Starting With an SSS-Rank Goddess Summon!

Standing in the kitchen doorway, Martha clasped her hands together with a look of pleasant surprise washing over her gentle face as she took in the sight of Silas in an apron and the elaborate spread of home-cooked food.

"My word, Master Silas..." Martha breathed, stepping forward with an apologetic bow. "I should have prepared the meal prior to our departure! It is my duty to manage the household cuisine. You should not have labored over the stove!"

"Don’t worry about it, Martha," Silas chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "I felt like cooking today. It’s actually pretty therapeutic to cook with real high-grade ingredients for once. Though, honestly..."

Silas rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward, self-conscious grin. "I didn’t have a whole lot to work with in the pantry that I knew how to make, so it’s nothing fancy. Just some rustic roasted chicken and herb potage."

"Nothing fancy?!" Lia gasped, pulling back from the hug and staring at the glorious spread with sparkling, hungry eyes. "Big Bro, it smells better than the five-star banquet they served at the Academy Founders’ Day! I’m starving!"

’Better than the food at the Academy Founders’ Day? Is Lia insane?’

"Master Silas, the presentation and aroma are truly exceptional," Martha complimented warmly, her eyes shining with genuine admiration. "Allow me to assist with serving the table immediately."

Within minutes, the trio moved into the adjoining dining room.

The large mahogany dining table was set with pristine porcelain plates, polished silverware, and cloth napkins.

Martha smoothly poured three tall crystal glasses of chilled, freshly squeezed sun-citrus juice before taking her seat alongside Silas and Lia, invited warmly by Silas to sit as equals at the table rather than stand on formal servant decorum.

Lia didn’t wait a single second.

She eagerly sliced into a piece of the roasted chicken with her fork, popped the juicy, herb-crusted meat into her mouth, and let out a dramatic blissful groan of pure culinary ecstasy.

"Mmmmmph!" Lia chewed rapidly, her eyes rolling back in delight. "Big Bro! This is amazing! The skin is super crispy and the meat is so juicy! How did you even make it taste like this?!"

"The seasoning is balanced to perfection, Master Silas," Martha praised, taking an elegant delicate bite of the roasted rosemary potatoes and nodding with deep appreciation. "The subtle infusion of fresh thyme and roasted garlic complements the natural sweetness of the poultry wonderfully. You possess a remarkable talent for culinary arts."

’I was just picking up from Kaelia...’

Silas smiled, feeling a quiet satisfying warmth settle in his chest as he dug into his own plate.

"Glad you guys like it," Silas said, taking a sip of the citrus juice.

He looked across the table at Lia, who was happily devouring her honey-glazed carrots. "So, how was the rest of your day at the academy? Did you, Penelope, and Kaede finish assembling that territory logistics project you were stressing over before?"

Lia swallowed her food, puffing her chest out with childish pride.

"We totally crushed it!" Lia declared, waving her fork in the air. "Penelope handled the primary resource allocation, Kaede calibrated the defensive perimeter optimization runes, and I built the central supply chain stabilization core! Even the Assistant Professor had to admit our schematic was the most efficient in the entire First Year cohort! He said we’re almost certainly looking at an A-plus mark when Professor Vance officially grades it next week!"

"That’s incredible," Silas praised with a genuine proud grin. "I knew you three would pull it off. You’ll have to show me the completed thing sometime."

"I wanted to bring the project home today, but Kaede is taking it home this weekend," Lia explained, a soft smile touching her face. "I’ll bring the project back for you next time you’re home from the realm! You’re going to be super impressed, Big Bro!"

"I’m looking forward to it," Silas chuckled.

The dinner proceeded with lively comfortable conversation. Lia animatedly recounted the hilarious antics of Kaede accidentally turning her practice wand into a miniature water sprinkler during practical combat class, while Martha shared amusing updates about the friendly neighborhood gossip from the Silverleaf merchant market.

For an hour and a half, the realities of the world completely melted away, replaced by the pure irreplaceable joy of a family sharing a warm meal.

Eventually, the plates were cleared, and the lingering crumbs were wiped clean.

"I shall attend to the dishes and the kitchen sanitization, Master Silas," Martha said, rising gracefully from the table and stacking the empty porcelain platters. "Please, rest comfortably in the sitting room."

"Thanks, Martha," Silas nodded, standing up and stretching his arms.

Silas walked into the expansive living room, sinking into the plush leather sofa and letting out a relaxed sigh.

He reached into his pocket, retrieving his sleek holographic smartphone and resting it on his thigh.

PING!

A sharp notification chimed from the screen.

Silas blinked, tapping the glowing display. Flashing on the screen was a newly registered contact he had saved the night before.

[Seraphina]: Send a picture of you right now.

Silas stared at the message with a deadpan amused smirk spreading across his face.

’She really is something else,’ Silas thought, shaking his head. ’She isn’t just bossy and demanding in person or over voice calls... she acts like an imperious empress over text messages, too.’

Silas tapped the keyboard with his thumb, replying dryly.

[Silas]: Why?

The response was practically instantaneous, popping up within three seconds:

[Seraphina]: Because I requested it. Is a prospective consort required to justify a simple visual confirmation of your wellbeing? Do not dally, Silas Graves. Send the image at once...

Silas chuckled quietly.

Shrugging his shoulders, he switched the device to the front-facing camera, casually holding the phone up to snap a quick, unfiltered selfie from the couch, making sure the dark collar of his shirt and his relaxed expression were clearly visible.

He hit send.

A minute of silence passed before the three typing dots pulsed on the screen, followed by a detailed paragraph.

[Seraphina]: Acceptable... You appear sufficiently rested, though your hair is slightly disheveled. If you allowed it to grow two inches longer and utilized proper styling oil, your profile would align far more suitably with the refined aesthetic of the high-noble events.

Silas couldn’t help but grin as he typed back.

[Silas]: Alright, Princess. I’ll make sure to consult your personal hair stylist next time.

[Seraphina]: ...Do not mock me. Furthermore, I have visually confirmed via the image that you have not removed the Abyssal Void-Chrysolite necklace... For this, you receive my official commendation. It is functioning properly? Are you feeling the effects?

Silas touched the cool black gemstone beneath his collar with his thumb.

[Silas]: It works great. Core recovery is noticeably smoother. Thanks again, Seraphina.

Before Silas could send another line, the screen flashed with a rapid flustered follow-up:

[Seraphina]: My mother is entering the parlor. I must terminate this transmission immediately. Do not neglect your training. Farewell!

The status indicator next to her name switched to offline.

Silas chuckled softly, his thumb scrolling through his recent contact logs.

His eyes caught Harper’s name.

He had sent her two casual messages earlier that morning, teasing her about her hasty departure and asking how the LAB board was handling the Khopesh delivery, but there had been no replies, no read receipts, and no activity on her channel for the entire day.

’That’s strange,’ Silas mused, his brow furrowing slightly. ’Harper is usually glued to her phone or at least that’s what I think with the amount of messages she sent me while I was in Shogitown, constantly sending memes or complaining about paperwork... She must be completely buried under debriefs over that weapon.’

Before he could dwell on it any further—

FLOP!

A sudden light weight landed directly in his lap.

Silas looked down to see Lia casually making herself comfortable, curling her legs beneath her and spreading a thick leather-bound mathematics textbook across his knees.

She held a silver runic stylus in her hand, tapping the tip against a complex geometric diagram of spatial flux vectors with a deep pout.

"Big Bro," Lia announced, looking up at him with wide, pleading brown eyes. "I need pointers on this advanced vector calculus... The professor said if we don’t master spatial curvature by next week, we won’t be allowed into the intermediate core-shaping lab."

Silas rested his chin lightly atop the crown of her head, leaning his weight down just enough to make her let out an affectionate squawking grunt.

"Advanced spatial calculus?" Silas teased. "I thought you told me at the dinner table that you three completely crushed the project and got an A-plus? Now you’re claiming you don’t know basic spatial geometry?"

"That was practical application!" Lia retorted, turning her head and playfully nudging his chin with her forehead. "This is raw theoretical mathematics! That’s why you’re here as my Big Brother... to teach me and make sure I don’t fail! Stop being annoying and explain equation four!"

Silas laughed warmly. "Alright, boss. Look at the second variable..."

For the next two hours, the living room fell into a quiet rhythm.

Silas patiently broke down the intricate spatial formulas, using simple practical analogies from his own experiences navigating these questions to make the abstract math crystal clear.

Lia’s sharp brilliant mind absorbed every word like a sponge, her stylus dancing across the paper as she solved problem after problem.

Outside the panoramic windows, the twilight deepened into a rich, starry night.

Lia solved the final equation on the page, letting out a long exhausted yawn that stretched her entire small frame.

She leaned back against Silas’s chest, rubbing her tired eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

A soft happy smile spread across her face as she looked up at him.

"I’m really happy you were here today, Big Bro," Lia whispered softly, her voice filled with pure peaceful contentment. "I wish... I wish you could be home like this every single day."

Silas looked down at her, feeling a gentle tug at his heartstrings.

Lia’s smile turned slightly bittersweet, though she patted his arm with mature understanding grace.

"I know you can’t, though," Lia continued softly, looking at her slippers. "I know the Sovereign Realm is important, and I know you’re building something huge so we never have to worry about surviving in the cold again. So... I’ll let you go back tonight without crying about it. But when you come back next time, you have to spend a ton of time with me again, okay?"

Silas’s heart swelled with protective warmth.

He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her close into a tight warm hug.

"I’ll keep my promise, Lia," Silas said softly. "And who said our time today is over yet? The night is still young. What do you think about getting out of the house for a bit?"

Lia’s brown eyes instantly snapped wide open, every trace of exhaustion vanishing in a microsecond.

"Really?!" Lia gasped, her face lighting up like a festive lantern. "You mean it?!"

"I mean it," Silas smiled. "Where do you want to go?"

"The Starlight Plaza in Sector 2!" Lia rattled off rapidly, bouncing excitedly on his knees. "There’s that midnight dessert parlor Kaede told me about that serves glowing ice cream parfaits! And the enchanted arcade with the neon hover-racers! And the rooftop observation terrace overlooking the lower city lights!"

Silas chuckled at her boundless energy. "Sounds like a solid plan. Why don’t we go? Run upstairs and change out of your academy uniform first."

"YES!" Lia cheered, practically launching herself off his lap and sprinting toward the stairs like a bolt of lightning with her slippers pounding up the steps.

Standing near the hallway archway, Martha walked into the living room, a deeply touched smile gracing her features as she watched Lia’s retreating figure.

"Master Silas," Martha said softly, her eyes shining with quiet emotion. "Lady Lia has not smiled with such joy in a very long time... You have made her remarkably happy today."

Silas stood up from the sofa, smoothing down the front of his shirt with a confident, relaxed grin.

"It’s time to make her even happier," Silas said warmly.

He looked directly at Martha with his tone leaving no room for argument. "Go grab your coat, Martha. You’re coming along with us."

Martha blinked, her middle-aged face flushing with a sudden flustered pink as she stepped back, clutching her hands to her apron.

"Oh! Master Silas, no, I could not possibly intrude upon your family outing! I am merely the household servant—"

"You’re not intruding," Silas interrupted gently, his voice firm, kind, and deeply sincere. "You take care of Lia every single day while I’m away. You keep this house running, you worry about us, and you protect this home. We’re one big family under this roof, Martha. You’re coming with us to have dessert."

Martha’s throat tightened, a sudden overwhelming warmth flooding her chest as tears of profound gratitude welled at the corners of her eyes.

She bowed deeply with her voice trembling slightly. "Thank you... thank you, Master Silas. I shall retrieve my wrap at once."

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