Having a powerful lord as a father figure, what's wrong with just wanting to draw cards?

Upon hearing this, other passersby turned around and greeted him warmly.

"Young master, would you like some apples? They're a special variety; they only ripen in winter."

"How was your time outside, young master?"

"As expected, Young Master Dominic was the first to return! I always thought you would be the fastest!"

This sudden enthusiasm made Domi feel a little flattered, so he could only smile and nod, replying occasionally. If everyone replied, he would miss dinner.

After breaking free from the crowd, Afu's eyes were still filled with confusion as she asked Forty-Seven:

"Is the captain really that popular here? I never thought he was the type to mingle with everyone..."

“Ah, you don’t know this, but to the people of the Brofield Territory, Brofield is more than just a ruler.”

"what is that?"

"It's indescribable; you have to experience it for yourself."

"Forty-seven, you've changed... You used to never keep me in suspense..."

Normally, Forty-Seven has no hobbies other than matcha cake, but now she seems to have found a new hobby: teasing Afu seems to make her happy.

The young master once said that hobbies are things that make you happy.

At the foot of the mountain, the glow of the short-range teleportation array faintly appeared. The next second, they and their horses appeared in the 'parking lot' of the castle on the mountaintop. Turning left would take them into the castle.

The maid who was sweeping snow in the nearby garden thought she was seeing things. Had Domi, who had been gone for more than a year, actually returned?

“Ah…it hurts…”

He pinched his slightly cold cheeks and realized it wasn't a hallucination, so he immediately put down the broom and ran into the castle, shouting and yelling.

Soon, everyone knew that Domi had returned, bringing with her a strange but rather spirited little girl with a golden bun hairstyle.

Kelsey, who was nearby, was the first to rush to the door. Upon seeing Domi, she went to greet him without any hesitation.

Although she was a wet nurse, everyone was here, so she had to be mindful of the occasion.

Just as he was about to speak, Domi hugged him tightly. He didn't care what others thought; he just wanted to give everyone who was looking forward to his return a long-awaited and warm hug.

Kelsey paused for a moment, then hugged Domi back, saying softly and gently, "Domi, welcome home."

Before anyone knew it, Kelsey had turned 27 and was already a mature young woman. Every smile and gesture of hers revealed a charm that surpassed that of a naive girl, making her incredibly captivating.

"Well, I'm back."

Welcome is something that is both simple and profound.

Kelsey took the initiative to separate, knowing that Domi's embrace belonged to many more people, not just her.

However, before leaving, Domi whispered something in Kelsey's ear:

"Tonight... I have a wish, and I hope you can grant it for me~"

Just as I was about to ask what kind of wish it was, I realized that Domi had already walked away, laughing and joking with a bunch of maid sisters.

Her cheeks flushed slightly with anger. He had just made a pinky promise with her, and the next second he was chatting and laughing with other women. What a scumbag!

At the same time, just as Catherine finished her routine work for the day and was about to go back to her room to take a shower, she heard the voices of several maids. The names she had been thinking about all this time echoed in her ears once again after a year.

She disregarded everything else and walked off in a certain direction, seemingly lost in thought.

Unexpectedly, Domi was walking towards her, and soon they bumped into each other.

Seeing Catherine's stunned expression, Domi gave her a bear hug without saying a word.

"No... I haven't showered yet..."

"It's alright, Catherine always smells nice~"

Then there was the elderly mother, Grace.

"It's good that you're back safe and sound. You didn't cause any more trouble for Forty-Seven, did you?"

"I'm more like protecting her..."

"Then you must tell us about your experiences this year after dinner. Your father and I have been looking forward to it. Oh, by the way, go see your father. He should be waiting for you in the study."

He wasn't surprised that Carlos already knew he was coming back; perhaps Carlos already knew when he arrived in the village.

After settling Forty-Seven and Afu in, Domi went to Carlos's study.

"Father, I'm back."

"Well, sit down."

It was that same chair that faced Carlos and his desk again.

Carlos's imposing presence remained undiminished; sitting before him was like facing a lion.

"Anyway, it's good that you're back safe and sound, but the mess you made outside was a bit too big..."

Carlos knew about his own identity as Death Omen, and he was also fully aware that Carlos was using Death Omen as a disguise to flaunt himself.

The sole survivor of the magical ruins, a sworn enemy of the Winged Clan, and a cross-dresser who teases the Holy See...

"But as long as I don't reveal my identity, nothing will happen."

"That's right..."

"Besides, I'll be going to school soon, so I probably won't have time to use the identity of Death Omen."

"Sigh... as long as you know what you're doing."

Carlos sought out Domi for this very reason. Children are always innocent and willful; who knows when Domi might suddenly reveal his true identity? It's best to give him a heads-up.

"Oh, yes."

Just as Domi was about to get up and leave, she suddenly remembered something and sat down again:

"Father, have you ever heard of the name 'Octaville'?"

Carlos's expression immediately changed, becoming very attentive: "Where did you hear that from?"

Domi then relayed the message the Sun King had asked him to convey to Carlos, who finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing it:

“Senior Octavier was a supreme expert in our family a long time ago, but she loved freedom and did not want to be bound by the family, so she chose to go far away and never returned.”

"After that, every generation thought about how to find this ancestor and bring her back to the ancestral hall. Even if you didn't tell me, I was planning to tell you four siblings about this after you graduated."

In short, retrieving Octavian's remains or belongings has become a side quest for every member of the Bloomfield family.

But Domi wasn't really that concerned and shared her own understanding:

"Perhaps, being enshrined in the ancestral shrine after death was no different from losing one's freedom for Senior Octavier?"

"I don't know... Anyway, we have to find her first before we can make any further plans. This task is entrusted to you, Domi. If you can't handle it, then pass it on to your children."

“You can choose not to return to the ancestral hall, but the people of Bloomfield cannot be bullied outside. You need to make that clear.”

"But how can someone who's already dead be bullied..." Halfway through her sentence, Domi suddenly thought of the many souls she had encountered.

In this magical world, life and death don't seem as clear-cut as they are written in black and white.

Perhaps the concept of triple death could be applied to this.

This includes physical death, spiritual death, and social death. Social death can also be called conceptual death.

All sorts of abstract and outrageous forms can be categorized here, which is also a field that Domi cannot understand with his current knowledge.

Therefore, he can only understand the first two.

Clearly, after so many untold years, Octavian's physical body has certainly died, but whether the soul of such a powerful being will be eroded by time remains unknown.

If a character like the Bronze King could survive until Domi blew up his house, there's no reason Octavia wouldn't have survived until now.

Thinking about it this way, if someone used some means or even a more powerful force to kidnap her soul, wouldn't that be considered being 'bullied'?

Carlos is right!

Domi immediately became serious: "I will do my best to find Senior Octavier!"

After that, dinner was delayed by an hour, and Chef Michelson specially prepared a few extra dishes.

At the dinner table, Domi told his family about everything he had experienced outside, but of course, he would never talk about some things that were too embarrassing to mention.

The audience's emotions were also drawn into his ups and downs, as if they were experiencing it themselves.

It must be said that Domi's experiences this year are quite extraordinary in the entire history of Broadfield training.

Some people get involved in business in their family businesses, some slack off, some use this time to train hard, and some become explorers like Argyle and Edward, traveling to various countries.

But I've never heard of anyone being hunted down for blowing up ruins.

After a pleasant dinner, Domi called out to Afu and asked her if she wanted to go to school with him. The Imperial Magic Academy was the most prestigious comprehensive university on the entire continent, the Tsinghua, Fudan, and Peking Universities of another world.

But Afu didn't seem to want to go:

"At my age, how can I possibly have the peace of mind to read? I'd rather spend that time doing more commissioned work."

"You talk like you're so old, a nineteen-year-old auntie?"

However, since Afu was unwilling, Domi did not force her, but simply gave her an alternative path, as everyone has their own ambitions.

"Alright, so what are your plans next?"

At this point, Afu couldn't help but feel confused. She was now a lone adventurer, and her former adventurer party was long gone.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Maybe I should just stay an adventurer, doing quests and traveling the world at the same time. That might be pretty romantic?"

"These are just unemployed vagrants, idlers. Let me introduce you to two people; perhaps after that you'll change your mind..."

I'm sick and need to take leave.

My C-reactive protein level is 112, the inflammation is really bad, the doctor said I need to be hospitalized T_T

Try to keep it updated...

Chapter 165, Section 164: An Unprecedented Division into Four

Those two people were obviously Morey and May.