Give Me Your Money!

Lyla could only remember one other time when she had been this happy. It was when she had made love with her man. She looked to the side where he was walking, it filled her with immense pride and love to be by his side.

Her darling was destined for greatness. She was thrilled to be a part of his journey. But before that, she had one last thing to do.

"Ray, I want to visit my mother's grave." She said softly. In all her years she had never visited her mother's resting place, instead, she had only looked at it from afar, not having the courage to face her. Madam Denver had made her believe that she had killed her mother, that her mother was poisoned to death by her.

But now, she knew better and she had personally seen to it that the man responsible was dead. She was finally ready to say goodbyes to her mother.

"I want you to come with me, please?"

"Alright, lead the way," Raymond agreed. It was good that she reminded him of that. He should visit his father's grave before leaving. He didn't know when he might come back. Most likely after finding his grandpa.

Lyla led them to an abandoned graveyard to the east of the city. Beyond the graveyard were the city walls followed by a long stretching mountain range.

Walking to a far corner of the graveyard, while cutting down wild and overgrown shrubs along the way, the trio arrived in front of an inconspicuous grave.

Lyra.

The name written on the tombstone invoked many feelings inside Lyla. She placed a bunch of white flowers, she had gathered while clearing the shrubs, on the grave.

"Rest in peace, mother…"

Lyla knelt by the side, bowed her head, and clasped her hands together to offer a prayer. Jasmine did the same by kneeling by Lyla's side.

However, her head turned around abruptly as she heard a sound behind her. Her jaws almost hit the floor seeing her master kneeling and offering his prayers. But she refrained from asking and continued her prayers.

She had only seen him kneel in front of Master Thomas. She was sure he was the kind of person who wouldn't kneel even in the presence of an emperor.

After a while, Lyla got up and looked at him curiously, though the corners of her lips raised in a sweet smile.

"What?" Raymond asked. "She is kind of like my mother-in-law, isn't she? Is there anything wrong with paying respect to the deceased? "

"Nothing~" Lyla chirped happily as she pecked him lovingly. Her heart soared in joy at his words. "Does that mean you accept Cyril Denver as your father-in-law?" She asked, with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Well, that depends. If you consider him as your father then I guess he is my father-in-law…" Raymond shrugged.

"Hmph," Lyla pouted. "You're so cheeky!"

"Come, Jasmine! Let's go and meet his father." Lyla hooked her arms around Jasmine and pulled her towards the exit.

Raymond was left behind as the two of them walked out of the graveyard.

"Is she getting affected by Jasmine Syndrome?" Raymond wondered. It was the first time he had seen Lyla joking with him. She always seemed like someone burdened by something heavy.

"Well, as long as they are both happy," Raymond muttered as he bowed towards the grave once more and walked towards his girls.

*******

When it was dawn and the sunlight started to peek through the horizon, Raymond stopped kneeling in front of his father's grave alongside Jasmine and Lyla.

Raymond noticed that Jasmine wasn't being her usual self, instead, she appeared to be rather subdued.

"Don't be sad, Jasmine. You will get to see a lot of new things. And besides, it's not like we can't come back here when needed. No one is going to stop us from visiting our home."

Raymond wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. Whenever he saw Jasmine downcast, he would feel like shit. It had always been like that. He didn't know why but he just couldn't see her being dispirited.

"Mmhmm."

Jasmine nodded. She was feeling down for a completely different reason. Something she was still thinking about.

She was too weak compared to Lyla let alone her master. In this world, power meant everything and her master had loads of it. If he kept doing stunts like last night, he would practically become a chick magnet.

That in and itself was not a problem. She knew he would never abandon her. But what if someone unpleasant joined their family? She was too weak to kick their butt.

"Master, I want to get stronger." She said softly.

"Aren't you getting stronger? Your cultivation is going smoothly, isn't it? You are already a Grandmaster at the age of 20! You're definitely up there on the list of geniuses." Raymond raised his eyebrow at her.

"But, it's not enough. I barely know any spells related to gravity!" Jasmine countered as they exited the city gates. "And we both know how I became Grandmaster! It has nothing to do with my talent!"

"Do you have any complaints about getting stronger that way, hmm?" Raymond smirked.

"No! I think it's the best way to get stronger, fufu~" Jasmine snickered and Raymond heaved a sigh of relief seeing her smile.

There were lines of carriages waiting for business, ready to offer a ride to nearby towns at a price. A coachman saw the approaching trio and tugged at the reins to lead the horse towards them.

"Hmmm, you don't have to rely on magical spells to get stronger, you know?" Raymond suggested. "You can try my training if you want."

"Really?" Jasmine was hesitant. She had seen him train, after all. He would always make weird faces after falling exhausted. "It's not something weird, right?"

"Are you calling me a weirdo?" Raymond's lips twitched. There she was! The annoying Jasmine.

Jasmine struck out her tongue playfully and ignored his question. Even though he was a weirdo, he was her weirdo and she loved him dearly for that.

"Haha, how about taking my carriage, brother? Give me your money and tell me your destination. I will take you there in a jiffy!" The coachman approached them. He seemed like a rather straightforward person judging by the way he directly asked for money.

Raymond eyed him and the carriage up and down. Finally, he was leaving on a journey to see the world. This moment would've never come true if he hadn't followed what was written in his grandfather's letters. He would still be a weak little boy that could be easily squashed like a bug. But now, he could squash everyone else like a bug.

He had to find his grandpa and thank him followed by a beating for leaving him behind in the empire.

"Take me somewhere far…"

Raymond said, his voice laced with a tinge of melancholy. His father wouldn't be disappointed in him for not looking after the family, right? Was he being selfish for wanting to explore the world?

"Are you mad, brother? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don't know where the fuck you want to go, be more specific!" The coachman retorted.

"Fucking hell! Don't ruin my moment, you asshole!" Raymond scowled. "You know what? I am not taking this shitty carriage. I will walk. It will be faster than this carriage!"

It would be a waste of money if he has to pay for going slower.

"Jasmine, Lyla, hop on!" Raymond squatted as he gestured for his girls to sit on his shoulders. Jasmine was quick to climb onto his right shoulder, while Lyla climbed on his left shoulder hesitatingly. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to carry two people on his shoulders?

"Haha, how long can you go on like this? Eh? You will get tired soon enough!" The coachman laughed.

"Is that what your wife tells you? 'You will get tired soon'?" Raymond mocked as he wrapped his hands around the thighs of Jasmine and Lyla.

"What did you say?" Whatever the coachman wanted to say further, he swallowed it back quickly as Lyla released her aura.

"A k-king!" He cowered. "I-I…"

"Hmph," Lyla harrumphed as she wrapped herself and Jasmine in a thick mana coating. This ride was going to be too fast for their mortal bodies.

-Boom!

Raymond took off, breaking the sound barrier.

"Dear god!" The coachman screamed as his carriage was flipped sideways and his horses neighed in panic.

*******

Raymond skidded to a halt as he crossed several hundred miles in distance.

Jasmine blinked as she looked around, her head was buzzing.

"Huh? Where are we?" She asked, looking at the grassland as far as she could see.

"We are moving towards the Heavenmist Empire. We should be there in a few minutes if we go at this speed," Lyla informed. "Ray, is that where you want to go?"

"I am not sure where to start," Raymond admitted. "I have no idea where my grandpa would have gone!"

"Go east if you're looking for knowledge and go west if you're looking for wealth," Lyla said. "That's how the saying goes back in the empire." She shrugged.

Raymond's eyes lit up at her words. He was really tempted to go west, to the neighboring continent of Varn.

This continent was divided among three powers namely, the FireBorn Empire, the Heavenmist Empire, and the WindGod Tribe.

The former two were occupied by humans while the latter was the domain of elves. The elves were known for their knowledge.

His grandpa had an intense thirst for knowledge. There was a high chance that he might have gone there, Raymond decided.

"Alright! To the east it is."

-Boom!

With that, he took off towards the eastern domain full of mountains and forests.