Chapter 346: The First Night

Leo disappeared upstairs the moment Kai finished showing them the house. "Leo!"

No answer.

Mina looked toward the staircase. "He found his room."

"I noticed," Kai sighed.

A few seconds later, his voice echoed through the house. "Kai!"

"What?"

"Why is my room bigger than the old one?"

"Because this house is bigger."

"That’s not what I asked."

Kai looked at Mina, who smiled. "He’s going to be like this all day."

"I know."

Leo’s footsteps came running down the stairs. "Come look!"

Kai turned, and Leo grabbed his arm. "Come on."

"Where?"

"My room."

"I’ve already seen it."

"Not properly."

He pulled him upstairs, Mina following behind them, laughing. Leo pushed open the bedroom door. "Look."

Kai stepped inside. Leo had already moved several things around, his bag sitting in the corner, a chair dragged toward the window, one of the boxes already opened.

Kai stared at him. "What happened?"

"I was decorating."

"You’ve been here for five minutes."

"I work fast."

Mina walked in. "What did you move?"

"Nothing important."

She looked at the chair. "You moved that."

"That was important."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted it here."

Kai laughed. Leo pointed toward the window, which overlooked the garden. "And look at this. I can see everything."

Kai looked outside. "You can."

"Can I put a desk here?"

"Sure."

"And a computer?"

"Sure."

"And a TV?"

"You already have a TV."

"In my room?"

"Why do you need one?"

"Because."

Kai sighed. "Fine."

Leo grinned. "I knew you’d say yes."

Mina crossed her arms. "You’re spoiling him."

"You’re the one who said he deserved a better home."

"A better home doesn’t mean everything he asks for."

Leo raised his hand. "I’d like to formally disagree."

"You weren’t invited into this conversation," Mina laughed.

He lowered his hand. "Understood."

Kai shook his head. "Come on. We still have things to unpack."

Leo immediately sat on the bed. "I’ll supervise."

"You’ll help," Mina said, staring at him.

He slowly stood. "Fine."

...

The next few hours passed surprisingly quickly. Mina unpacked clothes and personal belongings. Kai carried boxes from the garage. Leo moved between rooms every few minutes.

At one point, he came running downstairs. "Kai!"

"What now?"

"I found another room."

Kai stared at him. "You knew there were four bedrooms."

"I forgot."

"You’ve been inside the house for three hours."

"I’ve been busy."

Mina laughed from the kitchen. "He’s discovered the guest room."

Leo nodded. "It’s huge."

"It’s a guest room."

"I could use it."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it’s a guest room."

"I could have guests."

"You don’t have guests."

"I might."

Kai looked at Mina. "Who?"

Leo thought about it. "...Raze?"

Mina burst out laughing.

"Absolutely not," Kai shook his head.

Leo frowned. "Why?"

"Because he’d never leave."

"True." He walked away.

A few minutes later, he returned. "What about the library?"

"What about it?"

"Can I use it?"

"For what?"

"Reading."

"You don’t read," Mina smiled.

"I can start."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Leo looked completely serious. "Because I want to look intelligent."

Kai laughed. "At least you’re honest."

...

Later, Leo wandered into the master bedroom, looked around, then looked at Kai. "Wait."

Kai was carrying a box. "What?"

"Did you buy this entire house just so you could get the biggest room?"

Kai stopped. "No."

Leo nodded. "Good." He pointed at his own room. "Because I’m keeping it."

Kai stared at him. Mina covered her mouth. "Leo."

"What?"

"You can’t just claim rooms."

"Why not?"

"Because it’s not how families work."

Leo looked at Kai, who shrugged. "I think he’s learning quickly."

Mina gave him a look. "Don’t encourage him."

Leo grinned. "See? Kai agrees with me."

"I didn’t say that."

"You didn’t disagree."

Kai sighed. "This family is going to be difficult."

"It always was," Mina smiled.

...

By evening, most of the important things had been unpacked. They weren’t completely settled, boxes still scattered around the house, some furniture not quite arranged, and Leo’s room already looking like he’d lived there for months. But the house felt different now. It felt lived in. Warm.

Mina prepared dinner in the new kitchen. Kai helped with the dishes. Leo sat at the kitchen island, watching. "What are we eating?"

"Dinner."

"I know that."

"Then why ask?"

"What are we eating for dinner?"

"Nothing special," Mina smiled.

She brought the food to the table, simple, nothing extravagant, just a warm meal shared between them. They sat together, and Leo took his first bite, then looked around. "We’re eating here."

"Yes," Kai smiled.

"In our new house."

"Yes."

He nodded. "That’s pretty cool."

"It is," Mina smiled.

They continued eating. For a while, nobody talked about monsters, nobody talked about disasters, nobody talked about ancient civilizations. Leo talked about school, then complained about one of his teachers, and Mina told him he was probably the problem, which he immediately denied. Kai listened quietly.

Eventually Leo started talking about the garden. "I think we should put a basketball hoop outside."

"Why?" Mina asked.

"Because."

"That’s becoming your favorite answer," Kai said.

"It works."

"What else do you want?"

Leo started counting on his fingers. "A basketball hoop."

"Okay."

"A grill."

"Sure."

"A bigger TV."

"No."

He frowned. "You agreed to the TV earlier."

"Not a bigger one."

"Why?"

"The one we have is fine."

Leo looked at Mina. "He’s becoming cheap."

"He’s trying to teach you responsibility," she laughed.

"I’m already responsible."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You left your shoes in the hallway."

Leo looked down. His shoes were still on his feet. "...That was different."

Everyone laughed.

...

As dinner continued, Kai slowly became quieter. Mina noticed, watching him for a moment. He wasn’t looking at the food. His eyes were fixed somewhere beyond the table.

Thinking. Planning.

Nexus. The ruins. The things Bahamut had told him. The questions that still had no answers.

Mina finally spoke. "You’re already thinking about leaving, aren’t you?"

He looked up. There was no accusation in her voice, just understanding.

"A little."

Leo looked between them. "Nexus?"

"Yeah."

"How soon?"

"Not immediately."

He relaxed slightly. "Good."

"We still have some things to do here," Kai smiled.

Mina nodded, then looked at him. "Then enjoy tonight." He was quiet. She continued eating. "Don’t spend your first night in the new house thinking about the next place you’re going."

He smiled faintly. "Okay."

Leo pointed at him. "She’s right."

"Don’t get involved."

"I’m involved."

"How?"

"I live here."

Mina laughed. Kai shook his head. "Fine." He picked up his fork again. "Tonight, I’m here."

"Good," Leo smiled.

...

After dinner, they stayed at the table for a long time. Leo told stories. Mina talked about what she wanted to do with the garden. Kai suggested putting a small training area behind the house, and Leo immediately claimed it. They argued over where the furniture should go. They discussed whether they should get a dog, Mina saying no, Leo saying yes, Kai wisely staying out of that argument.

Eventually Leo moved to the living room, turned on the television, and stretched across the couch. "Today was a good day."

"It was," Mina said, looking at him.

He yawned. "I like the house."

"Good," Kai smiled.

"I think it’s better than the apartment."

Mina sat beside him. "Why?"

He thought for a moment. "Because..." He looked around. "It’s ours."

Her expression softened. "Yeah."

He slowly closed his eyes, and a few minutes later, he was asleep.

Mina looked down at him. "He’s out."

"He talked enough for three people today," Kai nodded.

She smiled, grabbed a blanket, and gently covered him. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Kai looked around the room, the new furniture, the boxes, the quiet kitchen, the garden visible through the windows, Mina sitting beside Leo, Leo sleeping peacefully on the couch.

There were no monsters. No alarms. No disasters. No ancient ruins. No System. Just his family.

Kai leaned back. For once, he wasn’t thinking about what was waiting outside, wasn’t thinking about the next enemy, wasn’t thinking about how strong he needed to become. He simply looked at the people in front of him.

This is what I’m fighting for.

The thought came quietly. But it stayed.

Then another thought followed. If Mythal had survived because people had stood together, perhaps the answer wasn’t always becoming stronger alone. The more people he could connect with, the more allies he could build, the more cities he could help, the more people who would stand beside Mythal when the next disaster came.

And perhaps those connections would matter even more when he reached Nexus.

Kai looked toward the dark window. Nexus was still waiting.

But tonight, he had a home to come back to.