Chapter 27: | Assisting and Twin-Horns (2)|
As I reached the middle of the stairs, I suddenly lost my balance and started to wobble.
'What is this unstable feeling?' A thought entered my mind before my vision became blurry, and felt dizzy.
"Huff...haa" My heart started racing, and his breathing turned heavy.
Luckily, I had the presence of mind to cling onto the railing with all the strength I could muster in my right hand.
I held on tight and tried to steady himself.
'My mana circuit is a mess!' I found the source of problem .
Calming my about-to-be rampant mana is not an easy feat to achieve in this current state, but I did it nonetheless. It took me a whole minute before I started to feel better.
The dizziness faded, and my vision cleared up.
I took a deep breath and looked down the stairs, he spotted a small black lizard, Sylv.
'When is she here?' I thought before slowly continuing my way down the stairs, taking each step carefully, trying to come up with a solution as to why my mana almost became rampant.
When I reached the bottom, I let go of the railing and stood still for a moment.
"Kyu?"
I looked down as saw Sylv looking at me with a worried expression.
'This...' My eyes soften as I crouched down.
"Thanks for worrying little one..." I patted her head.
"Kyu~"
As I patted her head, my hand slipped and grabbed her by the back of her neck before smiling.
"But I don't think it's okay to have witnesses? hehehehe" I grinned evily.
"KYUU!" [Why meee!]
"You better keep it a secret." I said before releasing her.
"Kyu!" She hissed before running away, probably to find Art.
'It's not a bad feeling...' I smiled as I looked at Sylv running into the living room.
***
[Arthur Leywin's PoV]
During these past two months, it was evident that there had been progress in Lilia's and my sister's mana manipulation. It was no longer necessary to infuse our mana into them anymore, so they were able to train by themselves now. Of course, it would still take a few years for them to form a mana core...especially Ellie and her short attention span...but Merl and I did drill into the both of them the importance of keeping their training a secret.
I didn't need to remind my parents and the Helstea family that keeping this a secret was important, but it was blatantly obvious that the four of them were excited for the day Lilia and Ellie would awaken.
Sylvie had been sleeping much more these past two months, but there were changes that became noticeable. For one, her intelligence was rapidly increasing. Her thoughts to me were more intricate and contained complicated emotions that went past just 'hungry' or 'sleepy.' In the few short months after she was born, it felt like she had gained years of emotional intelligence.
One major change had happened recently; she learned how to transform.
Okay, it wasn't really something as drastic as transformation, but she was able to manipulate her body a little. It felt like it happened so suddenly. I had been pondering how to hide her appearance in the days to come when she grows larger. She had been beside me when she started whining and scratching herself as if uncomfortable. The next thing I knew, her red spikes began retracting while her horns got smaller. It was a mind-blowing surprise. Now, most of the time, Sylvie just kept her spikes and horns retracted, making her look more like a cute, black scaled fox with little horns.
Throughout this time, both Vincent and Tabitha had insisted on giving Merl and I more gifts as thanks. Even if I wasn't able to acquire the cloak or mask, I had been planning on training Lilia. After all, she's part of the family that helped my family, so as far as I was concerned, there was nothing to lose in helping them. After numerous refusals, we had finally settled on something they could get me: a sword. Merl said he wanted money...I didn't know he likes money.
My body had finally grown big enough to properly handle a small sword without awkwardly toppling over at the slightest mishap. It wouldn't be bigger than an adult-sized dagger, but it finally allowed me to train my swordsmanship with something other than a wooden stick. We had decided to make it a family event and have both my family, Vincent's family, and Merl go visit the Tenth Anniversary Helstea Auction.
Waiting in the living room downstairs for my father and Vince to get ready, I heard an obnoxious knock from the front door.
'Sheesh, knocking once is plenty.'
I let out a slightly annoyed shout that I'd get it since I was close by, anyway. No need to trouble the maids when I was right next to door.
"Who's ther—OOF!"
I was hit with the nostalgic sensation of getting smothered by a pair of foam pillows. A classic way of assassination, but shouldn't it be used while I'm sleeping?
"Oh my goodness! You were alive! Look how big you've gotten! I'm so sorry, Art! I wasn't able to protect you! I'm so glad!" the lady sniffled.
"Mmfph! Mmmfph!"
"Angela, I don't think he can breathe…" A comforting voice pointed out.
"Eep! S-Sorry!" Angela squealed.
Peeling my face away, I smiled at the sight of my companions. "It's so good seeing you guys again!"
My giant guardian angel, Durden, patted my head and I saw his narrow eyes getting watery, triggering a tear from me as well.
Adam smacked me on the butt. "Little brat! You know how devastated everyone was because of what happened? It's good to see you again, hehe."
"You've gotten better-looking, Arthur." I turned to see the charismatic Helen Shard with her signature bow still strapped to her back squat down in front of me. She lightly pinched my cheek and gave me a sympathetic smile before standing back up.
Suddenly, I'm embraced again, but this time, I was thoroughly surprised. "Sniff."
It was Jasmine. That cold, aloof Jasmine. She kept mute as she just tightened her arms around me, letting out soft sniffles.
I couldn't resist the urge to pet her head when she suddenly peeled herself away from me, her face scarlet. Quickly standing up and trying to regain composure, she shot me an embarrassed nod and turned away.
At this time, Sylvie woke up from her nap on the couch and trotted towards us.
"Woah! What is that?" Adam exclaimed. The rest of the Twin Horns had the same expression of surprise as even Jasmine turned back to look at the mysterious mana beast.
"She's my contracted beast, Sylvie," I announced while my bond hopped on top of my head.
"Holy crap! You already have a contracted beast? Do you know how valuable it is to have a bond? Oh man, I've been trying to look for a beast to tame these past few years but with no luck. The ones that they sell are way too expensive, too, lucky brat!" Adam was practically pulling his hair out in jealousy.
"Bonds," or "contracted beasts" for the official term, were highly sought after by both types of mages. It was a bit more advantageous for conjurers since, while the master prepared spells, the bond would be able to protect them. However, it was also very useful for augmenters as well, who often sought after beasts to contract them as mounts or a partner to have their back.
"What's with all the commotion down…Ah! You guys are here!" My father, wearing his uniform, leaped down the flight of stairs and rushed toward his ex-party members.
He was giving all of them a hug as my mother and sister came down soon after. I saw Sylvie walked off as if sensing something. I let her be.
"Everyone! It's so good seeing you guys again!" my mother exclaimed. She didn't have the chance to say anything more as the girls all threw themselves at her and start drooling over my baby sister, both of whom were dressed very nicely for the event. My parents hadn't seen the Twin Horns for almost as long as me, so everyone was just as excited.
"Oh my goodness! Alice, Ellie looks just like you! She's going to grow up to be so pretty!"
"…Cute."
"Rey is going to have his hands full soon with potential candidates kukuku. Can you tell me how old you are?"
"Four!"
The girls were a jumble of excitement and estrogen as they ogled Ellie.
[Why mee!] I heard Sylvie cried, turning my head I saw Merlin who's a bit pale. He also wore the same formal suit as mine.
I waved at Merlin who waved back before he joined in by introducing himself to the Twin Horns. They got along with Merlin quickly, especially Adam after he learned that Merlin also specialized in spear like him.
Vincent came down soon after with Tabitha and Lilia. The mother and father duo were matching in a black suit and dress while Lilia was sporting a flowery dress under a warm cloak.
After everyone introduced each other, it was decided that the Twin Horns would come with us to the Helstea Auction House for the Tenth Anniversary event.
On the way there, I filled them in on what had happened after the fall. My dad explained to them the basics in his letter, but they were dying to know the details. They were quite shocked when they learned I was in the Kingdom of Elenoir for over four years and that Merlin also came from a forest.
"You couldn't even compare the him to his previous self. He's wild!" I revealed.
"Haa?! Say that again! I dare you!" Merl dared me but he's holding Sylvie by the neck.
"KYUUuuu!" [PAPAAAaaa!]
***
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