While Julius was able to form a connection with the spirit and seemed to tentatively trust him, there were a few complications. The first one was that the spirit only seemed to trust him and accept his presence. When Arlen and Walter approached, the spirit went back into crazy mode and tried to shoot them in the face with blasts of mana.

The other two quickly realized that their presence was unwanted and unnecessary, so they basically thrust the responsibility onto Julius.

The other issue was that the spirit didn’t want to go and see Lord Yoshu and his daughter. Julius had already tried to explain the situation to the spirit. Telling it that it was at risk of dying or getting destroyed by its own mana. He also tried to explain how a bond might help matters. He even had Drasil help him with it. But either the spirit didn’t understand what he was trying to say, or they really didn’t want to do it.

He probably spent almost an hour talking and reassuring the spirit, and after a long time of convincing, they agreed to at least meet the girl. However, they also had a condition. They wanted Julius to come along with them.

Julius really didn’t want to accept, preferring to stay away from stuff like this. But he also felt bad for the spirit. Its entire existence was riddled with pain and constantly on the brink of self-destruction. Perhaps he empathized with that part.

He was also slightly convinced by its adorable appearance. When it wasn’t trying to kill or shoot anyone with dense blasts of mana, it was quite the cute little thing. He didn’t know if it had a preferred gender like Drasil or Seraphyne, but he got a feeling that it was a girl.

He tried to ask whether or not it was, but they didn’t seem to understand his question. So Julius just decided to start thinking of it as a girl to make things simpler.

He eventually agreed to her condition, but it was mainly due to Drasil and Seraphyne’s insistence. He wasn’t that surprised by Drasil’s stance; it seemed like the little guy loved to help people. But Seraphyne was usually indifferent to these kinds of things, and so it was a bit unexpected for her to actually speak up and ask Julius to lend a hand. Perhaps it was because it was a spirit in need of help, or she empathized with the spirit’s problem.

Seraphyne was also a dual-nature spirit. But maybe because she had a powerful father, she didn’t experience such things and was taught how to deal with her unique nature early on. This spirit clearly didn’t have the same luxuries. Her mana manipulation abilities were naturally strong, but that was because she was a spirit. Her existence came with certain privileges and instincts. But her ability to use her mana in complex and unintuitive ways wasn’t as developed.

Either way, it meant that the next time he found himself tagging alongside Walter and Arlen as they approached Clan Yoshu. The property was massive even from a distance; he could tell the clan held a lot of influence just from the sheer size of it.

Julius was holding onto the enchanted jar with both hands. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to mind the jar itself; it did a good job at helping her contain her mana on its own. But she insisted that only he could carry her. She still seemed to hold a grudge against Walter and Arlen.

It would also seem that the clan was expecting their arrival. They were quickly led into the estate by a group of small guards and were escorted by one of the clan’s retainers. There were many interested gazes at the jar in Julius’s arms, but that was about it.

He took this time to examine the clan a little more closely. They walked past a group of children who were training with an older man, working through some sword forms. The children ranged in age from five to his own age. Either these older children hadn’t chosen to go to a sect, or perhaps they weren't allowed to. He didn’t really know how that worked in Corvus.

Julius also saw several staff members running around doing errands and other tasks. From what he could tell, the clan was well maintained, and he didn’t sense any weird auras around. Everyone seemed content. He did spot a few people keeping an eye on them from a distance. It was quite far away, at the edge of his perception, but he could feel their gazes tracking the three of them.

Though they were inside the clan’s estate, a little precaution was expected. As long as they weren’t making any moves on him, then he didn’t care.

They weren’t taken to a room or an office. Interestingly, they were taken to a large garden. It was a beautiful garden too. Enormous hedges that shone with life mana and were carefully tended so they looked like various mythical creatures. He took in a deep breath and let the powerful and soft waves of life mana infuse into his skin.

The trees were clearly unique, too; several of them looked like they were made of pure silver, their surfaces sparkling in the sun, and the colorful flora all around the garden. His mana senses were in overdrive as he tracked all the various sources of mana. He wasn’t an herbalist or anything of the like, but he could tell that almost everything in this garden was a valuable natural treasure.

He could have sworn he saw something that felt like the Radiant Flame Berry he ate before he left the Burning Sun Sect. It was a different color, this one green instead of the crimson red of the one he ate, but the feeling he got from it was similar.

There is no way a valuable affinity treasure was sitting out in the open like this, right? He asked himself.

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He was brought out of his thoughts when Arlen bumped him on the shoulder. Apparently, their escort had said something, but in his appreciation of the garden, he’d missed it entirely.

Fortunately, this seemed to only amuse the man escorting them.

Not long after, they walked into a small open area with an elevated pergola overlooking the garden. Sitting beneath this pergola was an older man who looked to be in his mid-forties. He had a neatly trimmed beard speckled with a few gray hairs and wore a simple black robe. In his hand was a book, and his other hand was a cup of tea.

“Lord Kaito, Mr. Walter, and Arlen have arrived,” their escort said with a polite bow.

Lord Kaito looked up from his book, placed his tea down, and nodded. “Thank you, Renel. I will take it from here.”

Renal bowed again and quickly left the four of them alone. The quiet rustling of the leaves and branches was the only sound for the next minute. Lord Kaito seemed fine, just gazing at them. There wasn’t any hostility, but Julius found the man’s gaze settled on him for several long seconds before looking at the jar holding the spirit, then finally glancing back at Walter.

“Walter Gale, I presume?”

“Yes, my Lord Yoshu.”

“You can call me Kaito when we’re here. It can get a bit confusing when most of my family has the same name,” the older man said with a weary sigh, as if he’d explained this very same thing countless times in the past.

“Understood, Lord Kaito,” Walter said with a polite bow.

Kaito Yoshu shook his head, seemingly resigned to Walter’s formal behavior. “Do you happen to be related to House Gale?”

Walter grimaced ever so slightly. “Distantly, but I don’t talk with them anymore.”

Kaito Yoshu nodded as if he expected as much. He also seemed to understand it was a touchy topic and nodded before moving on. “Is this the spirit I asked for?” he asked, pointing at the jar in Julius’s hands.

Walter nodded, “It is.”

Kaito reached out his hands toward Julius and the jar, his intentions clear.

Julius bowed deeply, ensuring he was as polite as possible. “I apologize, Lord Kaito, but I promised the spirit that I would personally determine whether the person bonding with her is suitable. In this case, it would be your daughter.”

He saw both Arlen and Walter tense upon hearing this. He hadn’t explicitly told either of them that he’d go this far, but he was going to keep his word. He also thought that Kaito Yoshu appeared to be an understanding man, at least he hoped that he was.

Walter and Arlen didn’t seem to agree with his methods, and he felt Arlen come right behind him, laughing it off.

“I’m sorry, Lord Kaito. We hired the boy to help with the spirit, but he doesn’t speak for it or for us,” Arlen said insistently.

Walter also seemed slightly frustrated by Julius’s actions, and he could feel the man subtly nudging him in the back.

However, Julius held firm. He made direct eye contact with Kaito, letting the man know that he was earnest. And while the man himself was a Tier 5, he appeared to be taking Julius quite seriously. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge either of the two other men. Rather, he waved them off.

“It’s fine,” he said to them and turned to Julius. “I understand where you are coming from. But I have already purchased this spirit for my daughter. And so I need to verify that it is indeed the genuine article before I present it to her.”

Julius winced. “That’s another issue I wanted to tell you about.”

“Issue?” Kaito seemed a lot more wary when he mentioned this.

“Yes, it would seem the spirit is extremely volatile. Without constant assistance, it will inevitably explode. I worry that it won’t make for a good bond for your daughter,” Julius said honestly.

He felt both of the men behind glare at his back, but he didn’t care. They should have been more honest with Lord Kaito from the beginning.

“Oh?” the older man asked with a questioning look toward the two merchants.

Walter seemed to have prepared an excuse, but Kaito slashed his arm with a warning look, then looked back at Julius with a warmer smile. “I am already aware of this possibility. Spirits of dual affinities have often been observed to be unstable creatures. But thank you for being straightforward and honest with me,” he said and glanced at the two other men.

“I typically don’t expect merchants to freely admit a merchandise’s defects when they are selling it to someone. It’s nothing against them, but it is a business after all. Regardless, I appreciate your honesty. What is your name?”

“It’s Julius.”

“Julius, huh?” The man rolled his name over his tongue as if it were something interesting. “If you insist on personally approving the suitability of my daughter, then I don’t mind. I take it that you managed to calm this spirit down, and it has a positive relationship with you?”

Julius shrugged. “I’m not sure. I only met her last night. She has an instinctive understanding of her own situation and seems willing to explore options to survive, but I can’t say that we’re friends.”

“The fact that she trusts you to approve of a potential partner says enough,” Kaito said with a soft smile.

There was some truth to the man’s words. Though he didn’t mention that it was mainly because of Drasil that she accepted his help, not because of him.

The older man placed his book down on the table and stood up. “Come with me, we might as well get right to it.”

Julius bowed his head and got up to follow the man. Walter and Arlen also made a move to follow, but Kaito Yoshu turned his head back and stared expressionlessly at them. “Not you two. You may leave,” he said dismissively and took a bag out of his storage ring, tossing it over to Walter.

“That has everything we agreed upon. If you still find it not to your satisfaction, you can reach out to Renel or another member of my clan.”

Walter caught the bag, an awkward look on his face, as if he didn't know how to handle this dismissal. However, a slightly relieved expression appeared on his face. As if he was glad to be excused. He took the bag and, alongside Arlen, quickly went back the way they came.

Julius, on the other hand, saw that Kaito was waiting for him to follow him deeper into the estate. Not seeing many other choices, he shrugged and followed him. He was curious to see the girl and the reason for all of this.