While Rion's squad leaders made their way toward the settlements of the various group leaders, Rion talked to Lara.

Lara had Rion's head on her lap as she listened to him with a calm gaze.

She smiled when he told her about his strolls in the south forest, remembering how he ran around the redwood basin during his younger days.

She comforted him when he told her how the ceremony of deliverance had broken him apart.

She scolded him when he told her about entering the purple fog forest without anyone's knowledge, remembering the day he had snuck out to join that stupid Redwood Den.

But most of the time she stayed silent.

Even though she knew that Rion was, for some unknown reason, different, she didn't think that he would become someone so detached from what they considered normal.

She had never heard of any group leader who could kill a three-horned kareth in a single punch, nor had she ever heard of someone being able to gain instinctively mastery of so many aura techniques within a few months. Heck, even mastering one was considered a fortune, and Rion was talking of them as if they were the most normal things.

'He is different from us.'

That thought came to her mind over and over again, and every time it made her heart ache.

She had always wanted her son, her little king, to live a normal life.

A life away from battles.

A life full of nothing but love.

But after listening to him, she finally understood.

Rion wasn't supposed to live a normal life.

He was born to defy everything normal.

He was, by all rights, an anomaly that transcended any anomaly seen before.

At the same time, she also understood one more thing: Rion knew that he was different and that was eating away at him.

She wasn't wrong about it. Rion was immortal, and he feared losing them; that was why he was searching for a method to make them immortal.

As she understood his worries, another thought formed in her head.

'So what if he is different? He is still my son.'

The ache lessened.

It didn't matter if Rion was away from what they considered normal. He was still Rion.

He was still her son, and if the world had decided to push him away from others, she would keep him close and give him all the love she could.

"Mother?"

Rion's worried voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

She shook away her thoughts.

She glanced at him, gently caressed his face and asked with a warm smile, "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

He smiled and nodded.

An amused expression appeared on her face, and she muttered, "You aren't going to tell me about Dora?"

Rion's eyes widened in disbelief. He sat up and looked at her with a troubled expression.

His lips opened and closed for a few moments before he lowered his head and mumbled, "What do you mean...?"

A gentle chuckle escaped her lips, and she said, "You know... You are very similar to your father when it comes to love."

'Similar to father?' Interest bubbled up in his heart. He glanced at her and asked, "How?"

Lara's eyes gleamed in reminiscence as she spoke, "Your father was first to kiss, but that shameless man always denied loving me and kept running away..."

Her lips blossomed into a lovely smile, and she added, "But whenever someone else tried to tease me, he told them that they had to defeat him before daring to do such a thing."

A smile appeared on Rion's face, and it vanished right after as Lara asked, "So, why are you running away from her?"

He looked into her eyes, and his thoughts churned as he tried to think of an answer, but all answers led to him having to reveal his immortality to her, and he wasn't ready to disclose that yet, so he decided to make up an answer.

"I am not running away... I just want to focus on the war."

An amused chuckle escaped her. She pointed a finger at him and remarked, "Your father used to say the same when he didn't want to talk about it."

'Why did you use all of the excuses? What am I supposed to do?' He cried inwardly.

Lara moved her head, held the side of his chin and spoke gently, "You don't have to force yourself, Rio..." A warm smile spread across her face, and she added, "You can tell me whenever you are ready."

Rion looked in her warm eyes and clenched his fists.

"Okay..." he mumbled under his breath, and a creak echoed throughout the hut.

Lara and Rion turned towards the door, and their gaze landed on Haden.

The wooden floor shrieked as Haden stepped inside and stated, "Your squad leader is looking for you."

"Hmm?" Rion furrowed his brows, turned his head towards Lara and said, "Mother, I have to go."

"Okay," Lara replied softly, stood up and kissed his forehead before she added, "Also, don't worry about the feast, I'll ask my friends to help me out."

He grinned and hugged her.

"You are the best!"

She hugged him back and shot a glare at Haden.

Haden furrowed his brows and thought, 'What did I do now?'

After a few moments, they broke the hug.

Rion quickly picked up his spear, gave an amused smile to Haden, and dashed out of the hut.

Haden frowned upon seeing the stupid smile stretching across Rion's face and looked at Lara, who already had a vein throbbing at her forehead.

Rion stepped out of the hut and began to close the door, and just as he closed the door behind him, Lara's furious words reached his ears.

"You! Why didn't you tell me about OUR son's feast?! You brute!!"

"Huh?"

He chuckled, and his steps picked up.

A few steps later, he stopped and muttered while scratching his cheek, "I forgot to ask him the name of the squad leader..."

"Rion!" A familiar voice called out to him.

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