The estate is silent.
Guards stand at attention along the gates, their presence sharp despite the late hour.
They hear footsteps.
Mine.
I walk in.
A few guards turn their heads immediately.
"...Young Master?"
I give a small nod as I pass.
"Good evening."
My tone is calm. Polite. Nothing unusual.
They relax slightly, though a hint of confusion lingers.
"Please, Young Master… you must not come home so late."
I stop.
Just for a moment.
Then I glance at him.
"...I understand," I say quietly.
No irritation.
No arrogance.
Just acknowledgment.
"I'll be more careful next time."
That seems to ease him.
I continue walking.
Step by step.
Nothing about me stands out.
Nothing feels different.
Just the same young master returning home late—
As if nothing has changed.
I continue to walk up to the mansion door.
I hold the handle, open the gate and enter.
I pass through the corridor and make my way towards my room.
Honestly, i'm surprised that neither of my parents have tried to intercept me.
Normally if I'm late, the very moment I pass through the gate I'm met with their cold, hard stares.
My mom worries way too much about me. Even if I'm only a couple minutes late, she acts as if I went to fight a dangerous monster and barely made it back alive ( which technically isn't wrong ).
She asks me stuff like:
where did I go?
who was I with?
what was my reason for returning late?
Those type of questions.
Questions she should probably ask before I go out.
I always give the same excuse.
That I went to a nearby cafe for some hot chocolate and cookies.
The reason I'm late was because they had too many costumers.
It usually ends with my mom just hugging me and telling me to be more careful.
So while it's great to not have to deal with that, I am a bit curious on why they haven't tried today.
The again, I did overhear them talking about attending some meeting at the capital.
I reach my door, push it open, and slip inside.
The room is as dark as the night sky, cold and un-welcoming.
I turn on the light.
I open my closet, take off my clothes and change into my pajamas.
I turn towards the clock.
2 hours til midnight. It's almost time for shiro's daily report.
On the day that Claudia left to go to the academy, as a safety precaution, I decided to let shiro go with her.
I Imbuded him onto her soul.
Whenever she's in a situation she can't handle by herself, shiro would automatically manifest to protect her.
When he does, she will automatically fall asleep and forget about what happened.
'Sir Abel'
Right on time as usual.
'So far there has been nothing unusual to report, your sister seems to be doing just fine.'
"That's good."
'yes although I have learned something.'
"That is?"
'After two weeks have passed, All first years at the academy are taken to the Sanctuary of the Arcane Order.'
Sanctuary of the Arcane Order.
hmm.
Never heard of it before.
'A church that has been spreading its name since the era of Demise.'
Ok, that makes sense. I wasn't here when it was formed.
'Over there, the cadets recive two things. One is something called an Arcium.'
Oh yeah, I've been busy with training so much, I've never had the chance to ask.
"Ok and what exactly is an Arcium."
'Arciums are weapons forged from their owners beliefs, personality, abilities and mana. Each Arcium is unique, and contain skills that their owners can use. In accordance with the Arcium, clothes are generated onto the individual that reflects their arciums ability and their own traits. The attire provides an increase in offence and defence and they possess special abilities as well. Once the schools day at the academy is over, the students are slowed to go outside and train with their Arcium. The principle of the school belived in real world experiences rather than sticking to a book.'
He reminds me of father that way, he put a no age limit at the guild which is the only reason why I was able to register.
Speaking of guilds, I better make sure I go and give my spoils of the dungeon to Luna for some money.
'As time goes on, An Arcium can evolve and change forms. They are also classified into classes but so far I don't know much about these classes.'
"No problem, you've done more than I asked you too, all I wanted was for you to protect my sister yet you were able to gather this much info. Thank you, Shiro."
'... My pleasure, Sir Abel.'
"Wait, you mentioned two things, what's the other one."
'…'
"Hey shiro, you got quiet, something wrong."
'My apologies, I'm just worried that this next news might shock you.'
"Let me hear it."
'On this same day, the students are given something called an Arcane.'
"Ok and what makes it so special?"
'… From what I've heard, it is a system that is designed to help the cadets grow stronger."
System, he doesn't mean a system like mine Right. Yeah, no else has it. Yeah that's it, im probably over thinking it.
"Ok," i respond trying to not sound worried.
"What is it, some sort of item that increases their powers or something."
'No sir,' he replied swiftly.
'it's a system interface which allows them to see their power levels in exact numerical values and grow it as time goes on, by allowing them to put points they earn from hunting monsters into their stats.it also has the ability to let the students communicate with each other and stream video of their fights.'
Thump
Thump
My heard beats as loud as loud as the drums my sister use to play when I was younger.
"So in a other words—"
I try to speak but the words won't come out from my mouth.
'Yes,' shiro responds.
'It is exactly like your system.'
How is this possible?