"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO CALL US AGAIN, MASTER?"
Aillard asked me this question. I'm not sure if he didn't hear me or he wasn't just paying any attention.
"With all due respect, Master, the name you mentioned seems…" Gennady couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Not flattering?" Ferelith, with her straightforward attitude, spoke.
"Strangely interesting, I believe?" Zathrian said.
"Totally not reflecting who we are," Kalliste said.
"Do Karlbland and Miscerei? Anyway, I've made my decision. Moving forward, all of you are now The Vogue," I reiterated.
Yes, Vogue. Like Madonna sang in the '90s. The V of Valenti just occurred to me to call them Vogue. It's high fashion, right?
"Now, I wanted to address an issue," I looked at Ufara and she was avoiding my stare. "Ufara, a word with you in private, please?"
Ufara and I moved far from the center of Valenti. We stayed at a nearby lake which has green water. I don't know if it's the moss or something, but it's as green as the common grass.
"Now, Ufara. Fei seemed worried about what we've done. Are you aware that the magic you orchestrated before has the power to create a monstigna?"
"Yes, Master. I was just fired up with your determination to demonstrate our former master Fei your new powers. I was also put on the spot, I guess? I apologize for that," Ufara replied.
I sighed. "Yes, I wanna show off, but I didn't mean to hurt him fatally. I know he'll be able to evade that attack, but he must be anxious about what I can do next."
"I won't pull that stuff ever again, Master, I promise," she said.
"Hmm… There is a perfect time and place where we can use that power, but right now, we need to focus on how we can strategically develop our powers. Do you understand?"
"I do, Master," she said.
"Now, what can you suggest to further improve our attacks and defenses?"
She then shared a couple of styles and techniques. I was impressed with how she really wanted to impress me. I believe she felt really guilty about what happened, so she tried to compensate it with her compelling ideas. I appreciate what she's done, but this should serve as a lesson to her.
"Thank you, Ufara. You may go back to the center. I'll be going back out there," I uttered.
"Apologies again, Master," she repeated.
Then, I went back and I figured I was still sitting outside the door of the mansion. Unknowingly, Fei was sitting beside me. I yawned and stared at him.
"Hey, Fei. Are you still mad at me?" I whispered.
"No… I told you I'm not mad at you, and who told you that you'll sleep outside of the mansion? No one kicked you out," Fei said, still looking stern.
"Ah, Ellis and I were talking here a few minutes ago. I sort of felt sleepy so I leaned here on the wall."
"You looked sad while you were sleeping," Fei observed. "I told you I'm not mad at you. I was shocked, of course, but I didn't consider your feelings too. I didn't think that you would think of making that monstigna. I thought after Gramms gave us the rings, you will follow me to my room and we'll sleep."
"Well, I thought you were mad, so I talked to Ellis and asked him if I can stay with him in his room. The slut didn't allow me, so I just stayed here in the meantime. Catch some air, you know," I said.
Fei then moved closer to me and held my hand. "I'm sorry about the way I reacted. I know these things are new to you and you need more guidance. We just can't be too carefree in our choices."
"Well, I'm looking forward to our tomorrow's seminar, though," I mentioned.
"Hmm… But before that, I would like to ask you. What kind of powers do you want to possess? Do you like harnessing the elements, or combat, or mind powers, or spells, so we can prepare you better."
With the sound of Fei's voice, it seems that the madness has worn off, or so I thought. He's calmer now.
"I think I wanna have one of each. Like you. You have a lot of powers. I wanna be as powerful as you. Although, I must say, that's far-fetched at the moment, I guess… I wanna learn those skills that can protect me and can protect you. I don't wanna settle into only one thing because who knows, I might face an enemy who has an advantage of my only chosen power."
Fei nodded. "Very well said. I guess, let's start with the elements first. Clearly, fire is your expertise. Perhaps, tomorrow, we can practice using the rest."
I scratched my head. "You're teasing me."
"Nah, I just don't want to make you feel I less adore you. I still like you, Fei. I'm still into you, okay?"
Those words were really reassuring. I snuck into him and hugged him really tight. Maybe, it's about time to tell him the Vogue?
"Fei… I wanna tell you something," I seriously spoke.
His eyes dilated. "Should I be worried or should I be happy?"
"I don't know… But before anything else, I would like you to have an open mind, and whatever we have right now shouldn't change, okay?"
"I promise," he said without hesitation. I felt it deep in my heart.
"Okay… Let's go to Valenti. I wanna show you something."
I took his hand and we both teleported to Valenti. Surprisingly, the Vogue is there, resting well on their platforms. Some are quietly sitting. Some are cleaning their weapons. Some are sleeping while sitting, and that's kind of weird. I could barely sleep like that.
"Who are they?" Fei asked.
"I call them the Vogue," I replied.
Fei snickered. "Like Madonna's song?"
"Yes, like Madonna's song," I proudly responded. "Vogue!"
All of them stood up proudly and faced us. "Welcome back, Master."
I introduced Fei to the team. "I would like you all to meet Fei. He's basically the reason I'm here."
"Master Fei!" Kalliste's face changed from being gloomy to happy.
"I remember that voice," Fei uttered. "Kalliste?"
"Yes, Master Fei!" Kalliste yelped.
Aillard cleared his throat.
"I mean… Former Master Fei," Kalliste whispered.
"No, it's okay. I know you guys are already having a new master, so… Anyway, Aillard?" Fei pointed to Aillard and Aillard nodded to him.
"Nice to see you, Master," Aillard replied.
"This is so cool," Fei said and he turned to me. "Did you know that I never see them?"
"What do you mean?" I replied with a confused face.
"In me, they were like these big spheres in different colors. Like marbles. I only talk to them. I really don't know how they looked like because I never saw their faces."
Therefore, I introduced Fei to all of them, including the former Karlbland. In all fairness, these beings have been really polite to him. They were polite to me, but I would say that there is a different sense of courtesy towards Fei. Maybe because they felt this strong power or aura from him?
Ufara even apologized to Fei about what happened. She took responsibility for what happened and finally it made sense to Fei.
"It's nice to see all of you. I hope you do all your best to help Trick. You all know that we are going to fight in a tournament, right? We only have limited time, so we need your support," Fei said.
Wow. Just wow. He was so diplomatic. Like a born leader. Like the tone of his voice will make you follow him. There was a sense of authority that doesn't feel overpowering. I couldn't pull that off to all of them.
"We will, Master," Hanniel replied.
"We'll see you again, okay?" Fei said, and we went out of Valenti.
Currently, we're outside and we sat again in front of the door. We were quiet for a while, until he broke the ice.
"Fourteen of them, huh?"
"Yeah…" I replied gloomily.
"Did you know how powerful you can be? There are fourteen of them to help you," Fei said.
I sighed. "Fourteen of them which I cannot manage well. I thought I did but something comes up and I'm back to square one again. You see what happened with Ufara?"
"It's okay. I know she did it in her purest intentions," Fei said. "But Trick, I'm gonna tell you this, and make sure you remember it, okay? No one, not even Gramms or Gramps, have such number. Seven is the max, and you're handling fourteen. Plus they all appear in full form, not like the big marbles that we have. Think of its potential. You can be the most powerful among us. Who knows, you might win the Krieg," Fei said.
What? Seven is the max? And they're not in marbles?
Oh, gosh. How am I going to handle this pressure?