Chapter 415 - Full House (Patreon)

Mary was tired in both mind and body yet she had a strange feeling of fulfillment. She didn't know where Mary and Jonah went to but she had faith in them.

Also, that guy is helping them… They should be fine.

After the riot, the Fioret and the Geneb were busy searching for their young heirs, jailing the rioters, and imposing order in the city. Mary could leave like Avel and the others but she needed to explain matters to the Fiorets at least.

The family of the bride… were not happy, to say the least. Some blamed her for not fighting Jonah harder. She knew she would be raked on coals by them but she presented herself anyway. The Fioret needed someone to blame and Mary volunteered.

Two days later, Mary finally packed her belongings and was about to leave Celedony.

Phew… I wish they ranted shorter though. It took too long for them to drain their resentment. I hope I still have time.

Mary was leaving Celedony in a hurry. The Fiorets wasn't her concern though.

“Now where are you going, young lady?”

“Uph!?”

Just as she was about to leave the city, a rope made from magic locked around her neck. Hearing a voice she recognized, Mary’s hair stood on end.

A big, tall, muscular woman held the end of the rope. On top of a maid uniform, she wore chest armor. Her thick biceps were pressing against the fabric and her hair was covered by a white bonnet. The frilly maid clothing and the towering physique were mismatched as hell.

“T-Tinade… Ma’am… L-Long time no see.”

Mary tried to break free, but even though she had become a Level 4, she couldn't.

“Is that how you greet your teacher after not seeing her for years? Humph!”

Mary was yanked closer and bearhugged. Her bones creaked from the pressure. Through gritted teeth, her traumatic experiences filled her mind, flashbacks of the days of training under Tinade floated into the surface.

Behind the monster maid with a rectangular face, came into view a carriage with a squad of knights as escort. The carriage was pulled by six pegasi.

“You’ve made yourself hard to find. I suppose you’ve gotten better compared to the time you were hiding within a flour barrel in the pantry.”

“I was five! Re-release me!”

“Nu-uh,” Tinade didn't lax her tight embrace. “Lord Sterling and Lady Camile miss you dearly. You should meet them instead of looking from afar like you’ve done the past years. You promised you’d return to the house and do your duties after you’ve become Level 4, now you have. I’m bringing you back. Congratulations by the way.”

So they really have been watching me!

Tinade walked closer to the carriage with Mary in hand. The maid was two meters tall so her feet didn't even touch the ground.

Mary expelled her charged power to free herself. Tinade looked amused and tried to catch her again. Mary fought to escape. They were both Level 4 so Mary hoped she had some chance. Just as she feared, Tinade overcame her with ease.

The end result was Mary got bound with rope from neck to toe, like a caterpillar on the ground.

“Your growth and improvement brings tears of happiness to my eyes, young lady. Why don't you show me your face so I can look at you.”

Tinade swiped her hand in front of Mary’s face and her disguise unraveled. A beautiful face that was incomparable to her previous one came into view. Her hair also became longer and changed into bright gold.

“There. Such a waste of a pretty face to cover it up.”

“Ahahah…” Ciel weakly laughed. “My dear kind-hearted instructor, can you please let your dear disciple go?”

“Nope. Your parents take priority. You know, your accomplishments in the Silver Legion made both of them very proud, as am I. Now your other duty calls. Back home, they already have a bunch of suitors lined up for you. Handsome boys all. You’ll like them. Pick wisely. Or pick them all. That works too.”

Tinade tossed the bound young lady with a horrified expression to the carriage despite her protest.

“Wait-wait-wait! I don't want to marry yet!”

“And what fortuitous timing that you'd return to us this day of all times. I think we can still make it for tonight's event.”

Tinade closed the door to the carriage as she entered, the heraldry of the Valentine Duchy was on the door. The people of Celedony that had gathered from the commotion witnessed the pegasi pull the carriage into the air.

***

“I wonder when Master is coming here,” Boram was getting restless.

“Farley said he will come here today,” Jessica brought a cake. It was what they made for Viers. “Paina, can you clear the table?”

“Sure,” Paina promptly did so and beamed at the three that entered the house. “Tim, Luca, Gwen! How are you?”

“Is he here yet?” Luca was slightly panting. She was in a hurry to come here.

“Relax. You’re still in time. How’d your lesson go today?” Farley asked while grabbing a Level 2 water candy for Futon who came out from the white badge on Gwen’s shirt. The elemental had been acting as bodyguard for the younger trio.

Tim was eager to answer. “It was great! We-”

A portal was formed in front of the Gate Plant that was planted inside the house. All the people stopped what they were doing and gathered around.

It had been three long years since some of them met Viers directly. Welcome and congratulations were at the tip of their tongue.

They were assaulted by a feeling of death. Primal fear that stabbed into their souls. Viers appeared from the portal exuding a refined killing intent and an oppressing aura.

“Hm…” Viers hummed. “You passed. All of you. Well done!”

Viers rescinded his intimidation and smiled.

There were gasps of breaths and long exhalations of relief.

“Hey, what was that for?” Paina flared.

“Farley and Jessica immediately put the younger trio behind them and ready to defend. Paina was a moment away from activating life-saving measures. Boram and Futon ready on the offense. There are no unnecessary movements. This shows your depths. Your vigilance. This means should I be an enemy, you all won't die without nothing to show for it and survival is much more likely. I’m especially worried about those that went to the Academy. Safe environments can dull your instincts. I’m glad it’s an unnecessary worry.”

“Master,” Boram sighed. “Never changes.”

“My heart seems to be jumping up and down in my breast,” Gwen said from behind her sister.

Clarissa came from behind the portal after Viers. Mini-Dia was on her shoulder. Zerri and Faiya came next. The whole gang was gathered in the house.

A messy house.

When the defenders entered battle mode abruptly, they couldn't afford to think about furniture. The living room looked like the site of a plane crash.

Seeing the state of the room, Clarissa shook her head.

“Don't worry. He did the same to us.”

“Being alert is never bad,” Viers scoffed. “You never know when you’ll get a brush with death.”

“Ah… the cake is ruined,” Jessica said after seeing the splattered pastry.

“Oh no,” Luca saddened.

“No worries. Seeing your growth is a much more important present for me,” Viers stroked Luca’s dark purple hair. “You’ve gotten big, little duck.”

“Ehehe, it’s the swan, big bro,” Luca smiled.

Next was the true catch-up. They did it while tidying up the place. Although this house was temporarily, one meant for use during the Grand Prix only, such a mess couldn't be tolerated. Of course, Viers helped too.

Boram had experienced a period of growth spurt. Because he was forced to become a Pathseeker before the age of fifteen, his body couldn't grow. After saving Liapris, the elves managed to cure him somewhat. Now he looked like someone of his age, a fifteen-year-old Level 3 peak Pathseeker. When other people his age had just begun as Pathseekers, he was already three Levels ahead. His giant bloodline played a part in him not getting a much worse side effect.

Paina, Farley, and Clarissa. These three former tenants that once lived inside his soul space had achieved existential independence by regaining their flesh and blood bodies. They each had a beauty comparable to movie stars. All were in their early twenties, the same as Viers. Each had their own distinct charm.

If Viers had to describe it, Paina was a beauty-in-the-library kind of girl. He noticed she was wearing glasses even though she shouldn't need them at her cultivation level.

It suited her though. When she uses her Fae powers, what would she look like? Also, I wonder what her approach is with her water and sound dual affinities?

Farley’s beauty was akin to a graceful ballerina. With her Devawi Swan bloodline, Viers kept connecting her with a ballet dancer, which wasn't too far off. Farley was a great dancer. But she was no fragile flower. Her skill with a spear was as ferocious as a dragon. She used to have white feathers sparingly growing on her head like hair, but she seemed to be more in control of her bloodline now and had none. But she seemed to like wearing feather-themed hair accessories like the one she had now.

Clarissa’s lamian heritage gave her an exotic flavor of beauty. She was also pretty bold in her choice of clothes. She preferred clothing that showed a lot of skin. Her navel was almost always exposed. Whether it was an individual preference or a cultural thing, Viers didn't know. There was also a highborn charisma that she rarely showed. As expected of a lamia princess from the Age of the Gods.

Like Boram, the three were Level 3 peak and were making progress to Level 4 but they were still far. It wasn't that they were slow. On the contrary, their cultivation Level was very excellent but they weren't ready for Level 4 yet. They also didn't have all of Viers’ cultivation resources and cheats. For them, reaching Level 4 should take a few more years but for Boram, it would take much longer. Ascending too early could become a problem on its own.

The one that had reached Level 4 besides Viers was Jessica. She did that a few months ago. For a long time the single mother had been stuck at Level 3. After finding her purpose and access to a wealth of resources via Viers, her cultivation rose rapidly. Her age was greatly above Viers so it was no surprise. She said her accumulation had dried up though so from this point on her growth rate would dip. The age part didn't touch her appearance though, she still very much resembled Tifa. With her high cultivation and the health of a body Pathseeker, Viers was pretty sure she would stay this way even if she hit two hundred.

The most likely that would become Level 4 next, more than Paina, Farley, and Clarissa, were the three familiars.

Dia, Faiya, and Futon were not human so their cultivation was different. The latter two who were born from Viers split souls, were somewhat restricted by Viers’ Level ceiling. Like monsters, after eating enough precious items, they should be able to become Level 4s. Meanwhile, the dryad had taken her cultivation to an unusual and interesting direction. She consulted with Viers who deemed it viable and gave her the go-ahead to do as she wished.

In the matter of appearance, Faiya and Futon were unchanged, cute flying little fireball and cloud. During battle, they could grow their mass and volume to further suit the enemy but this was their default form. This decision was supported by the women in Viers’ camp. They liked hanging out with the elementals, sometimes using them as pillows.

To match her siblings, Dia usually took on the size of a palmtop Bellossom so they could play or ride on someone’s head together. However, her normal form was that of a ten-year-old dryad with leaves for hair and green skin. Lately, she had been improving her transformation so she became more human-like. She asked pointers from Clarissa who transformed her snake-lower body into a pair of nice legs. She thought if she could do that, she would be able to do more things together with her kin in the outside world without attracting attention from baddies.

The queen of the Tyra Xerg had joined Viers’ camp. She was the one and only of her kind in the entire world right now and it would remain that way until she evolved further. She was currently as strong as a Level 2 monster but with a psychic ability potent enough to turn the minds of Level 3s into mush. She tried to grow as fast as she could to help her Overlord but Viers told her no. Nothing good came from forcing growth, he said. At this time, the threat of a Swarm of organisms that would consume the world was just a fantasy but one that became more real every day.

“You’ve lost weight. Congratulations,” Jessica said.

“Dying everyday for three years does that to people,” Viers took a few sips from his cup.

Seeing the older kids, Luca sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Gwen asked.

“They are all so incredible,” Luca said. “I feel like we’ve no place here. It’s like they are in a different world.”

“I get you,” Tim put a peanut into his mouth. “I can't wait to get to where they are.”

“We will,” Gwen leaned her head on Luca’s shoulder as she looked at her sister who seemed to be having fun talking with Paina and Clarissa. “Just two more years.”

“Mhmm,” Luca nodded.

***

It was fun, but Viers had plans for the evening. He put on a nice suit fitting for a high-class ball and went to meet up with Croix. The place they were in was on the outskirts of the Crimson Capital while the prince got a place in the noble's district. Only Viers and Boram would go. They took a carriage to get there.

The sun was setting and the Emerith Grand Ball would soon begin.