"Here Chiffon, you need to eat more," James said in a doting manner. "You should eat nutritious food so you will grow taller and more beautiful."
"Thank you, Grandpa," Chiffon replied with a smile. She then happily ate the dishes that James had given her.
William stood at the side with a cramped expression on his face. After finding out Chiffon was Half-Dwarf and Half-Demon, James happily accepted her as William's wife and began to pamper her. Clearly, the old man was very happy that his Grandson was finally married.
This had been his goal since William was a baby. The old coot had even pulled strings behind the scenes and engaged him to Rebecca in order for him to have a wife when he grew up.
For James, he didn't care how many wives William had. What he was afraid of was his grandson not having enough wives!
After finding out that everything was a misunderstanding, the shameless old man had ditched William to the side and focused on his daughter-in-law.
"I see, so you bear the Sin of Gluttony." James nodded his head in understanding. "You have it rough, Chiffon. However, since we are now family, I will guarantee that you will never go hungry again. Also, I will not allow anyone to bully you again. If I ever get my hands on them, I'll break all the bones on their bodies and feed him to that little pig beside you."
Bacon, who was quietly eating on top of the table, beside Chiffon, raised its head and looked at the old man. Its innocent gaze was telling James that it didn't eat trash, which made the old man chuckle in delight.
"What is this piglet?" James inquired. "Is he your emergency food?"
"Oink!" Bacon lightly stomped its foot in protest as it glared at James.
Chiffon giggled as she lightly patted Bacon's head. "Grandpa, Bacon is my friend. He is not my emergency food."
James laughed and nodded his head. He was just teasing Bacon as a test to see if it was intelligent enough to understand his words. This was the first time that he had seen a golden piglet, and he was very curious to know if it was edible.
William, who had been cast to the side by his grandfather, was busy chatting with his Fourth master, Ezio. The Half-Elf had been away from the Southern Continent for a while and he was curious about the latest events that had happened in the Hellan Kingdom.
"Before we left, Leah announced that she was pregnant," Ezio said. "If not for the fact that the Commander was worried about you, he might have stayed in Lont and waited for his great-grandchildren to be born."
William was quite happy to hear the news that their family was going to have a new member. Due to the war that erupted in the Southern Continent, Matthew and Leah had decided not to have any children until the crisis was fully averted.
Now that peace had settled within the Southern Continent, the married couple finally decided that it was time for them to have a child. William silently prayed for the baby to be born healthy and Leah to have a safe delivery.
Like his Grandpa had said, the lineage of the Ainsworth Family was very thin. Even if Leah's unborn baby was added to the count, their family's bloodline would only amount to seven people.
This number was too few, and he could somehow understand his Grandpa's worries.
In truth, William was not opposed to having a child of his own, but he still felt that it was still too early for him. Aside from Chiffon, he was married to Wendy and Ashe as well. There was also Est, and Princess Sidonie, whom he had already recognized as his lovers.
As for Celine, their relationship was complicated. Even so, William had decided to have a serious talk with her the next time they met. Deep down, William was afraid that Celine would reject him.
Although the time they had spent within Eternity made William feel that the beautiful Elf was not opposed to the idea of becoming his lover, she still didn't say anything to him, which made him feel helpless.
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there," William thought. "For now, I still need to lift the curse on Est, Ashe, and Isaac. Right now, this is my top priority. Since grandpa is already here, I'll just let him take care of the matters of the Floor of Asgards and the other floors under my name."
William was a very lazy person. Since his grandpa was already in the Tower, he might as well throw all responsibilities at him! James had already told him about the emissaries from the other kingdoms that were waiting for the Floor of Asgard to open.
This discovery gave William a headache, so he decided to just let the old coot scam– errr negotiate with those people.
William was very confident that by the time the emissaries left the Floor of Asgard, all of them would be puking blood.
Hahaha! You want ownership of a Floor? Sure, but you need to pay up!
What? The price is too much? Sorry, we don't deal with peasants!
—-
The next day…
"Are you sure you're fine with this?" James asked.
"Of course, Gramps," William replied. "You know that I'm a very busy person. I have no time to spare in developing our family business. I'll just leave the Floor of Asgard, and the other floors in your very capable hands. If you want to form partnerships with the factions in the Central Continent, that's fine with me as well. However, this floor belongs to the Ainsworth Family. No matter what happens, this is off limits."
James nodded his head in understanding. He wasn't surprised that William had delegated this troublesome work to his shoulders, but the old man didn't have any complaints. In fact, he was already itching to start counting gold coins as soon as his grandson left the tower.
Both of them were currently at the throne room of Asgard. William had asked James to come with him, and the latter followed out of curiosity.
"Okay Gramps, you'll be sitting here from now on," William said as he made a gesture to the Silver Throne that used to belong to the Father of Asgard, Odin.
James sat on the throne like an Emperor and his presence was truly a sight to behold. If not for the fact that his family, friends, and acquaintances knew that he was a scammer, a money-grubber, and a bandit, they would definitely think that he was truly an Emperor of a powerful empire.
"Something is missing," William mused as he rubbed his chin. "Ah! I know."
William opened the Babylon Shop and bought one of the items in their inventory.
"Wear this, Gramps," William said with a smile.
"Um? What is this? An eyepatch?" James asked as William passed the eyepatch to him.
"Just wear it, Gramps. It will make you look cooler."
"Fine. I'll let you trick me just this once."
James wore the eyepatch, and he immediately felt a change in his line of sight.
He turned his head to the right side and his vision went past the castle walls and into the plains of Asgard. He then looked at the North, and saw the Bifrost Bridge in the distance.
"Not bad." James nodded his head. "Too bad it can't see past through people's clothes."
The regret in James' voice made the corner of William's lips twitch.
'Well, he looks more imposing this way,' William thought as he looked at his Grandpa's intimidating presence. 'Now for the finishing touches.'
William summoned a spear in his hand and handed it over to James as well.
"Gramps, the name of this spear is Gungnir," William explained. "Even if you can't use spears, when you throw this spear, it will always hit its target."
James eyed the silver spear with a critical gaze. He could feel that the spear was the perfect weight in his hands. It was not too heavy nor too light, achieving the perfect balance.
"This is nice. Thank you, Will," James said as he rested the spear to the side.
"No problem, Gramps," William nodded. "Chiffon and I will be leaving tomorrow. I'll leave Asgard in your care."
"Understood," James replied. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, everything will be settled."
After getting his grandfather's promise, William left the throne room with nostalgia. Seeing James wearing the eyepatch, and holding Gungnir in his hand, made William recall the God that had fallen long ago.
A God that had fought valiantly even though he was fated to be eaten whole by the World Wolf, Fenrir, who was one of Loki's children. William knew that Asgard was long gone, and yet, he was still unwilling in his heart.
This was also the reason why he made the 51st Floor an exact copy of Asgard in his memories.
James watched his grandson go, while sitting on the throne of Asgard.
The smile that was plastered on his lips was now gone, replaced by a solemnity that William hadn't seen before.
"I never thought that I would be seeing it again," James muttered. "This place brings back memories."
James then held Gungnir firmly in his hand and caressed its handle. "Will you accompany me again, old friend?"
Gungnir vibrated as if to answer James' inquiry. Its body also gave off a faint light, which made the old man chuckle.
Out of nowhere, two crows materialized and landed on the left, and right armrest of James' throne. These two crows gazed in the distance, as if waiting for something.
Waiting for the day where they would once again spread their wings and travel the world.. A world that they were now duty bound to protect.
