310 Grimoire Making 1 (1/2)

Zero gathered the mindscape assistants and let them know of his plans. Of course, he was met by silence.

Being the unofficial leader of the mindscape assistants, Mii gave Zero a levelled look. \”In short, we are going to be the sacrifice for your power over the grimoire. You're going to bind us to the grimoire. Really?\”

The young doctor didn't know how he should respond. Something told him he should tread very carefully. As it was, the situation was like walking on the cracking surface of a frozen lake. One wrong move will result in a very ugly consequence.

\”I thought I should ask for all of your opinions before I did such a thing...\” he began meekly but was interrupted by a loud slam on the library desk.

Mii's face was red with anger, her eyes hidden behind her hair so that Zero couldn't tell how she was feeling but there was no mistaking that aura of rage. Zoe, Lily and Wii looked worried. They tried to calm their leader down but Mii was not having it.

From experience, it was common knowledge that once the strawcherry fairy boiled over, there was no stopping the trainwreck that followed. However, to everyone's surprise, she actually collected herself and calmed down without anyone persuading her. Zero was very impressed but also fearful at the same time. Was this new and improved version of Mii going to be scarier?

\”Are the rest of you alright with this? If Zero binds the grimoire to Mind's Eye system, all of us will become collateral damage and cease to exist or become severely harmed in the process.\”

Wii smiled. \”I'm a product of the Mind's Eye system like you, sister. Our duty is to aid our silly master. It doesn't really matter if I'm being used to give the grimoire power. It's part of the job.\”

Lily didn't really mind either. \”If the mindscape falls apart, I will still accompany you on your journey in the real world.\”

Zoe looked slightly sad but signed that she would be fine in Half Moon Village although it would be sad not being able to come along for Zero's adventure in the future. Hearing everyone else's opinions, Mii's anger dissipated.

\”Why are all of you so kind to him? He practically wants to gamble us away.\”

Zero grinned. \”I won't do such a thing. Besides, the grimoire will not be damaged or lost, at least not before my fight with Solo. The only being capable of hurting me is myself. You said this too, didn't you?\” Zero directed that question to Mii who scowled.

\”Just because you've grown eight hundred floors worth of knowledge doesn't mean you can act cheeky around me. It doesn't matter how smart you've become or how powerful you are, I will still be able to lecture you!\”

\”We're always here for you even if you can be an unreasonable prick at times. Just do what you think is right and what makes you happy, Zero. Leave the rest to us. You will never be alone.\”

Touched, Zero wanted to give the strawcherry fairy a hug and plant a slobbery kiss but Mii saw that coming a mile away. She reacted swiftly and dodged the hug before planting a tiny foot on Zero's face and flying away.

\”Now that you have our consent, don't slack off! The grimoire won't create itself. Also, you need to deliver the branches to the two lab rats. Even if Merlin let you go, I will not permit you to resolve Athena's curse without your weapons. Truen isn't here to guard you, you need to defend yourself and magic alone isn't good enough when facing creatures like those gorgons.\”

Wii agreed with her sister and Zero nodded. \”I know, I know. I'll go deliver them now. Zoe, could you help me let Raj and Tambolt know that I'll be coming over? I need to let Merlin know that I'm leaving Arabesque for a while.\”

Zoe signed back quickly and asked if Zero would like to stay for a little longer in the village for a meal. The young doctor thought about it and decided that he would help out in the kitchen to learn some new recipes. Merlin was still in a bad mood after learning about what Zero did so the teen thought that baking some desserts might help the wizard forgive him faster.

The zashikiwarashi was delighted to know that Zero would be staying. She left quickly to make preparations and Zero exited the mindscape, leaving the three fairies to decide how they want to spend their rare day off.

Zero wrote his message on a piece of paper and added a small transformation spell onto it so that it became a pigeon. He knew that Merlin was still very mad and didn't want to see him so the best way to let his teacher know about his activity was to leave a message. When Hua Tuo was angry, he would often sit down and talk it out with Zero. It was very different from how Merlin was when the wizard got angry. Zero tried to talk to his teacher but the wizard always ignored him and avoided him. The teen didn't know how to resolve this situation. Merlin wasn't in a talking mode and Zero didn't like not being able to patch things up with his magic teacher. He really hoped that lemon tarts would do the trick.

Once the paper pigeon left, Zero made preparations to go to Half Moon Village to deliver the branches.

Lunch at Half Moon Village was always a loud affair. Everyone gathered in the feast cave and Zero met up with Bob who spent his days keeping Kerberos company.