Beneath a large tree, Locke waved his hand.
Immediately, Water elemental essence gathered from the air, spreading across the ground into a green water curtain.
Afterward, a table and two chairs appeared before Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign.
Lilia sat gracefully on one of the chairs, watching as Locke poured water, brewed tea, then took out a grill and placed sliced meat and vegetables upon it to roast.
While waiting for the barbecue to cook, Locke poured out the brewed tea. After handing a cup to Lilia, he sat down opposite her and took a sip himself.
"Ha... this is what life is all about..."
Feeling the tea's sweetness flow down his throat, Locke let out a sigh of satisfaction.
Although Locke and Lilia had originally decided to maintain only Saint-level strength during their journey with Loran in order to increase the difficulty of his trial, perhaps because the two of them had stood at the pinnacle for too long, they had forgotten that the overwhelming majority of beings in the Netherworld were still Saints.
Especially for people like them who were traveling on foot. In the wilderness far from cities, the chances of encountering a Deity were almost nonexistent.
After all, Deities possessed the ability to fly.
If they wanted to go somewhere, flying was thousands of times faster than walking. Who would foolishly choose to travel on foot?
Wealthier Deities would simply travel in metal lifeforms.
It could be said that during these past dozen years, not only had Locke's group rarely encountered Deities, they had even seen only a handful of metal lifeforms passing overhead.
Under such circumstances, how could the childlike Loran remain obediently by Locke and Lilia's side the entire time?
Locke and Lilia also discovered that, so long as no powerful enemies appeared, this sort of trial had virtually no effect on Loran. Thus, they stopped restricting him from going out to play.
However, whenever Loran wandered beyond the range of their divine sense, Locke and Lilia would immediately begin enjoying themselves.
At the end of the day, maintaining Saint-level strength was simply meant to increase Loran's burden. It did not mean the two of them intended to suffer as well.
As for what happened to Loran while they were enjoying themselves?
What a joke.
An unfilial son who dared leave his Saint-level parents behind wasn't qualified to dine with two Sovereigns!
Seeing Locke's contented appearance, Lilia merely smiled and said nothing, silently using a scrying spell to record everything happening before her.
She imagined that someday in the future, showing these scenes to Loran would certainly be quite entertaining.
"Father, Mother, I'm back!"
Loran's voice sounded from the distance.
Locke glanced regretfully at the unfinished tea in his cup. With a wave of his hand, he stored everything into his interspatial ring.
The ground formed from the water curtain, along with the table and chairs, all dissolved back into Water elemental essence.
Only then did Locke pull the Death Chief Sovereign back beneath the tree. With a casual gesture, he cleaned the ground before allowing her to sit down.
By the time Locke finished arranging everything, Loran's figure finally appeared within sight.
"Look what delicious things I brought back for you!"
Grinning happily, Loran took out a pile of green fruits from his interspatial ring and placed them before Locke and Lilia, seemingly waiting for something.
Lilia tilted her head and looked toward Locke.
"Sigh..."
The corner of Locke's mouth twitched, revealing a bitter smile.
Then, under Loran's expectant gaze, Locke picked up one of the green fruits.
Crunch...
As expected, the fruit wasn't ripe at all.
Not only was it intensely bitter, but it also carried a sharp sourness that made one's gums tighten.
"Not bad, not bad. The food An'an found this time can certainly fill the stomach."
"However, An'an, in the future, before bringing food back for Father and Mother, could you taste it yourself first? If it tastes good, then bring it back, alright?"
"But Father, if it tastes good, I'm afraid I'll eat it all myself and won't have any left to bring back to you..."
Loran bit his thumb and spoke softly.
"This one looked really delicious..."
"Uh..."
Locke was speechless.
If An'an put it that way, what could he possibly say?
He could only conclude that a son's filial devotion, whether sour, bitter, or astringent, had to be accepted and consumed in full by his father.
Of course, there was no way Locke would allow Lilia to eat such awful food.
Still, Locke wanted to correct one of his son's rather peculiar habits.
"An'an, look."
"For over ten years now, every food you've brought back for your mother and me has been fruit or other plant products."
"Although your mother and I said that our food, clothing, shelter, and transportation would all be your responsibility during these years, have you ever considered that sometimes your mother and I might want to eat some meat?"
For a Saint, traveling alone in the Netherworld was extremely dangerous.
Thus, in order to maintain appearances, all of Locke and Lilia's food was obtained by Loran.
However, Loran seemed to have some unusual preference. Throughout all these years, every bit of food he had brought them had been vegetarian.
This was also the primary reason Locke and Lilia secretly grilled meat whenever Loran wandered off.
After eating nothing but vegetables for so long, one inevitably craved something with a bit of grease.
Although Locke and Lilia would always sneak in a few bites while Loran was away, the boy might be playful, but he still understood that he carried the responsibility of protecting his parents. As a result, he never stayed away very long.
Usually, by the time Locke had finished taking care of Lilia's meal, Loran would already be returning before Locke himself had eaten more than a few bites.
At that moment, Locke's eyes suddenly landed on the little turtle perched on Loran's shoulder.
Immediately, his eyes lit up.
"Look, An'an. Father thinks this turtle you brought back looks pretty good."
"How about letting Father have him as a snack?"
"Huh?!"
The moment those words came out, the little turtle perched on Loran's shoulder nearly jumped out of its shell.
"No, no, no, my lord! My meat tastes terrible! It's bitter! And I'm old now too, so my meat is tough and stringy..."
Crunch...
The turtle was about to continue speaking when Locke suddenly stuffed one of the green fruits into its mouth.
The instant it opened its mouth, the fruit burst apart.
The next moment, bitterness, sourness, astringency, and all sorts of unpleasant flavors flooded its taste buds, leaving it capable only of making muffled whimpering sounds.
"Now, now, little turtle."
Locke smiled warmly as he stroked the turtle's shell.
Though he said nothing aloud, his divine sense transmitted directly into the turtle's mind.
"Tell me honestly. No matter how bad you taste, could you possibly taste worse than these fruits?"
"Don't worry. I know Saint-level magical beasts have large bodies. I won't eat you all at once."
"I'll eat a little today, a little tomorrow."
"As long as the speed at which I eat you matches the speed at which your body recovers, then you won't have to die, and I won't have to keep eating these things every day. Isn't that perfect?"
Locke's words completely stunned the turtle.
Listen to that.
Was that something a person should say?
This man was a devil!
Initially, the Saint-level turtle had found it strange that two Saints could somehow have a Deity-level child barely over ten years old.
But now it understood.
The woman was difficult to judge, but the man was definitely a terrifying monster.
Anyone possessing divine sense was undoubtedly a Deity.
Gulp...
Terrified, the turtle swallowed the fruit whole.
The intensely unpleasant sensation surged from its throat, making it feel miserable.
Yet strangely enough, the experience also brought it a moment of enlightenment.
Immediately afterward, the turtle opened its mouth wide and sucked in every single unripe fruit Loran had gathered, chewing them frantically.
After wolfing them down, it finally spoke through tears.
"My lord, please look at me. I've just eaten so many terrible fruits that my entire body now smells like them."
"How about waiting until I've digested them before considering whether to eat me?"
To avoid being eaten, the turtle was truly giving it everything it had.
The fruits were awful, yes.
But staying alive wasn't something to be ashamed of!
"Father, you're scaring Little Black."
Seeing the turtle's miserable state, Loran immediately hugged it protectively and glared at Locke in dissatisfaction.
"Little Black?"
"That's right!"
"I gave him that name. Isn't it a great name?"
"I've decided to make Little Black my mount!"
"Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"
The moment Loran said that, Locke had barely reacted before Lilia burst into laughter.
"Locke, An'an, are you two father and son trying to kill me with laughter?"
"Locke, if I remember correctly, you once took a little white rabbit as your mount and named it Little White."
"And now your son has found a turtle as a mount and named it Little Black..."
"The style and naming sense really are inherited through the family line."
After hearing Lilia say that, even Locke felt somewhat embarrassed.
Still, his mount had been a rabbit while his son's mount was a turtle.
Was this family determined to bring The Tortoise and the Hare into the Coiling Dragon universe?
"Oh?"
"Father had a mount too? And it was a little white rabbit?"
Hearing his mother's words, Loran's eyes immediately lit up.
"Father, where's Little White now? Why haven't I seen him?"
"He's gone."
The moment Little White was mentioned, a trace of annoyance appeared on Locke's face.
Looking at the turtle in Loran's arms, Locke suddenly worried that it might one day follow the same path as Little White.
Thus, he decided to make it understand its situation a little better.
"When I first took Little White as a mount, he was only a Saint-level rabbit."
"Later, after following me for some time, I saw that he wasn't making much progress. So, I gave him several divine sparks, allowing him to refine them and become a Highgod. Afterward, he helped me handle various matters."
"But one day, Little White coveted a reward I had offered for a task."
"In order to embezzle that reward, he did some improper things."
"In the end, he delayed a Sovereign's business and was killed by the Sovereign."
"So, An'an, if you want your mount to remain with you for a long time, it's best not to let him possess treasures beyond what he can bear."
"Human greed cannot withstand temptation."
"And because of that, you should never test it."
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 2400 Powerstones