Chapter 56

'Tessia?'

Eleanor was surprised. She heard the voice of another familiar person in this hideout, but there was much more to it. The little girl wanted to hear what happened on that day. How exactly was Arthur kidnapped during his stay at the academy?

Tessia was with a group of a few people, dressed in a black uniform. She had a weapon with her, just like any other member of her group. They looked like the guards of this city, strolling at night to patrol the perimeter.

"Tess!" Eleanor called out for the platinum-haired girl, startling Jasmine for an instance.

The group of people, including Tessia, turned their attention to the brown-haired girl. Some were wearing frowns on their faces from informal greetings towards the princess of Elenoir, while some of them didn't have particular reactions.

"Hm?" Tessia looked at the brown-haired girl for a few seconds before her face brightened.

"Ellie!" She exclaimed and ran up to Ellie. Others were taken aback because they all had the same question: "Who is this little girl?" Jasmine in particular was shocked. Wasn't the platinum-haired girl a former princess?

"I missed you so much, Ellie." The girls hugged each other softly, Tessia even pulled the little girl's cheeks, reddening them from stretching.

Pained Eleanor let out a little yelp, "Ouch, stop it!"

"No can do, not until I'm satisfied." Tessia shook her head and continued pulling Eleanor's cheek back and forth.

"Oh come on!" Eleanor grumbled but didn't fight back. She wasn't feeling annoyed. During Tessia's stay in Helstea's manor, they actually became really close friends.

Meanwhile, Jasmine kept an eye on the two. Ellie's friendship with Tessia was unclear to her, yet they appeared to be close friends. To the point where the princess began to play with her like she's some small child. The rest of the group shared Jasmine's impressions of the scenery.

Jasmine awkwardly raised her hand, "Um…your highness?" She asked.

Tessia shifted her gaze away from Ellie, towards the startled crimson-eyed woman. She immediately turned her head back to her friends and, a little embarrassed, let go of Ellie.

Returning to her formal self, the princess coughed. "*Cough* Ellie, you have grown into a fine, beautiful lady." After an awkward cough, she complimented her.

"Ah yes, I am a beautiful young lady," Ellie sneered. For Tessia not to notice her face, she hid her grin by looking away.

Tessia's eyes twitched in annoyance. When did the sweet girl she knew become such a cheeky creature? But what could she expect? Ellie had the same blood that flows in Arthur's veins, so there had to be some similarities between them.

"Ellie, when have you arrived?" asked Tessia.

"Just today." Ellie answered. Tessia nodded. Now she understood why she hadn't met her before.

"Princess, do you know her by any chance?" The elf with blond hair entered the conversation with a question.

"Yes, let me introduce you to her. This is Eleanor Leywin, Arthur's sister." Tessia introduced Ellie. The blond-haired elf's jaw dropped from the sudden information.

"As expected of my rival's sister, already a beautiful lady and a mage at such a young age," the blond-haired hummed.

"Eh, how do you know?!" Ellie, who was taken aback, exclaimed. They understood she was a magician, even though no one else had before. She was always covering her status as a mage, only her parents were aware of it.

The blond-haired mage gave a satisfied smirk and said, "Young lady, I'm a mage myself and a pretty strong one." In a narcissistic manner, the elf caressed his blond hair and played with it like a girl.

"Feyfey — Couldn't you realize one more detail?" Tessia asked, scratching her own cheek.

"What?"

"Whose sister is she?" Tessia inquired. The elf dubbed as Feyfey wondered for a moment before answering.

"Isn't she Arthur's sister?" The elf was obviously confused. Didn't she just introduce Ellie as Arthur's sister?

"And whose twin-brother is Arthur?" Tessia asked, palming her face. Feyfey crossed his hands, he was getting suspicious now. He tapped his feet on the concrete for a few seconds, before his eyes shot open.

"No way!" (Insert Shocked Feyfey Emoji)

"Yes." The blond-haired elf was terrified of conversing with that person's sister. What if the person in question is a paranoid sis-con who takes everything too seriously? He just complimented her; surely he wouldn't murder him?

"Feyrith, I still don't understand why you fear him so much?" The red-haired girl in the group asked.

"My ears are always tickling whenever I'm close to him. I'm just getting chills from remembering him." Feyrith shuddered, recalling the training with ants. He was scared, especially of the biggest ant. It had a whole different aura around it. It was so chaotic that just its presence made them stumble on the ground.

"But he didn't harm us, right? He even gifted us."

Feyrith whined, "Oh come on, am I the only one who fears him?"

Ellie awkwardly glanced at Jasmine and Tessia, "Is my brother that scary?"

Jasmine just shrugged at her question, while Tessia thought for a moment. The dark-haired woman wasn't sure, but as someone who saved them, he just couldn't be that bad. Tessia, meanwhile, always thought of Ashborn as a chill dude who appeared very cold-hearted, but when you observe him in a family environment, he is the most caring one towards his closest.

"Help me, guys!" The scream resounded in everyone's ears. They hastily turned their heads towards the direction where the scream came from.

It was a girl with green messy hair who wore large rounded glasses. Jasmine and Ellie didn't recognize her, but others did. It was Emily Watsken, another classmate specializing in magical research.

Tessia raised an eyebrow, "Emily, what happened?" She asked, concerned about Emily's previous scream.

"Professor Gideon, he… he created a new weapon enchanted with runes and wanted to test it on me!" Emily wailed out, as the tears streamed down her face.

"Poor soul, the scientist guy really is crazy, isn't he?"

"Let's get there before he kills anyone." Claire sighed and gestured to others to follow her.

Tessia looked at the brown-haired girl and asked. "Ellie, do you want to join us?"

Ellie looked at Jasmine, who herself was curious about what was going on. According to the protocol, she has a job to ensure the safety of the people in this hideout.

So, she nodded at Eleanor. Who faced back Tessia and showed thumb up.

"Alright, then let's go."

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In the darkroom, the shadowy figure of a man with a lab coat stood with the sword in his hands. The man towered over another person, who laid unconscious on the floor surrounded by the bloody-red liquid.

"I can't even test my creation properly…" The man in a lab coat muttered. He glanced at the sword in his hand and caressed it like his child.

*Knock* *Knock*

Two knocks could be heard throughout the room, as the person in a lab coat jerked up. He worriedly glanced at the door and then back to the mess he had made in his laboratory.

"Professor Gideon, please open the door." Gideon heard the chilly voice of a woman enter his ears.

He grumbled, "What do they want now?" He put his newly created sword aside and went to open the door.

Already outside, Jasmine stood and waited for the professor to open the door for her. In the corner of the building, he could see the pairs of eyes sticking out and staring at her. Heads stacked upon each other, they were all trying to get a better view of the upcoming scenery.

The door creaked open, revealing Gideon's narrowed eyes. "And who might you be?"

"I'm patrolling this area of the hideout when I hear screams coming from this particular building." Jasmine explained. She glanced back at the pairs of eyes and could see a few thumbs-up also sticking from the corner.

"Oh is that so? But it's alright here. You should go and continue doing your job." Gideon waved her off and wanted to close the door, but Jasmine wouldn't let him do so.

"I should still check if everything is alright. Please step aside."

Gideon froze, as his face darkened. He avoided looking at Jasmine in the eyes, he just stared at the front, unmoving.

"Do you have p-permission for this?" He asked uncertainly.

"If you want, sir, I can come back here with an order."

"N-No it's alright." The man turned around, gloomily, and tried to call out, "Hey, Himes...Are you still alive?

For a few seconds, nobody answered him. Jasmine and the rest of the group were already getting suspicious.

"I'm alive, master." Someone answered groggily.

Gideon's face immediately brightened up, "Thank god, Himes!" He shouted happily and grinned at Jasmine. The red liquid was just the red paint all along, which was spilled on the poor butler when he was trying to run away from his master.

"You may enter." He took a step back, making room in the doorway, and urged Jasmine to enter. Jasmine then issued a signal to the rest of the group, as well as thumbs-up, indicating that everything was alright.

"* Sigh * At least the laboratory is still standing." the green-haired girl said as she stepped out of the corner. She breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away the sweat that had collected on her forehead.

"Emily! Where did you run away to? I wasted so much time because of you!" Gideon screamed, hearing the girl's voice.

"She was with us, Professor Gideon!" Claire patted her on the shoulder as she stepped out of the corner with the rest of the gang, encouraging her self-belief.

"Oh, you boogers again?! Come here, at least help with something good." The man dashed into his laboratory, crashing objects in the process.

"Should we?" asked the group, looking at Claire. The redhead shrugged since she didn't know what to do. If she was correct, he would invite them to put his new creation to the test. Unless he asks them to kill someone, that wouldn't be a problem.

Gideon burst out of the door, yelling and dragging something on the ground. "Hey, boogers, hurry up or I won't be making any more cool weapons for you!"

This sparked a spurt of motivation in everyone, and Ellie and Jasmine were immediately drawn to the topic. While the former DC members established a strong desire to assist the professor.

"Come on in. I've got a spot for you to put this magnificent product to the test." Everyone, including Jasmine and Ellie, rushed into the building.

Already in the backyard, the formerly known as DC officers were standing in a line. Shoulder to shoulder lined up waiting for a verdict. In front of them Gideon with a long sword.

The sword had an unusual design; it appeared almost like a regular double-edged sword, but there were black lines all over it.

Gideon pointed at the weapon and asked,

"You see this sword?" Seeing everyone nod, he continued,

"I made it."

"..."

"This is a prototype, but it is totally functioning, and we plan to mass-produce it soon. It's based on the runes, which are a completely new idea in magic!" Excitedly explained Gideon,

"It took me a long time to figure out how they work, but it was worth it. A new generation of weapons will be able to bond with their owners and give tremendous benefits. Okay, do you guys have a few fire mages?" Asked Gideon at the end.

"Curtis isn't here, so this leaves only me." Claire raised her hand.

"Then be honored, you will be the first to actually utilize this sword as supposed!" He tossed over the sword to Claire, who grabbed into its handle tightly. Claire was a swordswoman, she was proficient in using it together with magic.

But it wasn't perfect; the weight wasn't balanced. The sword was too large for her. That's what she assumed.

"Woah!" Everyone gasped, seeing how the sword shrank in its size, taking the ideal shape just for Claire.

The red-head lifted the sword like a holy-relic bestowed on her.

Gideon grinned, "Surprised, aren't ya? Well, that's only one function. Drop your blood on the end of its tilt." Others were perplexed by his instructions. There were a few more functions to the sword.

"Why?" Claire looked at the man strangely.

"Just do it." The redhead shook her head and bit her index finger. She then dropped the blood on the tilt and waited for the spell to take effect.

Surprisingly, the lines on the blade flared crimson for a brief period before dying out.

"Yes, it's working as it should. Now, this sword is yours and yours only." Said Gideon,

"I want to test it out!" The stars formed in Claire's eyes. She turned around and looked at her group. They were happy for her.

"Oh, yeah just channel your fire mana in the sword later. You'll figure out the effect yourself." Added Gideon.

Claire nodded, "Yeah, got it." She couldn't help but feel driven to use the sword. But the problem was that her group was exhausted. Theo would happily spar, but he wasn't a swordsman. That could be said about most of her group, they weren't suitable sparring partners.

Tessia could use her sword, but she was also pretty tired after today's training. She intended to progressively develop their strength and balance their training time with relaxation as the leader of a group. So it wouldn't be a good idea to put them to work again...

Claire sighed, "I guess, we'll have to test this tomorrow." Everyone was confused as to why, so she just answered them with "You guys have to rest."

An unexpected source, however, spoke up. "I can spar. I have a weapon with me." It was Jasmine.

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Yo guys, Jasmine vs Claire? It could be counted as a little fanservice :) Anyway, I'm trying to return to my previous schedule. Who knows, might succeed in it.

Anyway, whoever is interested in my discord here it is: https://discord.gg/2wyWZKt8PR

Cyaa