The relationship between brother and sister in this world was complicated in noble houses. Every head of the family was constantly in contention with their siblings if they had them. My grandma was no different as the head of our household.

In the world of politics my granduncle and his descendants were considered the Jâl branch family.

“Teresa my darling sister, it’s been too long. What kind of siblings don’t see each other for ten whole months?”

She pursed her lips but gave him a hug. She looked at me and her smile returned to her face.

“It’s delightful to see you again.” My grandma eyed his side. “What is that?”

“A magnificent family reunion wouldn’t be complete without a gift.” My granduncle spoke. “I brought this for you.”

He reached inside his pocket and brought out a jewellery box the size of his palm.

“Oh Fermez, you didn’t have to.” My grandma was touched. Then her eyes gleamed. “Pass it here.”

My granduncle chuckled and handed her the box. My eyes followed it and I could see it was a normal case. There were no symbols or magic attached to it.

My grandma opened it and then paused.

“Don’t leave me on the edge of my seat.” My granduncle grinned. “Take it out. Put it on.”

My grandma pulled out the contents to reveal a necklace. It had a symbol in the middle, half a pentagram, made out of gold.

It didn’t look familiar.

My grandma placed her hand on it, covering it completely. The smile on her face stretched thin but my granduncle was already turning towards me.

“And of course, something for my grandnephew too-” He turned to me. “Grandnephew, how formal. Why don’t you call me Fermez? It sounds so much more elegant, doesn’t it, Andross?”

“It does.” I nodded politely.

He continued staring at me.

“It does, Fermez.” I corrected myself.

Fermez smiled happily but doubts bubbled up in my mind. I’d thought that it was more formal among families in this world to call each other by name.

I looked back at my grandma for a signal of what to do and saw her staring at the necklace she’d been gifted. Then there was a sound from the other end of the room, and the aroma of food swept through us.

“Your dinner is ready, madam.” Leo’s voice resounded through the air.

He brought the plates to us personally. One for my grandmother, one for me. I don’t know what was being served, but it smelled delicious. Meat with sides of greens and mashed potato pulled my attention towards the food.

Did they have potatoes in this world?

“Yours will be served soon, master Jâl.” Leo’s tone was neutral. “Please excuse us. The staff were not expecting a second dinner guest.”

“Perfectly fine.” Fermez shrugged. “Just give me whatever’s remaining.”

Leo left the room and Fermez leaned forward towards me.

“Tell me Andross, has your father been up to much?” His eyes glimmered with joy when he mentioned my dad, and his lips broke out in a genuine smile. “I miss our chats. He was by far the smartest kid in our household, let me tell you.”

His arms waved in the air, and I found myself being drawn into his tales. This was one of the main reasons I had wanted to get to know my family. My dad and mum were secretive at times, which was to be expected. It wasn’t like I was fully honest with them.

By far the most guarded secrets my dad kept were the tales of his childhood. When it came to symbols, he was happy to tell me what his father had taught him, but anything about his old personal life was taboo.

“He used to play the funniest pranks on Teresa’s husband. You’ve never truly met your brother-in-law until he’s running across the ancestral hall with his pants on fire.”

Fermez laughed.

“I was there the first time he blew up our family table. I hope he’s taught you about the sun symbol, because that’s the one that will get you.”

I remembered all the lessons my dad had given me about the sun symbol when I was younger. It was one of the most common symbols, and the most dangerous.

My dad’s warnings made more sense now.

Seeing my granduncle laughing joyously brought a smile to my face. I’d been worried that my dad was being excluded by the family, but it looked like my auntie’s words were true.

They all loved him.

I looked over to my grandma. She was quiet as Fermez described my dad’s antics and she was stared at the necklace.

Fermez followed my gaze and his expression shifted.

“I see you admiring this splendid piece of work.” Fermez gestured towards the necklace. “What are you thinking about? Its craftsmanship? Its materials?”

I didn’t care about any of those things. My grandma was looking at the symbol in the middle.

“What does that stand for?” I pointed at it.

My grandma lifted her head at my words, but I could tell she was deep in thought. Whatever the symbol was, it was important enough to hold her attention.

“Technically? Nothing.” My granduncle tapped the table. “But it holds a lot of importance to a select group of people. Tell me Andross, do you know what a crest is?”

A crest? The name rang a bell.

“Something to do with older noble houses.” I responded.

I searched through my mind but couldn’t find any other information.

“All symbols form a language, but that language is alive. It grows as concepts form in the world.” His voice was soft. “Concepts are powerful, but they don’t form symbols in a day. Otherwise, we would be flooded with unique symbols for every individual.”

I nodded. This was something that my dad had covered early on in my training.

Fermez reached into his coat and pulled out a pen and paper. I could see my dad’s movements mirrored in his writing style, and he quickly drew the symbol on the necklace for me to examine.

“Every now and then a family will gain power and become important enough in the world that their very existence forms a new symbol. The number of families with this honour can be counted in one hand.”

Fermez passed me the paper and my eyes were drawn to the paper. The symbol radiated power, even without being activated.

“The world calls them the immortal houses.” Fermez tapped the paper and the symbol glowed. “Because their names will forever live on as a concept even after we are all dead and gone.”

The symbol continued to glow and the pressure around me increased, but that was all. There was no explosion, or other effect.

“The symbols themselves don’t do anything.” He laughed at my expression. “Instead, the immortal houses use their symbols as their personal crest. They are an item to show status, representing their power and influence throughout the world.”

He nodded towards the necklace, and I saw my grandma’s eyes had turned towards us.

She was listening intently to our conversation.

“This is the family crest of the Gesti family.” Fermez took back the paper. “They provided that necklace personally for me to give to your grandmother.”

His words stabbed into the air and my grandma shivered.

“It is always humbling to know that such esteemed figures would deign to communicate with us.” Fermez continued. “Their continued goodwill could mean the difference between hardship and riches in our future.”

He gazed into my eyes. “Look at that, I blinked and became the rambling old man I always made fun of in my youth.”

He tore up the paper and put the remains in his pocket.

“It’s interesting.” I peeked at my grandma and saw her expression souring. “Let’s talk more about my dad.”

Fermez’s eyes lit up again. “Oho, are you wanting to hear the scandalous stories or the embarrassing ones? I know both and I’m willing to give them. Now, the first time your dad ever texted me was when he was stuck in the Hendra district and desperately needed a new pair of pan-”

“They gave you this necklace personally?” My grandma’s voice cut through his tale.

She sounded mad. Then I heard something else underneath it. A sliver of worry.

“They did.” He nodded.

“Oh, that’s right!” Fermez tapped his forehead. “I forgot to give you your gift.” He turned to me.

He put his hand in his pocket and brought out a small metal ball. It was about the size of a fist. He handed it to me and it felt hollow. I could feel the mana of the metal greeting me.

Before I could open it a hand gripped onto mine. It was my granduncle’s.

“You know. You remind me a lot more of your father than I thought you would. Has anyone told you that you look exactly like he did when he was young?”

“I’ve heard some say it.” I looked up at him.

I paused.

There was a look in his eyes that made me hesitate. It wasn’t anger, or condescension. There was only sadness.

“Don’t open the gift nephew.” His voice was soft. “Once this dinner is over, take it, leave, and forget it exists.”

Then he coughed, and his expression shifted.

“Of course they sent it to you personally, sister.” His voice grew louder. “Trust me, they let me know what an honour it was to receive one. Or at least their employee did. I doubt he’s ever even laid eyes on an immortal. His boss’ boss probably hasn’t.”

His change in demeanor worried me. He didn’t make any attempt to take the gift back, or even acknowledge it. Neither did my grandma.

Instead, she looked at the necklace one last time and put it to the side. I did the same to my gift, but I intended to put it in my inventory afterwards.

The conversation grew more lighthearted after that. Fermez spun tale after tale about my dad’s past and my grandma joined him. Soon they were laughing together about old times, and I found myself absorbed in their conversations.

My dad had wrestled a highschool bully in front of his first girlfriend, saddled a university bullring and accidentally locked himself in the first set of armour he ever inscribed.

I didn’t know what a bullring was, but I intended to ask my dad when I got home.

During the conversation I felt something press into my face. Gold was pecking at my cheek. I scratched his neck absentmindedly and gave him a treat.

He ignored it.

I looked at him and saw he was staring at my grandma’s side.

The necklace had disappeared. I saw her fingers curled into a fist, at odds with the calm and jovial expression on her face.

I hadn’t seen her move it, and I don’t think my granduncle had either.

The dinner soon came to an end and Fermez stood up to leave. He swept me up in a hug strong enough to force the air out of my lungs and then ruffled my hair.

“It’s a pity I couldn’t see you grow up, but I’m grateful to have met you once.”

He gave my grandma a nod and she didn’t make a move towards him. Instead, she called over Leo to guide Fermez out.

We sat at the table in silence. The atmosphere that had been so jovial only moments before grew thicker.

“What he said was wrong. You shouldn’t leave, you should stay here.” My grandma broke the silence. “I'll have the bed prepared.”

I looked up at her and saw her finger shaking. Wrapped between them was the necklace. I wasn’t a fool.

It was a message.

There were no coincidences in the events of today. Not Fermez’s visit just as I’d arrived, or his gifts from a powerful family.

My grandma’s worry was clear. She walked over towards the entrance, calling for Leo.

I closed my eyes and took a breath. My emotions bubbled to the surface, and I accepted them. The curiosity, the worry, and the anger.

Then I felt something new. I was worrying, but not for myself. My grandma was under pressure, and it was because of me. She was going out of her way to help me, but others were going out of their way to stop her.

I wouldn’t lose anything by leaving, but I would make her suffer if I stayed.

I didn’t know who my enemy was, but I knew their name. That meant I could find out more about them, with time. I needed to play it safe and not make mistakes that would anger them and hurt my family.

If not for me, then for my grandma.

I had gotten a lot of information today, and I could go back to the academy and find Gerial to help me teleport back to my home.

“Actually grandma. I think I have a better idea.”

She turned to me, and I forced a smile…

… I stepped through the estate gates into Koshima city.

I’d visit my grandma again in one week. That was the promise I had made to her. She had insisted on guiding me to the academy herself, but her arm was still shaking.

Instead, I asked her if it was okay for Leo to guide me. I used the excuse that I didn’t want her to go through such a long journey herself.

Leo had dropped me off at the academy gates and saluted me before disappearing into the streets.

“So.” I spoke to Gold after we had moved towards the gates. “That’s the man that was keeping me away from my grandma.”

He hadn’t been what I had imagined.

I pushed at the gate and frowned. The metal wasn’t budging. My eyes drifted upwards, and I could see the sun still shining in the sky.

I brought out my texting book and flipped through the pages.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

I hadn’t recorded Gerial’s contact symbol. In fact, I only had two symbols in the book. My dad’s and Amanda’s. I pressed my fingers against my temple as frustration threatened to overwhelm me.

There was only one painless solution available to me. They had insisted on coming after they’d found out I wasn’t going back home from the academy.

The church knights were here, I just couldn’t see them.

I waved my hand in the air. “I know you’re there. Mind giving me a hand?”

“Andross?” A voice interrupted my actions.

I turned around and my eyes widened as I saw a ball of red feathers hovering in front of me.

It was Agni.

A familiar head of fire bobbed up and down as Amanda stared at me from behind a large pile of books. She was balancing them precariously on her arms to avoid dropping them and getting them dirty.

Had she filled up her inventory?

“Agni forced me to follow her here… I thought you were going to stay with your grandmother?”

“I was.”

A wave of sadness crept over me as I spoke the words. I really had wanted to get to know my grandma better. It just wasn’t the right time.

Amanda looked at my expression and put her books down on the ground. She didn’t ask questions or judge me. She only gave me a smile and held out her hand.

“I’ll tell my dad to get the guest room ready.”