When they had arrived in the dining area, thus far, everyone took their seats. Even before they made their way there, from the hallway in the distance, Eddra could already hear the loud discussion of his siblings, and the shouts and calls of his mother who was trying to silence her children. Everyone was so preoccupied that they did not saw the celebrant entering the area."Just be quiet for once," he heard his mother exclaimed. She was certainly tired of gathering all of her children whenever they were eating meals. "Oh, Grace. Please help these children," she added, mumbling as she brought both of her hands on her face.
Ding!
[To open the item directory, state "Inventory"]
Shrugging the appearance of the plate, Eddra took the chair that was near his father"s.
The seat of his father was intentionally left vacant. At the moment, he was away from home for a business with the royal family, since he was a trusted nephew of the King after all.
Even after Eddra was forced to left the residence for the military, his father did not see him away for he was a busy man. For 6 years, after her mother gave birth to Allie, plus the h.e.l.lish year of his recruitment, he did not get a chance to see him, again. And because of this, Eddra just was thrilled when he received a letter from his father a year later joining the military.
Although the contents of the letter his father sent were simply encouraging and congratulating him from winning a friendly fight with the other soldiers, not to mention, he once beat his general leader"s a.s.s. Well, it was a win and 12 losses for Eddra.
"We"re here!!" Allie cheered, running to her seat next to their mother.
Their seats were arranged in a manner. From the father"s vacant seat in the middle, next to its right was Eddra"s, the eldest child among the 5 children. And so the seats went until to the youngest child, Allie, whose seat was next to their mother. Lastly, the mother"s seat was located on the left side of the father"s.
"Hey, older brother! I didn"t see you there!" The third son, Rylan, four years younger than Eddra, yelled. "Congratulations entering adulthood!"
"No, brother Lan! You"re supposed to wait for everyone. Why would you greet him first?" Cordell scolded his brother who was only half of Rylan"s age.
"It"s okay, brother Dell. I already greeted him first on our way here."
"What? That"s unfair!" The two boys shouted in unison hearing Allie"s words.
"..." The boy next to Eddra sat still while he staring at their mother who still had her hands on her face. Eddra knew he was obviously not buying his sibling"s argument."... Congratulations to you, older brother." Everette soon faced Eddra with a smile drawn on his face.
"Thanks, brother." Eddra smiled back at him then looking at the woman in front of him. "Mother?" he called her.
Hearing Eddra"s voice, she took off her hands covered on her face, and shortly, tears formed in her eyes. "Oh, my eldest and second children. You guys are the only ones normal in this chaotic household," she started, brushing the tears dropping on her cheeks. "Happy birthday, my eldest son."
"Thank you, Mother."
Raising her arms, she continued, "Come, Eddra. Kiss your mother"s forehead."
Obeying her mother"s wishes, Eddra stood to his seat and walked to her mother to kiss her. When he was about to went back on his seat, his mother reached and held his arm to stop him.
"Now that you"re an adult, we should enroll you in a school immediately."
"Enroll...?" Hearing the word from his mother, Eddra solved his forced recruitment. Curse his past self for declining this wish of his mother. Eddra thought this was certainly why he was forced to join the military since he didn"t become a student.
Because in his nation, the Bancroft Kingdom, if the son were to enter his adulthood, he was given the chance to enter an academy. If he refused to do so, or his family had no power to enroll him in an academy, he had no choice but to join the military. This was behind why most of the population in the military were commoners.
Ding!
When he was about to accept his mother"s offer, the plate he was ignoring added its number.
[Side Quest: Birthday Celebration! (2/2)
Decline the Baroness and enter the military.
Time Duration: 71:59:54
Reward(s): 40 EXP, (1) Practice Dummy u0026 (1) Wooden Sword
Warning: Failing the Quest will bring death to the User.]