Aftermath

Lucas felt pain all over his body. At first, he was confused, but the next second, he remembered what happened, and his eyes shot open, only to be met by what seemed like two mountains blocking his eyesight.

He noticed, at the same time, that even though moving caused him pain, he felt warm and comfortable. Looking down at his body, he sensed a subtle green energy surrounding him, causing his comfort as his head was lying on something soft.

"M-mngh, Lucas, please don't move that much..."

Suddenly, he looked back up and saw a face behind the two mountains. The face belonged to a girl with eyes as blue as the ocean and beautiful silver hair. She had pointed ears, with a shade of red on the tips, matching the blush on her cheeks.

"H-huh, Sylv, I'm sorry, let me get up, u-ugh."

Realizing that he was on Sylv's lap, he immediately tried to rise, but the pain overwhelmed him, and his body refused to move much.

Suddenly, a soft hand touched his forehead and gently pushed him back onto her lap.

"Stay like this, Lucas, don't move. I am using life magic to heal you. Currently, your body is still in pain as the aftereffects of depleting your whole mana are still there," Sylv said, holding Lucas in place to prevent him from moving around.

Seeing that there was no point in trying to escape her care and that his body still wasn't healed, he sighed and gave up.

"How are you feeling right now?" Sylv asked, concern evident in her eyes as she looked at Lucas.

"Warm and comfortable, as long as I don't move too much."

"Good. That means my magic is working. You should be all healed in an hour."

"I see. Thanks..." Lucas said awkwardly, unsure of what to say. He didn't have the best social skills in his previous and current life.

Hearing Lucas's thanks, Sylv shook her head immediately. "No, I should thank you, Lucas! If it wasn't for you accepting this mission, I would surely have been kidnapped. I am really grateful for you protecting me and hurting yourself in the process."

"It's fine. The mission was said to be between B-S rank, indicating that an attack was bound to happen. So, you don't need to feel guilty."

"I-I see. Thanks, Lucas," Sylv replied, relieved that Lucas wasn't angry with her.

As Lucas listened to Sylv's reply and noticed her becoming considerably less guilty, he glanced at the black cat with red eyes sitting on his chest.

[Is something wrong, Luna?] he asked.

[No, father, nothing is wrong...] Luna replied.

Despite her words, Lucas couldn't shake the feeling of a lingering emotion in her voice... fear.

sigh

[Luna, you know I'll never replace you, right?] he reassured her.

[H-huh? Why would you say something like that, father!?] Luna responded, surprised.

[You were scared, right? Scared that by talking with Sylv, I would be replacing you, right?]

[N-no, I wasn't thinking like that!]

[Very well, but just know you are my daughter, Luna. Nothing would ever make me replace you]"

[M-mh, I-I know, father...]

This was all Luna could muster in response after hearing her father's kind reassurance with his gaze filled with warmth. Dragon or not, she was still a child, and children naturally sought affection. Lucas understood this well all too well. Luna was afraid that Sylv would steal her father's affection away from her.

Lucas had spent all of his time with Luna in the past two years, always protective of her. Once, a member of the criminal organization called 'Smile' had tried to kidnap Luna in Lucas's presence. When he found out, he killed the member and then destroyed the entire organization.

If Lucas regained his memories in his current life without the feelings and memories he had gained in this life, he would probably have been cold and distant to everyone, not letting anyone get close to him anymore, like in his previous life... He knew the meaning of people betraying and using someone all too well. However, through his experiences in this life, he had learned the warmth and love of family. Still, in his core, he didn't fully trust anyone except his family.

Over the past two years, he had encountered many people with different faces, all seeking favor with "Noctis, the White Devil." Yet, when he met Sylviette Velariah, he didn't feel suspicious of her. He could sense her pure intentions, and though he still kept his guard up, he wasn't uncomfortable talking with her.

Sylv's voice interrupted their silent exchange, prompting both Lucas and Luna to look at her.

"Are both of you talking telepathically?" she asked curiously, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"H-huh, how did you know?" Lucas inquired, puzzled. He couldn't recall ever mentioning Luna's ability to communicate telepathically to Sylv. Her observation caught him off guard.

"Well, anyone who isn't stupid could tell you were communicating with her, as you looked at her with a warm gaze I haven't seen you use once since we met," Sylv explained. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the warmth in Lucas's gaze directed at Luna. "And besides... I already talked with Luna when you were fighting and unconscious," she added, picking Luna up from Lucas's chest and snuggling with her.

"H-huh, you talked with Luna..." Lucas was bewildered. Since when did Luna have the ability to communicate with others beside him?

He looked towards the cat, who was enjoying being spoiled by the elf girl, with a questioning gaze, silently urging her to explain.

[I-i recently found out I could talk with others. It was instinctive, I suppose, and I forgot to tell you...sorry,] Luna explained.

Forget? She actually forgot to tell him something as important as this? Though he didn't scold her since he knew he would probably do the same and forget to tell his parents if he were in her shoes... Truly father and daughter.

"It's fine, Luna. At least I can talk normally right now, so Sylv can also hear us," Lucas assured her.

As Luna felt relieved that her father didn't scold her, Lucas turned to Sylv while still lying in her lap.

"So, what should we do now that the carriage is destroyed?"