Elias Leywin POV
"That reminds me. Kids, if you don't have any plans, do you want to go with us to City Square? There's a big announcement in Etistin from the King and Queen, but a couple of artificers are going to put up a live projection of the broadcast in City Square." My father said with a half-stuffed face.
"Honey, please don't talk with your mouth full," my mother scolded before continuing her gossip about other socialites with Aunt Tabitha.
"What sort of announcement?" I asked my father as I stabbed into a pancake.
"Dunno," he shook his head as he stuffed another egg down his gullet.
'Thanks, Dad…'
Uncle Vincet let out a cough. "I'm not too sure, Lias, but I heard through the grapevine that it's pretty big news. Especially if they're going to this much effort."
I nodded as I shoved the entire pancake into my mouth.
"Sounds good. Elijah and I don't have anything planned today anyway, right?" Art said, turning to his friend.
He was given a simple thumbs up before he returned to his omelette.
"Is it-" I couche. I slapped my chest twice and took a swig of water. "Is it okay if I tag along, Art?" I asked my big brother raspily.
He slammed his chest a few times before coughing. "Soun-ds g-o-od"
"I wanna go too! Can I, Mum?" Ellie leaned forward on the table towards my mother.
"You have school today, Ellie. You can hang out with your brothers after," she answered, nudging my pouting sister back down into her chair.
~~~
The carriage ride passed without much note. The rhythmic clatter of wheels against stone settled into the background until it became something I barely noticed.
By the time we arrived, the streets had already begun to swell with people.
I stepped out last. I fell down onto the pavement, boots meeting stone with a soft tap, and made my way toward where the others had grouped.
Dad turned to me as I neared. "I have a few things to take care of. I'll meet you back home later tonight."
His hand came down on my head, fingers ruffling my hair in a way that felt both familiar and mildly annoying. He shot us a final wave as he climbed onto another carriage.
Uncle Vincent raised a hand, signalling for a public carriage. One arrived after a short wait, plain wood worn smooth from years of use. "Please take us to 8 Vilison Street." He said, climbing aboard the carriage.
"Lias." My brother said, looking down at me. "Would you watch Sylvie for me as I go meet this mad scientist? I would rather not have her cause a scene."
The intelligent bond shot him a look.
"Uhh… Sure, I guess?" I held my arms out towards the small ashen fox.
She leapt from his head, her body shifting midair before landing lightly in my arms. Warmth spread through my sleeves where she settled, her small form pressing against me before she climbed onto my shoulder. Her tail wrapped around my neck as if she were a high-end scarf.
"Thanks, Lias," he nodded as he followed our Uncle aboard the second Carriage.
We watched the pair roll off in silence.
"So it's just us," Elijah said, glancing down at me with a faint smile.
"Seems so."
The streets stretched out ahead of us, filled with movement that never seemed to stop. Merchants called out to passersby. Children wove between adults without care. Performers drew small crowds with practised ease.
"So, do you have anywhere you want to go?" I asked the old boy.
"I have something in mind." He smiled
"Would you care to share that with the class?"
"You'll see soon enough."
I sighed as I aimlessly followed the pre-teen.
We continued south. The buildings grew taller, their facades more refined. The crowd thickened.
"Are we shopping?" I asked after a while.
"Kinda," he smiled, "There somewhere I've always wanted to check out, and now that I'm out here in Xyrus, I thought I'd go. I never had an excuse to come this far out of my way before, so I hope you don't mind that I've dragged you along." He said awkwardly as he scratched his cheek.
"Of course not, I'm always up for going to new places."
White marble rose in clean lines, polished to the point that it reflected light in soft glints. A golden sign hung above the entrance.
[Xyrus Elixirs]
"Huh… I think Curtis said something about this place." I looked up to Elijah. "He said something like how all of the Xyrus students tended to come here for supplies."
"Do they now?" he smiled in kind, "Then it's best your brother and I come back at a later date to pick up some stuff then."
Elijah pushed the door open, a bell chiming as he did so.
Warm air wrapped around us as we stepped inside. Shelves lined the walls, filled with glass bottles that caught the light in shifting colours. Blues that glowed faintly. Reds that seemed almost too deep. Greens that pulsed with quiet life.
I moved slowly, letting my gaze pass over each row.
"This place is fancy."
"And expensive," Eliah added as he released his hand from a price tag he was reading.
"Excuse me, sirs, may I assist you?"
A young man stood there, his white suit pressed, his posture straight, his gloved hands folded neatly in front of him. His gaze flicked from Elijah to me before settling briefly on Sylvie.
"We're just browsing here today," Elijah said.
"Of course." The man nodded.
"Is there anything interesting we could see within the store?" Elijah asked.
"Hmm," the young man murmured. "There are some low-grade beast cores on the third floor, if you would find those to your liking?" he smiled.
'Damn beast cores'
"I see, thank you." Elijah nodded.
He did so in kind, and with that, the young man left us be and migrated over to another set of fresh customers.
"Want to race?" I asked the older boy.
"Race?" Elijah repeated, acting as if he didn't know the word.
"One of us takes the stairs, and the other the elevator, the first to the top is bought ice cream or a Crepe or something."
"Okay, you're on." He nodded in agreement.
"Dibs on the Elevator." I ran towards the elevator's open door and closed it before the older boy could voice his protests.
With a ding, I reached the third floor. I stood alone here surrounded by cases upon cases of E-B grade mana beasts.
To my left, a set of blue crystals, each one polished to a smooth finish.
A plaque sat beneath them.
[Water Cobra – B-Class Beast Core]
[600 Gold Coins]
'Six hundred holy shit.'
I paced as I did the maths in my head.
'If Dad earns 2 silver coins a month and 100 silver coins are equal to 1 gold coin, then…'
I looked down at my fingers.
'That'd be 30,000 months of work… How could anyone justify paying such a price for…'
I reached a hand towards the glass.
"Lias, you Bastard!" Elijah roared.
He rubbed his misted glasses against his shirt as he stumbled towards me, sweat gleaming off his forehead. He panted as heavily as he pushed on.
"I've just finished up here." I smiled as I walked past him and back into the elevator. "I don't like how expensive it is here; it's making me depressed."
"Huh?"
The elevator door closed with the same chime it opened with.
---
"Hey Art? Is everything okay?" I asked, glancing up at him
He looked upwards almost as if he was in a trance.
"ARTHUR!" I called out louder, drawing him free of his daydream.
"Oh, sorry…" he said, looking at me with a smile "I'm fine, little brother," he reassured, patting my head.
'If he says so…'
"I can't wait for the announcement today!" the glasses-wearing mage exclaimed with a childish excitement that seemed almost unnatural.
"I know what's going to happen, but I don't want to spoil the surprise…" Uncle Vincent smirked.
"Is something-" A look of shock and horror overwhelmed the young mage. He grit his teeth and sprinted towards the commotion. I followed behind.
"Stupid Dwarf!" a ginger boy wearing the Xyrus academy uniform grunted as his fist slammed into the defenceless dwarf's stomach. "Your filth shouldn't be anywhere near our city, let alone the Academy", he snarled as he continued his assault.
Elijah reached him and pushed him off balance.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked the teary dwarf as he helped him to his feet. He stared down the older boy, "How dare you do this to-"
Elijah was met by the back of the ginger's hand, sending his glasses flying as he and the young dwarf fell to one knee.
He held Elijah by his hair and pulled his face close. "I should be asking you the same thing. How dare you interrupt my fun?"
Elijah Knight POV
'Calm down, Elijah. If I use magic here, it'll only cause Arthur and Mr Helstea trouble'
"Hey Jamiel! Isn't that a crest from Drav?" one of the boy's accomplices asks.
"Hooo??" Jamiel snarled as he threw me down next to the dwarven boy. "Did you want to join your half-Pig brot-"
The Noble brat was cut short as a foot thundered against his head.
'Huh? What's happening?'
Jamiel was sent flying back into a nearby wall as a boy with a look I had never seen on his face before stared him down.
A faint golden light outlined his body as he spoke up in a way that was unbecoming of his appearance. "Are you a Xyrus student?" Elias asked, his golden eyes never leaving the teen.
"YOU FUCKING BRAT!" the nobleman screamed as he climbed out of the hole he now found himself in, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WH-"
"Are you a student of Xyrus Academy?" he repeated.
"I am, what of it?" he answered, almost spitting at Elias, holding this already bruising cheek.
"Elias?" I asked, looking at the boy, no older than eight.
He clenched his fist and instantaneously appeared before the boy.
"Huh?" the boy murmured, face pale. Elias' fist slammed squarely into the boy's chin, sending him almost comically into the air.
Elias Leywin POV
I grabbed the teen's leg mid-air and slammed him into the ground just before me, shattering the marbled pavement. I raised a fist over the boy, when a hand gripped my arm from behind me.
"Elias, I'm sure Mr Tridant has endured enough of the rightfully given punishment you served him"
I looked over my shoulder to see the familiar face of my friend. "Curtis, He was bullying a future student."
I shook off the prince's hand as I dropped the boy onto his back, blood pooling around his head.
"At least heal him…" Curtis murmured as he looked at the mess behind me.
"He'll live, I shrugged, standing up and walking over to the hunched-over dwarf and shell-shocked Elijah.
"Are you okay?" I asked the crying dwarf as a golden light illuminated from my right palm.
Elijah stumbled to his feet as he helped the dwarf stand.
"Thank you," the dwarven boy said as he lowered his head. Eliah took the dwarf's arm over his shoulder, and they made their way past us.
I turned back to where Jamiel lay sprawled, groaning against the cracked marble. Blood had pooled near his head, the sour stench of it clinging to the air. He was glaring at me like I'd committed some unforgivable sin.
'He was the one who hurt someone weaker. So why does he still look like he's trying to be the victim?'
Curtis stepped forward. His presence always carried a strange calmness, even when his voice was quiet. "Jamiel Tridant," he said, folding his arms. "Did you strike that dwarf first?"
Jamiel spat blood, wiping his lip with the back of his sleeve. "No. I didn't touch him! That little brat-" he jabbed a finger toward me, his face twitching with rage, "-came out of nowhere and attacked me! This whole thing is his fault!"
Elijah shot him a glare. "That's not true! I saw you hitting him before I even stepped in."
Jamiel's head snapped toward him, sneer twisting across his face. "And who would believe you? You're nothing but a half-breed. Your word isn't worth anything."
My fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to lunge at him again, to shut him up for good before he could keep spitting poison.
"I don't believe you," the Prince of Humanity said.
Jamiel's sneer froze as the air almost seemed to stop moving.
"You… you don't believe me?" Jamiel stammered, his voice breaking with shock. "You're siding with them? With that, Commoner and those Half-breeds over me?!"
Curtis' eyes narrowed. "What reason would Elias have to lie?"
"W-what?" he murmurs out.
Curtis sighed softly, lowering his voice. "Jamiel, you can keep denying this, but it won't change the truth. And I don't think Elias is the only one who saw what happened." His eyes flicked toward Elijah, then the dwarf, before returning to Jamiel. "Still, I don't want this to spiral out of control. Admit to what you did and apologise to the boy so we put this behind us."
His face twisted, his teeth grinding so loud they almost cracked. "You'll regret this," he muttered under his breath.
"Uncle Vincent," Arthur said, looking at the Helstea patriarch, "Do you have a two-way communication scroll on you?"
I blinked and turned to my brother.
"I do, but what are you…" He said, confused as my brother took the scroll from his hand.
"Cynthia Goodsky," he said, calling into the scroll.
'Why's he calling Grandma?'
~ "Vincent? You know I don't appreciate sudden-" ~
"It's Arthur Leywin," my brother said as he held the scroll tort.
~ "Ah, Arthur! I'm glad to hear from you!" ~
I ran up behind my brother and yanked his arm down "I'm here too, Grandma!" I said, smiling at the woman who'd been teaching me for the better part of three years.
~ "How are you, Lias, Sweetie?" ~ she cooed, smiling wider
~ "I'm always happy to hear from you, but I can't help but be curious as to why you're calling me via Vincent's Communication scroll." ~
"I beat up some Bullies," I explained, flashing a peace sign at the old woman.
~ "Oh?" ~ she said, looking at my brother as if to confirm.
With a sigh, he glanced over his shoulder at the group, which only looked confused at what was happening.
"I need you to expel a boy named Jamiel Tridant and his group of friends, due to race-based bullying as well as lethal use of magic in city bounds." He said calmly.
~ "Hold on a minute, did you say Jamiel Tridant?" ~ she said, panic filling her ~ "I don't think I can do that, his family-" ~
"Lias and I will not be part of an institution that encourages such behaviour and are prepared to drop out"
I nod, agreeing with my brother.
'That's it, big bro, you tell them… Drop out? DROP OUT?!?!!'
"Hey, hey Art, I N-never-" I stammered, shaking his body with as much force as I could muster.
~ "Very well then, I can't be losing my star pupil; they're expelled," ~ she said with a nonchalance I could only aspire to achieve.
---
"Hey, Lias", my brother called as he glanced down towards me with his bond on his head. "Maybe don't tell Mom about what happened earlier…" he said, rubbing his neck.
"Why not? I just beat up some bad guys?" I asked, looking up at the boy.
"He was like some sort of Hero of Justice!" Elijah added, massaging his face from the earlier slap.
"See, Elijah gets it," I said, pointing my thumb at him as golden light shot towards his face.
"Whether that's the case or not, it's best not to worry her," he explained, looking at me with a smile "I also don't want her to learn about my threat to withdraw both of us from Xyrus Academy," he added, almost under his breath.
"Fine… I guess," I groaned as the remainder of our group came into view.
With her hands on her hips, my younger sister looked at us with growing impatience. "You guys took forever-" she grabbed my arm and began to drag me towards where people had started to gather.