"I win." Aster declared with pride as he returned his sword to the rack, and Sara couldn't help but smile as she trailed behind him.
"You were just lucky, Your Highness. If we were to have a rematch, I would definitely be winning this round."
Aster smiled, but didn't deny her statement, because he knew she was right.
Though Sara had claimed that she wasn't a close-combat fighter, Aster couldn't deny how good she was with a sword.
Well, since he was still a beginner when it came to using a sword, Aster could only imagine what it would feel like to spar against a true specialist.
In other words, if he had trained with someone other than Sara, he definitely would have lost the bet even if he used his dragon eyes, which were his only trump card right now.
"Your Highness??" Sara called out, drawing his attention back to her.
"Mm?"
"Since you won the bet, I guess that means I'm going to have to make you the most delicious meal you have ever tasted, right?" Sara asked as she dropped her wooden sword on the rack, just like Aster.
Then, her legs transformed into a ghost tail as she hovered behind her prince while moving closer to give him a back hug.
"Yeah," Aster replied as he felt her cold, slender arms wrap around him from behind, but unlike before when he had just arrived at the palace, Aster didn't feel the same freezing chill crawl down his spine.
In fact, he didn't mind having her hug him because he was slowly getting used to it now, so, in a way, he was finding it soothing and endearing.
Moreover, he could feel something soft pressing against his back, so there was no way he was going to find what she was doing as anything but comforting.
"Hmm, I noticed you enjoyed the cockatrice meat you ate last night, right?" Sara asked and Aster nodded in response.
"Yes, I did."
"Then I guess you'll have to eat something a little more tender but which will still be delicious. Hmm, but what would be the best…" Sara murmured to herself as she pondered deeply.
At that moment, a light bulb flickered on her head. "Oh, that's it." Sara's eyes shone brightly as she suddenly realized something. "How about a Jackalope? Have you eaten a Jackalope's meat before?" Sara asked and Aster's eyes widened in surprise because he knew he had heard the name before in the human realm.
However, a jackalope in the human realm was always referred to as a myth because no known person had ever laid eyes on it before.
But since he was now in a supernatural world, Aster knew that he shouldn't be too surprised about the existence of a jackalope.
After all, this was a world that had both ghosts and demons in it.
"No, I haven't eaten it before," Aster replied and Sara gave him an understanding nod.
"Alright, then it is settled. I'll prepare a delicious meal for you one of these days, using Jackalope meat."
"Where are you going to find one?"
"By hunting. There's a forest nearby so I should be able to find one over there, but that won't be happening anytime soon because I'll need some rare ingredients to help the meal blend nicely with the Jackalope's meat. However, finding those ingredients won't be easy right now."
"I understand, but whenever you're ready to go hunting for the Jackalope, can I join you?"
"Um, okay. If that is what you want."
"Yes, it is. Thank you, Sara."
"You're welcome, Your Highness," Sara replied with a smile on her face as she slowly wrapped her arms around him even more but then her smile changed into a depressed look as she said. "But it's a shame I lost the spar. I really had a good thing planned if I had won the bet."
"Yeah, that's too bad, but I'm not accepting a rematch though." Aster squinted his eyes as he felt Sara's cheek press against his.
But Sara chuckled as she rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "I'm not asking for a rematch," Sara assured him and Aster nodded in response.
"Good. But, if you had won, what would you have had me do?" Aster asked and Sara slowly pulled away from him.
She placed a finger on her red lips as though she was thinking hard about what she might have made him do.
But she didn't waste more than a second before giving him a response. "It's a secret."
Aster rolled his eyes to the side, then he tried not to think too much about it, so he changed the subject.
"You said you're not good with a sword, right?"
"Yes."
"So, does that mean you're good with magic, like fire or water magic?"
"Well, yeah, in a way, that is correct."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm more like a spirit conjurer, so I'm limited to using spirit magic rather than elemental magic."
"What's the difference between the two?"
"Elemental magic is when a conjurer uses the elemental mana in the air to cast spells. Demons and a few other supernatural beings are capable of doing this, but for spirit conjurers, we make use of spirit magic, and only a few spirit beasts and spirits like me are able to use it."
"So there's never been a demon capable of using spirit magic?"
"Well, there have been a few, but it's extremely rare because of how hard it is to cast and control that type of magic."
Listening to Sara's explanation, Aster couldn't help but realize that he actually knew little to nothing about this world, and he noted that he would have to start learning about the world soon rather than later.
But there was no need to rush into that for now because bonding with his new family was Aster's top priority.
He knew it was only a matter of time before he obtained a simple and basic understanding of the supernatural realm and its history.
"Your Highness?" Sara called out again as the two of them stepped out of the training room.
"Mm?" Aster replied distractedly.
"Thank you for inviting me to spar with you. It was fun."
"Yeah, me too. I'm glad we trained together, and I wouldn't mind doing it again soon."
"So, you agree with me now, right?"
"About what?"
"About me being a cool and amazing ghost and not the scary ghost you originally thought I was."
"Yeah, you are right. Sorry for calling you a scary ghost."
"Apology accepted." Sara beamed toothily and Aster couldn't help but roll his eyes with a smile.
"Alright, let's go get cleaned up."
Since they had spent a considerable amount of time training, they were now a bit sweaty, so Aster thought it would be great for them to take a bath.
Of course, Sara was excited about this, especially since Aster had suggested that the two of them bathe together… alone.
So, she immediately nodded in agreement.
While the two of them made their way to the bathroom, a system notification suddenly popped up in front of him.