chapter 282 - Farewell lll
"Mom, please stop it, You embarrassed me in front of Grandpa"
"... Grandpa? Who?"
Gaia asked while looking around, then her eyes fell on a man standing next to Taufik, a man who bore a slight resemblance to her husband.
"... Hello"
Said that man, while waving his hands toward her.
"... Oh... Ahh! Hello!"
Said Gaia who immediately stood up and bowed respectfully towards Marzuki. Then added in a very formal way
"I'm Sorry For Showing You Something Embarrassing, Father-in-law! Please Forgive Me!"
"..."
Marzuki didn't know what to do or say when he saw this; he was so shocked by this sudden event that he didn't know how to react, so his last resort was to ask for help, which is why he looked toward his son. But Taufik right now was also taken aback by this; everything was happening so fast, and he also didn't expect that Gaia would talk to his Father in such a formal way; it's like some commoner when they greet their king or so.
"... *Sigh* Gaia, You're speaking too formally, take it easy... Just talk like you usually do"
"But... "
"Yeah, he's right... daughter, just take it easy; I'm not used to formalities; if you want, just call me Dad, even if you call me old man, it's fine... Call me whatever you like"
"... N-No... How can I call you an Old Man, b-but-"
"She's right, old man. How can she call you an 'old man' when her age is- *Ugh* "
Taufik, who interrupted Gaia's words, had to be interrupted by Gaia with a sharp blow to his stomach, which made Taufik kneel on the ground.
"Don't talk about my age...
Continue your adventure with empire
Said Gaia while looking down at Taufik, but she suddenly remembered something, then awkwardly turned to Marzuki, smiled awkwardly, and then said again.
... This is the way I usually show my love to him, this always happens"
"Ohh~ I- I see... Pfft~ ahaha"
Marzuki suddenly laughed; seeing this, Gaia looked a little confused, which made her immediately ask.
"Is there something wrong... Father?"
"Ahh, I'm sorry... It's just the way you act is similar to how my wife when she's angry, I just found it a little bit funny"
"Really? It is that similar?"
"Yeah~ When she's angry, she always... "
Marzuki and Gaia then talked to each other, forgetting about Taufik who was still kneeling on the ground.
"... Father, are you okay?"
"I'm okay... But Aksa, do you also have to change the way you call me?"
"... That's as it should be, Father. If I change how I call Mom, but you don't, Mom will definitely be angry...
Aksara answered, then looked at Gaia, seeing her still busy talking to his grandpa about her grandma, Aksara then said to Taufik in a low voice.
... And it's scary when Mom gets mad"
"A Valid point... But why Father though and not Dad?"
Taufik said about the words his son said; he then stood up and looked at Gaia, seeing her busy talking with Marzuki; a warm smile appeared on his face, but remembering that he would leave sooner or later, the smile disappeared and was replaced with a deep sigh.
As if knowing what his father was thinking, Aksara said.
"... Don't worry, Father, I'll take care of Mom for you"
Hearing that, Taufik was a little taken aback, looked at Aksara, then crouched down to be at the same height as Aksara.
With his hand on Aksara's shoulder, Taufik said.
"... Aksa, I'm Indeed asking you to take care of your Mother, but not now, you need to remember that you're still a kid... Just act like one... Don't grow up too fast, That's what I want, and I think your mother will agree with me too... Don't let what I said before make you ruin your childhood because then I will feel very guilty, for now, grow up like other children, for now, behave like other children, for now... that's all I ask, you still have a long way to go before you be able to carry out the responsibilities I give you... For now, let the adults do what adults should do... Do you understand Aksa?"
Hearing the complicated things that Taufik said, which might be difficult for other children of the same age as Aksara to understand, but not for Aksara, his mind was already able to make him understand what his father was trying to convey, so after a moment of silence, Aksara then answered briefly.
"... Yes, I understand, Fa- Papa"
Hearing Aksara's answer, Taufik showed a complicated expression, but in the end, with a smile, he then hugged Aksara while saying.
"You just need to know that I love you; I want to take you with me. I want it so badly, but your Mother probably will be very sad if I do that..."
'Why Not take Gaia into the future?' That thought often came to Taufik's mind during the past year, but it was too risky, no one knew what would happen in the gap of time from the current year to the future in Taufik's actual timeline if Gaia, an Aboriginal Being, was not present on Earth, if it was only for a year or two, maybe the impact would not be too severe but this was more than a thousand years, during that time, Earth could be destroyed without Gaia's presence, unlike before when she was sealed, this time Gaia would disappear completely from the timeline because she immediately jumped into the future, after all, Earth was like the main arena for everything that happened in the universe, it would not be an exaggeration to call Earth the Core of the Universe itself.
That's how important Earth is as the Creator's last creation before he disappeared. Even 'Fate' and 'Will,' who are beings who are always by the Creator's side, don't know where the Creator disappeared to.
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"... What are you guys talking to?"
Gaia asked Taufik and Aksara.
"Nothing, Just a conversation between a son and a father, right Aksa?"
"... Hum, Mama don't need to know, it's a secret between the two of us"
Said Aksara, who then took Taufik's hand and Gaia's hand, who was now pensive because Aksara called her 'Mama' again and not 'Mom'. She was not pensive because she was surprised or anything but just happy, happy Because she saw her child back to being like what she knew. It was a very simple thing, but it meant a lot to Gaia personally.
Gaia, silently staring at Taufik, with a warm smile, thanked Taufik without a sound. Only mouth movements, but Taufik understood what Gaia was trying to convey, he did not reply anything, just surrendered to being pulled by Aksara into the palace.
"... Grandpa, c'mon! I will introduce you to everyone in the Palace. First, there is Sir Axel; he was very good with a sword; I'm sure Grandpa would love to talk to him, then there's..."
Aksara said to Marzuki, mentioning one by one the names of all the people he knew in the Saranjana Kingdom. Marzuki did not feel disturbed; he was even happy, with a smile on his face. Marzuki followed Aksara while listening to his chatter.
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The four of them(+ Lembuswana) continued to walk along the corridor, sometimes they came across a maid who was carrying out her duties, and they warmly welcomed Taufik's return, greeting him with 'Your Highness' which was normal for Taufik but foreign to Marzuki, so Marzuki did nothing but follow them and occasionally listen to Aksara's chatter.
"... Ahh~ I forgot to mention it, but everyone already knows that you will return today, so everyone has been waiting for you in Grand Hall... I know you want to rest, but let's Go there first... Please understand, this is the first time they have seen their King again in a long time... Just a short Greeting, okay?"
Said Gaia, in between their walks; hearing that, Taufik could only sigh lightly and then nod his head; there was nothing he could do; even if he refused, Gaia would definitely force him, so he could only accept it with an open heart.
"... Good, it's also a good chance to Introduce Father to everyone"
"Hm~ Just do as you like..."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Taufik replied; he then looked at Lembuswana, who was on his shoulder and asked.
"... Why have you been so silent since this morning, Lembu?"
"*Sigh* Are you pretending not to know, or it's just my feeling, I don't know anymore"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just felt that you would do something that I would not like"
"... It's just your feeling then"
Taufik answered with a little hesitation.
"Why did you answer it hesitantly like that?... You're not thinking of leaving me here, are you?"
"What? Why should I do something like that? I'm not that Heartless"
"You sure?"
"... Of course...
Said Taufik, which made Lembuswanan feel a little relieved, but the words Taufik said next made him immediately silent.
... I'm not that sure"
"..."
"What? It's not like I know what will happen in the future, so yes, I'm not sure, Maybe something will happen that requires you to stay here, who knows, right?"
"... But if something like that comes out of your mouth, you probably will do something like that"
"Yeah~ You're right"
"Shit! I know it, I know you will do it"
"Please understand, it's for the sake of everyone, and Aksa will probably feel sad too if you also leave him, right?"
"What? Am I a babysitter now?"
"Always, Lembu, Always. Now shut up, we're here"
Said Taufik, who had seen the entrance to the Grand Hall and already heard the noise from inside, which made Taufik immediately feel tired even before he could do anything.
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