VOL 2 Chapter 14: Going out?

As every morning, Erik got out of bed wearing nothing but long shorts, surrounded by Tiberius and Kaiser, who were now sleeping in their puppy size. And Ebonique, who, for some strange reason, had recently started sleeping near the head of the bed in her smallest form. Although, according to her, spirits didn't need to sleep, well, as far as he knew, neither his masters nor Seraphina needed to sleep, and yet they did it every day, so who was he to question it?

After stretching, Erik looked out the window towards the garden, still dark due to the lack of sunlight. Noticing that it wasn't raining, he smiled cheerfully and left the room with a light step. Once outside, the star-haired boy began his morning exercises, consisting of the same set of martial arts movements he had learned on the island, although now they were a bit different.

Even though the movements could still be divided into four categories: the light and ethereal ones, which he often used to dodge or move across the field; the fast and precise ones, especially useful for attacking vital points; the elegant and fluid ones, which worked incredibly well to use the opponent's force against them; and finally, the firm and powerful ones, essential for blocking attacks or striking with great force—these movements had now changed a bit.

Over the years, and as his power level increased, Myst had slowly and gradually guided Erik to modify them, with small changes each time, until they accumulated into what he now had. Despite his increased strength during this time, the movements remained as effective, if not more, than the initial exercises, and they continued to "evolve."

With a calm and focused expression, Erik continued practicing in the early dawn until the sun began to rise, announcing the morning. After a few more repetitions, he approached the wolves and Ebonique, who had at some point arrived in the garden and were now lying on the grass not far away.

Seeing him approach, the pair of wolf cubs quickly got up from the ground excitedly and ran towards Erik, energetically rubbing their small heads against his legs while barking and wagging their fluffy tails at great speed.

"Good morning, Erik." Ebonique greeted in a soft voice while increasing her size from about 30 cm to around 2 meters, before approaching her dear contractor.

"Good morning, Ebonique." 

Erik greeted with a cheerful smile, placing his hand on Ebonique's large head, who now looked less like a snake and more like a powerful dragon or something resembling a horned dinosaur to Erik. He began transferring to his curious contracted spirit the mix of Mana and Myst that she loved so much.

"It's really mysterious how your appearance changes from time to time, Ebonique."

As he "fed" and stroked Ebonique's powerful scales, Erik commented, a bit surprised. The mighty 'dragon' responded casually while relishing what was possibly the most delicious thing in the universe.

"Well, as you already know, it's all because of your growth. You leveled up recently, hence the change, but how do I look?"

With her question, Ebonique struck a majestic pose as small black lightning bolts crackled around her body. Erik, already knowing perfectly well the response his spoiled contracted spirit wanted to hear, commented with a small smile.

"Powerful."

The first change Ebonique "suffered" was when she grew arms; Erik nearly fell over when he saw her for the first time, absolutely astonished. But she explained that she was a somewhat special spirit who changed her appearance as her strength grew. Since she was connected to him through their contract, her strength increased whenever he leveled up, which greatly surprised Erik. However, after some research in the library, he found several documented cases of similar situations occurring in the past, allowing him to "understand" the strange phenomenon a bit more.

"Hehehehe."

Hearing just the compliment she wanted, Ebonique smiled shyly in her dragon form, then lovingly wrapped her body around her knowledgeable contractor. She felt that enduring the annoying tantrums of that crazy blue-feathered being for eons had been completely worth it—a great deal she would repeat, although she couldn't help but feel a little guilty about having to lie to Erik.

As time passed, Ebonique began to regret presenting herself to Erik with that false serpent appearance. Although she had done so only because she was following Ignis's tantrums and didn't want to draw attention, she now wished for him to see her as she truly was. The problem was that she was already too deep into the lie to say otherwise, not to mention that it could be dangerous for certain beings to discover her dear contractor.

Because of this, Ebonique started thinking of ways to show her true appearance to Erik without attracting too much attention, until she remembered that some young spirits changed appearance as they grew stronger. She decided to use that as an excuse to gradually reveal her true spirit form as he became stronger, while simultaneously searching throughout the spiritual realm for the wildest means to hide her dear contractor.

"Well, that's all for today." Erik gently patted Ebonique's head twice as she enjoyed her "breakfast" with her eyes closed, smiling as he spoke.

"It was delicious, as always," Ebonique commented in a blissful tone, then tightened her "embrace" around Erik as she cheerfully added.

"See you tonight."

After touching Erik's cheek with her head, Ebonique disappeared in a flash of black lightning. At that moment, the wolves began to jump and bark excitedly, their tails wagging furiously. This brought an amused smile to Erik's face, who extended his hands as he spoke.

"Alright, alright, come here."

Upon hearing their master, Kaiser and Tiberius barked excitedly and began to grow in size until they reached 6 meters in height, much larger than their mother, who was only about 4 meters tall. For some reason, they had started growing rapidly since they began training with Ebonique, although thanks to their usual shrunken state, it wasn't very noticeable.

Initially, the wolves' growth caught Erik's attention, prompting him to seek information. However, he didn't find much apart from some research documents discussing mystic wolves that were larger than usual, around 8 meters tall, found on rather special planets.

One particularly curious discovery during that little investigation was that mystic wolves existed in different parts of the galaxy, on planets with very different conditions, yet they were still the same species. To the point where two mystic wolves from entirely different parts of the galaxy could reproduce and still produce perfectly healthy mystic wolves capable of reproducing. Curiously, his home planet wasn't one of the planets where mystic wolves were found.

But that little mystery was easily solved when he asked Sigrún, who told him that, indeed, she had brought the mystic wolves, along with other animals on the island, as a tribute to her master. Who was a nature lover and a renowned wildlife researcher with several accomplishments documented in textbooks.

With practiced movements, Erik stroked the gigantic wolves while passing them the usual mix of Mana and Myst for quite some time until both were satisfied. At that point, they barked happily, although their size made them more terrifying than adorable. After that, the wolves returned to their mini size, and they all walked towards the mansion together.

Back at the mansion, Erik headed towards the main hall, excited and eagerly anticipating his breakfast. But he was surprised when, upon arriving, he didn't find Seraphina. Instead, the one waiting for him with a big smile was his master Eleonora, looking exceptionally beautiful.

Although Eleonora's beauty was always near divine, it now seemed to have gone a step further. She wore light makeup and a beautiful blue dress with a floral design beneath a lovely pink kitchen apron, contrasting greatly with the beautiful jewelry she wore—jewelry Erik easily recognized, as he had made it himself.

"Master?"

While alternating his gaze between his stunning master and the sumptuous breakfast adorning the table, Erik asked, confused, as he hadn't even sensed her presence with his mystical awareness, something Seraphina also liked to do. The beautiful woman with golden eyes smiled with happiness and victory as she commented.

"Fufu, good morning. How did you sleep today, Erik?"

"Very well, but…" Erik hesitated, unsure of how to ask what was on his mind. But at that moment, Eleonora smiled brightly and sang out in a cheerful voice.

"Fufufufu, Seraphina had some things to do today, so I'll be taking care of you."

"…"

Without saying a word, Erik looked doubtfully at his smiling master, taking in her incredible appearance. This seemed to greatly please Eleonora, who even posed a little to let her beloved disciple admire her in all her splendor. This brought a smile to the star-haired boy's face as he cheerfully thanked her.

"Thank you so much, master. The breakfast looks delicious."

"Fufu, sit down and try it. I made it with lots of love." Eleonora responded happily, adjusting Erik's chair so he could sit at the table.

Allowing himself to be tended to by his master, Erik sat down and took a steaming plate of eggs with bread, which gave off an almost enchanting aroma. He curiously tried it, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. After all, it was incredibly delicious, even better than what Seraphina usually made, prompting him to comment with a tone that reflected his delight.

"This is exquisite, master."

"Fufu, I'm so glad you like it. Eat more, it's all for you." Eleonora said with a big smile on her face, discreetly clenching one of her fists in victory.

"Thank you, master." Erik thanked her with a small smile before diving into his sumptuous breakfast with great enthusiasm.

The breakfast was beyond delicious, indescribable in words. While Seraphina's breakfasts were also very good, his golden-eyed master definitely had a prodigious talent for cooking. After all, her cookies were undoubtedly the best, though he would never say something like that aloud if he wanted to keep his poor life intact.

Meanwhile, Eleonora looked at Erik with affection and joy as he enjoyed what she had prepared with so much effort. Then she sat next to him, propping an elbow on the table while resting her chin on her hand, almost hypnotized by her precious disciple.

(Falling in love is such a wonderful thing. I've never experienced anything like this before. I only need this little moment to be happy... love truly is the driving force of life, and I was the one who was wrong... I guess I owe someone an apology...)

As Eleonora recalled a certain moment in her life with some embarrassment for the arrogance and inexperience she had shown at that time, Erik finished eating. Stretching lazily, he smiled and thanked her as he looked at his beautiful master.

"Thank you, master, it was incredibly delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it. But go now, shower and get ready; we're going out."

Hearing his beloved disciple's voice, Eleonora snapped out of her thoughts and commented with a radiant smile, greatly confusing Erik, who couldn't help but ask, somewhat curious.

"Going out?"

"Yes, we're going for a walk, so hurry. Oh, and by the way, wear something other than the uniform."

Erik looked at his excited master, intending to say something, but after a moment, he sighed softly and headed to his room. Not long after, Erik came back down wearing black pants and a white long-sleeved shirt, finding his master now without the apron, looking stunning in her beautiful dress. This enhanced her already impressive beauty with a touch of youth and energy, while a beautiful handbag hung from her arm.