Finally, Arin was teleported back to the former archery range, his body gradually materializing as the familiar forest air surrounded him. The sudden change in scenery was a welcome relief after spending an entire month in a secret realm that offered little beyond grass, monsters, and a hill covered in arrows. As he stood there, he found himself thinking back to the small gathering his group had held shortly before they received confirmation that their assignment was over and they could finally return home. The memory brought a faint smile to his face, although his thoughts quickly turned towards the prospect of escaping before anyone could ask him to explain how the mission had gone.
"Well, I just want to say that it has been fun seeing everyone again and getting introduced to some new faces," Jordan had said with a smile during their gathering. He was genuinely pleased that his family's assistance had not been particularly necessary throughout the deployment, apart from sewing shut a few nasty bite wounds. Although the secret realms had certainly presented their share of dangers, the defensive arrangements and the strength of the assembled fighters had prevented most injuries from becoming serious problems. For Jordan, the experience had been a pleasant opportunity to reconnect with familiar people without having to spend every waking moment treating wounded companions.
"That is for sure! It has been an amazing month, and we have had plenty of time to test our new toys," Ingmar Roth had replied enthusiastically. The Roth family had thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to construct and experiment with their ballistae, particularly because the steady stream of monsters had provided an almost endless supply of targets. Under normal circumstances, arranging such tests would have required considerable resources, careful planning, and suitable locations where the weapons could be operated safely. Here, however, the secret realms had provided everything they needed, allowing the family to test their designs and investigate improvements that might prove valuable once they returned home.
"It is a shame that the assassin family had to leave so soon, but that could not be avoided," Jordan had continued, smiling at the others. "Until next time!" His words had marked the end of their gathering, and the entire group had been teleported away almost simultaneously. Within moments, every person who had occupied the area had disappeared, leaving behind only the physical evidence of their month-long deployment. The village and the surrounding hill remained littered with arrows, ballista bolts, and the countless other remnants of a prolonged defensive operation.
Glad that is finally over, Arin thought as he looked around the archery range. He had no intention of sticking around to provide a detailed report to his grandfather, especially when he considered the entire assignment an unnecessary interruption to his life. As far as he was concerned, the family had wronged him by sending him away without giving him enough time to prepare or even allowing him to choose whether he wanted to participate. If he could get a little revenge by making Karl search for him, then he saw no reason to pass up the opportunity.
With that decision made, Arin immediately began moving towards the woods. He planned to disappear into the forest for at least two weeks, giving himself enough time to recover from the ordeal and enjoy the peace he had been denied. The trees would provide him with the familiar surroundings he had missed, while the absence of administrative duties and unnecessary social obligations would allow him to relax properly. Most importantly, if he vanished quickly enough, he might avoid having to explain his experiences before he had decided what he wanted to tell his grandfather.
Unfortunately for Arin, Karl had already heard that the returning members of the family were back. The patriarch walked onto the field with the expectation of welcoming his relatives after a month-long separation, eager to hear how they had managed during their deployment. He had been looking forward to seeing everyone in person rather than relying on occasional updates, especially since the mission had kept a substantial portion of the family away from home. However, he had no idea that one particular member of the returning group was already attempting to escape before the reunion could properly begin.
"How is everyone doing?" Karl asked as he approached the assembled Sonnenbergs. He immediately noticed how tired they looked, despite the relief of finally returning home. The rotations they had established during the mission had helped everyone manage their fatigue, ensuring that no single person had been forced to remain on duty continuously. Nevertheless, a month of fighting and maintaining constant vigilance against the creatures emerging from the portals had taken its toll, and even the most experienced fighters were ready for a proper rest.
"Like we have been hit by a truck, Grandpa," Johnny answered, his weary eyes reflecting just how exhausting the deployment had been. Several of the others nodded in agreement, looking as though they would have preferred to collapse into bed rather than stand around discussing their experiences. The assignment had not necessarily been difficult for them in terms of fighting ability, but the constant repetition and lack of proper opportunities to relax had made the days drag on. Even when the creatures were easy to defeat, remaining alert and ready for another attack had been tiring in its own way.
"I can imagine that," Karl replied sympathetically. He knew that fighting for an entire month was hardly a pleasant experience, regardless of how capable the participants were or how manageable the enemies might have been. Still, his expression brightened slightly as he noticed Bennie's unmistakable smile, which suggested that the financial side of the deployment had gone exceptionally well. "You did a good job, though, and if Bennie's smile is any indication of how the last month went, you did a very good job indeed."
The remark immediately drew laughter from the assembled family members, many of whom had noticed Bennie's good mood long before Karl mentioned it. The treasurer had been particularly pleased with the income generated by the secret realms, and his satisfaction had become almost impossible to conceal. Even after weeks of exhausting work, the thought of the additional money seemed enough to put him in an excellent mood. Karl could hardly blame him for appreciating the financial benefits, although he suspected that Bennie's enthusiasm would become considerably less amusing if he had to deal with the paperwork himself.
"But let's get you all to bed," Karl continued, raising a hand to bring the conversation back under control. "You must be exhausted, so I will give everyone two days of rest before you return to your proper routines." He understood that the returning fighters needed time to recover before resuming their ordinary responsibilities, and he was not interested in forcing them straight back into work after such a long deployment. However, his expression grew more pained as he remembered the situation at home, where the shortage of personnel had created an ever-increasing backlog of tasks.
"We have been short-handed on this side of the ocean as well," Karl explained, making it clear that their temporary freedom would not last forever. The family had been forced to redistribute its workforce to support the secret realms in the United States while maintaining its own operations, leaving many ordinary responsibilities neglected. Although the returning members deserved their rest, the Sonnenbergs could not afford to leave everything unattended for much longer. Karl hoped that two days would be enough to help them recover before they could once again contribute to the family's daily operations.
"However, I want the people responsible for each portal to come and tell me about their experiences," Karl added in a stern voice before anyone could walk away. He wanted to hear how the deployments had gone, whether the defensive arrangements had worked as expected, and whether the family had encountered anything that required further attention. A report from the people who had directly managed each portal would help him understand the situation more accurately than a general summary. Besides, he needed to know whether there had been any unexpected complications that might affect the family's future plans.
The returning members exchanged glances before gradually separating from the larger group. Some headed towards the cafeteria, eager to get something to eat and finally sleep in their own beds, while the designated representatives remained behind to provide their reports. Karl watched them leave, initially satisfied that everyone appeared to understand what he wanted. However, after approximately five minutes had passed and only nine people remained standing in front of him, he began to suspect that something was wrong.
"Right, who am I missing?" Karl demanded, his voice carrying a mixture of confusion and growing irritation. He counted the representatives again, hoping that he had simply overlooked someone in the initial confusion. Unfortunately, the numbers remained the same, and the absence of one particular person became increasingly difficult to ignore. Given the circumstances, Karl already had a fairly good idea of who had decided not to attend the meeting, and the thought did little to improve his mood.
"This is exactly what I was worried about," Bertho said from the tree line, where he stood alongside Tom and Bill. The three of them had positioned themselves far enough away to observe the situation without immediately attracting attention, and they were now watching the unfolding scene with considerable interest. Bertho had suspected that Arin might try to avoid his grandfather, and the missing representative seemed to confirm that suspicion. Rather than looking particularly concerned, the three men appeared eager to see how Karl would handle the situation.
Karl turned towards the tree line almost immediately. "Right, you three standing over there, come out and explain who I am missing," he ordered, clearly uninterested in entertaining any games at the moment. He had already spent too much time dealing with the consequences of the family's shortage of personnel, and he was not in the mood to let anyone waste more of his time. If Bertho, Tom, and Bill had information about the missing representative, then he expected them to provide it without further delay.
Tom stepped out from behind the trees and pulled back his hood, looking at his grandfather with a mixture of surprise and reluctant admiration. "How were you able to spot us, Grandpa?" he asked, genuinely curious about how their hiding place had been discovered so quickly. They had chosen the tree line precisely because it offered enough cover to observe the gathering without standing out among the people on the field. Tom had believed that their position was sufficiently concealed, and he had not expected Karl to identify them almost immediately.
"Because I have spent the last three minutes looking for the final person, and you have a red leaf stuck to your hood," Karl replied dryly. The explanation was so simple that Tom needed a moment to process it, after which his expression changed to one of clear frustration. He had apparently spent more time trying to hide himself than checking whether his disguise actually worked. Karl, meanwhile, was already thinking about the person whose absence had prompted him to examine the surroundings in the first place.
"Damn, he is sneaky," Tom muttered, annoyed that their attempt to observe the situation unnoticed had failed for such a trivial reason. The red leaf had completely undermined their efforts, and he could hardly argue that Karl had been wrong to notice it. Bertho and Bill looked equally unimpressed with the outcome, although neither appeared particularly surprised that their grandfather had managed to spot them. Having failed to remain hidden, Tom decided that there was little point in prolonging the situation.
"You are missing Arin," Tom said, straightening his posture and adopting a more serious expression. "He was the leader of our group during the mission, sir." His answer confirmed what Karl had already suspected, but hearing it aloud made the patriarch's concerns official. Arin had been responsible for leading the group, and his absence from the report was therefore not a minor oversight that could be ignored. Instead, it was a clear indication that he had deliberately chosen to avoid the meeting.
"Good. You can go home now," Karl replied with a deep sigh. He had known that something like this was possible, particularly because Arin had never been enthusiastic about the assignment in the first place. Still, he had hoped that his grandson would at least remain long enough to explain how the mission had gone before disappearing into the forest. Apparently, that had been too much to expect, and Karl now had to accept that he would not be receiving Arin's report anytime soon.
The patriarch understood why Arin had reacted this way, even if he did not approve of the method. The worst part of the entire assignment had been the lack of preparation time, as Arin had been given almost no warning before being sent away. His earlier mission to the Black Forest had been decided a month in advance, and he had known beforehand that he would be leading the expedition. That time had allowed him to prepare himself mentally, organise his priorities, and approach the responsibility with a clear understanding of what awaited him.
This time, however, everything had happened far too quickly. Instead of being sent to a place where he could work in a familiar forest environment, Arin had been dispatched to a secret realm that offered little more than open grassland and endless fighting. He had not even been given a meaningful opportunity to cultivate, despite having grown strong enough to benefit from his improved breathing method. The method could filter out the mana he did not need, but doing so was so inefficient under the conditions he had been given that spending his time cultivating was hardly worthwhile.
As a result, Arin had been forced to endure a month of work that offered him very little personal benefit. He had been separated from his forest, denied the chance to prepare properly, and expected to carry out an assignment that he had never wanted in the first place. Karl could understand why his grandson felt wronged, especially since the decision had been made without giving him a proper chance to voice his objections. Unfortunately, understanding Arin's frustration did not make the consequences of his disappearance any easier for the patriarch to manage.
Meanwhile, the family members who had remained to provide their reports were doing their best not to laugh at Karl's predicament. They knew perfectly well that he was dealing with the consequences of a decision made by his own wife, and they also knew that blaming her would only create even more trouble for him. Karl was therefore left to deal with the situation without openly complaining about the person who had helped create it. The sight of their patriarch struggling to maintain his dignity was simply too amusing for several of them to resist.
"Right, let me hear your reports so you can go to sleep and laugh somewhere else," Karl finally said, his expression settling into one of resigned determination. He had no intention of allowing the meeting to descend into further teasing, especially when there was still a considerable amount of work waiting for him. The moment he finished speaking, the family members around him burst into laughter, unable to contain themselves any longer. Karl could only sigh and prepare to listen to their reports, knowing that his grandson was already somewhere in the forest enjoying the freedom he had so desperately wanted.