The room remained quiet as their father made his decision, and everyone remained attentive to hear even the slightest noise he made but the only noise anyone heard was the usual tapping and shuffling of the feet, accompanied by the shifting of the stools.
Lythion was in no position to partake in any decision-making, from his realisation, he was the youngest amongst the brothers and according to normal house rules, the youngest has no right in older family matters.
In a normal situation, he wasn't even supposed to be here, in this gathering of adults. If anything, he would be sent away and called to return when the decisions have been made, and he would then know from his brothers if it involves him or not.
But here, the traditions were different or the situation made it seem so. After all, he has barely spent an hour in this new world, so he was in no place to be making things up.
'If we're being honest, I doubt I am supposed to be here because, even if the decision was made, it has nothing to do with me.' His back ached from sitting on a stool without a backrest when he was used to sofas, couches and soft chairs in his former world.
'I am the youngest, the last son out of seven older brothers. No parent in their right mind would send the youngest out in the wild, even if he or she was the most skilled amongst the rest. They would prefer sending the eldest, or the middle child but never the last.'
His thoughts were based on his experience with families, including his own. He was the first son of his family, and he was sent into the army when the government needed youths to be recruited, not the last, him.
All the other families performed the same action, except for those with only one child to show for, the only exceptions.
A groan escaped the lips of their father, and every individual in the room turned to him immediately without hesitation, ready to hear what he was about to say.
"To be frank with you people, I would rather not send any of my sons for this quest, but… it is the king's request and I have no right to reject it as a commoner, even if we were both friends before he became king." He started with a simple piece of information for everyone to hear.
"To respect him, one of my sons will fulfil the King's request, after all the stone will be used in our battle against the Primordial Verdant."
He paused for a while to take deep breaths, staring down at the floor before raising his head towards his sons.
Each of them sat on the edge of their seats, ready to listen to their father's words of affirmation. They were also curious who their father saw as his most trusted son, that mere information would raise that individual's standing in the household.
Also informing the others who their father would likely give most of this wealth to. Even though many viewed him as a commoner, he was no ordinary commoner. He had riches that almost rivalled the king himself, being the king's most trusted aide in all aspects of the kingdom.
He was able to use his wit to gather for himself so many riches and lands within the kingdom, to serve for the future.
Lythion didn't bother himself with the words his father was about to say, he laid himself back with ease, fully expecting his name not to be mentioned in the conversation.
"I want to make another thing clear before I appoint which of you will go on my behalf. My most trusted son is Lythion, but I will not send my youngest son on a quest knowing fully well how dangerous it is."
"Out of the ten individuals the king sent the last time, only two were able to return back and until this very day, we have no information as to what happened to the rest."
"The two that came back say, they had no memory of what happened, only that they managed to survive the monster. Sadly they have both died, though they both died a righteous death in the eyes of the king, I think otherwise."
He turned to the two guards, "Forgive my rudeness." He pointed out before he continued.
'Telling us a story like that would not make anyone confident enough to go, rather it would diminish their already built-up confidence'
'Also, why was my name mentioned as his most trusted son?! What did I do to earn that right, more importantly why do I not have a memory of the days and years before this one?!'
He frowned softly to avoid anyone noticing his expression, he could already notice how annoyed his brothers were from their father's reveal. The air around him became suffocating, he could hardly stay calm with the aura they released.
'Maybe he shouldn't have made that revelation! I don't think I will ever get along with my brothers with that big reveal! I'm doomed!!'
With a soft cough, their father continued his speech. "For the one I will send on this Journey, that would be you, Samson." His eyes landed on his eldest son.
His body movements already gave him away, Lythion could notice just how irritated Samson was and how much he wanted to rage but couldn't.
'As expected, there was no way I would be picked for something as dangerous as this but then again, I don't think they feel comfortable about everything Dad just revealed. They probably hate me dearly now, I have to do something!'
Before Samson could open his lips to reply to their dad, Lythion stood up before him with a raised hand to object to his father's decision. 'If I don't do something about this envy, I might end up being killed by my own brothers!'
'Tsk! I hate malice between family members. There's not much difference between this world and my former world, evil everywhere!'
"I have to object to your decision, dad!" He said when he was given the opportunity to speak with a gesture from his father.
Everyone turned to him, a soft gasp escaping his brother's lips.