185 Comrade (2/2)

When Jane saw him sitting on the couch after entering the building, she exclaimed in joy and ran towards him, before jumping into his arms.

”Dad, you are back.”, her happy voice sounded out.

The greetings of the others weren't as exuberant but they too welcomed him back warmly.

`You got a great family going there, boss.`, the voice of Franz suddenly appeared in his mind again. He had fallen asleep on the back of the couch before and it seemed like the commotion had woken him up.

With it moving, Jane spotted him as well, ”Daddy, there is a lizard.”, she exclaimed.

”Mmm, that is Franz. He is a new member of the family.”, Ivan introduced the lizard before using his mind to tell Franz the names of all the women.

The women looked curiously at the lizard. They could tell that it was a monster and seeing that he hadn't stored it away in his pet space, it seemed like it was something special.

Celine, being the most experienced was the first to make a guess, ”Could it be your comrade?”

”Yes.”, not surprised that she knew about it he easily confirmed her guess.

While Celine seemed to understand the situation, the others looked at the two of them in confusion.

This prompted Celine to explain, ”A comrade is something special since it is quite rare. It can be seen as something similar to a pet but one that is equal to the owner.” She basically told them the same information that Ivan had acquired from the system prompt.

She then took a closer look at the lizard and shook her head in confusion. ”But there is something weird about it. It looks just like a normal granite lizard and as such shouldn't possess the intelligence to form such a contract.”

”Really?”, Ivan didn't know anything about it so he was as surprised as the others.

`Do you know anything about it?`, he tried asking Leopold.

`No. I always thought I'm just like anyone else and the character info doesn't show anything either.`, Leopold answered.

The fact that the character info didn't show anything unusual didn't have much meaning since it wouldn't record all information. Especially if the person himself wasn't aware of the information.

”Well not that it matters.”, Celine continued, ”And if it does it should be positive, so there is no need to worry about it.”

Having finished the discussion they turned their attention towards other topics.

”So, tell what happened for you to get a comrade instead of pets like you were planning to do.”, Lara asked curiously. Beforehand they had talked about his plans and now seeing how the situation was different she was curious as to what had happened.

Ivan started to tell the story of what happened. Everyone else listened with interest. Although parts of it were boring and Ivan just skipped over it, some things were truly interesting. They were especially interested in the one he had taken along for the ride as well as the little girl. The way he and Leopold had gotten to know each other created a lot of laughter. Imagining him being bounced around through the air was just too hilarious.

When he had finished telling his story it was about time to eat. While making their way over to the dining table, where Madam Tanner had already prepared the food, Lara asked Ivan, ”So when do you have to leave with Miss. Klein?”

Ivan shrugged, ”I'm not sure but it should be soon. I think she will come and get me when it is time.” At least that was what they had decided on.

”So you won't stay long?”, there seemed to be a hint of being disappointed in her voice.

Ivan wasn't sure if he had just imagined it but he still answered, ”Sadly no. But when I'm back I should have time to spend with our family.”

When he finished his words, Lara smiled slightly. At the same time, she turned her head to hide her expression. She wasn't yet prepared to tell him about the decision she had made.