Eustas shoots out flames from his hands at Phiona. She swiftly dodges the attacks, and the kitchen is slowly engulfed in flames as balls of fire fly across the room.

  Quinn stands at the entryway, watching the whole scene unfold. He ponders whether to step in. All the wood and cloth in the kitchen are clearly on fire, yet, as if protected by magic, everything remains in the same condition.

  Curious about this, Quinn brings his hand over the flames. It’s definitely fire, by far the most destructive element, yet the heat radiating from it isn’t all that hot. It’s warm. Could it be that it’s just not a strong enough fire? No, even the lowest level of fire magic could severely burn someone.

  “Hey, cool it will you? We have a guest.” Phiona tries pleading.

  “Shut it. How are you going to cause the incident, then proceed to blame me for your stupidity?”

  “Gosh, like you just said, it was an accident. So how about we let bygones be bygones?” Phiona stops and brings her hands together, praying for forgiveness.

  “Ha. In your dreams.” Eustas lets a fireball build in his hand. It grows to more than twice the size of his head, and he launches it at Phiona.

  “Fine, if that’s how you’re going to be, then I guess I have no choice but to take you down.” Phiona wears a wicked smile as she takes off her glasses with one hand and, with the other, holds them in front of her, creating a strong wind that scatters the fire before it hits.

  All hell breaks loose after that. Both of the crazy kids get serious, and so does the damage they are inflicting on the kitchen. The once warm flames became scorching hot, which Quinn decides not to test as he sees an entire tablecloth turn to ash in a split second.

  Then there is the violent wind that comes from Phiona. The wind is fast and sharp enough to cut not only Eustas’s fire but also the hanging metal pans that ended up as collateral damage.

  Quinn places his hand over his empty stomach. It starts to sound like a beast growling. He followed Eustas to subdue his hunger, but the plan was thrown out the window as soon as he encountered Phiona.

  Their fight was quite amusing at first; however, the longer it drags out, the hungrier Quinn gets. Do I call someone, or stop them myself?

  “Enough of this. I’m going to burn your eyebrows off before I make you beg for forgiveness,” Eustas roars.

  “I already said sorry, you petty jerk. But sure, go ahead and try it, make my day.” Both Eustas’s and Phiona’s mana rage on, as they prepare a final attack.

  Eustas points his palms out toward Phiona and sends a wave of fire at her. Phiona has the same idea; she sends a spiral blast of wind at Eustas. The two spells clashed with each other, spreading a heat wave.

  The pressure builds up, and the magic gets out of control. The combined force of wind and fire spews out and heads straight toward Quinn.

  “Oh-no. Quinn.” Phiona is the first to notice the magic heading towards Quinn.

  “Get out of the way!” Both of them call out to Quinn in unison.

  Quinn braces himself as the magic inches closer. Quinn decides not to dodge the magic; if he does, the dining room, behind him, will end up trashed, just like the kitchen.

  If he could survive having his heart ripped out of his chest, he was sure he could survive this, too.

  However, before he can test the theory, Ellen jumps over him and rushes to the oncoming magic, punching it.

  Punching it? “Are you crazy?” Quinn questions Ellen’s reckless actions. His concern, however, is quickly resolved. As soon as her fist connects with the magic, it disperses. Not only that, but all the magic in the air vanishes in that instance. What the? Did she really just do that?

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “What are you two doing?” Ellen puts on a smile, but her facade can’t hide the murderous intent directed at the two. “Lady Louise got curious as to why lunch was taking so long, and it turned out that the two of you not only destroyed half the kitchen but also almost hurt Lady Louise’s guest.”

  Phiona and Eustas rush towards Ellen, bowing so far down that their foreheads kiss the ground. “We’re sorry,” they say in unison.

  No excuses were made. They knew better than to provoke the enraged Ellen with something so pointless. They had made a mess and endangered Quinn. These were facts they couldn’t refute. If they were anyone else, they would have been fired on the spot and would have had to pay for the damages.

  Ellen sighs and facepalms. “Quinn, if you head out the door, a servant will be there to take you to the study. I will make you something to eat and bring it to you shortly. I’m sure Lady Louise won’t mind you bringing food if you explain the situation.” Phiona and Eustas twitch when Louise’s name is mentioned.

  “Uh, sure, but what about the kitchen?”

  “Ah, don’t worry about that. Most of the building has self-repairing magic cast on it. However, these two will have to go into town and replace all the items that they damaged. Out of their own pocket, of course. Right, guys?”

  “Of course,” the two reply, their heads still on the floor.

  “Perfect, now off you go.” Ellen ushers Quinn out the door, where he sees the servant Ellen mentioned waiting to take him to Louise.

  ***

  “I’m so sorry about my spirits.” Louise sinks into her chair, embarrassed by her subordinates.

  “Huh? What spirits?” Quinn hasn’t seen any spirits while staying at the Verydey home. Heck, he’s positive he has never seen one in his entire life.

  “Hmm? Oh, did they not mention it? Both Eustas and Phiona are high-ranking spirits I’m in contract with.” Quinn almost spit out the tea Ellen had prepared, along with a few square sandwiches.

  “But they look so human.”

  “Yes, well, high-ranking spirits can transform into a human version of themselves. Eustas is a wolf spirit who can control hellfire, a flame so hot it burns the soul. Phiona is a sylph who casts powerful wind magic and can also heal small wounds. They are both incredibly powerful and rare spirits, so to avoid standing out whenever we go out, they act as my personal servants.”

  “I see, I guess that does seem more convenient,” Quinn remembers of the time he visited Amber City with his father. It took so much longer than normal to get around because they were constantly stopped by people wanting to greet Zeke.

  “Anyways, I’m sorry you had to witness such an embarrassing thing.”

  “It’s nothing really. Do they usually fight eachother? It seemed like everyone was quite used to it.”

  “...”

  “Wow, that often?”

  “Huh? Umm, not that often.” Louise shakes her hands, dismissing the claim. “At least not like today.” She says in defeat.

  “Right.” Silence fills the room. Louise sits there in shame while Quinn stuffs his face. Ellen just stands in place behind Louise. Quinn’s eyes shift to Ellen, observing her. She notices his gaze and responds with a soft smile.

  “I’m a normal human,” Ellen says, as if reading Quinn’s mind.

  “You call yourself normal after having two high-ranking spirits bow before you?”

  “No, she really is just a regular human,” Louise interjects. “She came from Xeya. It’s a continent very far from here, where most people wield ‘gifts’ instead of mana.”

  “Hold on, slow down. She’s from a different continent? And what the heck are gifts?”

  “Right, how do I put this? Hmm, it’s kind of like how mages wield mana or how swordmasters use aura. People from Xeya have unique supernatural powers they call gifts. Ellen here has two gifts. She has superhuman strength and can also disrupt the flow of mana.”

  “What about that is normal? In fact, isn’t she basically overpowered? She’s like your natural enemy.” Quinn feels as if his head is spinning. The more they talk, the more questions he has.

  “Haha. It doesn’t work like that. Plus, Ellen is one of my most trusted people. She wouldn’t harm me, ” Louise assures. “While she can disrupt the mana, she can’t entirely nullify it. So, while she can interrupt weak and inexperienced mages, at most, she can slightly weaken or slow down magic at the grand wizard level.”

  “What about the magic Eustas and Phiona used? Aren’t they both very strong spirits? Ellen was able to make their magic vanish completely.”

  “Yes, they are, and you're right. She did do that. However, that was only because they hadn’t been using their full power. If they had, they could have easily destroyed the estate; no, maybe half the city would be in shambles.” Louise says with a weak smile.

  Quinn sinks into his seat and starts massaging his temples. Just how many strange people are living in this place?

  “Are there any other questions you might have?” Louise asks.

  “I have hundreds, but I’ll save them for another time.”

  “Haha,” Louise laughs nervously. “Well then, I’ll get straight to the point… I think you should quit the expedition.” She says with a straight face.

  “What?”