Legacy of the Void Fleet

Shaking my head, I made my way down the stairs, following the sounds of Luna’s laughter and Fafnir’s energetic woofs. From the sheer joy in their voices, it was clear they were thoroughly enjoying whatever mischief they were up to.

As I reached the bottom, I caught sight of Luna dashing across the living room, her small feet barely touching the ground as she giggled uncontrollably. Fafnir, the little white wolf, was right behind her, barking in excitement as he tried to keep up.

I folded my arms and leaned against the railing. ”You two seem to be having a lot of fun,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Luna skidded to a stop and turned to face me with a wide grin. ”Of course, Big Bear! Fafnir and I are training—he needs to be fast if he wants to be my noble steed!” she declared proudly.

Fafnir, upon hearing that, stopped in his tracks and stared at her with narrowed eyes, his tail stiff. I could almost hear his thoughts: ”Steed?!”

I nearly tripped when I heard her words, staring at the little source of the commotion in astonishment. Shaking my head, I smirked and said, ”I don’t think Fafnir appreciates being called a steed.”

Luna pouted, crossing her arms. ”But he’s small and fluffy—he should be honored to carry a great, soon-to-be sorceress like me!”

At that, Fafnir let out an offended huff and dramatically turned his back on her, clearly insulted. I laughed at his reaction, silently rooting for the little guy. Good for you, buddy. You deserve that dignity. Hmph! Who told you she was on your side?

I chuckled before walking past them toward the dining room. ”You’ll have your own steed one day, Luna,” I said over my shoulder. ”But it won’t be Fafnir. Rather, it’ll be something you’ll actually like… maybe even love.”

Luna, who had been standing behind me with her arms still crossed, immediately turned toward me, tilting her head. ”I’ll have my own steed?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Then, as if considering my words carefully, she added, ”And it won’t be Fafnir? Hmm… I suppose I could consider another steed—if it’s fluffier and cooler than Fafnir!”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, already deep in contemplation.

I smirked as I walked ahead. ”Oh, trust me, Luna. Your future steed will be something far cooler than Fafnir in some ways… and even fluffier than him.”

Luna, still crossing her arms, tilted her head in contemplation. ”Hmm… more fluffy and cooler than Fafnir, huh?” she muttered, tapping her chin.

”What could it be…?” she mused, deep in thought, her eyes narrowing as if trying to solve the greatest mystery of her life.

Hearing her muttering to herself, I couldn’t help but shake my head as I made my way toward the dining room. ”Come on, princess, no need to overthink it so much. You’ll find out soon enough, okay?”

Luna, as if shaken from her deep thoughts of solving the greatest mystery, pouted at me. ”Tch! I can’t figure it out, big bear… but sheesh, I really have no idea what it could be.” She let out a small sigh before finally accepting her defeat. ”Fine, I’ll trust you on this,” she said, though her expression carried a clear warning—I better not disappoint her.

Glancing over my shoulder, I chuckled. She looked so serious, her cheeks puffed out in frustration. How is she always this amusing?

I chuckled again and added, ”Alright, alright, you won’t be disappointed, princess. Now come on and bring that little white pup with you for breakfast.”

Hearing me, Luna’s eyes lit up as she glanced at Fafnir. In the next instant, she practically pounced on him, catching him with surprising speed. Fafnir, who had been sulking internally, didn’t even notice her sudden movement until it was too late.

But this time, he didn’t struggle at all—his belly was grumbling just as much as hers.

”Hehe, good boy, Fafnir,” Luna said, almost feeling guilty that she had nearly abandoned him as her steed.

Without wasting another second, she hurried after me, hugging Fafnir tightly. It didn’t take her long to catch up—after all, I wasn’t that far ahead.

I chuckled, thinking, Today is off to an interesting start.

Luna, Fafnir in her arms, and I entered the kitchen, where I saw my father seated at the head of the table while my mother was serving a simple yet light meal for breakfast.

Our kitchen wasn’t that big, but it was cozy and more than enough for a family of four. As we stepped in, both my parents looked up at us with warm smiles.

”Took you long enough to come down, son,” my mother said with a playful sigh. Then, turning her gaze to Luna, she added, ”And you, little princess, I sent you to call him down, not to play and banter with each other.”

Luna, hearing that, smiled sheepishly. ”Mother, it was brother’s fault! He was slumbering like a bear in his room, and waking him up took way too much effort,” she said, blatantly pinning the blame on me.

I shot her a look but didn’t argue, only shaking my head with a sigh—one that was soon echoed by my father.

My father’s sigh soon turned into laughter, and it took him a while to get it under control. Looking at us with a fond smile, he said, ”It’s been quite a while since I’ve had such a good morning, seeing this.”

I didn’t know what to say to that—nor was there really any need to. Before I could dwell on it further, I suddenly heard Luna cry out in pain.

”Ouch! Ouch! Mom, what are you doing?!” she whined, tears welling up in her eyes.

Curious about what was happening, I turned toward her—only to see my mother holding Luna’s ear, playfully tugging at it.

”My little princess is getting bolder and bolder, hmm?” Mother said, raising a brow. ”Did you think I didn’t hear what you and your brother were up to just outside the dining room?”

Before Luna could say anything more, Mother turned her gaze toward me as well, her eyes narrowing.

”And you, my son—getting bolder just like your sister, hmm?” she said, giving me the same playful scolding.

I gulped as I saw Mother glaring at me. Unsure of what to do, I just scratched my head and let out an awkward, ”Hehe…”

”Heh, what happened, son? Cat got your tongue. Or what…?” Mother teased, still eyeing me.

”Umm… I…” I started, but before I could come up with an excuse, she cut me off.

”Okay, okay, enough already. Let’s sit down and have breakfast before it gets cold,” she said, finally releasing her hold on Luna’s ear—though not before giving us both one last knowing look.

Luna and I sulked a little as we took our seats at the table, while Fafnir had his own meal served on a plate. Unlike us, he was treated to a steak for breakfast.

We all focused on our food in comfortable silence, eating without much conversation. Within ten minutes or so, we had finished our meal. I helped Mother with the dishes while Luna sat back down, relaxing after eating.

Just then, Father’s voice came from the dining room. ”Why don’t we visit the amusement park again? We left town for a while and haven’t had proper time there. So, who wants to go?”

Luna, who had been sitting quietly, immediately jumped out of her chair, practically vibrating with excitement. ”I wanna go! I wanna go! Oh, oh! Fafnir will come with us too!” she exclaimed, turning toward the little wolf.

Fafnir, who had been lazily resting after his meal, barely lifted his head. He gave a small woof and nodded in agreement.

”Yay!” Luna cheered.

I nodded as well, thinking it would be a good chance to spend more time together as a family and break this lingering sense of stillness. ”I agree with you on this, Father. What do you think, Mother?” I asked, glancing at her.

Mother, who was wiping a plate clean before placing it back in the cupboard, nodded. ”Indeed, we should go. Now that Kallus is here, our whole family can truly enjoy it.”

”Then it’s settled!” Father said with a smile. ”We’ll leave around 10 or 11 a.m. for the amusement park. I’ll book the tickets now.” He pulled out his phone and stepped out of the dining room to make a call.

About five minutes later, Father returned with a calm smile on his face. ”Everything is settled. We can go as soon as we’re ready,” he announced.

Luna immediately burst into excitement, jumping around and yelling, ”We’re going to the amusement park! We’re going to the amusement park again!” over and over.

Her enthusiasm was infectious, filling the room with a warm, cheerful atmosphere. Seeing her so happy, we couldn’t help but smile as well.

....

[A/N: After this chapter, there will be a time skip of about a week or two before the main space arc begins. So be prepared—something exciting is coming soon! Thank you!”]