“Are you finished with your nighttime visit?” Sekh asked teasingly when I came back from talking with Minerva. 

Putting both my hands on her cheeks, I began to gently tug at her face. 

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun. You want to join next time?”

“Sure,” Sekh replied through her temporary speech impediment. “Let’s invite Zeph along while we’re at it.”

“Genius plan,” I remarked. “We should start as soon as possible.”

Pulling the blanket over ourselves, Sekh and I cuddled with one another before peacefully drifting into slumber. 

The following morning, I woke up to the typical sight of Sekh nestling her face on my shoulder. Grinning happily, I reached my hands towards her ears and rubbed them a bit before carefully extricating myself from her grasp. 

Arriving downstairs, I was greeted by the sight of servants already busy at work preparing breakfast. But apart from them, no one else had woken up at this hour yet. 

It didn’t help either that the servants were all nervous of my presence, none of them having mustered up the courage to speak to me. 

Sighing, I decided to tell the servants that I would be out walking for a little while. Exiting the Considias’ house, I casually strolled about on the streets amidst the brisk morning air. 

The time was currently quite early in the morning, the sun only having begun its ascent leaving the city still void of light. As a result, there was a distinct lack of people in the streets. Taking advantage of the vacant streets, I let myself sink into thought. 

“Now how would Minerva’s siblings react to me?” I wondered. 

Her parents had certainly been generous with me, possibly too generous. But there’s no guarantee that her siblings would share the same mindset. And even if I don’t take a romantic route with Minerva, I’d still like to be in good standing with her family since we’re friends. 

For a little while, I pondered about how I should introduce myself to Minerva’s siblings. How polite should I be? Should I let someone speak for me? Well I think being polite won’t hurt, but I’ll have to temper it so there isn’t a big gap between my performance and my regular behavior. And I definitely should be proactive in the matter. 

Coming back to the house, I noticed that my brief outing was nowhere near enough time for someone else to get up. Shrugging, I ascended up the stairs and headed towards my room to retrieve my spear. 

Inside my shared room, Sekh was busy hugging my pillow, probably using it as a substitute for me. 

“Nyaah~. Azel, touch me right there,” she murmured as she held the pillow tightly against her chest. 

“Pervert,” I muttered as I retrieved my spear from my stash of belongings. 

Naturally I went to caress Sekh’s head momentarily before proceeding with my training. But the moment I arrived downstairs, the Considia household’s servants began to eye me with extreme caution. 

A young human girl serving as a maid was the only one who was bold enough to ask me what I was doing with the spear in my hand.

“Excuse me sir Azel, do you require anything of us?”

The way they were approaching me was as though I was about to commit a robbery. 

Sighing, I tapped the haft of my spear against my shoulder. 

“I’m just going out to the yard to do some practice. So you don’t have to look at me like I’m going to kill someone.”

“O-of course,” the young girl stuttered. “W-would you like u-us to help you with that?”

“There’s no need,” I said with a disarming smile. “Besides, you’re already working hard as it is.”

On my way out to the courtyard, I glanced a few looks of relief amongst the staff as well as some confused looks.

With that out of the way, I continued with my plan. Outside in the yard, I swung and thrust my spear in a series of practice motions. Throwing in some footwork and breathing exercises, I continued my workout for around an hour. During that time, Quintus also came out to the yard to do some stretches, though he made no effort to strike up a conversation with me. 

Having felt the sufficient strain in my muscles, I closed off my practice with a few cooldown stretches before returning to the house. 

“Finished?” Quintus asked when I had concluded my exercise. 

“Yeah, you too?” I asked in response.

“Not quite,” he replied. “You mind waiting for a bit until I finish? I think it would be nice for us to go to the baths together.”

“Sure,” I answered. “I’m a bit surprised you didn’t tell me earlier.”

“Well I didn’t want to bother you,” he told me. “You were pretty deep in focus just a while ago.”

“Thanks in that case,” I responded. 

After stashing my spear away upstairs, I returned down to the yard to wait for Quintus. Once he finished, the two of us went out towards the bathhouse.

Said bathhouse was located within the inner district by the castle, most likely the establishment was built for the noble families in the area. Built from brick with a white stone layer atop, the bathhouse was clearly one of high quality. This was only confirmed when I entered the building where I was greeted by servants who took my clothes when I had undressed myself. 

Since Quintus and I wanted to take a warm bath, we first headed towards the heating room. There, we let our bodies become accustomed to the heat by immersing ourselves in air heated to a comfortable temperature. Once we were ready, the two of us proceeded into the hot bathes, tendrils of steam drifting about in the room. 

“Feels like heaven,” I murmured happily as I soaked my body in the hot water.

“Of course it does,” Quintus replied. “The water in this bath is heated with the aid of a fire mage after all.”

“Talk about decadent,” I snorted. “How much money goes into this bath anyways. It’s not as though there’s an entrance fee to finance this.”

“They only let you in because you were with me,” Quintus pointed out. “This place is reserved for the noble families of the city and their guests. After all, it’s our tax money that maintains this place.”

“So is the fire mage worth it?” I quipped. 

“I’ve convinced myself she is,” Quintus said while shrugging. “I mean it does feel nice.”

“Yeah, but it’s already a well maintained bathhouse,” I argued. “Having a fire mage occasionally even out the flames probably doesn’t produce tangible results.”

“I’ll just consider having a fire mage as extra defense,” Quintus joked.

The two of us continued soaking for a while longer, the warm water easing our body for the day that followed. After which, we stepped out of the baths, stayed in the heating room for a bit, then went to retrieve our clothing from the servants. Fortunately I had changed my clothes before so I wasn’t donning sweaty fabrics after my bath. 

When we arrived back at the house, both Quintus and I noticed that everyone but the servants were gone. 

“You think they’re at the baths?” I asked Quintus. 

“Probably,” he answered. “It’s probably going to take a while now that I think about it. My wife has a habit of doting on younger girls. And I mean in a motherly way.”

“Thanks for specifying,” I replied. 

Just like he had said, the four women came back quite a while later. Sekh was chatting happily with Cornelia while Zeph and Minerva seemed mildly embarrassed. 

“Dear, have you embarrassed our daughter again?” Quintus sighed. “I thought that I was on duty for today.”

“I did no such thing,” Cornelia replied in fake outrage. “I was just tending to our daughter's friend like a good mother would.”

“So what exactly happened?” I asked curiously. 

“She helped us wash our hair,” Sekh said cheerily. 

“That’s it?” I wondered. “Doesn’t seem like that big of an issue.”

“She also gave us advice about love,” Sekh added. 

“So that’s why those two are pretending to be cherries,” I said while gesturing at Zeph and Minerva. 

Hearing that, both of them turned away from me, which only provoked laughter from the rest of us. After we had more or less calmed down, we could finally proceed with breakfast, which consisted of a rich fish porridge. 

A while after breakfast, Sekh, Zeph, Cornelia, and I left the house to go exploring the city. Well Cornelia was there as our guide. On the other hand, Minerva decided to stay at home to study while Quintus was busy with his work as a bureaucrat. 

“And over there is the fountain of Pymeria,” Cornelia said while pointing at a white stone fountain. 

“Looks pretty ordinary,” Zeph remarked. “Well it is big, but still ordinary.”

“That’s the point,” Cornelia replied with a wry smile. “Even though there have been plans to renovate it into something greater, the city has never gone along with it. Why you may ask? It’s because the fountain of Pymeria is a symbol of Tyros’ humble beginnings. Because it was once a simple well that supported the little village of Tyros so long ago. And even if the fountain is fed from water outside of the original well, it still holds meaning in the hearts of the city’s people.”

“If only that sense of modesty could extend to the baths,” I joked. “Or maybe the fountain is fed by water maintained by a water mage?”

“It’s actually a team of water mages,” Cornelia laughed. “But in our defense, it’s fed by the city’s whole water system so it’s not as though we have a water mage working exclusively to maintain this fountain.”

After sight seeing until lunch, Cornelia promptly led us down towards the docks. There, she pulled us into a modest shack which had a strong salty smell. But to my surprise, the interior of the shop was surprisingly well kept, the chairs and tables looking as though they were cleaned regularly. 

“Oh, nice to see you here, lady Cornelia,” an old human male said while he was ordering around the staff. “And it looks like you’ve brought guests as well.”

“Is the catch fresh today, Barro?” Cornelia asked the man.

“It is,” he replied. “We just got a big haul of oysters in as well.”

Having seated us down at a table, Cornelia directed our attention to a wooden sign at the front of the building. On the sign was a list of dishes available for the day along with their cost. And naturally, Sekh was practically drooling with excitement. 

Around five minutes after sitting down, the four of us managed to decide what we wanted to eat, the process having been greatly accelerated by Cornliea’s advice. 

The decision was for the four of us to share a large platter of oysters, a grilled monkfish, and biscuits.

“You eat it raw?” I asked while holding up a shucked oyster. 

“Yup,” Sekh answered before slurping up the bivalve as a demonstration. 

Mimicking her, I pressed my mouth against the sides of the shell and sucked the blob of meat into my mouth. Combined with the acidity of the lemon, the rich and salty flavor of the oyster permeated the wall of my mouth. 

“That’s really good,” I remarked as I picked up another oyster. 

“This is the best seafood establishment in the city for a reason,” Cornelia replied. 

“How come the business isn’t trying to expand then?” Zeph asked. 

“It’s a family business that prides itself on quality,” Cornelia explained. “Even if the restaurant becomes bigger, the fishermen can only haul in so much at a time.”

By the time that we finished eating, everyone was wearing a look of content on their face. Sekh was particularly full and requested that I lend my shoulder to her as we walked back home. Yet when we came back, we were greeted by the sight of unfamiliar servants rushing about with luggage and pack animals. 

“Looks like Felix and Julia are back,” Cornelia said happily. “I’ll introduce you to them right away.”

Upon entering the house, I saw two shorter versions of Minerva. Both inherited their mother’s signature silver hair as well as the red eyes of both their parents.

“Welcome home you two,” Cornelia greeted them warmly before pulling them into an embrace. 

“Mom, we’re not kids anymore you know?” the young woman said indignantly. 

“Julia, I don’t think she cares,” the young man pointed out. “Even if we’re magisters of Tyros, she would still consider us kids without a doubt.”

“Sharp as always, Felix,” Cornelia applauded the youth before letting both of them go. “Besides, you two are only in small administrative positions out in the countryside as of now.”

“We know,” they both replied.

“Anyways, how about you introduce yourselves to our guests here?” Cornelia suggested. 

“I’m Felix Considia,” the young man said curtly.

“And I’m Julia Considia,” the young woman added. “On behalf of myself and my brother, I would like to say that it’s an honor to meet you. Right brother?”

“Absolutely,” Felix replied with a startled look, realizing that he had made a bad show of etiquette. 

“Please don’t mind my son,” Cornelia told us. “He’s a bit rude, but he means well.”

“It’s not an issue,” I said amiably before reaching my hand out to Felix. “I’m Azel, one of Minerva’s friends in Damask as well as the hero of the spear. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he responded hesitantly. 

Both Felix and Julia looked at me with caution, concerned about how exactly their sister had befriended someone like me. 

“Well, who might the other two be?” Julia asked in an attempt to break the silence. 

“I’m Sekh, also Minerva’s friend,” the leopard girl added cheerily. “Well, the three of us and Minerva are a group of friends to be more accurate.”

“That makes sense,” Julia concluded. “You must be the friends that Minerva wrote about in her letters then.”

“That’s correct,” Cornelia confirmed. 

“And I’m Zeph,” the white haired archer said, having waited a bit too long to introduce herself. “It’s an honor to meet the family of my friend.”

For a little while, the five of us engaged in small talk to learn about each other’s backgrounds, Cornelia occasionally interjecting when needed. And although I made a pretty good presentation of myself, I could still sense a notable uneasiness from both of the siblings, though Julia was better at hiding her emotions than her brother. 

Despite this, I would consider things to be successful so far. Both Minerva’s parents have taken a liking towards me, while her younger siblings don’t hold any actual hostility. And this meant that I was now left with just the older brother, Cadmus. In order to maximize my chance of success, I went to consult Minerva on the matter after dinner. 

“Eccentric,” Minerva declared after I asked her about what her older brother was like.

“What do you mean by that?” I wondered. 

“He’s always got some strange idea or plan,” Minerva told me with a mix of irritation and admiration. “Sometimes he makes a breakthrough and sometimes we think that he’s lost it.”

“So a fun guy to be around,” I joked.

“Honestly, I think you’ll like him,” Minerva said sincerely. “And I think it’s important for you to know that he’s part of the committee that runs the government exams in Tyros.”

I blinked for a moment before responding. “Does that mean he’ll be part of the group that evaluates your performance?”

“Somewhat,” Minerva answered. “He won’t be allowed to directly evaluate me since we’re family. But he does evaluate the other participants. Though I don’t think he’s in great standing with most of the committee right now, considering how he was one of the few members that had petitioned to keep the examination date at its usual time.”

“I see,” I replied. “Anything I should know about him?”

“Not really,” Minerva responded. “Just be lenient when you meet him.”

The following day, I truly realized the extent of Minerva’s advice. 

Currently, I’m being embraced by a handsome, black haired southern elf even taller than Minerva. Worst of all, this guy is proclaiming how glad he is to meet his brother in law in front of the whole family. And did I forget to mention that he already has four wives and two kids? 

“This is a misunderstanding!” I declared while breaking free of his hold. “I’m just friends with your sister, I’m not even married to my actual girlfriend yet.”

“Dear, please refrain from doing anything more stupid,” one of his wives said while restraining him with the help of another wife. 

“Ah sorry, couldn’t help myself,” he said with an innocent smile. “Now where was I? Right. My name is Cadmus Considia and it’s a pleasure to meet my soon to be brother in law.”

“You want to be a soon to be deceased person?” Minerva retorted angrily while pointing her finger at Cadmus. “I can’t believe how stupid you are.”

"I'm sorry sis, but the only things that can strike me down are old age and overworking," Cadmus replied teasingly, causing imaginary steam to erupt from Minerva.

“C’mon everyone, calm down,” I said in an attempt to soothe the atmosphere. “Moving back on track, I’m Azel, a friend of Minerva. If the name sounds familiar to you, it’s because I’m the hero of the spear.”

To my surprise, Cadmus’ eyes glittered excitedly when he heard that I was the hero of the spear.

“Did I hear you right? Are you the hero of the spear?”

Taken aback by his outright friendliness, I hesitated for a split second.

“That’s right, I am.”

“That’s excellent,” he declared. “So Azel, would you like to be a part of the government exam committee?”

“Huh?” I uttered, my brain confused by the unusual turn of events. 

“Right, I should tell you the specifics,” Cadmus said eagerly. “Recently the venerable relic that was in charge of the martial portion of the exam has retired due to his health. And we’re still looking for suitable candidates as of now. So how about you apply?”

“Hold on, I need some time to think,” I replied. “But I’m honored by your suggestion nonetheless.”

“Well who better to conduct such a test than a hero?” he said wryly.