Chapter 205: Von Everblack House [1]

Chapter 204

───────────

Episode 51 - Von Everblack House [1]

─────────────────────────────────

Clack!

I locked the door to my room. Then I stretched for a few seconds before leaving the dormitory building.

I walked across the campus and soon arrived at the square in front of the main building.

I stood still for a moment. Then I "looked" at the bench where I had sat on the first day I arrived at this place.

"These six months have gone by so fast."

Once this vacation ends, there will only be five months left until the end of the First Year at Holy Academy.

Then the winter break will come, and after that, the first semester of the Second Year will begin.

’Starting next year, things will get much tougher.’

To me, the Academy’s First Year and all the events that take place are like a prologue before the real story begins.

"Anyway, there are still several months left until Chapter Three. By then, I might have reached Six Stars."

I turned around and walked toward the Academy’s exit.

Just like yesterday, there was no one around during the entire walk.

Well, except for the guards, the Academy staff, and a few of the professors’ assistants.

A little while later, after registering my departure from the Academy, I walked through the streets of the imperial capital.

I stopped to buy a coffee and then headed toward Mia’s shop.

After entering through the front door, I found the place completely silent.

Without even asking for permission, I walked into the living room, entered a room, and finally went down a flight of stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, a laboratory-like room filled with bottles and the scent of various alchemical materials came into view.

Mia and Rowan were so focused that neither of them noticed my presence.

The scene in front of me was like watching a pair of siblings playing on an Xbox.

"Hello, idiots."

"...?!"

Mia and Rowan flinched and turned around.

"A-ah... it’s you, sir."

"Master, you could at least knock before coming in."

"..."

I had no idea how to respond to either their words or their expressions. I simply rubbed my temples and said,

"Keep your ears open, or someone could actually kill you."

Both of them nodded repeatedly.

"So, what are you doing? Why are you so focused?"

At my question, Mia answered,

"Ah, that... well, I’m in the final stages of creating one of the potions from the recipes in the Grimoire you gave me."

I tilted my head slightly.

"And what kind of potion is it?"

Mia and Rowan looked at each other for a moment before looking back at me.

"A... laxative potion."

"..."

"Okay, setting your stupidity aside, I’ll be away for at least a week. I came because I need the potions I asked you to make."

Mia nodded. Shortly afterward, she walked over to a corner, picked up a ring, and handed it to me.

"Every single one of these potions is the highest quality I’ve ever made, Master."

I nodded as I took the items out of the ring and stored them in my Inventory.

"Master, but where are you going? The number of potions you asked for is enormous. It looks like you’re heading to war."

I shook my head as I turned around.

"No, I’m just going to a buried place."

I thought for a second before saying,

"And tell that witch that her report on the Abraham Clan needs to be detailed."

Mia nodded, and shortly afterward, I left her shop and headed toward the orphanage.

I would be completely occupied with advancing to Five Stars throughout the entire week.

So naturally, I wouldn’t be able to visit Astrid over the weekend, just as I had promised.

After walking for a while, I arrived at the orphanage.

I spoke with the staff and then with the orphanage director. Shortly afterward, I headed to a garden where Astrid was sitting on a bench, reading a book.

She looked at me and greeted me with a smile. I greeted her back before sitting down beside her.

"I heard you’re on vacation. That means you’ll be coming every day."

Astrid asked without taking her eyes off the book.

"You’ve become pretty cheeky in the way you talk to me, you know."

She paused, then looked at me with a blank expression. After that, she turned her eyes back to the book and replied,

"I grow faster than the other children."

"You talk as if you were an adult."

"I only have seven years left until I become an adult."

"But you’re still only nine years old, so you’re still a child—not even a teenager yet."

Astrid shrugged as though it were no big deal.

I couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

Since when had this girl changed so much compared to the one I had met on the first day?

Shaking my head, I got straight to the point.

"Unfortunately, I won’t be able to come at all this week. I’ll be busy."

Astrid paused for a second. Disappointment briefly appeared on her face before being replaced by an understanding expression.

"And what’s more important than me?"

"Mhm, I’m an Awakened. What do you think Awakened do when they’re about to become stronger?"

Among the Awakened, there was an unwritten rule.

’Absolutely respect someone’s private time when they’re about to advance to the next Star.’

Interrupting someone at the very moment of advancement could disrupt their concentration and cause the process to fail.

Astrid nodded slightly.

"I understand, but why a whole week?"

"Because I first need to go somewhere... to my master’s house, and then look for the place where I’ll undergo my breakthrough."

Then Astrid looked at me intently, set the book aside, and smiled.

"Good luck, then."

"..."

Her words caught me by surprise for a moment. Then I smiled back at her as I said,

"That’s what I’m talking about. You should speak like that, the way you used to."

Astrid crossed her arms and said,

"I take back what I said. Now I hope you have bad luck."

"Too late. You’ve already given me all your luck."

Not long afterward, we talked about all sorts of things, as usual.

In the garden where we were sitting, our voices were the only thing breaking the silence.

Only occasionally would one of the orphanage staff members pass by.

Time passed quickly. Seconds turned into minutes, and before I realized it, thirty minutes had gone by.

Then Astrid stopped talking and seemed lost in thought.

When I asked her if something was wrong, she replied,

"Have you ever wondered who your parents are?"

"My parents..."

I leaned back against the bench as my thoughts wandered.

Honestly, I had wondered about it too.

Astrid is my biological sister. She is only nine years old, while I am almost nineteen.

That means our parents could still be somewhere.

Or maybe they simply... no longer exist, or at least they’re dead.

’My birth is a mystery, just like Astrid’s.’

Come to think of it, Astrid and I aren’t the real mystery.

In my case, I don’t know who I truly am, and only recently did I discover that Astrid is my sister.

Meanwhile, Astrid simply believes she has no relatives, unaware that one of them is sitting right beside her.

"Well, yeah... I am curious."

I wondered whether, if my parents were still alive, I might be able to discover something about myself.

’I don’t know, but it honestly never crossed my mind to look for them.’

Somehow, whether it was intuition or something else, I never once thought about searching for my parents.

"Mhm, me too. I wonder if they’re still somewhere, and why they left me."

I remained silent for a moment. Then I wrapped an arm around Astrid’s shoulders and gently pulled her closer.

"Just don’t think they abandoned you. Maybe they had their reasons, like going through an incredibly difficult time just to survive and realizing they couldn’t protect you."

"Don’t blame them. But you don’t have to forgive them for leaving you either. Just think that they did it because they wanted you to live the peaceful life that someone your age deserves. That’s all."

Astrid gave a slight nod while time continued to pass around me.

The sound of the wind and the swaying treetops, as leaves drifted to the ground and flowers gently swayed, filled the air.

At that moment, I felt truly at peace.

As if I simply wanted to leave everything I was doing behind, tell Astrid that I’m her brother, and then go somewhere quiet together.

And live as a family.

But when I thought about my Dark Destiny, I knew that if I didn’t resolve it, I wouldn’t be able to stop or turn away from my goals.

’Maybe one day I’ll come back home.’

While I was lost in thought, I noticed Astrid staring at me, and she asked,

"Sometimes you’re really strange."

"...."

"I don’t think that’s really the right word."

Astrid shrugged.

"I never tell lies. And if I did, you’d know."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Astrid let out a soft giggle before asking me,

"By the way, do you like anyone?"

"...?!"

"Cough...! What’s with that question all of a sudden?"

Astrid looked at me with a curious expression.

"The nanny said she likes you."

"...."

"But she also said that since you’re a cadet at the Holy Academy, you probably like someone too. Besides, you’re Rank 1."

"...."

I was left speechless by her sudden remarks.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Honestly, I didn’t know what to say.

"Well, I’m always focused on my training, and besides, I barely feel any emotions. Do you really think I’m going to fall for some girl?"

Astrid snorted as she said,

"Those are just excuses. So there really is someone you like, isn’t there?"

I shook my head.

"You know you can see emotions, and you haven’t noticed anything like that. Anyway, stop asking about that. I have no interest in romance."

I said it naturally, making my words carry only one meaning.

But at that moment, for some reason, the image of a certain person flashed through my mind for a single second.

"....?"

Then Astrid murmured,

"The nanny is going to cry."

"...."

"I should tell her you’re an idiot."

Once again, I couldn’t help being left speechless.

Since when does this little girl say things like that?

In the end, I simply shook my head.