The next morning, Lakshman met up with Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia. Yesterday night, he contacted them through the use of telepathy and told them to be there. He had some business to do and he wanted to go together with the girls and he was feeling lonely without them.

It almost took an hour before they finally arrived. Ondine, Tetra and Emilia were panting when they finally reached him. Cantia was the only one who was very energetic when she saw him.

“Master!” she cried and quickly moved forward to hug him.

He chuckled and said “Hello, Cantia! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It sure has, master. I missed you!” Cantai said and she looked at him with a sad face.

“Aww… There, there…” he said and he patted her which made her smile happily.

Finally catching their breath, Ondine, Tetra and Emilia looked unhappy. They were displeased that Cantia took a jump start in getting near master. Lakshman noticed this and, from past experiences, knew how to solve the matter of their glaring at him.

“Come here and give me a hug!” he said happily.

The girls did just that and they all hugged each other happily. Due to his tallness and arm length, Lakshman managed to hug them all. He felt really happy when he felt the warmth of the girls he had lived with for three years.

The guards, who were guarding the entrances to Astral Academy, glared at them.

“You five! Take you romance elsewhere! You’re an eyesore to all bachelors!” one guard said irritably.

“Oh. Right! Sorry!”

All five of them apologised and went on their way. Lakshman walked in the middle with Ondine and Emilia on his left while Tetra and Cantia walked on his. At one point, the girls were bickering about who gets to be next to him and he solved this by simply placed his arms over their shoulders.

“You’re lucky I’m tall,” he said and they laughed.

Together, they walked down the streets filled with people. Many glances were thrown in their direction as they were surprised to see a man surrounded by four girls. Many of the men watched with jealousy as Lakshman, Ondine, Emilia, Tetra and Cantai made their way through the crowd filled street.

“Everyone is jealous,” Emilia said as she looked around while they walked.

“Naturally! Those dumb heads are not as handsome as our master and they know it!” Ondine said happily.

“Ondine, that’s rude to talk about strangers like that,” Tetra said sternly.

“So what? These people with all their might and strength can only afford one wife while master’s fine with taking care of all of us!”

“I’m fine with it, but sometimes I have to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into whenever you start arguing,” Lakshman said which made Cantia laugh.

“Master is the best!” Cantia said happily.

Lakshman laughed and said “Okay, okay… Geez. Stop praising me so much.”

After laughing for a bit, Emilia asked him “You said you had something to talk to with Felix. What is it about, master?”

“I’ll get to it, but don’t you think you girls should stop calling me ‘master’ all the time?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“Eh? B-But… We’re…” Emilia said uncertainly.

“You might be slaves, but officially we’re lovers. If we’re lovers, should’ve we start acting like one? Being constantly called ‘master’ is actually making me feel like we are not lovers at all!” Lakshman said severely.

“Oh… Now that you mention it, I guess it sort of became a bad habit to call you like that,” Tetra said as she looked at them.

“Okay then! It shall be Lucky then! Right, Lucky?” Cantia asked readily with a grin on her face.

“Good, Cantia. Now why don’t the rest of you follow Cantia’s example?” Lakshman asked the rest of them.

“W-Well… Calling you ‘Lucky’ is a bit… Uh…” Emilia said nervously.

He looked at her curiously and asked “What? You don’t think I’m lucky?” Then he sighed and said “I’m lucky to have you girls all loving me so much. I’m pretty lucky to be born to two wonderful parents. I’m seriously lucky to even possess the awesome powers of the Phoenix Titan! So yeah… I’m very lucky!”

The girls began to chuckle which surprised him and caused him to look at them in confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just how open you are about everything amazes us, ma- I mean, Lucky,” Emilia said with a smile.

Lakshman shrugged and said “I don’t like sneaking around things and stuff. Besides, I’m not the bad guy here.”

Ondine laughed and said “I think you might be considering you used techniques that possibly could’ve destroyed cities and arenas very easily!”

At those words, Lakshman groaned and said “Yeah… Sorry about that.”

Emilia quickly realised the topic was heading in a bad direction and decided to change topics.

“So ma-Lucky. Why are you going to meet Felix?” she asked him quickly.

“I wanted to speak to Felix about a certain matter about that weekly competition.”

“Eh?”

“Something about it is strange and I want to know about it.”

“Strange? In what way, Lucky?”

“I… I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I feel I’ll get more answers if I met with Felix and talked with him about it.”

Ondine looked at him curiously and asked “Couldn’t you have talked to the principal about it?”

Lakshman nodded at Ondine and said “Of course, I did, but she just told me to speak to Felix about it. That’s why I’m walking all this way to speak with him.”

“Oh. I see now,” Ondine said and she nodded in understanding.

They walked through the crowded streets, turning corners and changing directions until they finally arrived at their destination; the castle. The last they remembered, Felix was assigned to working there instead of working from the village of the Phoenix Clan.

When Lakshman spoke with the guards at the castle entrance, they said “You’re not allowed!”

“Huh? Why now? I came out of these castle gates not too long ago and you’re suddenly saying I’m not allowed to enter?!” Lakshman demanded in a frustrated voice.

The guard stood firmly and said “I’m sorry, but you must follow protocol if you wish to meet people.”

“Like I said, we came here only like seven days ago and you’re saying we’re not allowed to see him?” Lakshman asked in annoyance.

The guard shook his head and said “The Phoenix Emperor is a very important person and will not meet any random person.”

“R-Random person?!” Cantia exclaimed in disbelief and she glared at him in frustration.

“Cool it, Cantia,” Lakshman said quickly when he saw her eyes slowly turning into their beast shapes.

Lakshman faced the guard and wanted to try one last time.

“Look. I wish to speak with the Phoenix Emperor about something important concerning the Astral Academy Weekly Joint Lessons. Now please let us through because the principal, Carmela Chaikin, has given me permission to meet with him.”

The guard suddenly looked annoyed and he said “I’m sorry, but without following proper protocol and making appointments, we are letting you in! Now go away!”

Lakshman got annoyed by how stubborn the guard was. He knew he could get in if he used the authority of the Phoenix Titan, but Felix strictly told him to not use it. So he was stuck with no way of meeting Felix with. Along with that, he did not particularly like protocol due to tedious work and effort.

Ondine got very angry with the way the guard was talking to Lakshman. She was always a hot tempered girl who never bothered to control it. Seeing how her beloved person is being denied, caused that anger of hers to rise to the surface.

“I think it’s better if you show some respect!” Ondine said in a dangerous voice.

Lakshman and Tetra quickly grabbed Ondine by her arms and pulled her back.

“Ondine, stop. We’re not here to fight,” Tetra told her firmly.

“He’s disrespecting Lucky! I won’t tolerate this!” Ondine told her with a frustrated expression on her face.

At that moment, there was the sound of a girl’s voice from behind them. Lakshman looked surprise when he heard the voice and immediately realised who it might be.

“What’s going on here?”

Then all turned around and saw princess Venezuela standing there. Standing next to her was Mercia and she had her eyes narrowed when she saw Lakshman. It looked like she still did not trust him and he felt it as well.

“Ah, princess and Mercia!” the guards said and they bowed to them.

As the guards straightened up, Venezuela looked between them, Lakshman’s group and back. She could tell something happening to see the annoyed expressions on their faces.

“What’s happening here?”

A guard stepped forward and said “You see, princess. This fellow here claims he is here to see the Phoenix Emperor without any show of protocol or appointment.”

“Oh,” Venezuela looked surprised. She turned to him and asked “Does Felix know you are going to visit him?”

Lakshman gulped and shook his head.

“I see…” Venezuela said and she nodded her head in understanding. Then she said “Phintex Raja!”

At that moment, a Phintex Raja appeared out of nowhere and was kneeling near the princess.

“Inform the Phoenix Emperor that Lakshman Reddy has come to visit him.”

“Yes, princess,” the Phintex Raja said with a woman’s voice.

The Phintex Raja warped out of there and disappeared. Then there was silence for a few minutes as they waited for her return. The silence was finally broken when the Phintex Raja appeared and she was not the only one. A black hole suddenly appeared behind the guards and Felix Phoron walked out.

Lakshman was surprised to see him wearing an annoyed expression on his face.

“Princess Venezuela, it is great to see you!” Felix said when he stopped and bowed before her.

“The same goes for me, but Lakshman says he has something to talk to you,” Venezuela said and he indicated towards Lakshman.

“I see,” Felix said with a nod and he turned to face Lakshman. Then he asked “Is it private business?”

Lakshman opened his mouth and hesitated. Then he simply nodded because he felt his mouth go dry for some strange reason.

“I see. Okay then. Just follow me through the portal and we’ll arrive at my office,” Felix said and he indicated the black portal still active.

Venezuela turned to look at Lakshman and said “I’ll catch you later, Lakshman.”

“Ah. Yes,” Lakshman said simply when he caught the suspicious expression on Mercia’s face.

“Thank you for your help, princess,” Emilia said with a bow of her head and the others did the same.

“Let’s go,” Felix said as the guards finally stepped aside to let him go through.

Felix glanced at the guards who nodded and stepped aside. They wore firm expressions on their faces, but Lakshman could see the guilt in their eyes. The guards never expected that the Phoenix Emperor, including the princess, would help out.

Lakshman, Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia followed after Felix. Once they stepped into the portal and disappeared, it slowly shrunk and vanished into thin air.