Kael returned home before the end of the afternoon. The journey through the portal was just as simple as the trip there, and when he crossed the mansion's final corridor, he realized that nobody seemed particularly interested in the fact that he had returned. One employee greeted him, two maids passed by carrying clean clothes, and Umbra emerged from the wall just to confirm that he was still alive before disappearing again.
Sylphie was in the garden when he found her, sitting near the fountain while watching Elion adjust a metal structure attached to the large testing tank. The former Reference floated above the salt water, waiting with a patience that disappeared whenever Elion took more than a few minutes to finish something.
Sylphie looked at Kael as soon as he approached. "So? Did you manage to visit your grandmother without secretly training?"
"I did," Kael replied, sitting beside her. "She also asked about my training."
"And did she approve of my decisions?"
