Chapter 159: A New Objective (3)

A boy and girl burst into Louis’s room, shattering it like they had no right to be there.

They were thin and tall, with bright silver hair and clear blue eyes.

Louis’s face contorted with displeasure at the sight of the two identical twins.

Ah, these brats… They’ve gotten even bigger?!

The twins had already been quite tall before entering the second hibernation sleep device. Now, they were much taller than before.

Khan, the male twin, stood at 185 centimeters with short hair, already looking like a young adult.

Kani, the female twin, had a similar height to Louis with long, straight hair reaching down to her waist, looking like a beauty straight out of a fairy tale.

Seeing them grow so much in just six months saddened Louis, especially since Kani now looked as striking as Khan.

The twins bounded up to Louis and tilted their heads curiously.

“Louis… you weren’t using your sleep device, were you?”

“Why isn’t he any taller? You two look exactly the same!”

As soon as Louis heard their conversation, a vein on his forehead bulged.

Pop!

“I did grow, you know!”

“But your eye level is still the same.”

At Khan’s teasing tone, the vein on Louis’s forehead bulged even more.

Poof!

“It just makes you seem extra gigantic, you dork!”

“Hey, Khan! Don’t make fun of our Louis!”

Kani glared at Khan and quietly wrapped her arms around Louis as she spoke.

“Louis is perfect just the way he is. If he were taller than me, I wouldn’t feel as happy and content as I do now, you know?”

Meanwhile, Kani rubbed her face against Louis’s with immense happiness written all over her own. On the other hand, Louis had had enough of this joint assault from his bother-sister duo. Like a squashed sandwich, he burst out with exasperation:

“You idiots… Get off!”

“Ah, just a little more! It’s been so long since we last met—let me recharge a bit!”

“Beat it!”

Kani tried to cling on, while Louis pushed her away relentlessly. When Kani finally got kicked aside, Khan snickered at her predicament. Finn simply smiled contentedly at this familiar sight of the trio reuniting.

After about ten minutes of bickering, Kani finally released Louis.

“You’re seriously such a meanie,” she grumbled.

Kani, her hair in a mess, glared at Louis as she tried to tidy it up. Sensing her interest, Louis asked sullenly, “What’re you doing here?”

“Why else?! I came to see my Louis here!”

“Seen him, now leaving, right?”

“Nope.”

As Kani approached him with a scowl, Louis backed away cautiously. He then turned to her innocently and asked, “So really, why are you here?”

“He he.”

“Heh heh. You don’t know, do you?” The twins wore crafty grins as they surrounded Louis.

In response, Louis crossed his arms. “Umm, I’m asking because I don’t know?”

The twins’ eyes welled with pretend hurt as they exclaimed in unison, “Oh, come on! You said you were going on a trip! Remember, *e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e’s-*going-o-u-t!”

“That’s it! We’re doing it now!”

“Haaah…”

At their cries, Louis rubbed his forehead slightly. He had been aware of this since the twins arrived.

How did they find out?

Of course, Louis could guess how the twins got news of his trip.

Oh Mother…

The distance between Louis’s house and the twins’ was only three minutes by flight. The two houses were close together, and while their husbands were away at Silver Flower Castle serving their roles, the wives would naturally pass the time with idle chatter.

I told them to be careful…

Whenever these women got together, they’d chat so incessantly that they’d lose track of what they’d said.

Come to think of it, how would two aunties chattering away from dawn one day until sunrise the next remember all they’d said?

The twins had probably heard about this outing from those exact aunties.

Kani, who appeared to be holding a grudge against Louis, barked at him disapprovingly.

“How could you do something like this?!”

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re going on a trip, you should’ve told us!”

“Why should I have?”

“We would’ve gone with you, of course!”

“Who said so?”

”…Well then, let’s just go without you, Khan.”

“Hey, Kani!”

“What, what?”

Watching the bickering twins, Louis waved his hand dismissively.

“If you’re gonna argue, do it at home.”

At that, the twins agreed and shouted together again.

“We want you to take us too!”

“That’s right! Please take us along!”

Seeing the twins makes fists and chant like demonstrators, Louis heaves a sigh. His eyes are cold as he asks, “Fine. Give me three reasons why I should take you along. And make them convincing.”

The twins stop their demonstration, turn to each other, and exchange glances. Khan speaks first. “Well… we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Fine. Let’s assume that’s true. What’s your second reason?”

This time, Kani fumbles for words. “Um… if Louis takes us, there’ll be non-stop adventures and excitement…”

Khan picks up where Kani left off.

“…because we’re not boring?”

The vein on Louis’s forehead bulged again.

These brats…

It was just another way of saying that they found going with him to be fun!

Louis glowered at them and launched into a rant. “Listen, I asked you to give me reasons why I should take you along, not why you want to go!”

The twins flinched at Louis’s icy rebuke. Then he continued in a frosty tone:

“Fine, since you’re so eager to go, I’ll just tell you two reasons why I shouldn’t take you along.”

“Ummm… do we have to listen?”

“B-but it’s not like we want to hear…”

“Shut up. Be quiet and listen.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yessir.”

Khan and Kani closed their mouths, unmoving under Louis’s icy stare, and knelt quietly before him.

Then came Louis’s rapid-fire barrage:

“First, if I go with you, it’ll be too mentally exhausting, stressful, headache-inducing, busy, blood pressure raising, frustrating, annoying, overwhelming, and hard.”

“Uh, Louis…? In that first reason alone, I think you listed about ten reasons why we shouldn’t go with you…?”

“…I said ‘overwhelming’ twice, didn’t I?”

“Be quiet.”

“Right…”

“Sorry…”

As Louis glared at them, the twins’ shoulders slumped again.

“And second, I’m your friend, not your nanny. If I take you along, who’s going to take care of you? Me?”

“W-We’re not kids anymore! It’s time for us to take responsibility! Right, Khan?”

“You’re right!”

“Besides juggling swords, what other skills do you two possess?”

“Sorry…”

”…We’ll keep quiet and stay out of your way.”

“I’m going on this trip primarily for sightseeing purposes. I have no intention of babysitting you two along the way. Any objections?”

“Woo…”

“Ugh…”

The twins crumpled dejectedly under Louis’s relentless barrage. He waved his hand dismissively.

“If there are no further questions, then move aside.”

His face radiated a self-satisfied air, brimming with the joy of victory.

But these were no ordinary twins. They understood Louis almost as well as his parents did—the legendary Genelocer and Valentina. The disheartened siblings exchanged glances and locked eyes.

Nod.

With a subtle inclination of their heads, they rose together.

They asked in hushed tones.

“Louis…we’re friends, right?”

“Of course! We’re friends!”

Louis’s eyes narrowed at their questions.

What is up with these two?

He sensed they were up to something, but he couldn’t deny that they were indeed his friends.

“Yes, we’re friends, but you can’t force one-sided sacrifices on a friend.”

“Of course not!”

“We wouldn’t dream of doing that to you, Louis!”

As if they had been waiting for his response, each twin produced a small pouch from their waist.

That’s…

The pouches the twins held were the very ones Louis had made for them on their birthday. They slipped their hands into the pockets.

THUD!

Something massive spilled out.

THUD!

The twins revealed what they had been hiding: a gemstone case at least five feet tall.

Each of their pockets yielded two treasures, a total of four, both identical. The twins confidently opened the jewelry box. Soon, a dazzling brilliance burst forth from within.

“…?!”

Louis was awestruck by the feast of golden waves.

The twins watched his reaction and then spoke in unison with serious expressions:

“We know it’ll be tough for you if we go with you, Louis.”

“That’s why we’ll listen to you.”

“We’re friends, right?”

“This is a gift to thank you for all your hard work!”

“We…are friends, right?”

As the twins alternated speaking, Louis’s pupils dilated.

Would he prefer enduring hardships with the twins or enjoying this glittering prize before his very eyes?

After wavering between these two choices, Louis finally made up his mind.

“…Since you’re being so sincere about everything…l-let’s go together!” In that moment, Louis chose present pleasure over future struggles.

Upon receiving such a thoughtful gift, the twins lit up as well, spreading joy across their faces.

Louis had impulsively agreed to take the twins along because he was flattered by their offer of friendship. But once he sobered up, he regretted his words—though there was no way to take them back now. Instead, he set two conditions for the twins.

The first was permission.

“You’ve…told your mother, haven’t you?”

The twins flinched at his question.

“I-I don’t think our mom would mind too much?”

“That’s right. Our dad always asks when we’ll move out…”

Louis clicked his tongue at their situation, so opposite from his own home.

“Tsk, tsk. That’s beside the point! You may be dragons now, but you still need to ask your parents for permission! Hurry back and get it!”

“Okay…”

“We’ll go get it right away…”

Following Louis’s scolding, the twins sheepishly returned home. They came back in less than ten minutes.

They returned with their bags packed solid.

“We’re going with you!”

“Mom already packed our stuff!”

”…”

The astonishment vanished from Louis’s face.

Did the twins and the aunt know this would happen? he wondered.

Could it be that the aunt told those kids I was going on a trip… without me knowing?!

His suspicions were reasonable, and the fact that they had packed beforehand confirmed it.

With a soft sigh, Louis proposed his second condition. “I’ll take care of all the by-products we get from this trip, okay? Any objections?”

This was a crucial matter, as the purpose of this journey wasn’t just to see rare treasures.

The response came immediately:

“No!”

“Just let Louis handle it!”

Their answer might not have seemed logical, but they didn’t hesitate for even a second.

It seemed they were content as long as they could travel with Louis. At this, Louis chuckled inwardly.

It appears my early travels left quite an impression on them.

The return trip from Hatchling City must have been a memorable experience for both him and his twin. That’s why they were so eager to follow along now.

“When are we leaving?”

His brother leaned against him, while his sister clung to his arm with a beaming smile.

Louis couldn’t help but laugh at the twins’ enthusiasm.

Well, at least I won’t be bored.

This journey was bound to be lively too.

I’ve already told them we’re going, and Fin has packed everything.

There was no need to drag it out further.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Wooh!”

“We’re off!”

The twins cheered enthusiastically.

Their questions soon turned to curiosities.

“By the way,” they asked, “where exactly are we going?”

Louis responded with a smile, “There’s one place we need to stop first.”

”…?” The twins’ heads tilted in unison, their confusion evident.