The soothing glow of various lanterns and fireflies lit the stone path that Lawrence had led Julius through, slowly making distance through the Astoria garden towards the forest.
Every other exotic flower, big and small, captured Julius's attention, sometimes being too captivated to continue walking, Lawrence needing to pause his pace to continue together.
[Julius]: "Oh, sorry! Coming."
[Lawrence]: "An eye for horticulture, Julius?"
[Julius]: "Eh, well, I cant say that I've got much experience besides watering a pot plant every now and then, heh."
The two walk down isles of hedges littered in all types of flowers, all bunched together, clearly in some kind of organized pattern, but it isn't quite yet clear to Julius in what way.
[Lawrence]: "We all start somewhere."
[Julius]: "I'm sure it couldn't be all that difficult for a sorcerer though, huh?"
[Lawrence]: "Hmhm~. While it is true that any competent earth attuned sorcerer could make a garden like this in a day, I prefer growing these flowers the traditional way, over time."
Stopping on the path, Lawrence reaches out to one of the hedges, gently running a finger over the large white petals of one of the countless plants.
The flower, as if drawn by the mana of its creator, moves on its own, opening its petals further.
[Lawrence]: "I find doing things by hand, with care, brings out more life than it would to merely create with sorcery. It's a lot more cathartic when no tricks are involved. The simplest, most beautiful form of life."
[Julius]: "You're very passionate about gardening. From all the stuff I was told, I never really expected you to be so... Gentle?"
Drawing his hand back, the flower eases back to its natural state, and Lawrence flashes him a smile-- something that, despite being only a small grin, was a very rare site for the butler.
[Lawrence]: "I don't quite know what you mean by that."
A small chuckle from Julius, gifting noise to the silence, though it was never needed to be filled, as any stale air around Lawrence felt calm, comfortable, as if he radiated a strong presence of safety. It was clear as to why Lawrence had been chosen to be Muriel's care-taker and protector.
[Lawrence]: "Let's continue, the rest are waiting for us."
[Julius]: "Right, lead the way!"
Lawrence leads the two astray from the stone path, following the icy breeze coming from within the forest. The branches grow low to the ground, forcing them to push their way through the leaves.
[Julius]: "Where are you taking me? Everyone went this way?"
[Lawrence]: "It's a secluded place away from the yard, somewhere special. Sparring on manor grounds is unsafe, given Lisa's inability to fully control where her flames end up. I have offered to create a path this way, but Miss Astoria advised against it as doing so would hinder the barrier around the property."
[Julius]: "Ah, okay. Still, getting a face full of shrub constantly is getting irritating."
[Lawrence]: "Hmhm~, we're nearly there."
Breaking out from the tree line, Julius is immediately blinded by moonlight, having walked into an open field away from cover. Opening his eyes slowly, he sees what Lawrence meant by the spot being 'Special'. The large field is surrounded by a natural wall of trees, containing the colossal sea of flowers, each a different color of the rainbow.
Looking down, the flowers engulf his feet entirely, stepping through the petals that glow vibrant colors under the light of the moon. The gentle breeze blows soft ripples along the flowers throughout the meadow.
[Julius]: "W-Wahh~..."
His awestruck admiration is drawn away when his name is called from the middle of the field. His gaze sets on the silhouette of his friends, including Yuri, who had been the one to spot him and Lawrence first.
[Yuri]: "Hey! You're late!"
Rauthen erupts into an excited mewl behind him, also having sighted the two. Muriel raises her hand high to wave at her butler, leading Julius closer to group up with them.
[Lisa]: "So, you didn't chicken out after all... Surprising."
[Lawrence]: "Do you know me as the type to... 'Chicken out'?"
Julius, catching up to the group, jumps at the sight of Rauthen pouncing closer, leaning in to lick his cheek before leaning against him, nuzzled under his arm forcefully.
[Julius]: "Gyah!"
Yuri stifles a laugh as Julius slowly pats the scales on Rauthen's head a few times, still cautious of such a scary looking creature.
[Julius]: "H-Heh..."
[Muriel]: "Good to see you're still alive after the day with Lucille. Although, I'm a little hurt you didn't keep the uniform, fufu~"
[Julius]: "Huh?! There's... There's no way you heard about that..."
Seeing the smug look on Lucille's face, accompanied by the laugh from Yuri, Julius's cheeks practically glow with embarrassment, sighing and drooping his head against Rauthen, who seems equally as entertained.
[Julius]: "Jeez, I'm starting to think i picked the wrong people to go home with."
[Muriel]: "Don't worry so much dear, I've asked her to spare you the humiliation from now on. Lucille?"
[Lucille]: "...Hmph. Sorry for putting you in a dress."
[Julius]: "Eh, I don't need a formally apology or anything, it wasn't all that serious."
Holding his palms up defensively, Julius ducks his head apologetically, not having expected such sympathy.
[Muriel]: "If you say so, but you're a guest at the Astoria manor, I shouldn't allow any kind of disrespect towards you."
[Julius]: "I appreciate that, but really, I'm happy just being involved."
Muriel beams an open smile at him, proud that someone would want to participate in their group banter.
[Lisa]: "Are you done yapping over there!?"
The focus draws back to Lawrence and Lisa, who are both standing amidst the center of the field, opposite each other as if waiting to be given permission to begin.
[Muriel]: "Heehee, sorry dears, go ahead, we're ready!"
[Lawrence]: "Ready?"
[Lisa]: "Duh, we've been waiting for hours!"
[Lawrence]: "That's an exaggeration."
[Lisa]: "Bleh."
Sticking out a mocking tongue, Lisa crosses her arms as Lawrence takes a readying step back, the attention of the entire Astoria household on the two.
Julius watches intently as Lawrence kneels down, sinking his hand into the flowers against the ground. After a small delay, the petals fold around his arm, and almost as fast as Julius could see what happened, the flowers ripple outward, their roots carrying them away from him, clearing a zone for the two to battle on, exposing the dirt beneath.
Julius looks downwards as the flowers flow past his feet, unearthing the ground as the flowers rebloom a few meters behind.
[Lawrence]: "That should be enough room."
[Julius]: "W-Woah... He moved them."
[Yuri]: "A natural arena, so Lisa doesn't burnt the whole forest down."
[Julius]: "With such little effort?"
Lawrence returns to his feet, brushing the dirt from his hands as Yuri steps up with a coin, rolling it between his fingers like some kind of magician.
[Yuri]: "You know the deal, heads for attack, tails for defense. Pick one."
[Lisa]: "Heads!"
[Lawrence]: "That works for me."
[Julius]: "Hm?"
[Muriel]: "You've never watched a duel before? It's quite easy to wrap your head around. A classic sorcerer duel starts with a coin toss. One takes the role of attack, and the other takes defense. The goal is for the attacker to push the defender out of the arena within a set time, if they fail to do so, the defender wins."
[Julius]: "Interesting. What if the defender pushes the attacker out instead?"
[Muriel]: "The attacker wins. The defender's goal is to outlast the attacker, or injure them enough to prevent being pushed out. Get it, fufu~?"
[Julius]: "yeah, I get it now. Thanks."
Yuri stands aside the center with an outstretched arm, the gold coin, polished and shining, resting atop his thumb and ready for the flip.
[Yuri]: "Five minutes, that's our timer for this match. Both sorcerers ready?"
[Lisa]: "Don't even have to ask."
[Lawrence]: "Mmh."
Subtle steam rises from Lisa as the surrounding air heats up, as if burning the staleness from itself, readying for a fight of pure firepower.
The tension builds as Yuri flips the coin high into the air, its movement overlapping with the full moon that lights the field, almost acting in slow-motion in its descent.
All eyes remain fixed to the coin, and time feels as if it could stop at any moment, following the reflective metal as it nears the dirt below.
Images of heads and tails flicker as it spins, and a thud fills the dead silence as it hits the arena, bouncing once before spinning on its side, falling flat.
[Yuri]: "Aaaaand... It's hea-"
A flash, as bright as the sun itself, engulfs the arena, blinding flames that burst out at lightning speed towards Lawrence.
[Yuri]: "WAHHHHH!! At least wait until I've moved!!"
Julius has to cover his eyes from the sudden light produced, followed by the shockwave of heat that followed soon after.
Lifting his head in awe, he sees the faint image of Lawrence standing in the smoke, lingering traces of blue threads around him fading away, likely used to protect him from the sudden attack.
Lisa follows up her surprise attack with an aggressive rush, firing off several flaming projectiles of pure heat to accompany her punch, a physical attack also strengthened by flames.
Lawrence pounces backwards, already pressured near the edge, and deflects each separate ball of fire with mana coated fists, their explosions echoing behind him before dodging her punch, forcing the flame concocted shockwave produced by her hand past him.
[Julius]: "That was so fast! I barely even saw what happened!"
The two take a stance, readying for another clash. Muriel stands tall, glowing with pride for her daughter's magic prowess.
[Muriel]: "That's my daughter for you, I'm actually surprised Lawrence saw that attack coming."
[Yuri]: "Aghh, my coats fur trim is singed."
Yuri pats at the smoking scorch marks on his blue coat, as if brushing it off would restore the premium fur's condition.
[Lisa]: "YAHH!"
Lisa charges him again, trying a more physical approach to add more pressure. She throws punches, jabs, swings, all backed by flames like salt in a wound, and yet every single one is blocked and deflected by Lawrence, showing zero signs of effort, his face remaining monotone in its casualness.
The field's ash filled air fills with the echoing sounds of punches and bursts of flames, hit after hit being disarmed with counter attacks from Lawrence.
One strong punch finishes her combo, and she throws a flexible kick upwards, firing a strong blast of flames far past her feet, aiming for the face. Lawrence leans back to avoid the high kick, showing his first expression of struggle.
Lisa smirks at the reaction, and quickly ducks down for a leg swipe, spraying flames horizontally across the entire arena, leaving Lawrence no option but to jump into the air.
[Julius]: "So hot, it's getting hard to keep looking at it with all the hot air being flung around... H-Huh!?"
Julius is left mouth agape as Muriel flicks out a black pair of sunglasses from her kimono's sleeve, adorning them with a smug grin. Lucille rolls her eyes as she watches with strong interest, an envious look plastered on her face while watching the duel.
Lisa grabs their attention again as she claps both arms together, aiming a high powered blast of flaming plasma straight up at the defenseless butler.
[Lawrence]: "You're really taking this one seriously. Is it because your friend is watching?"
[Lisa]: "Huh?!"
Lawrence claps back with a powerful blast of mana that catches her flames half way, blowing embers and ash in every direction as the combined magical forces explode, covering the arena in smoke.
[Julius]: "Hah..."
[Yuri]: "Three minutes remain!"
Yuri shouts while holding a small pocket watch, usually kept in his coat. The smoke lights up with flames again, still covering the fight from outside as orange and blue lights clash and erupt all over the arena.
The smoke slowly clears, revealing the fast paced fight between the two as Lisa tries desperately to push Lawrence to any of the arena's edges. With the quick movements, Lawrence's right eye, usually hidden by his hair is revealed, more of a lime shade than his left green one.
[Lisa]: "Gyah!"
One ball of fire flies off, dodged and erupting in the air behind Lawrence, followed by countless more rapidly shot towards him.
After ducking the last one, Lisa meets him already at arms reach, launching a point blank blast of flames with her whole body. Her punch meets resistance, her flames hitting a large dirt wall instead, turning it to rubble instantly.
[Julius]: "A wall?"
[Yuri]: "Lawrence is finally using his attunement!"
The countless fragments of stone from the wall refuse to fall to the ground, instead shooting towards her at an instant as she weaves around the projectiles, dust flying through the air as each one misses and pierces the arena.
Lawrence stops her dodges with a downwards axe kick, narrowly avoided by the millisecond as Lisa throws her own leg up, blasting flames straight up towards his head, requiring him to jump back close to the edge.
[Lawrence]: "Shall I show off for our new friend too?"
Lisa pounces at him, only to miss her lunge as Lawrence slides his foot back, launching a stone pillar from the ground where he stood, straight up towards her as she falls back.
Lawrence kneels close to the ground, both palms on the dirt as the floor bursts open towards Lisa, brown tree roots flying from the arena, weaving in every direction to hit her.
She leaps and flips around to avoid the flailing roots, jumping off one of the missed attacks into the air, clapping her hands together to fire off a fast beam of concentrated fire straight down to burn the roots entirely. The shockwave of heat shoots in every direction, blowing past the group, their hair flowing fast in the wind produced.
Right after having blown the roots to ash, Lawrence appears in front of her, already mid-air, throwing a punch that Lisa clashes with her own, flinging them both in opposite directions.
Julius is speechless watching the fight, excess and missed flames flying off around them, exploding before reaching the flowers.
[Yuri]: "ONE MINUTE REMAINING!"
[Lisa]: "Hmph!"
Lisa kicks off a large chuck of debris in the air to reach Lawrence before he falls, landing both her feet on his chest.
[Lawrence]: "Agh!"
She follows up with a lightning fast barrage of flame powered jabs directly at him, only able to block her attacks by coating his arms in mana, held up towards her.
[Lisa]: "GYAAHHHHHH!!"
[Lawrence]: "Gh-!"
Julius watches as the mid-air battle erupts into countless explosions, tearing the entire arena to pieces as her arms blur in her barrage, each one landing against the butlers guard, every punch echoing a loud pounding throughout the forest.
[Lisa]: "HI-YAHHH!"
She throws one last punch, exploding on contact and launching Lawrence straight down into the rubble with a loud blast of flames and dust, filling the field with smoke, embers flying outwards sporadically.
The fight falls silent, every member of the Astoria house squinting to try and make out figures in the smoke. When the dust clears, Lawrence is on his feet, leaned over and breathless, the sleeves of his uniform charred and burnt off, revealing his toned bare arms underneath.
Lisa stands opposite him, equally out of breath, waving the smoke away from her face as she smiles in triumph.
[Lawrence]: "Not coming again?"
[Lisa]: "Don't need to."
[Lawrence]: "There's still time."
Confused from her lack of a fighting stance, Lawrence looks down at his feet, seeing one of them out of the arena, half on the line.
[Lawrence]: "Ah, I see. Hah..."
[Muriel]: "YEEEAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
The group bursts into cheers, even from Lucille to Julius's surprise, she seems to have gotten quite immersed, yet he's still focused on the fight. His heavy breathing slowly flickers into laughter, matching the cheers of his friends around him.
[Yuri]: "Lisa wins!"
Lawrence lowers his stance, standing upright and clapping for her. Julius's face is stained with ash, as is everyone else's, blown at them from the arena being destroyed.
[Julius]: "That was... Incredible."
[Muriel]: "Breathtaking, wasn't it? Fufu~"
Lowering her shades, her face retains a perfect outline of them caused by the ash. Lawrence steps closer, giving Lisa a high five that she eagerly jumps for.
[Lawrence]: "Excellent job."
[Lisa]: "You too, hehe~"
Lisa runs back to the group as Lawrence kneels in the center of the arena. Julius watches amazed as the debris appears to melt back into the dirt beneath Lawrence, followed by the flowers flying back in, filling the field once again as it returns to normal, covering the empty patch of land.
Returning behind Lisa, Lawrence bows his head deeply at Muriel, his arms tight by his side.
[Lawrence]: "I apologize, Miss Astoria. I have ruined the uniform you provided me with."
[Muriel]: "Eh? You're apologizing about that? Raise your head, dear, you know we can just get you another one tailored. You performed excellently!"
[Lawrence]: "Mh! Thank you!"
He raises his head, and Muriel tucks her sunglasses back into her sleeve. Yuri cradles Rauthen's head as he brushes the ash off him, the Drake chirping happily.
[Muriel]: "Right! Let's get out of here then, I could use a shower after all that smoke!"
[Lisa]: "Heh~."
Walking back through the woods towards the manor, Julius brushes the excess ash off his Yukata, a confused look on his face as he observes the pristine condition Lisa's dress is in, despite being in the heart of the battle-- Besides some residual steam still emanating from her.
His attention is redirected as he notices Lucille glancing back at him, her gaze quickly snapping back ahead of her after being spotted.
[Julius]: "Lucille, now that I look back on it, what's up with that look you were giving the whole fight?"
[Lisa]: "Hm?"
[Lucille]: "H-Huh?! What look?!"
Lisa leans to the side, her head pressed against Lucille's arm with a smug grin.
[Lisa]: "Ah! Lucille's just jealous, aintcha?"
[Lucille]: "I am not!"
She gently pushes Lisa away, but her flustered face gives her all she needs to tease over it.
[Lisa]: "She can't use magic at all, so she always looks at me like that whenever she watches me."
[Lucille]: "Don't... Tell him that!"
[Julius]: "I actually... Already know that."
[Lucille]: "H-Huh?!"
She ducks her head to the side bashfully, her face flushed with jealous embarrassment that Julius watches with amusement, payback humiliation for what she made him wear.
[Lisa]: "Aww, It's okay Lucee! After all, you've got something I don't too. You're Asp-"
Lucille grabs Lisa's mouth, muffling her words with an embarrassed panic.
[Lucille]: "That's enough! S-Stop it!"
[Lisa]: "Heehee~"
Muriel Chuckles, watching from the head of the group next to Lawrence. The wind picks up once they're out of the forest and back into Lawrence's garden, walking through the hedges towards the back door.
[Muriel]: "Hm, it's pretty late, we probably shouldn't have taken so long, especially with the big travel tomorrow. Knowing the trip to Casperidia, there's bound to be issues along the road."
[Lawrence]: "We'll be okay, we just might need to head off earlier in case of delays."
[Yuri]: "I'll start getting the cart loaded, just gotta' take Rauthen to bed. I'll greet ya' in the morning, bye bye!"
Yuri waves at the group as he guides the Drake down the path that leads to a small building at the edge of the property, where Yuri lives whenever he's staying at the manor.
[Lisa]: "Byee~!"
Muriel and Lucille immediately head upstairs to their rooms to shower, while Lawrence walks slowly alongside Julius and Lisa to their own.
[Lisa]: "What did you think, Julee? About the duel?"
[Julius]: "That was the most intense and beautiful thing I think I've ever seen! I almost don't want to wash the ash off just so I can keep the memory of it forever."
[Lisa]: "Really!? That's great! I knew you'd love watching me kick this guys butt!"
[Lawrence]: "You should still wash it off, you'll rub it all over your bed sheets otherwise."
[Julius]: "I know, I guess I'm just still in awe. I'm really gonna miss this stuff when I go back home."
Julius lowers his head, suddenly saddened upon reminding himself of home, and his family.
[Lisa]: "I know you miss your home a lot. I'm sorry we can't do anything more to help."
[Julius]: "It's okay. Whether by the result of magic or something else beyond that, I've ended up in a new world entirely it seems. I'll just have to stick with you guys until we figure something out."
[Lawrence]: "Stay as long as you need. We'll get you back one day."
[Julius]: "Mh!"
His mood revitalized, Julius follows the two back to Lisa's room. Before closing the door, Lisa flashes a smile and a giddy wave to them.
[Lisa]: "Be up early, remember Julee! It's a long trip."
[Julius]: "I will, don't worry."
[Lisa]: "Good, hehe~ Goodnight!"
Lawrence and Julius wave goodbye as she shuts the door softly, and they start their walk down the hall to Julius's room.
After such an event, Julius couldn't seem to find any words, and with Lawrence usually only speaking when spoken to, the hall was left silent until he spoke up.
[Julius]: "You really care about her a lot."
[Lawrence]: "Of course. I would never let anything happen to Miss Astoria's daughter. I promised her that."
[Julius]: "You're really kind, Mister Lawrence."
[Lawrence]: "Why the sudden honorific? Did I do something praise worthy without noticing?"
[Julius]: "Well, no, but... I just respect you a lot. I already look up to you so much, even after only being here for two days."
Lawrence's lips curl into a brief smile, standing slightly taller under the sudden pride.
[Lawrence]: "I'm glad you enjoyed the duel so much as to look up to me, but shouldn't you be saying that about Lisa? I did lose after all."
[Julius]: "Huh? But... You let her win."
Lawrence stops walking, a surprised look on his face. Julius appears confused as he stops to look back at him, his uniform still burnt up to his biceps.
[Lawrence]: "She threw quite an impressive attack that knocked me out of the arena, how could I fake that?"
[Julius]: "But you didn't land out of it. It was subtle because of all the dust that got kicked up, but after landing, you purposely slid your foot back out of the line, didn't you?"
[Lawrence]: "Ah-..."
He looks taken back, impressed to have been seen through the smoke. Julius starts to worry about Lawrence seeming so shocked.
[Lawrence]: "Hmhm~, Not even Lucille saw that. Don't make me start reconsidering our safety with you staying here."
[Julius]: "W-What! No! I just... I've always been observant, that's all."
Lawrence chuckles again, starting to walk alongside Julius once more, nearing his room a few doors down.
[Lawrence]: "I see. Lisa shares the same motivator as her mother-- Beating her opponent. Miss Astoria does it with paperwork and connections, and her daughter does it with sorcery. I've been training her for months now, I've noticed she gets most fired up when she thinks she's beaten me. It makes me happy looking back at how powerful she's become. Lisa is her mothers pride and joy, which makes her mine too."
[Julius]: "Hm~, how noble of you."
Julius playfully knocks into Lawrences side while they walk, bumping their shoulders together gently.
[Julius]: "Maybe one day you could train me too."
[Lawrence]: "Huh? You want to learn sorcery? You should have said so! We can start right away!"
[Julius]: "Eh?! Um, n-no it's okay! I was joking anyway... I don't think I have what it takes, haha."
[Lawrence]: "Hmm, I suppose it does sound difficult for someone without mana. Though you should still have a flux cycle. Maybe it is another severance sort of situation."
[Julius]: "I thought you said I didn't have that yesterday."
[Lawrence]: "All the known signs don't align, but the severance is so rare that the full list of symptoms is beyond our knowledge. Who knows, maybe tomorrow you'll wake up a pro of mana manipulation."
Julius scratches his head awkwardly, chuckling almost to himself.
[Julius]: "That'd be cool, but I doubt it."
[Lawrence]: "You never know."
[Julius]: "... I doubt it..."
[Lawrence]: "We shall see."
[Julius]: "Jeez."
Opening the door to his bedroom, Julius gives Lawrence one last wave goodbye, responded with a deep bow from the butler, getting a chuckle from Julius as the door clicks shut.
[Julius]: "There's something so empowering about having a butler bow to you."
De-robing and flicking the shower on, Julius washes the remnants of battle away while grabbing a bottle left in the shower, looking at the label.
[Julius]: "Huh? I can... I can read it... Strange. 'Lavender and honey', so Muriel-like."
Emerging from the shower, refreshed and now carrying the scent of an Astoria house member, he slips into the pajamas left for him on the corner of his bed.
[Julius]: "Much more like the clothes from home, I can get behind these."
The blue pants and shirt fit comfortably over his body, another perfect size guess by Muriel, and embroidered with the Astoria crest that Julius lightly drags his fingers over.
[Julius]: "Three leafed flower. I wonder if they took inspiration for that crest from the flower field behind the manor."
He collapses back onto the bed, turning to his side to face the flower Lawrence created, still as healthy as the moment it bloomed despite not being in water. His gaze remained fixed on it, focused on the fact that it was grown out of thin air, being the last thing he saw as his vision fades, and his body succumbs to sleep.
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