The carriage stopped in front of the mansion.
The door opened, and the servants bowed their heads respectfully.
Three people were waiting before us.
The first to catch my eye was a tall, slender man.
Blue hair threaded with silver, and teal eyes resembling Iris’s.
His expression was gentle, but his gaze was deep, like a scholar’s.
He was probably Iris’s father.
Marquis Theodore Asteria.
Beside him stood an elven woman.
Long silver hair, and pale green-gold eyes that seemed suffused with the light of the forest.
She was far calmer than any human, and gave off a feeling close to the spirits.
Iris’s mother, Sereniel Silvana.
And a little farther back was a boy.
A boy who looked younger than Iris.
Silver-blue hair, a pale face, and thin shoulders.
He stood a little apart from the others.
He seemed frail, and an extremely thin mana stabilization barrier had been spread around him.
‘So that child is Noel.’
Iris’s younger brother.
The child said to be sensitive to mana.
Iris stepped down from the carriage and approached her family.
“Father, Mother. I have brought Student Elysia von Valerion and Haku.”
Marquis Theodore first bowed politely to Elysia.
“You must be tired from your long journey, Lady Valerion. I am Theodore Asteria, Marquis of Asteria.”
Elysia also greeted him with proper courtesy.
“Thank you for inviting us. I am Elysia von Valerion.”
Sereniel smiled softly.
“Welcome, Elysia. I have heard a great deal about you from Iris.”
Her voice was quiet, like leaves rustling in the wind.
Then her gaze lowered to me.
For an instant, I felt the tips of my fur stand on end.
Sereniel was not looking at me as though I were cute.
Nor was she looking at me as a research subject.
She was quietly observing me, like an elf who had discovered an ancient trace deep in the forest.
“And… Haku.”
She called my name.
In Elysia’s arms, I lowered my head slightly.
A greeting.
This should be enough.
Marquis Theodore’s gaze deepened ever so slightly.
“It is just as Iris said. There is almost no mana response, yet the surrounding spirits react first.”
An analysis from the very beginning.
I folded my ears slightly.
As expected of the Asterias.
But Theodore immediately added,
“Please do not worry. We will not force any measurements or observations without our guest’s consent.”
At those words, I felt a little relieved.
It seemed Iris had told them in advance.
Sereniel took one step closer.
Then the small spirits nearby gathered around her.
Those spirits looked back and forth between Sereniel and me, then one by one dimmed their light.
Sereniel’s eyes trembled for the briefest moment.
“These children are showing respect.”
At those words, Theodore, Iris, and Noel all looked at me.
I quietly blinked in Elysia’s arms.
No, I didn’t tell them to do that.
I really didn’t.
Elysia held me a little more firmly.
There was a hint of caution in her touch.
Sereniel seemed to notice and immediately stepped back.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to startle you.”
Elysia shook her head.
“No. I think Haku is just a little tense because this place is unfamiliar.”
That’s right.
Exactly.
It’s an unfamiliar place, the spirits are reacting strangely again, and every member of Iris’s family is frighteningly perceptive.
Of course I’m tense.
Just then, Noel, who had been standing behind them, coughed softly.
Iris immediately turned to him.
“Noel, are you all right?”
“Yes, Sister.”
Noel said so, but his voice was a little weak.
He looked at me cautiously.
I felt his gaze and stayed still.
The mana around Noel was unstable.
It wasn’t that he himself was unstable, but rather that whenever the surrounding mana touched his body, it seemed to snap sharply.
Like an overly sensitive string trembling even in the slightest breeze.
‘So this is mana hypersensitivity.’
But then something strange happened.
While Noel was looking at me, the mana flow that had been snapping around him settled down ever so slightly.
To be precise, it had not come directly into contact with my spiritual power, but it felt as though the spirits moved first and gently smoothed out the texture of the mana.
Noel’s eyes widened.
“…The noise got a little quieter.”
For the first time, Iris’s expression shook visibly.
“Noel?”
Marquis Theodore also looked at Noel at once.
Sereniel seemed to hold her breath.
With a flustered look, Noel lightly clutched at his chest.
“No, it’s not completely fine, but… it got a little quieter. Inside my head.”
At those words, the air around us changed.
Until now, the atmosphere had been a courteous one of receiving guests, but now it was mixed with a family’s astonishment.
Iris looked at me.
Her gaze was closer to the desperate look of an older sister worried about her younger brother than the excitement of a researcher.
Seeing that look, I was slightly flustered.
I hadn’t done anything yet.
Truly.
I had only been sitting in Elysia’s arms.
Perhaps Elysia felt that too, because she said carefully,
“I don’t think Haku did anything.”
“I know.”
Iris’s voice was low.
“That is what makes it even more important.”
No, if you say it like that, it puts even more pressure on me.
Marquis Theodore quickly composed his expression.
“Noel, do not overexert yourself. And we must not burden our guests.”
Noel nodded slightly.
“Yes, Father.”
Even so, he kept glancing at me.
His gaze held more surprise and relief than curiosity.
After hesitating for a moment, I nodded very slightly.
A greeting should be fine.
Noel blinked, then cautiously bowed his head.
“Hello, Haku.”
I cried softly.
At that, Noel’s expression relaxed ever so slightly.
Iris watched the scene and silently lowered her gaze.
She was probably thinking about many things.
Sereniel smiled quietly.
“For now, please come inside. Standing for too long after such a long trip must be tiring.”
Those words applied to me as well.
I immediately agreed.
I really wanted to rest.
The inside of the Asteria mansion was quieter and deeper than it appeared from the outside.
On the corridor walls hung old diagrams of magic circles, paintings of constellations, and framed pieces written in ancient script.
Small flowerpots had been placed by the windows, and spirits lingered quietly around them.
But whenever I passed by, the spirits moved aside one by one.
One little wind spirit even curled its body into a circle before me and bowed its head.
I deliberately pretended not to see it.
Iris quietly said from behind me,
“Reproducibility confirmed…”
I pricked up my ears.
Iris.
Did you just record that?
Receiving my stare, Iris turned her gaze away ever so slightly.
Elysia quietly held back a laugh.
It seemed some of the tension had eased.
The room we were guided to was an annex close to the garden.
It was a little removed from the Asteria main building, and through the window, part of an old tree could be seen.
Inside the room were a bed and desk for Elysia, as well as a low cushion and a small blanket that seemed to have been prepared specifically for me.
There was even a water bowl and a plate for snacks.
I stopped for a moment when I saw them.
‘They’re way too well prepared.’
Elysia seemed surprised too.
“This is…”
Iris said calmly,
“We prepared them so Haku could rest more comfortably in an unfamiliar place. We referred to the list Miss Mina sent us.”
Mina.
So Mina had been involved after all.
I was grateful from the bottom of my heart.
It was an unfamiliar place, but just having a small blanket and water bowl made me feel a little more at ease.
Elysia looked out the window.
Spirits flowed quietly between the branches of the old tree.
“It really is a beautiful place.”
Iris’s gaze softened ever so slightly.
“It is one of my favorite places.”
I climbed onto the cushion and curled up.
The gate transfer had been successful, but I was still tired.
Even if I had gotten better at practicing how to let mana flow through me, two gate transfers and the energy of an unfamiliar city were undoubtedly a burden.
Elysia stroked my back.
“Haku, do you want to rest a little?”
I nodded.
I do.
Very much.
Iris quietly stepped back toward the door.
“Today, we will prioritize rest.
There will be a formal meeting with my family at dinner,
but if Haku is tired, he may rest in the room.”
Oh.
She really had become more considerate.
I looked at Iris a little differently.
Receiving my gaze, Iris paused for a moment.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
I shook my head.
‘It’s nothing.’
I was just a little impressed.
Iris seemed not to understand, but she did not ask any further and left the room.
Once the door closed, the room became quiet.
Elysia sat beside me and looked out the window.
“Haku. We’re here.”
I nodded.
We had finally arrived.
Stellarium.
Iris’s hometown.
From the very beginning, the spirits had moved aside for me, Noel’s mana had stabilized for a moment,
and it seemed every member of the Asteria family had noticed how strange I was.
Even so, we had arrived safely.
That was certainly a good thing.
Closing my eyes, I let out a small breath.
This summer vacation.
As expected, it didn’t seem like it would be ordinary.
But somehow, in this place, we might end up encountering something important.
Of course, the fact that there was a very high chance the Spirit King might appear was a little unsettling.