216 Nina & Tori (1/2)
---
Final Haven Kingdom, one year later after the teenagers went inside the Ancient Royal Grounds.
Within the Royal Palace, a few people gathered in the office of the Crown Prince.
One of them was of course the Crown Prince himself, Balmung Lightshield. He was sitting in front of his desk while he discussed some important matters with his guest.
There's also Old Lee who stood behind him, acting like his most loyal guard. Leona, who took the opposite side and Victor who stood beside Old Lee
Jackson was there too, speaking of him, he was just recently promoted as the Lair Hunter's Chief Director after the previous one stepped down from his position. He had been rather busy but now he mainly stayed in the kingdom, he revised some of the old rules of the Lair Hunter Code of Conduct after discussing it with the prince. In conjunction with the Sacred Leaf Tavern, they adjusted the rewards and salaries of the Lair Hunters.
Each time a Lair Hunter goes out for a mission, each person will be given the following as a 'Survival Kit': 12 bottles of Moonshine. 1 pill bottle, containing 3 Limb Restoration Pills. 1 pill bottle, containing 5 Energy Gathering Pills. 1 pill bottle, containing 5 Berserk Trigger Pill and 5 sets of Healing Salves.
That is just to make sure that they will come back in piece to their families. Those numbers will be adjusted depending on the difficulty of their mission. As for the actual reward, all of them will be Gold Compensations from here on.
This was a welcomed change for the Lair Hunters, which in turn give them more courage to actually venture outside willingly. Since this announcements, groups of Lair Hunters started taking up missions and the results had been satisfactory. The investment was paid in full when some Lair Hunters spotted some Resource Mines not too far from the kingdom. This also allowed the kingdom to resume the expansion.
Luis was also in the room. Of course, Eva was there too along with their new retainer, Morel and his daughter Joanna. In fact, there's even two adorable guests alongside of them.
Twin girls. Yes, Eva had given birth to two healthy and adorable girls. Both of them had black hair, curious obsidian eyes, chubby cheeks and limbs, and cheerful giggles.
Luis and Eva named them Venina Jane and Victoria Rain or simply, Nina and Tori. Venina is 2 minutes older than Victoria.
A pity that Raven wasn't there when they were born, he would've liked to be the one to name them. But considering his bad naming sense, maybe it was better this way.
Just by looking at their face, it would be challenging to know which one is which. Well, they are Identical Twins after all. The only way to tell them apart is by looking at the birthmark at the back of their palms.
Venina had a birthmark that looked like a star on her right hand while Victoria had the same looking birthmark on her left hand. So far, that's the only way to tell them apart.
Their existence was adored by the adults. Luis and Eva practically never left their side. They both teared up when they said their first word and cried when they started saying 'Mama' and 'Dada'. They were both active enough that they could now roll on their tummies by themselves and observe their surroundings. There was one thing that the twins did that almost melt the hearts of their parents.
Neither of them would be able to sleep without the other by their side.
The two rarely threw a tantrum, they would just make a lot of noise if they feel uncomfortable but won't cry. Unless they were separated that is. They had to make sure that they are at least within eyesight of each other or else they will kick up a fuss and won't stop until they see each other again. Whenever they sleep, they will either hold each other's hand or hug.
The twins became instantly famous. Well, how can they not be famous? They are a Valorheart! Their father is the fearsome Luis 'The Hawk' Valorheart, and their Big Brother is the 'Young Hero' Vendrick Valorheart. Plus, twins are rarely seen in the kingdom, which even boosted their popularity amongst the grown ups.
Even the fearsome Golden Knights weren't spared from their charm and would play with them from time to time. Even the Prince himself had fallen for their adorable giggles. Even the guards, down to the janitors of Royal Palace adores the two.
Joanna's eyes will always sparkle whenever she plays with them, she could almost pass as their big sister. She often helped Eva take care of them and one time, she was even allowed to change their diapers.
***
”…and that concludes the report, Your Highness. It seems that we should be able to aggressively push for the expansion.” Jackson reported.
His words brought some excitement to the people around. It had been too long since the last expansion.
”If we are able to succeed this time, then the nearby resources will be protected by the walls. That would speed up the gathering and ensure safety of the gatherers.” Balmung added as he felt a tinge of excitement.