The sun-imprinted pendant was a gift from Grandpa Sam to Aegon on his first birthday. There were a few uses of it which made it quite valuable and one of them was that he could contact Grandpa Sam anytime he wanted.

That was why Aegon clutched the pendant in his hand and turned toward the chained people, "Xav, can you handle them? I need to do something."

"Sure thing." Xavier nodded and went over to calm the people. He could handle it.

On the other hand, Aegon reached over to the edges of the canyon, looking down at the vast gap between the two sides, and tapped on his forehead.

[Mana Sense]

It was a skill with a high consumption rate, but it did give satisfactory results. Its effects let him sense the fluctuations in mana in his surrounding area.

As he closed his eyes, he focused on finding anything, but everything remained clear. He didn't get any signal from the skill, meaning there was nothing in the area.

'Hmm, then why am I getting this feeling that something is weird with this canyon?' Aegon thought before he threw the matter to the back of his head.

His senses didn't tell him of any danger and Hecte also didn't react, so he wasn't worried about it.

Taking the pendant in his hand, he sent some mana into it and the sun on it began to glow. After a few seconds, he heard a sleepy, exhausted voice from the other side directly in his mind.

[You finally decided to use it, eh? What? You missing this awesome Grandpa already? Ready to ditch that ancient dust behind?]

Aegon couldn't help but chuckle at his words. He felt his emotions calmly, as he said, "Grandpa Weird. You said you have great influence in the Empire, right?"

[Yes? What happened?]

Perhaps he sensed Aegon's serious tone, so he didn't mind the name and grew serious too. Sleepiness disappeared from his tone.

"It includes a count. You sure you can handle him?" Aegon asked with some hesitation.

He had no clue how influential or powerful Grandpa Sam was, so he was quite hesitant about involving him in this matter. But it didn't hurt to ask him.

[It's just a count. Even your family can deal with a bunch of them and I'm better than them. So tell me what happened?]

'This old man...' Aegon's lips twitched, as even after such a long time he wasn't used to his shameless boasting. Still, he recounted everything he had encountered and noticed that Grandpa Sam went silent for a few seconds.

[Hmm, it seems like people really need some reminder of the sword hanging over their heads. You can drop this issue and proceed to the Academy. By tomorrow when you arrive in Dusk City, you'll receive good news.]

Aegon could sense the suppressed anger in Grandpa Sam and nodded in satisfaction. He expected such, as he and Arnold were great friends. Arnold also hated such things, which naturally passed on to Aegon.

"Then..." Aegon glanced back at the people whom Xavier had distributed some of their packed food. "What about their baron?"

[It's just a baron, for Sun's sake. I can take over their kingdom and they won't even let out a peep. Forget about them and just leave them at home. My people would make sure this doesn't happen again.]

'Why do I feel like you're offended?' Aegon wondered, but he said something else. "Then, I'll leave one of mine with them just in case and leave the rest to you."

After a moment of silence, he heard a sigh from the other side.

[I'm sorry you have to see such a sight the first time you return to your ancestral home.]

"Why are you apologising?" Aegon rolled his eyes. "It's not like it's your Empire, so you don't really have to blame yourself for everything. I thought you were better than this, old man."

[Hahaha. Indeed, this Empire isn't mine.]

"Yes, so leave these things to the emperor," Aegon said frankly. "Although he seems to be lacking in a few things, he's still good and can improve."

[Haha! You really are Augustus. Only those crackheads openly criticise the damned emperor for his actions.]

"But you're not Augustus, yet you're cursing him."

[I'm not, but I would still call that blockhead an idiot because he is one.]

"Well, I quite disagree," Aegon said, a smile forming on his lips. "If he really was an idiot and incompetent, my Opa would never serve him."

[You're a weirdo!]

"Well, the emperor has banned slavery, so you can see he does want to make a better nation, but he fails in some parts like enforcing the laws everywhere," Aegon said. "Well, unless he is doing this for PR, but I doubt he needs it."

[PR?]

"Uhh.."

[Forget it. At best, that dumbass has some good braincells, otherwise he is stupid.]

Aegon was speechless and wondered if all of this was blasphemous. Even if they were talking about the emperor, he didn't have to curse him. After all, the Emperor was supposedly a 9-Star mage.

"Again, I forgot about other things because of you," Aegon suddenly remembered his situation and said. "Anyways, I'm leaving for the Academy."

[Go with a peace of mind. I will definitely handle them. Wait for the good news.]

Aegon nodded and then cut the connection. He turned around and whispered under his breath, "Hecte."

[You want to send someone with them?]

"Yes."

[Then, send Miguel. He has the calmest head among us so he won't do anything reckless.]

Aegon listened to her and summoned Miguel out, who also instantly disguised himself as a middle-aged man with a giant muscular body, making Aegon wonder if this was his true appearance.

His eyes still seemed lost and staring at something distant....

"Miguel," Aegon commanded. "Take them back to their village and protect them until help comes. If anyone tries to take them away by force, well, you know what to do."

"Uhh, I will do that." was his sluggish answer, but Aegon knew he would take this very seriously.

He patted the big man's shoulder and said, "Also, withdraw if you sense danger. You matter more to me."

Although Aegon was willing to protect the innocents, it didn't mean he would do it at the expense of one of his own.

In the end, he was selfish and cared about his loved ones' lives more than others' lives.

'I don't care if it's selfish or not, but I'm not losing any of you. None!'

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