Not Satisfied


    Joel took a deep breath. This changed the dynamic of a lot of things, but he wasn''t sure of how to proceed from here.


    For one, the Vi family was far too powerful. The fact that they had moved the wedding up on purpose without regard for Miel meant that they were already determined to do this. It was clear that after the elders of the Vi family saw Aina''s talent, they were determined to make her theirs.


    But, this was just one aspect of it. Even if they had known this before, Franco would have still said what he said earlier. The fact that Aina wasn''t entirely in control of her faculties, though, was something that made even them hesitate.


    The choice was made by Aina''s father to begin with, not Aina. And it seemed that Aina agreed because she saw the ''logic'' behind it. Rychard wasn''t worth much to her before, but if he was a ticket to the Void Pce, then it made sense to her. As for matters of love, she hadn''t even considered it.


    "We…" Joel shook his head. "… I don''t know, I can''t guarantee anything. I can only say that we''ll speak with Leonel and Granny Roesia. Maybe there is something they can do."


    Maybe if it have been before the first day''s selection, Joel and the others would have been ready to wade through hell or high water, not for Aina, but just so that Leonel would have a chance at happiness. The odds a man would be able to get over his first love marrying and lying with another man was minimal at best. And, for someone like Leonel, just the attempt toward the action alone was enough for him to shut down and not mind it anymore.


    But… Just earlier today, they had all received a rude awakening. All the pride they had had from their aplishments in the Milky Way flew away like dust in a storm. They were nothing but ants here. They had barely gained the ability to fight against the geniuses of branch families, how could they possibly challenge the older generation of a pir family like the Vi?


    Savahn smiled aplicated smile. It had a hint of bitterness to it, but it was mostly filled with understanding.


    The truth was that Miel hadn''t even sent them here. It was Yuri who realized that something must have gone wrong, causing her toe here of her own ord.


    She knew her adoptive father well and knew that he wouldn''t put Aina in danger on purpose. He likely wanted to use Rychard, and then when she was epted by the Void Pce, throw him away. The trouble was that while Miel had spent most of his time training, pining after a day he could get revenge for histe wife, Rychard had been embroiled in political schemes since he was a boy.


    How could Miel outsmart Rychard? Rychard saw through his n with a nce and adjusted ordingly.


    Without the halo of Void Pce disciple around her, Rychard had no need to worry about forcing Aina to do anything. And, because he was alone and this marriage had been epted by the elders of the Vi family, Miel couldn''t snatch Aina away openly without being hunted down and killed.


    This left Miel with very little options and Aina with even fewer.


    Ultimately, they were all at a loss for what to do.


    **


    "Yip! Yip!"


    Leonel smiled as Little ckstar raced around his hands, arms and shoulders, messing about with Little Tolly. The two still had their rivalry and it only seemed to grow stronger after Little ckstar awoke from hisatose state.


    Still, though they seemed to be at each other''s throats, Leonel could faintly feel that Little Tolly had missed Little ckstar. The two little toddlers might as well have been the closest of blood brothers.


    Leonel was happy that he had his own brothers as well. Being an only child could have very well been too lonely if he hadn''t.


    "Ah, be careful, don''t touch that."


    Little ckstar almost nicked the de of a sword Leonel was working on.


    One would have thought that Leonel would be honing his skill, maybe practicing some more of the Luxnix family Force Arts. But, nope… He was crafting.


    The sword looked like it was straight out of Grecian times. It was quite short, being only about a foot and a half long. Its body was narrower near the hilt and thicker near its tip before ending at a point, giving it a sleek sort of ''S'' shaped curve.


    It had a bronze de and a delicate wood handle that was immactely carved. But, maybe its most astounding feature was that the air seemed to tremble around it, almost distorting reality everywhere it passed.


    Without Leonel even telling him, ckstar suddenly sensed danger, rolling into a ball and vanishing into space before appearing high in the air. His beady ck eyes looked down, his whiskers flickering between apprehension and curiosity.


    Little ckstar didn''t feel like he would die from that de, but he definitely felt that he would get hurt. In fact, he felt that he would be hurt even if he used his incorporeal ability.


    ckstar was used to being immune to most attacks because he could just disce his body into his Shadow World. But, for some reason, that sword seemed to be able to ignore him, even attack him while he was in there!


    Leonel reached out and grabbed the sword, bncing it on a finger. Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    "It''s just a prototype, but its pretty good." Leonel spoke with Little ckstar. "If I made weapons like this, it would be good. The problem is that this sort of de can onlyst one battle before its own destructive capability eats away at the metal it was made from. A shame… I''m not sure if I could fix that, it would take quite some research…"


    "Yip! Yip!"


    Leonelughed. "I can make you some w gauntlets like this if you want. But, they would probably have the same issue. Plus, don''t you think you scare your enemies enough?"


    "Yip!"


    ckstar shook his head furiously. Clearly, the little guy wasn''t satisfied.