Stella jumped up happily hearing Dyon's words, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. She really was every bit the spoiled little girl she was pretending to be.
"Don't worry Sarid, I won't forget about you." Dyon chuckled when he saw Sarid sulking in a corner.
"Hey! That's not fair, you already gave him transcendent grade battle axes, he's been flaunting them in front of me for weeks!" Stella pouted.
"Hm," Dyon pondered for a moment, "How about this. You're both essence gatherers and more than powerful enough to deal with the rodents, you're just too lazy to.
"We'll do a competition. For every foundation stage rodent you catch, I'll give you a pill of your choice up to the Master Grade. For every meridian formation stage rodent you catch, I'll give you a pill of your choice up to the Grandmaster Grade.
"Foundation stage rodents will be worth 1 point and Meridian Formation rodents will be worth 2 points. You can exchange 10 points for any peak common grade technique I have in my arsenal. You can exchange 100 points for any earth grade technique I have, after all, you'll be saints soon, no?" Dyon smiled meaningfully.
Sarid and Stella looked at Dyon wide eyed. Earth Grade techniques? Even peak common grade techniques were scarce in the Belmont Palace… This Uncle of theirs was too nice.
Seemingly thinking of something, Dyon brought out the twins and the four celestial beast babies.
"Take the Demon Sage Tower with you," Dyon allowed a miniature tower to appear in Stella's hands. "You can place the rodents inside of it when you capture them. Don't worry, the tower spirit will handle where they go."
Stella and Sarid were still standing in a daze, looking from Dyon to the tower and back. They didn't even have eyes for the four baby beasts that suddenly appeared to cling to him.
"Uncle wait!" A familiar voice suddenly filled the hall as Aoife rushed in. "Let me help too! You'll reward me too, right?"
Dyon laughed. "The more the merrier. Remember though, the tower can record everything that happens, so don't think of cheating your uncle, okay?"
The three teens nodded yes like pecking chickens, eager to go. By the time Dyon opened his mouth to tell them to be careful, they had already disappeared into the distance, laughing like mad. They didn't even greet Mia and Bella.
"How are you guys?" Dyon asked the twins, fielding the various licks and tugs the baby beasts inflicted upon him. Clearly, they missed him very much.
"We should be asking you that." Bella said with a pout. You suddenly sent us away so far, so quickly.
Dyon sighed. "I had no choice. After I brought Aki out and sent him back into the tower, if I hadn't sent you guys away and into the distance, the tribulation would have attacked you too."
Mia and Bella looked toward Dyon with concern. It seemed that his martial path would always be rife with dangers. He always somehow jumped from one life ending danger to another without break.
They already had this impression despite only following him for about a year! His life really was too troublesome.
"You guys relax. Ri and Clara should be showing those teens around. You could be good friends with them, after all, they're about your age. I'll take care about the beast babies for now." Dyon said with a smile, rubbing Shere's head.
He felt kind of bad. It was his job to form a bond with these beast babies, yet they spent far more time with Mia and Bella than him.
"Alright!" The twins left to explore the palace, arm in arm.
Dyon laughed to himself, it seemed the Belmont Palace had become less of a Royal Clan's home and more of a tourist destination.
Picking up Biibi and Shere, he placed them within his shirt. Sen hopped from shoulder to shoulder like he usually did, while Linlin sat on his head, retreating into her beautiful black shell. Dyon felt an odd sense of comfort around them.
In the distance, he heard the faint yet uproarious laughter of King Mino speaking with King Belmont. It seemed that he had come here with Aoife.
Dyon sighed, 'Still so many things to deal with… First let's deal with Planet Deimos and Naiad.'
Over the next few days, that was exactly what Dyon did. The situation was more complex than he thought, so he had no choice but to put in a bit of extra effort.
Dyon was working under the impression that the kitsune could send another batch of experts at any time. He was now taking into account their stupidity… He had no way of knowing that they had sealed their borders, causing an uproar in the martial world. Unfortunately, there were no Sapientia Relay Stations here, so not only could he not communicate with Madeleine using their necklaces, he also wasn't up to date on the news.
Instead, Dyon spent his days sorting out the rebellions from the remainder of the Aumen clan on Planet Deimos. He slaughtered those who were too far gone, placed seals within those who were risks, and gave rewards to those who adapted to the changing times. After taking a stock of resources Planet Deimos had and drawing a map of them using his divine sense, he finally felt good enough to leave and head to Planet Naiad.
Luckily, Planet Naiad was far easier to handle, after all, it was Patia-Neva's home planet. After reuniting with his wife, he had returned to set his home on the right path and had long since dealt with the Clyte clan. So, after a simple conversation with Delia's father, Planet Naiad too began preparing for the migration.