In a dense forest, an angry griffin's screeches could be heard, but unable to locate its prey through the thick branches, the demon eventually left in search of better prey.
Deep under the shadowy bushes, a black oval shook, and two heads popped out.
"Pfffft!"
Ciel pulled himself out of the pit that had formed from the crash landing, spitting the dirt out of his mouth. Erin, who had opted for a bruise on his mouth instead of a mouth full of dirt and sand, sat up and shook the sand roughly from his long ponytail.
"Where are we?"
"Pffftblblblbl. Hell if I know. Can you fly us back?"
Erin sadly raised the wings that had broken from the fall.
"..."
Ciel stared at it speechlessly, his mana senses roaming up and down the battered bones, then over their own unharmed limbs.
It seemed like his brother, who had no such wings in their past life, had taken his wings as extra riot shields.
He couldn't help but ask a stupid question.
"..Doesn't it hurt?"
Theresa, who had just phased her head into the wing to examine the broken bones, replied sarcastically.
/Of course it does, the bones that barely healed last time broke again. Delmira said that when extra appendages that don't appear in human form are hidden, they stay in the same state as they were when hidden. Hurry up and put those wings into a splint before making him put them away. At least they won't be moved carelessly when stored away./
Ciel immediately got up.
"Right away ma'am. Brother, don't move anything."
It was a good thing he had an abundance of medical supplies in his storage ring. As he wrapped Erin's wing and poured some basic healing potions on it, Ciel really wished that he had more effective potions rather than just blood replenishing potions and common ointments.
Before leaving the city, he should have cashed in for more expensive potions!
After binding his brother's wings into two sizable zongzis, Ciel expanded his senses to the maximum range, finding nothing but thick greenery, and the large hole they had smashed into the ground.
"So… How are we getting back?"
\Big brother, how about you find some snakes to ask for directions?\
Erin shook his head.
"Our fall probably scared all the animals away. I don't even hear any birds."
Ciel bandaged his bitten fingers, giving an amused smile.
"Or maybe it was our screeching muffin."
It was a pity, if Erin hadn't stopped him, he could have ripped the thing's throat out.
His head was pressed down.
"Laughing now? I still haven't talked to you about your earlier actions yet?"
"Hehe."
Ciel laughed.
Seeing him laugh, even Theresa's anger flared up.
\Hey, even though I was still far away at that time, I could still see the amount of blood you used! If you ran out of mana, you would lose all that blood!\
"Exactly, even if we're in a fantasy world, you'll die from all that blood loss!"
"No, dying wasn't part of the plan, really."
Rather, he wanted the other party to die.
\Do you think I'll let it go because it wasn't part of the plan? How many times has things actually gone along with your plans?\
Ciel thought seriously.
"Many times, actually."
After all, didn't he prevent Cedric's novel death? And save the kids along with Dominic from the cult?
Theresa smacked him, her hand going through his head. Infuriated, she ordered.
\Big brother, smack him for me.\
Erin, also incensed, smacked the top of Ciel's head.
\...\
Theresa, who watched as the smack slowed down and became a gentle tap on the head, bounced up and down angrily.
\Argh, just wait until I come back!\
Ciel laughed, his remaining murderous intent slowly dissipating.
"I understand, I'll try my best not to do it again. So, how about we find some civilization first? Maybe we'll be lucky to meet some eves migrating to our territory or the other uncles and aunt on their way back. If not, our grandpa's a great mage. I'm sure he'll find us."
Erin sighed.
"You just want to take the opportunity to skip lessons right?"
Ciel spun around happily.
"Yep!"
…
Though they were children, trudging through a verdant forest wasn't hard. None of them had ever been through such a large virgin forest before, and everything seemed fresh—and to Ciel, fresh meant fun.
As night fell, Ciel's vision got better, and he took off his blindfold. Under the moonlight, his bright blue eyes glowed with a silvery tint, not unlike the blue moonstones embedded in the rooms of the Acyuta royal palace.
But not even good vision could beat a child's poor motor skills in an unfamiliar environment. Tripping over a root, he was met face to face with a gurgling stream.
"Whoa, look, this stream is so clear, I can even see the fish in it!"
Theresa, who had been phasing her head through a large rock on the ground, floated out.
\What are you talking about when you just fell ov—oooh, this is a clear stream!\
Erin climbed over the root.
"Stop fooling around, we need to—oh, food!"
He stuck in his hand, only for the colorful fish to instantly scatter.
Ciel laughed.
"Hahaha, you can't let the fish see you coming. Let me try!"
Splash.
Ciel frowned.
Splash splash.
Splash splash splash splash.
\Hahahahaha!\
Theresa tumbled around in the air.
The now drenched Ciel turned around. Covering his twitching mouth, Erin avoided his gaze.
Ciel grinned angrily, unwrapping his bandages.
Eventually, using his mana, he was able to roast a few colorful red and green fish.
Handing Erin a skewer with perfectly charred fish skin revealing milky white flesh, Ciel smiled, "Want to try?"
He waved another skewer in front of Theresa's doll.
"I would give you one, but unfortunately, you~ can't~ eat~"
\Grrrr…Just you wait.\
Theresa turned around and vanished into her doll.
What she can't see, can't hurt her.
***
***
Just like this, the trio fooled around happily for several days.
Until Ciel stopped suddenly, staring blankly at the corpse of a bird Erin had just hunted for dinner. The blood, no, the mana, it was the same color as his own.
Taking off his blindfold, he looked around, Erin was off searching for some usable firewood after the rain, and Theresa had drifted off to explore other areas.
Hmmm.
He picked up the bird, half drained of its blood.
Looking closely, it wasn't the bird itself that was red, only the blood dripping down its body was the same shade as his mana.
Ciel looked around again, confirming that no one was near, and looked at the bloody bird.
His blue eyes flashed brightly.
Chomp.
He sucked at the wound. Through his mana senses, he could feel the mana saturated blood flowing through his body, eventually coalescing into a warm feeling in the base of his head.
Just as he was about to poke at the feeling, a 'thud' came from behind him.
Erin, who had just returned, stared at his family's youngest, who stared back in shock, a bloody bird still in his mouth.
Mini theater:
While Ciel was testing out his theory, Erin, who was shifting through bushes, looked up.
Erin: I feel a disturbance in the force.
Theresa: \The silence is too loud.\
Arriving back at camp, it was indeed Ciel causing trouble.