The predawn fog advanced over the river as the small boat traveled across the waters. Mana engines hummed softly beneath the deck, powered by crystals, as the ship charted its steady path toward Valkarion Academy's island harbor.
Lucifer stood at the prow, silver hair blowing softly in the wind. His eyes, darker than the sea, looked out toward the distance. He was nine years old by human looks but to anyone who was really paying attention, his aura was that of someone who had seen much more than a boy.
Behind him, Valestra sipped tea, wrapped up in a fur-lined cloak, her golden eyes firing the occasional glance at her grandson. She said nothing. What was there to say? The child she'd picked once now strode with the reserve of an old soldier.
They docked late in the afternoon. Over the dock loomed a great white arch, adorned with runes of magic and the Valkarion coat of arms: a phoenix around a hilt of fire. Dozens of dozens of academy ships were docked, their sails infused with magic to shift color with the seasons. Academy members and faculty walked through the harbor with an air of seasoned elegance and dignity.
Waiting at the end of the dock was a tall man with silver strands in his dark black hair, Headmaster Albrecht of Valkarion Academy. Alongside him was a girl who looked like a miniature empress dressed in casual walkabout attire. Her ash-blonde hair was braided in a beautiful manner, and three mana beast emblems sparkled on her sleeve.
Seris.
Albrecht's piercing eyes fell on Lucifer the moment the boy stepped onto solid land.
And this is him, the puny child who was supposed to be looking out for Seris by being so useless that suitors would not compete against him. A human shield. And yet his eyes narrowed, his mana pool; none. No, his physique. That's a C-rank aura, isn't it? Nine years old?
He didn't say anything, but his expression revealed it all. Recognition. Fear. And for the very first time; interest.
Valestra stepped ahead, however, with the love of a grandmother. "Seris, my love!" she cried.
The obstinate noble-maid did smile almost imperceptibly and stepped forward, allowing Valestra to embrace her.
Lucifer remained a few steps back, silent next to Albrecht. Neither of them spoke. But the tension between them crackled.
He doesn't like me. Neither do I. I was a nuisance. An aberration in the family portrait. Now he has no idea what to do with me.
Albrecht at last broke the silence. "You've changed."
Lucifer shrugged a bare fraction of an inch. "So has the world."
Valestra turned, still smiling, before Albrecht could respond. "Why don't the two of you take some time together, Seris? I'd like to have a word with your father for a bit."
"Of course, Grandmother," Seris replied with practiced courtesy. She stood facing Lucifer, gauging him with a thoughtful gaze.
He had been bracing for her to mock him. Or at least pity him.
Instead, she said, "Come. I'll introduce you to my sanctuary."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Sanctuary?"
"You'll see."
She didn't ask him to follow her, simply walking with the air of one who was always listened to. Lucifer trailed behind her, his thoughts reeling.
Seris… the girl whom I was to protect by being irrelevant. They only wanted suitors to compete against me, by not dating her until she was ready.
The two of them crossed an enchanted bridge, through marble towers and rune-lit statues until they reached a secluded area on the academy grounds.
A dense forest. A private training ground for beast tamers. A region exclusive only to her.
"This is mine," Seris asserted, her slim hand gesturing. "Father presented it to me. I train my mana beasts here."
The environment changed. Mana disturbed the leaves in smooth ripples. A small winged fox peered out from above the leaves and chirped.
Lucifer looked around. "They're at ease," he whispered.
"They know not to fear me," Seris said. "Unlike most people."
Lucifer glanced at her.
She smiled but not kindly. "You're staring."
"I'm just wondering how someone like you ends up feeling alone."
That caught her off guard. She frowned, brushing a strand of hair back. "You've changed, Lucifer."
"Everyone says that."
"True." She crossed her arms. "You were always the sick one. Now you stride like a knife just cooled from the anvil."
Lucifer knelt beside a bush, following the mana path of a little rabbit monster. "And you were always the phoenix in the gilt cage. I see the cage has grown larger now."
For an instant, Seris said nothing. Then she permitted herself a little laugh.
"Maybe you're not so dumb after all."
Lucifer smiled faintly. "Maybe."
She bent beside him. "How long are you going to be with us this time?"
"Three months."
"That's not long at all."
After hearing no answer, she glared at him. "What are you going to do?"
Lucifer stood up. His shadow, though slight, seemed to cast a lengthy one.
"Nothing. For the time being."
But his eyes, those eyes which had gazed on demons, angels, and deceit were something different.
He had not come simply to re-establish.
He had come to prepare himself.