Chapter 34: You Are Already a Mature Sparkle
Imperial Capital, Black Lily District.
The Black Lily District was part of Camelot’s newly developed second-tier urban area. It lacked the ancient, rigid atmosphere of the Upper City, favored by old aristocratic families, and its public safety and environment were far superior to those of the commoner districts like the Lower City.
Consequently, it was quite popular among young nobles, merchants, and even adventurers of a certain status. In their minds, the Black Lily District represented freedom, trendiness, indulgence, and enjoyment.
In front of a distinctive manor, Madam Carol observed the youth before her.
He wore decent and exquisite Magnificent Clothes.
Beneath his tousled black hair, his sharp edges seemed softened, presenting a handsome and gentle face, much like an Elf.
His eyes were clear and deep, instantly leaving a memorable impression, as if he were the protagonist from a Bard’s poem – in short, a character that readers could easily empathize with.
“Mysterious, handsome, and wealthy… He’s practically a spitting image of that Count of Monte Cristo.”
“If I were twenty years younger, I’m sure I would have invited you for a dance at a dinner party…”
Madam Carol remarked with such emotion as she looked at Shaya.
She examined the property transfer contract in her hand, and upon confirming its accuracy, she signed it without hesitation.
After completing everything, the noblewoman handed a set of keys to Shaya, then glanced at Shaya and the blonde maiden behind him.
She blinked, and a smile surfaced at the corner of her lips.
“Then, this manor will belong to you from now on.”
“Congratulations to you both on your wedding.”
She turned and departed with elegant steps, clearly mistaking Shaya and Aerora for a newly married couple purchasing their Bridal chamber.
…
After Madam Carol had walked away, Aerora finally approached Shaya.
“Never would have thought we’d run into one of your fans here.”
“Indeed, it’s quite unexpected. I didn’t realize Count of Monte Cristo was still so popular among female readers. It seems satisfying stories transcend age and gender.”
“And if I’m not mistaken, the perfume Madam Carol used and the earrings she wore were from shops we invested in. It seems our decision to focus our industrial layout in the Black Lily District was a wise one.”
Shaya entered his newly purchased residence and took out packages of various sizes from his Spatial Pocket.
Although the incident of the Ash Cult attacking the academy had concluded, with only a few students injured and no casualties, it could be considered a perfect resolution.
However, the ravaged dormitory area was ultimately uninhabitable.
Furthermore, with Shaya having come into prominence during the Ash Cult incident and drawing the attention of many factions, he indeed needed a new residence. The academy dormitories were too crowded and public.
Therefore, as soon as the incident ended, Aerora had dragged Shaya around to look for houses.
After repeated inspections, they finally settled on this new residence in the Black Lily District.
Fortunately, Amaterasu had been completed in advance, and Shaya had also reaped considerable benefits from that King Grade lava giant.
Otherwise, Shaya would not have been able to afford this manor, which occupied nearly two thousand square meters and included a small Familiar training ground and a meditation room.
The reality was that the wealth accumulated by emerging capitalists over a few years could not compare to the centuries-old foundations of old aristocratic families.
Aerora took the items from Shaya and began arranging them in their new home.
She rummaged through a moving bag and found a silver-white photo frame, examining it for a moment.
It was a magical recording of Shaya and Aerora when they first arrived in the Imperial Capital. In the picture, they were both still young children, a little boy and a little girl, with immature features and innocent faces.
At that time, they were almost the same height, but now Shaya towered over her.
“That noble lady had quite the demeanor… and she even made such a hint.”
Aerora said subtly as she quietly placed the magical recording photo frame on the bedside table in the bedroom.
“Regrettably, I believe such a scenario would only appear in my new work, ‘Hero Abin’…”
“Wouldn’t that book be banned by the authorities?”
“Precisely, but doesn’t being listed as contraband signify the greatest recognition of its artistic value?”
Shaya placed the last piece of furniture, a sofa, into position. Looking at the newly refreshed residence, he nodded with satisfaction.
“In short, this will be our new base from now on.”
As he spoke, Shaya took out a metal box from his Spatial Pocket.
The metal box opened, revealing a glass container. Within this bottle-like vessel, a Pure Silver liquid was slowly flowing.
“‘Memory Restoration Quicksilver,’ a fifth-tier elemental extraordinary material, possessing extremely trace amounts of temporal properties.”
“It is said to have a special effect on Ancient Species, especially Holy Relic-class Familiars, capable of accelerating the revival of their old Status and Authority to a certain extent.”
“The redemption authority for this item is not open to the public. I asked Lieutenant Colonel Sieg to redeem it through the military’s internal channels, consuming all our accumulated Merit with the military. I might owe him a considerable favor.”
Shaya weighed the glass bottle in his hand before handing it to the blonde maiden before him.
“Don’t refuse. I’ve already broken through to Third Ring, and our identities may have been exposed to many interested parties. We’ll likely face many troublesome matters in the future… You need to catch up quickly as well.”
“Do you remember the Agreement made in Ceylon… that you would always be someone useful to me.”
Aerora accepted the glass bottle.
She didn’t say much but glanced at Shaya and nodded.
“Give me two weeks.”
…
Watching the blonde maiden disappear into the meditation room, Shaya also turned and entered the Familiar training ground, which occupied half the size of the entire manor.
This was a training ground constructed entirely of reinforced alloy, inscribed with multiple energy accumulation formations capable of withstanding the burst of a King Grade Familiar in a short period.
A flash of golden and silver light pulsed as Sparkle and Yin were Summoned by Shaya into the training ground.
The little mink maintained its usual noble and languid demeanor.
Upon realizing it had been Summoned, it merely glanced at the surrounding area before burying its head back into its fluffy body, dozing off on Shaya’s shoulder.
It was a Familiar specialized in Illusion, and both Tsukuyomi and the newly learned Amaterasu consumed a significant amount of mental energy when activated.
If one didn’t want to use the extremely expensive mental energy supplements exclusively monopolized by the Alchemy City, then sleep was the best method to speed up mental energy recovery.
Therefore, other than during battles, Yin was usually either dozing on Shaya’s shoulder or sleeping within the Soul Pact Space.
Sparkle, unlike Yin, was energetic as soon as it appeared.
“Sparkle, oh Sparkle…”
Shaya looked at the little golden marmoset before him and said earnestly.
“Yin has already digested our recent Harvest, completing Amaterasu. Its offensive capabilities no longer have any shortcomings.”
“However, you are still different.”
“Are you content to remain a support unit forever? Only responsible for being a storage ring for me and Yin, and opening teleportation portals?”
“Chirp! (Certainly not!)”
Sparkle’s gaze was firm.
Although Yin was the ‘big sister’ it respected, was it not true that fortune favors the bold? Who says the second Soul Pact cannot become the Main Familiar?
An extraordinary material that doesn’t want to be a Main Familiar is not a good Beast Tamer.
When Yin acquired the formidable ability of Amaterasu, who knew how envious it was.
“Very good, full of spirit.”
Shaya nodded with satisfaction. “Although the Skill Seeds have been used up, and the development of your abilities like Rasengan, Yasakani no Magatama, and Dimensional Slash will have to wait.”
“However, strengthening one’s power has never been solely achievable through skill point allocation.”
“Before Little Ai completes her breakthrough, we must strive to enter a Historical Echo one more time. And before that, we need to thoroughly digest our previous gains, compensate for all deficiencies that can be addressed, and maximize our combat power to its fullest extent.”
“Therefore, during this period, I have devised a very rigorous special training plan for you. Do you have the confidence to complete it?”
“Chirp! (I have confidence!)”
A look of determination flashed in Sparkle’s eyes.
It was already a mature Familiar and should learn to become stronger by stepping out of its comfort zone of skill point allocation.
