Saintess Summons Skeletons

“We should land near the line of carriages, probably,” Saria suggested.

“Oh, yeah. It looks like they have someone checking the invitations down there… Say Saria, do you think we would survive the fall if I just closed my wings right now and we do nothing to stop it?”

“That’s a weird question to ask out of nowhere… I think we would, actually. We should be at the point where it’s hard to die from a simple fall, unless we crash on something dangerous.”

“I did die when I hit the moon.”

“That’s not the same and you know it. How did you even come up with that question?”

“I just remembered how I killed that Magisterium guy,” Sofia explained.

“Didn’t you say he was like level 150? We’re far past that already. So, we going down or not? This isn’t exactly the most comfortable position.”

Sofia flew down and landed near the long row of carriages lining up outside of the manor’s front garden. She and Saria helped each other readjust their dresses and hairstyles, and when they were about ready to go, Pareth finally made his appearance. His skeletal body as a boneplate-mauleur skeleton was completely hidden inside of a sumptuous and gigantic black-steel ceremonial armor that gave him the allure of a three-meters tall muscular human warrior. Holy light escaped from within the helmet’s visor and his divine halo hovered above the helmet, creating shimmering reflections all over the polished black plate. Facing the two women, he bowed with an arm across his chest.

“Our escort finally shows up,” Saria commented, “Looking good, Pareth.”

“The Clothier sure did a fine job. You can’t even tell it’s a skeleton inside. Are you happy with it?” Sofia asked Pareth, which was answered by a small nod. “Money well spent, then! I like it too. Let’s go!”

“After you, sister, you’ve got the invitation.”

The group walked along the line of empty carriages all the way up to the manor’s gates, where an old Exidian butler in uniform was waiting for guests to show up.

[Supporter - Lv.199]

“Hello and welcome to the ElderPlain estate, ladies, and good sir,” he greeted them, “May I see your invitations?”

“Hi, there you go,” Sofia answered as she handed him the invitation letter Lola had personally given her.

The butler opened the letter and quickly glanced over the contents, then he folded and handed it back to Sofia. “We are happy to welcome you and your company as our guests, Teacher Vakaria.” The butler's voice held a note of respect as he continued, “The Young Mistress has had nothing but praises to say about your teachings. Please allow me to teleport you to the main entrance. The Young Mistress is no doubt eager to greet you."

Sofia, Saria and pareth stepped onto the ritual circle near the gate the butler led them to, and in an instant they found themselves in front of the manor’s front doors, where a single level 300 Exidian stood guard. His gaze barely turned their way, losing all interest when he noticed the butler's presence.

“This way,” the butler guided them inside and, between two rows of large marble statues, through the entrance, all the way up to a set of wooden double doors sculpted with great detail, which he pushed open to reveal a large and opulent hall. “A wonderful evening to you three.”

Sofia looked into the already crowded hall and its long banquet tables lining the walls, all eyes turning to watch the newcomer.

At least a hundred heads, a lot of them look quite powerful too.

Not far from the entrance, Sofia spotted Lola standing with two older ladies with a smile on her face, she was dressed in an elegant gown that sparkled in the soft light of the chandeliers.

“Teacher!” Lola called out, hurrying toward her as fast as her long gown would allow. “I’m glad you accepted to come!” Turning to Saria, she greeted her too, “You must be her sister. Welcome to my home. And to you too, Instructor Pareth.”

"Thank you for inviting us, Lola," Sofia said with genuine warmth. "Your home is magnificent."

Lola laughed. "It's a bit much, isn't it? All the artwork on exhibition today is made by my two eldest sisters,” she said, pointing at the two women she had been standing with before. “I'm glad you like it. Ah, but let's not keep my parents waiting. They've been looking forward to meeting you."

Marquess ElderPlain and his wife were both Artisans over level 400, they were polite in their introduction, despite completely ignoring Pareth’s presence, and thanked Sofia for taking good care of their daughter’s education. It turned out they did not have much else to say, and they moved on to welcome someone else after promising to reward Sofia handsomely should Lola win the competition.

Maybe reward her, not me? Sofia thought, puzzled, as she watched them walk away with another Exidian nobleman.

“They’re a bit old fashioned but they mean well…” Lola explained as her parents disappeared amidst the crowd of guests, then she made a shocked expression, and without a word, she ran past the group. Turning around, Sofia saw her running toward a modestly dressed and panicking Shaily who had just clumsily spilled a bunch of some weird liquid on one of the banquet tables as she tried serving herself a cup.

“There she goes,” Saria giggled, “Your students are quite lively. We’re by ourselves now, I guess. We should probably socialize or something.”

“Ah, yes, time to become the nobles we were always meant to be, uh? Father would be proud,” Sofia sarcastically answered.

“You’re a bit early in bringing him up, should keep that for this paternal ancestor of ours, no?” Saria quipped back.

“Speaking of which… Isn’t it weird that I look like mom yet I also look like Jennifer when she should be from our father’s side?” Sofia asked.

“Oh, now that you bring that up… You remember the day this dickhead chased us out?”

Sofia thought for a few seconds. “Not much. I remember you being angry and the butler throwing us out of a cart in an alleyway, that’s about it.”

“Well, maybe it’s best that you don’t remember. Our dear father actually called us up to his office before that to gloat about finally getting rid of us to our face,” Saria recounted.

“Twisted fucker.”

“Well, yeah. At least he’s dead now. Anyway, it was the only time we stepped foot in his office, but I remember how I had been puzzled by the painting behind his desk. It looked like mom, but older.”

The gears turned in Sofia’s head and she made a disgusted face, “You think he got with our mom because she looked like his own mother?!”

“I think that, yes,” Saria confirmed, looking equally disgusted. “Just thinking about him makes me sick. I’m almost glad for the Ebb.”

“Let’s not get into that discussion… We should look for Jennifer, it shouldn't be too hard, it's mostly Exidians here.”

Saria looked around, and it was Pareth who tapped on her shoulder and pointed toward a corner of the grand hall. “Oh, yep, Pareth found her I think, I saw some blonde hair in the sea of white locks and hats.”

Sofia looked that way but couldn’t see any human woman. The Exidians were shorter on average and Jennifer was quite tall, but the blue-skinned people also almost all wore high hats, hindering the view. She checked through Pareth’s vision, surprised by how restricted it was through his helmet, and indeed saw the tanned blonde teacher sitting in a corner, digging into a plate of cured meat by herself. Her robe showed an outrageous amount of skin and she kept a huge sheathed sword propped up against her side.

How fitting. Some people never change.

“That’s her, yes. Unmistakable,” Sofia told Saria.

“Great, let’s say hi, she can’t possibly be worse than our joke of a father.”

They weaved through the crowd, making their way to the corner of the hall where Jennifer ate by herself, seeing them approach, the woman set the plate of meat back on the banquet table and licked the last bits of grease off of her fingers.

“Ay, I figured this was comin’ for me at some point,” Jennifer said to herself as she seized them up, “Let’s take this outside,” she told the sisters before they could say anything. She stood up, grabbing her sword, and walked around the table to leave by the closest window-door leading to a side-terrasse.

Saria and Sofia nodded to each other and followed her outside. Pareth was too large to walk through the door so he teleported after them and closed the door behind him. The atmosphere outside was a bit cold but without wind, the sun was already gone, leaving behind a beautiful starry sky.

Jennifer stood before the silent trio, lit by the light escaping from the party inside. She had a curious expression that Sofia couldn’t quite read. Hands on her hips, she opened her mouth, “I didn’t want to believe it at first, but I have to now, don’t I? Guess that useless daughter o’ mine managed to reproduce after all.”