Mika 033 (Patreon)

When Mika returned later that evening, Ami tackled him. “You’re finally back.” She rubbed her chin against his. 

Jon left the pair be, heading further inside to go and greet the parents.

He pat her back gently, letting her recharge off of his body. “Are you feeling ready for the Rising Stars tournament?”

“A little.”

“Don’t worry. You will definitely win.”

“If I can get in the top ten, I’ll be very happy. Mother and father said that I’ll be picked up by the main branch in three years…” She said it with a smile, but her eyes weren’t smiling. 

“Sister,” Mika said, reaching up to pat her head. “You will become a Celestial Guard to some Celestial, and I will become a Great Alchemy.” He smiled up at her. 

“Yes…”

“Whenever you need me, I’ll be there, no matter what.” He reached up to hold her hands. “If you are ever upset by anything, or lonely, you can send me a letter. If you need my help, I’ll know, somehow.”

“I’ll miss mother and father, and you the most.”

“I will miss you too. When I’m string enough, I’ll come and meet you in the big city.” He took the initiative to hug her tight.

What worried him the most was that he wouldn’t be able to protect her much from his current position when she was so far away. He’d need to make sure that the entire region was under his sway, and then he could think about assisting her overtly. He’d need to make sure the Great Patriarch of the family was going to take care of her for now.

“Let’s go play,” she eventually said, leading him away by his hand. 

“Mika!” Jais called out. “The Elder gave Ami a cultivation potion, didn’t he?” 

“Elder was in a very good mood after the auction,” Mika said. “I’m sure he just wanted to show his good mood through it.”

“How was your first auction?” 

“It went very well,” Mika said, smiling innocently. He wondered how much he should say. “There was a minor issue, but it was dealt with.”

“Minor trouble?” Jais asked. “What kind of minor trouble?”

“They tried to scam me, but the Elder was able to assist me. However, they put shame on the Elder’s name. During the auction they even attacked me, and Elder became even more cross with them.”

“Who was it that tried to attack me son?” Jais clenched his fists. 

“It was the Tegro family.”

Jais deflated, his mouth agape. “The Tegro family?” He knew of the Tegro family, one of the main families in the nearby city. “What did you do?”

“I did nothing, father.” Mika narrowed his eyes. 

“We need to sort this out. They’re a greater family. What are we to do if they decide to take this matter further?” Jais’ brow began to grow wet with sweat. 

“The Tegro family hurt you?” Jon asked, appearing from the hallway. 

Ami frowned. “You were hurt?”

“The Great Elder of the Auction Hall assisted in the matter and luckily it all went well.” Mika rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. Seeing his sister frown at him made him think twice about causing as much trouble in the future. 

“We made trouble with the Auction Hall too?” Jais rubbed his brow, shaking his head. “What are we doing to do?”

“What happened?” Jon asked, his eyes darkening.

“Their Young Master put pressure on me.”

“Pressure?” Jon clenched his fists.

“The Patriarch apologised to me, so everything worked out well in the end.” Mika gave Jon a look, letting him know there was more to it than just that. 

“Oh, is that so?” Jais said, reaching down to rub the boy’s head. “I’m glad you’re fine. Pressure is quite rough.” He thought about all the times Neli would pressure him. 

“Yes. I humbly accepted the Patriarch’s apology. After all, it was just in the Tegro’s nature.” Mika shrugged his shoulders.

Jais looked down at him, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, as you know, the Tegro family are just a bunch of dogs who only bring shame in other people’s homes. The Great Elder seemed to agree.” Mika nodded.

Jon choked with laughter, though Jais gasped and went pale white. “You… you didn’t say that to him, did you?” Jais stared down at Mika, his mouth partly open. 

“What? Father, Elder Starr assisted me and they brought him such shame.” Mika smiled. “Of course I said it to his face.” He beamed up as though he hadn’t just signed them to death. 

“Mika!” Jais clutched at his head, shaking it. “Just… leave. I need to speak with the Head about this matter.”

“Please allow my father to the meeting,” Jon said. “He will know what truly happened. If we of the Starr Alchemy have brought you trouble, then we will do all we can to assist you.”

“Thank you. I will send work immediately. Mika, stay here. I need to figure out what to do with you.”

Mika smiled innocently. 

“Mika is a member of our Star Alchemy. If we trouble you in any way, please call for myself or my father. He represents us, so I hope you’ll be willing to allow us some words on the matter.”

“Of course, Master Jon. It was only in our failure of raising him poorly that this situation occurred.”

“You have done well. It’s hard enough to raise one genius, but two? Allow me to take Mika back to the guild, and my father will come with him once we are called to the meeting.”

Jais sighed and then bowed. “I am sorry for the trouble.”

“As am I. Come, Alchemist Mika. Let’s head back to Elder Yan. I’ll need to scold him for not telling me about this trouble.” Jon looked down at Mika, eager to hear more about what happened. 

Once they returned to the guild, Mika explained what had happened. Yan confirmed what happened.

“Those rat bastards!” Jon exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the table. “Just they wait and see!”

“Wait and see what? We can’t do anything as we are.” Yan shook his head. 

“Tch! To think they’d shame my little brother and our family and then hurt him too! Don’t they have us in their sights?”

“My father is right to be worried. We’re not that far away, and they could easily dispatch of a small family like ours. We’ll need to tighten security, and I probably won’t be able to move around with an escort either…” He thought about Ami. If they went for her, then he’d have to completely change his plan in order to deal with them.

“Don’t worry,” Jon said. “We’ll protect your sister. Father will remain nearby, and we’ll hire a few warriors to keep on standby, one for the family, one for the guild.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Mika said, rubbing his chin in thought. “We could use this opportunity to flaunt our wealth and show them that we aren’t to be trifled with. Unfortunately, one or two Base Steel guards won’t be enough…”

“I’m sorry such a thing has happened,” Elder said.

“You aren’t to blame. This is all my fault. You were so mad on my behalf, I can’t allow you to take the blame. This is quite the mess though, but we have a few powerful families interest in us. Let’s make sure nothing disrupts that relationship for now. I’ll need you to write a letter before we go explaining the situation to them.”

“As you wish,” Elder said.

Mika sighed. He’d need to be punished by the guild some how, or he’d have to have the Elder take the blame publicly. It would be a good idea to deepen his relationship the guild. Right now he was their saviour, but if he could show them some weakness, they wouldn’t feel so worthless before him. 

He hopped down and left, heading to the storage room. Then he returned with a few herbs. He wrote down a few formulas, handing them to the Elder and Master. 

They stared down in awe at the formulas. They both exchanged a look between one another, and then down to Mika, who began to refine the items. 

“You really are quite a scary fellow,” Jon said.

“I have to be scary, otherwise people will bully my older brother,” Mika joked.