LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 272: Road to Becoming a Village (1)
"Alright, that's the last one, Nyria, great work, as always," pushing in the final drawer of a massive dresser, Aoni gave his birb a few head pats before standing up and looking around the middle room of the basement.
His time back on Terra, as usual, had been relatively short, only the weekend, and with so much left to do back in his Territory, there was no way he could resist heading back to Erula at the first given opportunity.
So after settling his affairs with his family, handing over a good portion of the Ruins loot, and saying farewell, he jumped back into the Flume…only like the last time, this time he wasn't alone.
{'Brodderrrr Sissy saids lunchy times almost here!'}
{'Gotcha, Nyria and I are just finishing up; we will head upstairs now.'} Aoni replied while allowing his birb to perch atop his shoulder as per usual and left the room packed to the brim with well-organized dressers and wardrobes.
Closing the door, he and Nyria navigated the lowest floor of the Manor and headed upstairs, down two hallways, and arrived in the parlor, where a certain someone was calmly reading a book by the fireplace while wearing a comfortable black hoodie and gently patting a certain floof who clearly loved the attention.
In her lap was an oddly well-behaved Glacia acting as a personal heater/ blanket.
"Done?" Charlotte asked passively without looking up from one of the grimoires gifted by Aoni.
"Yep, everything not handed over to Archie is cataloged and put up in an orderly and findable manner. Find out anything new?" Plopping down on the couch facing his sister, Aoni asked as Nyria hopped off his shoulder and nestled down beside him.
"Mm, not really; the way these Elves understand magic is too different from the modern era, so while I may be able to understand certain things, it's like getting the first 5% of a model built and then having your nippers break."
"Tssss, that bad?"
"Un, pretty much."
"…"
"…"
"Food?"
"Sure…"
"Any requests?"
"Mmm, none of that gold meat; I've grown sick of it."
"Fair…"
"…"
Without saying another word, Aoni got up, gave his summons both a pat on the head, and made his way to the kitchen.
Although the conversation may seem awkward and lacking emotion, that was just how things were between Aoni and Charlotte; having spent their formative years sharing a bedroom, there was no one in his life, apart from his summons, whom he was closer to, from the days of confiding in her about childhood bullying to the first time she had a crush on a boy, there were no secrets between them, including the truth about his Attribute.
She was it, the only person outside his summons who knew everything, and the same could be said about Char's side.
It all stemmed from a pact they made as little kids when the neighbor family practically imploded overnight because of lies. At the tender age of 5 and 7, the two made a pinky promise to never keep anything from each other, and well, that carried on all this time.
The day Charlotte Awakened and left, Aoni was a wreck; it was like his twin had vanished overnight, which, in a sense, while wrong, was also kind of true; everything from the way they walked to the façade Aoni showed the world was built upon by his sister's normal behaviors.
It was so much that for the longest time, Lea and Jason actually had them believing they were actually twins, but Charlotte had popped out a couple of years before him.
Either way, the night she returned from Genovia, Charlotte didn't hold a single thing back from him; from her Noir Attribute down to her stats and even the first few summons and adventures she'd gone on, it was all laid out for Aoni, and if he didn't return the favor, it would fundamentally change their relationship, something that had gotten him through the darkest of times in his short life.
Hell, they were so close that it was viewed as extremely strange if he and Charlotte weren't hanging out.
Eating dinner, they sat by each other.
Building models, in his room, Charlotte was perched on the bed, reading books.
Honestly, that last one was more so because it was the quietest place in the house, but you get the point.
As far as family goes, there was no one he trusted more than her, and for her, it was him.
---
"Mmm, good, thank you, Ao…"
"Yep, no prob, Char…"
"Glaci…mouth…" Leaning over, Charlotte gently wiped the spaghetti sauce from Glacia's face like a good big sister, warming the heart of anyone who saw.
"gaooo."
{'Tanky Sissy,'}
"Un…"
Funny enough, just like how the pair of siblings were attached to each other, the same could be said for Aoni's summons, but that wasn't entirely due to the LoS connection; instead, it was part of Charlotte's Class Ability.
Thanks to how her Attribute worked, not only was she extremely close to Nature, albeit on the "darker" side of life, but she was able to fill in the role of a huntress and even summoned a Passive from her Flume, which allowed for communication with Beasts.
So, in a sense, apart from being a lord, she was basically a Tamer, too.
"Nyri had enough?" Char asked while offering up a bit of her remaining spaghetti to Nyria.
"Cheee…" Unlike Glacia, who was extremely outgoing, Nyria was far more shy, and if her face weren't covered in feathers, there would no doubt be a faint blush on her cheeks while receiving the extra helping of spaghetti.
---
With lunch finished and the dishes cleaned, the conversation at the table became productive. It was finally time to move forward with his plans to form a Village.
"And that's the idea, spam summon as many lower-grade beings as possible, and add points?"
"GAO GAO!"
"Yes-yes, Glaci, add points," without skipping a beat, Char patted Glacia's head, causing her to beam brightly at her new big sister.
"That' pretty much sums it up; however, I need to take it slow, or else I will have more little guys running around than a daycare." Aoni shrugged while watching how easily his sister was able to handle Glacia's antics.