"Hey, it's grandpa Raku. He has returned."
"Greetings, lord Raku."
"Welcome, lord Raku."
"Is sister Arya in the carriage?"
"Hehe, Let's follow. We'll see how uncle city lord punishes her for running away."
"Aren't you her friend? Why are you getting excited to see her being punished?"
"Although I'm her friend, she always bullies me. So, it'll be fun to watch her being scolded."
...
As the carriage drove through the wide city streets, everyone, be they young or old, greeted the old man with respect.
At the same time, the children of Arya's age ran after the carriage as they animatedly talked about Arya. Although they couldn't see the people sitting inside the carriage, they knew she must be inside since the old man had returned.
"Hehe, Arya, it seems you've been too naughty. Even your friends are excited to see you being scolded." Leticia giggled when she heard the children's conversation.
"Humph! I never bullied anyone and have always been good to them, and they want to see me being punished. I'll deal with them after. Humph!" Arya pouted angrily. Max and the others couldn't hold back their laughter when they saw how adorable she looked.
After a while, the carriage stopped, and the old man called out, "We are here. You kids can come out."
"G-grandpa, are my father and mother waiting here?" When Arya heard her grandfather, she immediately put on an anxious expression and asked in a low voice as if afraid someone else will hear it.
"No, they aren't here yet. You can come out." The old man laughed.
Phew!
Little Arya breathed in relief when she heard this and hurriedly opened the carriage's door and jumped down, "Big brother, big sisters. Let's hurry up and go inside before my parent comes out."
Max and others were taken aback by her sudden outburst. Suddenly, Leticia's expression fell, and she asked in a deep voice, "Granny, why is she afraid? Are her parents too strict?"
"Mmm?" Max and the others slightly raised their eyebrows when they heard her serious tone and saw her expression. 'Why was she acting strange all of a sudden? '
"Leticia, are you alright?" Rima asked in concern. She had never seen Leticia wearing such an expression before.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Leticia took a deep breath and nodded.
When Max saw her trying to calm herself down, he frowned, 'Could she have some issues with her parents?' He wasn't alone who thought like that. Belen and the old woman shared the same thought.
The old woman shook her head, "No, her parents aren't strict. In fact, they love her a little too much. This is also why she is so mischievous."
"Yes, big sister. My parents are very good to me." Little Arya chimed in. She then put on a sad expression and continued, "However, when I go out of the city without telling anyone, they get very angry and scold me."
Leticia's eyes reddened when she heard this; she took a step forward, crouched in front of her and patted her head, "You are very lucky little Arya, to have such caring parents. So, remember to inform them if you want to go out in future, okay?"
"O-okay big sister." Little Arya nodded when she the look in her eyes.
"Haha, what a sensible girl!" Suddenly, a peal of sweet laughter sounded from inside the city lord's mansion.
Whoosh!
"Hmm?" When they turned around to look at who it was, they saw a gorgeous Elvin couple in luxurious green robes walking toward them with smiles on their faces. The man was tall and sturdy and had sharp features, which made him look very handsome.
The woman by his side was also a beauty. Although her figure wasn't as curvaceous as Rima's or Belen's, it was good enough to leave a man salivating after a look. She had skin smooth as a baby, thin lips, vibrant green eyes and black flowed hair, and she had a small silver crown on top of her head, which gave her a regal look and made her look even more beautiful.
'What a beautiful woman!' Max exclaimed inwardly, and for a while, he couldn't move his gaze away from her.
"Mommy, daddy!" After hearing the voice, little Arya's body trembled a little. However, when she saw them smiling, she excitedly called out and ran toward them before jumping toward the man.
'So, they are her parents.' Max and others finally identified the duo.
Seeing her jumping toward him, the man opened his arms and caught her. Then he laughed, "Haha, you little girl. You're finally back."
"Yes, daddy!" Little Arya giggled and gave a kiss on his cheek, which made him became even happier.
The beautiful woman watched them for a few moments before she smilingly asked, "My dear, weren't you saying that you would scold her? How come I can't see that happening?"
When the father and daughter duo heard her, they both trembled.
"Cough! I was going to do that." Arya's father coughed awkwardly. He then put on an angry expression, "You little girl. You are becoming more and more disobedient. Even if you wanted to roam outside, should you have told informed us, huh?"
"Sorry, daddy. I will remember to tell you in future." Little Arya apologized. However, from her expression, one could see that she wasn't sorry at all and had a mischievous smile on her face.
"Hmm, good." Her father nodded and turned toward his wife, and said, "See, she is sorry."
"You...!" The beautiful woman was speechless. She sighed and shook her head, "Forget it. You guys are hopeless."
She then turned to look at the old couple and greeted them respectfully, "Father, mother!" After that, she looked up and down at the little elf boy, and after seeing that he was fine, she sighed in relief.
"Greetings, auntie!" Noticing her gaze, the boy bowed toward her and apologized, "I'm sorry, auntie. We went with telling you."
"It's okay. I'm sure it was Arya who forcibly took you with her." She gently shook her head and smiled, "Go and meet your parents. They have been worried about you."
The boy nodded and ran inside the mansion after greeting Arya's father.
After that, Arya's mother finally glanced at Leticia and others and asked the old man, "Father, who are these kids?"
When she asked this, her husband also glanced at them curiously. The old man glanced at Max and others and said, "These little guys are our saviour."
"Saviour?" The couple frowned when they heard this, and immediately their expression became solemn as they asked, "What happened?"
The old shook his head, "I'll tell you later." He then turned toward Max and others and introduced the couple to them, "This is our city lord, and my only daughter and Arya's mother, Elena, and this man is her Arya's father, who is also the supreme guard commander of our city, Ryan. You can call them uncle and auntie."
'Oh?' When the couple heard the old man's last words, they became surprised.
Max and others bowed slightly toward them as they greeted, "Greetings, auntie and uncle."
"Greetings. It's nice to meet you." After seeing how their father treated them, the couple politely returned the greeting. The city lord then gestured for them to enter the mansion, "Please come inside."
...
After a while, the elf family, Max and others were sitting in a hall.
After listening to the old man's explanation, the city lord and her husband had grave expressions.
Suddenly, the couple stood up and bowed toward Max and others, "Thank you for saving our family. We'll always be grateful to you guys."
"This..." Max and others were stupefied by this and hurriedly helped them up, "Uncle, auntie, you don't need to do this." Leticia said.
However, the elf couple shook their heads, "No, we need to. If it weren't for you, we would have lost our family."
The city lord then said, "If you guys ever need our help, please don't hesitate to come to us." After saying this, she took out four badges and gave them to Max and the others.
The badges were made of wood, and a word was carved in silver colour that neither Max nor others understood. Apart from this, they looked completely ordinary.
"This is..." After Belen saw the token in her hand, she almost couldn't contain her excitement. Max, Leticia and Rima were puzzled by her reaction. Was there something special about these wooden badges?
Seeing their confused expressions, the city lord smiled and explained, "These are the honoured guest tokens. With these, you can enter every bronze and silver grade Elvin city without paying anything and enjoy the VIP privilege in our auction houses and other establishments."
