going there for the unique monster, the Phantasmal Forest Treant Sporutgoon. He wanted to see if it would spawn or not. He figured now he could easily kill the monster in an instant. Although the items it dropped might be a bit lacking by now.

"I see… You are being quite romantic!" Ricky gave a teasing smile as he sat up. "Vance…. Thank you for calling Maybel, mother. She has been waiting so long for you to call her that. She has no kids of her own, and she has always seen you as her son. So be nice to her even if I were to pass away."

Vance nodded his head. "I promise. Even if you are gone, I will still look after her."

"Good! You are a grown man now. You have already started your own family. I wish you luck in your journey. Now go say hi to Maybel. She has poked her head in here a few times now" Vance spent the night eating dinner and chatting with Ricky and Maybel. He gave them a bunch of gold to live off of for a while until he could send more to him later on through the guild. While Ricky wanted to reject it, Vance still pushed it into his hands.

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The next morning, the song birgoons were singing as the first morning dew dropped from the leaves of the trees. The sun had just barely shined its light over the land when three figures appeared at the gates of the capital. "We are starting…."

"Mm… we are finally free to move forward and begin our journey." Alice smiled and took a deep breath.

Vance looked at the two girls, who seemed excited and held their hands, but this moment only lasted a few seconds when a voice came from behind them. "Hey! It's you! Prepare to die!"