Sister-in-Law

Edited by: ASaltedFish

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Ellery was shocked to wake up in his body the next day. Although Aster was quiet, he could still feel his presence.

"Aster, how did you keep yourself from coming back?" He asked after a whole morning of doing their daily routine without feeling any signs of Aster resuming control of their body.

Aster was quiet for a while before finally answering. "For some reason, because I don't want to go back, our body is letting me stay behind. I hope you don't mind. I don't feel well."

"You don't feel well? Is everything okay?"

"Ah, I think I am just exhausted. All I have done since waking up in this body was human interaction. I just need some time to rest before I can take control of our body again…"

Ellery was flabbergasted that there were people like Aster, but at the same time, he knew that Aster's social battery was so low, it was almost nonexistent. Honestly, he felt it was normal to burn out.

"I understand, then you rest well. I will take over until you feel better."

It was a little too quiet, so Ellery decided to put on music while he got ready for the day. With Seth making his food, all he needed to do was freshen up and wait at the dining table.

Music was playing in the background, but for some reason, Ellery felt empty not being able to talk with Aster. He wanted to respect Aster's wishes to rest…

"I should text Adjutant Ito. Let's see how he's doing."

Ellery started to text Adjutant Ito with great vigor. He told Ito what was going on with Aster and how he would be in control of his body for a while.

Ito was happy, grinning like a little thief.

Caecius watched his adjutant text someone happily and felt a bit bitter. "Who are you texting so shamelessly in front of me? You are supposed to be working, no?"

Adjutant Ito didn't seem scared of Caecius and happily bragged about his conversation. "Oh, I am talking with Ellery! Aster isn't feeling well, so Ellery is in control of their body. He is so funny and sweet. I feel like we really are soulmates."

The best way to describe Adjutant Ito's mood was… A teenager talking with their crush while they are lying down on the couch. Even kicking his feet in excitement. Well, he would be like this if he was at home.

He was at work, though, so he did have a small ounce of professionalism in him.

"Aster isn't feeling well? Is he okay? What happened?" Obviously, that was the only thing Marshal Caecius heard.

"Well, Ellery didn't go too much into detail but he said Aster was burnt out and needed some rest. Aster has been really quiet, so Ellery wanted someone to talk to and chose me! Isn't that so sweet?"

"How did he get burnt out?" Again, the marshal only heard what he wanted to hear and ignored everything else his Adjutant said.

"Hmm, something about Aster having very low energy and being around so many people has him really tired. I don't really get it, but that's how Ellery explained it. That's all I know."

Marshal Caecius began to sulk. He had Aster and Ellery's contact information, but he's been afraid to contact Aster after what he did. He still hasn't forgiven himself, and he won't forgive himself until Aster forgives him! Even if Aster never forgives him, it will still be okay, as long as he doesn't hate him.

"Do you know when he will come back?"

"Hmm, nope. Ellery didn't say. Oh! He wants to go on a date with me. What's my schedule? Oh gosh, my heart is beating so fast."

Adjutant Ito was in his own little world, unable to see that his boss, Marshal Caecius, was so jealous. If looks could kill, Marshal's glare would be like laser beams trying to eliminate Adjutant Ito from his presence.

"If you aren't going to do your job properly, I won't give you that day off!"

"That's an abuse of power, Marshal!"

Seeing that Caecius was serious, Adjutant Ito happiness deflated like an untied balloon being let go. "Okay, I will get back to work."

Seeing his unhappiness, Caecius felt a little better about himself. Still, he hoped that Aster would be a bit more comfortable the next time they meet…

*****

After setting up a date with Adjutant Ito, Ellery got a message from Vice Director Martinez about his new home. The Vice Director was able to find a decently sized estate with a lot of land. It was close to the inner gate of the district where the richest of the high-ranked nobility lived.

With it being so close to the inner gate, it was a lot easier for Marshal Caecius and Adjutant Itto to get to him if it was needed. The security was also decent there, so it was a win for Ellery and Aster.

With the property being in his price range, Ellery told the Vice Director that it was perfect and he would like to purchase it. The mansion was empty and bare, so he needed to talk with interior designers to get all of the furniture and decorations for his new home.

According to the Vice Director, the estate was ready for purchase. The only things he needed to wait on were the greenhouses that still needed to be built. The furniture and decorations could also be bought and shipped over to his new house on the same day. It would then take another day to get everything in place.

This didn't bother Ellery at all. He wasn't in a rush to move, so he told the Vice Director to help him get everything settled. Ellery was in charge of decorating the mansion because he didn't trust Aster's fashion sense…

If it was up to Aster, he would have fluffy blankets, carpets, and pillows all over the house. That was something that Ellery could not live with! Though maybe just having one room dedicated to Aster would be enough.

He nodded to himself. Yeah, he felt that was a good plan.

It didn't take long for Vice Director Martinez to arrive at his house with three people. The first person was the real estate agent, the second was the interior designer, and the third was the boss of the construction crew for the greenhouses.

Ellery also wanted to talk about constructing a vegetable garden that was bigger than the one he had now. He liked to garden, and it would also serve as extra income. It also cut the costs of purchasing vegetables for his meals.

He might get someone to help manage the vegetable garden, though…

Aster was right, they needed to hire people to help him manage their online store. It was getting so large, they couldn't do this with just one person.

Who could he hire though? Ellery and Aster were the most influential and coveted people in the galaxy. Guess it was time to ask the Guide Association or Adjutant Ito.

He was starting to get overwhelmed.

No, he needed to get it together! Not only for his future, but also for Aster's.

Ellery patted himself on the cheeks when everyone left before calling Vice Director Martinez and Adjutant Ito to help him look for people to manage his online store.

He told them that he needed a manager for his online store, four moderators, two people to help him with his vegetable garden, and a person to help him pack and ship all of the stabilizers.

After an hour, the two of them sent a total of 60 applications for him to go through. Half of them were guides who needed employment, 25% of them were retired sentinels who were honorably discharged due to a physical disability, and the last 25% were normal people who had high levels of spiritual energy like his friend, Yang Saem.

Actually, Yang Saem was on that list too.

His other two friends were not on the list because they hadn't graduated yet.

Ellery didn't know what his friend was going through to make it on this list, but he decided to hire him to help with his vegetable garden. He would also make it so that if Yang Saem had time, he could help manage his stabilizer plants.

Since he knew Yang Saem, he didn't ask for an interview. He then chose 30 people he thought would be a good fit and decided to interview them. After that, he set up an appointment with the Guide Association so he could conduct these interviews.

"Whew, with that out of the way, I should be busy while our new home is being set up. Aster, what do you think?"

Ellery knew that Aster was listening to him.

[I think it's fine. Your sense of style is much better than mine, and you have a better understanding of people than I do. But when the time comes for the interviews, can I also give my input on the potential hires?]

"Of course you can. You will also be interacting with the people we hire, so we need to have people you can get along with too."

[Thank you, Ellery! Also, I can't wait to design my room in the house. I already know what I want in there!] Aster looked through some comfortable home decor and furniture and there was a plush bed that he had his eye on.

Ellery could hear the excitement in his voice and found himself smiling. "Then, I will give you a huge budget for your room."

Hearing that, Aster became even more excited and started talking about what he would do to his room. It was the first time Ellery heard him talk so much, so he kept his mouth shut and listened to Aster's chatter.

For him, it was like music to his ears. He thought it was cute that Aster was able to get excited about something.

Aster didn't get to talk for too long because Ellery's terminal rang. It was a special ringtone designed for his security team.

"Give me one second, Aster."

Ellery picked up the call and saw the head of his security team, Fezile Keita. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with a short brown afro and yellow eyes. As an S-ranked Sentinel with a snake quantum beast, he was the strongest on the 20-person security team, so he was made to be the leader.

"Hello Mr. Keita, is there something wrong?" Ellery asked because Fezile usually only called when there was something going on around his house.

Fezile nodded. "Your sister-in-law asked for permission to enter your home. I have verified her identity. Do you want her to come inside?"

"Of course, I will have Seth open the door for her. Thank you for letting me know."

"It is no problem. Just doing my duty."

With that, the two hung up.

[Your Sister-in-law? What was her name again?]

'Her name is Darya Aster. She took my family's last name because she was abandoned at an orphanage when her biological mother died. Her biological father didn't want her, so he dropped her off and never looked back. She also didn't know her biological mother that well because she often abused her before she died of illness.'

It was tragic. And when she got married, the love of her life died on the battlefield. Aster's heart ached for her…

[I wonder why she came over here…]

'I also wonder the same.'

It had been a couple of years since Ellery saw Darya. From time to time, they would text each other to see how the other was doing, but other than that, they kept their distance.

Ellery did this out of respect for her, but Darya avoided Ellery because she felt like she could not be his family after her husband, Orin Aster, died. Plus, Ellery and Orin looked similar to each other. She didn't have the heart to see Ellery because she knew that all she would see was Orin, and she felt that it wasn't fair toward him.

That was why Ellery was a bit confused when she came to their house… Was everything okay?