A Masterpiece | TBATE x COTE

Chapter 3: Brotherly Shenanigans

It has been a month ever since the Leywin Household was blown away to smithereens. Yes, not half, or quarter, or three quarters, but the entire house. And the disaster did not stop there, as it encompassed the small lawn, the trees, the bordering boundary encircling around the house and even the neighbouring houses.

Everything in a 3 mile radius was blown away, as if trapped in the eye of a raging, smouldering cyclone, ripping away the houses like fragile pieces of paper. Everything laid in tatters in the aftermath of two babies floating amidst a crater the size of a huge meteor, a translucent dome of repulsive mana around them.

Nothing was left after the boys had awakened their Mana Cores. All that remained were their injured parents and neighbours, along with one of them falling unconscious and not waking up for an entire day.

Currently, the Leywins were sitting on the floor of their room in an inn, a tablecloth sprawled over the wooden flooring with food neatly placed over it. Alice and Reynolds sat on one side, while Arthur and Lancelot sat on the other, side by side.

Arthur was looking at the peas with a crinkled nose, not wanting to eat it.

"Psst— Lance!" He whispered, making him glance in his direction. "You can have it." Mustering the kindest smile he could, Arthur beamed at him in an affectionate manner, as if he was doing him a favour.

"Mom, Arthur is—"

"Damn you!" Arthur's greasy hands stopped his mouth before he could finish his sentence, causing him to topple over Lancelot. Pushing his hands on his mouth, he looked back at Alice and Reynolds.

"Art! Lance! Stop it! Right now!" Despite the subtle rise in her voice, Alice could not hide the visible amusement beaming from her face.

"Ehehe, we are just p-playing, mom. Nothing else." Arthur replied, stammering over his words. Holding his hands, Lancelot removed it from his mouth.

"This is clearly an attempted murder just because you won't eat your vegetables." He retorted, his voice coming out in a straight line without any indication of pain or anything else.

"So that's what it is." Alice thought out loud, making Arthur flinch. Standing up from her spot, she separated the two, and then pulled Arthur with herself, making him sit right by her side. Handing him the fork, she kept a close eye on him.

Arthur grumbled to himself before painfully eating the peas in his plate. Shooting a glare in his direction, he sighed before looking down and accepting his fate.

Reynolds shifted in his place. "Honey." He spoke, making Alice look at him. As soon as she looked away, Arthur motioned with his thumb, telling Lancelot that he'd kill him once they got off from here. However, Lancelot just shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "I think it's time we get the boys a proper tutor." Reynolds suggested, making Lancelot's ear perk.

The spoon in Alice's hand fell, its impact cushioned by the small piece of meat on the plate, bouncing off, before its body made a dull clanging sound, drawing out the silence that had ensued right after Reynolds had presented his suggestion.

"Reynolds, they're not even four yet!" Alice almost cried out. "Besides you said if our kids are augmenters, you would be able to teach them!" She protested instantly.

"Well, that's right and all, but there are two variables now." Reynolds shook his head. "I had not expected our sons to be such prodigies when it comes to mana manipulation. Who has even heard of awakening at the age of three?" Reynolds let out a deep breath, letting his words sink in while he readied his next set of words. "Besides, even if I have to train them, I can only do it with Arthur. I can't guide Lance!" He spoke, and then looked at Lance as if confirming his words. "I don't know the basics or implications of what it means to be a conjurer. And neither can you guide him much. Talents like these two need better guidance."