"Wuwuwu!"
Remi bitterly cried in Alessia's arms. Near her, Gerald was talking to Michael and Hans.
The two had arrived ten minutes after the Monsters had been dealt with, and the first thing they did was to check on the conditions of their children.
Both were relieved that, aside from being shaken, their children were safe from harm.
Gerald thanked Michael and Hans, who had come to their rescue, and his brother told him that he should be more careful next time.
Michael then told the couple that a team of workers would soon arrive to collect the corpses of the monsters, as well as help Gerald clear out the wreckage of his house.
Just as the right-hand man of the Leventis Family was about to leave, he patted Gerald's shoulder and pointed at Thirteen with his chin.
"You have a good son," Michael stated. "He stood in front of his brother and sisters against an Alpha Vagabond Boar. You raised him well."
After saying those words, he finally left along with Hans to return to the Main Residence of the Leventis Family.
Gerald then looked at his son, who was seated on one of the destroyed walls of their house.
The seven-year-old had his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes were closed as if deep in thought.
Gerald had no idea what was running through his seven-year-old son's head, but he decided to talk to him and praise him for what he had done during the monster outbreak.
"Zion, you did well in protecting your brother and sisters," Gerald said. "What kind of reward do you want? I promise that I will give you anything you want."
"I want all the money in our family's savings account," Thirteen replied in a heartbeat with his eyes still closed.
"… Son, don't you have a heart?" Gerald nearly forgot that his seven-year-old was no ordinary child and thought differently from the kids who were the same age as him.
"Relax, Pops," Thirteen said as he opened his eyes. "I was just joking—well, half. I want you to give me full access to our savings. I want to personally design the layout of our house to make sure that not even Rank-8 Monsters can destroy it."
"Oh?" Gerald's face eased up after hearing Thirteen's words.
If other kids were to tell them this, he would probably slap them for saying a bunch of nonsense.
But since it was his seven-year-old son who said this, it only meant one thing.
He would be true to his words and do as he said without fail.
"Then in that case, you can have as much money as you want," Gerald replied. "It's not our money that we will be spending anyway."
Thirteen and Gerald smirked at the same time because this was true. All the money they had in their savings accounts came from the Leventis Family, so they didn't feel too hurt when splurging to rebuild their house.
"Pops, let's stay in a hotel for now," Thirteen said. "I still have to draw up the blueprint of our house. After that, you can start looking for construction workers to build it. Our family's personal gateway was also destroyed, so we need to ask the Leventis Family to build us a new one."
"It won't definitely be cheap. I'm sure of that," Gerald grumbled in a bitter tone.
"Oh, just tell them that if they don't do it for free, then we will leave Oakheart City and settle in Roselake City," Thirteen said with a shrug.
At first, Gerald was taken aback, but this surprise didn't last long, and a smirk appeared on his face.
"You're very petty, son." Gerald chuckled. "I'm sure my father will curse you to the heavens when he hears this."
Thirteen smirked because his father was right. He was indeed being petty.
Roselake City was the main city of one of the Monarch Clans that ruled the Aldebaran Continent.
If there was one family that Arthur hated the most, it was none other than the Remington Clan.
This was Thirteen's way of telling Arthur that he should not push his luck too far, or the deal was off.
Even though their contract stated that the Leventis Family would get priority in negotiating with him when it came to the Mythical Equipments that Gerald would make in the future, that didn't mean that they were not allowed to sell it to others.
Of course, that was just a bluff. After all, he really couldn't sell any of the Mythical Equipment that had been crafted with the help of his Rune Magic. Such a threat held no power whatsoever.
But Arthur didn't know that.
Since that was the case, Thirteen would just bluff his way and give the Patriarch of the Leventis Family a headache.
If their family really moved to Roselake City, no one would be able to stop Gerald from selling his crafted equipment to the Remington Clan, who had enough wealth to cover the entirety of the Aldebaran Continent with the palms of their hands.
"But, son, I don't have the guts to tell this to my old man," Gerald said in an awkward tone.
"Weakling," Thirteen shook his head helplessly before dialing a number on his cellphone.
A moment later, the call was picked up, and Arthur's gruff and arrogant voice sounded on the other side.
"What?" Arthur asked in a cold tone.
Unfazed by the blatant indifference in the old man's voice, the seven-year-old replied in a casual manner, "My family's Personal Gateway was destroyed," Thirteen said. "I want the Leventis Family to build us one for free. If you refuse, we will start packing and move to Roselake City. That's all."
Without even bothering to hear Arthur's reply, Thirteen cut off the call before jumping off the wall he was sitting on.
Gerald watched his son walk away as if he had just told a servant to pick up his laundry for him.
'… This son of mine has nerves of steel.' Gerald didn't know if he should laugh or cry at Zion's blatant disregard for the Patriarch of the Leventis Family. 'He probably inherited this trait from his grandma.'
Meanwhile at the Leventis Family…
A chuckle escaped Lady Callista's lips as she observed her husband's expression.
Arthur looked like he had just eaten a fly, making the beautiful lady chuckle.
After mastering the Martial Technique that Thirteen had imparted to her, not only did she regain her youth, but her power also increased by leaps and bounds.
Currently, she, Arthur, Michael, Hans, and Trisha were inside the Patriarch's Office, discussing what should be done with Gerald's family.
Lady Callista was very annoyed that her husband had allowed the Monsters to destroy her son's home. She had come to complain, but after hearing Thirteen's demand, all her annoyance disappeared and was replaced by amusement.
"This brat is going too far…" Arthur slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair, obliterating it completely.
"Serves you right," Lady Callista retorted in disdain. "My son may be afraid of you, but my grandson is not. It seems that you got played well, Arthur. Now, what are you going to do?"
The beautiful lady's words were filled with contempt as she looked at her husband, who was currently fighting the strong urge to strangle the seven-year-old boy who had just given him a subtle threat.
Arthur reined in his anger and glanced at his son, who was standing beside him.
"What is your opinion of this child?" Arthur asked. "You observed him closely from start to finish, right?"
Michael nodded. "It seems that we are greatly underestimating this nephew of mine, Father. Although he's still young, he's able to manipulate people and take advantage of their weaknesses. I would not be surprised if he is the brain inside my brother's household.
"Although it may seem impossible, I have a hunch that Zion is the one calling the shots in their family. I suggest that we do as he says for now. It would be a waste if their family truly moved away from this place and went to Roselake City.
"If that happens, we won't be able to monitor their movements even if we tried. Also, if Gerald decides to make the Remington Clan his business partner, there is nothing we can do about it."
Hans, who knew a bit of Thirteen's capabilities, couldn't help but nod internally at Michael's evaluation of the seven-year-old boy.
He even had a fleeting thought that he would rather antagonize the Leventis Family than antagonize Thirteen, who was shrouded in mystery.
"Fine." Arthur clicked his tongue, feeling very annoyed by the situation.
For the first time, a Throne like him, who was only a rank below that of a Monarch, felt helpless. Not to mention that it was all because of a seven-year-old.
If his peers were to know about this, he would definitely become the laughingstock of their social circle, which Arthur didn't want to happen.
"Also, I advise that we try to settle this matter peacefully." Michael fixed the glasses on his face. "I think that Zion is suspecting that we let the Gate unleash a Monster Outbreak. He is not to be underestimated at all costs."
Arthur frowned, but he didn't say anything to reject his son's proposal. In the end, he merely told Michael to handle it himself, washing his hands on this incident.
Lady Callista was quite satisfied with this outcome, so he decided to leave the office with Hans.
There were less than five months remaining until Mikhail's First Wandering, and she wanted to spend some time with her grandson and teach him the ropes of what to expect when he appeared in Solterra for the first time.
