Chapter 180: Hidden Conflict

Without delay, Moon dropped his shirt, slippers, hat, black glasses, and even Liquid Mountain on the sand and ran into the water as soon as Ed told him to play.

Splash~

He jumped into the water, but—

Ack!

He fell headfirst into the sand. "Aw. Aw. Aw." He tried to straighten himself up, discovering for the first time that seawater was starting at shallow shores, unlike rivers.

Watching this, Ed shook his head. "At least with his current stats, he won’t break his neck," he said to himself while fixing an umbrella and a few seats to relax on the beach.

"SO SALTY!" Moon shouted.

Ed decided to relax as well, letting Moon enjoy his time and so would he. Thus, he started brewing more tea while Moon ran deeper into the sea.

Soon he felt someone approaching, heading straight for where he was seated.

Ed didn’t bother himself with whoever was coming. "Sir Ascender," the man said with a slight bow.

It was obvious that the man could tell that Ed was an ascender thanks to the items he brought from his inventory.

Carrying his tea in his inventory meant that it was considerably big; fresh ascenders barely have space to store items of utmost necessity.

Ed leaned back, and in his hand, a pair of round black glasses appeared. He looked at the newcomer and put on the glasses but didn’t say anything.

"Sorry to interrupt your resting time," the man said. He had average features: brown hair and eyes, a seemingly well-trained body. His body held the gait of a militarily trained person, even if his clothes were just a summer shirt and shorts like Moon and Ed.

Ed could tell from his equal and rhythmic steps and his sharp standing posture.

"My name is Joshua," the man introduced himself before pointing at a teenager following him. "This is my son, Kylo." He introduced his son that was around the same age as Moon.

Ed studied the father and son for a moment. They both seemed to be here for the beach, like any other individuals who could be seen around.

"Can I help you?" Ed finally decided to speak to him.

Joshua smiled. "I wanted to ask your permission to have my son play with yours. Everyone on the beach today is either older or very young compared to him, if it’s not bothersome to Sir, of course."

Ed blinked. More than once. For a second, he was stunned even.

’My son?’ He questioned what he heard, but that wasn’t everything. For someone who wasn’t an ascender to risk annoying someone he didn’t know how strong he was, just for his son to enjoy his day...

It wasn’t something he could see every day.

Ed was more troubled about how to react to a new situation for him, who had lived for a very long time, unknowingly locked in battle, smithy, or kitchen.

He couldn’t help chuckling. "Sure, come here, have some tea." He gestured for Joshua, who said, "Thank you," readily sat by Ed’s side, and accepted the offer.

"Moon, come here." Ed’s voice rang in Moon’s ears, who got out of the water. His eyes were less swollen as well, though not fully recovered yet.

Ed proceeded to introduce Joshua and Kylo before Moon excitedly ran back with Kylo into the water.

"Brat, this kid isn’t an ascender. Don’t hit him, don’t use Echo, and don’t do anything crazy. If anything, take care of him to the best of your ability," Ed reminded Moon in his ears without Joshua or Kylo being aware of it.

Moon wasn’t bothered by Ed’s warning. He’d been dealing with only ascenders for a long while now. Kylo, born on the second floor, had a small amount of Echo that could be used.

This made him not much different from a normal child compared to Moon.

Meanwhile, Joshua took a sip of his freshly brewed tea. "That’s some exquisite tea, Sir Ascender," Joshua praised. "It’s not something I would taste in my lifetime under normal circumstances." He spoke truthfully.

"My name is Edmond," Ed said casually. "It’s been sitting in my inventory for many years; it’s about time I got to enjoy it at all." He spoke casually.

"It’s rare to see an esteemed ascender of your status on the second floor, for a vacation at that," Joshua said.

Ed shook his head. "My father was a blacksmith, so am I," he said. "I was just chosen to ascend, nothing more."

Joshua smiled. "I’m part of the defence army of our kingdom, dreamed of ascending for long years, but now that Kylo is this old, I think it’s too late for me."

"Who knows?" Ed said. "It’s never too late," he added.

He shifted his gaze to Joshua. "Maybe ascending would strip away this peaceful life you’re enjoying now," he said in a heavy tone.

Joshua went silent for a long moment before nodding. "I think Sir Edmond is right," he said while exhaling heavily.

"Maybe the one thing I dreamed of is the very thing that would ruin my entire life; maybe I’m more blessed than my imagination could fathom," Joshua said with a heavy face.

"Don’t dwell; life is unexpected no matter how much you think about it," Ed said while smiling, looking at Moon trying to drag away the salty water in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Joshua spoke again. "Actually, I brought Kylo here today for a reason." His voice was hesitant.

"Hmmm?" Ed hummed in question at the sudden change.

Joshua closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath.

"It might be my last chance to bring him here," he said in a bitter tone. "A war is brewing." He turned around and looked deeply at Ed.

"War? What are you talking about?" Ed asked. He wasn’t concerned with the daily or political state of any of the kingdoms on the second floor.

The second floor didn’t have any major clans; it belonged mainly to Lucen thanks to his influence in the Tower over the years.

He’d come here a couple of times over the last few days to pick a spot for Moon to enjoy his time outside the facility.

It was a lively place, and since Ed never spied on the daily life of anyone, he didn’t see any trace of conflict.

The entire kingdom, even those who were ascenders and residing there, all of them were too weak for Ed to bother with or feel the need to spy on.

But now, he was hearing that this very peaceful and lively land was about to go to war.

Joshua chuckled bitterly. "A little over a week ago, the Fable Empire declared war on us," he explained. "I don’t know what happened, but soon everything died out as if their declaration was a lie," he clarified.

Ed looked deeply at Joshua. "What’s the military situation right now in the kingdom?" he asked.

Joshua shook his head. "Tense." He took a sip of the tea. "In secret, everything is being prepared for an all-out invasion."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn’t they invade while they had the upper hand? Why delay and be forced into a harder fight?" he asked, unsure of what exactly was happening.

Joshua shook his head. "That, I don’t know."