March 15th, 1714
Maika cradled Isayao in her arms as Ishizaki helped her sit up. Ayane and Xialdre waited by the door until they were finally allowed to enter.
"You may now enter, young masters," Hechalutz said, opening the door.
Ayane charged inside excitedly, while Xialdre entered calmly. Ayane rushed to her mother and immediately asked, "Mom, what's her name going to be?"
"Slow down, tiger. I think I've thought of one," Maika replied with a smile.
"Dear, I think it's my turn to name her," Ishizaki interjected.
"Let me, dear. I'm a girl, just like our baby girl," Maika insisted.
"But I didn't get to name Xialdre," Ishizaki pointed out.
"I wouldn't have agreed with your naming anyway, Dad," Xialdre said dryly.
"Rude," Ishizaki retorted.
Xialdre turned his gaze toward Isayao, getting a better look at her as their eyes met.
"This baby is going to live a very tragic life," Xialdre thought to himself.
"I'll name her Isayao," Maika decided.
"This is the start of her journey as a mortal," Xialdre remarked.
"Xialdre, what are you talking about?" Ayane asked.
"Nothing. Anyway, let's hope for a better life for her," Xialdre replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ayane questioned.
"You'll see very soon," Xialdre said cryptically.
*Present*
"And that's what happened when you were born, Isayao," Xialdre recounted as all the girls followed him down a pathway leading to a populated area.
"Really?" Isayao exclaimed.
"Yeah, nothing special happened during your birth. It was just like a process," Xialdre responded.
"How about me, Master?" Clementine asked.
"Well," Xialdre began to recall.
*Flashback*
December 21, 1714 - "Mirael, push!" a doctor yelled.
Xialdre, carrying Isayao, waited outside the door until he was finally allowed to enter. Ayane was also waiting outside, as Ishizaki was at work along with Maika.
"Xialdre, it's kind of awkward why you want to help a slave give birth, right?" Ayane asked.
"Mind your manners, sister," Xialdre replied calmly.
"Sorry, but she's a slave and also just our maid. We already have a butler, and maybe Mirael is just..." Ayane trailed off.
"A what?" Xialdre pressed.
"You know... a burden," Ayane exclaimed.
"I see," Xialdre responded.
"Huh, you think so too?" Ayane asked.
"You see, I don't really care what people think about another person. As a matter of fact, your view of Mirael as a burden has been clear to me for quite some time now," Xialdre replied.
"But do you agree with me?" Ayane pressed.
"We don't know that just yet. You'll know soon enough," Xialdre said.
"To be honest, I don't even have inner thoughts about her that contain care or more. In my eyes, Mirael is just a tool. What I want is her daughter, not her."
"Ayane talks to me like she trusts me with her words and thinks I'll keep everything she tells me a secret."
"Despite her being my sister, I still cannot give sympathy towards her, just like all the mortals in my life. They are just tools awaiting to be used and can be discarded when their use is over."
"But whatever. That doesn't matter, since her daughter is the new hero," Xialdre thought to himself.
As the door opened, Hechalutz allowed Ayane and Xialdre to enter while Isayao remained in Xialdre's arms.
Mirael managed to sit up and hold her baby. Xialdre looked her in the eye and commented, "Congratulations on your baby, Mirael."
"Thanks, young master," Mirael responded.
"Congratulations, Mirael-chan," Ayane added.
"Thanks, Ayane," Mirael replied.
"How dare she call Xialdre master but not me," Ayane thought bitterly.
Noticing Ayane's anger, Xialdre sighed and shifted his gaze to Mirael's daughter. Mirael then asked, "What should I name her, young master?"
"Name him? He's not the dad. You should name her yourself, Mirael," Ayane blurted out.
"Sorry, Ayane, but the young master saved my life. This is the least I can offer him," Mirael retorted.
"You're literally living in my mansion!" Ayane yelled.
"Sis! What's with that attitude!?" Xialdre questioned sharply.
Realizing the atmosphere she had created, Ayane ran out of the room, taking Isayao from Xialdre's arms.
"This girl never changes," Xialdre thought to himself.
"I'm sorry for the commotion I just started, young master. Please, I'll accept any punishment you give me," Mirael said, trembling.
Hechalutz continued to watch everything unfolding as Xialdre shifted his gaze back to Mirael and said, "Kill your daughter."
The atmosphere immediately turned tense. Hechalutz began to sweat, shocked by Xialdre's sudden change, as Xialdre's eyes remained dead and calm.
Mirael trembled as she looked at her newborn baby. Xialdre threw a dagger into her arms and said, "Kill her with this."
The room fell into silence. Hechalutz kept his eyes locked on the two as Xialdre looked down at Mirael.
"Can't do it?" Xialdre questioned intimidatingly, maintaining his calm demeanor.
"R-right," Mirael stuttered.
Holding the dagger tightly, she pointed it at her daughter's heart, shaking in sadness, despair, and fear.
"If you can't do it, kill yourself," Xialdre commanded.
Mirael slowly changed the dagger's point towards her chest and replied, "Right."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before preparing to stab herself. As she was about to do it, Xialdre flicked his finger, and Hechalutz stopped the dagger just in time to prevent her from injuring herself.
"Good job," Xialdre said.
"H—huh?" Mirael thought, confused.
"You did great. I was only testing you," Xialdre commented.
Mirael burst into tears, crying on her birthing bed. The doctor watched the entire scene, stunned by Xialdre's actions.
"Mirael, you did great. I cannot believe you have fully indebted yourself to me," Xialdre said.
With that, Xialdre left the room, his scarf swaying as he walked. Mirael was left on the bed, crying in disbelief, knowing her life hadn't ended yet and that she would see her daughter grow up.
*Present*
"Most of the story I explained to them isn't full, since telling them all might change their view about me," Xialdre mused to himself.
"So, Master Ayane actually didn't like Mother that much?" Clementine questioned.
"That was from the start, but slowly, Ayane started to realize what Mirael was capable of," Xialdre assured.
*Flashback*
On July 30th, 1719, Xialdre, Ayane, and Mirael were walking and buying groceries when they stumbled upon something that caught their attention. It was an ordinary, quite broken shop, but what intrigued them was what was being sold—a wand created by immense power, priced cheaply, yet nobody was buying it.
"Xialdre, look!" Ayane pointed out.
"Hm?" Xialdre shifted his eyes toward what Ayane was pointing at, and Mirael followed their gaze.
"A wand?" Xialdre commented.
"Not just an ordinary wand," Ayane replied.
"I can see what she is seeing. The aura of that wand is incredibly high for such a low price, yet nobody is buying it," Xialdre mused to himself.
"Master Ayane, I think you shouldn't really get intrigued by those kinds of things," Mirael inquired.
"What do you mean?" Ayane questioned.
"Well, you see, Ayane, that might be a scam," Xialdre replied.
"How?" Ayane pressed.
"Can't you see, Master Ayane? The wand is using exterior mana, which means it is meant to flow, and those who grab onto it will get a random fate," Mirael revealed.
"Nah, you both are just overthinking it," Ayane said as she started walking towards the shop.
"Master Ayane, wai—" Mirael began, but Xialdre interrupted.
"Mirael, don't," Xialdre exclaimed.
Mirael shifted her eyes back to Xialdre as he replied, "She will not listen to you no matter what. Her pride wouldn't let you pass her."
"The best thing to do is to let her experience what she is so eager to do and let her taste a lesson she will never forget."
"And besides..."
"Besides what?" Mirael pressed.
"If you help her while she is facing the trouble she is about to face, you might get to her good side, and she might probably change her mind about you," Xialdre explained.
"Don't you agree?" Xialdre concluded calmly.
As Ayane spoke to the seller, he immediately got interested in her interest in the wand.
"So, um, seller, can you tell me more about this wand?" Ayane asked.
"Oh, this? Well, this wand is still ominous. Some adventurers brought it to me and sold it to me at such a cheap price," the seller explained.
"At the same time, when they brought it to me, their appearance seemed a bit off, like they were dead inside, as if something bad had happened to them that this wand caused."
"Though, to be honest, they didn't give me much info about this wand. All they said was that they found it in a looted dungeon, abandoned."
"To be honest, I actually didn't want to buy the wand from them, yet something urged me to still buy it either way."
"And besides, I had to help them if this was the one causing their problems," the seller concluded.
"Ohhh, interesting. So, is it like a cursed sword?" Ayane asked.
"Well, most likely, I guess. To be honest, I don't really want to go that far overthinking it, but in my perspective, I guess they just had bad luck and thought this wand was the one causing it," the seller responded.
"Then is it safe to buy?" Ayane negotiated.
"Of course. How about fifty silver coins? Is that cool?" the seller inquired.
"Deal!" Ayane assured.
As Ayane headed back to Xialdre and Mirael, they were already gone. She thought, "Huh, maybe they really just had to leave."
With this, Ayane started to head back towards their mansion when Isayao stumbled upon her, along with Clementine, now four, and Isayao, five.
"Sis!" Isayao yelled out.
"It is a greeting to meet you, Master," Clementine inquired.
"Eh, what are you both doing out here alone?" Ayane questioned.
"Well, I managed to escape the house along with Clementine, of course," Isayao exclaimed.
"What? It's too dangerous out here for just the two of you to be out alone!" Ayane said.
"Whatever," Isayao blurted out.
"Eh, um, I'm very sorry for our actions, Master Ayane," Clementine commented, trembling.
*Present*
"Back then, Clementine was very insecure about herself. She thought she was just a slave and a burden for not being enough help to the Natori family, despite that literally being her purpose in life—to serve the Natori for her entire life," Xialdre explained.
"Ah—is this true, Clementine?" Natalia asked.
"Y-yeah, I was such a total loser back then. I couldn't even comprehend myself, my own existence. I felt disgusted by it," Clementine exclaimed.
"That's absurd. I thought I was helping you get through your depression back then," Isayao said.
"Yeah, I actually still believed in hope, and it actually happened. All of you girls, and you, Xialdre, you guys were the missing pieces of my experience," Clementine inquired.
"Aww, that's so cute," Emiko commented.
"Don't worry, Clementine. We will support you forever," Xyrene assured.
"Clementine, you're cute..." Asabe exclaimed.
"That's not the kind of compliment she needs right now," Natalia replied.
"Sorry. I believe in you, Clementine," Asabe commented.
"Good enough," Natalia commented.
"We hope to see you keep living with us," Furina replied.
"Us too," Rain, Natalia, and the rest of the girls replied.
"Don't worry, Clementine. These girls will assure your mental health along with me," Xialdre assured, maintaining his cold and calm demeanor.