Aron ignored the voice coming from the front. "You sure got a sharp hearing considering your age.. tch..!!" This time both mother and daughter pair laughed out, making the man click his tongue and shut up for the moment. "I cast the spell alright. The first time, everything went booom! Next time, nothing happened. I mean something happened, like all other items except the skull disappeared." 

Rumi was listening to the boy carefully. "Hmm? You mean that only skull was left, everything else was consumed by the spell?" "Yeah, it seems like that. I left the apparatus like that since the spell failed. But now even that skull went somewhere." Aron scratched his head in embarrassment since it wasn't exactly easy to lose track of a human skull. 

"Went somewhere?" "Ahem.. actually, I was sleeping in my bed. Last night it was there, today morning... it was gone. I can't tell if it went somewhere or someone took it away." Rumi exaggeratedly slapped her forehead with her palm. "You are such a clumsy brat!" 

Even Ava found it interesting to stop and listen to this fascinating story of an escaping skull. Aron can only smile awkwardly, waiting for this flustering moment to pass. 

"Now are you here to buy another set?" "Precisely." "I will suggest you wait for two to three days and figure things out about your missing skull problem. If it's taken away by someone then it's not much of a big deal. But.. at times it might happen that not all items are accepted by a spell at once. If this is the case then you might have a bigger issue to deal with." 

"How so?" "Hmm.. from the items you ordered with us, you must have done some kind of summoning. And at your level, it must be a basic skeleton from the necro realm. In that case, it might be that your little skeleton had been summoned already and is possibly on a free run." 

A shocked Aron almost slipped down from his pedestal. "Even that can happen?" "That's why people around you must have warned you to keep this spell casting business for later when you gain proper knowledge. You better deal with it. In case your little summon causes some unexpected damage, you might get your sorry ass busted." 

"Ahem... Thanks for all your help, Mrs. Rumi. I am extremely grateful." The boy had leaped to the ground, bowing to the lady multiple before turning around and running away. "I will see you in a while, madam!!" Ava heard his voice from distance, cracking up in laughter. 

"This guy.. haha.." "He is funny." "Sure." "Even so, he is a dedicated kid." Ava smirked and returned to her work. "Yeah, why not. His dedication to taking sneaks at your chest was truly commendable." "Hahaha.. what's wrong with that? Every boy loves.. ahemm... Some boys do love big chest more than anything else." 

Rumi tactfully changed her words midway through her sentence, when she noticed her daughter's eyes begin to narrow. "Why are you always sulking little lady? You even got a boyfriend, what more do you want? Are you unsatisfied in some way?" This time her question was with a serious undertone.

Ava realized that and sighed. For a few seconds, she remained silent, shifting away from the glass bottles on the racks. "I don't know. Every time I think about it, I find myself to be the only mediocre one amongst my group."

"Julia got the leadership skills, she has a great clan behind her, apart from necromancy, she could already cast support magic and now recently she developed even fire magic tendencies. Sophie can do necromancy, has pure fire magic powers that even let her do alchemy. Even Hestia can cast two different types of magic and not to mention her textual knowledge is one of the best among our peers. And Hera... Haah.. she is just out of this world." 

"Among them, I am the only one who can only cast necromancy magic, that's it. I got nothing else. Neither have I got any talent in other departments, nor am I good with books... I might even be the worst when it comes to looks as well. Why am I like this? I have both of you as my parents, and even then, how can I turn out to be just mediocre?" 

Rumi didn't interrupt the girl, letting her pour out all the grievances in her heart. Yet, when she saw a trace of tear develop in the corners of her eyes, she can't restrain herself anymore. Reaching the girl, she immediately gave her a tight hug, patting her head affectionately. 

"Everyone is born different, my baby. And who says that you need to have more than one talent to be successful in life? What about your father? Also, as I tell you so many times, you are still very young, little one. Who knows? You might have another latent ability waiting to be uncovered?" 

"You are such a brat, girly." Both mother-daughter pair, heard footsteps approaching them. The man from the front counter had stepped inside. Clicking his tongue he began unbuttoning his baggy shirt. "Only weaklings rely on their fate to achieve success in life, strong ones use their own two hands to forge a fate of their liking hahahaha..."

Saying that he let his robe fall to the ground. Ava had seen this same scene uncountable times in her life, but the earlier speech from the man-caused this view to be extra powerful. A large gash had cut across his chest from his upper left shoulder to his lower right belly. Along with that major scar, he had multiple other wounds that had healed up with time, leaving their marks on his body.

It was a tragic sight to see. But right now, Ava can only feel the impressive gallantry displayed by him. "Don't cry about it, little girl. You are my daughter, Undead Genaral Hans's daughter. Have the guts to bust through every obstacle in your life. For everything else, you will have your father standing right behind." He had a large valiant smile on his face, like a guy who just can't be kept down. 

"Hmm!" Ava ran and jumped in the man's arm, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, father. I will try my best." "Hahaha.. that's all is required my gem. Who cares about a little magic ability? Just punch through everything." He patted her back. 

"Hehe.." Ava chuckled. Rumi too wiped the tears from her cheeks, a big smile surfacing on her face. "Well, all that's good. It's just there's nothing father can do about your chest.. ahhh hahahah.." Hans received a heavy punch to his abdomen before the girl left the store huffing her non-existent chest in fury. 

"You just had to destroy the atmosphere." *Sigh* Rumi returned to take over Ava's job in the store when she was held from behind. "It's okay. She is too young to be all serious. As long as she doesn't develop a complex, everything is fine." 

***

Aron was running through the corridors of the slave quarters like his butt was on fire. Mrs. Rumi's words had scared his guts. If it was true that a rogue skeleton was on the run, it will certainly cause a big scandal. He was not important enough to be in the middle of any controversy just yet. 

"Where are you boy?" He was going through all the public places, searching every nook at cranny. Thankfully, all the slaves were on their duties. "Wait! Genius!" A voice made him stop in his tracks. "Ms. Ava?" He turned around to find the familiar face of the robust girl. 

"Call me Ava. Are you planning to go through each and every corner in this building?" With a light jog, the girl was already next to him. "Ahem.. isn't that's how we are supposed to do the search?" 

Ava shook her head. "Bring me to where you did the casting. I will help you." "You? It's okay, Ava. I can do it, no issues." He was still a bit awkward around this girl since he didn't have much interaction with her when they were in the woods. Calling Julia by her name came naturally to him, but it was different for Ava. 

From his expression, she can tell that too. "No need to be so stringent. We can be called friends. Anyhow, I got nothing else to do, so I will help you." At her insistence, Aron gave up on his reluctance. "Then you have my thanks. Please follow me. I did it in my room, I will bring you there." 

They walked together towards his room. Ava didn't know what came over her but after her father's speech, he wanted to be here and help the boy. Was it because she found him similar to herself? Maybe, she herself didn't know that.

"Well if you look at it from another perspective, it's quite a feat that you have achieved." Aron raised his eyebrows, unable to understand what she was hinting at. Looking at his confused face, the girl continued. "I mean, if it's really like what mom postulated and you did the casting in only the second attempt, then you are quite a lucky guy." 

"Haha.. ohh... Let's hope that I am not that lucky, for now." Ava chuckled as they reached his room. "You must have locked your door, am I right?" "Yeah, but robberies in our quarters is a regular business. No one even pays attention to it. Every three doors you might find a guy who can pick these locks with his eyes closed." 

"Ohh.. didn't know that." "That place, in the corner." Aron pointed to the place and Ava promptly walked over, getting on her knees. There was nothing out of ordinary over there, except a very small powdery substance spread over the area. "Did you check your belongings? Is there anything else that is missing along with the skull?" 

Aron shook his head firmly. "I and my roommate did a thorough check. Everything is in place." Ava got to her feet, rubbing the powder on her index finger with her thumb. "Then did you use any type of bone dust in your casting?" 

He took some time to think over it but ultimately responded negatively. Ava didn't waste any further time over it, moving out of the small room. "Let's go, we have a skeleton on the run." Aron only noticed the fine sheen of white powder after Ava pointed it out. He ran after her, closing his door. 

4 hours later, both of them sat on the lawn surrounding the slave quarters, breathing heavily. "It's quite a cunning one. Bastard sure hid at a difficult place." Ava fell on her back, placing her hand on her knees undulating chest. Beside her, Aron had cold sweat over his face. Even both of them together can't find the guy. In case it does something bad, everything will come down on him. 

He didn't doubt the ability of the mages of the academy to trace the summoner with the help of the summoned entity. "Is it possible to turn the spell off somehow? Like is there anything that can be done from distance?" 

"Nothing. You are supposed to establish a contract with the undead creature. After that, it can move between the realms at your call." Aron knew about the contract part as well, since there was a detailed description for that in his grimoire as well. 

"Sorry that I couldn't help you much. Now it's time for my classes, so I will have to say goodbye." Ava jumped back to her feet, shaking hands with the boy. "It's okay. You were a big help. I will rest for some time and they do another round, just in case." 

"Yeah, that's better. Skellies are usually very slow and they fall lazy in the day if they don't have any specific command. So in all possibilities, your summon is probably still in the building, resting and hiding somewhere. See if you can find it today, otherwise, I will come to help you again once, tomorrow." 

Aron looked at the sweating girl and somehow she looked even more attractive like this. "Thanks, Ms. Ava. You are a lifesaver indeed." She didn't fail to notice the appreciation in his eyes and genuinely felt happy. "It's Ava. See you around!" Saying that the girl turned on her feet, leaving with a wave of her hand.

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