The Celestine Territory

Soon after we arrived at the front of the manor, Eliza immediately ushered me inside. She started to drag me to the backyard, so I never had the chance to look around the inside of the manor. A few seconds later, we reached a wide clearing that seemed to be a training ground. There was a wide space at the center and the sides were filled with open-air pavilions and rows of racks that were filled with different kinds of weapons; from swords, to spears, bows, etc.

"Guys!" called Eliza in a cheerful manner.

A figure practicing the sword caught my eyes at the center of the big space. He was wearing simple clothing and his moves looked really fluid and majestic. His light brown hair looked like it was glowing under the sun and even at the distance I could see a pair of sky blue eyes.

We stopped at a pavilion, which seemed to be the biggest, where a boy was sitting. The boy was playing a stringed instrument and he looked the same age as Eliza. He also had the same black hair as her but instead of dark blue eyes like Eliza he had eyes the shade of the sky. Just a few meters away from him was a mysterious figure with dark blue hair that was leaning on a pillar with his eyes closed. A spear was strapped on his back and from the aura he was emitting, he seemed like the silent and calm type.

I noticed that all three of them, plus Eliza, looked to be the same age.

"Eliza, you're a lady. You shouldn't run around like that." commented the boy that was playing music a while ago. Eliza only pouted at the comment.

"Don't say that Ed." inserted the one practicing the sword as he made his way to us. "You're her brother, shouldn't you be used to it now? And besides, she's still thirteen, let her enjoy her childhood first. Welcome back El."

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the latter's statement. His words didn't seem like the type to be spoken by a child like him.

"You're also thirteen Seb." retorted the former, Ed.

"That's enough already!" Eliza interrupted them. "This is not 'criticize-Eliza' day!"

"Hey El, who's that?" asked the last unknown boy. His eyes were no longer closed so I could see a pair of piercing grey eyes, and they were directed at me.

"Oh, that's what I'm here for." she dragged me in front of her. "This is Luna and starting today, she's also a member of the House of Celestine! And is therefore our sister! Luna, these are Edmund, Sebastian and Zach. They also live here."

I wanted to shy away at the stares they were giving me. Especially from the one called Zach. But I bowed anyway.

"Hi. My name is Luna Hysi."

"You went with Aunt Zaira to investigate an incident up in the north and you came back with a kid?" the one called Edmund questioned. "What's going on?"

"Aunt Zaira agreed already. And you know her personality. If she wants to keep someone, she really will." Eliza commented.

"Hey little Luna." said the one called Sebastian. "I'm Sebastian. I'm thirteen years old. And starting today, I'm your older brother."

As someone mentally older, I knew trust wasn't that easy to give on someone you had only met for the first time. But somehow, for some reason, the boys in front of me, even though Zach was staring at me intently, seemed really trustworthy. I didn't know whether it was 'my' instinct or the real Luna's.

"Hello Luna." greeted Edmund. "I'm Edmund, Eliza's twin brother."

-No wonder they look alike.

"Younger twin brother." Eliza inserted.

"You were only like five seconds older than me."

"Hey! I learned a lot in those five seconds!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Don't mind her." Edmund said with a smile. I couldn't help but chuckle at the twins' interaction. "That silent guy in the corner is Zach. Don't worry, he's a nice guy. He just likes being silent."

"Oh. Nice to meet you."

My transition into the Celestine Manor was quite easy. Eliza and the rest took really good care of me and the servants of the house were really friendly. The only guy I found very hard to approach was Zach. I still felt a little intimidating around him despite being only fourteen years old.

During my stay in the Celestine Territory, I also learned a bit of its information.

The Celestine Territory used to be a monster-infested land just in the northwest of the Praiji Empire territory. Well, it was still monster-infested even up to the present and the entire territory only had five human settlements, including the Celestine Manor. The land was gifted by the founder of the Praiji Empire to Aunt Zaira for her contribution in slaying the demon king more than a hundred years ago, together with her noble status as Archduchess of the empire.

I didn't believe it the first time I heard it. If that was really the case that would mean Aunt Zaira was more than a hundred years old! Then why did she look like a young woman in her middle twenties? Eliza said it was because she was a powerful sorceress, who had a massive amount of magical power inside her and could access all types of Magic Arts. She was currently the most powerful mage in the entire Central Continent.

After hearing that, I got sold.

Anyway, the Celestine Territory had the most population of monsters, as well as had the most number of active dungeons in the entire central continent. No regular citizen would want to live in it if they were sane enough. Most people that lived in it were warriors who wanted to get away from the complexity of the big cities or those that worked for Aunt Zaira.

"Then how will people earn money?" I asked Sebastian one time when he was explaining it.

"That's simple..."

To earn money inside the territory, they only had to hunt monsters, collect its cores and any valuable parts, and sell it to the archduchess' store placed on each of the settlements or bring it to the cities themselves and sell it there. The archduchess' men in return would sell what they bought to merchants, or to any various guilds that would deem the items valuable. It was one of the ways the archduchess and her land could earn. That and the people's taxes, as well as the magic ore mines. The Celestine Territory had the most and biggest magic ore mines in the empire.

"What are magic ores?" I asked again.

"You don't know?" I only shook my head. "Wow, I can't believe your amnesia made you forget even such a basic knowledge like what magic ores are!"

I only stared at Sebastian with a deadpanned look. He noticed it and started explaining anyway.

Magic ores are energy sources with magic in it. They're formed from the energy of the surroundings and the magic/aura of the monsters. They're used to store magical energy, and many mages and knights use it as a back-up if they run out of magic power themselves. Magic ores are also used to power up different weapons that needed magic power. Regular people also use it for many other things. It can also be used as currency between mages and has more value than gold coins.

"Whoa! Doesn't that mean, Aunt Zaira is really rich?" I asked.

"Maybe, but she doesn't like spending a lot. Also, we pay a huge yearly tax to the Praiji Empire."

"Hmm… Makes sense. How about people from outside the territory?"

Sometimes hunters who were not locals of the territory would visit to hunt or try to clear a dungeon. Anyone who wished to hunt in the Celestine Territory of course had to follow the rules of the land if they didn't want to be banned. Some of the rules were to never overhunt, and to never hunt the intelligent monsters that also lived inside the territory.

Well, the Celestine Territory was a very interesting and dangerous land. It certainly wasn't a place for sightseeing. It was also not a place to get lost to if a person never had the plans to be monster kebab.

Two weeks after my arrival, I had fitted quite well in the manor. I had recuperated and the most exciting thing was I could use my original ability from when I was still a fox deity, Mystic Arts. Although it was quite weak, my current body was quite compatible with it. I had been training to get a full grasp of using mystic arts in the mortal realm. It might take some time, but I decided to just go with it.

While I was meditating in my room, a magic message suddenly appeared in front of me.

Magic Message was a method to communicate with someone. The sender would write his/her message in the air using magical energy and send it to his/her desired receiver afterwards. The receiver would receive a written message only he/she could see floating in the air.

The message said:

["Come to my study. –Zaira"]

I stopped my meditation and made my away towards her study. It took me minutes to realize that I actually got lost.

"Tch. The house is a huge maze." I muttered. "Where am I supposed to go?"

Taking my chances, I continued walking but I seemed to become even more lost. Just as I was confused on whether to go left or right, I felt a presence behind me and found Zach standing not that far from me. He still had that calm demeanor and stare that seemed to look at your very soul.

"Hi." I greeted and waved my hand nervously.

"What are you doing wandering around?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"Oh. Aunt Zaira asked me to go to her study. I got lost on the way."

I didn't hear a reply from him and instead he walked closer to me. He passed by me before stopping by my side.

"Follow me."

I couldn't help but smile. That time, I realized Zach was actually a pretty nice guy.