Chapter 165

Chapter 165. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

After sitting down for a modest morning meal, we continued exchanging the updates we had skipped earlier.

As it turned out, Chenbi consuming soil wasn’t just a bizarre prank to shock me.

“I learned this technique from Sir Tohoman,” he explained. “He claims it is the most effective approach to genuinely grasp earth-aligned mana.”

“……Tohoman?”

“Yes, he belongs to the Nine Star,” Chenbi replied. “He is currently overseeing my magical development during this period.”

The prestigious collective known as the Nine Star held a reputation equivalent to the Ten Swords of Lortel or the Seven Mages of House Deculan.

Essentially, they stood as the elite group of nine spellcasters who served as the face of Brando.

Sir Tohoman occupied the esteemed Third Seat within this group.

This revelation left me completely dumbfounded.

They actually assigned a member of the Nine Star to guide him?

This made it clear exactly how massive a backing Brando was providing for Chenbi.

While he hadn’t officially been taken in as a formal disciple by Tohoman, he was receiving private mentoring throughout the break.

If one were to put it in Lortel’s context, it was the exact equivalent of having a member of the Ten Swords personally look after your progress.

Furthermore, the perks did not stop there.

“It is honestly far more than I merit, but… they even provided me with Elixirs,” Chenbi added.

“Elixirs?”

“Correct, premium-grade Elixirs. They have given me three of them so far.”

“……”

It wasn’t merely the magical elixirs, either.

“They also granted me access to an elite training sanctuary. Aster, you should accompany me there at some point. I can check if they will let you share the space with me.”

“……Wow.”

He had actually been given use of a supreme training facility.

Such a high-tier training hall was not just outfitted with standard mana-accumulating arrays; it featured the most advanced magical circles engineered to accelerate a cultivator’s progress.

While I wasn’t entirely certain of the precise output of Brando’s elite chambers, a facility of that caliber typically multiplied training efficiency twofold.

For direct lineage members, such treatment might be ordinary, but for an external student like Chenbi, it was absolutely mind-blowing.

Hearing all this, my gaze drifted up to Chenbi’s hairline.

“Could you pull your hair back for a second?”

“……?”

Though clearly bewildered, he didn’t protest and swept his bangs upward.

I carefully inspected his clear, unblemished skin, which completely defied my dark suspicions.

Wait… there’s no slave mark?

The reason behind Brando showering him with such extreme resources remained entirely baffling to me.

Granted, Chenbi possessed respectable talent. He hadn’t been the most prominent student at school, but securing a spot at Genion Academy entirely on his own merit without any influential sponsors spoke volumes about his potential.

Yet, if one weighed whether that degree of competence warranted this excessive benevolence from Brando…

It definitely shouldn’t be enough.

While I was lost in these calculations, Demian’s voice suddenly intervened to clear up the mystery.

[I made a request to them.]

[…You did?]

[Correct. There are two special “privileges” available to me. I decided to expend one.]

I wasn’t entirely certain what these “privileges” entailed.

Presumably, they were unique authorities granted to him as the designated young patriarch.

Still, the realization was jarring.

Even with Demian’s position, how could Gamo have permitted this?

Regardless of any inherent young head rights, this degree of favoritism was far too grand to be justified by mere companionship.

As these thoughts swirled, Demian’s telepathic transmission resonated once more in my mind.

[Chenbi is bound to become powerful. Hardship breeds strength. As long as he tags along with us, his growth is guaranteed.]

[……]

I was left completely speechless by his logic.

I could agree that going through severe trials helps a person mature, but what link did that have to hanging out with our group?

Nevertheless, absurd as it sounded, there was a grain of truth I couldn’t deny.

Hardship really does cultivate strength…

There was no lying about that.

For Chenbi, enduring this regimen in Brando was a trial in its own right.

On the surface, it might sound like he was lounging around experiencing high society luxury, but Sir Tohoman’s instructional style was utterly unhinged.

Forcing him to eat dirt was actually the mildest part of it…

The master literally interred Chenbi in the soil.

Supposedly, even now, when darkness arrived, Chenbi eschewed his luxurious bedroom to sleep inside a subterranean ditch that Tohoman had dug out for him.

Moreover, the vast majority of Chenbi’s arcane conditioning under Tohoman took place deep within the earth. Quite literally, he would be completely submerged with only his neck and head exposed to the open air.

Described out loud, it resembled systemic torture rather than education, yet surprisingly, Chenbi appeared completely unfazed by it.

In fact, calling him unfazed was putting it too mildly.

“Sir Tohoman explained it to me,” Chenbi remarked. “If you aren’t a natural prodigy, you must compensate with dedication and hours—but the thing is, everyone invests time.”

“Which means?”

“Which means you have to elevate your sheer exertion to a level others can’t match. And he pointed out that conventional paths won’t let you achieve that.”

“And so, this is where it led…”

“Exactly.”

Chenbi smiled, genuinely content with the arrangement.

It was as though undergoing brutal treatment was of no consequence to him.

Observing his expression, it struck me that I wasn’t the sole individual who had evolved since our enrollment at the institute.

Back during our initial encounter, Chenbi had been a frail, deeply insecure youth. Now, he was rapidly transforming into a respectable spellcaster.

At any rate, we continued swapping stories like this for a while longer, though unfortunately, our peaceful catch-up was cut short.

“Young Master Demian, the hour has come for you to prepare.”

“This early?”

“Indeed, the visitors who requested an audience are currently standing by.”

“Sigh, I suppose I should head out then?”

“Yes, doing so now will ensure you arrive on schedule.”

To my amazement, Demian didn’t offer any resistance; he simply pushed himself up and accompanied Ransi.

“Aster, I’ll catch up with you later! Make sure you don’t miss the evening gala!”

“Sure, sure, I’ll be present,” I replied with a half-hearted wave, observing Demian’s departure alongside Ransi.

Frankly, the display left me quite startled.

The very same Demian who previously found it agonizing to even wake up before noon was now cooperating without a peep to attend to clan obligations.

In the past, such a sight would have been entirely out of the question.

Staring in the direction Demian had gone, Chenbi let out a gentle grin, a trace of pride visible in his expression.

“He has genuinely grown up quite a bit, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced.

True maturity typically implied carrying oneself with poise, gravity, and wisdom—qualities that felt completely alien when applied to Demian.

Chenbi must have sensed my internal skepticism.

“Haha, it’s hard to notice when he’s just hanging around us. Just observe how he carries himself during the event later.”

I offered a brief nod in response to Chenbi’s bright demeanor.

Personally, I failed to perceive any grand transformation, but Chenbi understood Demian better than almost anyone else. If he detected progress, I had to take his word for it.

Regardless, with Demian out of the picture, Chenbi turned to me.

“Aster, if your schedule allows, would you like to accompany me to visit my parents and sister?”

I quickly agreed to his careful proposal.

My schedule was entirely open until the evening festivities commenced, and he had been bringing up this meeting prior to our vacation, so rejecting the offer didn’t cross my mind.

Finishing off a slice of sweet pastry that had been served following breakfast, I stepped out behind Chenbi, though a lingering premonition brushed against my mind.

This situation… is entirely too tranquil.

The morning had begun with an unusually crisp, quiet atmosphere.

Yet, beneath this flawless stillness, I couldn’t shake the sensation that an immense tempest was rapidly approaching.

Much like the eerie hush that precedes a devastating gale, true crises always seemed to erupt from the depths of absolute tranquility.

“Aster?”

Hearing Chenbi’s voice break my trance, I ceased staring up at the clouds and hurried to catch up with him.

I’m likely just overthinking things, I rationalized.

It had to be that.

After all, I had no intentions whatsoever of creating any friction today.

Furthermore, even if some complication arose, how serious could a problem truly get while confined within the borders of Brando?

We continued down the pathways for quite some time before Chenbi suddenly voiced a thought that seemed to strike him out of nowhere.

“Ah, that reminds me, Aster.”

“……?”

“Are you familiar with the phenomenon known as the Fairies’ Group Dance?”

“The Fairies’… Group Dance?”

I certainly was.

In fact, it was impossible for me to forget it.

At that very moment, the essence of the Wyvern resting within my spirit began to howl fiercely toward the Amera region, throwing a dramatic fit of hollow defiance.

This meant only one thing—

If trouble is brewing, it’s going to be catastrophic.

Naturally, it was a mere gut feeling. But considering the atrocious luck that plagued my current existence, I couldn’t simply shrug it off.

Why was he mentioning the Fairies’ Group Dance right now?

A dark foreboding washed over me, causing my features to tighten, but Chenbi merely offered a guileless grin and continued talking.

“Word is that the Fairies’ Group Dance has manifested within the Amera region recently. Sir Tohoman mentioned that to spellcasters, this occurrence is…”

Right at that crucial juncture, an interruption occurred.

“Dearest brother!”

“Oh, Chensla!”

Down the corridor, a young girl came sprinting toward us, offering Chenbi a radiant grin.

Cutting his explanation short, Chenbi turned to present her to me.

“Aster, allow me to introduce my sister, Chensla. Chensla, this is Aster.”

“Oh! It’s wonderful to meet you!”

“Yes, a pleasure to meet you too,” I managed.

The introductions were perfectly fine, but what about the rest of Sir Tohoman’s insight?

I cast an intense glare at Chenbi, silently demanding he conclude his thought. Realizing his omission, he blinked and resumed.

“Right, so regarding the Fairies’ Group Dance, for those who practice magic…”

Before he could deliver the punchline, though—

“Mother! Father! Brother’s classmate has arrived!”

Chensla darted away like a speeding projectile. Barely a second after she hurried forward to broadcast my presence, an older man and woman stepped into view.

“Aster? Is it truly you?”

“We are delighted to meet you. Chenbi frequently speaks of your deeds.”

“……Ah, yes. The honor is entirely mine,” I responded, somewhat flustered by the affectionate welcome from Chenbi’s parents.

Yet, my thoughts remained entirely fixated on Chenbi’s incomplete sentence.

What exactly does the Fairies’ Group Dance mean for us?!

Just finish the thought, for goodness’ sake.

Ultimately, I never discovered what Chenbi intended to say before our paths diverged for the afternoon.

“So, Aster, we understand you provided tremendous support to Chenbi during the term?”

“We owe you a great debt. Had you not intervened during the crisis at the Hall of Trials, we dread to think what might have become of him…”

Chenbi’s mother dabbed at her tear-filled eyes at the mere mention of the Hall of Trials event.

His younger sibling Chensla was similarly sniffling, making it completely impossible for me to clumsily prompt them about the Fairies’ Group Dance.

Consequently, I remained in the company of Chenbi’s household until long past the midday meal, only taking my leave when Ransi arrived with an urgent message.

“The clothier has requested your presence. They require a final fitting to ensure the garments are flawless.”

“…Ah, understood.”

Accompanying the attendant Ransi had detailed to assist me, I made my way to the apparel shop, completed the adjustments, and returned to my quarters.

My plan had been to summon Chenbi to finish our talk, but the schedule grew too tight.

Both my host’s relatives and I were entirely consumed with getting dressed for the grand celebration that night.

Yet, why did this dreadful anxiety persist?

Tch, what am I missing?

What exactly did the Fairies’ Group Dance represent to casters? A fascinating curiosity? Or an unmissable event occurring once in a generation?

Whatever it meant, my instincts boded ill.

Right as the attendants finished securing my formal tailcoat, I crossed paths with an individual capable of clearing up my confusion.

“Aster! It has been an age, haha! My word, look how much your height… well, let us look past that for now. It is truly wonderful to see you!”

“…Sir Alfredo.”

The man who had sought me out was none other than the head butler, Alfredo.

He was navigating the corridors holding a massive clipboard that looked thick enough to be a weapon, and upon recognizing me, his face lit up as he seized my hand in a firm grip.

“Word reached me of your arrival, but my duties kept me from greeting you sooner. I understand you might be facing certain challenges regarding your school lifestyle…”

“No, not exactly challenges…”

“But you intend to remain enrolled, correct?”

“I… suppose I am, yes.”

“Excellent! That is precisely what counts!”

Alfredo let out a boisterous laugh.

Sporting a slight grin, he delivered a powerful thwack to my shoulder, leaving me thoroughly bewildered as to his good mood.

“Should any hardship confront you, you must always look to Alfredo. If you encounter difficulties regarding your educational fees… or other financial burdens…”

“Right. Understood.”

The one-sided banter stretched on for an indeterminate amount of time.

“Sir Alfredo, your presence is required elsewhere now,” an underling murmured.

“Ah, yes. Proceed without me.”

After dismissing the small army of junior butlers following his lead, Alfredo offered a warm smile to bid me farewell.

It was at that exact second that I intervened.

“Aster, we can always catch up later. I truly must…”

“Actually, there is a minor detail I hoped to inquire about.”

“Oh? Could you be harboring an interest in the butler training programs…?”

“No, it’s not that. By any chance, is there an upcoming excursion planned for Demian and Chenbi… perhaps a journey to observe the Fairies’ Group Dance within the Amera region…?”

My throat went completely dry.

There’s no possible way. Right?

Regardless of how breathtaking the Fairies’ Group Dance in Amera might be, or its significance to practitioners of magic, would they truly organize a leisure tour for the future patriarch and his companion?

It defied logic. There was simply no way.

But despite my reasoning…

Alfredo’s casual confirmation forced a completely empty chuckle from my lips.

“Oh, was it not mentioned to you? Demian and Chenbi are slated to depart for Amera the day after tomorrow.”

“…What did you say?”

“Ah! You were anxious that they would embark on the journey without you! Rest easy! The moment your arrival was confirmed, I personally made sure your travel arrangements were finalized as well.”

“…Come again?”

“Hahaha! Think nothing of it, Aster. It required some effort, but your loyal Butler Alfredo has already taken care of…”

The remainder of Alfredo’s words completely faded into background noise.

The only sound that registered was—

Eellkk—!

The frantic, piercing shriek of the Wyvern echoing from the deepest recesses of my soul.