"Hai hai! Welcome to the Fivindus estate, esteemed guest!" a girl in a maid uniform said while waving both her hands enthusiastically.
"Let me introduce you, Vivshi. This is Zeri," Aylin said.
Zeri got all close up to my face with squinted eyes before backing off and smiling.
"How have you been enjoying your stay so far?"
"Not the best experience so far."
"Wait, don't tell me… you ran into Raye the gay?" She burst out laughing, holding her stomach while trying to contain her laughter.
"Sorry… sorry… but… HAHAHAHAUAHAHU." She knelt down and put her head against the wall, trying her hardest not to laugh.
"Raye… the… gay… PFFF… AHAHAHAHAHAAHHA."
She started slamming the marble walls and pinching herself. Rei looked at the maid and shook her head lightly in disbelief. Aylin looked at me curiously and asked who it was she was referring to. I told her it was that sex maniac I had met earlier.
Zeri stood back up, pinching her mouth shut and taking deep breaths through her nose. She then slowly released her lips and exhaled loudly.
"Yeah… I wouldn't want the first person I meet to be him… Raye th…"
"Don't say it again," Rei told her off.
As we were walking down the corridors with Zeri, she told us about the time she was twelve when she ran into Raye and he started flirting with her.
"How old was that guy at the time?" I asked.
"I think he was around seventeen."
Both Aylin and I eyed each other, pretending that we didn't just hear that.
Aylin tried to switch the topic and asked if Zeri was a full time employee here. Zeri told us she was actually a member of the Fivindus family, but she waved her finger and said she didn't want her daddy's money. She pointed out that responsibility and independence were key.
"So you are working for your own money?" Aylin asked.
"Yeah! I wanna get away from here and start up my own little shop somewhere," she said enthusiastically.
"What are you gonna sell?" Aylin asked.
"I was thinking about opening an apothecary."
That was when I remembered the girl in the library and asked Zeri about her.
"Uhh… I think her name was Mabel. She never really introduced herself to us. Do you know anything about her, Rei?" Zeri looked behind us at our guides who were tailing us.
"No clue. Never talked with her."
"You, Lukas?"
"Mmmmm…"
"That's a no then."
Zeri told me that their librarian was really antisocial. People speculated that she might be a spirit tied to the library.
"I think I asked Papa about her one time, but he told me she was a special exception to the family and that I shouldn't bother her. I've never seen her outside of the library. I don't know how she gets her food or goes to the bathroom. A total mystery, honestly. But enough talk! We are at the training room!"
She pushed open a big wooden door, and the moment it swung open we heard grunting and the sound of meat being hit. Inside the room were a bunch of men exercising and sparring with each other.
"This is the training room where the Fivindus family learn martial arts."
She gently ushered us in.
A man overseeing everything waved at Zeri when she called out to him.
"Rayel!"
The man was massive, slightly taller and beefier than the clan head. He had short slicked back hair and wore a training uniform with the Fivindus crest on it.
He gently rubbed Zeri's head and asked us if we were guests, welcoming us when we said we were.
"Good to see you back here, Rei, Lukas."
"It's been a while, Master Rayel," Rei bowed her head.
"It is truly nostalgic to see that training gi," Lukas said as he opened his eyes and looked at his teacher's clothes.
"Up for a spar then, Lukas?" Rayel gave a thumbs up to him and pointed at the training grounds.
"Don't take me lightly like you used to."
"Ha! You really think you can best your master?"
There was something off about my lazy, laid back guide. His eyes were riled up and full of excitement. Rei shook her head and found a good spot to watch the match.
Zeri told us that Lukas only truly came alive in battle, and that was why he usually looked the way he did.
"Come on! SHOW ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE LEARNED OUTSIDE OF MY TEACHINGS!"
Lukas grinned before charging loxes into his right arm. Affiliation of Nihility. This color in his soul. It was a pitch black void that wanted to consume the world.
He formed a claw and was about to strike Rayel in the chest.
"Naïve!" Rayel leapt up, dodged the attack, and smacked his back, throwing Lukas off balance.
But as Rayel's next attack came, a wicked smile formed on Lukas' face as loxes accumulated below his feet. He sprang up from the ground and managed to kick Rayel back a few meters.
Everyone present stopped their own sparring and watched in awe. Rei watched with both her arms crossed and didn't say a single word.
"Did you know that during the time Lukas trained here, he didn't win a single time against Master Rayel? But even so, he never lost his spirit and continued to challenge him. I think the score is 124 to 0," Zeri said casually.
Rei watched as the two fought with their hearts.
"Seems like the job has been teaching you a lot," Rayel complimented his former student.
"Seems like you never get rusty, Master."
Both of them continued to clash, and Lukas landed a blow to Rayel's stomach and back.
"What's wrong? Not dodging?"
Rayel started to laugh hysterically and looked at Lukas with eyes full of admiration for how strong his student had become.
"I applaud you. You have grown. But you are still too naïve." Blue loxes started forming around Rayel's body as the power of Conservation flowed through him.
"This ends here."
Lukas charged at his master with eyes full of exhilaration and punched him right in the middle of his chest. But Rayel didn't even move or flinch. The punch dealt zero damage.
Rei turned her back to the arena and closed her eyes.
"Not yet!" Lukas screamed before infusing his left hand with loxes and landing a punch to Rayel's face. His master was pushed back, and Lukas stood there breathing heavily as his teacher approached him with heavy steps.
Lukas started to laugh as a huge amount of loxes overflowed the room. His body was rapidly burning through his reserves, and he was ready to throw everything he had into this last attack.
Rayel readied himself in a defensive stance and watched Lukas prepare his final move.
"Come!"
Rei quickly turned around and saw her dad standing between Rayel and Lukas. Her dad was holding onto Lukas' loxes infused arm.
"Rayel, that attack would have pierced through your defense and crushed your organs. I will assume the winner of this bout to be Lukas."
Rayel and Lukas started to laugh together, but before either of them could say anything, Lukas lost his balance and fell to the ground.
His face was brimming with happiness, even though he was the one lying on the floor.
I turned to look at Rei, and that was the first time I had ever seen her smile.