As soon as they arrived in Metal City, Vicente and Lauren attracted the attention of the men from the Fuller family—the most part of the guards around the entrance to the city. ",
Vicente made his way inside the city, seeing the place completely transformed after years since his departure. Back then, Metal City had only been a small town, with plenty of areas to develop.
But now the city was a huge urban agglomeration, with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, lots of traffic on practically every street, buildings at the limit of their size, and much more.
The city seemed totally unaffected by the calamity, with many businesses and inhabitants moving along the sidewalks, carriages and beasts roaming the streets and avenues.
The people there also had strong magical auras and most of them dressed very well, a sign of the local economic opulence.
Whoever had arrived there first, whether they were poor or rich, had grown a lot financially in recent years and even the local workers had much better standards of living than the rich in other cities on the continent had at this time.
In short, Metal City had been an absolute success, a fortress against monsters that not only provided security for hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants but also provided security for the province.
If Scott Province was still standing and with several large cities resisting the monsters, it was because of the existence of Metal City! It had been providing the province with all the support it needed with its powerful and wealthy citizen and warriors since the beginning of the crisis!
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs soon as Vicente felt Nina's aura, a wave of positive energy washed over him, causing him to break into a wide and exuberant smile.
"Nina has beca Low-level Mage. She has room left to add her third pentagram." He commented to Lauren.
Continuing to walk behind him, the girl with black hair chose to remain silent, although her heart couldn't help but quicken its pace.
Their journey led them to the Fuller estate, where they found Nina, Nova, and Eve gathered in the dining room.
Rory had given the order for Onyx to stand guard, and true to his command, Onyx was positioned above the Fuller family mansion, ensuring its safety.
The moment his master arrived, this creature swiftly made his way to Vicente's side, reducing his body size and perching on one of Vicente's shoulders.
Vicente smiled at Onyx as he touched the head of this bird, just before moving on to the interior of his mansion, with the men of the family in the surrounding area appearing in his path and bending their knees.
"Welcback, head of the family!"
Vicente and Lauren passed the various Mages and Sovereigns of the family, men who had joined the family or grown their powers over the last 2.5 years.
Not only the most important members of the Fuller family had grown during Vicente's travels. Practically all the men in the family had improved their levels 2-3 times in that time, with seven reaching the beginning of the 4th stage.
Besides those old members who had becmuch stronger during this period, the family had recruited like never before, with numbers now four times higher than at the tVicente had left for the pentagram hunt.
Vicente noticed this when he felt many auras he didn't know surrounding his house, but as soon as he entered the property, all he had in mind were the three women he most wanted to see again after many months of travel.
When he entered the large dining room where Eve, Nina and Nova were eating, Vicente observed the three of them for a moment, especially his younger sister, who seemed so mature after over two years without him seeing her.
The three of them stood up the moment they realized Vicente was there, with Nova longing to give her man a hug, but holding back to give Nina space first.
Nina ran without thinking in Vicente's direction, while she couldn't ignore the black-haired, icy-looking woman at her brother's side.
"Brother! You're finally back!" She said as she hugged Vicente, feeling her heart leap for joy in her chest as she looked at Lauren, a little nervous.
"It's good to finally be back. It's been a long and arduous journey, but now I'll be around for a long time." He massaged his little sister's back before turning his gaze to Lauren.
"Nina, you may have already recognized the person next to me. That's Lauren, our big sister." He gestured in Lauren's direction, while Nina let go of his body to look into her big sister's eyes.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmLauren wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth, she felt Nina move against her, wrapping her arms around her body, before hugging her tightly.
"Big sister, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!" Nina's voice trembled with emotion as she recalled the last tshe had seen her big sister, back when she was still a child.
Magicians had excellent memories, but normally one wouldn't remember their childhood so well. However, Nina's traumas made her remember practically everything she had experienced back then.
Lauren accepted Nina's embrace, while letting her hands rest on her shoulders, not knowing what to do.
The unexpected hug caught her off guard, leaving her momentarily breathless.
"That..." Lauren hesitated as she opened her mouth, strangely recognizing Nina's scent.
Closing her eyes, she moved one of her hands towards Nina's face, turning her face sideways as a subtle smile formed on her face.
Lauren didn't understand where this feeling cfrom, but unlike how she saw Vicente, she liked Nina almost instantly when she was hugged by this girl.
Feeling as if she should take this young woman in and protect her, Lauren felt a part of her being that she had never noticed before.
"I'm sorry." These words escaped her mouth, as she got a rough idea of what Nina really looked like today. "I'm not exactly the sister you lost, but count onfor anything. Unlike that guy next to us, I won't neglect you and let you get into trouble."