Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 22. (Patreon)

The dinner was sumptuous, delicious, and fulfilling. It had everything, and Elena was glad that she had let Silver and White order for them. Most of the dishes served here were new to them. And after they were done eating, they called the staff to clean up the table. 

It was a Rune placed on the head of the table, used to call the staff. 

“You pairs of lovebirds can have a room each.” White smiled at them from under her half-mask. 

Vermillion, Indigo, and Azure decided to stay in a single room. It turned out that Azure and Indigo were sisters, and together, the three girls were best of friends. And Brown was going to share the room with Cyan and Golden. 

Elena teased Brown when she heard that he was always trying to woo Azure. It made both of them blush, but Azure retorted that she would never fall for this dumb muscle-head. 

Her remarks did not hurt Brown. He seemed happy that Azure called him a muscle-head. And everyone around them, except for Azure, understood why that was so.

“You will succeed if you keep trying!” Elena confidently gave him a thumbs-up and assured him. And Azure was tried to hide her blush under the laughter of everyone, but miserably failed. 

Indigo was the youngest member of Twelve Shades, and she now 16-years-old. She got along well with Rumi and Simca, who were younger than she was, and happily conversed over subjects best suited for girls. Surprisingly, Rumi had more knowledge about those things than the girls had. It was why he got along very well with all of them.

“What do you think about our chances of entering one of the Academies?” Black suddenly asked Aoun and Elena. The rest of the people on the table got curious as to why Black would suddenly ask such a question from two Novices. 

Only Silver knew why, and she had a light smile on her lips.

“You are all Qualified…” Aoun smiled at them. “I must say that it is a tightly-knit team, with a lot of thought behind its formation. No one on your team is under Blue Potential. Academies only take in Masters with Green and higher Potential. So, you are okay there.”

He stopped and then glanced at every member of the Twelve Shades. 

“Your Auras are calm and dense. Your eyes hold sharpness in them and reflect your experience. If any of you fails to enter the Academy, they would be doing injustice to themselves, and letting down everyone else on the team. But if you ask me what your chances of getting into the Academies are,” He smiled. “I would say 99%. The only one that I am a little worried about is you…” 

Brown frowned at his words.

“In the Test, you will be on your own. Individual marking. Teamwork doesn’t count.” He seriously said to Brown. “In the test, Masters are up against Masters, and if you allow anyone to take advantage of your good nature, it will prove your fall and their excellence. If possible, try not to jump in to help anyone you do not know. You will be fine if you keep that in mind.” 

The words made Brown smile lightly, and he understandingly nodded his head. 

“I will try my best.”

“Erebus,” Purple curiously looked at him. “You seem quite informed on the matters of the Entrance Test.”

“It is just the knowledge passed down to us by our Family,” Elena replied to him, and then looked at White. “You don’t have to do that…” 

Her words confused everyone, except for White, Black, Gold, and Aoun.

“My apologies…” White smiled and nodded her head. 

What she had done was try to use her Empyrean Aura to call on Aoun and Elena’s Aura. No one who was not an Empyrean could understand or feel what was happening here. Had Elena not answered her, White would not have been sure if the siblings were Empyreans or not, but now she was sure.

Revealing their identities as Empyreans could prove detrimental to them, but she had her assurance. 

Silver and Black knew their real identities, and she had read Aoun’s thoughts to know the Identity of Black.

“How long have you been away from Selenia?” She smiled and asked Black. 

Her words caused the entire group of Twelve Shades to tense up. Even Black frowned, but then he smiled and shook his head. 

“Left Selenia a few days after my Awakening. Haven’t visited home since then,” His voice held a longing to see his family. “How did you figure it out?” He smiled at her. 

“You shouldn’t have told him your and Silver’s age, and that you started Twelve Shades from the Red-Crescent Kingdom.” Elena smiled at Silver. “He had some information on you and recognized those two beauty spots on your neck.”

“Oh…” Silver subconsciously covered the two beauty marks on her neck. She usually kept them covered. They were not easily visible either as they were on the side of her neck. She had never thought that one day they would give away her identity.

“I am surprised at your family’s Intelligence Network.”

“It isn’t as if you did not have any information on us.” Aoun chuckled and sipped on his wine. “So, what are your plans after the Academy?” 

“Home,” Black smiled and raised his cup of wine to him before drinking it, “And the ultimate goal of the Guild now is to become a Hell-Ranked Guild one day. We decided on it when Gold, Indigo, and Azure joined us.” 

“Don’t you need 18 members for that?” Elena had a little knowledge about Immortal Classed Guilds, she did not know much about them, but she knew how many members were required. 

“Yes,” Silver nodded. “We are hoping to find suitable members. Hopefully, we will have all eighteen before we enter the Academies, but who knows how long it would take us. The Immortal Class Guilds are still far away. We need to get the S-rank first, then the X-rank. Which we believe might not be possible before or during our time at the Academy. The Immortal Class starts after the X-Rank.”

“One step at a time,” White smiled at them. 

“What are your plans?” Silver asked them brightly, excited about knowing what these siblings were planning.

“I just want to explore the places with her,” Aoun answered honestly, “But she has plans for us. And I will have to follow them.” 

Elena giggled at his words and happily nodded. 

“Of course you will…” She then turned to look at Silver. “I plan on forming a Guild too. It seems more fun to travel in a group than by just the two of us.”

“Mhm…” Silver nodded to her. “But remember that a Guild comes with its responsibilities.” 

“Try not to take in random people,” White advised. “You have to make sure that the people you let in on your team are compatible with you, and can be whole-heartedly trusted. Some Guilds recruit people just to raise numbers, and it is a disaster.”

“We are not the kind of people to keep people close to us that we don’t trust. And we need people that can keep up with our growth speed.” 

Black, White, and Gold nodded to her words. They understood what she meant by that.

“Did you finish the Quest you were on?” Aoun asked White.

“No,” She sighed. “I don’t think we can afford to search for that thing for any longer than we have. We will return the Quest to the Guild Hall in the Blossom City. There’s no penalty, so we should be fine.”

All the members of the Guild sighed, and their behavior made the others curious.

“Are the rewards of finishing the Quest rich?” Simca curiously asked. 

“Yes!” Red nodded to her. 

“See for yourself,” White took out a Parchment from her ring and tossed it to Simca. 

The little girl cried out in alarm after reading the rewards on it.

“What is it?” Rumi curiously asked. 

“Lifestar…!” She answered. “And not just that! The Guild gets 1 million Experience Points and 100k Rank Points. It is an X-Ranked Quest. Additionally, there’s also a reward of 1 million Kyrls.”

Rumi opened his mouth in shock and then took a deep breath. 

“What is the requirement?” 

Simca handed him the Parchment from across the table. 

“Just finding a box?” He frowned.

“An X-Ranked Guild was killed in the Empire of Superia. The last member of the Guild had Lifestar and this Box.” Silver explained to him. “The Guild that put up this Quest is a Sky-Ranked Guild. They want the Box as they claim it to be their Family heirloom, they have provided evidence to support that, and the one that finds it can keep the Lifestar that the thief possesses.”

“May I?” Aoun smiled at Rumi and asked for the parchment.

Rumi nodded and handed it over.

There was information on it about the nature of the Quest. Then there was information on it about the thief. In addition to his picture, there was information on his Rank and Beasts. 

“A Guardian…” He whispered. 

“We can handle Guardians.” Black smiled at him. 

Aoun nodded to him and carefully looked at the image of the Box that needed to be recovered. 

His heart skipped a beat, but he managed to control his expressions and excitement. It was Box in his possession, the same box that Chino dug up from the ground in the Whispering Forest. 

“What is it?” Black was curious watching him so intently looking at the parchment. 

“Is it just a family heirloom?” He smiled. 

Black chuckled at his words. 

“We wouldn’t know now.” He nodded. “It was my first thought too that the box is a priceless treasure, and if we had found it, and figured out if it was more than just a family heirloom, we wouldn’t have submitted in the completed quest.”

“Someone might have had the same thoughts and must have kept the box themselves.” Aoun shook his head and folded the parchment before returning it to White. 

“That must be it.” Black sighed. “We heard that the thief in the Quest had come here, he was under a disguise, but two Guardians had figured it out. He escaped the encirclement with grievous injuries and used a Thousand-mile Escape Scroll. Someone must have got to him.”

Aoun nodded and drank some more wine. His mind occupied in figuring out what treasure the Box possibly was.

Elena spent her time talking with Silver and White about Guilds and things related to Guilds.

One after the other, the members of the Twelve Shades bid goodnight and headed to their room, and soon Elena dragged him inside the room as well. 

“You want to form a Guild?” Aoun asked as he helped her change in nightwear. 

“Yes!” She happily nodded. “We will form it in Blossom City. It is one of the five main cities of the Kingdom of Dreams, and the Guildhall there is a prime Branch.”

“Silly girl…” He nudged her nose and then leaned in to sip her lips. “You heard what the Fee of Building a Guild is, right?” 

“My savings are enough for it.” She seriously looked at him. “And I will have you give me your savings to get our Emblem designed, and have an account opened in the Bank under the Guild name.”

A chill ran up his spine when he heard that. 

“Elena…”

“No,” She shook her head. “We cannot wait. We will form it in Blossom City.”

Aoun gave up and finished helping her. She then helped him get in his sleepwear. 

“Eeno!” Chino was not happy at being put on the bed and woke up.

“Just a minute…” Elena giggled at the little monkey’s behavior. 

Chino was fond of sleeping on Aoun’s shoulder, but it loved sleeping in Elena’s bosom.

When both of them entered the bed, the little monkey jumped in her arms and closed its eyes.

Aoun spooned Elena and fell asleep to the warmth of her body.

Elena kept her eyes closed, but she was not asleep. In her mind were running lots of things. The decisions she had made today, required some work and planning.

It was not her desire alone to form a Guild. She had sensed Aoun’s desire to have a Guild such as the Twelve Shades. He wanted trusted friends around him, but he was a person who always thought through the benefits and cons of things. To him, her responsibility, and having her by his side was enough to keep him together and happy. He was worried that their time together would be disturbed with problems that otherwise would never arrive if they were alone. Therefore, to him, the fun of having a group was dispensible. 

The princess knew that she had to make such decisions on his behalf, or he would end up alienating himself from the world. The scariest thing about people with Darkness was that they were capable of living alone. It was also what made them dangerous, as slowly, their hearts would be deprived of feelings of social well-being, ending up becoming wholely self-centered. 

Elena did not want Aoun to become a person who cared for no one other than his family. Their Grandfather warned her about it. She had vowed to not let him drown in darkness, ending up becoming a person that treated the lives of people as something insignificant.

The Primordial Purgatory was a nightmare to those that knew about it, and she would not let her brother see the same fate as the previous Master of this Rune.

“Uwu..” 

She smiled when she saw the little fox come out and rub her face against hers. 

Mera wanted to play with Winter and Shuvi. They had not come out since they had left the Devil’s Paradise, and it had been nearly three days. She could understand that her Soul-Beast was yearning to see her siblings, and Elena had to give in.

She used her connection with Aoun and called Shuvi and Winter. The rays of light formed into beautiful littles foxes of illusory bodies, and then they excitedly danced in the air. 

“Do not make too much noise, okay?” 

“Uwu…” They nodded their little heads and busied themselves in their games.

Elena fell asleep watching them having fun and teasing each other. She had grown fond of watching these little Beasts play like that. It eased her mind and made her feel blissful. 

………………………………………

“So he is the famous Second Prince of White Winter.” White mused as she made her move on the board of chess. 

“Yes,” Black kept a light smile on his lips as he made his move, not taking any time to think. 

“Chloe must be regretting her decision now…” White giggled to herself as she imagined the discomfort the girl in her mind might be having over the matter of Aoun Zaryven.

“She does not seem like someone that regrets their decisions.” 

“I know her better than you,” She smiled at her husband. “Aoun Zaryven is now her regret. And I bet you, she won’t enter the Academy next year.” 

“How confident are you?” Black asked with a light smile.

“If Chloe enters the Academy next year, I will give you all my savings. And if she does not, you will hand over all yours…”

“10% of my Savings.” He cut her off right there.

“I am not interested in 10.” She grinned and made her move on the board of chess. “80.”

“20” 

“70”

“30” 

“60…” She sounded a little sad.

“40%” 

“Deal!” White excitedly called out her Grimoire and prepared the spell. 

Black sighed at her behavior. 

“I am your Husband…” He reminded her. “Do you think I would go back on my word?”

“Don’t play me like that!” She pouted. “I know that you won’t go back on your words to everyone else but me. You still haven’t paid up our last bet…” 

“Okay… okay…” Black braved cold sweat at the reminder. He owed her 100%  of his savings from the last bet. 

“Hehe…” White smiled brightly. “I won’t let you off this time.”

She made Black summon his Grimoire, and then the two of them made their vows over the terms of the Bet. 

“You know…” A teasing voice called out. “She is going to win. Chloe won’t come to the Entrance Exams next year.” Silver laughed at Black’s misfortune and returned her attention to the book that she was reading. 

“I am not placing my bet on Chloe. I am placing it on her family.” Black moved a Piece forward in a danger zone, luring White. “Her family would force her to enter the Academy the next year when she turns 16. They will do it for the best of her. If both she and Aoun enter the Academy the same year, it would mean that she is obsessed with him. It wouldn’t look good.”

“Smartass…” White did not fall in his trap and set up a trap of her own, targeting one of his Queens and the Grand-Knight. “You can never understand the rebellious Heart of a maiden. Empyreans have their Pride. Families can’t dictate them to do things.” 

“But would she let her pride be questioned by showing that she is obsessed with him?” He smiled back at her and moved his Arch-Bishop to target the Empress. “Game over…” He whispered.

White lightly smiled at him. The game was over, but she was not going to give in at just that. She would play it out to its completion.

Royals after the Royals fell, and then an Emperor was killed by the other.  The Empyrean Chess had proved bloodthirsty again. 

“313-0” Black gave an update on their all-time score.

“An Empress must make her Emperor win…” She palely replied to him and poured out some wine in her cup.

The little Beast that was sleeping soundly on the couch by their side suddenly opened its eyes and turned to look at the door. 

“What’s wrong, Nero?” Black curiously looked at his Soul-Beast, and then his eyes turned grave when he sensed the Beast’s heart tremble in apprehension.

There were not many creatures in the world that could make his Mystic Beast apprehensive of them. Whatever it had sensed was not any ordinary existence.