Chapter 177: Felicia and Ambrosia [1]

The world around Amon dissolved into a brilliant blue light before suddenly returning to normal.

His feet touched the solid ground of the teleportation platform.

The familiar sensation of spatial distortion disappeared from his body.

Amon blinked a few times before looking around the room.

He had expected the basement to be empty but two people were already standing there.

Amon’s eyes widened slightly when he recognized Ambrosia and Felicia waiting near the edge of the teleportation formation.

Ambrosia seemed just as surprised to see him, while Felicia stood beside her with a faint smile on her face.

Ambrosia immediately snapped her head toward Felicia. "You knew they were coming?"

Felicia’s smile widened as she casually folded her arms. "I thought I would give you a surprise."

Ambrosia stared at her for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

Despite herself, a smile appeared on her face as she shook her head. "You really enjoy doing things like this, don’t you?"

Felicia simply shrugged.

Amon stepped down from the teleportation platform, and Ambrosia immediately walked toward him.

"Welcome back."

Amon smiled and opened his arms before pulling her into a warm hug. "It’s good to be back."

Ambrosia returned the hug for a moment before gently patting his back.

Amon could feel some of the tension in her body disappear.

Seraphina stepped off the platform a moment later and immediately walked toward her mother.

"Mom."

Felicia’s expression softened slightly as she opened her arms.

Seraphina hugged her tightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Felicia gently ran a hand through her daughter’s blue hair before looking over her shoulder at Amon.

The moment their eyes met, Amon released Ambrosia and walked toward her with both arms spread wide.

Felicia’s expression immediately became cold. "Don’t even think about it."

Amon stopped for a moment. "What?"

"I will kill you if you hug me."

Amon stared at her before a chuckle escaped his mouth. "You’re cruel."

"I have plenty of reasons."

Amon lowered his arms with a helpless expression.

Before he could say anything else, Ambrosia walked over and grabbed his hand.

"I’ll protect you."

Amon looked down at their joined hands and smiled. "Thank you."

Felicia rolled her eyes before turning toward Seraphina. "I’m taking Amon away for a while."

Seraphina immediately frowned. "What?"

Amon looked between the two of them with confusion. "What happened?"

Ambrosia answered before Felicia could.

"We need pictures of the owners on the land for the verification documents. Since you’re also listed as one of the owners, you need to be photographed with Felicia."

Amon nodded slowly. "Ah, so that’s what this is about."

Seraphina immediately raised her hand. "I want to go too."

Felicia looked at her daughter.

"No."

"But--"

"You’ve been traveling for days. You should take some rest."

Seraphina opened her mouth again, clearly preparing to argue.

Felicia didn’t give her the opportunity. "Rest."

Seraphina’s expression immediately became annoyed.

"But I--"

"Rest."

Seraphina puffed out her cheeks and looked toward Amon as if expecting him to help her.

Amon merely shrugged. "Your mother has spoken."

Seraphina glared at him. "Traitor."

Felicia smiled faintly before turning toward the stairs. "Let’s go."

Amon followed her while Ambrosia came behind them.

---

A while later, the three of them were sitting inside a car heading toward Hollow Forest.

Felicia sat on one side of the back seat while Amon and Ambrosia sat together on the opposite side.

The car moved smoothly along the road.

Felicia eventually broke the silence. "So, did you get yourself into any trouble while you were in the capital?"

Amon looked at her with a slightly offended expression. "What do you think I was doing there?"

Felicia didn’t even hesitate. "Being an annoying prick."

Ambrosia covered her mouth, trying to hide her laugh.

Amon stared at Felicia. "That was unnecessarily accurate."

Felicia asked. "Was I wrong?"

Amon sighed and looked out the window.

"Unfortunately, no."

The road continued to stretch ahead of them, surrounded by open fields and distant hills.

Amon watched the scenery for a moment before Felicia spoke again. "Did you get any offers?"

Amon’s expression changed slightly. "You mean from the Royal Family?"

Felicia nodded.

Amon briefly explained the offer, including the enormous amount of money and the twenty-year commitment they wanted from him.

The moment he finished, Felicia’s expression became serious.

She leaned back against her seat and stared at him for several seconds. "Are you going to accept it?"

Amon shrugged. "I haven’t decided yet."

Felicia’s pale golden eyes narrowed slightly. "Before you make that decision, you should meet Duke Edinburgh."

Amon turned toward her. "Why?"

Felicia remained silent for a moment before looking back through the window. "You’ll understand when you meet him."

Amon frowned.

He knew Felicia wouldn’t casually recommend someone like Duke Edinburgh without a reason.

Still, he decided not to press her.

The car continued down the road, and Amon fell silent as he stared through the window.

---

After some hours, Hollow Forest finally came into view.

The forest itself remained largely unchanged, with towering trees covering much of the surrounding land but construction was already underway.

Large sections of the ground had been flattened, creating a broad foundation for the future buildings.

Workers moved back and forth across the site while others transported stone, timber, metal components, and mana crystals toward different sections of the construction area.

Several stone foundations had already been laid out across the flattened land.

Some of the larger structures had wooden frameworks beginning to rise from the ground, giving Amon a rough idea of how large the adventurer hub would eventually become.

Amon looked around with mild surprise. "They’ve already started."

Felicia nodded. "We don’t have much reason to waste time."

Ambrosia glanced toward the workers before looking at Amon. "We should take the pictures somewhere away from the construction site."

Amon looked at her. "Why?"

"You could interfere with their work, and if something we could be fined. If the court found out that the work has started without permission."

Amon nodded. "Fair enough."

The three of them walked away from the busiest part of the construction site and moved toward the edge of the forest.

The sounds of construction gradually became quieter behind them until only the distant hum of machinery remained.

They eventually stopped in an open patch of land with the dense forest stretching behind them.

Ambrosia took out her phone and prepared the camera. "Stand there."

Amon moved into position.

Felicia walked beside him and stood close enough that their shoulders were almost touching.

Amon glanced at her. "Do I need to smile?"

Felicia looked at him with a blank expression. "Just stand still."

"That’s difficult when you’re standing beside me."

Felicia ignored him.

Ambrosia raised the phone and adjusted the angle. "Alright. Stay like that."

Amon looked toward the camera while Felicia remained beside him.

For a brief moment, neither of them said anything.

Felicia’s voice came quietly from beside him. "Are you planning to fuck my sister?"

Amon’s expression froze as he slowly turned his head toward Felicia.

She was looking directly at him and behind her calm expression, Amon could see that she was waiting for a serious answer.

"....What?"