- Hello? - A calm, beautiful voice sounded from Clare's phone, and she stopped staring at the bruises and Maria and turned to look at the sky, after a few seconds she said.
- Hello Julia, are you all right?
- Y-yes, General, what about you? - Julia replied with some apprehension, she had recently learned of Maria's dismissal and had been on her best behavior to avoid any problems, she had even skipped training to look after Arthur at Clare's behest just to avoid being next, and as she was apprehensive she couldn't help worrying about receiving a call from her at this time on the same day that she had failed to look after her boss's son properly.
- I'm fine too, I just called to let you know that you've been relieved of your duties in the army. I need you to come to my house now so we can talk about it, I'm waiting for you... - Clare hung up the phone and approached Maria and Arthur, she looked at Arthur's leg and just took off his belt applying a makeshift tourniquet before placing it on his shoulders, after which she picked Maria up and lifted her in her arms carefully as she made her way to the nearest window of the house where a bolt of lightning came down and shattered its glass and even a piece of the wall before Clare entered.
- Julia is coming, can you hold out a little longer? - Clare asked worriedly as she looked at the various cuts and lacerations all over Maria's body, especially the hole in her stomach. Even though she knew she would probably survive and recover using the power of the soul, she still couldn't help worrying about seeing her current state.
- Looking at me like this, it looks like I'm going to die. - Maria said, forcing a smile as she held her blood once more and concentrated on recovering.
- If I arrive later... Sigh... Thank you, Maria. - Clare said as she laid Maria on the sofa and placed Arthur on the floor. As soon as she had settled them both, she removed the 'cocoon' from her back and it disappeared, turning into a kind of purple dust that was blown by the wind from the hole she had made in the wall; from the cocoon, a little girl appeared on Clare's arms, she appeared to be between four and six years old and had wavy hair, her skin was much lighter than Arthur's which made it apparent that the child didn't go out very often.
- Is she, his sister? - Maria asked, peering at the child's face.
- Yes, she's his sister and now my youngest daughter. - Clare said as she stared at the little girl and ran her hand through her hair.
- are you taking this mother thing seriously? - Maria asked with a confused expression.
- "Yes," Clare answered immediately without taking her eyes off Sophie, and then looked at Arthur and stroked his hair before continuing. - I would never do something like that as a joke. - After that, she looked at Maria and straightened up. In a calm, firm voice, she continued speaking without leaving the room to be interrupted. - I'm not hypocritical enough to say that I love them now, but I hope I'll be able to say that in time, and as for why? Let's just say that seeing Arthur at school and looking at some reports on his past, I remembered something and decided to protect him. After I found out how he and his little sister were living, I decided to adopt them and start a family... - Clare turned her gaze to Arthur again before sighing and saying. - If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have gone to work today...
- Sigh... You started a family on a whim? - Maria asked looking at the children; Maria noticed that Clare didn't answer and looked away from her, what she saw made her a little angry, Clare's gaze together with her sarcastic smile made her question seem stupid, so in a somewhat resentful voice she asked. - What's so funny?
- Nothing. - Clare replied as her smile became more discreet, but she still kept a smile on her face as she looked at Maria.
- Clare... Raising a family isn't a game... - Maria said with obvious concern on her face.
- I know... - Clare replied without changing her expression.
- It doesn't look like it, it just looks like one of the games you invented out of thin air on a whim in the middle of training.
- Didn't they work out well in the end? - Clare replied with a teasing smile at Maria.
- Sigh... It's not the same, you can't start a family from scratch like you start a game... - Maria said with concern still on her face.
- Why? - Clare turned her eyes away from Maria and looked at the two of them who were sleeping on the living room floor. She kept a smile on her face, but it was no longer a teasing one, but a welcoming one.
- Really? Don't you know why? Doing something impulsively or on a whim is - Maria, who was speaking, was cut off by Clare, her voice calm when she said it. - Maria, is there anything in this world that isn't started on a whim? You say that a family can't be started on a whim, but what starts it is just that? - Clare said this calmly and looked away from Maria again and continued. - A family starts in many ways, but it's always on an impulse or a whim, whether it's the whim of trying to go out or sleep with someone, the whim of sleeping with someone regardless of the risks, the whim of having children or the whim of adopting someone... Aren't they all whims in the end? Or do you think that before you ask someone out, they'll already be in love? - Clare said calmly as she looked at Maria, and didn't say anything else, apparently waiting for an answer.
Maria was silent for a long time and then she sighed and spoke. - Clare, being a mother isn't easy.
- I know, that's why I hired you; you're raising four younger brothers on your own. - Clare said smiling at Maria.
- Sigh... You really...
- Don't worry, it'll all work out... I've never done anything I couldn't handle, even on impulse, and you know it. - Clare said with a more open and spontaneous smile on her face.
- Sigh... - Maria got tired of arguing with her and turned over, she was in a lot of pain and couldn't sleep, but she preferred to turn over and close her eyes while she waited for Julia to arrive.
When Maria turned around, the smile on Clare's face faded and she stared at Arthur as she thought. 'If I didn't adopt him, his life would be hell from now on, someone who doesn't have legal guardians earning a teacher would have a tragic life, at the very least he'd be the hunting dog of those old men...' Besides, in a way I owe your mother one...' Clare had some mixed feelings when she looked at Arthur, she had always looked after Arthur and Sophie, even if she couldn't do anything very relevant to avoid draw attention to herself she still kept them safe since her mother died fighting by her side in a way, but she didn't intend to ever drag them into her family, she didn't want them to go through unnecessary and pointless problems just to bear her surname so she only planned to look after them as little as possible from afar. However, receiving a teacher was a gift for some people, but for people like Arthur it's just a curse, so to avoid the worst end for these brothers she was forced to tie them to her family.
- I'm sorry, I really don't know a better way. - Clare whispered as she stroked Arthur's hair.
- Hm? - Arthur woke up with his face a little pale and confused, he felt something touching his hair and he turned to look and saw a woman who he thought was very beautiful and was looking at him with a calm and peaceful look as she smiled at him; her hair was brown and was down to her shoulders, her eyes were also brown with a slightly greenish tinge, Arthur looked at her and felt that he had seen her before and thinking about it he remembered the painting he had seen earlier. - Hello. - Arthur, who was confused by the situation, didn't know what to say and just said it at length.
- Hello... How are you feeling? - Clare was a little surprised by Arthur's curious look as he stared at her, but still kept a tender smile as she spoke to him.
- Mn?... Er... I guess well... - Arthur didn't understand very well, he understood Clare's question, after all, he remembered a shot going through his leg and then he fell unconscious, but strangely he wasn't nervous about what happened, it was as if he had just watched the scene and not suffered it, he couldn't understand that feeling, and the pain in his leg also disappeared and that made him curious so he sat up and turned his eyes away from Clare and directed them to his leg.
When Arthur shifted his eyes to his leg Clare did the same, and what she saw surprised her, it wasn't strange for her or people who were close to fusing their soul completely into their body to be able to heal or at least speed up the process, but Arthur had started this process just over a day ago; she knew people who took more than ten years to make their union and sometimes they could barely heal a deep cut in minutes, but Arthur healed a bone injury in minutes after just one day. 'I have to hide this... Maria and Julia are fine, but I have to talk to him about it later. He can't tell anyone for a few years...' Sigh... Tomorrow's going to be quite a day.
- ...Not hurt anymore... How is this possible... - Unlike Clare, who understood that Arthur's own fusion had drastically accelerated his regeneration on an illogical level, Arthur himself had no idea what was going on and didn't know what to think about the whole situation.
- Fufu. - Clare laughed lightly at Arthur's expression and then hugged him, Clare's sudden action made Arthur even more confused, he didn't know her, and it was the first time they had exchanged a few words, but then she hugged him, and he didn't know what to make of it, and soon afterwards he was even more confused by Clare's words.
- Are you all right, son? - Clare asked with a calm, soothing tone, and a gentle smile on her face as she looked at Arthur.
Arthur froze when he heard her calling him son, it took him a few seconds to move his head and look at her; when he saw her smile and gentle gaze, an image he had basically forgotten overtook Clare's, and without realizing it, tears began to flow from his eyes as he looked Clare straight in the eye.
- Are you all right? Do you feel pain anywhere? - Clare didn't understand Arthur's sudden crying and ended up getting scared; Arthur heard her voice with a worried tone and seeing her expression he started to cry even more noisily and even ended up hugging her as he sobbed and Clare not knowing how to react just hugged him back while running her right hand over his back to try and calm him down.
- I think I worried for nothing; you seem to have a natural gift for children. - Maria whispered to herself with her eyes still closed and a smile on her face as she listened to Clare trying to calm Arthur who was crying in her arms.
While Maria was laughing at the interaction between the two, the sound of footsteps accelerating sounded and Clare, who was trying to calm Arthur down, looked away, her eyes returning to the purple color of when she was struggling; after staring at the hole she herself had created in the wall for a few seconds, she went back to trying to calm Arthur down, completely ignoring the sound of footsteps. Arthur was feeling happy and suffocated at the same time, he didn't know why, but he just wanted to hug Clare now, he didn't even hear the sound of footsteps and the screams of a female voice calling his new mother's name, and only when the voice sounded loud for the tenth time did he slow down his crying to look back, but he was still hugging Clare who was stroking his hair.
- Clare! What happened here? Are you all right? - Arthur was looking at the woman who had entered through the hole Clare had opened in the wall. Looking at the woman of medium height, who must have been no more than 25 years old, he was surprised. Arthur remembered the appearance of Julia who had looked after him before, and when she spoke again he recognized even better her voice, which he had found very beautiful before.
- Are you all right, Arthur? - Julia saw his pants and sneakers full of blood and was apprehensive to see where he was hurt.
- Mn... - Arthur nodded to Julia.
- He's fine Julia, the only one who needs help is Maria... - Clare said this and pointed to the sofa on which she had placed Maria, which was stained with blood, before beginning to explain some of the injuries she had been able to identify earlier; Maria, listening to Clare talk about her situation, struggled to speak. - I'm not that bad... I can hold out for a while longer... - Maria said in a sarcastic tone as she waited for Julia to help her immediately, but what she heard caused her to stare in disbelief.
- ... Right, I'll look at you in a minute. - Julia said this and went to look at Arthur's leg, and seeing that there was nothing there, she relaxed and stroked the boy's hair before looking at Clare and asking. - Was I really fired?
- Yes.
- Why?
- You missed work. - Clare answered with a smile on her face as she looked into Julia's eyes.
- But I... That was your request... - Julia was holding back tears, joining Clare's army meant receiving one of the best salaries in the city, as well as an authority equivalent to that of the Clypeus army; she still remembered how much she had to study to get and keep the job, and she even did what Clare had asked her to do even though it was outside the rules.
- But you failed in your request too... - Clare was looking at her and although she was smiling, she somehow conveyed seriousness in her words, which almost made Julia cry.
- But... - Julia didn't know what to say, being sacked like this was ridiculous; she had only just got this job, and had made plans and even taken out finance, and without the job she would be completely in debt and would lose all the benefits the army gave her; in these circumstances all she could do was look at Clare with tearful, accusing eyes, which only made Clare open her smile wider.
Today's chapter is longer because I didn't publish it yesterday while preparing my other book.
"This is already the second chapter where the last paragraph has disappeared when viewed on cell phones. To avoid this, I've decided to duplicate this message at the end of each chapter, hoping it will resolve the issue. If you're reading this, I apologize if it's intrusive, but it's a better solution than leaving the chapter incomplete."