The chair spun around to reveal a tall, handsome man with brown hair and pale skin, very similar to the boy downstairs, though he was dressed in a white shirt, tie, and elegant black trousers.
His brown shoes were very shiny, and his silver eyes even more so. He was about forty years old, yet looked younger than his age.
'There was no need for the whole dramatic swivel-chair entrance,' Nova said to himself, looking away to hide his wry smile.
It was one of those eccentricities that no one dared to stop.
In a deep, eloquent, slightly smug voice, the man said:
"Welcome back, morning stars. I've already heard about what you did on the other side of town."
"News travels fast, huh?" said Elara.
"That's right. Excellent work, all of you. You will be compensated accordingly."
The man's gaze was sharp, yet amused. He was so relaxed that no one would take him seriously.
"Now I guess you've checked your communicators and are as eager to get out of here as I am."
With his elbows resting on the table and his hands moving in front of his face, he came across as unusually expressive.
"And today you're in luck. As the Master of the Blood Crystal Faction, other Factions contacted me about an emergency in Lightflower and need me there. So you guys, even though you won't have any free time, will be exempt from side missions for the rest of the week. I don't think I need to say it, but if a Dimensional Portal appears, you know what to do."
The team nodded silently. The three young adults looked like students in front of a teacher.
"Great! You're the best, Viktor!" Miyu said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Exactly. I'm the best."
Nova sighed.
'And there they go again with their little act. I'm sure if they put on a show in the city, lots of people from all over the world would see them.'
There was a lot of sarcasm in those thoughts.
"But now is not the time to praise my greatness, because I still have more news."
Viktor looked at the girl in armor.
"Elara, your little sister came by a few minutes before school. She told me to make sure you don't come home too late. And if you are going to be late, to let your father know."
Elara raised her eyebrows, curious. In a soft, elegant tone, she replied:
"I see. I'll let him know later. But what I don't understand is why he keeps sending her to deliver these messages. I have a communicator..."
"Please. You are a Seventh Level Empath. You still have a lot to learn, so it's clear that your father is worried about you. He cares so much that he sends your little sister to find out if you're still here. As for Miyu..."
He looked at Miyu, who was eagerly awaiting the Master's words—with Poki being crushed in her arms.
"You do whatever you want. I don't even know why I bother telling you anymore."
"Oh... Okay...?" looking at the floor, Miyu loosened her grip on her arms a little. "For some reason, I felt like that was kind of an insult," she whispered, her little ears drooping in disappointment.
Taking advantage of that weakness, Poki managed to free itself from her grasp. When she tried to hug it again, the little flying reptile dodged her and laughed at her.
"And Nova," Viktor said, addressing his nephew.
'Now it's my turn, right? Of course it's my turn! There's no one else here...' he thought. Crossing his arms, he waited for whatever this man was going to say.
"Take care of my sister while I'm gone."
'Yes. That was it, after all...'
Nova's face became a little thoughtful, with an expression quite unlike his usual calmness. It was as if a heavy shadow crept up to his ear and whispered incomprehensible words.
He forced himself to suppress the feeling that suddenly attacked him and replied:
"She's fine and she'll always be fine, with or without you. You can be sure of that."
Although that sounded bad, there was no hostility in his words. There was no reason for hostility either. However, his lifeless voice and dull expressions made his words sound somewhat cruel.
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. Viktor's smile slowly disappeared, turning into a soft, bitter look.
"Yes. I know."
Both men had become very serious in an instant. Miyu and Elara looked at each other, not understanding what was going on and not knowing what to do to calm the waters. The girl in armor shrugged her shoulders, confirming the feline girl's doubts.
Clap! Before everything turned into an awkward silence, Viktor clapped once and got up from his chair.
"All right. It's time to say goodbye. I have to leave quickly so I can get Maia ready for the trip. In the meantime, stay as strong and united as ever!"
A curious choice of words.
'United... huh?'
That single word sounded mysterious and distant, but also warm and welcoming. Nova took those words to heart and saved them for later.
Viktor, then, instead of walking out the door like a normal person, disappeared enveloped in a strange cloud of black smoke that vanished very quickly. There was no noise or anything like that. He just disappeared into thin air.
Now that his uncle was gone, Nova felt less tense. His usual calmness settled back into his heart and expression. Although there was something deeper that showed for a fraction of a second.
'That's it, isn't it?'
He looked at the floor with his eyes turning dull, but suddenly felt a slight tap on his shoulder. His eyes regained their usual brightness when he looked to his right.
Elara stood there, wearing her usual cool expression.
"I'm going to drop my stuff off at home. See you at Lux Valley as usual? If we want to celebrate, we should go for the most delicious drinks, right?"
Nova relaxed his muscles. For a moment, he had disconnected from the world, but he managed to come back thanks to this girl.
He nodded in approval of Elara's idea.
Miyu suddenly put her hands on the boy's shoulders and leaned on him to get a closer look at Elara.
"See you there, Ellie. Make sure to bring some cute clothes!"
"You know perfectly well that my closet is full of cute clothes."
"That's true. I had forgotten."
The team leader felt like a human coaster...
'Maybe they forgot that I'm here too...'
He felt like an object on the table, but with these girls, nothing could bother or anger him. Sometimes it was fun.
"Okay. See you then. I'll send you a message on chat if anything comes up."
Elara took the shield and sword and carried them on her back. She walked through the door, leaving a slight metallic sound of her armor creaking with each step, until she finally disappeared.
Nova stared at the door.
Thanks to the silence that filled the room, Miyu realized she was crushing him. She took her hands off Nova's shoulders and sat down again.
"So..."
Trying to keep the room from falling silent, Miyu played with the tip of her tail while looking out the window.
'Yeah, right. Like you'd ever stay quiet.'
It wasn't something that bothered him, really. If everything was silent, it would be extremely boring. Besides, Miyu is an expert at breaking the ice.
"Do you have anything to do right now?"
This time she wasn't so loud. When everyone left, Miyu's tone of voice decreased considerably. However, she still looked cheerful as always.
"Not much. I have to take Poki home. After that, I guess I'll take a bath and change my clothes. Will you do the same?"
"Now that you mention it, yes. I have to do that," she nodded, as if the idea had just clicked.
With that in mind, Miyu got up from the sofa.
"Now it seems I have to go too."
"Oh. Sure. Eh...?"
With a quick movement, Miyu placed her hand on Nova's head, who was still sitting, and shook his hair roughly. Nova didn't know what to do. His body stiffened as he felt the warm fingers of the feline girl caressing his head.
"That was for earlier. See you, Nova!"
And as strangely as her own actions, she left through the door like an unpredictable tornado.