Chapter 18
Virgil stretched lazily and said, "I also need to go downstairs to keep my Pegasus company. Pets need companionship too, hm hm hm ~~~~ And my cute little Titus needs it too, right? Dear archmage, I'll take care of mine, you take care of yours. I'm going down now."
As he spoke, he stood up, opened the door, and walked out. The mage cast a globe of Illumination Spell for him, utilizing the power of nearby Sunstone.
The water lord took away the dishes and the table became clean again. Sylas seemed to recall how to use the utensils and was happy that she didn't dirty her hands. Her laughter was slightly louder, causing a water droplet from the water lord to fly away. Before this young lady could create even more trouble, Hyectra hurriedly retrieved the droplet and said softly to Sylas, "Shhh!"
Sylas quickly covered her mouth.
Xerath turned around, walked up to Sylas, and led her to the area near the sofa. "Uncle Virgil is actually a very nice person. He knows you're scared of him and always tries to avoid you, afraid of scaring you."
Sylas nodded, seemingly understanding. But she still said, "Virgil, buy," as she made a shooting gesture and then a chopping one.
Xerath frowned deeply. Without a doubt, Sylas had experienced some unimaginably terrible things in her short life, to the point where she had a very absurd interpretation of the word "buy." Xerath tried to explain, "No... that's not what 'buy' means. The definition of 'buy' is to exchange with money or goods, not to chop or shoot arrows... Good child."
She gently touched Sylas's cheek and solemnly asked Sylas to sit across from her, unexpectedly appearing slightly uneasy. She said to Sylas, "Sylas, I would like to ask you for a favor."
"Help you with a favor? About what?"
Very well, Xerath thought to herself, at least she can understand this sentence. "Um... I have a simple experiment that requires you to... summon elements." She kept staring into Sylas's emerald eyes, noticing her constant look of confusion. She suddenly gave up on the rest of her explanation and said with resignation, "For a certain period of time each day, you can play with the elements however you want, and I will watch over you and protect you. I need you to do this, but outside of that period, I need you to try to stay calm, okay?"
Although the little girl nodded, her eyes deepened with confusion and distrust. Quickly, another part was added to Xerath's story: in Sylas's wanderings after her mother's death, she had been deceived by similar acts of kindness. So, Xerath promised, "I won't hurt you either, I'm just doing some research. I have... a separate room for you, and I will make sure you're fed and keep you company."
Perhaps the last sentence was the most important to Sylas; she laughed as soon as she heard the words "keep you company" and nodded vigorously.
Xerath breathed a sigh of relief. "You agreed? That's great... Is there anything else you want to ask me?"
This was just her usual habit of talking to people, and she expected Sylas to shake his head. However, after thinking for a moment, the little girl slowly said, "What is a demon beast?"
Xerath's heart skipped a beat, and her face grew warm. She felt a bit ashamed. She had thought Sylas wouldn't understand much of Virgil and her conversation, so she had spoken freely in front of her.
She actually understood.
"I'm really sorry..." Xerath sincerely apologized, but as a scholar, she carefully considered her words, "Demon beasts... are a common term for a type of magical creatures."
At this moment, Titus, who had no one to play with, came over to the girl. Sylas made a gesture with open arms, and Titus put its front paws on the sofa, trying hard to wiggle its chubby butt. Finally, it managed to climb up the sofa and lay on the little girl's lap. The girl rubbed its back and focused on Xerath's gray eyes, while Titus purred on her knee.
"Demon beast, wind... Windbreaker, Titus?"
Xerath nodded, "Yes, Windbreaker and magic wolf are both demon beasts."
"Me?" She lowered her head and kept stroking Titus. Titus was so comfortable that it kept purring, and its butt kept twitching slightly.
"...You... um... you're human, like me."
Sylas lifted her head, pulled open her own collar, revealing the not yet fully healed brand (which had the words "Humanoid Class A Xerath" written on it). She also pointed to the row of letters on the cushion and said, "Titus, like me. But you, don't have it."
The emerald eyes were filled with deep confusion. Xerath frowned and carefully considered her words, "But you are indeed human, just with a contract with me."
"Contract?"
A contract is when... two parties have a relationship that both agree on. In our contract, it means being subordinate to someone else. Without a doubt, seeing the child's innocent eyes, the archmage realized she didn't understand and had to rephrase: 'I can give you commands, and you must obey, or else there will be consequences. That is a type of contract.' She emphasized the special nature of their relationship to avoid any misunderstandings from Sylas and to maintain the consistency of her narrative.
After a few more questions, Xerath had gotten used to the child's inquiries. She thought about the words Sylas might ask, such as how to explain the concept of being subordinate. However, to her surprise, Sylas didn't ask about that, but instead easily accepted the requirement of obedience in their unequal contract.
"I am, yours," she seemed to be pondering, "demon beast, contract."
The peculiar word order made Xerath instinctively correct, "Demon beast, yes, you and Titus are both demon beasts..."
"Demon creature." The little girl suddenly became happy and said, "Play with the demon creature."
Xerath couldn't help but laugh and think that Sylas had just gone through a series of categorizations, labeling actions that attacked her as "buying," and categorizing "guests" as a dangerous type. She had put Titus and herself both into the category of demon beasts, and finally believed that she and Titus should receive special treatment as contract demons: being played with.
Xerath chuckled softly and said, "Wind." A golden magic dispersed from her fingertips, creating a tiny whirlwind in her hand. This small whirlwind was the offspring of the Son of the Wind, and even with its faint tidal power, it could pull these wandering, almost unconscious babies from the Elemental Realm into the real world.
"Wow!" Her exclamation caused a small tremor, and a faint glow appeared around the living room's boundary markings. The crystal above her head shimmered for a moment before fading away, without causing any chaos.
But Sylas hardly noticed, her attention was all on the little whirlwind that looked like a white rose. She couldn't help reaching out to catch it, but the mischievous whirlwind spun around her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch it. She exclaimed in frustration.
The whirlwind seemed to hear her call and flew towards her. But the moment it hit her hand, it bounced away. She exclaimed again, and the air suddenly trembled. The disturbance caused the objects behind her to twist for a moment. Xerath quickly chanted, "Gentle breeze."
