Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1794: Meeting his other friend’s family: Part-1

“…”

“Hello?”

“!!!”

A few seconds later.

“…”

“Hello again?”

“!!!”

The child, Noah, hid behind Allen, clutching the back of his father’s shirt while cautiously peeking around him. The instant Young Aether’s eyes met his, the little boy flinched in surprise and quickly disappeared behind his father again, only to peek out once more a few seconds later with the same innocent curiosity.

A gentle smile found its way onto Young Aether’s face as he watched the adorable thing.

“Such a cute child.”

He sat comfortably on the soft sofa in the living room while Allen and his two children occupied the couch opposite him.

Noah continued stealing tiny glances at him from behind Allen’s shoulder. Every time their eyes met, the boy would gasp softly, hide again, then slowly peek back out as though trying to convince himself that the handsome stranger hadn’t disappeared.

Watching the little boy’s innocent reactions made it surprisingly difficult for Young Aether to maintain his composure. He resisted the overwhelming urge to walk over, kneel down, and gently pinch those chubby little cheeks.

He was genuinely an unbelievably adorable child.

As for the girl…

Well, it was probably wiser not to make things awkward.

He had long ago learned that keeping his distance from his friends’ women was always the safest decision.

Two had already become unnecessarily complicated because of his appearance and naturally gentle voice, and he had absolutely no desire to repeat that mistake inside Allen’s own home.

Meanwhile, Allen remained completely frozen, his eyes refusing to leave Aether’s youthful face.

What truly made Allen speechless, however, was just how absurdly handsome Aether had become.

Seriously… Look at those curves!

His smooth features, flawless skin, and elegant appearance made him look less like a real person and more like someone who had casually stepped out of the pages of an expensive fantasy novel.

Everyone really talking about his handsome…How sinful he was~

Allen rubbed his forehead, trying to organise the countless questions racing through his mind before finally speaking.

“What exactly happened? And… how old are you now, Aether?”

Young Aether smiled faintly before explaining everything exactly as he had explained it to Jonathan earlier.

Unlike Jonathan, however, Allen’s expression changed after almost every sentence.

His face shifted from confusion to disbelief, then from disbelief to horror, before eventually settling into an expression that simply screamed…

What the fuck am I listening to?

“Wait… wait.” Allen raised both hands as if trying to physically stop the information from entering his brain.

“Let me process this properly. Are you telling me you actually died that day? Someone ripped your organs out… and murdered you?”

“Yes.”

“HOLY FUCK!!”

Allen instinctively stood halfway from the couch before dropping back into his seat, his face completely turned pale. Countless terrible possibilities had crossed his mind over the years, but never once had he imagined that Aether had suffered such a horrifying death.

Having your organs removed while you were still alive…

Who could possibly commit something so unimaginably cruel?

“Dad.”

His daughter’s calm voice interrupted the silence.

Without even lifting her eyes from the holographic feed projected by the ring on her finger, she lazily pointed toward Noah, who had quietly begun staring at Allen with worried eyes after hearing him shout.

Allen blinked before letting out a slow breath.

“…Right. My bad.”

He gently rubbed Noah’s head, reassuring the little boy with a soft smile before turning his attention back toward Young Aether.

The shock inside his eyes had slowly transformed into something much heavier.

Regret… Guilt… and Pain.

“I… I… I’m sorry.”

His voice trembled as the words left his mouth.

His eyes gradually became wet, and he struggled to keep himself from looking away.

After all…

He had been the last person Aether had spoken to before everything happened.

He had been the one listening on the other side of that phone call.

For years, countless thoughts had haunted him whenever he remembered that day.

If only he had noticed something was wrong.

If only he had reacted sooner.

If only he had somehow done anything at all.

Maybe…

Just maybe…

His friend would still be alive today.

Allen lowered his head, burying trembling fingers deep within his black hair as his elbows rested against his knees. His shoulders shook slightly, and when he finally forced himself to speak again, his voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“Does… did it hurt?”

Young Aether opened his mouth to answer, yet no words came.

The question caught him completely off guard.

He had expected hundreds of questions about reincarnation.

Instead…

Allen’s first concern was whether his friend had suffered.

A warm yet painfully bittersweet smile slowly appeared across Young Aether’s face.

“Of course, duh.” He let out a small laugh, trying to lighten the atmosphere despite the tightness in his chest.

“They took my organs out while I was still alive. It hurt like hell, you know. Ahaha… but I just kept laughing the whole wa—”

“Aether.”

Allen interrupted him before he could finish.

“I am serious.”

The playful smile on Young Aether’s face slowly faded as silence settled over the living room.

He let out a quiet sigh, rubbing the back of his neck while looking toward the floor.

He had never wanted this reunion to become painful.

There were children sitting only a few feet away, and he would have preferred filling the room with laughter rather than memories stained with blood.

His daughter remained absorbed in her feed, pretending not to listen, while Noah continued hiding behind Allen, nervously peeking at the unfamiliar guest every now and then.

Even so…

This wasn’t someone he could lie to.

Allen wasn’t simply asking out of curiosity.

He was asking because he cared.

Young Aether lowered his gaze, the faint smile returning to his lips, though this time it carried far more sadness than warmth.

“…Yeah.”

His voice was soft enough that it almost disappeared into the silence.

“It hurt, Allen.”

He let out a quiet, hollow chuckle before continuing.

“It hurt so much that there were moments when I genuinely hoped everything would just end already. I remember wishing that I would simply die right there instead of staying alive for even one more second.”

His smile never disappeared.

Yet somehow…

It looked far more heartbreaking than tears ever could.

Allen’s shoulders trembled as he slowly closed his eyes. His eyelashes grew damp, tiny droplets gathering at their tips before he gave a slow nod. When he opened them again, his vision was slightly blurred.

Across from him, Young Aether was still smiling as though they had been discussing nothing more serious than the weather.

“But hear me,” Young Aether said with a gentle smile. “I’m actually glad that I died. If that hadn’t happened… I wouldn’t have been reborn like this, right?”

He finished the sentence with a playful wink.

Allen stared at him for several seconds before helplessly shaking his head.

“Aether… Aether… you really are a piece of work.”

“Thank you~”

Young Aether lowered his head in an exaggerated bow, happily accepting the words as though they were a genuine compliment.

A tired sigh escaped Allen before he leaned back against the sofa, still struggling to wrap his mind around everything he had just heard.

“But to think reincarnation is actually possible…” He let out a dry laugh and rubbed his forehead. “No way, man. Are you seriously telling me this? I mean, we’ve witnessed Goddesses, monsters, and all kinds of insane things, but this…” He slowly shook his head.

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of someone actually being reincarnated.”

His eyes remained fixed on Young Aether.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have believed a single word if it had come from anyone else. But you knew things that only Aether and I could possibly know. Those memories… those conversations… there’s simply no way anyone else could have known them.”

He let out another long breath.

“So… it’s really true. Reincarnation…”

The word left his mouth almost absentmindedly, as though he still couldn’t convince himself it was real.

His emotions had become a tangled mess that he couldn’t begin to unravel.

He was happy because his friend hadn’t truly disappeared from existence.

He was heartbroken because that same friend had been reborn into a world destined for destruction.

And most of all…

He simply didn’t know how he was supposed to feel anymore.

If Young Aether hadn’t mentioned those moments from their shared past, Allen would have dismissed everything as an elaborate joke. Especially the first two incidents where he had gotten himself beaten half to death before Aether had rushed in to save him.

Thinking back on those embarrassing memories somehow made him want to laugh despite everything.

Such nostalgic beatings.

Meanwhile, Allen’s daughter barely seemed interested in the emotional conversation unfolding before her. She continued scrolling through the holographic screen projected from the ring on her finger while casually typing away, apparently telling someone that her father had somehow become friends with an unbelievably handsome young man whose screws were probably a little loose.

As for Noah…

The little boy was still peeking from behind Allen’s shoulder.

Those bright little eyes sparkled with endless curiosity, studying Young Aether as though he had just discovered a fairy tale had suddenly come to life.

He really was an incredibly curious child.

Shaking those wandering thoughts away, Allen looked back at Young Aether and opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could say anything, however, his daughter finally looked up from her ring.

“Does that mean…” she asked curiously, “the people who died during the Calamity could have been reborn into another world too?”

Allen frowned as he considered the possibility.

That… actually made sense.

If what had happened to Aether was real, then wouldn’t the same thing have happened to countless others as well?

Young Aether, however, gently shook his head.

“No. At least, I don’t think so. So far, I haven’t met anyone from Earth across any of the Empires.”

Allen slowly nodded, although he didn’t look completely convinced.

“Maybe they’re hiding it,” he suggested. “Maybe they decided to leave their old lives behind and start over completely… just like you became a bakery owner.”

Young Aether merely shrugged.

Whether anyone else had been reincarnated or not honestly made very little difference to him.

Besides…

Deep down, he wasn’t even sure reincarnation was the correct word for what had happened.

“It still blows my mind,” Allen admitted, massaging his temples as a faint headache began to form. “I can barely understand any of this, Aether.”

His gaze drifted toward the ceiling as countless impossible thoughts flooded his mind.

If reincarnation truly existed…

Then perhaps heaven…

Hell…

And everything humanity had dismissed as myths…

Might have existed all along.

Just thinking about everything made Allen’s head throb.

Young Aether didn’t rush him or try to convince him any further. Instead, he quietly sat there, allowing his friend the time he needed to process everything. Unlike Jonathan, Allen seemed to be taking the truth far harder than he had expected.

But that was alright.

Honestly…

That was probably how any normal person would react.

After several moments of silence, Allen finally let out a long breath. He stood up from the sofa, walked over to Young Aether, and wrapped his arms around him in a gentle embrace. What began as a careful hug gradually tightened, as though he was reassuring himself that the person before him was truly real.

“I… I’m glad you’re back.”

[+1000 AP]

There wasn’t a single trace of doubt or hesitation in his voice.

Those words came straight from the bottom of his heart.

Young Aether smiled warmly before raising a hand and gently patting Allen’s back.

“And I’m glad you’re doing okay.”

“Haha…” Allen chuckled softly before pulling away and giving a small nod. “Yeah… it hasn’t been easy, but I’m doing alright now. Honestly, it’s all thanks to their mother. She kept me together through all the hardships. Without her… I probably would’ve fallen apart.”

Young Aether hesitated for a brief moment before quietly asking,

“She is…?”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He wasn’t sure if asking directly would reopen an old wound.

Allen immediately understood what he meant and laughed.

“Relax, bro. She’s perfectly fine. She’s just out for work right now. She should be back any minute.”

A quiet sigh of relief escaped Young Aether’s lips.

“You thought my wife was dead, motherfucker?” Allen asked with an amused grin.

“Dad.”

Lily called out again, rolling her eyes without even looking away from the holographic screen floating above her ring.

“Sorry, sorry.” Allen raised both hands in surrender. “Daddy will control himself.”

“Pfft… Daddy…!”

Young Aether couldn’t help laughing.

Hearing Allen proudly refer to himself as Daddy felt strangely hilarious coming from someone he had known for so many years. It was the kind of thing he never imagined hearing from his old friend.

Allen simply gave him a flat, deadpan stare before changing the subject.

“So, you’ve already met Jonathan. Where is he now?”

Young Aether shrugged.

“He said he needed to meet the Governor to get approval for me to stay at your place. Something about regulations or whatever.”

Allen frowned thoughtfully before nodding.

“Yeah… that sounds like something he’d have to deal with.”

After a brief pause, he looked back at Young Aether.

“Did he… say anything?”

Young Aether tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Allen hesitated, struggling to find the right words. “Anything… important?”

“About my mother’s death?”

Allen’s eyes widened before his gaze slowly fell toward the floor.

“So… he told you.”

A heavy sigh escaped him as a gloomy expression settled across his face.

“…Yeah.”

Young Aether reached over and lightly patted Allen’s shoulder.

“There’s no need to look so gloomy, bro. It already happened.”

His voice remained calm.

Almost… Too calm!!

Allen noticed it immediately.

There wasn’t even the slightest trace of grief in Aether’s expression.

No sadness.

No anger.

No lingering pain.

Just quiet acceptance.

A faint, bittersweet smile appeared on Allen’s face.

“You know…” he said gently, “if you were the old Aether… you would’ve cried.”

Young Aether’s expression instantly turned cold.

“A woman who abandoned her son and crippled his fu…”

His eyes briefly shifted toward Lily and Noah.

“…Children are here.”

He stopped himself midway, swallowing the rest of the sentence before exhaling quietly.

Then he looked back at Allen with a sharp glare that made his feelings perfectly clear.

There was no need to bring up her topic again.

Although Allen was utterly surprised by Young Aether’s reaction, he kept those thoughts to himself. After everything Aether had been through, his anger was completely understandable. Allen couldn’t bring himself to judge him for it.

Lily finally stopped scrolling through the holographic feed projected from her ring. Looking up from the floating screen, she glanced between her father and Young Aether before hesitantly speaking.

“Is… u-uncle going to stay with us?”

The word uncle felt unbelievably strange coming out of her mouth.

The young man sitting across from her barely looked older than she was. Calling someone who appeared only a few years older uncle felt awkward beyond belief.

Yet…

According to everything she had just heard, no matter how ridiculous it still sounded, this absurdly handsome young man really was her father’s childhood friend.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Both Allen and Young Aether blinked in surprise as their answers overlapped perfectly while completely contradicting one another.

Young Aether slowly turned toward Allen, a puzzled frown appearing on his face.

“What?” he asked. “Am I not allowed to stay here?”

“N-No, that’s not what I meant.”

Allen awkwardly scratched the back of his head before letting out a troubled sigh.

“It’s just…” He hesitated, visibly struggling to explain himself. “How about this? I’ll book you a nice hotel instead. You can stay there until everything settles down.”

Young Aether stared at him for a moment, unable to understand why Allen was refusing when Jonathan had insisted he stay here.

Still…

It wasn’t exactly a bad suggestion.

He generally preferred having a place to himself anyway. It would give him more freedom to think, train, and handle his own matters without worrying about inconveniencing anyone else.

Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea…

Just as he was about to nod in agreement…

“Who is staying in a hotel?”

A gentle feminine voice suddenly echoed from directly behind Young Aether.

“!!!”