Episode 11 – Setting Off (2/2)

Aethernea Cloe D Frost 90010K 2022-07-20

Were they rolling on the forest floor together?!

She didn't seem to be the only one that reached that conclusion because she could see thefeverishly

So it really was true that people looked more beautiful while in love?!

Master Kiel s He didn'tbehind him was He didn’t need to explain himself to his servants

Dneth pondered whether she should ask hi Her gaze landed back to the two, and her thought process was suddenly interrupted

As she watched the talking away, she felt as if she atching a divine painting There was so ethereal about them True, both of them were creatures of extreme beauty that would draw attention wherever they went But looking at theether, it was as if they enhanced each other's beauty even further

Dneth could feel her hair standing on end It was uncanny

And that's when the fifth surprise hit her,her hands reflexively clutch her chest Master Kiel took the girl upstairs, to his bedchamber

Were they going to his bedchamber to finish what they started on the forest floor?!

Dneth wasn't the only servant baffled by the turn of events Younger and older, females and males alike, turned their heads and dropped their jaws in surprise as their eyes passed over master Kiel None of them uing theirclearly on their faces

Dneth glared at two younger uest inappropriately Their ears reddened and they scattered back to work

Other fe not to be interested in h the blush on their cheeks spoke otherwise

Dneth waited a short while, before discretelytowards master Kiel's bedchamber She needed to be nearby if master needed her Or at least, that's what she told herself

She was actually worried about ht iossip about this for a long time

She turned her head left and right, noticing the other servants nonchalantly following her, as if her ave them permission to join her They evidently wanted to douse their curiosity

Dneth was about to shoo the fro to master Kiel in an enthusiastic, warm voice:

”If you don't kno to do it, I'll do it!”

Dneth gaped like a fish, looking at the young ht in shock Her ears had already turned red fro master responded with:

”I can take care of iene just fine on my own, thank you very much!” He seemed to be flustered, not emotion often heard in his voice, which made the entire situation look even more… unique

”No need to feel shy, just let irl whined

Dneth covered her gaping mouth shut with both of her hands in horror The shock she was getting made it hard for her to catch her breath

”Hands off! I do not want or require your help!” Master Kiel responded annoyed

Hands off?!

That was the last surprise Dneth got that day, and it was more than her old heart could handle Her eyes rolled back, and she fell towards the second fe her stuled and the row of servants fell like dominoes The noise startled all of them and they quickly scattered, twoDneth by her ar with the re half a dozen servants

They made a ”just in time” escape because a second later, the door to the master Kiel's chamber had opened

◈ 15 minutes prior ◈

Even though Kiel had entered the h the back, several servants were already waiting for hih none of the an elibu home

Kiel briefly wondered whether he should leave Elaru to wait for him in the foyer He decided not to, he had no idea what trouble she et herself in without him to keep an eye on her He didn't trust her one bit Sourly, he decided that he had no choice but to take her with him to his bedroom

Kiel's bedrooe bed and a private bathroom All of the furniture and decorations were expensive and pleasing to the eye The rooray and blue colors as the the of emptiness and coldness

The roo in it There weren't any pictures, notes, mementos or any other personal items out in the open

Elaru frowned This wasn't a home

She briefly glanced at Kiel, fro

Isn't this… too sad? To have such a beautiful home, yet not treat it like home Kiel's rooly clear how he never considered this place as his home

While Kiel was quickly packing, Elaru's eyes glazed

Was it worse to not have a home, or to have one but not feel at ho from one place to another She never owned a house or a place she could call her own No place to call hoht about the significance of having a home

Her eyes glanced at Kiel again

No It isn't that she had no place to call home, it is that she felt as if the whole world was her horass, the sand dunes, the cold cliffs, the noisy streets - it all felt like home But if every place feels like home, could it be that she has no idea what a home feels like?

What is a home? Elaru wondered A home… is where you feel happy, content, relaxed, safe

Elaru's eyes lit up, the haze that had previously covered them vanished without a trace

A home doesn't need to be a place A home can also be a person!

A head full of blonde hair with several black locks flashed in her mind, followed by a head full of unruly red hair, just like her own

She unconsciously sht I do have a home!

She looked back at Kiel, deter her eyes If he doesn't have a home, then I'll be his home!

It didn't take Kiel long to finish packing He didn't have any items which he held dear, so he packed only the necessities He filled a large bag with things that he will need to move into the university dor later The s on his belt

After he was done, he turned around and glanced at Elaru She was giving hie look What is with that look? He didn't knohy, but he felt his hair stand on end She didn't get any bizarre ideas, did she?

Kiel shook his head and discarded the thought He didn't want to knohat strange thoughts were flying around her head Right now, there was one last thing he wanted to do

Shower

Elaru looked at hi a shower

Kiel raised an eyebrow at her ”What?”

”We don't have ti spell?”

He glared at her Firstly, Cleansing was a transel - he could never cast transmutation spells, and naturally he had never learned them Secondly, even if he could have cast it, back then, he didn't have enough mana

Though, both points were invalid right now

So the actual reason why he never considered it was because he wasn't used to that way of thinking – usingAnd because, well, he didn't want to admit that he had no idea how to do it

Elaru quickly caught on to his underlying reason

”If you don't kno to do it, I'll do it!” She approached hi the front of his shi+rt with her hands

”I can take care of iene just fine on my own, thank you very much!” Kiel slapped her hands away and stepped back He disliked people touching him

”No need to feel shy, just let rabbed him by his shoulder

”Hands off! I do not want or require your help!” He shrugged her hand away

Their bickering was interrupted by a thud outside of Kiel's door As he approached the door, he could hear the sound of frantic footsteps running away When he opened the door, no one was there

He closed the door, annoyed by the interruption

Elaru snickered ”Your servants are funny Do you bring girls to your bedroom often?”

Kiel didn't dignify that with a response He thought she ht make fun of him if she knew the truth He had never been interested in… relationshi+ps

It took his mind a second to process what happened outside the door It was soretfully, he couldn't

When his mind connected the dots, he covered his eyes with his hand, vexed by the stupidity of his servants

What the heck did they think Elaru and hi?!

He hated how noisy his servants were, always gossiping and butting in his privacy He sighed in annoyance He just hoped that this incident doesn't reach his grandfather's ears

Suddenly, he didn't feel like taking a shower He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible He couldn't wait anys and leave for the big city It was finally the ti up to now couldn't really be called a life

Kiel hesitated briefly before putting down his Mage Armor

Mage Ar the n spells If anothertheir mana inside Kiel's body And that task would becoh a dense layer of Kiel'sto reach the bottom of a sea

Mage Arular person A person was considered a e Arh this distinction seenificant, that wasn't the case Most of the basic spells had the capability to mentation spell - Accelerate, could be used to h up in the air and drop them to their demise That simple layer of mana was the difference between life and death

”Fine Make it quick” Kiel sighed in resignation He wasn't worried that Elaru would har her soul to his if she wanted him dead

Elaru grinned and walked up to hiht arers She seeic on, even though it would be just as easy to cast it from a distance, without physical contact

Suddenly, Kiel felt like he was standing naked in a soft breeze It ar He could feel little drops ofevery particle of dirt on his skin and clothes, and then slowly, sliding away fro, like hundreds of little air kisses smothered his skin

Kiel had heard that Cleansing could feel grating in cases of an inexperienced caster, leaving skin raw and red He had expected Elaru to pull so like that on him and call him a 'wuss' if he coentle and very effective

She must have done it countless tiree of control of a level 5 spell such as Cleansing

He doubted that she was taking extra care to be gentle with him

Kiel liked being showered by herHe would never admit it to her, but he didn't want to learn that spell so he'd have an excuse to make her do it It wasn't just that the spell itself felt pleasant, the large part of the pleasant feeling came from the direct contact with her , it made Kiel feel content

It was already afternoon They needed to hurry before the exam entries closed

”Are you ready to leave?” Elaru asked him to confirm it

Kiel nodded and extended his hand

He needed to be in physical contact with her to be brought along when she used the Beacon And both of them needed to be in the air Otherwise, the spell would atte with them

She looked at his hand like she saw a strange, wondrous creature Then she looked back up to him

”What is it?” He asked annoyed

”Is that how you people teleport? By holding hands?”

”And how else would we teleport!?” He growled She took every opportunity to annoy him!

”Why don't you just grab onto the beacon?”

Kiel was speechless

The thought had not occurred to him

He stood there like a statue, his hand in the air, histo come up with an appropriate response

Elaru laughed a lovely h and took his hand in hers

”I guess I'll do it your way then It doesn't really matter”

Her hand was soft and warm

Before he could respond, she Accelerated upwards fro hiround, she twirled the beacon in her hand It activated when her ht purple flash