Family (Bonus Chapter for Tips)

"This morning, she went out with Mr. Atherlaid. She said they wouldn't be back for three days."

Xifa rose to his feet and looked his sister over. "Did something happen?"

Helibel's expression shifted before she said, "Come with me."

They went to the teaching cottage. Xifa watched his sister close the door, then lower her voice. "Something happened to my friends."

"Your friends?"

"Amanqi, Tiness, and Yelika."

Xifa knew Amanqi was the son of Hal, the grain merchant. Hal and Bison had been friends for years. Amanqi was a year younger than his sister, a boy with few opinions of his own who often followed Helibel's lead.

Tiness was Chief Kaoxi's youngest daughter. She was the same age as Helibel, and they had known each other since childhood. They were best friends who told each other everything.

As for Yelika...

"Who is Yelika?" Xifa had never heard of her.

"She moved here last month. Yes, after you left."

Helibel quickly said, "Her family is Mr. Kaoxi's neighbor. I met her through Tiness. She's a child full of strange ideas."

A child?

Sister, you're not that old yourself, are you?

"What did they do?" Xifa went straight to the heart of the matter.

Helibel heavily uttered two words. "A ritual!"

"Yelika's family seems to be a branch of some ancient family, and they have an old item in their collection. Yesterday, Yelika took it out and suggested holding a ritual to summon something interesting."

"The moment I saw that thing, I felt uncomfortable. I sternly told them to stop this nonsense. I warned them that rituals, especially occult rituals, weren't things to be tampered with casually. They could bring unpredictable danger."

"Then I went home."

Xifa remembered that when his sister had returned last night, she really had looked unwell.

"What