Faint, cautious footsteps echoed from afar, followed by the soft clang of metal and the gentle rush of water. Aaron slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on the ceiling before he turned his head to take in the dimly lit room around him.

<Where am I?>

Aaron quickly realized he was no longer in the room where he had fallen asleep. With some effort, he pushed himself upright, pressing a hand to his forehead as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He was lying in a large bed covered with pale linens. To his left, a small window let in a muted light, and beside it stood a table holding his glass and a pitcher of water. At the foot of the bed, two iron bars were fixed to the wall above a small shelf stacked with neatly folded clothes. Among them, one piece caught his attention immediately - the uniform worn by the soldiers from the capital.

He was in Zod's bedroom, he suddenly realized. One floor below him, Aaron heard a source of mana that must have come from the swordmaster. A quick glance outside made him realize that it was already late afternoon. Aaron pulled the blanket aside and stood up before a feeling of dizziness overcame him. Reflexively, he held on to the wall and closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself. Zod Adenia seemed to have heard him, because he distanced himself from the kitchen and quickly came up the stairs.

"Aaron?", Zod asked a moment later, knocking on the door. The High-Magician opened his eyes again and looked at the blond-haired man, who was looking at him with sympathetic eyes. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I just got up too quickly", Aaron explained, letting go of the wall as he regained his balance.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure. The medication seems to have done its job, I feel much better."

"I'm glad to hear that", Zod replied, his voice carrying a note of relief. "Would you like to come downstairs and have something to eat? Ahri will be back from school soon."

"I'd love to", Aaron replied honestly, as his stomach was indeed growling.

He hadn't eaten anything in a day, and the lack of energy was now becoming apparent. Moving quietly, he followed the swordmaster down the stairs, when the smell of warm food reached him. He paused in the hallway, glancing around the first floor, which appeared far larger than it had the night before. His eyes came to rest on the neatly arranged couch where he had fallen asleep.

Suddenly, he remembered the conversation and shook his head reluctantly. Why had he spoken so openly about his past to a stranger? Zod must be wondering why a murderer was a member of the Magistrat's council. Not to mention how curious he must be.

"Zod", Aaron began, stopping in front of the couch. His gaze fell on the blond-haired man who was scratching his arm and turning around.

"Hmm? What is it?", he asked kindly, causing Aaron to fall silent.

What should he say to him? Ask him to please ignore the conversation? That his statements had been meant differently than Aaron had said them? Did he want to lie to the swordmaster, the man who had told him the truth about Karekama and his zero magic, even though he didn't want to?

"I...", Aaron began, but in the same second decided against bringing up the subject again. "Why was I in your room?"

"I brought you upstairs after you fell asleep", Zod explained with a smile on his face. "You'll have a little more peace and quiet upstairs than here in the living area."

With that, the blond-haired man pulled out a chair and gestured for Aaron to sit. Wordlessly, Aaron obeyed, watching as Zod began recounting the events of the past few hours. His own memories were hazy - he recalled Zod waking him in the early morning, but the words exchanged and his own actions had slipped away. What remained clear were the swordmaster's worried eyes, a sight that lingered in his mind. He also remembered Zod leaving the house later on, and the image of him sitting on the floor, reading quietly before his departure, was etched vividly into Aaron's memory.

It felt as if only an hour had passed, but the day was almost over. The peace and quiet, the sleep and the pills had definitely helped him, even though he still didn't feel well enough. However, Aaron didn't want to show it so openly to Zod, since the man had clearly not gone to work today because of him. What amazed him, however, was the fact that he hadn't woken up when Zod carried him to the first floor. He was a relatively light sleeper and usually woke up at the slightest noise, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. The fact that he hadn't woken up was probably due to the pills. What surprised him equally, however, was that Zod could carry a grown man with ease. Aaron was a bit taller than Zod and certainly not one of the lightest people, from which Aaron concluded that Zod actually had quite a lot of muscle mass.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"I see", he replied after a few moments, watching as Cale approached the table with several plates and glasses in his hands. He neatly placed them on the table in front of Aaron when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Aaron noticed the man looking toward the door, so he did the same. He needed a moment to sense the source of mana approaching the house. "Your daughter seems to be back."

"That's not Ahri, that's my supervisor Mamoru", Cale quickly interjected. "Please wait a moment, I'll talk to him briefly."

He hurried to the front door with long strides and opened it, revealing the broad-shouldered man who was about to knock and flinched in surprise.

"By the gods, you're like a ghost sometimes. Are you stalking me?"

"I saw you coming", Zod explained calmly. "What brings you here, Mamoru?"

"I wanted to check that everything was okay because you didn't show up today."

"Didn't Jarle and Cedrik informe you?", Zod asked in surprise, stepping aside, so his new guest could enter.

"Yes, they did. Don't worry, I gave you the day off."

"Ah, thank you, Mamoru."

"You're welcome. Is this your friend?", the tall man asked, glancing at Aaron, who was listening silently to the conversation and only partially understanding what they were talking about.

"Yes, this is Aaron, a friend of mine from Altona. Aaron, this is Mamoru Meyrl, my supervisor."

"Pleased to meet you", Mamoru said, bowing briefly to him.

"Likewise", Aaron replied, grateful that Zod hadn't mentioned his last name or position. It was uncomfortable enough for him that strangers could see his situation. What puzzled Aaron, however, was the fact that he knew the surname Meyrl from somewhere.

"Excuse me, I'll have to take Zod away for a moment."

"Go ahead", Aaron replied, receiving a grateful nod before Mamoru turned to Zod and gave him an irritated look.

"Did something happen?", Zod asked, puzzled, as Mamoru took an envelope out of his jacket. Aaron's ears were so good that he could easily hear their conversation, even though they were whispering. But he couldn't tell what kind of letter it was and didn't want to try to find out what it was about.

"By the beard of the Eldest", Zod interjected, carefully taking the envelope in his hand. Aaron, on the other hand, gave him a confused look, as he hadn't expected to hear that phrase from an outsider.

"It's never boring with you. What have you done now?"

"Nothing at all", Zod defended himself, while Aaron turned away so as not to stare at the two men. However, he could still see Mamoru leaning forward slightly to whisper something in his protégé's ear.

"You know who sent this letter, right?"

"I do, yes."

"I don't know what it says, and I'm not asking you to tell me. Gods forbid. But please be careful with the contents and what you do. One misstep could turn your life into a nightmare."

Now Aaron was interested in what the message was. Although he had turned away from the two men, his ears were listening attentively to what Zod had to say on the subject.

"Caution is my second name", Zod said jokingly, taking a step back and opening his letter. He discreetly pulled out the letter as he paused and glanced at the door.

"What is it?", Mamoru asked in surprise.

"Nothing, Ahri is coming."

"How do you know...?", Aaron murmured quietly and stopped at the same moment, causing both Mamoru and Zod to turn to him.

"Know what?", the blond-haired man replied irritably, reaching for the door handle and seeming to realize at that moment what Aaron was getting at. "Ah, I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"I'll explain later", said Zod, evading his teacher's question, opening the door and greeting Ahri. " Hello, Ahri."

"What's going on here... Sir Meyrl!", the blond-haired girl exclaimed, crying out exaggeratedly loudly when she spotted the tall man.

"Hello, little one", said the man in a friendly and slightly surprised voice. Zod, on the other hand, pushed his daughter through the door and closed it again before he could finally turn his attention to the documents.

"You're just in time! Please wait a moment."

"All right?", Mamoru said, confused, watching as the girl put her bag on the floor and took out a small notebook. She also grabbed a pen and then stared at Mamoru without saying a word. Zod, on the other hand, concentrated on the sheet of paper, so none of the four people present said anything. Aaron's attention therefore returned to Zod, whose face suddenly became serious. "Will you tell me what you're doing, Ahri?"

At this statement, Zod looked up as if he had completely forgotten who was standing in front of him. His gaze fell on the little girl who was writing something in her little book.

"Ahri, please don't bother my guest."

"I'm just taking a quick look at his uniform. We're currently learning about different professions at school."

"I have a uniform upstairs, too, don't I?"

"But you don't have any badges", Ahri grumbled, which made Mamoru understand why she was staring at him like that. He reached for his coat with his hand and pulled it forward a little to better display his three badges.

"Oh, are you interested? Shall I explain what the badges mean?"

"No need!", the girl exclaimed happily, closing her book as she took off her shoes and reached for her bag. "Sorry to bother you."

"Not at all", Mamoru said with a slightly confused undertone, watching the girl hurry up the stairs with long strides. "Lively child."

"I'm sorry, she..."

"It's okay. I don't mind, really", Sir Meyrl quickly interrupted, patting Zod on the shoulder. "I'll be going. See you... tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow", Zod confirmed, glancing back briefly at Aaron. "And thank you for... this."

"You know what to do?"

"I know, yes."

"Good. Have a nice evening."

"You too", Aaron and Zod replied in unison as Mamoru left the house with a quick wave. Zod stood in the doorway for a few moments before his gaze fell on the letter in his hand. He sighed and closed the door again. His and Aaron's eyes met, causing the blond-haired man to smile nervously and make the envelope disappear with his zero magic without comment.

"Well, now that the excitement is over, we can finally eat in peace."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.