Chapter 193

A/N : Sorry for the later and later publishing's as of late and the slow/no responses. My position at work is kind of gone so I am in training for the new position (Hurray for not getting fired due to downsizing) This does mean that for a little while longer I will be going to the office instead of working from home. The commute + learning the new job has left me with less time than I usually have. Hopefully I'll be back working from home by the end of next week.

Ajax had been on edge from the moment the guard had made a grab at him. The cold calculating front he was presented with the moment he entered the room only went to exacerbate this. Why even act like they cared so much?

Worst of all however was the guard that had led Ajax up here. The man was slightly stronger than he was now, if they could have someone like this around then Hatchet wouldn’t have needed to give up an arm defending his parents. As much as he didn’t want to admit it the disaster back at the village still affected him a lot since he remembered what losing his parents back on Earth had been like.

The moment Ajax opened his mouth to talk he could feel his [Persuasion] skill hadn’t liked his approach to the conversation. Right after he finished his words however he felt [Enigma] trigger in response to his grandmother. As was to be expected of a merchant he hadn’t been able to block her skill at all, he did however know that all she managed to get from him was his name, age, race as well as his level. He did also find it surprising to know that she also inspected every single item that was visible on him with just that one use.

Aurora’s eye flashed with some recognition, something that Ajax also noticed. What he didn’t notice was the suspiciousness she built because of his level. Regardless of the sole inconsistency she still decided to approach this carefully just in case it really was her grandson.

“We apologize for that.” Aurora said. “He is a new hire and a little eager. We wanted to ask you about the token you used when you identified yourself. Where did you get it from?”

Ajax was surprised by two things. First was the undertone of care he could feel for his mother coming across in the question, whether this was the result of a social skill or genuine he wasn’t sure. The second however was that the eager guard was a new hire. That guy had been coordinating with the other two guards perfectly so he frowned as he shot a glance at the split lift he had delivered following the grab attempt.

“Why does it matter where I got it from?” He snapped back. “From what I looked into your group before, your tokens are used as an introduction point.” He decided to push and see if what they cared about was his mother or just not giving out the hefty discount that the token should have earned him.

“What did you do to the woman you took it from?” Elija finally entered the conversation no longer able to hold back, his usual legendary patience nowhere to be seen.

The question pleased Ajax as he could tell that they still cared about his mother and that this wasn’t an act, had it been they would have lost much more than a simple discount by having the head of the organization get rattled so quickly. However the insinuation that he would hurt his own mother, and for it to come from those who abandoned her for the choice she made also enraged him enough to stop with the guessing games.

Even before he opened his mouth to answer he could see Aurora had taken a vice grip of Elija’s should, not that he noticed however.  “You have some nerve accusing me of hurting my own mother after you disowned her.”

The words sapped all the strength from Elija. The weakness in his posture made the grip Aurora had on his shoulder start turning the chair towards her. The first to react however was the guard standing across the doorway from him.

“That’s quite the claim you’re throwing around.” he said as a ‘click’ was heard from the sword on his waist.

Ajax didn’t even get a chance to respond as two voices thundered at the action.

“Sheath that sword you fool.” Knuckles growled as his hand quickly went to his own sword, though he didn’t draw it.

“Don’t you dare draw that blade.” Aurora said as if spewing poison at the action.

Each had said it for a different reason. Aurora was almost certain that this person was actually her grandson Ajax, they had gotten some reports on the existence of all three grandchildren though they didn’t know too much about them, the last few months wallowing over a mistake made so long in the past made her overly protective of him.

Knuckles however had a much different reason why he was alarmed. The moment Ajax had entered the room he had unconsciously relaxed slightly. Years of experience in dealing with bandits when protecting shipments let him figure something out from that action alone. Where Ajax had been on edge about an ambush before he was now confident of one form of victory.

In Knuckles mind there was only one scenario where that would be the case and it was also the worst case if it came down to a fight. The only reason why he would stand a better chance here was because he knew that by targeting Sir Elija and Madam Aurora he would be forced on the defensive. This meant a fight should be their last resort.

“Dear?” Elija asked, hope filling his voice as he knew that for his wife to take that tone she had to know something he didn’t.

“Knuckles, please remove your hand from the blade.” Aurora said sternly.

Knuckles was quick to obey but he also drew a few steps backwards. Essentially this was an invitation for Ajax to just escape instead of going for an attack on his employers if it came down to it.

“Thank you.” Aurora said her voice returning to what it was at the start. “It won’t do to have my grandson threatened in my own home.”

The statement however had an opposite reaction as it only served to enrage Ajax again. “So you were keeping tabs on us?” he hissed out. “That identification you used on me confirmed the name and age and they should match what you knew. Would it have been so hard to help them through that attack disaster?” his voice almost turned to a shout at the end.

Both Aurora and Elija were surprised that he noticed the identification but Aurora was quick to explain. “We only had one person keeping an eye on her, not only that but they sent reports only twice or three times a year. They died in the attack on the village so we had no idea the attack even happened until a few months ago. We still don’t know anything that may have happened to her.” her voice went quiet as both her and Elija couldn’t lift their eyes from the ground.

A lot of Ajax’s anger had started to burn out by now, not just because he was getting an explanation but also because remembering the attack moved that anger back on the noble who had been the cause of it.

“Both my parents made it out alive.” Ajax finally said after about a minute of silence.

Joy instantly lit up both Aurora’s and Elijas face as they looked up at him. “Thank the gods!” Ajax could hear his grandfather murmur.

“Can you tell us where she is?” Aurora pressed.

“They are staying in Lessis. Judy and Tom took care of them following the attack.” Ajax didn’t have any issues sharing that information as he knew that they would have gotten it soon anyway. Not only that but they were also under Commander Grievous’ protection.

“It’s long past due that we apologized.” Aurora said. “Not just to her but to Sam as well. It seems we might have been a bit too quick to judge.”

“You’re right, I should look into inviting them to come back here.” Elija agreed as he stood up ready to go and give the order.

“No point in sending out that offer now.” Ajax took the wind out of his sails.

“Why not?” Aurora asked, her voice quivering at the prospect of her daughter now rejecting them.

“Because they’re already planning on coming down here.” Ajax explained. “Though that won’t happen until Tom finishes his time with the guards and Judy finishes shoring up her main branch. Not to mention that Kate has a commitment to the Healing Union which would take a few months to approve a transfer for her to the capital." He didn’t mention that the Healing Union was most likely a non-issue since Luna could handle that.

“Kate?” both Elija and Aurora asked. Neither was aware of a fourth child named Kate, let alone one that had shown any talent with healing magic.

“ Tom’s girlfriend, maybe even wife now, they’ve been together for about eight years now.” Ajax just shook his head. “The plan was for them to follow me here in about two years.”

The reason Ajax was even willing to share any of this was because he knew how torn his mother was when it came to her parents. He had decided that the final decision on the matter would be hers when she came down here, he would go along with whatever she decided.

“Why follow you?” Elija asked absentmindedly as he was already starting to think through a plan to speed up the timeline. Aurora however turned a speculative look on Ajax as she thought on the level she saw.

“Yes, it’s because of my level.” Ajax confirmed it for her, taking her by surprise once more as he revealed more of her skill. “ Which brings us back to why I came here in the first place.”

His words brought his grandfather's mind to a halt as now both his grandparents were focused on what they could do to start making amends.