Mash sat at the dining table, talking to his sister about the past few months. The table was long, easily able to seat twelve or more people, but they only occupied five seats. Made entirely of a dark wood, it was the center piece of the room. His sister had prepared them a feast, and his brother’s staff was bringing out an endless amount of food. Mash held nothing back in devouring the well-prepared dishes, and he kept looking at the staff a little surprised to see how many people were working in the house. Was his brother a noble now?

The staff was looking at him nervously, most likely because he was sending the occasional glance their way whenever they brought out more food. There was a mix of men and women, each of them wearing a typical maid or butler uniform. Most of the uniforms were primarily black, but also had white accents on them. Only one person, an older gentleman, had a pure white uniform. His sister had introduced him as Alfred the head butler, and that Mash should get used to informing him for anything related to his living space or the house in general. She was trying to get him to understand that it was his home too, and that he could come back whenever he wanted.

Before, he had only ever seen butlers when nobles had sent messengers to his father. and he noticed that there was a guard standing in the corner of the room. The guard was a lady, and she wore a set of leather armor that had metal plates around the most vital locations. Her chest, back, and neck were covered by a black metal that was speckled with silvery white stars. Clearly meant to signify her connection to the church. She had long black hair that was tied back, and a few scars along her face. On top of all that, he felt a substantial amount of mana from her, but it was obvious that she had a knight related class. Intelligence was probably not one of the stats she was focusing, meaning that she was probably a very high level. He wouldn’t be surprised to hear that she was over level 150, her mana seeming comparable to Ellis. He wanted to talk to her but knew better, since it felt like the glare, she was giving him, might have the power to kill him. Priscilla was similarly warning him of her apparent hostility, though it was unnecessary.

The room itself was very elaborate, the wood etched with intricate designs. The engravings resembling leaves blowing against the wind. Other than that, the whole house had been designed beautifully with carpets, paintings, and sculptures around the house. He didn’t pay much attention to the house itself, the occupants having been the bigger concern. His sister continued to prod him on details of the story, and he avoided anything he thought his sister wouldn’t want to hear, he left out the danger for the most part, but she pressed him about any injuries he had gotten.

“Don’t lie to me. I know you’ve been injured; I have a skill that can let me see them.”

She sounded like an overprotective parent, but he didn’t mind as much with her. She had always done that to some extent, even when they were younger. He didn’t know what injuries she was talking about and tried checking his own body. The only real abnormalities were the sections of his body where he used wood to patch up his injuries. His throat didn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest, but his side still itched a little. It was also a little bit stiffer than normal and figured that it was what she saw.

“Yeah, my side got injured in a fight, and I had to do some emergency treatment. It’s probably what you’re seeing.”

He patted his side where the injury was, and she nodded, indicating that was indeed the place she had noticed. Full of confidence and eagerness, she wanted to help him.

“I should be able to heal it tonight. My healing is a lot better then.”

“My lady-“

The guardswomen, who had been standing behind Luna, spoke for the first time. Obviously trying to voice some concern, she was cutoff by his sister’s glare. There was clearly some worry coming from the guard’s disposition, and Mash shot Luna a questioning glance.

“She is my paladin. And no, I can’t ditch her somewhere. And despite being my friend, she seems to be sticking her nose where it’s not wanted.”

His sister’s tone made the paladin back off, but Mash made a mental note to talk to her later. His sister wasn’t telling him something, and he wouldn’t let himself get healed if it did something bad to her. He would rather just deal with it, than let that happen. His sister changed the topic.

“Arthur mentioned Priscilla. Can I see her?”

She sounded eager, and he reciprocated the feeling. Priscilla was quite the spectacle, her new coloring making her much more picturesque. He held up his arm again, this time Priscilla appeared much smaller, understanding his affection to his sister now.

When he first met his sister earlier, Priscilla started to panic, sending him messages about how his mind was out of control. She had thought that it was an attack or spell because of how much his thoughts had shifted upon seeing his sister, and he had to explain to her that it was just because he missed her. Honestly, he felt the same way about his brother, but knew to keep a better leash around himself when around his brother. His situation wasn’t the same with his sister. She had been around when he returned from the prison and had been the only one to notice the changes with him. He had been petulant about it before, wanting to be free from her overprotective nature. However, he was grateful for her presence, especially after that incident.

Luna smiled excitedly, but before she could reach out to grab Priscilla, her paladin appeared between them. She had a hand on her blade, and the lights in the room seemed to dull, or maybe the shadows seemed to grow darker.

“That’s a monster, a dangerous one at that, and it’s not even tamed. You nee-”

“Stop! I already told you about her.”

Again, his sister interrupted the paladin, yelling loudly in anger. Despite her tone, the paladin never took her eyes off Mash. If it wasn’t obvious before, it was now, she definitely didn’t like him.

“I don’t care. It is far more dangerous than you let on, and I will see you protected.”

Mash was racking his brain trying to think of a solution but found it hard with Priscilla’s smugness coming through the bond. She seemed happy, as if she was finally getting the recognition she deserved. At that moment, he was glad that she couldn’t communicate directly. Certain that her words would make the situation worse. As if to prove the point, she sent him a message and told him to convey it to the Paladin.

“Tell her that she is right to fear me, but I will never do anything to go against your wishes.”

Comforting as that may sound to him, he felt like it would not have the same effect on the paladin. Instead of doing something like that, Mash tried his best to explain the reality of the situation.

“You don’t need to worry. I am in full control of Priscilla; she is more like another part of myself than a separate creature.”

He said that aloud but told Priscilla something else. He told her to move and form shapes with her body as he thought of them. At first, she took offence to the request, but appeased her by saying that he would test her ability to control his body. He didn’t need to add the second part but felt bad for forcing her to do something so demeaning. While the explanation wasn’t necessary for his sister, her trust for him being implicit, the paladin still seemed unsatisfied.

“If you have the control you pretend, make it kill itself.”

Her tone was cold and unflinching, and Mash wondered if she had fought Priscilla before. Priscilla indicated no, but she recognized that humans could change a lot overtime. She would be able to tell if the paladin had used a unique attack and demonstrated it again. Priscilla also said that it wasn’t a big deal, with her other bodies and the mana within his system, killing that one body wouldn’t do much. He stopped her, that was not a request that he would make. Instead, he glared back at the Paladin, tired of her treatment of him. Nothing came of it though, as Luna stood up and smacked the paladin on the back of her head.

“I said stop! Priscilla must do no such thing. And you need to take a step back. I trust Mash, and if he was here to harm me, I would first assume he had a good reason.”

Her tone was unflinching, and she was obviously fed up with the paladin’s behavior. Despite feeling honored for her trust, his face turned pale, matching the expression on the paladin.

“No! I would sooner die than harm you. If that situation ever happens, please stop me by any means necessary.”

Mash spoke the last part to the Paladin, ignoring the glare his sister was giving him now. The paladin gave him a slight nod, which made Luna even angrier. The conversation had derailed, and Luna took the opportunity to pick up Priscilla. It was obviously meant to irritate the Paladin, though Luna really did seem to like Priscilla’s appearance. The paladin flinched but returned to her earlier position.

With the tension diffused, his friends all slumped and let out sighs of relief. The three of them had forgotten that they were even there, and he apologized to them. His sister and even the paladin did likewise, though they vehemently refused the need of one from Luna. They spent the rest of the time in an awkward conversation, the situation from earlier still lingering around the table. The staff seemed even more nervous now than when they met Mash’s eyes.

Eventually, they finished the meal and took a small break wanting to go explore the house a bit. Luna acted as a guide leading his friends from one place to the next. Mash slowly drifted to the back of the group and tried signaling to the Paladin. He knew that she was watching his movements and made an obvious gesture with his hands. While Luna was distractedly talking with Jill and Red, he took the chance to speak with the paladin.

“Hello. We kind of got off on the wrong foot. I’m Mash, by the way.”

He tried to sound placating, knowing that they were probably going to run into one another a lot.

“I’m Alex, and what do you want?”

She couldn’t hide her dislike of him, but she must have come to the same realization and was trying to communicate with him.

“Why don’t you want her to heal me? Is it harmful, because-“

“No, it’s not harmful. You need to realize how important she is. Her healing you is fine, but it is something that most people would risk their lives just to see. Plus, you are a monster, or at least look like it and will hurt her reputation by being around her.”

She interrupted him, sounding tired of his very presence. That last part was unnecessary, and uncalled for. His irritation rose, but he managed to contain it, giving his response with as much calm as he could maintain.

“She is my sister, and I know that neither of us care about that. Our reputation is defined by our own actions, and nothing else matters to us more than our siblings.”

He didn’t think much about what he was saying, instead being led by his emotions. He knew his siblings, and no matter what happened to his reputation they had stuck by him. When he got his runner class, they were the first to help him, and even after the incident with Jason, his sister had been the one to watch over him. They would never want him to abandon them for the sake of their reputations. That much was obvious to him.

After saying his piece, he left before Alex could respond, realizing what exactly he had just done. He needed to be more careful, she was probably at the same level as Ellis and Davin. Though, he did stop paying so much attention to her, instead trying to enjoy his time with his family, happy to see his friends finally relaxing around Luna. It was getting darker outside, and he grew excited to see what Luna could do. Afterall, his sister’s class was one of the rarest and most powerful classes a healer could receive. It was bound to be a spectacle.