Chapter 222 - Mansion

"And it's finalized," Gallienne voiced triumphantly, papers relating to the mansion were readied. Stood in the same room as before, Staxius waited patiently for her to finish.

"Payment wise, do you have a separate account?" he asked to which she nodded.

"Yes," hands reached for the desk where a card rested. "Alright," he smiled, mana infused with his card revealed, [202,988 Gold/500 Silver]. A touch of the card later, 180,000 Gold was transferred instantly. 'The bank sure has gotten efficient over the time,' he wondered whilst the Queen held out a pen.

"Sign here, here and here," she pointed to three spots, after which – Staxius gained ownership of the Queen's would be home. 

"I appreciate all you've done, majesty, it's a pleasure to have been able to clear all our past together. Let's head into a new tomorrow with a fresh start," the tone casual – what she thought was a grudge was quelled. The fact remained that said grudge she thought he held was just imagination. 

"The pleasure was all mine, King Staxius," she nodded in agreement, the door closed, the task of obtaining a residence had been accomplished. 

"Is it over already?" from the back, Adete hovered over his head.

"Yes, it's all done," he replied with an uninterested tone. 

A few steps later, on the way down – rested against the wall; the guild master. He stood with eyes closed and arms crossed, the man had been waiting to ambush. Not wanting to garner attention, Staxius tried to slip away, "-hold up," the attempt resulted in naught.

"What is it, guild master?" the face devoid of emotion and voice as if a walking corpse.

"There something I need to ask," he approached and eyed out the window, Staxius could but stand beside and wait, "-are you going to go on quest soon?" 

"Not to my knowledge, no," the reply quick. 'There's something wrong with him,' he thought, '-by the way he speaks and acts at this moment, there's an issue that wanes on his mind.'

"Good," the voice relieved, "-I'd like for you to not go on quests," they both face one another, the request felt more like an order.

"Care to elaborate?" he asked without much interest, or so that was what he made Raulf think.

"You having cleared the first platinum quest and getting promoted to Gold-rank is sure going to place a target on thy back. I know full well that those things are inconsequential, you defeated me after all, but for the sake of Hidros, don't do anything that may cause trouble. This is a warning from a friend, don't try to get on the bad sides of the top-guilds, some want Kniq to suffer and fail," tis was a call to stay on guard.

"Prideful humans with their weak egos," a sigh of disappointment later, "-don't worry. I wasn't planning to join the fight against the monsters. People are far eviler than those relatively tame beasts," he patted the guild master's broad shoulders, "-I won't kill nor hurt any of the adventurers," the voice calm yet menacing. "In no way is this a promise – Kniq will continue to do quests. That is under Viola's control, my job is handling the magical shop," from only the head facing Raulf, he turned, "-all will be fine as long as no one tries to get in my way. Try and hurt one of my members," killing intent oozed slowly, "-and I swear I'll rip the guilds apart top to bottom," as opposed to the stoic face, he smiled which revealed the sharpened teeth, "-don't underestimate a vampire," to which a step later, the man vanished.

"What the.." caught off guard, the guild master looked around cluelessly.

"Have a good day, friend – if you ever require my assistance, give a call," the voice came from behind. Footstep after footstep, he disappeared into the somber hall. 

"Staxius Haggard," Raulf mumbled, "-did you grow even more powerful from our fight?" the head shook with fear, "-he has the power to rip apart the entire kingdom. I fret that there's more power hidden underneath. Not a savior nor a destroyer, what side will you choose in the end, my friend," with a grin of his own, Raulf headed the opposite direction. 

"You sure love to play the villain, don't you?" Adete voiced in jest.

"Do you really think me a villain?" he asked in a melodramatic tone, Void came in sight.

"Not really, the villain would be a child compared to what you actually are," she chuckled.

"It's pointless, labeling someone as good or evil is subjective. There's no middle ground to take reference from. Frivolous waste of time," the engine roared, the destination was the new estate. 

'A thirty-minute drive from the castle,' the car reached its destination, '-I still can't fathom how massive the capital actually is. Though it's to be expected, Void's limited by the roads – such restriction makes it longer to reach places. Outside the capital, journeys get ten-time faster. A trip that would take ten-hours can be done in one to two hours,' the gate opened with a push of a button. Slowly, he drove up the small incline.

"This whole estate is mine," the car stopped shy of the main entrance, "-who would have thought," he stood outside and stared at the yard. Well-maintained with open space to do just about anything one might have liked. 'I got one hour before going to pick-up Lizzie, time to explore,' the first order of business was the yard. He walked across and breathed in the fresh breeze that came from the trees surrounding the vicinity. 

'That's new,' a sculpture piqued the interest, located on the top-left of the yard, small relative to the size of the plain, a pond with a statue of what appeared to be Syhton in her full glory. One hand held a staff while the other held a star. 'Good spot to lay and relax.' Once the front was explored, he teleported back to Void. Along the trip, Adete remained in awe – the beauty of this place took her breath away. 'As far as concerned, there's nothing of interest around the main mansion. Next to the latter laid a garden protected by a black fence. A stone-path led deeper in the middle where a small table and four chairs rested.

"The moment of truth," he voiced and stepped inside. Immediately, a welcome area with a large staircase leading to the first floor. Two doors, one to the right and one to the left. The one to the right led to a common area, a place where guests were welcomed – rather large. Before each room, laid a hall that linked everything together neatly. After the common area, a dining hall – one that filled out the whole space. This was at the front of the mansion, behind the first set of rooms – laid a kitchen and work-space area for maids and butlers. A place where they could both do laundry and much more, nothing extravagant but a large space in fairness. The kitchen, laundry room was located there – anything the was required for comfort. 

All that was the left side of the mansion facing the yard upfront. Now came time for the right side – a big open space reserved for entertainment. Couches, television, a piano, and other commodity, tis was the front. At the back, a bar – filled with booze, one the same size as the entertainment room. Though access was restricted by an always closed door. Finally, the room behind the staircase, a lounge for those who wished to rest whilst enjoying a drink away from the bar. 

On the second floor, the stair reached up to large window panes that peered outback. Surrounding said stairway – bal.u.s.trade with a big chandelier up top. The layout of the second floor was simple enough. Right after coming up, a hall led to the middle of the floor then separated the two sides. All the rooms except for one at the back were bedrooms. Four in total with two toilet and baths in the end. The ones on the front of the house had access to a balcony whereas the ones at the back didn't. On the left side, a study at the back and a library at the front. In the middle of the library and one of the rooms, rested another room – one that led outside; a rest area for a late-night chat. 

'I'm tired just from exploring,' stood out on the main balcony, the mind thought. 'The attic will be the place where armor and weapons will be stored. To put each room's size into perspective, they are twice what the others are living in. Four rooms in total, each capable of holding four people, if necessary, a few tinkering could separate it all into eight rooms. Though I doubt they'd want to stay apart. This was built per her majesty's specification,' already furnished, he stood with a smile.

"My own mansion," he mumbled.

"Yes, it's yours, congratulation," Adete gave her good wishes, the lady was happy for once. 

"A place to call home at last," after which he headed into one of the bedrooms. Two-bed the size of Void in width laid across each end. In no way did he know what Gallienne wanted to accomplish – three people could easily and comfortably sleep in one of those beds.

It had been forty-five minutes; now the owner of a magnificent mansion, Staxius teleported back to Pandora. Sat in the RFS, he drove forth to pick-up Lizzie.

"Undrar?" telepathy was utilized. 

"Yes, what is it?" connection made.

"Can you kindly gather everyone and wait at the shop?" 

"Sure, may I ask the reason?"

"No, you may not, tis a secret," the small conversation ended. 

*Driing,* the bell rung – waiting in another high-end vehicle outside the school, the other families could but feel the pressure.

"Over here," he called.

"You came," with a smile, Lizzie rushed over and gave a quick hug after which they headed back.

"Where are we going today, and why did you bring this massive truck?" she asked for it was overkill to bring a military-grade vehicle to just pick up someone. "Nothing much, don't worry about it," he replied with an uninterested tone. A few hours later, stood before Pandora, everyone waited. This included the Lymsey sisters who had been left alone for the entire day. 

"Did something happen?" Deadeyes asked with his rifle ready to fire.

"Are we going to fight?" Avon had the same mindset.

"Why would master call Auic and Lizzie if this was a combat mission," Undrar voiced a good point. Thus, chatter about the reason why they were call echoed down the street.

"Get in, I'd rather show than tell," the face unreadable, they entered.

*Ancient Magic: Teleportation,* the entire unit was transferred to a few kilometers away from the noble district. Silence followed by someone hurling into a plastic bag, the drive continued. None dared to speak for they were awe-struck by the scenery.

Once up the hill headed for the noble district. 

"Sister, sister," Emma called,

"Yes sister, I think we're being summoned to the castle," Emmy figured a guess.

A push of a button later, they entered the newly bought estate. 

"Where are we?" the same question went around. 

*Click,* the door opened, "-welcome to my estate," Staxius proclaimed and jumped off the RFS. 

"…" silence, "-amazing," Undrar mumbled – her eyes wandered around.

"Your estate?" Achilles asked with the same reaction.

"Talk about being rich," Deadeyes voiced in amazement.

"This is so pretty," Avon ran around as if a kid.

"Did you purchase a mansion this big?" Auic asked, "-I thought that what was said before was in jest…"

Lizzie and the twins had nothing to say, they kept silent and grabbed onto Staxius's shirt.

"Listen up," stood on the porch, "-starting today, this mansion will become our place of residence. Viola, Avon, Deadeyes, Achilles, Auic, Emma, Emmy, and Lizzie," they remained fixed in place, "-welcome home," the voice gentle and comforting, the girls couldn't keep from shedding a few tears of happiness. 

"What are you waiting for," surprised by why they stood in place, he spoke loudly, "-go explore and make the place familiar. I'll take care of the hotel. Everything within these walls belongs to me, do what you want, no one is here to judge – a present for us all." 

"Thank you, master," they spoke in harmony and bowed in tandem.