"Mom?"

    His call was greeted by a moment of silence, but then as if to spite his nervous thoughts, a clear, female voice was heard.

    "Zeke?! Is that you?"

    Zeke''s eyes grew moist at the sound of his mother''s voice. Only now did he realize how much he had missed hearing her call to him, with that caring undertone only a mother could have. The moment she spoke, Zeke felt at peace.

    "Hi, Mom," he said, a feeling of complicated feeling settling in his heart.

    "What''s going on, Zeke? Are you back? What happened to you? Are you alright?"

    "I''m not back yet, but I''ve found a way to contact you from afar," Zeke explained, deliberately avoiding her other questions. He didn''t want to go into detail about his recent experiences or share his advancements with his mother. For one, he didn''t want to worry her unnecessarily. Also, she wouldn''t fully understand what it meant to become a Grand Mage at his age, and he certainly didn''t want her spreading word of it. Such a rumor would only serve to make his enemies wary of him.

    "That''s great! My son is such a genius!" his mother responded. Her voice was still cheerful, though she wasn''t able to fully hide her disappointment that he hadn''t yet returned. However, it didn''t last for long. "It is so good to hear your voice!"

    "You too, Mom," Zeke said, his lips naturally curling up. "Is everything alright at home? You didn''t say much in your last letter."

    His mother scoffed. "Letter? That was months ago, Zeke. Do you even care about your family anymore?"

    Zeke''s smile quickly turned wry. It had taken his mother only moments to go from tearful reunion to gentle nagging. She really never changed. Although, he could understand why she was upset—after all, he hadn''t replied to any of her letters during his time in isolation, leaving only a brief note that he''d be busy for a while.

    "It couldn''t be helped, Mom," he said evasively, "something important came up..."

    "Important?" his mother replied scornfully. "Do you even know how worried I was when you didn''t contact us in so long?"

    Though the words sounded harsh, Zeke could hear the concern in her tone. It must have been grueling not to get any more replies for such a long time. "I am sorry Mom," he said, genuinely miffed to have caused her such worries. "But we''ll be able to talk a lot more from now on."

    "...That better be the case," she said, her voice a mix of concern and relief. "Are you doing alright now? You didn''t do anything reckless, did you?"

    Zeke paused, unsure how to answer. ''Reckless'' hardly captured the magnitude of what he had done. He had rushed his advancement to Grand Mage to help a Progenitor combat one of the deadliest poisons known, all while preparing to assist in a war that could obliterate an entire population. But that wasn''t something he wanted to share with her.

    "I''ve just been busy with training," Zeke said, offering a half-truth. "What''s been happening back home?" He quickly changed the subject, hoping she wouldn''t press further.

    Luckily, his mother didn''t seem to expect more. She launched into a lively recounting of events. "A lot has happened since you last reached out and now, business is picking up again," his mother said. "When the war began, many merchants held off on buying, but now that the situation has shifted, they''re starting to spend again. At this rate, we can barely keep up with demand."

    "Shifted? In what way?"

    Zeke smirked. He had hoped Leo could adapt well to military life and was glad to hear that it had actually turned out that way. "What kind of reputation?"

    "Well... There''s the matter of their race," his mother explained. "Aside from Leo, the other members of his squad are all half-beasts, did you know that?"

    "Don''t call them that, Mom," Zeke said, a bit annoyed by the term.

    "It''s what people call them," Mia defended herself. I can only tell you what the rumors are."

    Zeke quickly calmed his annoyance. His mother was right. She didn''t have the same experiences with Chimeroi as himself, only relying on the words of other people. There was no way his mother would use such language otherwise.

    "Did you hear anything else?" Zeke asked eagerly.

    Mia chuckled. "Do you know what they call themselves?"

    Zeke thought for a moment. "It''s probably something about claws or fangs," he said with a smirk. Given the naming sense of Chimeroi, he couldn''t imagine them picking a sensible name for their squad.

    "Close," Mia said. "They call themselves the Fangs of the Blood King."

    Zeke was momentarily startled by her answer. Blood King? Could they be referring to him with that title? It seemed unlikely, but knowing Leo, it wasn''t out of the realm of possibility. Also, the Chimeroi had always shown him a peculiar reverence ever since he healed them. The thought made him grimace in embarrassment, so he quickly changed the subject. As long as they were doing well, that was all that mattered to him.

    "Let''s not talk about them anymore. Is there anything else I should know about?"

    His mother paused, thinking. "I''m not sure how true it is, but there''s talk that the empire is putting pressure on the king."

    Zeke''s attention sharpened. "The king of Tradespire? What kind of pressure?" he asked, his mind racing. "Are they trying to convince him to join the empire''s side?"

    However, Zeke''s fears proved unfounded. "Not at all," his mother said. "From what I''ve heard, they''re trying to pressure him into staying neutral."

    Zeke fell silent. This news, though seemingly minor, confirmed what he had suspected. The fact that the empire wasn''t trying to gain new allies was the clearest sign that they weren''t concerned about the war''s outcome. Instead, they seemed more focused on preventing any new variables from emerging.

    It was almost certain now: The empire was plotting something significant behind the scenes. With that confirmation, Zeke reaffirmed his plans: He needed to return to Tradespire soon. Otherise, he wouldn''t be able to react to whatever they were planing.

    Just then, the door to his room opened, and Gravitas poked her head inside. Zeke gave her a questioning look, silently asking what she needed.

    "You have a visitor," she said. Zeke was about to brush her off, as it had been far too long since he had talked to his mother like that, but his resolve crumbled when he heard her next words.

    "...It''s Snow."