“Looks like I won the bet Astoria. Now, would you go out and save our dear guest? I am afraid that she is about to be fodder for a familiar soon enough.”
The trio and the dragon stood there watching as Mary was apprehended by the young and inexperienced familiar magician.
The young girl had made the bad decision of challenging the boss room and had gotten her ass handed to her. The cat-like familiar she had with her also looked to be in bad shape.
In other words, it was a pathetic sight that was not worth looking at. It was also a common sight to see in the abyss.
But what does it have anything to do with catching Mary? Well, a lot.
One could not forget that a familiar was an abyssal beast as well. They also gained some power after killing humans but it was a behavior that was looked down upon in the community.
A young girl without any background support like Mary was the perfect prey for such people. It was not a common scene in the abyss.
“Astoria, make a decision soon or I will have to step in. I don’t want to see Mary killed like this.”
Aurora had not gotten attached to the young girl but she could feel Astoria had. For all the ‘nos’ Astoria had spoken, she had been interested to take the young human as a pet as well.
This might have been the first human that had surprised Astoria like this and Aurora did understand the appeal.
After all, Rita had done something similar as well toward Aurora. She had refused to give up when needed and followed after Aurora.
Astoria did not say anything but she did pick herself up from the ground.
Before the cat-like beast knew it, its claw had been served from its body. The familiar and its human gave a startling growl toward Astoria but it was a rather one-sided battle.
‘Serves them right for trying to pick a fight they could not win. Astoria was too much for them.’
Aurora decided not to question what was going through Astoria’s mind. She did not want to get involved in other’s affairs.
“See, I told you Astoria would fold when the time comes. I could read the interest in her eyes all along.”
Rita looked happy to see this new development. Then the redhead turned her head toward Aurora, her eyes shining brightly toward Aurora.
“Doesn’t this remind you of us? Well, not the age difference but the relationship. We started awkwardly as well.”
Aurora just leveled Rita with a flat stare. She did not remember someone feeling ‘awkward’ in her presence.
“I don’t think so. You were quite bold in your time and your actions were not so pure as well. I wonder how you got the idea of our relationship being pure form.”
Rita went red at Aurora’s teasing but she still some whole managed to maintain her cool.
Meanwhile, Astoria finally made her way toward the group. She had an awkward expression on her face so Aurora did not ask her for details.
The child in her arms seemed to have fallen asleep after all that happened to her.
“Ur, do not accidentally eat her. We are taking Mary with us for the time being. I hope no one has a problem with it.”
Astoria’s questions were met with negatives. No one minded her taking in someone under her wing.
And so their trio gained a new member in a matter of minutes.
===========================
If you ask Astoria why she had decided to help the kid out, she would not be able to give you an answer.
It had been more of an impulse thing than an actual decision on her part. And Rita’s teasing had to be a reason behind it.
But now that Astoria had taken a human under her wing, she needed to be responsible for her. She needed to make sure she had enough to feed and clothe her in her times of need.
‘I need to think things through. I will also have to hide sensitive material in my lab from Mary once I go home.’
Astoria had never thought she would get a personal student. And she had never thought it would be like this for her.
But life worked in mysterious ways and Astoria was just someone who was caught in the middle of it all.
Or so it felt to her.
Ever since she had met Aurora, it felt like things were happening one after another. The world was changing faster than Astoria could keep up with.
“Should we exit the deep caves now? I can see the other side already.”
Now that Aurora had pointed it out, Astoria could see the light as well. As much as she did not want to, Astoria had to admit that Aurora was right about the future.
Humans were not as weak as Astoria had thought them to be. They were much stronger than Astoria had given them credit for.
The deep cave was finally behind them and the Eastern Continent came into view. It was a much-needed breath of fresh air Astoria needed.
“Finally, we are here. We can now take public transport to get to our location. It would take us….two more days? Isn’t there a teleporter nearby that we can use?”
Rita was complaining again. But this was a part of her nature and it did not bug Astoria much nowadays.
Rita was just like this and Astoria liked her behavior. (More like, she had gotten used to it over time.)
“Astoria, you should take the kid to the restroom first and explain to her what is happening. I am sure that Mary will be shocked once she wakes up. As for us? We will look around the place for a bit and then join you.”
“Right! You take care of your kid and we will enjoy our date. Also, keep Ur with you. We cannot have him crashing our date.”
Astoria had a few choice words to say to Rita but she chose to keep quiet in the end. It was not up to her to preach things to Rita.
And despite Rita’s careless words, she was right in saying that Ur cannot be allowed to roam freely with them without cloaking him.
Astoria would need to use magic to make Ur not appear like a dragon until they reached their destination.
“Fine. Enjoy your day out. But do hurry back or I will let Ur out to play. I don’t have enough patience to look after him the whole day.”
Astoria’s words were a warning and a promise in the same tone. She knew that the other two understood what she was not saying and it was her go.
Now it was Astoria who was left alone in her room with Mary and the sleeping Ur.