"Hehe." Abraham laughed softly. "It never crossed my mind that my son would have to step in to defend me because of my own problems," he said as he caught his breath.
He patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm still strong, I can defend myself. I was just caught off guard earlier."
"No." Edward shook his head and stopped him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it," he assured him.
"Son..." Abraham tried to grab him, but Edward had already turned his back on him to stand in front.
Joel was getting up with the guards' help. He felt dizzy and sore, but he knew who had hit him. He recognized that voice very well.
"You little bastard..." Joel moved his jaw, trying to endure the pain. "So you came here to get beaten up too."
He looked at the guards. "He's just Abraham's useless son, you don't have to be afraid of him just because he knows how to shout." He glared at them.
Even so, the guards didn't move. They were paralyzed, staring at Edward's hands.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Grab those two bastards! I'll take their money, and we'll be on our way. We've already lost too much—agh-" His jaw snapped to the side when a punch from one of the guards caught him off guard.
"Shut up, you damn bastard!" roared the one who had punched him, while his partner, unable to contain himself, grabbed Joel by the shirt.
"Why the hell didn't you tell us that this distinguished man's son was a Star Student?! Are you trying to get us killed?!" He tried to lower his voice as much as he could.
Edward heard him and frowned. Everyone looked at their hands, including himself.
'Oh. That's right, because of the uniform,' he thought.
Suddenly, he remembered that when he was coming here, people were staring at him a lot...
'So that's why.'
The reason these two guards were scared was because they were people who once had dreams of becoming Beast Masters and belonging to the select group of Star Students, but they couldn't achieve it.
Over time, they ended up working as low-level city guards.
Everyone respected and feared those who had succeeded, because in the future they could die from a single blow from any of them, even the least talented.
'Did this little bastard manage to awaken his summoned beast?' Joel couldn't believe it, but he recognized that uniform very well because his son wore it too, and it couldn't be forged unless they wanted to die.
Although it was hard for him to believe, he choked on the words he was about to say and trembled.
The guards realized that he had no idea, but now they were in big trouble. Both guards grabbed Joel by the arms and forced him to kneel, just as they had done to Abraham, and this time they bowed.
"Star Student, forgive our offense! It was all ordered by this bastard and his boss, please forgive us!" they roared. "Right now, we will leave without saying a word and apologize with valuable resources. Please don't report us."
A formal complaint from a Star Student could easily get almost any local Guard fired, especially those who were low-ranking and had no backing.
Even so, Joel disagreed. "Let go of me! He may be a Star Student, but so is my son!" he shouted angrily, shaking off their grip.
"You dare hit me?! Prepare to die, you little—aghh!" As he was in the middle of shouting, trying to find Edward's figure, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach that immediately knocked the wind out of him.
Once again, the fist headed toward his face and broke his nose... In those ten short seconds, his body received 15 firm blows that knocked out a tooth and broke several bones.
"Hmph, take that bastard away. If his son wants revenge, let him come to me; I'll welcome him personally." With that, he turned and walked toward his father, completely ignoring what the guards behind him were doing.
'Am I really that powerful? Beating this guy up feels really good, I needed it after so long.' He smiled. It felt incredibly good.
He didn't expect to have that much strength, to be honest. The first punch was thrown almost unconsciously, but sending him flying so many meters surprised him.
Maybe awakening four beasts instead of one wasn't so bad. His hands didn't hurt despite hitting bone firmly, indicating good endurance. And his punches broke bones, revealing that he had great strength.
This was wonderful!
"Father, let's go inside. I'll tell you the good news."
Edward helped his father inside, telling him what had happened. He told him about his four beasts and everything else, although he left out the subject of talent. It wasn't important.
And even though his father understood that, he was so happy to see him well that he laughed out loud with joy.
"We have to drink some good juice today! Let's use the grapes we harvested last time to make it!" his father exclaimed as he got up cheerfully and invited him into the yard.
The backyard of the house was small, but it was surrounded by blocks and had several small sections where they grew different things they needed for food, which saved them money.
There were small fruit and vegetable patches, and even a small partition where they grew legumes.
Although the yard was small, it was well-stocked and tidy. Not much was ripening, though, since it was spring.
On the other side of the yard was a small room that he and his father had built earlier that year. It was a little "innovation" that he had come up with himself, although it essentially already existed in the world, but only the rich knew how to create it.
It is a refrigerator room, built with insulation materials and techniques using polystyrene and other materials that are good thermal insulators. It serves as a perfect cooler and keeps fruits and vegetables fresh for a long time.
During the winter, the room absorbs the intense cold and maintains it thanks to the insulation and other materials. In addition, the cold inside is so intense in winter that it freezes large amounts of water into blocks, which increases durability and allows it to withstand the intense heat of summer.
They walked to that cold storage room and opened the door, which was securely locked and sealed with rubber bands.
When they opened it, they were greeted by a variety of fruits and vegetables, including some meat they hadn't seen before, which meant their father had hunted it recently.
They focused on the juicy purple grapes that were in several containers to keep them fresh.
They grabbed two that weighed approximately 500 grams each and took them inside the house.
"Let me do it. Focus on telling me what you were telling me," Abraham said cheerfully as he began to make the juice...
Edward, of course, also grabbed some grapes to help him make the juice and, at the same time, began to tell him the story.
But just then...
"Ed, I came to see you!"
The shout of a young woman startled both men, who stared at each other for a second before Abraham smiled pleasantly and pushed his son toward the door.
"Go get her, she likes the grape juice I make!" he exclaimed happily.