Chapter 423: Back Home
"...Qiong Xing?"
He had turned around as if to confirm something, only to collapse immediately after saying just one word.
"Can’t."
That was all he said before his body gave out.
The twins who had been holding his hands, rushed to support him, but since they were still very young and not fully grown, they could not hold him properly.
They were about to be crushed when the others quickly rushed in and lifted him up.
"Ah, right. Qiong Xing doesn’t do well with frogs."
"If something small is already a problem for him, then something like that is obviously impossible."
From what Joa had heard before, even something the size of a fist had frightened him.
So something many times larger than that must have been completely out of the question the moment it appeared.
Leander and Elias snapped back to their senses and with wry smiles they helped lift Qiong Xing up.
"He’s completely out cold."
Elias lightly tapped Qiong Xing’s cheek, but there was no response.
Waking him up here would likely only confuse him again when he opened his eyes, so they decided to head back.
No one objected.
Even though the enemy had been sliced into countless pieces, its fragments were scattered everywhere.
Since the children were carried by Fenrisúlfr, they were able to reach the surface without taking much time.
"Qiong Xing... still not awake?"
They understood he was fine, but because of everything that had happened before, they could not relax until he opened his eyes.
However, when they stepped outside, the sun was already beginning to set.
They suggested camping out and returning home at dawn, but...
"Papa, let’s go home. I want Mama to rest."
Cari said they should return.
"That’s true. If we’ve come this far, it’s best to head back quickly. We’re not very good at seeing in the dark, so we’ll end up walking partway anyway, but we’ll try our best until just before sunset."
Even Raon unexpectedly agreed, which surprised them.
The house was quite far from here.
If Raon or Iseul carried them, they would be fast, but since they were also not good at flying at night, Joa had suggested leaving in the early morning instead.
However, both Cari and Raon insisted on returning quickly for Qiong Xing’s sake.
"...Are you sure about this?"
"Yes."
"Yeah."
Even if they walked or ran through the night, it would not be a problem for Joa and the others.
But it would surely be difficult for children as young as Cari.
They told them not to push themselves and that tomorrow would be fine, but the children shook their heads.
"Because Mama might collapse again if he remembers it. I want him to rest properly."
Recently, Joa could not help but wonder if even Cari had started becoming overprotective of Qiong Xing.
Still, Joa himself also wanted Qiong Xing to rest, so he gratefully accepted the suggestion.
"Got it. Then sorry, Raon, I’m counting on you. If anything looks dangerous, don’t push yourself, just say so. We’ll carry the kids."
Carrying children while running was no problem for them.
Leander and the others also agreed, and once Raon returned to his dragon form, they all climbed onto his back and hurried home.
After that, they safely returned home, but Qiong Xing still showed no signs of waking up, which made everyone worry.
"No, isn’t he just sleeping? He was up all night on watch yesterday. He was also yawning in the morning."
"...true."
At Albe’s words, everyone reluctantly agreed.
Deciding to rest their bodies as well, they soon fell asleep together.
Their troublesome mate was truly a handful.
...
"Uncle! Uncle Sergei!"
As expected of his own child, he could not help thinking how well she got along with others.
Sergei himself had once said that he did not have a very child friendly appearance, so he probably would not dislike it, but even so, Qiong Xing had not expected her to grow this attached.
"Long time no see. Have you been well?"
"Yes!"
Responding brightly, the girl ran straight into his arms.
Sergei looked impressed as he easily lifted her up as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
His usual stern expression was softened, almost gentle.
"Nice to see you again."
"You seem to be safe. I’m relieved."
It seemed he had been worrying ever since they said they were going to the dungeon.
"Yes, well. A lot happened, but we all came back safely without any injuries."
A lot had really happened, truly a lot, but while there was emotional shock, there was not a single physical injury.
"I see. Knowing you, it would be more suspicious if nothing happened at all, but I’m glad there were no injuries."
What a way to put it.
"Uncle! Look, Uncle!"
"Hmm? Is this... a magic stone?"
What the girl proudly showed Sergei was a beautiful red stone.
It was small, about the size of a fingertip, but it was clearly a magic stone rolling in Sergei’s palm.
"I picked it up. I’m giving it to you, Uncle! It’s a souven... souveni...!"
"A souvenir. It seems she found it from a monster defeated in the dungeon. She was very excited to give it to you."
While Qiong Xing usually disliked harming animals, for some reason Lian had no hesitation in using magic to defeat monsters.
Of course, she only fought small ones because of the danger involved.
"...At your age, you were defeating monsters? It seems not only you, but even your child is rather... extraordinary."
"I cannot let that pass. I am just an ordinary citizen like anyone else."
"Then you should be aware of it. You are far beyond ordinary in many ways."
"Ah, that’s mean."
Qiong Xing did have some awareness that he tended to cause trouble, but he had always believed it was still within a small concealable range.
"...But are you sure about this? Even if it is small, you could sell it for a decent amount."