The carriage slowly came to a stop. Ronan stepped out of the carriage and signaled Aura to follow him.
She had a nauseous look on her face.
"I'll be seeing you around."
Combo nodded enthusiastically and hugged the bag of money in his hands Ronan had given him earlier. Ronan told him that it was an advance payment in case he needed Combo's services again, and he readily agreed.
After Ronan and Aura walked away from the carriage, Aura spoke.
"That human technology is terrible," she muttered, her face almost turning green. "Do not make me ride in something like that again."
"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. You were enslaved for months upon end, but you can't even handle a simple carriage?"
Aura glared.
"If you humans just used teleportation runes, this matter would be far easier."
Ronan scoffed.
"Human's haven't found a way to use runes for teleportation yet. Unlike you demons, it doesn't come naturally to us."
Unlike demons, humans had to teleport manually.
Aura rolled her eyes.
Demons had a natural affinity towards runes. While humans, elves, and dwarves could use them too, demons were able to create runes that were far more complex than humanity ever could.
You couldn't just copy the demonic runes. They weren't compatible with the mana that humans, elves, or dwarves produced. Instead they used demonic energy, making it something only demons could use.
This put their expertise in runic magic far above the other races.
Of course that would change three years from today, when a certain individual would revolutionize runic magic and put humanity in a new age.
It would be Ronan's older sister, Victoria Ashbourne.
A hum escaped Ronan's lips as he thought about her, but he didn't let his mind wander for long.
"Aura."
Aura turned to him as they walked.
"Yes?"
"Stop here."
Aura hesitated but did as he asked.
"This is where we part ways. Follow that sign and take shelter at a place called Silvercrest Inn."
Aura frowned slightly.
"You're not taking me with you?"
"I told you, didn't I? I come from a powerful family. While I know you have an artifact that can conceal yourself, I don't know how powerful it is. For all I know my father could detect you."
That was a lie. He doubted anyone could really detect who she was, but he wanted to drive the point across.
Aura's frown went away and she nodded, filling in the rest of the gaps herself.
Aura knew that Ronan had lied to his maid and told her he was training. If he suddenly came back with a girl, it would raise questions, and even Lucia would have to inform his father.
Also…
"More importantly, you look like you crawled out of a gutter. As if I would let you into my home looking like that."
Aura's face flushed.
"You dare?! You of all people, especially after dragging me through that… thing?"
"You speak of it like it's a demon."
"It may as well be," Aura huffed. "And for your information, I do not look like I crawled out of a gutter. I am a highblood, I will not be spoken to like that."
Ronan nodded sympathetically.
"You're right, I apologize. You don't look like you crawled out of a gutter."
Aura hummed in satisfaction. "Hmmm… looks like you're smarter than you look, human. Even you can tell–"
"Somehow you look worse."
Silence.
"...You–!"
Aura lunged forward to swing at him, genuinely looking to strike him.
But her fist stopped midway.
"Tch, I can't even hit you," she muttered with a sigh, lowering her fist, briefly glancing at her palm where the rune from the contract had disappeared into.
Ronan chuckled.
"Correct."
"Tch, mother was right about you humans. You're insufferable."
[Aura]: +2 Affection
[Affection]: -27
Well it was still in hell.
"Well then, I should get going," Ronan said. "I have to be back in less than 30 minutes."
Aura nodded in understanding.
"You still haven't told me what you plan on doing."
"Don't worry, I'll come visit you at the Inn tomorrow. Until then… just worry about how you're going to take a shower."
Ronan pinched his nose as he said that.
Aura glared, but she didn't argue. She followed the map he gave her and started to walk away.
Ronan sighed.
"Okay, time to head back."
➜➜➜➜➜
He was greeted with Lucia waiting for him in the back of the building.
She stood there with her arms crossed, and her expression didn't look pleasant.
Her eyes locked onto him as he stepped into view.
"Young Master," she greeted, her voice cold.
"Hello, Lucia."
"You're late."
Ronan didn't flinch.
"Am I now?"
She walked towards him, her steps were slow and deliberate.
"Yes," Lucia replied. She paused. "By 8 minutes."
Ronan shrugged apologetically.
"I must have miscalculated. Well, is it within the margin?"
With a sigh, Lucia replied.
"It is, Young Master. Be grateful, even a single more minute, and I would have gone straight to the Lord to report about your safety"
"Good thing I wasn't, then."
Lucia glared, but there was no real anger behind it.
"How did your training go?"
"It was productive," Ronan replied simply.
"You didn't run into any trouble?"
Ronan shook his head.
"Thankfully, no."
A smile found itself on Lucia's face.
"That's good, young master. Now, let's go back inside, if someone checks up on you and you're missing, it will raise unnecessary questions."
Ronan nodded.
They walked in silence as they navigated through the massive mansion. Lucia knew all the correct routes to take that would avoid anyone finding out about what had occurred.
Being the head maid came with serious benefits.
Suddenly, Lucia's voice broke the silence.
"...Young master."
Ronan glanced at her.
"Yes?"
"You have been acting differently lately."
Ronan's expression didn't change as he kept walking.
"How so?"
Lucia hesitated for a second before answering.
"You've been more decisive lately. Never in my life did I think I would see you requesting me to do what I did today, nor did I think I'd see you train on your own accord."
"Well, times change. I have an exam coming up, and I need to be prepared."
And prepared he was.
Ronan tilted his head.
"Is that a problem?"
Lucia smiled softly and shook her head.
"No, Young Master. It's just unexpected," Lucia paused. "As long as the Young Master stays safe, you may do as you wish."
Ronan's lips curved.
"Don't worry, I intend to."
Lucia didn't press any further as they walked closer to his room.
A familiar bell chimed in his head.
[Character: Lucia]
Race: Human
Status: Active
Condition: Peak
Affection: 67 (Affectionate)
Trust: 68 (High)
Loyalty: 81 (Devoted)
Thoughts about you:
Young Master has changed. More decisive… more independent. It is good, but also concerning. I must observe more carefully.
Ronan smiled internally as he saw the familiar screen.
He initially wondered why Lucia didn't have a screen like Aura did. He thought maybe it was because Aura was a main character and Lucia wasn't, but this shattered that hypothesis.
Ronan's eyes lingered on the screen for a little longer before he willed it to vanish.
So it was never about the main characters.
Ronan's gaze fixated on Lucia, who was walking in front of him, posture straight, steps controlled.
Iris was a main character, but she didn't get a screen like this.
That means the system has a different way of measuring importance.
He could think about that later.
What was more important was Lucia's numbers.
67, 68, 81.
They were high.
Especially the Loyalty statistic.
Ronan internally smirked as he bid Lucia goodbye and entered into his room, slipping into his bed.
Looks like his hunch was right. Lucia was going to be very useful.