Chapter 19. Homecoming

"Ken. Get up! Let's go get some breakfast before we have to head home." Lovetta said while knocking on Ken's dorm door while waiting for him to get ready with Genesis.

While the mega rich like Clare and Alice have already left with their families using private teleport artifacts. Ken and the rest are here at the academy for one final Sunday waiting for their artifact to activate at 9am so they can be teleported home.

Getting to the dining hall nice and early, the three had their last free meal at the academy.

"After a week of great food, I think I got a little too spoiled for the free food."

"I still got a lot of points left from the tournament." Lovetta offered without hesitation.

"I can't just keep on taking advantage of you Lovetta. Besides, I got a large sum of cash from Alice last night so I can get any meal I want if I get tired of the free meals next semester."

After the three finished their food, they went back to their dorm rooms and got their belongings ready before getting back together in the common room.

"You got everything you needed Genesis? We don't have much at home and it takes forever to get to town to buy things if you need anything you forgot to bring."

"I am all ready to go!" Genesis said excitedly while Lovetta looked on with envy.

"I will miss you, Ken. Take care of yourself and I will see you in a month, okay?" Lovetta said sadly with her ears down and tail drooped while hugging Ken, not waiting to be separated.

Before Ken could comfort her, the magic that brought him to the academy activated again and moments later, he was no longer in the common area of the academy but the front porch of his home in his peaceful small town where he spent the first 15 years of his life.

Looking around to see the familiar houses in the distant, the small farmland in front of his house with summer crops growing, Ken couldn't help but smile and feel a sense of relieve that he is finally back home to where he belonged where no one would judge him based on his looks or grades or status or the clothe he wore.

"What a tranquil little village! Compared to the lifestyle from Feirvenn, I bet life here is much slower paced and way more relaxed" Genesis observed.

Ready to see his family, Ken grabbed Genesis by the hand and eagerly headed up to the door.

"I'M HOME!" Ken shouted after opening the front door dramatically.

Suddenly, chaos erupted as screaming children ran up to Ken and tackled him down to the ground.

"Hey Kevin! Melvin! Have you two got taller? Erika! Did you miss your big brother Ken? Hey Juila! Gwen! You two look more mature too! Did you all miss me?" As the five younger siblings tried to talk over each other excitedly while not saying anything that made any sense.

"Calm down everyone, talk one at a time so Ken could at least understand what you are trying to say."

Looking at the familiar and kind face of his adoptive mother, and his excited siblings. All of the pent-up stress Ken had felt from the academy suddenly started to fade away.

"Where is Emma?" Ken asked, noticing that she was missing.

"Emma got a job in the capital, so she just went back to work yesterday. She was super sad that she won't be here to see you." Gwen replied sadly.

Looking at his family who all looked like they had lost some weight since he had left, Ken felt a sense of guilt washed over him. While he was making out with beautiful girls and eating expensive food like king crab and lobsters, his family had lost their biggest income earner. And looking at them now, Ken could clearly see that Emma was forced to go to work in the city so the family could be fed.

"I will go get her back tomorrow. Your big bro got so much money that you don't have to worry about food ever again!" Ken said confidently while making the resolve that he will be focusing on becoming someone with the ability to support his family instead of getting sidetracked by selfish desires or lust.

"Ken? Who is the beautiful girl behind you?" Gwen asked curiosity and suddenly the children noticed Genesis smiling while standing behind Ken by the door.

"Wasn't your girlfriend the beastman girl we saw during the tournament? Emma did say she noticed someone on your other side who seemed too close to be a stranger even if we couldn't see much." Juila added.

"This is Genesis. She is from the kingdom of Feirvenn, one of the largest human kingdoms in the world! She will be staying with us for the break so treat her nicely, okay?" Ken said to his siblings while they stared at Genesis in amazement.

"Is she your girlfriend? Why is she staying with us? Why is she so beautiful? Is she a princess? Who was the beastman girl with you during the tournament?" The questions kept piling on as the eager siblings couldn't stop their curiosity.

After their adoptive mother told the children to settle down and let Ken and Genesis get inside so they could have a seat, the children guided the two to the old clunky kitchen table where the group settled in with the children filled with excitement.

While Ken told his siblings about the grand adventure he had so far at the academy, Genesis simply sat next to him with a smile while holding his arm as the kids listened intently.

All of the kids went wild when he told them that the elf princess who won the tournament for the first year, the one they all thought was super awesome and beautiful is one of his best friends. They all gasped when he told them about the vampires and how they need to drink blood for survival, and he actually made friends with one who depends on him for food.

As Ken told his story to the eager kids, time flew, and it was almost noon. With his pockets full of money, Ken told them that he would show Genesis around the village and go buy some food so they could have nice meals from this day forward.

"What a lovely family. All of your siblings sure look up to you don't they." Genesis commented as the pair strolled along the dirt road in the small village.

"They sure do. You better not spill how pathetic I am at the academy and make them lose that respect they have for me."

"Oh, you are so pathetic that you have four girls who are fighting over you include the daughter of a duke and a princess, right? So pathetic." Genesis mocked.

"You know I just got lucky and nothing else. The way most of the commoners get treated, I don't think I want any of my siblings to go through that experience even when I know the academy offers the best education and connection."

With Genesis holding his arm firmly, the pair arrived at old man John's house where Ken was ready to buy everything available so his family could have a satisfying meal.

"Old man! I am home and ready to buy everything you have!" Ken shouted.

"KEN!" The door swung open as Kate the young fox beastman girl rushed out to greet the pair.

"How have you been Kate? How's your grandpa? Did you see me during the tournament?" Ken asked the excited little girl.

Like his siblings, Kate was full of questions and way too excited to see Ken finally back home.

As the three walked inside the familiar century old wooden house, the wooden floor squawked from their shifting weight and tiny dust particles reflected off the sunlight.

"Old man John! How have you been! Thank you so much for always taking care of my family. I heard from my siblings that you are providing us with even more help since I have been away." Ken sincerely thanked the grizzly beastman for everything he has done for Ken's family.

"Don't be such a stranger, boy! All of you are literally my grand-kids, I am just doing what little I could."

With his pocket full of gold coins, Ken made sure he compensated the old man properly while clearing out the full inventory of consumable goods. After chatting for a bit about his adventure and introducing Genesis to the pair, Ken got up with Genesis and got ready to head back home for lunch.

"Sorry Kate, we can't stay long today. I am going to the capital and getting Emma tomorrow. I want to throw a party for the entire village. Can you do me a favor and go tell everyone in the village to gather at the village center tomorrow at 5ish?"

After the young fox girl gladly agreed to help, Ken gives her some instructions on what he wanted and thanked old man John once again before heading back home with the goods.

"Wait here Ken, I will go grab the trolley for you to carry this home." Old man John offered.

"Come on gramps, I spent 5 months at the Dragonspire Academy! I can carry this without any issue now." Ken answered confidently.

Looking at Ken with suspicion, old man John watched in disbelieve as Ken tied the heavy bags of flour, rice, corn, dried meat and fresh vegetables together and easily sling over 200 pounds of goods onto his shoulders like it was nothing. With Genesis helping with a bag of seasonings, the two thanked old man John once again and headed back home happily.

On their way back, Ken happily greeted a few shocked villagers who were in disbelief from the amount of weight Ken was carrying and told them about the party he is throwing tomorrow and asked them to get ready for a feast.

Just like the old man and the other villagers, when his siblings saw how much weight Ken was carrying like it was nothing, they were all in shock and extremely impressed that in just a few months, Ken had got this much stronger.

With Ken gone, the family was mostly living off the crops they managed to grow, and the tiny income Emma was able to bring home doing odd jobs. Gwen told Ken that it was 3 months ago when Emma decided to go to the capital to look for a stable job so that she could have a stable income and the family would have more food.

With only one day off a month until the tournament week, Emma's recent visit was the first time she came home in 3 months, but it was thanks to her sending them money for food each month that the family was able to get by. The more Ken heard his siblings talk, the more guilty he felt and the harder it was for him to keep on smiling.

The first day home came and went quickly, after lunch where his siblings finally had a satisfying meal, he helped out his adoptive mother with some farm work that's far easier now due to his new abilities and dinner was great and satisfying as well and after some more chit chat and story telling, soon it was bedtime for the children.

Once the children went to their rooms, Ken sat down with his mother and chatted for a while about various topics of interest before wishing her goodnight and went upstairs with Genesis to turn in for the night.

"Here is Emma's room, you can stay with her for the next month."

"You mean I am not sleeping in your room?" Genesis asked disappointedly.

"Nice try Genesis, go to sleep. If you can come wake me up at 9ish that would be great. I want to get Emma home nice and early."

After leaving Genesis in Emma's room, Ken finally got back into his own room after more than 5 months of absences. Knowing that he would be home soon, Emma made sure to thoroughly clean his bedroom before she went back to work. When Ken walked into his room, the bed was lined with fresh sheets and the room dust free, and Ken quickly fell sound asleep after an exhausting day.