Celeste turned and wobbled away leaving Levi completely stunned. After a few moments, he muttered, "What happened to her?"

Just then, his tattoo glowed with a dull heat and transformed into a muscular man that was just a bit taller than Levi. Ifrit, Levi's bond, looked almost the same as him, except he was more rugged looking with lots of scars on his body.

His red hair was messy and overgrown. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and bandages were wound around Ifrit's chest and hands, although those were just for decoration. He was barefoot and the dark trousers he wore stopped just above his ankles.

"Do you want me to keep an eye on her?" he asked teasingly in a mischievous voice.

Levi shot him a flat look.

Unlike Cedric, whom he absolutely detested, his relationship with Celeste was a bit complicated. He didn't exactly hate her, but was rather ashamed and weary of her.

The Martini family were well aware of Celeste's bond, but she never used her powers in front of them because she was afraid of the cost. Since she had never even told them what that cost actually was, they had long ago written her off as another failure.

However, Levi was the only one then who knew the truth about her cost and just how powerful she could be if she actually met it.

So he didn't hate her; he was just upset and weary that she had to live like that, especially when he knew she was clearly better than Cedric.

He wished that she would grow out of her fear of killing herself. After all, it wasn't as if it was true death for her. He also knew she was purposely hiding the truth about her cost and abilities so that Cedric would not be the only hated one in the family. Because of that, he hoped she would finally stop her obsession with chasing after Cedric and at least tell their family how strong she actually was. Maybe then they would stop focusing on her curse and start giving her the respect she deserved.

Levi sighed resignedly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Find out which party took her in, see if she is doing okay, and report back to me."

"You got it, boss," Ifrit gave a lazy salute, then walked off.

Levi pocketed his hands, turned and walked off toward the barracks.

***

Later on…

Celeste stumbled into her small room, then dropped onto the ground in a corner. This was one of those days when her sickness was at its peak and it was just so unbearable for her. She kept clutching at her ears and muttering for the voices to stop.

At a point, she reached into her haversack, and took out the black feather Cedric had given to her. She really wanted nothing more right now than to call him, so that he would help her out how he used to in the past, but because she still felt guilty and undeserving, coupled with the screaming voices filling her head, she couldn't bring herself to reach out.

So she dropped the feather on the ground beside her, clutched her ears again and continued muttering…

However, right at that moment, the feather dissolved into wisps of smoke that coalesced into a raven, after which it shifted into Cedric.

Cedric crouched in front of her, finally drawing her attention. She looked up at him through blurry eyes to see him offering a warm smile.

"Why didn't you call for me?" he asked in a gentle voice filled with genuine concern.

Celeste shook her head. "How could I? I don't deserve to."

Cedric sighed.

Then he opened his arms and said, "Come here."

Celeste immediately collapsed into his embrace and broke down into sobs.

"Don't listen to what the voices say. Always call me when you need me," Cedric whispered as he stroked her hair. "Always… and I will come."

…After a moment, he pulled back slightly to look at her, then said, "Want to hear something crazy?"

Celeste slowly nodded.

Cedric sat beside her and tapped his leg. Celeste then slowly rested her head on his lap as he began to speak.

"I had a strange dream of a beautiful world completely different from ours. A world without magic and all its troubles," he said, his voice trailing off as if he were picturing it again. "People lived in massive cities of glass and steel, and they flew across the sky in giant metal birds. There were no scary monsters… and although there were still bonds between people, they weren't like ours. They were just… simple."

He looked down at her and ran a hand through her hair. "In that world, I think you'd just be a normal girl, go to a normal school, and have lots of friends. You wouldn't have to hide anything. You'd just be happy..."

Celeste listened to him talk, while picturing this world he spoke of. Eventually, she no longer heard the screaming voices in her head.

Cedric continued on with his stories about the glass cities until she finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

***

Meanwhile…

Ifrit arched a brow as he studied the shelter that Celeste had walked into from afar. Levi and his party had been out for a hunt, so they weren't at the grove when Cedric's party built the shelter.

"Which party built this?"

Ifrit began taking a few steps forward to get a better look. But then all of a sudden, he felt a sword pressed against the back of his neck.

Then a cold female voice followed:

"Looking for something, Ifrit?"

Ifrit stiffened at first, then he relaxed, grinned and muttered, "I believe it's sacrilege for a person that is not the bearer to call the true name of a bond."

He slowly turned around to see Aika with one hand holding her sword to his throat and the other gripping a long smoke pipe.

Aika exhaled a long plume of smoke that curled around them, then said flatly, "In case you couldn't tell, there's not much in any worlds I give a fuck about."

Ifrit's grin widened, despite the blade biting into his neck. After a few seconds of Aika drawing just enough blood to make her point, he finally spoke. "Chill, beautiful… I only came to check on Celeste."

Aika's expression didn't change, but she tilted her pipe slightly. "Turn around and walk back to your master before I decide your ugly head would look better on a pike."

For a moment, both stared at each other intensely.

Then Ifrit used two fingers to nonchalantly push the blade from his neck and took a step closer into her space. "You know," he said, his voice dropping to a low murmur, "you look even more sexy when you're trying to kill me."

His grin revealed a golden tooth as he leaned in closer. "What do you say about the both of us sharing a drink one of these nights? I know a place that doesn't care about sacrilege."

"Oh?" Aika smiled and slowly leaned closer, causing him to get even more excited, only for her to then whisper into his ear with a disgusted expression, "I'd rather drink poison."

Ifrit's expression faltered.

Aika leaned back. Then as she began walking away, she hit him with her shoulder as she brushed past, nearly knocking him off balance. "You disgust me. I'm gonna go throw up now."

She then sheathed her blade before adding, "The next time I catch you around here, I won't be using the flat of the blade."

Ifrit stood there for a second, watching her disappear into the shadows of the doorway of the shelter. Then he rubbed the spot on his neck where the steel had been.

"Tough crowd," he finally muttered before turning around and heading back to the barracks.

***

Later that night…

Cedric's POV

——

I sat on the ground in my room, looking at multiple screens that were hovering in front of me. They were maps indicating various territories around the Puppeteer's Grove.

Currently, I was looking for a territory that wasn't too dangerous for my party to raid. Of course, we still had a lot of meat in my inventory, so my focus wasn't really on food, but rather on gaining experience.

I was still studying the maps when Aika suddenly dropped behind me and rested her chin heavily on my shoulder while letting out a long sigh.

"What are you busy with?" She murmured, the warmth of her breath brushing against my neck.

"Just looking for a place where we can get some real work in." I replied.

She looked from the screen to me, and when she saw my tight expression, she closed her eyes and leaned more of her weight against me.

"What's on your mind?"

…Despite being able to just read my mind, Aika always waited for me to say it out loud. After the first few days of us being together, unless I was speaking to her mentally, she never invaded my privacy.

A few seconds passed before I sighed and finally replied, "I want us to grind until we hit level fifteen before the two months are up."

Aika slowly opened her eyes and asked, "You want our Regalia?"

"Yes."

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