MTLNOVEL Chapter 352: Family
"No." The principal's voice left no room for discussion.
"But why not?" Zach protested, ignoring the principal's tone.
"Cause I said so. Now, how are your eyes doing?"
"I won't accept that as a reason. And they're still in my sockets but they suck right now."
"You don't have a choice. Attend your lessons and after the first exam, I'll let you kids go wild. That explains why you're looking at that mannequin."
"And when's that? Ahem. Why do you even have a mannequin in your office?"
"I don't know. Ask your teachers. I needed some target practice while Kami's out," the principal said while throwing a paper ball at the mannequin's head.
"Ugh, fine. I have an unrelated favor to ask. Where is Kami? Shouldn't he be teaching us stuff?"
"Sure. Consider it an apology for injuring your eyes. What is it? He's out on business. If you want, I can teach you in his place."
"Could you have a vial of Mandra's blood sent to Lexi? What business? And never in a thousand lifetimes would I ever dream of being disrespectful enough to ask you to teach us personally."
"Done. Nothing important. Probably. If you become my successor, I'll tell you. And being so against me teaching you guys sounds pretty disrespectful if you ask me."
"Great. Never. Good thing I wasn't asking."
"Alright. That's it?"
"Yeah. See ya, principal."
"Yup. See ya tomorrow, Zach."
"Tomorrow?"
"You'll find out then."
Zach rolled his eyes and left the principal's office after tossing him the vial of Mandra's blood. As an SSS-rank Archon, her blood should be very nutritious for Lexi's Egg. She had said she could handle nurturing it on her own and didn't need his help. But there was no way she would have managed to secure the blood of an Archon.
He returned to his room with his familiars. He glanced at Alzara.
"You've been wanting to say something for a while now, haven't you, Alzara?" He asked, fully aware that she had been looking at him slightly differently after he announced the name of the guild. He had planned to deal with it directly after the announcement, but he got sidetracked by the princess. And the carriage ride hadn't seemed like the right place for it.
Alzara nodded.
Zach entered his bed room, lay down on his bed, and patted next to him. He lay on his back with his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. A little confused, Alzara obeyed his request and lay down next to him.
She lay on her side, accentuating her curves and thin waist, even through the maid dress. Zach used a hand to push her shoulder until she also rested flatly on her back. Alzara looked at Zach, but he was only looking at the ceiling, so she eventually did the same.
Suddenly, it became a lot easier to open her mouth.
"Why?" Still, that was all she could get out at first.
"..."
"Why did you name the guild that?" She asked with a low voice. Explore hidden tales at empire
"'Nyasm' is just the first letter of each of your names," Zach said, hinting at all the maids in his bedroom.
"...And the 'Desert' part?"
"It's because none of this would have been possible without you, Alzara. It's all thanks to you that the guild is a thing. It's thanks to you that I'm making money by breathing. You deserve some recognition for your contributions and abilities."
"I told you I didn't need to name the guild after me."
"I didn't."
"You didn't?"
"No. I didn't take the 'Desert' from Desert Witch. I named the guild Nyasm Desert Guild because you are a Desert Witch. There aren't exactly many deserts around here, and I've noticed how you look toward the horizon sometimes. You're homesick, aren't you? Or maybe you don't feel at home here in this lush grassland and forest-covered place."
"..." Alzara didn't have an answer. She didn't realize Zach had noticed. She had barely even caught those feelings of hers herself.
"So, from now on, I want you to look at the guild as your home away from home. Regardless of what happens, you will always have a place there where you can be yourself. At the same time, I want you to look at us like your new home. I doubt I can make up for the rough and coarse sand you might crave, but I'll always be there for you. I will be there for all of you," he said, finally looking away from the ceiling and looking at Nora, Yanael, Soara, and Mandra.
They felt the sincerity in his words.
The relationship between a summoner and their familiars was one mostly based on chance.
The summoner summoned a familiar based on vague concepts like how much their body could handle in terms of another existence weighing on it, talent, and affinity.
A 'talented' summoner with a good body would summon a useful and strong familiar.
Someone with an affinity for ice would summon familiars of a matching affinity.
But there were no specifics. There were numerous beings who could be summoned.
In that way, Zach summoning specifically Yanael and not any other S-rank familiar, battle maid variant or not, was a matter of chance. It was the same with the others as well.
Even Zach's relationship with Nora could be attributed to chance. If his mother hadn't hired Nora's mother as a personal servant, the two would have never met.
Neither of the two had a choice in the matter.
But even through relationships established through chance, obligation, and circumstance, Zach valued all of them with his entire heart. Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra were more than just familiars to him. Nora was more than just a maid officially working for his parents.
They were family.
Zach held out his arms. Hesitant at first, Yanael, Soara, and Nora joined Zach and Alzara on the bed, Nora and Alzara taking the chance to snuggle up close.
Zach looked at Mandra over their heads. He nodded encouragingly and gestured with the tips of his fingers for her to come.
Without a word, Mandra walked up to and onto the bed before lying down on top of Zach.
***
The next day, Zach stormed into the principal's office.