After a few minutes of resting, Akira and Gildarts left the now-destroyed temple. They didn't want to spend another minute in this disgusting place. Besides, sunset was approaching, so they needed to hurry up, or else they would have to camp out in the forest again.
Thankfully, both of them managed to reach the Heartfilia mansion before it got too dark. One could say they barely made it.
" Dear guest, Lady Layla is expecting your presence; if you don't mind, please follow me, " the butler said as both Gildarts and Akira just entered the house after walking past the guards.
"Okay." Akira and Gildarts looked at each other before agreeing.
The butler nodded and began escorting the two of them. Since this mansion is so huge, one could actually get lost if he wasn't careful. It took a whole 10 minutes to actually reach the room where Layla was waiting for them.
" Lady Layla, I've brought our esteemed guests as you have instructed, " the butler said as he knocked on the door, asking for permission to enter.
"You can enter. " Layla's voice came out from the other side. The butler then opened and gestured for both Akira and Gildarts to enter.
Entering the room, they found Layala sitting on a chair reading a book, and next to her was Lucy eating some sweets while playing with her doll.
"How did the mission go? " Layla asked with a smile. Her eyes were shining, waiting for the good news.
Akira took out the celestial spirit key from his bag and handed it to her. " Here is the Celestial Spirit key we found in that temple. "
"Oh, it is the key of the Snake Charmer Ophiuchus, " Layla said with surprise. She never expected there would be something this precious in that temple. The most she expected was a silver key.
" You two have a very great job. I will also add another 1 million jewels to the agreed reward for all the hard work you two have done, " Layla said generously.
" Thank you very much, Lady Layla, " Akira and Gildarts said as they bowed ninety degrees. No one would say no to some extra cash.
Layla just smiled at them. The reason why she gave them that much of a reward is because this key is very important for her family plan.
Ophiuchus, the snake charmer, is also known as the 13th Gate since its power is comparable to a Zodiac key. For her family mission, she needs to collect all 12 Zodiac keys. And even for her, who is known as the most genius celestial mage in her family, this is not a simple job.
For one to make a contract with a Zodiac key, they must possess extreme luck and destiny. This has been more apparent as even in her whole family line of Celestial mages, there has not been anyone who managed to make contracts with all 12 celestial spirits other than their ancestor Anna Heartfilia herself.
So Layla didn't have confidence in herself that she would be able to gather all 12 zodiac keys even with all their family resources. So this is why she needed a backup plan in case she really wasn't able to collect all 12 keys.
And her backup plan is this key Ophiuchus. Using a forbidden technique, she may be able to use Ophiuchus as a replacement for any missing Zodiac keys.
***
After a while, both Akira and Gildarts were once again escorted back to their rooms by a maid. Gildarts, like the womanizer he is, tried to hit on her, but he was disappointed to find that this girl was married.
Although Gildarts is scum, he isn't one to hit another person's woman. So when he heard the maid was married, he lost all interest.
Akira ignored the drama as he was deep in thought. He didn't expect the reason for Layla's death was because of this.
Although he didn't know much about the details, he only knew that Layla Lucy's mother would die in a month after she opened the Eclipse Gate.
At first, he thought she was already dying due to some terminal illness or something, and opening the eclipse door only hastened the process. He even thought that Layla was cursed by the God of Time for opening the Eclipse door just like how Zeref and Mavis were cursed.
But it seems the real reason why she was dying is because of that forbidden technique. This is what Akira came to the conclusion after hearing Layla's thoughts.
But since he has no clue on how Celestial Spirit Magic and how the Eclipse Gate work, he wasn't that sure on how it actually happened.
' It seems I need to read some books about Celestial Spirit Magic when I go back to Magnolia,' Akira thought as he went to sleep. Today was a tiring day for him, who is still 4 and a half years old.
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~ The Next Morning ~
Akira yawned as he walked through the empty hallways. He got up a bit early and was a bit hungry. He wanted to see whether there was something he could eat in the kitchen.
Yes, in addition to letting them stay at the guest room, Layla was generous enough to supply them with food. Well, she must have wanted to make some connections with Gildarts, who is known to be a very strong wizard.
On his way to the kitchen, Akira met up with someone unexpected.
" Good morning, you are up early, little Akira, " Layla said with a smile.
" Good morning, Lady Layla, " Akira said as he greeted Layla back.
" Where are you heading this early?" she asked curiously.
"Well, I'm a bit hungry, so I was thinking of heading to the kitchen to see if there is anything I can eat, " Akira explained.
"Ah, I see, but I'm afraid you might get disappointed. The cooks usually distribute all the leftovers amongst the servants so there would be nothing left in the kitchen until they made breakfast, " Layla said, making Akira a bit deflated.
"Sigh, what a bummer. Well, I guess I will have to wait until breakfast is served, " Akira said with visible disappointment.
"Oh, don't be sad. Oh, I know why. Why don't you come with me to the training ground to watch me make the contract with Ophiuchus? " Layla said, making Akira look at her with surprise.
" Is that really okay? " he asked, just to be sure. As excited as he is , he knew how many nobles wouldn't like strangers to watch their training.
" Of course it's fine. " Layla smiled as she took his hand and walked towards the training ground.
Arriving at the training ground, Akira was shocked to see how luxurious it was. The training ground is as big as an indoor stadium.
'Wow, as expected of a noble house , these guys sure are wealthy,' Akira thought as he marveled at the numerous training equipment that was placed at the right place.
" You should take a step back, Akira. I will start the summoning in a bit, " Layla said as she watched Akira take a step and hide behind her like a frightened rabbit.
Layla just chuckled at his antics. Although she didn't spend much time with Akira, she could still tell that Akira, unlike other kids, was more mature and very strong for his age. She didn't think for a second that Akira would be scared because of her warning.
She was right. Akira, who had fought with the posse Ophiuchus, wouldn't be frightened just because of seeing her again. He just did it so Layal would stop being nervous.
Although she may not show it as someone who could hear everything, Akira could feel her nervousness. Well, she had to be nervous since her ability to complete their family mission would depend on Ophiuchus's willingness to form a contract.
Taking a deep breath, Layla calmed her nerves. Then with determination in her eyes, she started the ritual.
" I call upon thee from the world of celestial spirit; I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate. Open the Gate of the Snake Charmer Ophiuchus.
****
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Hey guys, it's your favorite author here!
Some of you may have noticed that my update rate has slowed down a bit over the past week. First, I want to sincerely apologize for that. I might have gotten a little too confident about keeping up with my usual pace, and clearly, I overestimated myself. I'm truly sorry.
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