Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 424: Ch . A mission from the emperor: Accept or not?

Chapter 424: Ch 424. A mission from the emperor: Accept or not?

When Lucien first heard that, Theo couldn’t help but laugh upon seeing his dumbfounded expression.

"Pft..."

And just like that, Lucien burst into laughter.

There was something different in that laugh; it contained emotions that Theo hadn’t seen in his brother for a while.

"Let’s grow as a family, elder brother. We don’t need to add such complexity among ourselves," Theo said and offered an elbow tap, which Lucien accepted right away.

"Gosh, when did you become this mature, Theo? You’ve always been like this, for as long as I can remember... but this feels different," Lucien said, their elbows still pressed together.

"And congratulations, you have broken through," he grinned, and Theo simply smiled in return.

"My body balance still isn’t great; would you mind sparring lightly with me, elder brother?"

That was an offer Lucien couldn’t refuse at all.

They began sparring.

And it didn’t take long for Lucien to realize something else. Even in swordsmanship, something he himself was learning, Theo had reached a level he couldn’t even begin to fathom.

Those reflexes... Lucien didn’t know how they didn’t feel normal.

It only made him feel like the gap between them was only getting wider.

But this time, Lucien didn’t see it as competition. That conversation had lifted a weight from his heart, one he hadn’t even realized he had been carrying for a while.

Right now, all he had in mind was how to help his brother regain his footing after being bedridden for a month.

What neither of them knew was that someone else was watching their spar from the corridor, a faint smile forming on his lips.

Anyone with even a little experience could tell that the spar wasn’t about winning or pressure. It was only there to help a person.

"Tell Theo to come to my study as quickly as possible in the morning. Also, inform him that the Emperor has sent the first thing he needs to begin with," the baron said.

Alfred nodded and vanished.

The baron continued watching as long as his sons sparred before finally retiring for the night and going to sleep.

When the sun rose, Theo was half-asleep in the corner of the training grounds, with Lucien beside him. Meanwhile, the mantis was just skittering around the whole open area.

Every wooden dummy had been reduced to splinters since the mantis had devoured them all.

When the knights arrived for the morning training, the first thing they saw was an abomination eating something from the ground.

As its eyes turned toward them, one of the knights screamed so loudly that the knight in command of their unit punished him for the next few days.

Theo apologized and quickly recalled the mantis into the beast space, just before Alfred arrived with the news.

In front of Lucien, Theo was informed that his first set of duties had come directly from the Emperor, making Lucien shoot a side glance at him.

At this point, after everything they had talked about last night and the bonding, it would have only felt strange to hide something like this. So without hesitation, he brought Lucien along to the study so that the baron himself could explain instead of Theo doing it himself.

_____

When they entered the study, the baron just looked at Theo with a serious gaze.

Theo moved toward a seat, but before he could sit, his senses suddenly tingled.

Instinctively, he jerked back, his spine stretched as he avoided something unseen.

Lucien could only stand there, his eyes wide in shock at the situation.

The baron had just stepped forward and swung his hand so fast in front of Theo’s face that it had stirred the air across the entire room.

Theo stared at his father with a horrified look, while the man just ’hmphed’.

"Good. If you can react to that, then you are ready to go," the baron said.

Theo could sense a hint of venom in his voice, which made him let out an awkward chuckle. He glanced at poor Lucien, who looked like he was barely holding himself together with all the surprises.

"What did the emperor say, Father?" Theo asked, ignoring what the man had just done a while ago.

The baron looked at him with the same grumpy expression.

"He has given you two options, Theo," he muttered, opening a golden-colored letter that Lucien recognized immediately.

"You can either go to the royal academy, we talked about earlier," the baron spoke and clicked his tongue.

"OR..." he paused, "if you’re still unwilling, that’s fine too. There’s a mission they would like you to complete for them."

Theo couldn’t help but look at the baron with his mouth agape.

"...Is the emperor alright, Father? Is he really assigning a mission to an eleven-year-old?" Theo said, making Lucien stare at him with sweat all over his forehead.

The more out-of-context things the duo of father and son were talking about, the closer Lucien felt like he was going to have a panic attack.

"I am going to tell him the same thing," the baron said, glancing back at the letter. "But the offer for the first mission is quite good."

"What is it?"

"They have seen you accompany me to the gate. And after some research, they found that the gate we were at was rated at a difficulty of 5.9. Which is acceptable, according to the kingdom. Boring, in my opinion," the baron muttered and continued.

"They want you to investigate another gate for them, one rated at a 3.6 difficulty. Your task is to make a detailed report about all the types of beasts found in that gate."

Upon hearing that, Theo couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion as he stared at the baron.

"With you?"

The baron shook his head.

"Does he think I am strong enough to investigate an entire gate for them on my own?" Theo asked.

"Apparently," the baron replied. "And this might be his way of testing your skills for the future."

He continued, "But let’s get to the main point. He is saying that if you choose the mission, he will assign you a full party. You can also bring up to three people along with you. They will also provide the training you are supposed to get before going to a gate, something you missed before."

The baron glanced at Theo with a faint smirk.

"And he is doing all of this because your brilliant scholar went and told the emperor everything about the mantis... including its suppression ability, my son."