Children are not robots

"Who the hell is this child?" Sylva thought but didn't voice her opinion.

"We will see his authenticity, and only then will he be accepted to ensure you're not some form of spy. But you will be given full accommodations and meals, which also includes meals for your beasts until you graduate. And your first beast will be provided by us, free of cost, from the beast egg repository. You don't have to pay for any of it, and the school will provide for you. Here is the contract." Sylva didn't bother to go around her words anymore and handed a ready-made contract to Aric.

Like modern deals, the contract was written in almost the same manner. The only difference was that the contract was a magical piece of parchment. Though there were no legal laws governing the contract, it was said that magical contracts like this were not supposed to be broken, and if one did, it would invite bad omens on the person or entity that broke it, so these contracts were mostly valid.

Aric took the contract and put it inside his bag. There was still time for them to conduct a thorough background check on him. It could be a problem since he didn't have any family to show for it. And there was nothing he could do to change that. He could only hope they wouldn't think of him as a spy.

"Aric, can you go home? I need to talk with Sylva alone," Gopher said as Aric was ready to leave. Aric gave a knowing nod while Sylva was confused by Gopher, but she didn't voice any protest.

After Aric left, he headed for his home. Though many eyes were on him, he didn't seem to be bothered and soon vanished among the crowd after putting up a hood that changed color with the help of his nano suit.

He didn't go home. Instead, he went to his own world.

-----

Aric's room.

The room looked quite different now that much time had passed. His bed was now a king-sized bed with a proper mattress. Not that he didn't have a mattress before, but the current one was better. Though it couldn't be compared to his home in Vallin city, it was up there.

The interior design had changed in the last year, and anyone walking inside would feel they had stepped into the future with the way the lights and decorations were, thanks to some accessories from Vallin city and Echorysia.

Aric sat on the chair and proceeded to check the contract. It was basically what Sylva had spoken about. There were no hidden clauses that would make him a slave or be fed to the dogs, but there was one clause about betrayal. He was never allowed to betray in any form. However, the betrayal clause was more concise, with proper explanations. He wasn't allowed to kill or backstab anyone from the school unless it was in self-defense. During his time at school, he would be loyal to the school, and the school's interests would always come first. Aric wasn't happy with this particular clause, but it would be the same in other school contracts too, so he couldn't get around it.

Aric also asked Mira to check it and tell him if there were any problems with the contract, to which Mira had the same conclusion as Aric. With that in mind, he signed with a thumbprint, making the contract valid.

As he looked at the contract, he thought about how fast his life was changing. The past year had been quite boring for him but also peaceful. He now had a huge fan following in the interstellar world. As expected, his manga works were acknowledged as one of the great independent comics being written by a single person, and people all over the universe were paying high amounts to read his story.

In fact, the *Fullmetal Alchemist* story had already been made into a series, which had skyrocketed his fame to new heights. After *Fullmetal*, he started working on other manga projects that Aric thought would resonate with the people of the universe.

So, all in all, he had huge fame in the interstellar world, accompanied by money. Power was the only thing he lacked in the interstellar world, and it was something he wasn't even searching for. If it came his way, he would grab it. If not, he was fine. The only place he would actively seek power was in the magical world and his own world.

"Aric, your aunt is here, please come down." Avni's voice broke Aric from his thoughts. Mira had notified him that his relatives were here, but he didn't bother, especially since it was someone he didn't have any good will toward.

"Coming," Aric replied. Though he didn't like being around them, he couldn't escape the thing called "social responsibility," or at least that's what his mother called it after Aric almost refused to attend any social gathering.

Aric changed his attire and came to the family room to see his aunt and her young daughter sitting on the sofa, drinking tea. Her daughter was busy watching cartoons on TV while his mother and aunt were talking.

"Hey, Aric, how are you? Are school studies that hard? I have to say, seeing your performance and hard work, I wonder if my daughter will even be able to achieve half of what you have in school."

"Uh... hello, Aunty. School marks don't really matter in the real world if a person doesn't have survival skills and street smarts. Don't pressurize her this early," Aric replied. He hated the culture where parents dumped their past trauma, aspirations, and expectations on their child just because they couldn't achieve them themselves. Their children were human beings, not robots to mold as they grew up.

"Hahaha .. She is just a child. I hope she isn't glued to cartoons and barbies always." Aunt complained not caring for the words of Aric. 

"She won't be." Aric said. One could easily tell that Aric was being cold to her and Avni rolled her eyes at Aric. 

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