"Since I already accepted you under my wing, you would have to comply with my rules."
"I detest filthiness so on no occasion, you would be allowed to dirty my place or appeared before unkempt."
Syra nodded her head in understanding.
"I also don't tolerate tardiness. I find it so disrespectful"
"Hmmm..."
Again, Syra mumbled her agreement. It was not like she could express her refusal, in the first place.
She was at the other party's mercy.
Meanwhile, Clyde deliberately told the other party about the things that he hated and how she should avoid, in the pretext of giving her his house rules.
"Another rule---"
"---There's more?!!"
"Talkback and you're dead."
"Err??? Alright. So what about now? I mean, now that I am done signing the contract, what would be the next?"
Syra probed to change the topic. It was not that she was excited or anything else but she just wanted for all of it to be over.
"Just wait and see."
Clyde replied simply then he positioned himself at the center of the room. He took his wand again and waved it in the air. All the while chanting something that sounded alien in Syra's ear.
Not a long while had passed, the room started to be engulfed again with a blinding light which was all coming from the same floor where Clyde was standing.
Syra naturally put her hands across her head to cover her eyes as well as to protect them from too much brightness. But at the same time, she also could not help but peek and take a glimpse of what was happening.
Her curiosity could not be curbed anymore so she called out for Clyde.
"What is happening????"
She asked Clyde but it was Naomi who responded to her question.
"The circle was activating. Open your eyes and take a look to see for yourself."
Finally giving in to her curiosity, Syra allowed her curious mind to get the better half of her. She followed Naomi's advice and try to peek in behind her arms despite the brightness hurting her eyes.
She watched in utter amazement as to how the scattered light started to take form and drew irregular lines on the floor. It formed an image that looked abstract but at the same time, it also looked familiar.
Syra felt as though she had already seen such a drawing before but she could not exactly recall when or where she saw it. Other than that, for some reason, Syra also felt a weird tingling sensation running at her back the longer she stared at the circle.
"Well, at least, as far as I know, this is not how a pentagram that used to summons demons in movies looks like and that is a huge relief."
Syra thought to herself, trying to console her own. But at the same time, she still could not help but feel quite uneasy.
After all, it was not like she knew anything next to demonic sigils. So even if the other party was already presenting one before her eyes, she did not think that she would be able to identify it anyway.
It did not take that long before the whole image of the mystic sigil was finally etched on the previously boring floor.
Likewise, a bluish mist was arising from those same lines that constructed the image, and what seemed to be like tiny specs of dust danced in the air amongst the light that illuminated the circle itself
Syra found herself being drawn to the circle. She was not sure if it was normal but it was like she could hear a faint whispering coming from it. They were calling for her, their voices sounded psychedelic but she could hardly make sense of what they were saying.
Syra was momentarily put in a trance and she only came back to her senses when she heard Clyde calling out for her name.
"Syra Wright, I said stepped inside the circle."
Clyde was already sporting a pissed expression when Syra's soul came back to reality. Syra had no idea what annoyed the other party did as she was told.
Little did she knew that it was her that incurred Clyde's ire because the other party had been calling her attention for who knew how many times already yet she was still in a complete daze, standing outside the circle.
However, when Syra finally regained herself, she hurriedly followed Clyde and made her way towards the circle. Yet just when she was about to step inside it, the blue light intensified and this made her subconsciously took a step back.
"Why is that?"
She asked Clyde in confusion.
"The circle only sensed your presence, that's all. Quick, come inside, and let us get it over with."
Syra looked once again at the circle as well as the bluish light coming from which served as its barrier, then back at Clyde who was waiting for her inside the circle. The scowl in his face getting deeper as the time dragged on.
Syra knew that once she took a step inside the circle, there would be no turning back anymore and that thought was what held her back to take the final step.
"Is this really what my fate is?"
She was a girl with nowhere to go and no exact direction in life. She had long known that life was full of uncertainty but she was never made aware that it also included a life involving inexplicable feats and magic.
Syra was a realistic person and was a strict follower of the old adage, 'to see is to believe' so it never occurred to her that any of it would be happening to her.
In fact, never in her wildest dream did she ever imagined that practitioners of magic really do exist and even lived amongst the human.
"Was this really happening for real?"
She drew in a deep breath and exhaled it loudly. Up until the last minute, Syra was still full of hesitation. Yet before she could even make her mind, Naomi already made the choice on her behalf.
The cat no longer gave Syra a chance to think and he just unceremoniously pushed the other party inside the circle, since she was already just a step away from it, to begin with.
"Silly girl, we are not writing a drama novela here so stop spicing things up anymore and get it done as soon as possible. I'm tired, I need to go to sleep soon."
Naomi explained his action afterward while rolling his eyes and licking his paws clean at the same time.