Under everyone's expectant gazes, Kael—still dressed in his camouflage uniform—leapt down from Corviknight's back with Lyra in his arms. He landed steadily on the ground, and as he looked at his family, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm back."
He gently set Lyra down.
Once on the ground, Lyra obediently greeted them as well. "Grandpa, Grandma."
"Good, good, good. It's good that you're back," Father Orion said, nodding to Lyra. He then walked up to Kael, carefully sizing him up before patting his shoulder and saying "good" three times in a row. It was obvious how excited he was.
"You old fool, hurry up and move aside—let me take a good look at my precious grandson," Mother Faye said as she stepped forward, squeezing Father Orion aside. She looked Kael over with concern. "Let Grandma see if you're hurt anywhere."
When she noticed the bandage on his shoulder, her face immediately filled with distress.
"Oh dear, you're injured? Does it hurt, my precious grandson?"
She looked as though she were the one in pain.
Seeing this, Kael didn't grow impatient at all. Instead, he patiently explained,
"Grandma, don't worry. They're just minor injuries. They'll heal in a few days."
"That's good… that's good…" Mother Faye repeated.
"Alright, old woman. If there's anything else, talk about it later. Let Kael go wash up first," Father Orion said at this point.
Only then did Mother Faye react, nodding repeatedly.
"That's right, that's right. Go take a shower first, my precious grandson. Grandma bought your favorite shrimp tonight—we'll make sure you eat well. Look at you, you've lost weight."
Losing weight was normal. In the Secret Realm, fighting Magical Beasts left little time to eat properly—most days were spent surviving on dried rations and hard biscuits.
"I know, Grandma," Kael said with a nod.
He then looked toward Aunt Maris and the others, smiling as he greeted them.
"Aunt, Uncle, Second Aunt, Second Uncle—and Taro. Long time no see."
"Hahaha! You brat, you're really something. Your uncle is proud of you," Uncle Darius said loudly, laughing heartily.
Uncle Darius had always thought highly of Kael. Becoming an Elite-tier Trainer at such a young age—so long as he didn't fall, his future was limitless.
Back then, Uncle Darius himself had wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer, but with elderly parents to support and being the only son, he had given up the idea.
He later went into business and managed to build up a modest fortune, but thinking back on that old dream still left him with a trace of regret.
"Kael, it's good that you're back safely," Uncle Corin said as he stepped forward, his tone gentle.
Uncle Corin was a refined and mild-mannered man. He wasn't as boisterous as Uncle Darius, but his words were filled with genuine concern.
"Kael, stay home with Grandpa and Grandma for a while. They've barely been eating or sleeping lately," Aunt Maris added.
"Kael, I won't say much—welcome home," Aunt Liora said softly with a warm smile.
"Mm. I understand," Kael replied, deeply moved by his family's concern. He simply nodded firmly to show that he understood.
"Cousin! Cousin! Don't forget me!"
Taro's voice rang out as he squeezed his way forward. It had taken him quite a while to push through the crowd.
"Heh. I know, I know," Kael said with a laugh, rubbing the boy's head.
"When I get the chance, I'll take you for a ride on Corviknight."
Taro immediately bounced with excitement.
"You promised, Cousin! You can't go back on it!"
"Alright, you little rascal. Move aside and let your cousin go wash up," Aunt Maris said, pulling her mischievous son away.
"Haha…"
The others all laughed, and for a moment, the entire courtyard was filled with joy and laughter.
Not just here—across all of Yanxia, countless families were immersed in reunion.
...
As night fell, the small courtyard was still filled with cheerful voices.
In the open space of the courtyard, aside from Corviknight, two other Pokémon were eating their respective Pokémon food.
One of them had gray skin and a body packed with powerful muscles. It wore a golden belt used to restrain its strength, with a black, briefs-like pattern around its waist. Both its hands and feet had five fingers, and each arm bore six red marks. Its head had three ridge-like plates, its face resembled that of a reptile, with a long snout and sharp teeth.
This was Machoke, Uncle Darius's starter Pokémon. It was already at the Advanced Tier.
Of course, that was mainly because Uncle Darius didn't have much time to train or nurture it. Otherwise, it would have reached Elite Tier at the very least.
The other Pokémon was Beautifly, belonging to Aunt Liora, and it too had Advanced-tier strength.
In this entire family, only these two had successfully summoned starter Pokémon. The others hadn't—Lyra included.
Back then, Lyra had been heartbroken for a long time over it.
Aunt Liora and Uncle Corin had once considered buying her a Pokémon Egg, but after seeing the prices, the couple fell silent.
Even low-aptitude Pokémon Eggs cost five to six hundred thousand—and those were usually Weedle, Caterpie, or Wurmple types.
Pokémon like that could at best be kept as pets, with little combat power. Spending that kind of money on a pet was beyond what a working-class couple like them could afford.
Lyra understood her parents' difficulties and didn't make a fuss.
"Kael, it's really a shame you went into the Secret Realm last month," Uncle Darius said as they ate, taking a sip of wine.
"Magic City held a competition that month—the first prize was a Gym-aptitude Onix Egg."
"Yeah! If you hadn't gone into the Secret Realm, the champion would definitely have been you," Lyra agreed enthusiastically.
She had gone to watch that competition herself, but in her heart, none of the champions were as impressive as her cousin.
"That's right. If you'd participated, you definitely would've won," Uncle Corin added.
"Onix is a Pokémon worth cultivating. That would've settled your second Pokémon slot."
After all, Onix could evolve into Steelix. Trained properly, it could serve as a mainstay Pokémon.
When the topic turned to Kael's second Pokémon, everyone felt a bit helpless.
In the past, they had wanted to pool money together to buy him a Charmander, but Kael had flatly refused.
He had even said that if they bought one, he wouldn't accept it—and would return it.
They all knew that if Kael said something, he meant it, so no one brought it up again.
It wasn't that Kael didn't want Charmander. It was that buying one would practically drain the entire family's savings—something he could never accept.
An Elite-tier Pidgey Egg alone cost ten million. A Charmander Egg didn't even need mentioning.