Chapter 888
Chapter 888
The next morning, Anton prepared to return to Rose Manor. His father and sister were already waiting for him there. Anders had even invited his new wife and Anton's two stepbrothers to the manor so the family could have a proper reunion.
Paul, Eric, and Mironor already knew that Anton would be spending the day in his hotel room "practicing magic," so none of them were expected to disturb him. The room was locked from the inside, and Anton had already told them that he would return in the late afternoon.
Once everything was ready, Anton activated a Town Portal Scroll and stepped through it.
As usual, it led directly to his room in Rose Manor.
Instead of ringing the bell to summon Raymond, Anton immediately left his room to look for his family. The first person he encountered was the family butler.
"Raymond, I'm back! Where are Father and Anna?"
Although Anton had stated the obvious, Raymond maintained his usual professionalism.
"Master Anders and Lady Anna are still in their rooms, Young Master."
Anton glanced at a nearby clock and realized it was still too early.
It was only six in the morning.
Raymond led him to the dining room, explaining that the manor's chefs had already prepared a lavish breakfast. He also informed Anton that he had already sent word to Anders and Anna that he had returned.
About ten minutes later, Anders entered the dining room together with Anton's stepmother, his two stepbrothers, Anna, and the rest of the family.
Anna immediately rushed over and threw her arms around him.
After returning the hug, Anton instinctively reached out to shake his father's hand.
Instead, Anders pulled him into a hug.
One after another, the rest of the family greeted him warmly.
Alfred complained that there hadn't been any new television shows to watch while Anton was away.
Laughing, Anton promised to leave him an anime series before returning to Meronoma later that day.
"Thanks! I've already prepared a bunch of magic item recorders and had several servants ready to copy it," Alfred said excitedly.
Anton could only shake his head.
Alfred proudly announced that he had prepared a hundred magic item recorders.
Since that was the case, Anton decided to give him all sixty-four episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Although each person could only receive up to ten Mini Browser Sharing Globes, Anton had discovered long ago that a single globe could store an astonishing amount of video.
In fact, all sixty-four episodes fit comfortably inside a single Mini Browser Sharing Globe.
Anton still had no idea what the storage limit of the miniature globes actually was because he had never reached it.
Their true purpose, he realized, was simply to compartmentalize videos for trading.
He reminded Alfred that the globe would disappear after seven days, so the entire series needed to be copied onto magic item recorders before then.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Only afterward would Alfred have a permanent copy.
Anna and Luna both glared at Alfred for monopolizing Anton's attention.
Looking apologetic, the boy quickly excused himself to supervise the copying process.
"Where are our gifts?" Anna demanded.
"I've been traveling across the middle of the ocean. Where was I supposed to buy gifts?" Anton replied with an innocent expression.
A moment later, he began retrieving the presents he had purchased on the islands of Rokutua and Meronoma.
He had made sure to buy something for everyone, especially his new stepmother and his two stepbrothers.
Anton noticed that both boys were still rather shy around him.
That was only natural.
He had barely spent any time with them since Anders had married their mother.
Even so, the two boys were delighted when Anton handed them beautifully crafted toys made by the elves.
The craftsmanship was exquisite.
After everyone had exchanged greetings, they sat down to enjoy the breakfast prepared by the manor's chefs.
They couldn't linger too long since everyone knew Anton could only stay until noon.
While they ate, Anton recounted everything he had experienced during the voyage.
In truth, the most exciting parts of the journey had been the violent storms, the attacks by sea monsters—including two kraken that had been effortlessly driven away by the ship's wizards—and, of course, his visit to the island ruled by the elves.
"I almost forgot," Anton said. "I managed to acquire a couple of tons of kraken tentacle meat. I'll bring it out after breakfast, but make sure to store it in your spatial items immediately so it won't spoil."
"I can't wait to eat it again!" Anna exclaimed. "It's one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted."
Alfred, Luna, and Anton's two stepbrothers looked thoroughly unconvinced.
Anton understood their reaction.
To them, a kraken was a terrifying sea monster.
The idea that it could also be delicious was difficult to believe.
"I also edited together a video of the places I visited on Meronoma," Anton added. "It's only about an hour long, so we can watch it after breakfast."
After the meal, everyone headed to the manor's private theater to watch the footage Anton had prepared.
The family watched in amazement as Anton journeyed beneath the magical lake on Meronoma Island.
They collectively gasped when the magnificent water dragon—the island's foremost guardian—appeared on the screen.
They admired the glowing flowers in the elven gardens and laughed as Anton and his friends enjoyed the island's amusement park.
Once the video ended, Anders and Anna immediately asked Robert to have copies made using magic item recorders.
The scenery had certainly been beautiful.
But what mattered most to them was seeing Anton himself throughout the recording.
Anton explained that the spell responsible for recording his adventures now remained active almost constantly.
He admitted that he regretted not possessing it during some of the most important moments of his journey, such as his travels through the Northern Forest or the great battle between the allied human kingdoms and the Undead Coalition.
Both Anders and Anna stared at him in disbelief.
Their expressions quickly shifted to regret.
They wished they could have witnessed those moments alongside him.
Anton had intentionally positioned the floating Browser Sharing Globe so that he would always remain visible in the recordings.
The entire purpose of making them was to allow his family to experience his adventures with him.
Seeing him smile, react, and interact with others was just as important as seeing the places he visited.
As for the possibility that he might occasionally record strangers without their permission, Anton wasn't particularly concerned.
The recordings were centered on him rather than on the people around him.
He briefly amused himself by imagining how easily someone with questionable morals could abuse such a spell to invade other people's privacy.
Thankfully, he had no interest in using it for anything so despicable.
The thought disappeared as quickly as it had come.
After the screening, everyone remained in the theater and continued chatting.
Ramona updated Anton on the family's various businesses.
During the discussion, Anton asked her what she thought about organizing cosplay events.
He explained that such events could become extremely profitable and immediately showed the family several videos of famous cosplay conventions from Earth's most popular video-sharing platform.
Everyone watched with great interest.
Ideas began flowing almost immediately as the family discussed ways the business could profit from similar events.
The conversation lasted for several hours.
Afterward, Anton, Anders, and Anna retired to Anders' office for a private discussion.
Anders smiled warmly at his son.
"I'm happy to see you've become the same person you were during the middle of our journey from Rendindura to the Gale Continent."
Anton blinked in surprise.
He quietly reflected on his father's words before responding.
"When our friends died, something inside me broke," he admitted. "I became afraid of getting close to other people because I didn't want to experience that kind of pain again."
He paused for a moment.
"But I suppose time has dulled the pain."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I think I've finally started to heal."
"I've made new friends."
"And even though I know those friendships will probably only last until we reach Izmorta... I don't mind anymore."