Chapter 144 - Proof

Zaos felt so relieved and alive when his mother hugged him tightly for quite a while. Still, something felt weird, it seemed that his mother shrieked a little bit. Zaos was taller than his mother already, even though he still had plenty of room for growth. Just as usual, his mother smelled like the garden of the house.

"Welcome home, Zaos," Lyra said.

"Thanks, mom," Zaos said, and then he frowned a little bit since his mother's temperature seemed higher than usual. "Do you have a fever, mom?"

"It is just the sun," Lyra smiled. "We have been waiting for a while."

"I am sorry for my delay…" Zaos said, and then he looked to his father. "I am back, father."

"You look well," Laiex nodded. "Strong and healthy. We heard a few of your accomplishments and about the hardships you faced. Is your body alright? I know that Commander Ruvyn wouldn't let a soldier who can't fight in the northern base, due to the harshness of the place, but I need to confirm it with you."

"I am completely fine, I am sorry for worrying all of you," Zaos replied.

Fortunately, Zaos outgrew his previous armor, so he wasn't wearing that. If he had to wear his previous set of armor, people wouldn't be able to help but wonder how he could still be standing. Regardless, after that, Zaos greeted the people around, they were the guards and the maids of the house, and their names were hard to recall, but Zaos treated them equally. That being said, Zaos quickly recalled Jeline, but he didn't see Nyana.

"Let's enter," Zaos said, since he could feel the fever even on his mother's head. "I am kind of tired of wearing this armor for the past week. My butt needs a break."

Everyone, with the exception of Laiex, who maintained his poker face, and Lyra, who pinched Zaos's ears, everyone laughed. After that, they entered the mansion, and everyone relaxed in the living room. Zaos wanted to unpack his things and take out his armor, but it seemed he will have to endure that for a while, because the expression on Lyra's face changed.

"Usually, I would let you get your room and change your clothes," Lyra said. "Unfortunately, I still have some questions for you, Zaos. Like your father said, we heard a lot of rumors about you and Drannor, and the rumors about you were quite worrisome. My worries only increased since you never mentioned those events. Be honest, Zaos. How is your body?"

"I am fine, mom," Zaos said while smiling. "You are such a worrywart…"

"If that is the case, then take your clothes out," Lyra said.

"That is embarrassing, mom," Zaos said. "Besides, I didn't have time to take a shower this week."

"Zaos…" Lyra insisted.

Zaos sighed since that apparently was something that his mother and father had planned to do. Since Laiex wasn't intervening, it was only natural. Still, it was a bit weird that they were planning to do that in front of everyone.

"Well, I guess it is fine, then," Zaos shrugged.

Zaos had planned to keep his scars hidden for as long as possible, but in the end, he knew that eventually, they would be found. While Zaos worked hard to get off the scars using herbs and magic, he still had some scary marks on his body, and that was revealed when he took out his armor and stayed in front of everyone only in his underwear.

"Don't stare too much," Zaos said, feigning some embarrassment.

No one was looking toward Zaos's lower body, instead, they were looking at the scars on his arms, chest, and back. He only had four of them, and those four were in places where his vitals should have been hit, but he escaped death somehow in the end. Fortunately, the numerous scratches he suffered on his body disappeared without leaving a trace.

Although the wound on his chest was worrisome, the soldiers in the room focused their eyes on the big wound on Zaos's left arm… with a wound that big and on both sides, it was clear that something pierced Zaos's forearm, and it reached the other side. That kind of wound makes anyone lose the ability to hold a sword with that arm, and they knew that Zaos liked to use greatswords with both hands. Still, they couldn't see anything weird with the movements of his arms.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" Lyra asked.

"Nope, I got hit many times in those places after the wounds healed, but I didn't feel anything weird with it," Zaos shook his head. "The healers in the north also agree that there is nothing wrong with my body."

"That is a relief," Lyra said and then sighed. "Now put on some clothes and then tell us in detail what happened in those three years. Spit out all the details that you didn't write in the letters."

Zaos sighed… it seemed his mother was getting stricter, just because Zaos was entering puberty. In any case, Zaos told them everything, he couldn't lie to his mother, even less so in front of her. Those were some harsh years; they even couldn't be compared with all the training Zaos had at home for like seven years. Still, despite the losses and the loneliness on the sector of his squad, Zaos felt that he grew a lot, as a soldier and as a human being. 

"A lot happened with you there…" Lyra said after Zaos finished the story.

"Yeah, what about things here?" Zaos tried to change the subject.

Zaos didn't want to see his mother sad, so he decided to change the subject. She could only smile after hearing that… Regardless, they could talk about things in the capital later.

"We will have a lot of time to talk about all that," Lyra said. "First of all, go to your room and unpack your things. Take the rest of the day to recover from the trip, we will call you when the meals are ready. You can take it easy now, Zaos."