Chapter 23
"My little Maria is adorable. How about you come and live with your grandpa? I will spoil you with pretty dresses and play with you every day." The man was wearing a big happy smile on his face, engrossed with the idea of seeing his precious granddaughter every day of the week.
Immediately Maria found herself caught by a different pair of hands, a set of emerald eyes glaring in the direction of her grandfather. "Hey, Maria is my darling sweet little cub! She is not allowed to leave her Mommy and Papa side just yet!"
"Hmph, fine, then all of you come live with me," stated Maria's proud grandfather with both hands on his hips. The brief bit of relaxation was once again hit with shock as she stared up at her grandfather and told herself,
'Gramps, you can't be serious?!'
The small family of three, plus Neal, along with Kuroka and s.h.i.+rone were inside the main stronghold of the Roaring Lion Knights. Neal found himself the unlucky one to try and pacify the childish daughter and father duo, pitying Maria who was caught in the middle of their game of tug-of-war.
"Matilda! Commander! The little lady..." called out Neal, unsure how to save the young girl, knowing that when those two became like this, there was only one person who could get them under control.
"Ara, darling, Tilda~! What do you think you're doing to my precious granddaughter?"
A gentle and soft-spoken voice entered. Both daughter and father stilled, putting a pause to their tug-of-war game which Maria was thankful for. Hearing a set of footsteps enter the room, Maria was stunned to see a small and delicate woman with long cinnamon brown hair reaching past her waist and gentle emerald eyes, greatly resembling her mother's.
'So pretty... and she looks a lot like mom!' Maria couldn't help but blush when the woman made eye contact with her; though the more Maria looked at this woman, she began to notice just how young she looked.
'Wait a sec... This woman can't be my obasan! I mean, when placed next to mom, she could be her younger sister!'
"Hi, mom!" Maria's jaw hit the ground as she watched the two women hug each other. Staring more intensively at the two, Maria noted that not even their size in the bust department measured up. Leaving herself asking, 'Just what kind of rejuvenating potion is granny taking?!'
"It's good to see you again, Tilda! You must visit your parents a little more often; it's been a long time since I saw my adorable grandchildren." Maria watched her young-looking grandmother walk her way and bend down towards her level.
"Is Maria hungry, obasan just made snacks and a batch of fresh sweets."
The smell of spring flowers..h.i.t Maria, becoming engulfed in this warm feeling that was being emitted from her obasan; a charming, gentle smile was set on her face. Nodding her tiny little head, Maria found herself in the loving and soft arms of her pretty grandmother.
"Then let's go get some food in that little tummy of yours." Maria's grandmother led her outside where a table of snacks was awaiting them. In a short amount of time, Maria was snacking on monte cristo sandwiches, pretty and
"So tell us, besides wanting to see us, what else brings you to Regulus City?" asked her grandmother, setting a plate of decorative macaroons next to Maria, and giggled once she saw how the girl's eyes lit up with happiness.
"Maria is stressed out over her Final Exam that is coming up. As you know, in order to prepare students for entering the Middle School Division, Diamond Academy tends to pair students against a Magical Beast. Marichan is afraid of failing," explained her mother as her grandfather pondered over the information he just heard.
"I almost forgot; when students at the academy enroll in the Middle School Division, half of their grades are determined by their missions. On the majority of these missions and depending on the details of them, students will without a doubt encounter magical creatures. Hopefully for their sake, the creatures they encounter are of the beast-type and not the phantom-types," said Maria's grandfather, eyes serious when he felt his granddaughter's curious eyes fell on him.
"Why do you say that, grandpa?" Even though Maria was taking Intro to Magical Creatures, learning about their types, rankings, and abilities, the students in the cla.s.s learned more about the beast-type creatures than the phantom-types. The only thing Maria knew of phantom-types was that they were extremely dangerous and one should retreat if they ever encountered a phantom-type creature.
"Since you're still in your first-year in the Elementary Division, teachers refrain from saying too much about phantom-type creatures in hopes to not scare you. Not to mention, most phantom-type creatures reside in the rural areas; the academy hardly receives requests from these areas as they are sent to the guilds or fall under our jurisdiction. " explained her grandfather.
"Various children from n.o.ble families attend the academy. Since the academy can not risk any serious damage happening to the students, they receive missions from the middle and upper-cla.s.s areas. So they feel it as unimportant to truly inform students about phantom-type creatures." While snacking on her lunch, Maria paid attention to the words her grandfather was saying.
"Phantom-type creatures are sinister and vile creatures that feed on human flesh and fears. They are extremely dangerous and are twice as hard to take down compared to beast-types. Luckily, you'll never have to encounter such creatures, since beast-types outnumber phantom-type creatures. But if you ever encounter one... run." Seeing such a heavy and intense gaze in her grandfather's eyes, Maria felt a cold chill sweep over her body.
Mentally taking heed of his warning, Maria felt a large hand settle on top of her head and fondly rubbed it. "But that is not the problem at hand; it seems you are afraid to battle a magical creature and must overcome such fear if you are to move up a grade."
"In order for Maria to overcome her fear, the best place to send her would be north, outside of Regulus City, where a small number of beast-type creatures reside in a forest. Taking her there would be a good place to start training," advised her grandmother. Maria took notice of how the atmosphere around the table had changed some.
Listening to her grandparents and mother converse with one another, Maria felt a sense of dread, warning her that she would not like the plans they had in store for her.
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'I knew I wasn't going to like this...' Maria had changed into a different set of clothes more appropriate to maneuver around the thick forest she was currently traveling with her grandparents and mother. Kuroka and s.h.i.+rone had expressed their desire to come along as well but were ordered to stay behind.
The forest they entered was called Xale, a small forest not that far from the city, covered with thick trees, small lakes, and even a few fruit trees could be spotted. Maria stuck closer to her grandfather and mother; the mishmash of animal sounds kept Maria on edge.
When the group suddenly stopped, Maria wondered why, but when she got ready to ask, her eyes locked onto what was blocking them. It was a large black bull, smaller than the griffons that the Rosendrey family had, but yet still large, the same went for the intimidating fire horns prodding from its head. Huffing and glaring at them, it was as if it was getting ready to charge.
"Oh, a Fire Horn Żubroń! It has been a long time since I saw one," mused her mother, not even the slightest bit scared; the same went for her grandfather who laughed out loud.
"Back at the beginning of your training, the first thing I put you up against was a Fire Horn Żubroń. It took you three days to defeat it."
While father and daughter reminisced over the old times, Maria was close to wetting herself, wis.h.i.+ng for nothing more than to be back under the covers of her bed. Maria was ready to flee when she heard her grandfather speak up.
"Maria, there is only one lesson you need to learn when facing a beast. Stand your ground and face your prey right in its eyes. You must never show weakness, 'cause they can sense your fear. Channel the inner beast inside you and fight!"
Those fierce lion-looking eyes locked with the Fire Horn Żubron; just from their posture, one could tell both were challenging each other to a duel. In one quick succession, both took off with an animalistic yell.
Balling his fist, Maria's grandfather swung it forward. Maria was in awe at what she witnessed next; the Fire Horn Żubron was sent rolling on the ground, before it slouched to the ground, completely down for the count.
With a wide smile stretched across his face, Maria's grandfather turned to her and said, "Alright, Maria, now it's your turn!"
'Come again..?!'
"The next prey we stumble upon, I want you to be the one to take it out."
'This old man is trying to get me killed!'
"Haha, don't worry, grandpa completely believes in you!"
'...I'm gonna die.'