She spun back toward Lucy, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Big brother told me a secret!" she said loudly. "You won't believe it!"

Lucy swallowed. "What secret…?"

"That Ash," Lily pointed dramatically at the small dragon sitting near the door, "is the big dragon everyone was talking about! The one that killed all the bad beasts!"

Lucy's gaze snapped to Ash.

Ash tilted its head.

Lucy stared.

"…Really?" she asked slowly, clearly she was finding it hard to believe Lily...

"And then!" Lily added, not waiting for an answer, "Big brother made Ash grow big again, and I rode on his back and we flew home! It was so fun! Ash went whoosh! And then down! And then up again!"

She waved her hands wildly to demonstrate.

Lucy looked back at Bruce.

Bruce didn't deny it.

That alone told her everything.

Her gaze drifted back to Ash, who was now licking one of its claws innocently.

Lucy let out a long, quiet sigh.

"I already knew that thing wasn't normal," she murmured. "It could sense Bruce even when he was far away…"

She shook her head slowly, her expression heavy. "Something so dangerous happened so close to the Academy… and I didn't even know."

Her shoulders slumped slightly.

"What kind of mother doesn't know when her child is in danger…?"

"It's not your fault," Bruce said gently from the side. "You don't need to blame yourself."

Lucy heard him, but the weight in her chest didn't lift completely.

Still, after a moment, she straightened and wiped her hands on her apron.

"…I already made food," she said quietly. "Enough for all of you."

Her gaze flicked to Ash.

"…Including you."

Ash's eyes lit up instantly.

The tension eased, just a little, as the warmth of home wrapped around them once more.

The meal was simple, but hearty. Steamed rice, tender cuts of meat, a rich stew poured generously over the top, and drinks set neatly to the side. Everything was arranged carefully, portions measured, bowls placed just right.

Bruce only needed a glance to know, Lucy had put real effort into this.

They ate.

The food was good. Comforting. The kind of taste that settled quietly in the chest rather than overwhelming the senses. Bruce ate calmly, enjoying it more than he realized. Lily, on the other hand, was clearly having the time of her life, alternating between eating and excitedly recounting tiny details she'd forgotten earlier.

Ash ate too.

A lot.

Lucy had clearly prepared for that as well, extra portions stacked neatly aside. Even so, Ash eventually slowed, stopping on its own. It had already devoured multiple tons of meat earlier in Axiom's Labyrinth, and going all out on Lucy's carefully prepared food didn't feel right to it.

Soon, the meal came to an end.

Bruce leaned back slightly and exhaled, satisfied. Lily wiped her mouth happily, while Ash curled up nearby, tail swaying lazily.

Out of habit, Bruce activated his ThornTech smart bracelet, scrolling through its interface idly.

Then,

A thought surfaced.

Right before he had used Vitality Collapse on multiple SS-Ranked targets in the mantis dungeon, he had stored the bracelet inside his spatial ring. He hadn't been confident it would survive the explosion.

And frankly, he hadn't wanted to test it.

ThornTech bracelets were expensive. He had the money to replace it if needed, sure, but wasting resources on something easily avoidable wasn't his style.

His gaze shifted to the ring on his finger.

"…Somehow this ring didn't melt," he murmured.

Fifty thousand degrees.

And it hadn't even deformed.

He already knew the ring wasn't made from ordinary materials, it was a spatial artifact, after all, but surviving that level of heat without damage pushed it into an entirely different category in his mind.

"…Interesting."

Shaking his head lightly, Bruce refocused on the bracelet.

Then he froze.

A new icon had appeared.

[V-Net]

Bruce's eyes widened slightly.

'…The Thorn family really did it,' he thought, impressed. 'Something like the internet.'

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Nice."

Without hesitation, he tapped it.

A colorful holographic interface burst out from the pinhole of the bracelet, expanding smoothly into the air. Clean. Responsive. Refined. The UI alone spoke of ridiculous funding and even more ridiculous technical expertise.

The first thing that appeared was a large banner, emblazoned with the ThornTech emblem.

[ThornTech Official Announcement]

[Thank you to everyone who purchased the ThornTech Smart Bracelet on its official release yesterday. Your trust and support drive our innovation forward.]

Bruce scrolled down.

Images filled the display.

Real images.

High-resolution, crystal-clear photos taken during the dungeon outbreak. Awakened clashing head-on with beasts, mana flaring violently. Adventurers standing shoulder to shoulder, expressions grim and resolute.

Then,

One image made him pause.

His entrance on Ash's back..

Ash descending from the sky, wings spread wide, the sun directly behind them. The light framed both of them perfectly, casting long shadows over the battlefield. It looked dramatic. Clean. Almost unreal, like a scene torn straight out of a hero chronicle.

Bruce frowned slightly.

'…When did they even take this?'

Anyone who saw those photos would feel the urge to tell others to buy the bracelet. That much was obvious. As for how ThornTech had obtained footage and images of that quality in the middle of chaos,

No one knew.

Scrolling further, bold text appeared beneath the images.

[ThornTech Smart Bracelet Enabled the Successful Containment of Two Dungeon Outbreaks

Location: Aurelion Ward, East Valkrin Kingdom]

Below that, more detailed text followed, written in a calm, professional tone.

[Through real-time communication, instant location sharing, and emergency broadcast capabilities, ThornTech Smart Bracelets allowed the Adventurer Guild and allied forces to respond with unprecedented speed.]

[This incident marks the cleanest large-scale dungeon outbreak suppression recorded to date.]

[Casualties: Three.]

[Immediate alerts, synchronized coordination, and live battlefield updates significantly reduced loss of life and prevented the spread of danger into civilian zones.]

Bruce raised a brow.

'Only three, nice.'

He scrolled again.

[Key Benefits of the ThornTech Smart Bracelet]

[• Instant long-distance communication without mana relay delays]

[• Real-time emergency broadcasts to guilds and nearby Awakened]

[• Live battlefield data sharing and positional awareness]

[• Secure message, call, and alert systems resistant to interference]

[• Seamless integration with guild networks and authorized domains.]

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