Arthur Leywin POV:
It has been about a week since my meeting with a director. My life was going by in a comforting manner, spending time with my family, training and making plans for the war... and looking after Alea from a distance, that's right, I totally didn't stalk her
' Yeah, and I don't like Caeras boobs' Regis commented in my head, his sarcastic voice making me even more conscious of my new "hobby"
' Papa... I know how much you like her but... stalking is no good, okay?' Sylvie said in a scolding, yet a caring voice
My daughter is growing up so fast...
I know that I should feel happy about it, but that makes me feel sad. Is this how mom and dad would always feel about me?
' So papa, mind finally telling us about your plans for the war?'
I looked at Sylvie who was in her human form wearing her signature black dress
" No, I will tell you when the time comes" I gave her a wink
' Muuu, papa is a meanie' she turned her head to the other side and pouted. Honestly, the sight of my cute daughter's pouting was just too cute, at this rate I might even get a diabetes
.......
I was walking toward uncle Vincent's office so I could talk with him about helping Lilia become a mage and him helping me get some items
Mom, Ellie, aunt Tabitha, Lilia, and Sylvie have gone for shopping while dad is back at the auction house, so I should have some time for the private discussion with uncle Vincent
Regis is currently asleep, rather than asleep, he is hibernating while keeping my core in check because ,as he put it, it's very exhausting
Hallways of the Helstea mention were finely decorated with luxuriously decorated walls and expensive paintings could be seen every couple of steps. The floor was covered with a red carpet that had golden lines spread through the sides of it. If it wasn't for my short life in Alcarya, not to mention the Dragon palace of Ephoteus and flying castle, I would, once again, believe that this is one of the finest buildings in this world
I reached the door of uncle Vincent's office. They were relatively large wooden doors. The wood that they used for them was relatively darker so it gave a warm feeling to the rest of the hall
* KNOCK KNOCK*
I knocked on the door and waited for the response
" Come in!" I heard uncle shout from the other side
I opened the door and looked toward uncle Vincent who had piles of paper on his table
' I kinda pity the four eyes now' is it really necessary to point out who said this?
Finally finishing with one of the papers he looked at me, and when he noticed that it is me who came to visit him, he gave me a confused look
" Arthur, is something wrong?" he asked, obviously concerned
" Actually, I just came here to discuss something with you?" I said in my authoritative mode that I used back when I was a king and in my time as a lance
" Ah, I see..." he said and gestured me to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his desk
I sat in a chair and rested my head on my right hand while putting my right leg above my left one. Seeing my posture and demeanor that was clearly different from my usual one made uncle Vincent look confused and nervous
There were a couple of minutes of complete silence that he spent looking at me blankly
*cough cough* " So what did you want to talk about, Arthur?" he said after he finally broke the silence with the fake coughs
A little smile appeared on my face
" Actually, I wanted to ask you if you could retrieve a few items for me?" my voice was stoic, just like in my time as a king
Uncle Vincent gave me a questionable look, most likely interested in what would someone of my talents ask for
" And what might that be?" he asked while raising his right eyebrow
" I need a mask that could alter my voice, a protective cloak, preferably one with a hood, two decent swords my size, and a dimensional ring" I said not letting even a hint of hesitation escape in my voice
Last time I didn't ask for the dimensional ring since I didn't need one, but now I need it so I can cover up the usage of my dimensional rune
Uncle seemed to think about it for a second. I know that the swords and cloak shouldn't be that much of a problem for him, but the mask and ring are a different storyB, but thanks to my experience from the past timeline, I know that uncle Vincent is capable of doing this
" The cloak and swords shouldn't be a problem... but for the mask and ring it will take me some time" he answered absent-mindedly while holding his chin and thinking about how can he get those items
" Regarding the payment, I don't have any money to pay for it, but I think that there is something I could do for you in return" my demeanor remained the same throughout our conversation
" No, it's fine Arthur, your father has already done so much for me and my family, you can take this as my way of repaying him a favor" he said dismissively while waving his hand in the same manner
I stood up and started slowly walking toward uncle Vincent, who was on the other side of the table
"It's fine uncle Vincent, I already planned on helping Ellie with this, so why shouldn't I help Lillia as well while I am at it"
" What are you talking about?" he asked, curiosity visible on every millimeter of his face
I came closer to the uncle and gave him a genuine smile, a smile that indicated that my facade has crumbled
" I can help Lilia become a mage"
........
Last evening I helped Ellie and Lilia after they came back home from their shopping
Ellie was happy to boast about the new teddy bear that she got while Lilia was happy with the necklace that was imbued with some kind of brown crystals. Sylvie, on the contrary, didn't buy anything, since as she puts it, she already has everything that she needs
In the beginning, they were skeptical about me being able to help Ellie and Lilia, but that didn't discourage me since they were skeptical in the last timeline as well, and then it worked just fine
Compared to back then I noticed that there are two differences
1. Due to me being at the higher stage I could imbue more mana in them which resulted in the gathering mana much easier than last time
2. My aether was actually pulling some of their mana towards them and that will dramatically fasten their awakening
I also asked uncle if I could go and take swords today so I could get used to them before I go adventuring, and he agreed happily
So, that's why I am currently on my way toward the auction house. By my side are uncle Vincent, dad, and Sylvie
We arrived at our destination and attendants were already waiting for us. The first attendant led me towards the storage room while the other one took dad and Vincent to the places where their presence or attention was required to
The auction house was the same as I remember it. Lavishly decorated walls, expensive carpets and paintings were just some of the more notable aspects of it
As we arrived at the storage room I pretended that I am looking for a suitable sword, even though I knew which one I wanted, I couldn't just show them that I knew exactly where the things are placed
Finally, I came to the famous shelf and I took the "stick " that was under it
Dawns ballad looked the same as I remembered it, from the outside at least
But something was different
As I grabbed the sword, I felt as if something is calling me
I imbued the sword with some aether and pulled it out. I didn't use enough of aether to make it change color, like in my first fight with Cadell and Nico, but it was enough to make it gain a purplish glow
I spent a couple of seconds looking at the beautiful sword, admiring its unparalleled beauty
" Wren Kain IV" I said and once again mark appeared on my hand, but this time it was different. It looked more, complete?
Dawns Ballad has once again adjusted to my size and it shone more brightly than ever
I was for the second time today amazed by its beauty and just couldn't take my eyes off of it
' Do-don't just stare at me, stupid master!' I heard an unknown female voice shout in my head
" Wha...?!" I said out loud and started looking in all directions
" It was me, are you stupid?" said the unknown voice
I looked towards the Dawns Ballad and saw that it had weird glowing pulses with some red lines on her handle that seemed like, a blush?
' Could it be that Dawn's ba... nooo, there is no way' I thought
' That is me, you stupid master'
For the next couple of seconds, I just stared blankly at the sword that was in my hands. I just couldn't understand it, how is she able to speak, and if she can, why didn't she do so in the last timeline?
' What are you looking so stupid at, you know, you should be honored that I choose someone like you for my master, hmph!' I heard her comment
' Tsundere'
' Tsundere'
' Tsundere'
Sylvie, Regis, and I commented at the same time
' Sooo... how come you speak with me now, but you didn't in the last timeline?' I asked her, honestly curious about her reasons
' What do you mean timeline?' she asked me with evident confusion
After that I let her look at my memories. There were a couple of moments of silence until she didn't organize her thoughts
' YOU STUPID MASTER, HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME THAT WAY!!!' she shouted, flew out of my hand and punched me in the head with her handle
' Ho-how can you fly!?' I shouted internally
She just stayed like that, floating mid-air and not saying anything
' I-is that what are you supposed to say in this situation' she finally said something, and it made me realize that still haven't apologized
' Sorry! For first damaging and then breaking you!!!' I apologized and then sensed relief coming out of her
'It's fine, it's partly my fault after all...' she muttered the last part so silently that I barely even heard it
I looked at her, confused, for a couple of seconds before finally deciding that I should ask
' What do you mean ' its partly your fault'?" I asked her
She hesitated for a couple of seconds before finally forming a resolve and answering my question
' haaa... Because at the time you couldn't control aether and weren't strong enough I didn't form a complete contract with you, waiting for a moment where you could control aether but that moment actually never came, you already know why' she stated and for the first time today she was calm and didn't react completely on emotions
' I see... so now you formed a full contract with me because I met these requirements ?' this was a statement, rather than a question
' Tha-that's right' she said and once again blush appeared on her handle
' A-and please...call em Dawn' she said now blushing even more
Regis and Sylvie were quiet for most of the conversation and decided to stay silent for the rest of it
' So, Dawn, since you can fly, can you do something else?' I asked Dawn since I should know about something like this
' Yes, I can fly but I can't willingly go more than a hundred meters away from you and if I do I will be forced to stay within these one hundred meters'
I just nodded and waited to see if there is something else
' I can adjust my weight and size, it only depends on how much aether or mana you use, I can steal mana or aether from the people that have been inflicted a wound by me, you can summon me at any time and you can put my invisible " mark" on somebody by making contact, that marks allows you to know their location for the next 24 hours' she answered and I was taken back by how unbelievable those abilities actually are. Every single one of them can make a huge difference in a fight
' Sorry master but I am really tired, so I will go to sleep now' she said and immediately fell asleep. There were more things that I wanted to ask about but I knew that I should let her rest and that all of my questions can wait
I picked the same sword I did in the last timeline and went to dad and uncle Vincent that were now waiting for me at the entrance
--------------------------
2188 words