Chapter 157: The Unexpected Quest(1)

The crowd stared at him in disbelief, while the group simply sighed and shook their heads. Lance simply scratched his brow and motioned for the music band to begin playing. The musicians were startled, but quickly regained their composure and played music that diverted the nobles' attention away from Luke, who was peacefully sleeping.

Lance then approached the table and noticed Luke's unusually peaceful expression. Lance isn't sure if Luke slept on purpose or if he was simply knocked out cold from exhaustion... But it may be both. Lance simply sighed once more and turned his attention to the kids who were approaching him.

"Dad fell asleep."

"He appears to be exhausted."

Lance patted their heads and nodded.

"Let's not bother him and go do something else."

The two kids gave a cute nod and dashed over to the table where Liam and the others were sitting. Lance simply followed behind them, conversing with a few of the nobles along the way.

"Snow, I'm hungry."

"You are hungry, again? Didn't you just eat earlier?"

Nash rubbed his stomach and made a sad face.

"It isn't enough..."

Snow let out a sigh and shook her head. She then looked around; Lance isn't here because he appears to be busy talking with others, and the rest of the group is the same. Their table was easily swarmed by nobles that they seem to have no time for them at all. Snow simply shook her head and spoke.

"I guess we got to do this on our own. Come on, let's go get food."

Snow then took Nash's hand in hers and led him into the crowd. The people they encountered all gasped and stared at them. Some were gracious enough to make way for them, but others were unforgiving, even attempting to squash the two of them with their large and puffy gowns. Nash and Snow exchanged a frown.

"Can I burn their dresses?"

Snow sighs and shakes her head.

"No, Dad will be upset if we do."

"However, these people are vexing."

"I know, just put up with them for a while, okay?"

"Okay..."

Snow sighed and moved her tiny hands to clear the path. Even though she stopped Nash from burning the nobles' dresses, she herself wants to freeze everyone that was standing in her way. These people didn't bother to give them even a tiny little bit of a way out, instead, trapping them even further, which irritated her. The image of their dad being disappointed in them if they caused chaos at the banquet was the only way she could calm herself down.

'Just a little bit more push, we will get to the food.'

And as she was thinking that, they finally got out of the car and arrived at their destination. Snow and Nash exhale heavily from exhaustion and look up at the tall table piled high with sweets and delicacies. Snow then placed her hands on her waist and spoke while staring at the food on the table.

"Now, Nash, eat to your heart's content."

Nash's eyes twinkled and he gulped as he gazed at the sweets in front of him.

"O-okay..."

Nash was about to approach the table when he was interrupted by a voice at his side.

"Aren't these the strange kids from unknown origins? I heard you were both as weird as your dad."

Nash and Snow's eyes twitched as they heard the word "dad" and turned to face the source of the voice. They then noticed a swarm of noble children piled up together, all staring down at the two of them. Nash's silly face immediately evaporated and turned into a serious one.

"What did you say about my dad?"

The oldest child then spoke, smirking.

"As I previously stated, he is odd. Now that his title as the commander has been revoked, he is back to being a nobody, as he was from the beginning."

Nash and Snow fell silent as they looked at the kid who was speaking with pride on his face. Their focus was then drawn to a girl about the same age as the boy who spoke while crossing her arms. She's staring at Nash.

"Hey, I like your face. If you want to survive the noble circle, you can become one of my puppies. Be glad that I am offering you this chance myself."

Snow's eyebrow twitched and glared at the girl.

"Hah? What did you say to my younger brother? You want him to be your puppy? Are you insane enough to say something like that in front of me?"

Snow was then smirked at by the girl.

"I heard about you, the cursed ice girl. You seem pretty ordinary except for the fact that you had ice powers to stand out a bit. Mommy told me that you aren't a threat because you harm yourself whenever you use your powers."

"Oh? Then your mommy lied to you."

Snow was about to cast multiple icicles when Nash grabbed her arm.

"Sister, think about what your dad would think."

Snow clenched her teeth and came to a halt. She then turned her attention back to the boy.

"Since you're useless in the first place, why not become one of my wives in the future? That face of yours serves a purpose."

The boy then looked at Snow from head to toe while grinning widely. An arm then obscured his vision. When the boy looked up, he saw Nash staring at him coldly.

"Stop looking at my sister like that. Do you want to fight?"

He was then mocked by the boy.

"Me? Fight with you? A child?"

Nash's head began to swell with veins. He tried to hide his feelings by smiling, but he was too angry.

"I'll just apologize to Dad later..."

Nash was about to release a large amount of mana and throw the kids in front of him into the trash can but stopped when he felt himself being picked up.

"Huh?"

Nash then turned his head and his eyes widened when he recognized who was carrying him.

"Papa!"

Nash then noticed Lance wasn't alone, as he saw Snow being carried by Liam. Snow sighed and patted Liam on the cheek.

"You're right on time, uncle."

Liam then gave her a friendly smile.

"I apologize for the delay; we've been surrounded back there."

Nash smiled brightly and clung to Lance, who was staring at him with curiosity.

"What's going on here? Hmm? "

Nash smiled slyly and looked down at the terrified children looking up at him. Nash then pointed at them, causing them to flinch.

"That nasty-looking girl over there says she wants me to be her puppy and the toad-looking boy over there wants Snow to become one of his wives in the future!"

Liam and Lance fell silent. They both then looked down at the pile of children with bone-chilling glares. The children shivered in fear and sobbed as they looked up at them. The girl then jumped when he heard Lance calling out to her with a cold voice.

"You, lady."

"Y-yes...?"

"You dare have the audacity to come forward and claim this child as your dog?"

The girl then began to cry.

"I-I'm so s-sorry! Uwaaa!"

"Be quiet."

The girl quickly zipped her mouth shut. Sobs continued to escape her mouth, despite her best efforts to keep them in. When Lance said the next thing, her face turned pale.

"Next time you do this; your house will go down with you."

The girl shivered and put her hands over her mouth. She couldn't take it any longer and flee. When all of the kids saw this, they began to shake even more. They now know who will come after them.

And then, as expected, Liam spoke.

"You over there, kid."

When Liam called, the boy flinched. He then slowly looked up at Liam, snot clinging to his nose.

"Y-yes?"

"Not only to you but to all the other kids in there. Listen, if you want Snow as your wife, you'll have to beat me. And I promise you, I'm not going to hold back."

Liam then raised his aura slightly and looked down on the children, holding Snow in his arms. The children began to shake and cry, eventually fleeing towards their parents. Lance and Liam notice the children's parents looking at them with puzzled expressions while consoling their children; some parents even glared at them, but Lance and Liam just stood there as if the parents' actions did not bother them. Then they both heard Nash speak while frowning at the parents.

"They are horrible parents! They teach their children to say mean things! They even said my dad is weird!"

Lance sighed after a brief glance at Nash's displeased expression. Liam could hear Dos scowling in his head at the same time. Lance and Dos both had the same thought at the same time.

'He kind of is weird though...'

• He kind of is weird though...

Snow just stared at them, seeming to know what was going on inside their heads and shaking her head. When Lance asked her a question, her focus shifted.

"What are you two even doing here alone?"

Snow scratched her cheeks for a second before answering.

"Nash is hungry, and you all appear to be busy, so... We considered coming here ourselves."

Lance sighed and scratched his head.

"You could've just told me you know? I actually don't mind if you two ask me for these kinds of things..."

Nash then crossed his chubby arms.

"No way, papa! We've been bothering you far too long! "

Liam cocked his head, perplexed.

"Papa? When did they start calling you papa, your highness?"

Lance then cracked a smile. He seems proud.

"Just earlier."

Liam was speechless as Nash began to tap Lance on the cheek to get his attention.

"Papa, I'm hungry."

Lance laughed.

"You've got a monstrous appetite."

"Hehe!"

Lance and Liam then carried the children to the food and let them eat as much as they wanted. They eat all kinds of things from the table as Nash kept insisting they eat whatever he grabs from the table making Lace, Liam, and Snow instantly full. Nash then asked a question while eating.

"Has Dad woken up yet?"

Lance and Liam came to a halt, and they all turned to face the direction where Luke was sleeping. And, as one would expect from Luke, he is still sleeping soundly on the table, completely oblivious to the nobles' constant staring. Then Liam sighed and shook his head.

"That is your answer..."

Nash was eating a cookie when he made a sad face.

"It's difficult to wake up Dad when he's sleeping."

Snow agreed with a nod.

"I agree."

Lance spoke while looking at Luke sleeping in the distance.

"That's just the way he is. I'm not surprised he won't wake up even if an earthquake shakes his bed."

Nash, Liam, and Snow all agreed with a nod of their heads. They just kept eating while staring off into the distance at Luke.