Chapter 86: The City Lord’s Son

After finally catching his breath, the man forced a smile. "I... I’m the city lord. Please... huff... please follow me inside. We will immediately contact Lord Lavan to inform him of your return."

"We aren’t going anywhere until you let our friends pass with us," Astra said, shaking her head.

"Hm?" The man finally looked at Chris and Aelia before turning toward the old guard. "What’s the problem? Why aren’t they allowed to enter?"

"My lord, I’m sorry, but they don’t have any documents." The old man bowed slightly.

"Oh?" The city lord looked at Chris. "Why don’t you have any documents?"

Chris shook his head. "We are wanderers. We don’t belong to any country."

The man stared at him in silence. Chris could almost imagine question marks appearing above his head.

"I’m really sorry, young man. The rules are very strict these days. I can’t let you enter without any documents." The city lord shook his head slowly.

"Why? They are with us, isn’t that enough?!" Stella yelled.

"I’m sorry, ladies. The war is just a step away, so the rules are quite strict."

"I understand." Chris nodded. "Can we bend the rules a bit?"

The man looked at him in confusion. "Bend? What do you mean?"

Chris pulled a small energy crystal from his storage ring and tossed it toward the city lord.

The man caught it and immediately widened his eyes. He quickly glanced around before slipping it inside his robes. A moment later, his expression changed completely as he smiled at Chris.

"Naturally, naturally! The documents are all in order." He produced two small tokens and handed them to Chris and Aelia. "Keep these with you. You may enter. Hahahaha!"

Chris smiled and accepted the token before stepping through the gate with Aelia.

"Humph..." The twins shook their heads as they followed.

"This... my lord..." The old guard began, but the city lord quickly turned toward him with a threatening expression.

"Just forget about anything that happened today. Understand?"

"Yes! Yes! I understand!" The old man trembled as the city lord hurried after the group.

"Sigh... I’m getting too old for this shit..." he muttered, shaking his head.

Once Chris and the others were inside the town, the city lord quickly caught up with them.

"Ladies, please wait!"

The twins turned around, looking guarded. "What do you want now?"

"Please excuse me, but half the country is looking for you. I think it’s best if you follow me so we can quickly inform Lord Lavan."

He put on another flattering smile, but Astra immediately shook her head. "Not interested. We will find our own way home."

Stella nodded. "You can inform father, but we won’t go with you."

The man froze for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "This... all right. I will quickly go and inform Lord Lavan."

He turned around and started running in the opposite direction.

Chris watched him with an awkward expression.

Noticing that, Aelia moved closer and looked at the retreating city lord. "What is it? Is there something wrong with him?"

"Just wait for it," Chris replied with a chuckle.

Aelia didn’t understand what he meant, but she remained silent and watched.

A moment later, the city lord stumbled and fell hard onto the ground, rolling several times before finally stopping.

"Pfft... hahahahahahaha!"

Chris burst into laughter, and the twins immediately joined him.

Aelia simply shook her head with a smile.

"What should we do now?" Chris asked after they had calmed down.

Astra and Stella exchanged glances before answering almost simultaneously.

"We want to eat!"

"And drink something!"

Chris looked at them before turning toward Aelia. "What do you think?"

Aelia smiled and nodded. "That sounds good. We can rest for a while before continuing our journey."

The twins immediately cheered and began pulling the two of them along, eager to find somewhere to eat.

They walked through the streets for a while, passing several shops and stalls. The town was quite lively, with merchants shouting to attract customers and people moving between the various stores. Despite the tension between the neighboring countries, business seemed to be going well.

Eventually, they came across a rather expensive-looking restaurant. Its exterior was decorated with polished stone and large windows, while several elegant lanterns hung above the entrance.

"Let’s eat here!" Astra declared.

Chris glanced at the building before nodding. "Sure."

As soon as they entered, a receptionist approached them with a polite smile and quickly led them to a table.

The four of them sat down and ordered several dishes along with drinks. The twins were particularly enthusiastic, ordering enough food to make Chris wonder whether they had been starving during their journey.

Once the food arrived, they began eating and chatting happily.

However, their peaceful meal didn’t last long.

A group of young men soon approached their table. There were four of them, all dressed in expensive clothes and wearing arrogant expressions. The one leading the group was a slightly chubby young man with neatly combed hair and a rather unpleasant smile.

His eyes immediately settled on Astra and Stella, and his smile widened.

"Well, well... what do we have here? I don’t think I’ve seen such beautiful ladies in this town before."

The twins glanced at him before immediately looking away. Neither of them bothered to respond.

Rick didn’t seem discouraged. Instead, he pulled out a chair and sat down beside their table, followed by his friends.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Rick. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?"

"No," Astra answered without even looking at him.

Rick’s smile stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered. "Hahaha! You ladies certainly have a sense of humor. Don’t worry, I can show you around town if you’d like."

"We’re eating. Go away," Stella replied bluntly.

One of Rick’s friends frowned. "Do you know who you’re talking to? This is Rick Tham! His father is the city lord!"

Rick raised his chin proudly, clearly pleased with the introduction.

Chris continued eating without paying much attention to them. However, when he noticed Rick still refusing to leave, he finally raised his head.

"You heard them. They’re not interested, so go somewhere else."

Rick turned toward him, his expression immediately changing.

"Who are you? Did I ask you anything?"

"No, but I’m telling you to leave."

Rick stared at Chris for a moment before bursting into laughter. His friends quickly joined him.

"Hahaha! Do you know who my father is? I can buy this entire restaurant if I want to!"

He turned back toward the twins and put on another smile.

"Don’t worry about this nobody. My father is the city lord, so I can guarantee you a comfortable life. You two should come with me. I’ll make sure you have everything you could ever want."

His gaze moved between the sisters, and his smile became increasingly unpleasant.

"Actually, I wouldn’t mind taking both of you. You can stay together, and I’ll make sure neither of you ever has to worry about anything again."

Astra and Stella looked at him as though they had just seen something disgusting.

"Your father is that fat man?" Astra asked.

Stella immediately covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter. "No wonder you look like that. You really take after him!"

Rick’s expression darkened. "What did you just say?!"

"Why? Did we say something wrong?" Astra tilted her head innocently. "Your father was so fat that he looked like a ball rolling down the street. We thought he was going to die just from running!"

The twins burst into laughter, completely ignoring Rick’s furious expression.

His face turned red as he slammed his hand against the table.

"You little brats! Do you think you can insult me and my father and get away with it?!"

He suddenly stood up and reached toward Astra’s arm.

However, before he could touch her, Chris casually raised his hand and waved it.

A fist-shaped Dark Gwenor shot forward and struck Rick directly in the face.

*BAM!*

His entire body flew backward, crashing through the restaurant’s entrance and landing on the street outside.

His friends froze for a brief moment before rushing out to check on him.

The restaurant fell silent.

Chris calmly returned to his meal as if nothing had happened.

Aelia looked at him with a slightly concerned expression. "Chris... did you kill him?"

"No. I just punched him out. He should be fine."

Aelia looked toward the entrance, then back at Chris. She eventually shook her head and continued eating.

The twins, meanwhile, were practically glowing with excitement.

"Big bad man, that was amazing!" Astra exclaimed.

"Yes! You sent him flying!" Stella added, giggling.

Chris glanced at them. "Can you two stop calling me that?"

"No!" they replied together.

He sighed and continued eating.

Not long after, hurried footsteps approached the restaurant.

Rick returned, one cheek swollen and his expression filled with anger. Several guards followed behind him, their hands resting on their weapons.

"There he is!" Rick pointed at Chris. "That’s the bastard who attacked me! Beat him up and drag him outside!"

The guards immediately surrounded their table.

Chris put down his utensils and looked at them calmly. "Are you really going to do that?"

One of the guards stepped forward. "You attacked someone inside a restaurant and injured him. You will have to take responsibility for your actions."

The twins immediately stood up.

"But he was the one who—"

Chris raised his hand, stopping them before they could finish.

"It’s fine."

He looked at the guards one last time, giving them a chance to reconsider.

Unfortunately, they didn’t seem interested.

Chris simply waved his hand.

Several powerful fists made of Dark Gwenor shot forward at once, striking the guards and Rick before any of them could react.

*BAM! BAM! BAM!*

Their bodies flew backward together, crashing through the entrance and landing in a heap outside.

The restaurant once again fell silent.

Chris picked up his utensils and continued eating. "Let’s finish our meal before it gets cold."

Aelia looked at him for a moment before smiling helplessly. The twins, on the other hand, were laughing so hard that they nearly fell out of their chairs.

It didn’t take long for the group outside to return once more.

This time, however, Rick brought someone else.

The fat city lord from earlier was walking behind him, accompanied by several more guards.

"Father! It’s him! He’s the one who attacked me!" Rick shouted as soon as he entered, pointing directly at Chris.

The city lord followed his finger.

The moment his eyes landed on Chris, his expression changed completely.

His smile vanished, and his body stiffened as he remembered the young man who had accompanied those two young ladies.

A bead of sweat slowly formed on his forehead.

’Oh, no...’