Sett slowly roused from his deep slumber. With a groggy mind, he gradually sifted through the memories of what had happened before he lost consciousness.

His last memories and feelings had those of feverish desire to do better. He had just barely failed in gathering essence from his hands with the Celestia Divine method, failing at the last possible step. Fuelled by a rather competitive spirit and fear, Sett had pushed forward, completely oblivious to the rather unconducive state that his body and mind was in.

In the end, he had pushed himself too far. Sure, he had managed to succeed in the end, but it had come at the price of falling unconscious immediately afterwards, leaving him unable to relish in his success.

Sett could not help but shiver at the mere memory of the feelings that he had felt when he had succeeded. It was unlike anything he had ever felt in his life before. He had felt the pure and untold potential coursing through his veins, but also the destructive powers that it brought with it. Unchecked, it could easily tear his veins from his body as easily as he breathed. If he had not managed to expel the essence haphazardly the moment before he collapsed, he would likely have had to spend many more days and nights in bed.

It was rather strange. Normally, when Sett had encountered such frightening dangers, he would have retreated without a second thought, but now he gladly ventured straight into hell just to get a little stronger.

In short, it was almost addicting. There was great danger involved, for those who did not know what they were doing, but the promised reward did much to make up for the bodily harm one would encounter.

He even considered throwing off the blanket and jumping straight back into the heat of it.

Sett shook his head and erased such foolish thoughts from his mind. He had just been injured, if only barely, and there was plenty of time for such things in the future.

With little else on his mind, Sett turned to discover the place that he found himself in.

Sett had awoken in a soft bed, that put all other beds he had ever tried to shame. If his lacking knowledge of all things ascendants was to be considered, it was likely to be specially made from some kind of high-tiered beast.

The roof over his head was entirely wooden and unrecognizable. The furnishing that was spread about him was unfamiliar, as well. One thing was certain, he had not been sent back to the 69th Crusader Company’s barracks.

Thus, this place, where he had been peacefully sleeping only a moment ago, could only be the home of the former grandmaster, Adriel, and his tamed beast, Ivis. Thinking to this point, Sett could not help but feel slightly nervous. He knew that the other party had expressed his desire to take on the role of a master for him and that he valued Sett greatly, but he also knew that there were limits to such things.

Sett was a former orphan and the mindset that such a societal position brought was not easily removed. In Sett’s mind, there were simply far too many steps between him and Adriel on the social hierarchy. Such a difference in positions demanded a great deal of respect, lest he would be burned as he had been many times before. What Sett was doing right now would surely have infuriated the few upper-class people that he had been in contact with as an orphan.

One might argue and say that Adriel brought Sett into his house willingly, but Sett was not going to take that chance. The actions of tyrants had long since clouded Sett’s judgement towards others in the position to help him.

*Crack*

The framework of the old house creaked as someone moved in one of the adjacent rooms. Soon after, the door was lightly pushed open and the white face of Ivis appeared behind it.

“Oh, Sett. You are finally awake.” The fox lightly chuckled. “You gave us quite the show and shock yesterday.”

Ivis’s words did little to dispel the fears that had erupted from his time alone in the room.

“Ivis… No, master Ivis.” Sett scrambled to his feet. “Please forgive me for my disrespectful actions and the trouble that I have caused you and grandmaster Adriel.”

With a slightly shivering voice, Sett begged the fox for forgiveness. The time before he had fainted, he had spoken with the fox as if old friends, but he now realised how big of a blunder he had made.

He had merely seen the memories of the fox, leading him to believe that he had known the other party for many years instead of the few hours that he had known him in reality. In addition, he had greatly overstayed his welcome and made use of Adriel’s hospitality. He had even obtained Adriel’s family methods due to the faltering mental state of the former grandmaster.

Such things were simply unforgivable, especially in high society, and Sett was much aware of it.

Ivis merely chuckled again in response to Sett’s frightened demeanour.

“It seems that you have some misgivings about our relationship, Sett,” Ivis spoke calmly as he approached Sett and sat before him. “In the time that you have been asleep, we have been doing a little research on you and your history. I understand your anxiety, but you have nothing to worry about. My master and I are, in some terms, much like yourself. As you know, we were expelled from our family and lost all status and the wealth that we were promised. Though it is hard to compare our lives to that of a true orphan, we nonetheless understand your plight and fear. While you are here, there is no need to fear our difference in status. My master is willing to take you on as a student and disciple and that is all that matters…”

Ivis spoke with a calm and mild tone but kept his fixated-on Sett’s own during the speech. His words were sincere and there was no doubt about whether or not he meant his words.

Hearing the words, Sett felt the turmoil that was his clashing feelings cascade. All the fear and uncertainty slowly crept away until they were completely replaced with happiness and an incredible amount of relief. Though he was hard-pressed to admit it, he even felt his eyes fogging up ever so slightly.

“Ivis…” Sett could almost not get the words out. “Thank you…”

Ivis walked forward and placed his snout of Sett’s shoulder, creating a gesture that somewhat resembled a hug.

“There is no need to thank me, Sett. If you join under my master, we are destined to be brothers. Truth be told, I would much rather have you as a brother than the half-witted and arrogant young masters from our old lineage.”

Ivis’s attempt at a joke brought a small smile to Sett’s face.

“That said, I should probably advise you that you should not barge onto random elder’s islands, lest you want to be kicked out forcefully by an arrogant elder.”

Sett nodded through his tears, unable to answer the fox.

Time trickled by as Ivis and Sett stood like this. Over time, a single spot on Ivis’s pristine white fur was plastered with tears.

“Ivis.” A voice suddenly appeared in the room, greatly frightening Sett. “If Sett is awake and well, please bring him outside.”

Sett looked wearily around the room but spotted no one. Only a moment later did Sett realise that the speaker of the words was Adriel.

“Oh…” Ivis awkwardly chuckled. “My old age must be getting to me, I completely forgot that I did not enter the room without any objective. Come, Sett. The island has guests and they have specifically requested your presence.”

“Guests? For me?”

Sett could not but feel his eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. There were very few people in the entire crusader order that knew of his existence and even fewer who would trouble themselves with looking for him on the former grandmaster’s personal island.

Immediately, his thoughts turned to Adina and Stella, but they should still be preoccupied with the matter that had forced him to hide here. The matter did not seem simple and it would likely last for many hours, leaving it unlikely for them to be looking for him so soon.

Looking to the sun above, it was clear that only a couple of hours had passed. It could not possibly be them.

Unless…

“Ivis, how long did I sleep for?”

“Hmmm… You were truly knocked out cold for a good while.” Ivis pondered. “If I were to guess, it should be a little longer than a day.”

Sett felt the colour drain from his face. If it had been an entire day, would the matter not long since have passed? Although they had not expressly told him to return to the barracks, it was an untold agreement between Sett and the sisters.

“Ahem, Ivis. Did you manage to see who this guest was?”

“I did not quite catch her name, but I did get a glimpse of her appearance.

“Her appearance? Tell me.”

“She was quite a peculiar young lass. She wore full ceremonial crusader armour and carried herself with great decorum, something that almost no one ever does anymore in the order. Though it was hard to see beneath the armour, I do believe her to be quite young, possibly only a little older than you. Oh, and she seemed deathly afraid. It almost looked like she thought that master would suddenly turn into a beast and rip her in half.”

Ivis lightly chuckled, once again, but Sett’s face twisted. The explanation could only be Adina. Never in his life had he met anyone else who valued military discipline so greatly, yet completely lost her composure in the face of her higher-ups.

He could not help but feel bad knowing that the two of them likely had to spend a great amount of time to figure out his whereabouts.

Soon, the fox and human pair reached the courtyard. Two figures were visible here. One sat leisurely on one of the chairs, with a slightly deadpan expression on his face, while the other stood directly at attention and looked deathly afraid.

Those figures were naturally Adriel and Adina.

Both of their eyes immediately lit up when they saw Ivis and Sett approaching them.

“Sett it is good to see you back on your feet again.” Adriel lightly waved them over. “This young lady here said that the two of you were acquainted and that she needed you for something. Is this true?”

“Yes, master Adriel. She is Sergeant Adina from the 69th Crusader Company. She is current my direct superior in the order.”

“Oh. So it is Sergeant Adina. My apologies for not recognizing you.” Adriel lightly bowed his head towards Adina. “Given that you know Adriel, you are welcome here any time. Please do not show any restraint in my presence.”

“This… Elder Adriel… Thank you.”

Adina’s words were staggering as she spoke to Adriel. Only when she stood face to face with Sett, one of her peers, did she seem to relax. Her eyes conveyed her feelings perfectly. Although she did not say it out loud, she was deeply reproachful that Sett had stayed out and caused no small amount of trouble.

It took her multiple moments to compose herself before she spoke again.

“Sett, as mentioned yesterday, your teacher requested us that you be tested, and the extend of your capabilities figured out. Captain Thomas had originally booked a time at the hall of ascendants to determine your strength, but that time passed half an hour ago. We can only go elsewhere in…”

“There is no need.”

Adriel interrupted Adina before she could finish her sentence.

“I will go with you. With my powers and privileges as an elder and former grandmaster, it is surely within my means to get you your test as quickly as possible.”

Adina blanched again, clearly not looking forward to being accompanied by an elder throughout the whole day.

“Elder Adriel… There… There is no need. We will surely… figure something out.”

“Nonsense.” Adriel had already stood up from his chair and began to leave the courtyard. “It is a simple matter. Also, I think that it has been a little too long since I last showed my face in the order. It will do me no good if people were to forget me.”

With that, the three people and one fox left the island.