Time, ever relentless, continued its ceaseless tick-tock, causing four whole months of Apolo's life to slip away. However, benevolent as it was, time had bestowed a beautiful gift upon the young nobleman: his Gururis had finally learned to coexist! At least, that's what Apolo believed...
While the current relationship between his Gururis wasn't exactly harmonious, it was far better than an all-out rivalry. About a month ago, Apolo had realized that the time had come, and feeling satisfied with the training he had provided, he decided it was time for Aquiles and Nicolás to learn from Zoe how to become his future stewards. But all of that was now in the past, as a whole month had passed without any unfortunate accidents.
Returning to the present, today Apolo found himself walking towards the mansion's door. Along the way, the young man occasionally crossed paths with unfamiliar people. Initially, these strangers were his new servants, although they weren't actually all that new and had been working in the mansion for several months. Nevertheless, Apolo had never wasted his time to fully examine their faces, so the young nobleman couldn't quite remember what they looked like.
Upon reaching the mansion's door, Apolo noticed that Zoe and the two pink Gururis were waiting for him, sporting broad smiles on their faces.
—Good morning, Master!—the three creatures chimed in unison, as if they had been practicing for quite a while.
—Good day. Is everything prepared for me to go to the Ministry of Magic?—Apolo asked, looking with curiosity as several seemingly expensive statues were being transported by carriages to various corners of his vast estate—What are those things?
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—Those are decorations for the courtyard. We've been buying them for a while, but you never bothered to see how we've been decorating the yard—Aquiles explained, shedding light on why so many people were working in the courtyard.
—It's been a few months since you last ventured out of the mansion, and the courtyard has changed a lot thanks to our hard work—added Zoe, pointing insistently with her little hand towards the courtyard, as if urging Apolo to finally take a look at their four months' worth of effort—Your breakfast is in the carriage; the driver is waiting for you.
—I'm glad. When I have time, I'll go check out the courtyard...—Apolo replied with a well-practiced smile, once again postponing the matter as he slowly walked, leaning on his faithful cane, toward the carriage, where a driver whose face he couldn't quite recognize was indeed waiting for him—For the first time in a long time, I'll be leaving the mansion, so be on your guard, Zoe! Remember never to fully trust those two idiots; it's written all over their faces that they were waiting for me to go get this year's budget.
—Have a safe journey, Master!—Zoe said, raising her little staff in front of the two pink Gururis as she prepared for the impending battle on the horizon.
—Behave yourselves. I hope that when I return, everything will be just as it always has been!—Apolo ordered, looking at the two pink Gururis with concern before entering the carriage. The young man knew this was the ultimate test, and unfortunately, he wasn't entirely sure if the two pink Gururis could pass it. But several months had passed since the end of the year, and Apolo didn't want to further delay receiving his annual sponsorship and the trip to the Ministry. So, the moment had finally come to see if all the training Apolo had given to these two wild creatures had been worth it.
—Nothing will happen to us. Have a safe journey, Master!—Aquiles and Nicolás shouted in unison in response, as wide smiles formed on their faces, not doing much to ease the young nobleman's doubts.