Luciel put the last spoon on the table, using his mana to keep stirring the porridge at a low heat so it wouldn’t go cold or stodgy.

“That day, I had just finished a long hard battle. On my way to the nearest town or village for medicine, I had to take a rest. So, I went a little off the main path, and rested against the base of a giant tree, slightly deeper into the woods. As I was resting, I heard a horse’s steps beating down the path. At first, I thought they would just pass by, however, instead they paused and then started to head in my direction. Realizing that they were coming to me, I didn’t want to risk knowing who they might be, and I wanted to run to hide. However, I hadn’t realized that I had lost too much blood whilst resting; my limbs were going a bit numb. All I could do was wait.” Luciel paused as he looked at Ada and Rubim’s excited and tensed eyes. “And that’s when your bear of a stallion Father appeared in front of me.”

Ada and Rubim placed their hands on the table and leaned forwards eagerly. “And then!?”

Luciel smiled, but his next words didn’t match his expression. “My first thought upon seeing him, were ‘how do I kill him despite my lack of mobility?’”

The Twins’ jaws dropped.

“Well, what else would I think when he was clearly clad in the uniform of the Saint’s Army?... Though he was pretty beat up.” Luciel twirled a lock of his hair with his fingers. “I had been surprised that a Centaur would be in the Saint’s Army’s uniform and not the Allied Nations Army’s uniform. Which I found out a while later is that it was because he was injured and exhausted, so he had reverted to that form as it had more endurance than his normal form.”

The Twins recovered from their shock as they crossed their arms and nodded. They have also noticed this difference between their normal form and when they have a horse’s butt.

The Twins: It also explains why Mum hasn’t told Dad what his identity was during that time.

“Anyhow, I didn’t hold back my hostility towards him, but he just stood there stunned and in a daze. Staring at me. And I glared back.” Luciel had a wry smile remembering this. “After he stopped being in a daze, he seemed to have made up his mind about something, and got closer to me. Just as I was about to attack the approaching threat, he suddenly picked me up into his arms. I was stupefied and realized that this person hadn’t had any hostile intent towards me ever since he appeared.”

Luciel poured himself a glass of water from the jug on the table to moisten his throat. “After I came to my senses, I asked him what he was doing. To which he replied, ‘Making a change’, an unexpected answer. He was stubborn, and I didn’t have the energy to resist, so just like that he carried me for several hours, nearly a whole day to the nearest town.”

Ada and Rubim tilted their heads. Ada asked. “What did Daddy mean by ‘making a change’?”

“His mindset.” Luciel’s eyes lowered. “At that time, he was from the remaining force of the Saint’s Army, which either meant that he had no loved ones or had been raised by the Saint’s Church since they were babes and usually were taught to have a prejudiced outlook on those who the Church told them to be prejudiced against. Your Father was the latter, which is ironic when you consider his mixed bloodlines.”

Ada and Rubim looked at each other, saw the little bit of sadness that had crept into each other’s eyes and nodded at each other, and looked back at Luciel.

“It's Ok now! Daddy has us now!” Ada sated solemnly.

“Yeah! Even if Dad is weird sometimes, he's our weird Dad!” Rubim agreed.

Luciel smiled ever so gently, raised his hands and tenderly rubbed the Twins’ heads. “When we got to the town, we were both shocked speechless by what we saw. We saw harmony. We saw Demons helping humans, Titans laughing with Dwarves, Beastmen arm wrestling with Elves. We saw a lot of couples composed of different races. The children of all races playing together, giggling, sharing ‘treasures'.” Luciel’s eyes were sparkling with wonder when remembering the scene he'd never forget. “At that time, upon seeing such a sight.... I cried. Because I thought that I'd never be able to see such a sight in my lifetime. And I wasn't the only one. Your Father also cried, I could see it in his eyes. For him, that scene meant hope. Hope of a peaceful future where he wouldn’t have to pick up a sword anymore.”

Ada and Rubim looked at Luciel, stood straight and went to his side. They could see their Mother’s eyes dampening, so without a word they silently hugged Luciel from either side. Luciel’s eyes widened. He then chuckled and patted their backs. “Thank you, I always get a bit emotional when I recall that time.”

The Twins didn’t say anything and just tightened their hug.

“Whilst we stood there, beat up and in shock, we of course attracted a fair amount of attention. But we had already lost the strength to stand. Your Father was so exhausted that his Centaur form released as he fell, yet he still remembered that he was holding me, so he just about managed to turn himself around, falling with his back to the ground and protected me. As we hit the ground, both of us were unconscious.” Luciel smiled. “When we woke up, we were in hospital... in the same hospital room. According to the doctors at the time, it was to encourage friendly relations between former enemies whilst both were vulnerable, in the hopes that we could set aside our differences. The doctor asked which armies we were associated with. I answered that I was the ally to neither. I'm guessing your Father assumed that I was part of the Anti-War Factions because of that. Your Father said he was one of the remaining soldiers of the Saint’s Army.”

The Twins released the hugs and looked up at Luciel intently as they saw the happiness in their Mother’s eyes, they were relieved.

“The doctor looked at your Father with great pity as he said ‘being a mixed race, that must've been tough’ your Father remained silent at the time. Probably because all his beliefs were being overturned. After that, due to how severe our injuries were, both recently occurring injuries and damage from old injuries, we were hospitalized for more than a year. The doctor wouldn’t allow otherwise.” Luciel chuckled. “Which is why we really must be thankful to that doctor. Because it was due to that time in the hospital that your Father and I got to know each other. It was just before we were discharged that your Father proposed to me.” Luciel grinned and it was as if the room was suddenly covered in pink bubbles. “In the time before we got married, we planned and built our house from scratch at the place we first met, which turned out to not be that far from the town, just that due to our injuries back then we had taken a lot longer than usual to cover that distance.”

“Wait!” Ada interrupted with her wide eyes.

“You and Dad built a house!?” Rubim raised his voice. “Was it this one!?”

Luciel chuckled at their excitement. “Yes, it was this house. And we built it so that your Father would have no problem going up and down the stairs even if he were in Centaur form. It's why we have two sets of stairs to each floor. One for our normal forms and one for your Father’s Centaur form. As the years went by, the United Academy of Magic was built in the vicinity of the town, causing people of all nations and races to gather. The town expanded again and again. Now, as you would know, the town has long become the giant city of Spes.”

The Twins’ eyes were practically sparkling. “Wow! Our city and house have an amazing history!” they exclaimed in unison.

“By the way.” Ada tilted her head. “The doctor back then wouldn't have been Uncle Phill, would it?”

Luciel grinned. “Indeed, he was. We owe him a great deal.”

The Twins nodded.

“Uh, Dad and Sera still haven’t come down.” Rubim scratched his head. “We should go get them.” Just what could be taking them so long!?

“Let's go then!” Ada grabbed Rubim's hand, and they cantered up the stairs.

“Slow down going up the stairs!” Luciel shook his head as he called out to them.