For the rest of the day, he spent his time with Ondine. They read through the magic textbooks until night-time. Sumara did not make much appearance other than at lunch and dinner.

“It looks like Miss. Sumara is looking busy and serious,” Lakshman had said once she departed after having dinner.

“Makes sense,” Indra said in an understanding tone. “She's preparing for the test like a diligent teacher.”

Once the dinner was over, they went to bed early. It was Lakshmi's call as she thought he needed extra time to relax.

“It's no good to wake up feeling all tense and all on an important day!” she said sternly when he protested,

So, he bid them goodnight and went to bed. As he lay in bed, he thought about looming day. He did not feel nervous, but could not shake away the feeling like something might not go right.

Suddenly, his Contract Seal suddenly glowed brightly and Tetra appeared and startled him.

“Tetra?!” he exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing out at this time?”

“Just out to keep you company, master,” she said cheerfully.

“And? How are you going to manage that? Oh, wait! Let me guess... by sleeping with me, right?”

“Yup!” she said happily.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation and said “Why am I not surprised?”

For the past month, Tetra randomly appeared in his bed. She was always found sleeping next to him while hugging his right arm. He and everyone gradually got used to it.

All, but Ondine. Sometimes when she comes into the house, she often expressed her displeasure.

“A minor should not be sleeping with a kid!” she would say repeatedly, but Tetra was insistent.

Now he sighed and said “Ondine won't be happy.”

“You don't want to, master?” Tetra asked and she looked slightly disappointed.

“W-Well...” he said and hesitated.

The truth is, he did not mind Tetra sleeping with him. He did not know why, but it felt comfortable. When he had told his parents, they had mixed reactions.

Indra was very cheeky and said some adult-like stuff, but got punched in the ribs by Lakshmi. She, on the other hand, was fine with her son sleeping with his Contracted Spirit.

Concerned, Indra had asked “Aren't you afraid what he might do? You know... that stuff...”

Lakshmi eyed him coldly and said “Don't expect everyone to behave like you. Besides, he is my son and is a gentlemen!”

Since then, it was just Ondine highly disapproving of him sleeping with Tetra. He did not even understand what there is to worry about. It was only later in life that he understood.

For now, he shrugged his shoulders indifferently. With that, they slept and he slept more peacefully than he normally would.

The next morning, he was greeted by loud banging sounds. Holding Tetra on his arm effortlessly, he made his way downstairs. There, in the dining room, the source of the noise was revealed.

“Ah! Good morning,” Indra said brightly when he noticed him.

Indra was holding a hammer at the ready while he held a wooden wall steady. He was obviously repairing the hole he created by getting blasted through it.

“Morning, dad,” Lakshman said groggily and he rubbed his eyes. Then he asked “You're already fixing it?”

“Of-course!” Indra said indignantly. “Otherwise, it'll look really funny.”

“Right...” Lakshman muttered and yawned.

Just then, Lakshmi entered the room carrying a plate of bread. There were two layers of bread with some sort of cream in between.

“Do you like them?” she asked anxiously.

“Yummy!” he said happily as he munched on them and she smiled.

A few minutes later, Sumara came downstairs and entered the dining room. She looked slightly tired as she continued to rub her eyes while she sat next to him.

“Good morning,” he greeted her with a bright smile.

“Morning,” she muttered before yawning. “So tired...”

“You didn’t sleep, Miss. Sumara?”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I was busy preparing for today’s test.”
He stared at her for a moment and apprehensively asked “I-Is what we’re doing so difficult?”

At his question, she laughed a little and said “It won’t be too difficult... well... it would depend entirely on you, I guess.”

With that, she turned and smiled at him. He could only smile nervously at her. Sometime later, they were all done and Mariana came to collect the plates.

“You two slept really long today,” Lakshmi said when she joined them at the table.

“I was up all night preparing,” Sumara said with a shrug.

“I think I slept on time. Didn’t we, Ondine?” he said and turned to look at Ondine.

“We certainly did, master,” she said and nodded at him.

“She went up to wake you up, but said you were sleeping or something,” Lakshmi said.

“You did?” Lakshman said in surprise. “How come you didn’t wake me up then?”

“Well...” Ondine began and hesitated a moment. Then said “You looked to be sleeping peacefully and I thought it’d be rude to wake you up, especially when you got a test in a few hours.”

“I see,” he said and nodded in understanding. “Well! I feel very refreshed thanks to that long sleep I had.”

“Good for you,” Lakshmi said, smiling.

“Easy for you to say!” Indra said irritably as he continued repairing the wall. “I’ve been here since early in the morning repairing this damned wall!”

“It’s your own fault for letting anger do the talking,” Lakshmi said coolly without turning to look at him.

“Right...” he muttered and looked unhappy.

“So...! When will I be taking the test, Miss. Sumara?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“We’ll be... setting out in an hour to take the test,” Sumara said as she stifled a yawn.

“We’re doing the test... outside?” he asked, puzzled by her statement.

“Precisely.”

“Why?”

“This test requires a large amount of energy, Magic Force and a lot of room. We certainly don’t want to be causing mayhem around built-in areas.”

“So... I’ll be destroying things then...?” he asked uncertainly.

“Isn’t that only natural for people wielding massive amount of energy like you,” she said dully. Then she shook her head and said “No... There won’t be any fighting or destroying involved.”

“What do you have in mind, Miss. Sumara?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” she said and winked at him, causing him to become surprised.

Then she got up and left, headed for her room. He could only blink in surprise at her departure. Then he turned to Ondine and with a puzzled face.

“What was that?” he asked uncertainly.

“Like she said, master... you’ll find out,” she said with a smile on her face.

Looking more puzzled, he looked around at them and asked “Am I forgetting something today?”

“What are you talking about? The only thing important today is that test!” Indra said quickly. “So! Don’t make a mess of it!”

“R-Right... but I feel I’m forgetting something,” Lakshman said uncertainly.

Indra, looked nervous, exchanged a quick look with Lakshmi. She nodded and said “Perhaps you’ll remember it after doing the test.”

“Are you sure, mum?” he asked suspiciously.

“Naturally!” she said confidently. “You’re in a test mood! You won’t be able to remember anything like that!”

“Oh...” he said and thought for a moment.

Lakshmi looked at Ondine for help. Ondine nodded in understanding and asked “Master, aren’t you forgetting to prepare the horses?”

“Ah!” Lakshman suddenly said and widened his eyes. “I need to prepare the saddles, reins and hooves! Otherwise, we can’t go out. Dad! Where are they?”

“They’re next to the shed door. You should see them one you open the door and look to the left.”

“Thanks!”

Thanking his father, he got off his chair and walked out of the room. After a few seconds of silence, they heard him walk out of the house and they let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“That was close!” Indra said as he wiped the sweat of his forehead. “I thought he’d guess it out!”

“I know right!” Ondine said as she leaned on her chair. “I thought we couldn’t surprise him, but it was fortunate that he totally forgot about that.”

“Thank goodness,” Lakshmi said in relief. “Now we can really surprise him once he comes back.”

“Yes! He’ll be so happy once he finds out!” Indra said and he winked at them.

While they talked about the event, he was outside preparing the horses happily.