A Father's Duty

'Hey, system what is wrong with me? Why did I get agitated after hearing them about calling for Irene?' Noctis asked.

[Its not about Irene though. As for why you are agitated, Hollow Noctis and your gourmet demon Yujiro synced for the first time when they heard the word 'war'. Because of your impeccable control you have over yourself and what they want is against your wish of peaceful life, your mind unconsciously denied their excitement and it made them uncomfortable and agitated, slightly affecting you.] The system said.

'This freaking battle junkies!' Scolded Noctis as he rubbed his temples.

Noticing Noctis thinking deeply, Irene rubbed Noctis' arm.

"Why are you still worrying about it, my love?" Irene asked.

"I'm thinking if they will really send. someone." Noctis said trying to remove the two troublesome battle junkies in his mind.

"I'm pretty sure they will. As for who'll they send... hmmm. Maybe that Old man will come here." Irene said.

"Who are the members of the current spriggan anyway? Are they strong?" Noctis asked.

"Hmmmm, to answer that, you need to know that the current Spriggan are those soldiers who earned their merit from battles. Once they obtained enough merits, they could challenge a spriggan into a one on one. If the Spriggan wins, he/she'll keep the position. If the Spriggan loses, then their dignity will be crushed making them leave the army in shame. If the challenger loses, there's no harm done, it just means that their opponent is stronger than them. It serves as motivation for them. But for a spriggan to lose, it is a lifetime shame and a major blow to their pride." Irene explained.

"I see." Noctis nodded his head.

"It was August who created this system of merits after I joined them." Irene said.

"Heh~ interesting. Ordinary generals might not be able to see the use of this system but for August and the rising Alvares, it is the best because the spriggan will keep on changing until they are undefeatable, no weakness, or even if they have weakness, they can easily deal with it. In the long run, Alvares' numbers will be filled by strong unrivaled individuals." Noctis said in amus.e.m.e.nt. Their system basically says 'I'm the one who's stronger, I'll take that seat.'.

"It is as you say. Its an ingenious system made by the Wizard King." Irene said.

"Then the current members, are they strong?" Noctis asked.

"They are strong in their own rights but there are a few individuals that I think can hold out on their own until someone really strong defeats them." Irene said and Noctis is interested about them.

"They are Khris, Leroy, Polt, Jeanne, Rhody, Marco.

Marco is a mage who relies on his strong body. His magic is able to strengthen his body harder than steel and when serious he could even control surrounding metals.

Rhody is an Earth mage who excels in defense. He is known for making Golems that would crash on enemy's front line.

Jeanne... she's a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e who seduced her way to the top. Make no mistake, she's the best assassin Alvares has produced so far. With her seduction skills combined with her magic which allows her to morph into someone else, she managed to assassinate strong enemy generals. She also like stealing someone elses possession especially when the odds are against hers." Irene paused for a second as she looked at my face.

"What?" Noctis said feigning ignorance.

"Nothing. Polt is a young genius famous for his control of water and fire. His ridiculous control over water and fire got him a third magic. Steam. He could release ridiculously hot steam from combining fire and water and sending them to enemies in fast speed and pressure. When hit, the skin will melt rather than burn due to the immense heat and pressure applied.

Leroy is the one who's always been sent to other Kingdoms as the delegate due to his eloquence, he is probably the one who'll they send to talk with you. Although he's an old man, his magic is strong enough to earn him a spot in the spriggan's seat. His magic is sound and voice magic, he could amplify and compress his voice and send them to his enemy.

Lastly, Khris, he's probably the weakest of the spriggan also he's the only one who has a special exception from August. They cannot challenge Khris in a fight but they could challenge him in a strategy battle. His magic... I don't get it but he can read 5 or 6 moves ahead of an enemy commander. Its not precognition though because he can't see an individual's next moves. I think he is playing the war in his mind and makes moves according to what's happening. His intelligence and strategy makes him really valuable for August that he gave an exception only to him.

As for the others, I don't think they'll last long. They might even die in this war." Irene finished her explanation of the current strength of the Spriggan.

He hasn't heard of any spriggan that he knows from Irene which makes sense since they are probably still children just like the chipmunks.

'Simulation huh. I guess, he's dangerous when he has strong people to order. Polt can be troublesome but I can handle him. As for Leroy, he's a formidable old man. I wonder, is he a downgraded version of Zebra? As for Jeanne, is she stronger than Somnus? Somnus is the pinnacle of Assassins, is she stronger than him? As for Marco and Rhody, there is nothing my sword can't cut.' Noctis thought of the current strength of the Spriggan.

Seeing Noctis in deep thoughts once more, Irene stayed with him for a while.

"What about the children?" Noctis asked after thinking.

"They are done eating and they are currently taking a bath. They should be done pretty soon." Irene said as she leaned on her husband.

"I see. Do you think they'll be able to handle the enemy kingdom's invasion?" Noctis asked.

"Only the rain kingdom has the guts to invade them since Alvares' strength is similar to them. Now that the two strongest of the kingdom is away, the balance of power now tipped to their direction and they would immediately march towards Alvares' lands. As for whether they can handle them, I don't think so. There are powerful mages from the rain kingdom and most of them specializes in water and ice magic. Their commander is a strong one as well. He's able to order someone to do his bidding forcefully. As for how, I don't know." Irene said. Even though she hasn't heard of any additional information, she was able to discern who's the attacking party.

"I see, I guess let's just wait for Leroy to come and let them talk." Noctis said as he kissed Irene's forehead and hugged her. Irene snuggled even more in Noctis' embrace.