Chapter 462 Thank You For Being My Father

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After learning and feeling relieved Eleanora had grown so attached with Erika that she didn't felt jealous of her advances with me anymore, we reached back home. The first thing we saw was my father cooking large steaks of Wild Giant Boar and skewers of the same meat in smaller chunks. Alongside that, there was also chicken meat and even fish, something new that has begun to become part of our daily life meals.

Apparently upon the purification of the forest, the swamps quickly changed and ended becoming a pristine lake which later connected to many new rivers that showed up. This made it so fish started popping out everywhere, and fishing now became a daily activity. There was a variety of fish in the lake and rivers, all of them edible.

Because there was such a plenty of fishes and they multiplied incredibly quickly due to the richness of mana and spiritual essence infused in the whole forest, freshwater fish suddenly became a staple food for our village. And not only fish, but small crustaceans also started showing up, such as freshwater crabs, shrimps, and lobsters, all of them delicious.

"Hey, look who's back! Did Eleanora evolved?" My father asked.

"Yeah. I am all evolved now!" Eleanora showed up before father.

"Hm? You kind of look the same to me…" He said while raising an eyebrow.

"Eh?! I-I did change!" Eleanora pouted. "Geez…"

"Hahaha, relax, relax! Anyways- Oh?"

My father suddenly was about to talk about something, but quickly stopped, looking at me and Erika… we were still holding hands without noticing. We quickly let go of each other's hands, as Erika blushed a bit.

"Oh? What's this? Since you were little kids that you haven't done that anymore…" My father began rubbing his chin while smiling. "Something's up here, isn't it?"

"W-Well…" Erika felt too nervous to speak.

I hugged her shoulder as I told father to not pursue the topic.

"Let it be dad. She doesn't want to adress it."

"Oh, okay, sorry. My bad."

Thankfully father was understandable about these things.

As we walked inside home, however, he stopped me a bit, asking Erika to go inside to talk with me. He also asked the same to Eleanora. As the two walked inside home, father and I had a small chat.

"Alright… So what I am assuming happened, isn't it?"

"…What are you assuming?"

"That you two are in… a relationship?"

"Not so… But we both kissed."

"That's more or less!"

My father suddenly got happy out of the blue, as he began rubbing my head like he was proud of me.

"I knew my boy would get to it eventually! You're as handsome as your father after all! Erika was always in love with you, your mother and I always knew you would end up together eventually."

"This is… rather embarrassing to talk about."

"It's fine, I am your old man, come on!"

"Sigh… Yeah, maybe we'll get to a relationship, but that'll take its time."

"I know you like things to go slowly. You're overly cautious about everything. To be honest I didn't really thought you would ever let her get to you like that, but I guess I was wrong. My son has really grown up."

"You think so?"

"Of course… You've grown up so much that sometimes I miss when you were smaller and grumpier."

My father began to laugh merrily.

I guess I'll miss this old man…

"Thank you dad."

"Eh? Why?"

"For… being my father."

"Huh?"

"You have been a figure I've looked up to since I was a kid."

Even though I once thought of him as a lowly human, I started to admire his strength, his personality, and his tenacity. Slowly, I changed my perspective and stopped looking at people in such a way, realizing everyone had their unique talents.

I suppose I looked up to him because despite the adversities we have faced as a poor family, he always fought to protect us, to bring us food, and to always make sure we were happy. No matter what. He even went as far as battling the demons and the undead armies, despite risking his life.

"You're an amazing man, thank you for raising me."

"Blake…"

My father smiled back at me and then hugged me tightly.

"I am also happy my first son was you. You're the best, kid."

I suddenly felt as if his tears were flowing over my shoulders.

"You're so talented. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed by everything you did… Over time, I took everything for granted, but I suppose you're still my kid, that baby I had to change the diapers from and all… Let me tell you that your father's proud of you."

My father quickly cleansed his tears as he smiled back at me.

"Thank you… I guess I needed to hear that."

It made me feel happy, a happiness I never thought I would feel before. The happiness of being praised, to make the ones important to you proud…

"Alright, let's go inside now-"

"Papa, I'm hungy!"

"Is fish done?"

Suddenly, two little five-year-old children came running out of the backyard. They were my two little siblings, the twins Anna and Allan. These last years I've dedicated myself to help my family at raising them, from changing their diapers, to washing their clothes, to make them special food babies could eat, to bring them nutritious ingredients for their baby diets, and so on.

They have become an important part of my heart, my two little siblings. Anna was very energetic, like Erika. She took a lot from her, as she had been playing with the twins since they were one year old. Anna is very adventurous, often dragging along the calmer Allan with her into her shenanigans.

Meanwhile, Allan is a calm boy, not as much as I was, but he was very observant of his surroundings, perhaps slightly afraid of the world, but it is understandable at his age. Nonetheless, Anna always dragged him along, so she was always there for him. I can trust her in protecting my little brother.

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