A few months have passed since I met Astrid. I am now in the middle of June. These past months I learnt how to hold a conversation with a demon, both formal and informal. It was hard as first; because the words are reversed it contradicts everything I learnt in my past life and getting it right was the hardest part. She was looking at me with such pity in her eyes that even I felt sorry for her. Once I got that straight everything else was a piece of cake.

Maria told me that school ends on the last day of July and starts on the first day of October. I never asked when school ends because this doesn’t really seem like a school. I will have two months to start my plan to improve the school with blackboards.

The daily visits I pay to Astrid left a bitter taste in Maria’s mouth which motivated her to try harder, which meant harsher training for me. To be fair, I’m not complaining, if I’m not reminded how weak I am compared to others I may make a mistake that could get someone killed.

At the moment I’m training with Maria. She wants me to use weapon enchantment technique. The last time I fought her I saw her using body enchantment on both her body and dagger, something I can’t do. Every time I use Black Blood and try to enchant my weapon the magic refuses to listen to me. Maria however keeps telling me to try again.

“Again!”

Maria told me to try enchanting a dagger. I’ve been at this for two hours and I’ve no progress. I tried coating the dagger in magic, FAIL! I tried enchanting the dagger itself, FAIL!

“This is pointless. I’ve been at this for two hours and NOTHING happened. Since I discovered Black Blood my magic manipulation got better but situation remains the same as before. Shadow Step and Dash are useful but impractical and that can be said for this too.”

Now she looks disappointed. Look at me like that; I don’t have any idea left. I was at my wit’s end and Maria isn’t helping me.

“Are you planning to give up?”

“What can I do, can you tell me? I’m out of ideas and trying the same thing again and again isn’t working.”

“Do you want to end this?”

“Actually yes, I want to end this.”

“Very well, then this will be all.”

I really want to put an end to this pointless training…Shit; she was talking about today’s training and not our relationship, right? What should I do now?

WHAT’S THAT? I felt a sharp pain on the back of my neck which means there’s someone here I can’t see…BEHIND ME! When I turned around I thought I saw someone on the boy’s dorm rooftop. I used total recall to make sure that there was somebody up there. Apparently it was; Mir was there. Usually I can’t detect her which means that she either got sloppy or she is distracted.

“What’s wrong?”

“I saw Jaden’s maid for a second on the dorm’s rooftop. It’s strange because I usually can’t sense her even if she is standing behind me, during the night that is.”

“Do you take it as a bad omen?”

“Not really; it just seemed strange, that’s all.”

Now that I came to an understanding with Maria I will go back to my room. Maybe I will figure something out later.

“Where are you going?”

 “I’m going back to the dorm. We are finished there, right?”

“I thought you were going to sleep with me again.”

“I thought that you wouldn’t let me.”

“As a teacher I am disappointed in you but as a person nothing has changed. When you figure something you will come to me and I will be waiting.”

“Thanks.”

“Let’s go inside.”

This was one of the two major things that happened this month. The second one was an invitation from Jaden. He is visiting his parents and he wanted me to come with him. As the good friend I am I told Jaden that I will tell him my answer later. My sister is one year old this month but I don’t feel like going home.

On the last day of school I decided to talk to Jaden about this visit. We were in the dorm room.

“So, when do we leave?”

“Monday morning; I want to get home before it gets dark.”

“Why is that?”

“Monsters come out at night.”

Unless there is a magic barrier around the house I can’t scan then it means that this is a pretty peaceful location.

“How long are we staying?”

“About one week.”

“So where is your house?”

“Cylon City. Didn’t I tell you?”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you invite Saya?”

OOOH, embarrassment overdose. When I mentioned her name he reddened and broke eye contact with me. He was trying to say something but he couldn’t.

“Does she have something else planned?”

“Y…Yeah.”

“It’s fine. I will keep you company.”

Well that was a sudden mood shift. He changed from embarrassed to relieved and then to happy. As his only true friend it’s my duty to leech off him.

“Anyway we leave at 8 in the morning.”

“Understood; if that’s all I will take my leave.”

“It’s almost midnight; where are you going?”

“I’m going back to Maria’s room.”

The night before the trip arrived. I was lying in bed with Maria.

“Tomorrow I’m going with Jaden to visit his home. I think I will be staying a week.”

“Saya refused to come?”

“That’s what he told me. What do you think about it?”

“A change of scenery might do you some good. I support your decision. But why did you ask me?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, there‘s no logical reason behind this.”

“Good night then.”

“Yeah, good night.”

The next morning I woke up at 7 and double checked everything.

“For someone with perfect memory aren’t you a little too excited.”

It seems that I actually made enough noise to wake Maria up.

“Sorry. I was just checking. I’m a pessimist at heart; I always expect everything to go wrong.”

Well everything is fine. I guess I should relax, too bad I can’t. That memory of Mir on the rooftop makes me feel like something is going to go down. I guess I will have to wait and see.

“Right on time, as expected of you Alex…Where’s your luggage?”

Jaden was already waiting for me with Mir. There were two bags with clothes, I guess it’s one per person.

“It’s fine. I stored it all.”

“Where?”

“Dark magic thing, you wouldn’t understand. So are we going to walk? “

“A carriage is supposed to arrive.”

“Nice, I always wanted to visit the city.”

“We are not going that far. My house is in the outskirts.”

“Well shit.”

“It’s here!”

Is it strange that I expected something a little more better looking. That carriage looked like somebody took a cart the first cart they found and put a roof on it, not that I was planning on riding that in the first place.

The driver was an old man with white hair. He was wearing formal clothes most likely for the sake of appearance’s sake.

“So are you getting in?”

“No, I will walk.”

“Are you crazy; that is not a walking distance!”

“We will see about that.”

“Fine, suit yourself.”

I can handle some walking and I actually want to see my current limit.

Jaden went inside the carriage. Mir put the luggage inside and went to sit with the driver and that’s when we left.

Stolen story; please report.

Depending on the carriage’s speed we will reach the city in a few hours. When I first came here the knight’s carriage driver was going Need for Speed style. After an hour passed Mir decided to speak.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get inside?”

We were going a little faster than expected so instead of walking I was jogging.

“I’m fine. I can still keep up. If something happens I can always take off my bracelet.”

“You always have it on, even when you are sleeping.”

“With it on my body is under constant pressure so it’s like I’m training also my body actually gets stronger if I keep it on so it’s good for me.”

“I see. Well, be sure to tell me if you change your mind.”

Why would I get inside and miss this beautiful scenery. On my left trees, on my right more trees and in front of me a road and more tress. I want to map this area and this is the quickest method since I can’t fly or teleport.

Tick tock, tick tock; time passes but the end is still not in sight. The mediation technique Ellen taught is one the most useful things I know, without it I would be too bored to live through all this.

“I think we are close to Cylon City.”

“Yes, however we will not enter the city. It’s better to see for yourself.”

For some reason the driver doesn’t speak; it looks like he has something to say but he doesn’t say anything, oh well I will leave it be.

So I can finally see the city. So if I take a right there I will be on the road that leads to my home village. Instead of going in the village we went left which led us to a wheat field. After almost twenty minutes we reached the house *ahem* mansion.

A building made out of stone and concrete. I was built in a federal style. The mansion was plain looking but still better than any peasant’s house. It looks like it has two floors plus the ground floor and an excessive number of windows.

Our welcoming committee was composed of five maids and four butlers, a man and a woman. He was a chubby, almost two meters tall, forty-one years old man. He had short, black hair and brown eyes. John Dan, so he’s Jaden’s father. Unlike Jaden his father looks very alert; he seems like the kind of man who notices every detail. 

As for his mother I could describe it with one word: beautiful. Amelia Dan, forty years old. She was thin, as tall as her husband, thin had a gentle face and long golden hair. Unlike her husband her aura makes her feel like mature and approachable. But most importantly she has a big chest. It’s strange that both of them were wind magic users only. One element means you are either very strong or very weak.

Both of them were wearing formal clothes. The father was wearing an outfit resembling a black tuxedo and the mother was wearing an orange dress. And here I was in my black demon wolf clothes, I should have chosen something else to wear.

“Welcome to our estate; my name is John Dan, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Pointless body motions, fake smile and violation of personal space, he is trying to see if I back down or not. I looked him in the eye and delivered a firm handshake.

“My name is Alexander Lowe, thank you for having me.”

“Very good young man, I think we will get along just fine.”

“This beauty over here is my wife Amelia.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“My name is Alexander Lowe; the pleasure is mine.”

Jaden was standing there becoming part of the scenery looking confused.

“Please come inside, Mir will take your luggage.”

“I don’t have any.”

“What do you mean?”

“I trust that you’ve heard of The Null.”

“Yes, but I did not know that you can store anything more than a weapon.”

“I’m able to store a lot more than the average person.”

“That seems convenient to say the least.”

“Yes it is.”

When I entered the mansion the bling hit me in the face. Every piece of furniture was made using the most expensive materials and almost everything was gold plated.

First there was a big hallway. On the left and right were doors meaning that there were rooms there. At the other end of the hallway was a staircase leading to the first floor. It’s a strange architecture but it’s not really anything to complain about.

“It’s very…luxurious.”

 “All I want is to have the best for my family.” I think that he took it the wrong way.

“I was just thinking how big the difference between this house and mine is.”

“Where do you live?”

“I live with my parents in Hyne village; we were doing fine.”

“The village is known for the craftsmen living there. You said you live there…could you be the son of Kraft and Ellen?”

“Yes, I am!”

I was happy that he knows me. Then again; how does he know me?

“We heard about a kid that released a catwoman from slavery and persuaded the village elder to let her live in the village.” Amelia answered my question with a smile on her face.

“Wait, you did what?” Jaden, as always is surprised by my actions. If I were to meet someone like me nothing would impress me anymore.

“Her owner deserved much worse but I thought that losing both the products he bought and his slave would be enough for him.”

“I haven’t heard all the details but the people said that you defended her on several occasions.”

“I tend to treat people the way they treat me and the catwoman treated me well plus she is a person dear to me.”

“In a way that way of thinking is going to get you into trouble.”

“You came a long way; how about having something to eat first.”

The room on the left was the dining room; a big room with a long table in the middle. The room was fairly furnished.There were two light crystals and three heat crystals.

I had a bowl chicken soup and some steak. Compared to Ellen’s cooking this food barely has any taste.

“Is something wrong Alex?”

“I guess he does not like the food. He said that the food they serve at school isn’t good, I think that’s the reason why.”

“Dear, where are your manners?”

“It’s true though.”

“Your mother must be an experienced cook. It is said that those who cook during their adventures become great cooks, I think that it may be the case.”

“You may be right.”

During the evening we stayed in the dining room talking about various things. At first they asked me questions about my life, my parents and my grades in school. Apparently Mir was giving them a status report each month; I guess that’s also a way of showing parental love.

“Alexander; how old are you?”

“I will be eight this August.”

Why do they look so surprised? I thought Mir told them my age.

“I’ve heard that you were rather developed for your age, it looks like the rumors are true.”

“It is recommended that you go to sleep early after travelling; I purpose we stop here for today and go to sleep. Mir, please show Alexander to his room.”

“Certainly.”

My room was on the first floor, on the left side of the hallway. The room had a table, a bed and a wardrobe. It looked like a normal guest room. I will sleep a little and then take a walk outside. It may be my pessimism but I’m sure that nothing bad will happen…or so I thought.