Chapter 237: Midas Family Reunited

At this moment, Regis suddenly opened his eyes.

"Uhhh..."

What greeted his sight was a pair of round shapes that could end wars and start peace talks.

The back of his head also felt soft and comfortable.

Coupled with those shade-casting circles practically hovering over him, Regis could only stare, utterly speechless.

"Oh, Regis! You’re awake!"

Aurelia noticed a second later, her view of his face blocked by a pair of very specific obstacles, only realizing he had woken up a bit late.

As she was at the peak of her puberty, she was already slowly turning into an adult.

Along with these were the changes that were occurring in her body, which he could not help but notice.

Regis suddenly stood up, light blushing blooming on both their cheeks.

’Ahhhh! How can I be so oblivious!?’’

Aurelia could feel her cheeks burning but was able to regain her calm in the next second.

"H-How are Dad and Mom? Why are they still not waking up?"

’Thankfully, during those times I helped Dad in his work, he also taught me some tricks to maintain a poker face— a vital skill for negotiations!’

Heaving a sigh of relief in her heart, Aurelia turned her gaze to her unconscious parents with worry.

Fortunately for her, Regis was easily distracted by the change in topic, "I believe they’ll be up soon. Don’t worry about them."

’This is for the better...’ Aurelia sighed silently, casting a sideways glance at him.

But the moment she glanced at him, a large gaping hole on his shoulder greeted her sight.

"There’s a wound on your shoulder."

Aurelia said in a calm voice as she promptly got some bandages from the pockets of her dress before leaning in and helping him wipe the blood.

Feeling a stabbing pain in his shoulder, Regis glanced at it and raised a brow in surprise, "Oh..."

He then closed his eyes for a second before opening them again, muttering, "It’s Vanessa..."

"I wonder what that trio’s facing right now." Fortunately, the wound healed immediately in the next instant.

Aurelia only replied after finishing wiping the blood off him, "Really? They’re quite strong, so that must mean..."

"Thanks." Regis said in gratitude before nodding, "Yes, their opponent must be quite formidable."

Since he had made a contract with all of the children from the demonic human camp, this had already been a normal occurrence to him.

However, what made Regis furrow his brows was the fact that it was from the link he made with Vanessa.

He knew well just how much she hated depending on the contract, to the point that in the past three years, he had only ever felt this happen with her thrice.

Besides, she was always with Perto and Brutt.

Not only were they strong individually, but together, the three of them could cover each other’s weaknesses well.

But before they could talk further about it, Aurelia felt a movement from her father.

"Dad!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Aurum blinked several times as he used one hand to push himself into a seated position, while the other instinctively held Martha tighter to keep her from slipping off.

"Ugh, my head hurts..."

He groaned as he shook his head lightly.

But in the next moment, he seemed to have realized something as his eyes shot wide open and looked at his chest.

There, an elegant lady lay against his chest, gazing up at his face with a beautiful smile.

"Good morning, Hon~"

The elegant lady, Martha, spoke with a cheeky tone as she smiled.

At this sight, the Golden Hand’s golden gaze welled with tears.

In the eyes of many, he was the wealthiest merchant.

In the eyes of a few, he was a good person who cared for his people.

But in the eyes of his one and only, he was Aurum.

Not the Golden Hand.

Not the wealthiest merchant.

Not a caring leader.

But a lover and a loving husband.

Aurum’s mouth moved, yet no words came out.

"What? Cat got your tongue?"

Martha’s cheeky smile became wider, "Am I so beautiful that you became speechle—"

But before she could finish her words, she found herself deeper in Aurum’s embrace.

His arms wrapped around her tightly, as if he never wanted to let go.

"Yes..."

Aurum’s voice sounded beside her ear, "You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you..."

Martha could feel a slight tremble run through his whole body.

"I love you."

She said softly.

"I love you too... I really... really, do."

He replied desperately.

Their embrace lasted for a long while.

Suddenly, Martha’s cheeky voice chimed in, "Are you really planning to hug me like this forever?"

"If I could, I would." Aurum replied seriously as he hugged her tighter.

Martha giggled, "Well, that will be fine by me, but..."

"Don’t you love me anymore?" Aurum asked in a playful whine, making her laugh louder.

"That’s not it... It’s just— you seemed to have forgotten that there are other people here... Our kids are watching as well. How can we hug them if we stay like this forever?"

"Huh?"

Martha felt Aurum’s body freeze up.

Then, he gently took her by the shoulders and pushed her to arm’s length.

It was at that moment that he saw Regis and Aurelia, who were standing beside two children.

A boy with black hair and golden eyes, seemingly inherited from Aurum, who was around nine years old.

The other was a girl with blonde hair and golden eyes, who seemed to be around thirteen.

The four of them watched the couple acting like lovestruck teenagers straight out of a romantic novel.

Seeing that they had finally come back from their little world, Regis smiled and gave Aurelia’s shoulder a few friendly pats.

"I’ll go to Pandora and Killian first. I’ll leave you some time for your little family reunion."

Watching him walk away, Aurelia took a step and touched his arm.

Regis looked back at her, "Yes?"

Aurelia’s mouth hung open, moving as if she had so much to say.

But in the flood of thoughts surging through her mind, only one word made it out.

"Thanks."

"It’s my pleasure." Regis smiled as he walked away.

Aurelia’s gaze stayed on his back until he turned a corner and disappeared from view.

The sight of the golden statues snapped her back to her senses.

"Um, I think I might need to clarify something."

At this moment, a young feminine voice caught Aurelia’s attention.

She turned her head and smiled, "Yes, Big Sister?"

However, her response brought a grave expression to the blonde-haired girl’s face.

"B-B-B-Big S-S-Sister!? S-So that means... you’re really..."

Her overreaction caused Aurelia to giggle, "Yes, Big Sister Auryn. I’m Aurelia."

"Y-Y-You... you’re already bigger than me..." Auryn’s eyes did not meet Aurelia’s as her gaze was attracted by something else.

Meanwhile, the little boy in between them tilted his head, "But Aurelia is supposed to be smaller than me..."

At the sight of this, Aurum and Martha both chuckled.

They got up from the ground and walked over to their children.

Aurum immediately knelt and pulled them into a hug.

Arghh—

But in the next second, a cry rang out.

Aurelia’s eyes snapped open, "Big Brother, Big Sister! What happened!?"

At that moment, both Patti and Auryn were clutching their heads with their eyes tightly shut, pained expressions twisting their faces.

Aurum looked at them in alarm, then turned to Martha, who was also holding her temple with one hand.

"What’s going on, Hon?"

"My head hurts..."

"Aurelia, call Regi—"

Before he could finish, Martha stopped him, "Wait."

Aurum glanced at her, then at their children, and noticed that their expressions were starting to ease.

Aurelia, who had been about to rush off, also paused, carefully checking that her siblings were truly okay.

At this moment, the young boy, Patti, was the first to speak.

"No wonder... so it’s been eight years already, huh?"

His words made both Aurum and Aurelia’s eyes widen in shock.

The contrast between his childish voice and strangely calm tone only deepened their surprise.

A moment later, Auryn also seemed to settle down— though her eyes still remained fixed on Aurelia’s chest.

Aurum supported Martha with an arm around her back and asked, his expression tense, "Are you feeling fine now, Hon? What happened?"

"I’m fine. It’s just tha—"

Tap— Tap— Tap—

Before she could finish, footsteps echoed toward them.

It was not long before Regis, Killian, and Pandora appeared.

Seeing the urgency on their faces, Aurum asked seriously, "What’s going on?"

Regis replied, "We need to leave. There are people heading straight for this building."

"Then let them come, I—"

Aurum stopped mid-sentence, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Did you notice anything strange about them?"

Regis nodded.

"We rushed over the moment we saw them. They had an armed force... and they looked hostile."

Patti, Auryn, and Martha all wore confused expressions.

But Aurum did not question Regis’s instincts, "Then let’s go."

Without so much as an explanation, the group huddled together, with Aurum embracing his family.

"Hon, what’s happening? And who’s that kid?"

"Someone trustworthy."

Hearing Aurum’s reply, Martha asked no further — she trusted the kind of man he was.

Regis raised his hand, and two magic circles formed above and below them.

[Master Rank Magic: Teleporto Massam]

Wooong—

In the next moment, they vanished from the Hall of Awakening.