"Eric!"
Outside Winters Manor, Martha excitedly hugged Eric after seeing him.
"Oh my goodness, I thought I'd never see you again."
Martha, with her big belly, went straight to hug her youngest son, "It's so good that you're back!"
While holding Eric, Martha's tears streamed down her face.
"You weren't hurt, were you, Eric?"
Wiping away her tears, Martha excitedly touched Eric's face and said with heartache, "Your face looks a bit thin; you must have suffered a lot."
"I'm fine, Mom, I just went on a long trip. I'm sorry for making you and Dad worry."
Eric apologized softly to Martha.
Jonathan came over and put his hand on Eric's shoulder, his voice also choked up, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're safe."
Although Jonathan was also very emotional, he didn't express his feelings as eagerly as his wife.
He just patted Eric's shoulder to express his feelings.
"Clark isn't with you?"
Jonathan suddenly remembered his eldest son.
"Clark..."
Eric pondered for a moment, then said, "He's not with me."
Although he knew Clark's current situation, he didn't tell his parents the truth.
Considering his parents, especially his mother's current physical and mental state, he concealed Clark's situation.
"I see."
Jonathan nodded, the wrinkles on his forehead not relaxing but becoming even more furrowed.
"Let's go back first."
After glancing at the small house standing in the night, Jonathan said to Eric and Martha.
"Is this Sir Winters' residence?"
After comforting his mother for a moment, Eric turned to look back at the ancient and historically rich manor in the night.
He was deeply impressed by this famous baron in the magic world.
After all, from some perspectives, he was like Constantine, never hesitating to betray his teammates.
"Yes, Baron Winters is a very good person."
Martha clearly had a good impression of the baron, "But the only thing that's concerning is…"
Martha glanced at her husband and said with an unnatural expression, "He keeps a leopard. I was startled when I first went in. Although I later learned that the leopard wouldn't hurt people, having a leopard like a big cat walking around in the room still makes my heart pound."
"A leopard…"
Eric glanced at Baron Winters' manor.
If the person keeping such a large carnivorous animal in the manor wasn't a famous figure in the magic world, Eric would consider how to teach him a lesson.
Ordinary people tie up even vicious dogs, but this guy let a leopard run around freely in the room!
Even knowing it wouldn't hurt people, he still despised such ill-mannered behavior.
Inside Winters Manor.
The baron, by the moonlight, watched Eric's family leave.
Squatting beside him was a leopard with light patterns all over its body.
Baron Winters, dressed in a gray suit with a tailcoat underneath, a goatee, and leaning on a cane, watched Eric's figure disappear into the night, then turned to the leopard, who was obediently squatting on the ground, and said, "Yes, I'm not blind. I know he's gone, Merlin."
Merlin was the name of this "big cat."
"It's because of people like him that I've formed a creed: neither trust the selfless nor the villains."
Winters walked to the bench by the fireplace, sat down with a thud, looked at the flames in the fireplace, and said with a serious expression, "The selfless will insist on doing what's right, not what I need; and the wicked will cause greater disaster without knowing it. You and I, we need to maintain a fragile balance between good and evil."
He then pointed the cane he was holding at the fireplace, and with a "whoosh," the flames in the fireplace immediately burned fiercely.
Merlin squatted by the fireplace, maintaining the same serious expression as his master, staring at the flames in the fireplace.
"Do you see?"
Winters created a figure somewhat similar to Eric in the flames, then turned to Merlin and said, "Eric Kent, he is simply good and evil coexisting, present in a body that should be harmonious. I cannot be sure how he managed to repel The Trinity Goddess!"
Baron Winters' long-standing goal was to maintain the balance of the magic world, although most of the time many people considered him a troublemaker.
"He — is truly an amazing existence!"
Somewhat unsettled, he stood up and walked quickly towards the study.
Merlin, who had been squatting by the fireplace, quickly stood up and followed Winters' steps closely.
After climbing the spiral staircase into the study, Winters took a book from the bookshelf and read it carefully.
"But clearly, the balance of the magic world has been broken, and this man is the culprit behind it all. I should have prepared a party targeting Eric Kent to maintain some balance, but I've changed my mind now."
Reading the book Eric wrote, Baron Winters looked at Merlin on the floor.
"His parents are good people. Although he himself embodies both good and evil, I believe that parental affection will not blur his boundaries. If there are some bonds, he will not completely lose control or even lose balance. This doesn't represent a bad thing, does it, Merlin?"
Baron Winters had originally prepared to investigate Eric, but after spending some time with Eric's parents, he changed his mind.
Compared to being interested in Eric, who repelled The Trinity Goddess, he was now more interested in the girl in Martha's belly.
"If we're talking about the coexistence of good and evil, the child in Mrs. Kent's belly is an angel with devil's horns."
"Click!"
The baron closed the book, and the light in the room instantly disappeared.
The next day.
After spending a night at the inn, Eric and his parents returned to the farm.
Looking at the farm, which had become a ruin, Jonathan felt a sense of melancholy.
"It's okay."
Martha came over to comfort her husband, "Do you remember the summer we first got married? The town was hit by a tornado, the barn and rooms were all destroyed by the tornado, all the crops in the field were swept away, and the cows and horses were gone. Didn't you tell me that we wouldn't encounter anything worse than that?"
Martha looked at the barn, still intact in the distance, and smiled at her husband, "At least we're much better off now than before."
"Hmm, rebuilding the farm, this isn't the first time we've encountered this problem."
Jonathan said to Martha, "It just looks like we're going bankrupt."
Yes, with the farm in its current state, even if it were successfully rebuilt, it would still end in bankruptcy.
"My dad called me earlier."
Martha hesitated for a moment, then said, "He said if we encountered some trouble, he would be willing to help us."
"No, no need."
Facing his wife's suggestion, Jonathan immediately refused.
"I'll figure out a way to solve it, Martha, but not by relying on his help."
Jonathan stubbornly told his wife, "Even if I take out a loan from the bank, or mortgage some farmland, I don't want to get money from him and then be subservient under his pitying or disdainful gaze."
Jonathan firmly refused his father-in-law's help.
He then walked into the collapsed building to salvage some usable items.
"Alright."
Martha sighed. She knew her husband's stubborn temper and couldn't say much more.
Eric stood by, about to say something, when Martha turned her head and gave Eric a wry smile.
Eric looked at the farm and shook his head.
Martha stroked her belly and said, "I hope you won't have an issue with your father because of his stubbornness. He just doesn't want to give up. If Jonathan accepted your grandfather's check, he would be agreeing that my father's idea of not wanting me to marry him was correct, and also agreeing that there was no future in me marrying a farm boy. Your father has always wanted to prove to my father that he could bring me happiness, so he won't accept that kind of check."
"I understand."
Eric nodded.
After more than ten years of living together, he already knew his father's temper and understood why he wouldn't accept his grandfather's check.
"Mom, you know, due to the 'Slumber Day' incident that happened in Metropolis earlier, my book has re-entered the bestseller list."
Eric said to Martha, "The royalty income plus the advance bonus, I think, should be a lot of help for us to rebuild the farm."
Eric casually found an excuse, stating that his bonus would be of great help in rebuilding the farm.
"Royalties and bonus?"
Martha hadn't expected her son to start earning money again.
She had thought that the fifty thousand dollars was pretty much all the income.
"Yes, this is the credit card the publisher gave me; it has about one hundred thousand dollars in it."
Eric handed the credit card to his mother.
"This…"
A somewhat dazed Martha took the credit card from Eric's hand, feeling a bit dizzy at the moment.
She hadn't expected her youngest son to be so capable, earning so much money in such a short time.
"Is this really okay?"
After regaining her composure, Martha handed the credit card back to Eric, saying with a firm expression, "No, Eric, this is yours. We can't accept it."
"It's okay, just consider it my investment in the farm, even though I won't need any dividends in the future."
Smiling slightly at Martha, Eric continued, "But in the future, I, or Clark, we might inherit this farm. Investing in my own farm is normal, isn't it?"
Looking at the credit card Eric had forced into her hand, Martha was moved and hugged Eric again.
"Thank you, Eric."
After Jonathan learned from his wife that Eric had provided one hundred thousand in funds, he felt a bit sorry for his youngest son.
Having to use his youngest son's money before he even came of age made him feel like a failure.
This feeling continued even as he and Eric drove to the city.
Jonathan was driving the car, and Eric was in the passenger seat, as they went to Metropolis together to buy building materials.
The pickup truck sped down the streets of Metropolis.
"Eric, I'll pay you back this money. You'll need it when you go to college; it's very important for you."
"It's not important, Dad."
Eric looked at the scenery outside the window and replied to his father, "I don't think I won't be able to earn money before college."
Jonathan wanted to say something more, but the vehicle had already reached its destination, so he had to get out first.
"You stay here and watch the car. I'll go talk to them about the procurement."
After instructing Eric, Jonathan got out of the car and walked towards the building materials store.
After crossing the road and reaching the front of the building materials store, a runaway car suddenly sped from the middle of the road, swerving erratically towards Jonathan, who was frozen in place.
Eric, sitting in the pickup truck, instantly saw the car crashing towards his father.
Whoosh!
After activating his super speed, he quickly moved towards Jonathan.
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