Wizard World Irregular

Several hours after Lilian and Cedric saw the fox lady in the Great Eagle Forest, Ethan found himself sitting at the dining table with Seff and his children.

He could vaguely remember that he was heading to the academy's dining hall when someone suddenly grabbed him and knocked him unconscious.

Since he was in the academy, he thought that he didn’t need to be on constant alert since his safety was guaranteed inside it.

But, that was a mistake.

When he regained consciousness, he was already tied to a chair, while Lyall was heaping meat dishes on his plate.

“Good. You’re finally awake,” Seff said casually. “We’ve been here for a few days, but you haven’t come to meet us even once. Since that's the case, I decided to invite you to join us for dinner.”

The corner of Ethan’s lips twitched after hearing Seff’s statement.

He wanted to complain and say that knocking someone unconscious and dragging them away was not the proper way to invite someone for dinner.

But since it was his fault for not paying close attention to his surroundings, he did the only thing he could do, and that was to sigh in his heart.

Lily, who felt apologetic for her father’s action, untied Ethan, allowing the latter to sit more comfortably.

Conall had an amused look on his face as he ate the meal that was prepared for them by the academy.

They were currently in the VIP lodging especially prepared for the Beast King, located inside Brynhildr Tower.

Whatever they were going to talk about here would not be seen or heard by anyone, giving them privacy.

Surprisingly, no one talked as they ate. Seff made it a point that discussion should only be had after they were done eating.

This was a good thing for Ethan because he couldn’t shake off the feeling that they would be discussing something important later.

Because of that, he focused on filling his stomach so that he would be prepared for what was going to happen next.

Twenty minutes later, Seff finally stopped eating.

Ethan, Lily, Lyall, and Conall were already done eating since a few minutes ago and were simply waiting for the Beast King to finish his meal.

“I want to know what you plan to do once the school year ends,” Seff stated. “There are three months left until the end of your studies, so I was wondering if you plan to head to Midgard as soon as the academy closes its doors.”

“About that, Father, if possible, I want to take Lily to meet my grandparents and my adoptive father,” Ethan answered. “My Grandparents, especially my Grandma, want to see her. I will also formally introduce her as my fiancee, so I hope you will give her permission to come with me.

“I plan to stay with my grandparents for a week or two before heading to Midgard to take my coming-of-age ceremony.”

Seff nodded, giving his permission. “How long do you think you will be in Midgard? Will you have time to visit us in Southshire?”

“I’m not really sure how long I’ll be there,” Ethan replied honestly. “But if time permits, I will head to Southshire to visit you and Mother Leah so that I can formally introduce myself to the family.”

A faint smile appeared on Seff’s face before once again nodding his head.

“Since you said that you’ll visit us if you came back early, then you should do it. But if you’re really unable to visit us before classes start, I will understand. However, you must make sure to make the trip as soon as humanely possible. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Father.” Ethan nodded.

“Good.” Seff nodded. “We will also perform your marriage rights with Lily when that time comes. We Beastkins don’t do any fancy ceremonies like the wedding that you Humans do.”

“It’s more of a private affair, with two people making an oath to the Earth Mother. Lily will tell you the details at a later time.

“She told me that you wanted to do it while the two of you were in the Lands of Alastor.

“However, she said that it didn’t feel right since you would definitely feel guilty toward the girls named Chloe and Luna, whom you were supposed to confess to before the two of you got trapped in the past. Since this is an important matter, I believe that my daughter made the right decision back then.

“Marriage is something that shouldn’t be done half-heartedly. This is true for all races, regardless if they are Humans, Beastkins, Elves, or Dwarves. Speaking of marriages… you plan to marry your other lovers, yes?”

Ethan nodded. “I do.”

“Do you think you can satisfy all of them?” the corner of Seff’s lips rose up after asking this question.

But before Ethan could answer this question, someone beat him to it.

“He can,” Lily replied.

“Are you talking from experience?” Lyall asked in a teasing tone, which made her sister’s face turn beet red.

Lily didn’t answer, but it was very obvious that the answer to Lyall’s question was yes.

Conall found Lily’s reaction quite amusing.

He had already recognized Ethan as his brother-in-law, and he was confident that the young man would be able to protect his sister without a problem.

“I also want to thank you because my other daughter seemed to have finally calmed down a bit,” Seff said as he gave Lyall a side-long glance. “I don’t know what kind of juice you made her drink, but it worked wonders on her personality.”

Lyall pouted, but she didn’t say anything to affirm or deny her father’s statement.

“She also said that she has become good friends with the girl named Chloe,” Seff said. “I’ll come and see her before I leave. I want to thank her for tolerating my daughter’s stubbornness. I’m sure that she suffered a lot.”

“I didn’t make her suffer, okay?” Lyall commented. “I just carried her around the Great Eagle Forest with one hand.”

Ethan and Lily blinked as they looked at Lyall in confusion.

“You carried her with one hand?” Lily inquired.

“Yes,” Lyall answered. “The two of us bonded in that manner.”

Ethan briefly imagined Lyall holding Chloe with one hand as she took a stroll inside the Great Eagle Forest.

No matter how much he tried to look at it in a positive way, he couldn’t understand how the two of them could've bonded in that situation.

‘Well, Chloe is very good when it comes to making friends,’ Ethan thought. ‘Since she and Lyall are now friends, I guess that’s a good thing.’

Lily once mentioned that her sister, Lyall, didn’t have any friends. She only cared about her family members and treated the rest as complete strangers.

Overall, the dinner with Seff’s family ended in a quite positive note, and Lyall was even well-behaved.

Ethan didn’t know if she was like that because her father was there or if she had really learned to rein in her emotions. However, he welcomed these changes.

After their date ended, Lyall no longer bothered him nor made any move to actively follow him everywhere like a stalker.

After making a promise, once again, that he would visit Southshire as soon as possible, Ethan left the tower with Lily.

As they were walking along the hallways that led to the exit, they came across Lilian and Cedric, who seemed to be heading in the same direction.

“Since he’s already here, I’ll let him escort you back to Dud Manor,” Cedric said as he gave Ethan a sidelong glance. “Good night, Lilian.”

“Good night, Brother,” Lilian replied.

She then watched as her brother disappeared from her view before walking toward Ethan to hold his hand.

They then happily walked toward Dud Manor, with Lily walking alongside them.

Ethan and Lily decided that they would no longer hide their relationship when they became Second Years.

Until then, they would continue acting like normal friends in the academy, only sharing hugs and kisses in places where no eyes could see.

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