Like always, Theresa had been out wandering in the vicinity when the attack had happened. Though she could theoretically rest in her doll, she never actually went unless she was bored, or needed to compile the new information in her head.
Just as she was admiring a pink daisy looking flower, the pull from her attached doll tugged her backwards.
Automatically zooming back, Theresa sighed in midair.
/This is happening way too often. Shouldn't they be sleeping at this moment?/
When she finally stopped, she slowly floated towards her doll, leading her to a tall tree. Flying up, she arrived just in time to hear their last few words.
This world was kind?
That could be the case, but that was only because it had the leeway to care.
A bastard once said, the world was as one perceives it—he was a bastard, but he was right.
Desensitized by their home world, after arriving in this one, these two, especially Erin, probably saw this one as paradise.
As for Ciel…he probably didn't feel that being ignored by his biological father or his time in the tower was that bad.
From his perspective, Caesar was nothing but a landlord who provided free lodging and daily meals, sheltering him in his infant years, and he had paid him back with his wife's remnants—after that, they had no connection to each other.
After all, he'd never had a father—so there was no standard to compare Caesar to.
Well, with Jadiel and Lanae's presence, that would change.
Theresa smirked, recalling her conversations with Delmira.
She'd always had a thug-like character from young. As she grew up, she had learned to hide it, even becoming one of the most educated people in the city.
Though, she'd never bothered to pretend in front of her brothers—they had grown up together, and even if she wanted to, it had been too late.
To them, being together was as natural as breathing.
But… this time, it would be different.
They would only officially meet in a few years. By then, they would have their own circle of friends and family.
And Theresa would have nothing but a new pretty shell, with nothing to prove that they had ever known each other.
She knew it was unlikely, but in the dark corners of her mind, speculations were sprouting like mushrooms after the rain.
Her body had come at a price, would they cut ties with her after learning of it?
They could pretend to not know her.
What if they were bored of her?
It was already troublesome enough to have been with her in their last life, was she sure they wanted to continue this connection in this new one?
Theresa shook her head vigorously.
Damn it, sure enough, being in a spirit-like state meant that she was getting contaminated by the dead's negative thoughts.
As she stewed in silence, Ciel had gotten bored.
Assuming that Theresa was resting in the doll, he shook it hard.
"Theresaaa~ Wanna play cards?"
Even though she wasn't in the doll, Theresa, who was in her middle aged appearance, could feel the vertigo—like someone who got dizzy from another circling around them.
F*ck being bored of her, f*ck being troublesome. If they were talking about troublesome, this kid was number 1!
She floated up, slapping her hand through Ciel's head.
/Weren't you at a merchant's camp? Why did you guys climb a tree?/
"There was a demon attack, and Alex hid us away."
/What? Why?/
This time it was Erin who answered.
"To protect us."
/What? Why—well, I guess this world has the capacity to care about its young./
So this was why they were talking about the world being kind and whatnot.
Well, it was better to let them enjoy it while it lasted, because in a few years, they would not be seeing many bright sides of this world. :D
/Anyway, cards you say?/
Ciel nodded.
"The merchant group are all grown adults, they should be done by now, but Alex hasn't come yet. So let's play to pass some time."
/You don't want to watch?/
"Blood and violence against mindless beasts are boring. I would rather do something else together instead."
Theresa rolled her eyes.
Hmm?
Together?
She just remembered something.
A something that would clear up her nonsensical worries.
A sly smile spread on her face.
/Hm. How about we do something more interesting than cards?/
Ciel tilted his head, his expression saying 'go on.'
/Why don't we take this time to form a contract?/
Erin tilted his head the other way.
"A contract?"
/To keep our connection alive in this world. Like the unique matching tattoos we got in our past life!/
"..My sister, that was our orphanage's bar code. And it was unique because we were the only survivors and the orphanage was scrapped after that."
/I know! That's why we should get a good tattoo this time! This new world is so much bigger than our little city. Anything can happen, and we don't even have any prior interactions before my revival. I might not find you two so easily if we're separated again./
"So you want a lost child mark."
/Exactly!/
Erin, who had nearly been flown off to somewhere unknown, nodded.
"I agree."
"How do we do it?"
\Well, I was told that we've already fulfilled the external conditions, so we just need to mix our mana together, and absorb it. For those who can't use mana, blood also works.\
Ciel looked at the doll.
"But it seems like you have neither?"
\Ah don't worry about it. I already asked Delmira, and he's got everything covered.\
Although no one was watching, Theresa gave a thumbs up.
\So! Any ideas for the mark? We just need to come up with a general idea and the contract will form it into a more intricate shape according to our intentions.\
Ciel raised his hand.
"A spades!"
\Rejected.\
"Aw, why?"
\No card related things. I want something that was rare in our previous world, but common here.\
Like what?
Ciel hmm'd.
"Magic?"
\Well, our previous world had no magic. So that's an idea. But how are you going to represent that visually?\
Erin leaned forward.
"Do you know what attributes you're going to have a strong affinity for?"
Theresa hesitated, before giving a curt reply.
\Flames.\
Silence.
It was as if she had unearthed trash that hadn't had the time to decompose yet, and the atmosphere dulled.
Erin quickly changed the topic.
"How about we do a plant? Something simple like three leaves or petals."
Ciel clapped his hands, satisfied with the idea.
"Good, let's do that. Theresa?"
\I like that as well. Well then, I'll start now. You two, go to sleep.\
Ciel whipped his head around.
"What?"
That's it? They didn't need anything else?
In the opposite direction he had turned to, Theresa held back a laugh, shrugging.
\Well, normally, we would mix our blood or mana together, absorb it, then chant the oath. But since I'm like this, Delmira's going to do the ritual. We all just need to sleep, and when we wake up, it'll be done.\
"What? You know how unreliable you sou… you…oi.."
As he spoke, he could feel his eyelids close, compelling him to lose consciousness.
Erin, already feeling the urge to sleep, patted his back comfortingly.
"Relax…She..won't…hurt…."
Thud.
He didn't finish his words before both their heads hit the ground, soundly asleep.
…
In the distant sky, a faint voice whispered, like several different voices mixed together, the sound as thin as gossamer strands of silk.
{I am you, and you are me}
A starry figure stretched its hands, pulling at the three's forms. As he pulled and twisted, a thin strand slowly formed from each of the three souls. Pulling them into his hands, he began to weave them together, until a small ball was formed.
{I am your guardian, as you are mine}
Letting it go, the ball floated upwards, before moving, bouncing off the three soul forms.
Every time it bounced off of a soul, a part of it broke away and sunk slowly into the soul's depths. Over time, nothing of it was left behind.
{Like the sun, moon, and stars, we shan't part even in death.}
Below one of Ciel's closed eyes, three blood red petals slowly bloomed. Their shape resembled a snake's scales, and detached from the root slowly, forming a small but intricate, close knit pattern, with the three petals as the central subjects.
Erin's forehead, and the bottom of Theresa's left wrist—directly in the middle—the same pattern blossomed, even wiggling around in comfort before settling down in the owner's desired spot.
Bright blue eyes sparkled in the midday sun as they slowly blinked open.
Instantly, he was hit by a headache, along with the sensation like his eyes were burning.
Ouch. Blindfold, where was his blindfold?!
Shutting his eyes tightly, Ciel felt around for a moment before remembering that his original blindfold had been left in the tent. Sighing, he took out his spare from his space ring.
After tying a tight knot around his eyes, Ciel touched his mark, 'looking' up at the space between him and Erin.
A tall woman with a short bob was squatting between them, and while leaning arrogantly against the tree, even her scholarly glasses and elegant lab coat couldn't block the thuggish air radiating from her.
…Maybe this similarity was one of the reasons he accepted Jadiel as family so quickly.
Having just woken up, Theresa didn't notice his gaze.
\Wow, a magic contract really is different huh?\
Erin also looked to the middle nostalgically.
Their sister, her appearance hadn't changed a bit since the day of her death.
"Indeed."
Theresa, squatting there poking at her wrist, squinted at them, before moving forward a little.
Two heads swiveled, automatically following her.
Theresa: O.O
Very good, they could see her now.
And she would be able to locate them after resurrection.
She hummed happily.
Two stomachs responded to her.
Ciel sheepishly took out several meat jerkies from his ring, handing some to Erin.
"I should have packed more food in my ring."
Currently, his ring was filled with his small fortune from gambling, his mother's allowance, some weapons placed neatly in a row that had been commissioned from Taq, and simple military style rations, plus first aid.
He always kept money on hand, because in a capitalist view, it was the most important.
No food? Buy it.
No medicine? Buy it.
But used to an urban environment, he had miscalculated, in the middle of nowhere, who would he buy supplies from?
In his frustration, he seemed to hear a hawk's high pitched screech.
Eh?
Looking up, he saw a flash of feathers overhead beyond the trees before the bird moved out of his sight range.
"Doesn't seem like there's a feathered thing circling around us?"
\It wouldn't be another griffin would it?\
Well, a large griffin wouldn't be able to come down anyway.
While they were looking up at the sky, there was a loud 'thud,' and the bushes on the ground rustled. Long boots appeared, followed by the appearance of a tall man resembling a lion.
"Hey, I knew I didn't see wrong, there really are children here!"