Chapter 31: Commence

Early that morning, Alastor dealt with the people who were affected by the fight using money and sweet words. He promised them compensation in the name of the Magic Tower and the people were pacified. They believe that the Magic Tower was faithful with their promise and the man who talked to them was very kind.

He smiled and talked to them in a gentle way that immediately caught their hearts so it was not difficult to make the people trust in him. After the town's people left, Alastor had a final talk with the mayor as he apologized again for the commotion that their youngest had done.

"I brought her here, so that she can gain experience but I did not expect that it would turn out like this. I am really sorry, mayor." He had a frown on his face and the mayor became sympathetic to the man.

"No need to apologize this much. You've already promised us compensation so you can rest assured that this incident will not get out of Moonvale." The mayor kindly smiled at the Grand Mage and after a few more words were exchanged between the both of them, the mayor left.

The smile on Alastor's face disappeared as he disappeared from where he was standing to check on the progress of Meliore and Arean on preparing the teleportation spell. He arrived at a secluded place outside of Moonvale, where Meliore and Arean were busy chanting. The place was surrounded with thick and tall trees with boughs that stretched out that crossed with the other trees. The crown of these trees created a perfect enclosure that hid what they were doing.

He stood just a few steps away from the magic circle that was being formed as the women continued to chant. The outer circle of the magic was now formed, they only need the inner formation to complete the circle, once the pentagram appears the circle will be ready to use. He closed his eyes and also started to chant. Their words were slowly incorporated on the inner circle and the pentagram was slowly formed.

While the three Grand Mage suddenly disappeared from Moonvale, Astrophos once again visited the 'Estraviat Inn' because of the recent incident. The inn was silent after he pushed open the door. He looked around but Ezio was not behind the counter and Nina was nowhere also. He still entered and walked around the reception hall while he waited for someone to come out.

"Mr. Astrophos, what brought you here?" the butler came from where the stairs were and walked towards the man.

"I only came to visit. I did not encounter any people when I entered so I just invited myself in," he turned around to face the man.

"Ah yes, Nina and Ezio went to the shopping district to buy some ingredients that we need in the inn and my master has been gone this morning." Mr. C answered as he gestured to the couches behind Astrophos.

The man went to sit while the butler proceeded to pour him some tea. "I guess you are here because of the incident last night?"

"Yes," he confirmed, "it appears that the person who destroyed your bakeshop was Grand Mage Arean." He stared at the brown colored tea for a short while before he continued, "I knew that she was a little bit crazy but I did not expect that she would burn your shop just because she was humiliated."

"Mr. Astrophos, you don't need to worry about that. Many people do much more than destruction just because of petty things and besides, we were told that we will be compensated generously by the Magic Tower." Mr. C was smiling while telling the others about the good news that came to them early morning that day.

Instead of being happy with him, Astrophos has the opposite expression, "Are you sure that they will really compensate you?"

Mr. C was startled at the question, "What do you mean by that, Mr. Astrophos?" His hands stopped midway of serving the man the cupcakes that Ezio baked.

"I don't know about how accurate information has been in this town, but the Magic Tower is not exactly a benevolent organization like many of you knew, after all they are still an organization of hierarchy," Astrophos tried to explain. He was not directly smearing the tower's name since not all people affiliated with it were like the core of the tower.

The butler placed the cupcake on a smaller plate and pushed it towards Astrophos, "I'm surprised that you, of all people, would say something like that about the place where you work."

"I also don't know what came to me, these past few days I seemed to have betrayed the tower many times," he touched the cup's surface as he clutched then unclutched it again. This behavior repeated before he spoke again, "Anyway, I'm already considered a traitor. Once the Grand Mages return to the tower, they will surely report my unusual behavior and I can pretty much predict the decision they will be making regarding my case. So, I guess I don't really care."

"Does that mean you are not returning to the tower again?" The question made the man silent for a while.

He took a sip of the tea but still did not answer. His feelings about the matter were a bit complicated. He wanted to return but at the same time he did not want to face the people of the tower and their ridicule. It has been his home for many years so it was a bit difficult to let it go.

"Even if I want to return, I would not be accepted and besides, the Grand Mages had not said anything about me returning to the tower," was his simple answer.

Both of them fell into silence, Astrophos drank his tea and enjoyed the cupcake while Mr. C returned behind the counter to wait and greet customers. Nina and Ezio came back with bags of ingredients on their hands. Astrophos who saw this stood up and did not hesitate to go and help them.

"Are you here to check on Ezio again?" Nina asked after they've put all what they bought in the kitchen.

"Yes, since the person who destroyed the bakeshop was Grand Mage Arean. I just want to make sure that he is fine." He nodded and helped her bring out the contents of the bag. He even helped her organize what they bought.

"He was shocked and was also feeling a little bit guilty because he thought that it was his fault but the master did not blame him so, everything's actually great." Nina informed him, "Since you are here already, why not join us for dinner?"