"Hmm my dearest Grand, are you sure my dear cousin is ok?" Karin asked while sizing up Ares who was in the capsule up and down.
"What do you mean?" Zerisa asked since she knew Karin was kind of sharp sometimes despite not being very apt most of the time.
"Don't you realize some of his hair has become white?" Karin said while pointing to the right side of Ares's head where strands of white hair could be seen under the dim lighting in the capsule.
"That's might be the side effect of the sealing. Since he was sealed before for almost a decade, his hair has become like that and turned red once again when we seal him once more but now since we have already lifted the sealing, some of his hair might become white once again. There's also a possibility that his hair was naturally like that but no one knows for sure," Grand explained calmly while checking Ares's heartbeat and blood pressure on the screen beside the capsule.
"Damn, not only do his eyes have two different colours but now his hair also has two colours" Karin exclaimed excitedly.
"When will he wake up?" Zerisa asked ignoring Karin.
"Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow" Grand replied.
"Hmm, so should we plan our outing in the meantime?" Karin suggested.
"Do you plan on bringing him to the capital?" Grand asked while frowning seemingly disagreeing with the idea.
"Err no~" Karin replied while scratching her face awkwardly.
"Maybe we can try the hot air balloon with him later since the workers said that it was supposed to be completed today" Zerisa suggested knowing that Ares couldn't be away from their family's territory before the new year since Grand still wanted to observe him more.
"Ohhh that also sounds fun. It's larger than what I've imagined from the picture you showed me before. Maybe we can also make some lanterns and fly them away at night later" Karin said excitedly.
"Is playing the only thing you have in your brain?" Grand commented without looking toward Karin.
"Is not my fault that my brain doesn't have the same capacity as everyone else" Karin pouted.
"Is that your way of saying that you're stupid? How the hell do you have a brain like that when both your parents are well-known mages. Aren't mages used their brain the most?" Grand rebuked her bluntly.
"If I have a brain as good as Eris and coupled with my strength, won't I become too overpowered. Maybe this is how God try to make me balance and fair to everyone else" Karin said started spouting nonsense.
"Where is Kara?" Zerisa asked her trying to change the subject before Grand started getting annoyed at her.
"My dad gave her a copy of Ares's research paper since she also have thought of the same idea before but never try to develop it more. She might be reading that thing now" Karin replied.
"Now, let's us get out of here and have dinner. That brat Kara still doesn't show her smug face to me yet" Grand said before urging us to exit the personal lab.
Zerisa glanced at the capsule one last time and wave her hand slightly towards it even though the person inside it couldn't see what she was doing at all.
She also put a frame containing a picture where five red-haired kids between the age of 11 and 12 years old had a picnic under a large tree and on the lush green grassy ground.
"Hmm, are you hoping that he will see the picture first thing when he wakes up later?" Grand asked her.
"Kind of. This is one of his happy moments where all five of us managed to spend time with him" Zerisa said solemnly.
"Let's take more pictures later. This time we have to take the family portrait no matter what" Karin said determinedly.
"Sure whatever you see fine" Grand agreed for the first time in a while since usually she always opposes Karin's ideas and antics.
"Wait, I should ask grandpa to find a large frame so we can hang up the portrait in the mansion," she said while hurriedly walking away to make a call.
"That kid is as impulsive as ever" Grand commented while Zerisa just kept quiet and follow her exiting the lab. Later, they met up with Amma in the dining hall where she was already waiting.
They have dinner together where Karin was busy shoving every single food in front of her as if she has been starving for decades while Kara continuously talked about Ares's research paper and how she would ask Ares to help her with her magic-related ideas that she was stuck with while Grand just silently listening to her and Amma sometimes would ask her a few questions which Kara would eagerly answer.
Seeing the easy-going and peaceful environment made Zerisa's heart at ease after a while.
**************************************
'Damn, my head hurts like hell but my body seems fine despite the feeling as if all of my muscles are being torn off just before I lose consciousness before' I muttered while trying to open my eyes.
Ding Ding Dong Dong Ding Dong
Suddenly a long bell sounds echoed across the lab and while I was still struggling to wake up, I could sense that a few people started to gather around the capsule. After a few moments, I managed to slowly open my eyes and my view was quite blurry for a moment due to the liquid-filled in the capsule.
When the liquid was drained out, my view became clearer and I saw a few new faces that I have never seen before standing in front of me. Their faces looked happy and grateful at the same time.
"Ares" a young lady suddenly hugged me the moment I stepped out of the capsule. Seeing her physical trait of wearing a simple white blouse with slim fit office pants and a bun styled red hair, she must be Zerisa.
"Eris" I muttered her name which made her hug me tighter.
"Oii you'll crush his bones Eris" commented another young lady that have red hair that looked like a lion mane since it look kind of messy.
"Everything seems fine. Just let him rest for today before you drag him to do whatever things you have planned" Grand said while observing me.
"Alright brats, let Ares breath for a bit, can we. Come here Ares, change into this cloth and we will bring you to your room" Amma said while urging me to change the cloth since the pants I'm wearing was soaking wet from the capsule liquids.
I obediently did as she asked and later followed them out of the lab where Eris always stick close to me as if afraid that I would fall or have trouble walking. Her cold unsmiling face didn't fit the way she treated me.
Ron was nowhere to be seen and it must be because all these people asked him not to be around me for the time being.
To be honest, being with the worrywart Ron seems better than being surrounded by your overprotective female family members like this. After that, they confidently urged me to eat so much food since I've not eaten anything during my 3 days period in the capsule.
"I already make a plan for us to spend during this winter break. So first we will try the hot air balloon and then the lanterns...." Karin kept on babbling about her plan for the winter break.
"Karin, you can't make Ares too tired. Let him have some time to rest" Kara suddenly interjected.
"Ohh you're right" Karin easily agreed.
"So during that rest time, we can discuss the magic idea that I told you before regarding the combination of magic circles and the possibility of creating new spells or a new branch of magic research...." Kara started to blurt out her real intentions which seem in line with her character set as an avid magic researcher. It's kind of weird why she didn't enrol into Soraz Magic Tower.
"Hey, you're stealing my spotlight. Why the hell are you talking about magic research during our break" Karin retorted.
"Sigh. Slow down you two. You make Ares confused" Eris try to calm the situation down.
"It's not my fault. Kara's complicated words might confuse him more" Karin tries to defend herself.
"Only a bird brain can't understand what I'm talking about," Kara said emotionlessly.
"We can tie up lanterns around the lake later or make a fire camp and the creation of a simplified magic circle is what I'm doing, not creating new spells since that is more difficult for me," I said calmly, showing that I listen to them both just fine.
"Ohh that's a good idea. We can make fire camps, grilled some meat and do star gazing later" Karin sounded more excited than ever.
"That's also difficult but doesn't seem impossible and there's a possibility that a new spell will be created along the way" Kara commented while typing down something on her tablet.
"You don't have to accommodate them too much," Eris said to me before pouring more hot chocolate milk for me.
"No need, this is fine," I said when she tried to put more sugar and sweetened milk into my cup since I prefer a slightly bitter chocolate taste compared to the sweet one.
"You don't seem fond of sweets as usual" she commented.
"Hey, do you want us to tell you about HGA?" Karin suddenly asked.
"Sure" I answered shortly since there's no reason for me they reject when someone is willing to give me more information.
"As you know, next year I and Eris will be in our final year and Kara is in the third year even though she is just a year older than you but that's not the point. As one of the most prominent academics in the empire, a lot of nobles eagerly wanted to enrol their kids there including our family even though not every Zanuki went to study at HGA for example my dad is not HGA alumni"
"Although commoners can also be chosen to be HGA students and be given a scholarship, usually the noble kids will get more attention from the higher-ups due to their family lineage," Karin said eagerly.
"Are you saying that I can't embarrass our family?" I interrupted her since she doesn't give me any important details so far.
"No-not err that's not what I mean..." Karin stuttered.
"Sigh, what Karin said is, most people will view you as a Zanuki first before viewing you as a person which has pros and cons to it. The nobles will not blatantly make trouble for you but if they think you're weak, they will use it to insult you. Thus, when you enrol, don't give a fuck on whatever those sucked up nobles said about you" Eris explained to me.
"HGA is a fair academy where they prioritise talent above everything and anyone can be expelled even if they were the royal family members. So just do your best and graduate" Kara added on.
"Aren't you more suitable for studying magic, Kara? Why do you go to HGA and not SMT?" I asked curiously.
"Because I can wield aura thus I don't want to become a normal mage so I thought maybe I can try to develop as a mage and a warrior at the same time. Have you heard of magic swordsmen before? I use spear so I aim to become a magic spearman" she explained to me.
It seems aligned as the Zanuki was more well known as a warrior mage family. The word warrior came first since they didn't focus too much on magic spells like mages. The Zanuki used magic mainly to assist them in battle.
Kara was also one of the characters that rarely showed up in the novel since she didn't have any specific roles other than being a genius in magic research so I thought she was a mage but that didn't seem to be the case now.
"So how is your training?" Eris asked.
"It's fine. I have better control on my aura even though I'm more proficient in using mana" I answered honestly.
"To be honest not many first-year managed to wield aura so you being able to control it on a certain level is already considered ok," Eris said trying to reassure me.
"So what kind of weapon do you choose?" Karin asked curiously.
"I use dual Katanas and multiples daggers"
"Ohh right, you're an ambidextrous" Eris commented after remembering something.
"That seems fine" Kara commented.
"We have to go shopping later in the capital before the start of school" Karin suggested while she continue mumbling about buying new weapons and desserts.
"I will bring you to visit SMT later since I always went there from time to time due to my research" Kara added on since SMT is also located at the capital of the empire, Midas City.
"I can't accompany you during your registration day but I will observe you during the freshman ceremony," Eris said informing me.
"Our friend is the Student Council President while Eris is the secretary," Karin said excitedly
"Student Council?" I muttered.
"There are a lot of organizations and clubs in HGA so you can join any that suits your interest but please avoid the organizations called Noblesse and Blood Supremacy since both are created by racist nobles that prioritize family prestige and lineage as the main recruitment to join the organization. They despise and always make trouble for commoners" Karin said clearly to me.
"Yes, I will remember that" I answered reassuringly since that kind of organization will be the first one I avoided even if they invite me to join them.
"Here is the list of revision books that you might need" Kara suddenly said and a notification of a new message popped out on my smartwatch screen.
"Damn, who the hell read all these?" Karin said after seeing the list.
"Those who have decent brain size" Kara replied coldly.
"I will give it to my butler later," I said ignoring Karin since Eris didn't seem to object either.
"Hey Ares, you don't have a Star account right?" Karin suddenly asked after being defeated in a one-sided talk fight with Kara.
"No" I answered confusedly since I don't know what a star account is.
"Since Grand already permitted us to show you off, then let's create a Star account for you," she said while grabbing my phone from me and installing an app that look like Instagram at a glance.
"This is a star account," she said after she finished signing me up. When I looked through the app features, it was identical to Instagram and Twitter combined in one app where there's also a forum room that looks like a Twitter news feed and a video forum site that looked like YouTube where the Star account users were making the live broadcast.
"So should I post a picture," I asked feeling awkward since, in my past life, I rarely post on my Instagram or wrote any posts on my Twitter account. Most of the time, I was just browsing through them just to waste time.
"Wait not now. Let's wait until tomorrow. We will take a picture together and I will post it on my account and tag you. For now, let Eris manage your account first and you will manage it yourself in HGA later" Karin suggested excitedly.
"Ok here is my star account, follow me," Kara said shamelessly.
After less than a few minutes, I have followed the Star accounts of my family members and servants. Ron's account is just basically him posting about the weather and his family while Ran, likes to post about her cooking.
Then I looked through Eris's posts where almost all of her pictures look formal except for a picture of five red hair kids at the top of the post since it was posted just yesterday. The smallest boy in the picture only has half of his face shown since he was hugged by a bigger boy.
"Is this us?" I asked her.
"Yeah, that's us four years ago. That's the first time and also the only time we ever go on a picnic together" Eris answered while smiling at me.
"Hey look at my account," Karin said urging me to take a look at her account while Kara seem immersed in her world busily typing on her tablet.
"How do you get this verified symbol?" I asked when I saw both Karin and Eris have a green verified symbol beside their profile name.
"Your followers will have to answer some questions to determine that you're real and the verified symbol will show up when enough people said that you're real" Karin replied.
"You will get the verified symbol tomorrow or before our winter celebration since our family is enough to testify for you" Eris added on.
I continue looking at Karin's account where she mostly posted pictures of her training or wielding weapons while Kara's post only has around a dozen pictures where pictures are of her receiving awards and doing research or giving a speech. A stark contrast between their two accounts despite them being siblings.
I spend my whole day with the three of them where later Adrian also joined in via video call since he was still stuck in the capital. Like Eris said, after not more than 48 hours, a green verified symbol was already beside my profile picture.
*************************************
[POV: Zen Zanuki (Ares's grandpa)]
"Oho, my grandson has created his own Star account" I muttered amusingly.
"Karin's the one who created it and currently Eris is the one managing it" Adrian commented while munching on the strawberry cheesecake.
"So she must be the one taking this picture," I said showing him the candid picture of Ares painting on the balcony while Karin eating was accidentally being captured in the same frame.
"The picture will be better if Eris cropped out Karin's face but Eris doesn't have this kind of common sense" Adrian commented.
"Dad, people started talking about him in the forum" suddenly Zoroas's voice sounded.
I looked at his serious face and smiled before saying, "Let them talk since we can't hide him forever isn't it?"
"His follower seems to have exceeded one thousand people," Adrian said while still eating.
"There's a rumour spreading around that he has an ugly or deformed face since he was wearing a mask. Some even said that he's a disabled kid since his hair is partially silver-white" Zoroas said to me.
"There's also a comment saying about why is he painting when being a Zanuki. But Eris seem to have alrdeletedelete that kind of comment and currently, only positive comments are left on his post" Adrian commented when I remained silent.
"Just let them be. They will know whether that kid is disabled or not later" I said calmly while Zoroas seem to accept my decision reluctantly.
"Grandpa, when are we going back? I can't let them play with the hot air balloon or the lanterns without me" Adrian complained.
"We will go there in two days so Zoe, finish your job faster," I said to Zoroas.
"Yes dad, don't worry. Stop eating too much Ian" Zoroas reminded Adrian when he wanted to ask the servant for more cakes.
Adrian look stupefied when he was suddenly reprimanded out of the blue but he quickly obeyed and continue browsing his Star account to update a feed.