Chapter 105 | Henry And Tessa
The moment their hands clasped, Dexter felt it as he registered the mans strength.
Peak Superhuman Realm.
Dexter maintained his composure, but he was internally surprised.
This baker was actually a Peak Superhuman expert and he was running a bakery.
"So," Henry said, his voice deep and steady. "You’re the young man who married the three girls from the Calloway, Vance, and Frost families."
Dexter rubbed the back of his head in mild embarrassment. Seemed like everyone had associated him with the three families.
"Yes, that’s correct."
Henry’s slowly nodded his head and held Dexter’s gaze for a long moment, then released his hand.
"Good grip," he remarked mildly.
"I also heard about what happened during the monster outbreak," he said quietly. "And also about the highway incident."
Dexter’s expression remained neutral. "News travels fast."
"In this neighborhood, yes." Henry studied him for another moment. Then he nodded, seemingly arriving at some private conclusion. "If you need help, you’re welcome here anytime, Dexter. Any friend of my daughter’s is a friend of ours."
He extended his hand again. Dexter shook it.
"Thatsbwyiye nice of you. Thank you. I will take my leave now."
Henry clapped him on the shoulder.
Dexter waved goodbye. "Take care."
"You too," Henry replied, watching as Dexter turned and walked back through his front gate.
Dexter disappeared into his compound, and Henry remained standing on the sidewalk for a few long seconds.
His warm smile slowly faded as his expression hardened.
He slipped his hands into his pockets, glanced once more at Dexter’s closed gate, then turned to look at the wall where Tessa was jumping over to their side.
He didn’t say anything and simply turned then walked back into his own home.
***
The Wren family home was deceptively ordinary from the outside, with a few potted flowers on the front porch and fresh paint on the walls.
But the moment Henry stepped through the front door, the illusion of normalcy faltered.
The interior was almost entirely empty.
There were no paintings on the walls, no family pictures, or decorations or even bookshelves or tables.
There was just two simple wooden chairs facing a small television set in the center of a empty living room, with a single center table between them.
It was as though no one was living in the house.
Henry entered the house and saw Tessa sitting on one of the two chairs.
She was staring at the plate of rice in her hand, her fork frozen mid-air.
Henry squinted at her. "Should you be eating that?"
Tessa rolled her eyes. "Relax. If they wanted to send someone, they wouldn’t send him. F-Rank affinity, no backing, no connections. I think he’d be more worried about his wives than try troubling us."
She took another bite, chewing thoughtfully.
"Moreover, why would people from Imperius Continent plant an assassin like him? It wouldn’t make sense."
Henry gazed at Tessa, then at the food in her hand, then shook his head slowly. "We have to be careful, Tessa. I, old lady Jane and the rest are here to protect you but we can’t afford to let them ever find us."
Tessa shot her ’father’ a sharp glare. "Watch your tone. I’m blending in. That’s what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it? I’m not making any trouble."
She paused, then tilted her head with an indifferent look. "If you wanted to keep a low profile, why did you open a bakery in the first place? That doesn’t exactly scream ’invisible.’"
Henry opened his mouth. Then closed it. He had no reply for that.
"Just be careful, my lady." he said quietly after a long silence. "Until you finish awakening your bloodline, there’s nothing much you can do to protect yourself if something goes wrong."
Tessa pouted, her cheeks puffing out like an angry chipmunk. "You’re annoying."
She snatched the plate off the table, stomped toward her room, and kicked the door shut behind her with a bang sound.
Henry stood alone in the empty living room, staring at the closed door. He let out a slow, heavy breath and rubbed his temples with calloused fingers.
But his eyes suddenly flashed as he checked his arms. His skin suddenly trembled as draconic scales ripped out of his skin and then retracted back.
"It’s almost time."
***
Back in his bungalow, Dexter prepared for the afternoon sparring session.
The training facility where the bet would take place was located deeper in the city and a considerable distance from the outer district.
He needed to leave soon if he wanted to arrive on time.
The girls were still meditating.
Lyra was on the couch, her eyes closed.
Mira was at the window, cultivating in silence. Selene was in the bedroom, equally absorbed.
Dexter moved quietly through the kitchen. He pulled the pastries he had bought from Tessa out of the microwave and considered where to put them.
He knew that if he placed them in front of Lyra, she would devour them in seconds, regardless of whether she had just eaten a full meal.
Instead, he decided to text her later in the afternoon when she got hungry. That way, the pastries would serve their intended purpose as a snack rather than an extension of breakfast.
He heated the pastries briefly with his Emperor Void Flame.
The white flames infused the dough with a subtle warmth that would never fade, even after a full day, the pastries would remain perfectly hot and fresh, as if they had just come out of the oven.
It was one of the many convenient side effects of cooking with a Heavenly Flame.
He did the same with the lunch he had prepared.
Even though he had used ordinary market ingredients rather than Heavenly Treasures, the meal had still condensed into a Grade-One Arcane dish.
His Great Grandmaster Foodsmith skills had become so refined that even basic ingredients, when combined with his mana and flame, produced meals with tangible restorative properties.
He packed the lunch into covered containers and set them on the counter where the girls could easily find them.
Cleaned himself up, took care of Mira without her permission and then spoke to the girls.
"I’m heading out for the sparring session," he announced.
Lyra opened one eye, looked at him, and simply nodded before closing it again. A moment later, her soft, melodic voice echoed in his mind.
’Good Luck!’