After a long ride back

As they arrived at Levi's mansion, all of them quickly exited the carriage that barely had the space to hold all of them in.

"Did you have to lean so much on him? Pushing your... Pushing yourself on him like that? You..." said Syllia as she finally set foot on the ground.

"It was a bumpy ride," shrugged Aya.

"You little..."

Aya's smug expression only grew larger until Levi got out of the carriage as well.

Thunder and Grant quickly followed, and the small group made their way up the stairs.

"Well, I'm not doing this again," said Thunder who had to sit next to Grant.

Grant only sighed, but a lot of meaning seemed to be attached to it. 

As they climbed the steps leading to the entrance, they were welcomed by the mansion's butler and someone they didn't recognize.

"There are important matters we need to attend to, Lord Leviathan," said the man.

Levi's pace slowed down as he approached.

The butler took a small step forward.

"I told our guest it would be better to come back tomorrow, as it is late," he said.

"It is of the utmost importance. We should've dealt with the land you've been given some time ago now," he replied.

"We'll do that tomorrow, it's late and we're all tired," said Aya who stepped up.

They all headed for the entrance, ignoring the man as the butler slightly bowed but the man persisted.

"But..."

Aya turned around and glared at him, Levi wished he saw the face she made as the man bowed and cowered away.

"I'll deal with this tomorrow. Since I'll take care of most of your matters, I'll be staying here. Don't worry, I'll take care of your mansion and land in your absence," she said as they headed inside.

"Thanks for everything."

To which she only brightly smiled.

They realized the whole group beside Grant was waiting when they entered the main hall.

Approaching them, they understood why.

Helian was there, sitting against the wall, furtively looking at everyone and then the ground.

He was holding onto the cape Levi had given him, while swiftly cradling himself.

The butler quietly walked next to Levi, " We tried to get him in a guest room and a new set of clothes, like commanded by Lord Thunder but..."

Levi put a hand on the butler's shoulder as he approached Helian.

Thunder left the hall accompanied by the butler, leaving Aya and Syllia behind who waited to see what would happen.

As Syllia tried to approach Helian with Levi, Aya grabbed her hand while shaking her head and pulling her next to her.

Levi crouched next to Helian, still cradling himself while furtively looking at Levi, avoiding his eyes. His breathing was rapid and succinct. 

"Here," said Levi.

Levi slowly took Helian's hands off the cape and crossed them on his chest. 

Helian at first resisted a little, trembling, but let Levi who had a warm expression, do it.

He made sure the tip of Helian's fingers reached his collarbones and helped him lift them up and gently tap them against his chest.

"Left hand, then right, then left..." said Levi as he alternated hands.

Helian's confused eyes were still darting around, but Levi's encouraging and warm nods prompted Helian to continue tapping his chest.

As he did, Levi's hands let go of Helian's, and he continued tapping while Levi slightly raised his elbows.

"Now breathe with me," said Levi.

Levi loudly inhaled through the nose, and exhaled through the mouth, Helian slowly imitating him.

Syllia grabbed Aya's hand with teary eyes and shaking lips.

Aya pulled her arm, hugging Syllia who rested her head on her shoulder.

Aya tilted her head toward Syllia, whispering, "You're too nice, Syllia."

Syllia held onto her tightly while Aya gently caressed her hair. 

In the background, Helian repeated "Together forever," making Syllia hold the princess tighter at every word. 

Helian still cradled himself but his breathing was better, and his eyes were now closed.

"Want to sleep in my room?" asked Levi.

Helian who was a lot calmer was in thought for a second.

"No, no... it's fine."

"It's fine, really, Aya will show you the way," replied Levi as he signaled to come closer.

Aya let go of Syllia, and walked forward and crouched as well.

She tried to gently rub his back, but Levi stopped her midway as Helian's body tensed up.

Still warmly smiling, "I'll show you to the room, and on the way we could stop at the kitchen, I'm kind of hungry..."

As she got up, Levi gave Helian a light push.

He followed her, and they both were on their way as Levi joined Syllia whose face still displayed sadness.

"This is so sad," she said.

"He'll get through it, I'll make sure he does..."

Syllia grabbed Levi's hand, a feeling Levi hadn't gone through in a long time. 

"What now?" she asked.

"Let's hit the kitchen," he replied.

"Isn't it the other way? Where Aya and Helian went?"

"Yeah there's one there, but I want them to get used to each other. If Aya stays here and Helian too it'd be best if they did..."

Syllia raised her eyebrows as she nodded, surprised by Levi's thoughtfulness.

"You're surprising me," she simply said as she let him lead her.

"I've experienced this before, I'll do what I can before we leave for the Tower."

They didn't walk long until they reached the kitchen, where Thunder was waiting, leaning against the counter as a maid prepared something to eat.

"Couldn't you make anything?" said Syllia with an accusing tone.

"What? Hey don't look at me like that, she insisted," replied Thunder.

"He was practically begging," sighed the maid.

"In my defense, your cooking is excellent, and meals taste better when prepared with love-"

"Yeah this meal will be chock full of hate,"

"...What????" replied Thunder with a shocked and sad expression.

Levi and Syllia simply laughed as they approached the counter as well.

"Don't worry, Lord Leviathan, I've made enough for everyone," she said.

"Thanks a lot," replied Levi.

"So, how do you like them?" asked Thunder pointing to the earrings Levi was now wearing.

"Well, despite the way you stabbed my ear in the carriage-"

"There was a bump in the road! You can't blame me for that. If anything, let's go blame the driver tomorrow...-"

"-despite the stabbing, you've done a good job. I don't really feel anything yet, they just feel like stones."

"Yeah, give them some time to attune and they should awaken."

"I'm sorry, by the way," said Levi toward Syllia.

"Oh, truly it's fine. He told me about them before, but I'm not the offense type, so those artifacts would be wasted on me," she said.

"What are you?" asked Levi.

"Support and utility would be my strength," she said.

"So, water abilities are a support focus?" asked Levi.

"No," quickly replied Thunder. "The type of magic you have access to means little. I could've been a support and utility focus despite my Lightning-based magic."

"Huh." simply replied Levi.

"Here you go, Lord," said the maid as she posed the first plate in front of Levi.

Thunder rolled his eyes, "You were my favorite, now I'm not so sure..."

"Whatever," she replied as the second plate went to Syllia.

She bowed, leaving the room as the remaining plate was on the counter she prepared the food on.

In a bright flash, the plate moved right in front of Thunder.

"Is it okay to just use your magic this way?" asked Levi.

"There's no limit to how much you use magic or abilities besides mana cost. Some spells don't even require that, and at my level, this is nothing." 

"Even for me, [Conjure Water] is something I can use a very long time, and I'm F tier too," said Syllia.

Thunder nodded, thoughtful, while he started eating. 

The smell of a nice tomato-based sauce with hints of garlic filled the room as they ate quickly.

"Joh's cooking was good, but this... This is quite good," said Levi.

"You've got the best retainers here, the king really wanted you on his side," replied Thunder.

"Whatever the hell he wants," dismissed Levi. "Alright, Good night everyone."

Levi who was done before them headed toward the exit, turning one last time toward both of them, "And thanks for everything, both of you."

They both smiled and wished him a good night.