Edited by: ASaltedFish
When the doorbell rang, Aster got up from the couch and walked to the door just as Seth was opening it. He wore a white button-up shirt with a light blue and gray sweater on top. He also wore slim-fitted black pants without shoes, just gray house slippers. He was wearing some casual clothing that wasn't too flashy. It was something simple that looked good and neat.
Aster saw Marshal Caecius, who looked just the same as when he saw him for the first time. He wore his black and gold military uniform adorned with various medals in the standard way without any deviations, looking like the poster child for the military.
The only thing that was different was that the scales that had previously covered most of his face had retracted. It seemed like he used a stabilizer with relatively high compatibility.
As for Adjutant Ito, he wore a similar outfit with his medals shown but compared to the Marshal, he took off the tie and left the top two buttons of his shirt undone. Due to this, he gave off the vibes of a playboy.
"You must be Mr. Aster; thank you for taking the time to see us today." Contrary to how Adjutant Ito looked, he did his job properly and was quite professional.
Aster nodded and shook both their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Marshal Caecius and Adjutant Ito. Please, come inside and sit. Seth will come with some refreshments. Would you like water, coffee, or tea?"
Since Aster was at home, he didn't see the need to smile. Actually, he didn't feel like smiling in the comfort of his own home. Even so, he was polite even if a bit stoic.
"Water is fine." Marshal Caecius replied as he sat down on one of the sofas. There were two in the living room, so he chose the one closest to the front door.
"I will take some coffee please!" Adjutant Ito said while sitting next to Marshal Caecius. They were best friends even though they were boss and subordinate. Despite being out for semi-formal business, the Marshal didn't mind the informality of his friend.
"Understood," Seth responded to their orders and went to the kitchen. Already knowing that Aster only drank water, Seth made sure to grab an extra glass for his master.
Aster sat down on the other sofa and waited for the drinks to come before saying anything.
With two quiet and stoic people in the same room, the extroverted Adjutant felt a little uncomfortable. If Ellery knew what the Adjutant was thinking, he would definitely agree with him! How could they just sit in silence without feeling awkward?
"Here are your drinks, Master. Is there anything else Seth can get you?" Seth came over with the platter of drinks. He also brought some milk and sugar just in case Adjutant Ito liked his coffee sweetened.
Aster patted Seth on the head. "That's all for now. Thank you, Seth. If I need you again, I will call for you."
"Understood! Seth will wait for your orders." And with that, Seth scurried off to who knows where.
"Now that we have our drinks, let's start the discussions." Aster monotonously stated while putting his cup closer to him on the coffee table.
"Is there anything you want to know before discussing any possible contracts?" Aster was prepared to have to explain the differences between his and Ellery's spiritual seas. This was something they had agreed on. If possible, it would be best to hide having two souls in their body, but he was prepared to talk about it if necessary.
Marshal Caecius nodded. He did the talking because he hadn't told the adjutant about the differing stabilizers. "Yes. Before we start, I would like to know if the stabilizers you gave me were stolen from someone else."
"Stolen? I did not steal those. They are made by me." Aster did not freak out, this was still within his expectations.
"How is that possible? According to your store's website, your spiritual experience is of a passion fruit and mango smoothie at the beach. The one you gave me is the complete opposite of that. Hot chocolate by a fireplace in a cabin in the woods. This cabin is isolated from the outside world while it seems to sit frozen in time in a snowy wonderland… How could your stabilizers be the same as the ones on your website?"
Marshal Caecius' voice got louder as he approached the end of his question. His emotions were incredibly unstable, especially because he felt that Aster was somehow lying.
It was the first time he talked this much, but he needed to know why the stabilizers were so different from one another. If Ellery did lie about the manufacturing of the stabilizers and it turned out to be someone else's stabilizers, he would not only arrest this young man for stealing from another Guide but get him to tell him who the real creator of the stabilizers was.
If he wasn't lying… No, there was no way. How could someone have two different spiritual seas? This was simply unheard of!
Adjutant Ito was a bit shocked to hear what his friend and superior had to say. He didn't check the spiritual experience of the stabilizers last week. All he did was check the compatibility and was completely disappointed by the similar results. He didn't even have the heart to check it out. Now that he knew it was much different from the one on the site, he wanted to give the one on the site a try.
Marshal Caecius' eyes had a vertical slit, like a dragon's. With his unstable spiritual sea, any change in emotion could be magnified to an extremity and cause his claws to come out and scales to form on his hands. He looked like a predator ready to kill his prey.
Even though Aster was prepared, he was not used to the look that Marshal Caecius gave him. Especially not in this universe… It was the look of someone who was angry, someone who wanted an answer, wanted an admission of theft even if it were not true. It was a look that came unconsciously, even to the Marshal, making Aster all the more uncomfortable…
It reminded him of someone. Someone he hated from deep within his soul. He thought he had healed from that time, the time when he was younger. He ran away as soon as he could and blocked those memories from his mind…
He felt he had lost control of himself.
He felt an unforeseeable surge of fear and anxiety bubble inside of him. He closed his eyes while covering his ears. The voices in his head were getting stronger and he felt like he was going to pass out.
He felt his soul being pushed back, something he'd never felt since coming here.
Then he lost consciousness and slumped forward in his seat. Luckily, he was caught by Adjutant Ito who was able to respond in time.
"Mr. Aster? Are you okay?! Marshal, you are unleashing your spiritual powers on Mr. Aster! This is illegal, you must stop right now!"
The Marshal realized what he was doing and quickly pulled his spiritual energy back. He closed his eyes and struggled to keep it contained, but at least it wasn't attacking Aster. Taking some deep breaths, he drank one of the stabilizers he kept in his pocket. Marshal Caecius immediately calmed down and was able to keep his spiritual powers from running rampant. As his claws retracted, his hands began to revert back to their normal appearance showing that the stabilizers were working.
Even though he was able to get a stabilizer that was effective for him, he had only used it once before. This could not combat the years of being unguided, so his spiritual sea was still highly unstable; any change in emotion could cause the chaotic energy to erupt. That was why he kept the other two stabilizers in case of situations like this…
"I… I apologize. Is he okay?"
He knew that he messed up.
His spiritual sea was riddled with chaotic energy that continued to build up. Every now and then, he would lose control and hurt many people around him. It was something that was beyond his control, especially in times when his emotions fluctuated rapidly so he did his best to stay away from people who could not withstand him. Adjutant Ito was more stable and had no problems with his spiritual sea, so he was at least able to rescue the people in the vicinity.
Adjutant Ito checked Aster's breathing and pulse, finding that he was alive and uninjured, just unconscious. This made him sigh with relief.
"He's alive… Just I don't know when he will wake up."
Adjutant felt Aster take a deep breath and sit himself up. His eyes were still closed and his head was tilted downward, but he was at least stable enough to not need to be held up.
"Mr. Aster, it's good you are awake. Are you alright? Do you need us to take you to the hospital?"
Marshal Caecius, who was looking at Aster the entire time, felt a change in Aster's aura and spiritual sea. From the last two times he had encountered Aster, he felt that Aster was a bit cold and calm. Now the aura was warm and energetic, just like when he rescued him. He thought that it was just his imagination the first time around, but now he wasn't so sure. What was going on? How could he switch auras and spiritual seas like this?
He got up and couldn't help but take out his particle gun, one he had kept on hand just in case of an emergency.
"Who are you and what's going on?" His voice was loud and deep, scaring Adjutant Ito.
Adjutant Ito stood up and shielded Aster from the line of sight of the gun. "Marshal, put down your gun! You may be my superior but you should know that it is not only illegal to threaten a guide, but it is also punishable by death! Even you, a member of the Imperial family, are unable to escape the law."
The Marshal knew what he was doing was illegal, but the person in front of him had changed without him even blinking. He knew that Akimitsu could not sense the changes in aura like he could, so this was probably exclusive to his spiritual rank.
"Marshal Caecius, I know the situation seems out of the ordinary, but you scared my friend, so please, put down your gun and let me explain everything now that the cat is out of the bag." A slightly flirtatious tone came out of his mouth. This was how Ellery normally talked when he wasn't cursing like a sailor.
That's right, Ellery was the one doing the talking. When Aster was attacked by Marshal Caecius' mental attack, it caused him so much distress that his soul went on standby and pushed Ellery's soul to the front.
It was the first time since waking up with Aster that he was able to control his body. It was quite exciting, but the situation was not that exciting, considering he was being threatened with a particle gun.
"Why don't you two sit down and let me talk? I shouldn't have to say this twice, right? Also, I will pretend that you didn't pull your particle gun on me. How does that sound?"
Marshal Caecius and Adjutant Ito looked at each other and then at Ellery. They then sat down next to each other, a bit stiff.
The person in front of them had a demeanor that was completely different from when they first met Aster. Aster was far more introverted, soft-spoken, and polite while the person in front of them was sitting on the couch, comfortably staring at them with a slight smile on his face. He seemed like a ray of sunshine and was confident in his own body. In comparison, the Aster they had met before gave off the feeling of moonlight in the night sky. He was much more lowkey but a guiding light in the night…
"Now that the two of you are sitting down, let me reintroduce myself." Ellery took a sip of his water gracefully. The water quenched his slightly dry throat. "My name is Ellery, and the one you've previously met is named Aster. I'm sure you both have a lot of questions, but let me finish what I have to say before you ask, m'kay?"
They nodded in reply, stunned to even think of questions.