[OP: ]
"Hehehe~. This is really fun~!"
Her wish to sleep outside turned out to be quite a nostalgic experience for the elders of the house who had not camped out for quite a while.
"It sure was fun..."
Quin was reminiscing about her time with her grandpa when she used to sleep outside under the starry sky most of the time.
Even in the academy, she sometimes slept outside in the balcony of her dorm room.
It was always fun sleeping under the starry sky. And, well, she liked sleeping on the floor since she was used to it.
But, having a bed in the garden wasn't that bad either. Read exclusive content at empire
"Hehe, you all have done soooo many fun things~. I want to do all that as well~!"
Her Aunt Haze told her about her time in the various faraway forest areas and on mountains where she used to go for 'plant huntings' with her seniors and partners.
She was a florist, but in her life as a flower groomer, she had experienced a lot of things. She was one of the few people in this world who had directly seen an Elemental Helix as well, so she has also had her fair share of fun experiences like the rest of them.
"Huhu, You will get to have fun experiences like these as well, little one."
Her Aunt Aug was a troublemaker back in her younger days.
She used to run away from her house and spend her nights at a lake near their estate.
She told them about her experiences at that magical lake, how they had a moving tree– a unique Ent in that area and how she was still friends with it.
Just like most of them here, she loved this starry night sky, sleeping under it, and this out of the blue suggestion from their little girl had only brought back those old memories of the people present.
"Hehe, we should go camping someday~."
"That's a nice suggestion as well, little one."
They had not gone out like a family ever since Elio came back home and even with Anna around, they had not had many chances to go and do something actually fun.
"Ohh~! Ohh~! I know the perfect place for camping~!"
Her uncle El was excited about everything that was related to camping.
As one of the smartest minds of this empire, he had travelled a lot for his fieldworks and research.
He has had a time in his life where he had practically lived in forest areas and slept under starry sky like these.
There were no beds, there was nothing like safety dorms like they had around this house either.
As her dad, Brian knew, when one was actually camping outside, there was always a certain danger to their lives.
Creatures were everywhere around them, there were abnormal weather conditions, if they were in faraway places by themselves, there was a chance that they would die and no one would even find their corpse.
Things like these mostly happen in dungeons and historical sites mainly.
The two of them knew it very well.
"Brother El... I don't think going to any dangerous place with the children would be safe. So, even if you are going to suggest some place, please think about the children."
As someone who had lived with all these amazing people with so many rich experiences, her uncle Theo and Alf's father had also experienced a lot of things that the others might not have.
He was also a graduate of the Great academy like these children will be, so there was no way his life had not been filled with unique experiences.
Still, the experiences that he had and experiences that these people have had were quite different.
He did not have any unique connection with this night sky like they had, but still, he liked this atmosphere and had some stories that he could contribute to.
"Yawn~!"
"Shuuu. Haze..."
The little one had just fallen asleep.
Waking her up just because they were back did not make any sense at all.
Looking at her sleeping face was not a chance they got everyday. All of them wanted to cherish it now that they had it.
Besides...
"Hmm?"
[{ Took you long enough, big brother. }]
[{ Yeah... some stuff happened. }]
They did not appear through the portal but directly teleported inside their house.
And, they were with the Headmaster, so it also explained how they passed through the security measures.
[{ "She just fell asleep, didn't she?" }]
[{ "Yeah..." }]
They did not want to wake her up with their voices or even their presence, so the headmaster helped them with their presence, and they used Celes' link to talk instead of direct speech.
[{ "My little baby." }]
Nolan knew she had just fallen asleep when she looked at her. So, she controlled her urge to kiss her, and instead, just sat down on one of the empty beds.
[{ "I'm exhausted, everyone." }]
[{ "You all look half-dead." }]
Taika's comment was, as always, unique. But it was true.
Nolan, Eon and Elle who were now sitting beside Anna, and even the elders were looking tired.
It seemed like they had not slept for days, so... the others did not bother them too much.
[{ "Do you want anything, mother? Uncle?" }]
Haze asked them for anything they needed. She even asked the headmaster who had come to drop them off personally.
But he respectfully declined.
He was just there to see them off, so after looking at the rest of them present there, after looking at the little sleeping beauty, and the captain of Wisdom Phoenix, he said his goodbyes and vanished from the vicinity.
He still had a lot of work to do, so he was not going to be free until their school starts once again.
[{ "Haaa..." }]
Eon was looking at his sleeping little love.
[{ "She looks so sad." }]
And behind that peaceful sleeping expression, he still somehow noticed the sadness that only Zoe had seen until now.
[{ "She doesn't like to be alone, Eon." }]
[{ "I know. I don't either..." }]
If he touched her right now, she would wake up and start crying, saying that they were late.
They told her they would be back soon, but they still ended up delaying a lot, and most of it was not their fault.
It was circumstantial. But at last, they were back...
And, now that the grand conference was over, Eon knew they could at least spend the last few days of their holiday having fun with his amazing little sister... as well as the others, of course.