Draco watched as Vasileios returo the group, a slight frown on his fabsp;

  ‘Tsk, that ended quite fast. It was almost like he was just having fun rather than fighting. Should I have chosen the liger fang as his oppo instead?’ he mused.

  A heavy sigh escaped Draco's lips as he shook his head.

  ‘Sigh, what am I thinking? I should be gd that he made it through without any signifit injuries,’ he thought, his expression softening as he gazed at his familia members.

  Michalis was the first to greet Vasileios, a bright smile on his fabsp;

  "You were awesome, Vasileios!. You made the fight look way easier than it seemed" he excimed.

  Vasileios returhe smile, his owures rexed and tent.

  "Thanks, the fight was surprisingly way easier than I expected. Perhaps because I wasn't a bad match against a Minotaur. I think you would do fairly well against ooo," he replied, an encing nod in Michalis' dire.

  "Uh, thanks," Michalis murmured, his cheeks slightly flushed due to the ued pliment.

  Eleni, Dimitra, and Nikoos quickly joined in, each their own gratutions and praise for Vasileios' performanbsp;

  Draco waited patiently, the iion with a thoughtful gaze as he dismahe setup he had prepared for the battle.

  Finally, Draco approached Vasileios, his expression filled with pride.

  "You did quite well, Vasileios. You could have dohout all the taunting, but I am pleased that you emerged victorious heless," he said, his tone measured and soft.

  Draco paused, making eye tact with each of his familia members, save for the unscious Cir and Vasiliki.

  "I holy don't know how to express how proud I am right now. I am aware that I had set ridiculous requests for each of you, a you all still delivered."

  A wistful smile tugged at the ers of Draco's lips as he tinued.

  "Perhaps I am a bad leader for being so demanding, but my iions still remains the same. Watg you all da the jaws of death from a request of mine nearly made my heart burst, but it is something I believe you all have to gh to gairength necessary for our united and personal goals." Draco's expression softened, his voice taking on a more emotional tone.

  "You know that I love you all and would do just about anything to ensure your happiness. We may argue sometimes, hurt each other knowingly or unknowingly. We are family, after all. So feel free to talk to me about anything" He paused, briefly gng at the unscious Cir, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes.

  The others didn’t fail to notice this, but Draco quickly covered this with a smile and tinued speaking.

  "I hope that we will all learn and grow from this experience. Our lives may not have had the best of beginnings, but we have the ability to determine our own endings. I hope that the strength you have all gained will be put to good use, and that none of you stray from the path we have chosen together." The others responded in kind, their voices filled with affe and gratitude.

  "We love you too, Draii," they said in unison, their words sincere afelt.

  Draco's smile widened, his eyes kling at the ers.

  "I know," he said, his voice warm and tent.

  "Now, get ready. It is about time we returo our home."

  With that, the group sprang into a, each member taking on a specific task.

  Michalis carefully lifted the unscious Cir, while Nikoos did the same for Vasiliki.

  Dimitra positioned herself in the middle, ready to provide prote, while Eleni and Vasileios took the fnks.

  Draco took the lead, his senses heightened as he sent out pulses of energy, guiding them along routes that avoided both other adventurers and most monsters.

  The journey back to the surface was a slow and cautious one, but the Bahamut familia remained vigint and united.

  As they finally emerged into the faded daylight, Draced up at the darkened sky, realizing that they had been underground for nearly 12 hours.

  Initially, the pn had been to stop by the guild to sell their spoils before returning home, but Draco quickly residered.

  "We've had a long and trying day. Let's fet the guild visit for today and head straight bae. We take care of the rest ter tomorrow," he suggested.

  The others readily agreed, their weary but satisfied expressions mirr Draco's own.

  As they made their way through the bustling streets, the familia members walked in fortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts and refles on the events of the day.

  Draind wandered, his heart swelling with a mix of pride and for the future.

  He khat the challehey had faced today were just one of many to e, but he also khat they had all proven themselves capable of overing obstacles.

  ………………………………………………………………………………….

  Arriving home, the group quickly dispersed to their respective dwellings, eager to unwind after the day's events.

  Draco took the unscious Cir from Michalis and pced her on his babsp;

  They both stayed in the same house.

  CLICK !

  As soon as Draco opehe door, he could see Bahamut standing at the entrance, aed smile on her face.

  "Wele..." Bahamut's cheerful greeting was cut short as she caught sight of the unscious Cir on Draco's babsp;

  Her expression quickly shifted to one of .

  "What happened? Is she okay? Is everyone else alright?" she inquired.

  "She's fine, and so is everyone else. They just o eat a," Draco reassured her.

  He could see the relief wash over Bahamut's features after hearing his reply.

  "I see, that’s great. Well, I've already prepared dinner, and I was hoping we could all gather here to enjoy it together," Bahamut said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

  Draco sidered the proposition, but after the day's events, the others would likely prefer to retire to their own spaces and savour the meal in peace, or so he wa to be.

  "I think it's best if we pack the meals and deliver them to the others. It's quite te, and i believe that if we gather, they won't rest due to excitement," Draco expined.

  "I already imagihem staying up all night talking with you about their feats and may even request you to level them up tonight." he added.

  Iy, Draco just wao push anything stressful till the day.

  Although he didn't fight, he was the most emotionally drained and craved rest.

  He wao push their level up until the day, along with all the annoying work that would follow – fulfilling the requirements for his own level up, visiting the guild to sell their spoils and upgrade their familia rank, returning to a lot of paperwear repairs, purchases, dealing with Cir and a bunch of other things.

  As if those weren't stressful enough worries, he had to prepare for the aftermath of the Denatus meeting that would be held by the end of the week.

  There was a ce that the Bahamut familia would be challeo a war game, or even worse, attacked by a group of enemy familias.

  He also o sider the option of fleeing from Orario if things didn't go well.

  'Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about everything,' Draco thought.

  Bahamut, seeing his troubled expression, decided not to push the matter further.

  "Very well, then. I'll pack the meals for you to distribute. You should go and drop Cir in her room, freshen up aurn" she said, turning to walk into the kit.

  "Thanks," Draco said, grateful for her uanding.

  Carefully carrying the unscious Cir, Draade his way to her room aly tucked her into her bed.

  He thereated to the bathroom, where he indulged in a refreshing bath, letting the warm water soothe his weary muscles.

  Feeling rejuvenated, Draco ged into fresh clothing and headed to the kit to gather the meals Bahamut had prepared.

  "This is for Eleni, Dimitra, and Vasiliki. The other one is for Michalis, Nikoos, and Vasileios," the goddess expined, handing him the ly packaged dishes.

  "For Cir, I'll leave that on the dining table in case she wakes up before daylight. And the other pte is for you," Bahamut added with a warm smile.

  "Thank you," Draco said, appreciating the goddess's thoughtfulness.

  "Fufufu, silly boy. I'm just fulfilling one of my roles in our familia," the goddess replied.

  "Now hurry along ahose children, they must be starving. We have much to discuss when you return." she urged.

  Draco raised a brow, surprised that Bahamut had picked up on his iurmoil.

  "How did you know?" he asked, his voice ced with curiosity.

  "Just a hunch," Bahamut said with a pyful wink, gently shooing him towards the door.

  "Now, off you go!" she said.

  Draco obliged aed the house, carefully carrying the ptes of food.

  He first went to the house where Eleni, Dimitra, and Vasiliki were staying.

  They greeted him enthusiastically, relieved to see the mueeded sustenance.

  "Draii! You're a lifesaver. We were just about to raid the pantry," Eleni said, takie from him.

  "Thank you, Draii. We really appreciate it," Dimitra added, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the delicious-looking meal.

  “Hmm, how is Vasiliki?” Draquired.

  “She is still asleep, but her expression look a lot better” Dimitra replied.

  “I see” Drauttered.

  “Eleni!” he called out.

  “Hmm” Eleni replied, her cheeks bloated with food.

  “Do Vasiliki’s share” he warned.

  “I won’t, I am not that shameless” Eleni protested after swallowing the food in her mouth.

  “Watch her” Draco told Dimitra.

  “Hmmf" Eleni huffed in displeasure, stuffing her mouth with more food.

  “I will” Dimitra replied.

  Draodded and headed to the house, where Michalis, Nikoos, and Vasileios were.

  They, too, were grateful for the food and thanked Draco.

  "Bahamut sama really outdid herself this time," Vasileios said, his mouth already watering from the aroma.

  "Ihis will hit the spot perfectly," Nikoos agreed, already taking a bite.

  Drailed, gd to see them enjoying the meal.

  “Uhm, how is Cir?” Michalis asked, nervously fidgeting with his fingers.

  He was a bit nervous asking because he assumed that Draco was still angry with Cir.

  “Bro it’s only been like 30 mins since you st saw her, what did you expect to ge” Vasileios asked.

  “I…..” Michalis didn’t have an answer.

  “Rex, she is fine. So eat your dinner and turn in for the day, alright” Draco replied, lightly ruffling Michalis hair.

  “Hmm” Michalis respoaking a seat and begaing.

  Upourning to the main house, Draade his way to the kit.

  Entering the kit, Draco found Bahamut waiting for him, a warm cup of tea in hand.

  "Wele back," she greeted him warmly.

  "I hope the others eheir meals?” she asked.

  Draodded.

  "They seemed to enjoy it and said thank you." Bahamut's expression softened as she studied Draco's weary fabsp;

  "I see that you've been through a lot, my dear child. Why don't you have a seat and tell me what's on your mind?" she offered.

  Draco hesitated for a moment, not wanting to burden the goddess with his thoughts.

  "Here, I thought you might his," she said, a steaming beverage.

  Draco accepted the cup gratefully, the aroma of the tea calming his nerves.

  "Thank you, Bahamut. I appreciate your uanding earlier," he said, sinking into a nearby chair.

  "Of course, my dear," Bahamut replied, her voice soft and soothing.

  "I may be a goddess, but I'm also a part of this familia. I know the burdens you carry, and I want to support you however I ." she said.

  "Sigh, where do I even begin?" Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair.