As he prepared to head out ,ashton was called over by his mother .
"Ash .... Come here for a moment ." Cristal said lazily as she finished drinking her tea. " So~ What did you do behind my back ?" She asked while looking at him directly ,her hand supporting her chin.
Ashton still remained stubbornly silent .
Clark stood up from his chair and shouted " Look ! This son of your is as stubborn as you ! He only knows how to wander around instead of going home just like your brother Aaron .I don't even know where you got this personality from !" Clark said as he ruffled his hair in frustration .
"But from what I remember ,we got it from you. "Cristal replied lazily before eating a piece of strawberry cake . Her eyes , which were the same color as those of Ashton , gleamed cunningly as she flashed him a slight smile .
The angered Clark :"... Criticals hits x 10 *( another punshing ball in this family :>)* 'Aah..... They are driving me crazy ' he though as he slumbed back in his chair , refusing to talk again . He couldn't afford to have a relapse right now .
Crista only glanced at him before looking back at her son . She smirked at him before saying sarcastically " Personally I think you were too~ busy trying that special skill of your to even remember your family , am i not right ?"
Ashton shuggered as he was caught spot on. However , he didn't try to deny it . His skill , named guild was indeed strange . He only understood it's utility after meeting Noah ,the guild master of the Raven guild , who has the same skill as him. At that moment , his system panel suddenly received a message from one of his guild members but he chose to ignore it.
"Ha.... You can go back to your room for now . The servants cleaned it regularly so you don't have to worry about t being dirty. ....Later ,you can go see your father and sister . They are still staying at our home in town. They seem to have been missing you for quite a while , mainly your sister ~" Cristal said with a smile .
Ashton :.... 'I mostly think that she is still holding a grudge for what happened five years ago.' He shed tear internally but still hummed in response before heading out.
As ashton left astella realized that it was theirs turn to suffer .
Cristal smiled at the twins but it was evident that this smile didn't reach her eyes . As astella meets her gaze , she shuddered ,her heart squipping a beat .She quickly nudged her brother , communicating with him her eyes '-Devon , i think we have a huge problem right now-' '-What ?-' he asked while munching on a cookie . '-I have a very bad feeling . I think we should run right now !-' she quickly transmitted with her eyes .
As the twins grew up together , never leaving each other ,they created theirs own communication method .They could easily know what the other wanted to say through their eyes.
Cristal looked at the two of them communicating with each other in silence for a while before smiling slightly and saying in a devilish voice "So tell me littles brats , why~ did you skip class this time again ."
The twins , overwhelmed by theirs survival instincts , quickly stood up and ran away for theirs lives at lightning speed without a second though .
"Stop right now!" Cristal roared at them. She stood up from the sofa and dashed after them . Perhaps feeling restricted by her dress she took out a dagger out of her boot and slashed at it ,tearing the fabric in a clean cut , in order to be able to run without constrain.'As i though , i shouldn't have worn a dress today !' she though .
in a corner :".... щ(゜ロ゜щ) (〒﹏〒)!" the maid who will have to mend the dress later.
Meanwhile in the duke's office
Clark who fell out of his chair and sat on the ground because of the commotion .:...*#$@$%%*" (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Don't you dare destroy my mansion , you brats !"He took a deep breathe trying to calm himself but a huge bang could be heard as if to prank him ."This...!" However he didn't want to waste his words and simply laid on the floor .' Haaah~... I give up , I can't control those troublemakers.' he though .
In the corridor
Ashton leaned against the wall, his hand resting on his chest ,his hearth still rapidly beating because of fear, looking at the departing figures in bewilderment. He looked dazedly at the maid , pointed with a trembling finger at the direction where the people ran off and asked " Was it always like this ?"
One of the maids , named Liza replied in a lazy tone" Yes , also it has been the fourth time this week ."
Hearing this , ashton was rendered speechless .
On the other side
Astella and Devon stopped at an intersection . Devon though for a while and gestured :-you go right and i go left ,okay?-
She nodded at him and the two quickly separated ,running in completely differents directions .A few moments later ,when cristal arrived at the place where the twins previously stood ,she couldn't help but stomp her feet ."Tch... Those two should pray that i don't end up catching them !" She ruffled he hair in frustration .( Is this move some kind of heritage ?*^*?) She let out a long sigh before asking two of her contracted spirits for help .
{ps: in this story , spirit can be said to be the descendants of a special specie born from places with a high concentration of mana. They could be said to be the cousin of the chirin race whom we will meet in later part of the story .A spiritual contract is largely different from the magical one since it needs the consent of both parties. It only happens when the two see mutual benefits in it. It's a type of contract created by the chirin race ancestors to protect the liberty of they fellow members. As example, we have the contract between Sylph and Ashton. Sylph help Ashton with scouting work in exchange for a bag of candies every month. (Don't think it's cheap, in fact candies are hard to come by for commoners in this world.)}
Little theater 🎭
In a corner of the Elune continent , Sylph happily sat in front of a small cabinet, opened one of the drawers, revealing a small stack of candies inside. He directly took a small lollipop, opened the packaging before putting it in his mouth.
While he was busy savoring it is flavor, his pointed ears twitched. 'Is someone talking about me right now?' he wondered but then shook his head ' who would even think about a slacker like me ' he though, not bothering to further think about it. He silently locked back the small drawer .
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of his small treehouse and shouted ' Sylphid! Hurry up or you will be late for school again. The matriarch will get angry again.'
" I'm coming... I'm coming.. Ohh!" He replied hurriedly before sighing. He rewrapped the lollipop before hiding it in his spacial pouch .
Back to the main story
•A few minutes ago
On Esyn side
A small white haired wind fairie sat on the branch on a tree happily eating a spirit fruit with her friend. Her chubby cheek bounced as she munched on it.
"Esyn, look at your magic pearl. It's glowing.I t seem you will soon be called over by your contractor her friend t told her after looking at the pearl hanging onher braid.
Esyn touched the pearl ,her wings fluttered. She couldn't help but sigh "Hah .. How many times has it been this week! Can't she take care of her kids herself ?"
Her friend locked at her and said: "If you wanted peace then you shouldn't have sighed a contract in the first place. Also we are still cubs ourself so show some respect to adult."
"But I am older than her!" Esya tried To argue but her friend beat ber to it "Cubs are cubs whatever the race so shut your mouth and go to work you were the One who didn't listen to the matriarch advice first. Now look at your panel and leave me alone "
Esyn was tearing up at her words "How could you say that ? Hah you are breaking my heart !!(゜ロ゜ノ)ノ(ToT)"
"Stop talking, you are going to make me get goosebumps with that kindo f face!'
"Okay "Esyn reluctantly finished eating before looking at her systeme panel.
"Your contractor Dame Cristal has requested your presence. Proceed with the summoning ?
[Yes / No ] "
She clicked on yes and waved at her friend before dissolving into light particules.
As she ddisappeared, her friend Frida sighed and though "Why did our ancestors need to add so many special effects while creating the teleportation spell included in the spirit contract? What did Liona say about it before..? That is it! It's too cliche, too cringey.."ヽ(´Ａ`)ﾉ
On Tamilis side
"Haaah , really . There's no better things than a good bath in summer " she though cheerfully. She hummed a joyful song as she plunged deeper into the bathtub while drinking the glass of fruit nectar before happily popping a grape in her mouth. Her obsidian hair floated lazily on the water. Too distracted, she didn't see the system panel that appearal next to her nor did she the notice that the moment her hand reached out to take another grape, her finger had " accidentally selectionned the " yes" button.
A teleportation circle appeared under the the bathtub and transferred her to another place directly.