It was the morning after my talk with dad.
Despite sleeping more than 8 hours, I still felt exhausted.
My talk with dad left me with a lot of questions and even more disappointment in myself.
I'm not sure why, but I had never considered why I never saw any relatives. It was almost embarrassing.
There was also his comment about Phenex Tears I had to consider.
'...I was going to speak further about our clan's ability to make Phenex Tears, and the process to produce them…'
Years ago, before Ruval began to teach me, I had tried to work out how my powers functioned by myself. I had worked out quite a bit: the creation of fire, how to bring out and recall my wings, and I even managed to fly for a few seconds.
I never figured out how to cry Phenex Tears, though.
I knew that I would soon learn how, but that comment reignited all the curiosity I had when I first began. There was a specific process to produce them. I wanted to spend the entire day trying to figure it out myself.
I couldn't, though; it was a weekday and I had school.
Eventually I had to get up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and began to prepare for the day ahead.
I went through my morning routine and eventually arrived in the dining hall for breakfast.
Mom and dad were already there and waiting for me.
I was happy to see that dad was looking a bit better. It was as if he had less of a weight on his shoulders.
I wonder if talking about it helped him relax more.
Conversation was a bit stilted in the beginning, but mom quickly broke the remaining tension.
I couldn't help but admire the grace and speed with which she took control of the conversation. Mom had always been rather charismatic, but I never really got to see that side of her often. Whenever we hosted guests, she stayed reserved and modest, preferring to let dad do most of the speaking.
Maybe it was naive of me, but I had always believed that devil society would be a bit more equal between sexes. When you have a society based around power, does it matter what their gender is?
…Of course, I might be overthinking it. Dad is the head of our clan; therefore mom allows him to control the conversation.
I didn't really know the answer. There was still so much I had to learn about this world.
The three of us spent breakfast chatting and having fun.
When breakfast ended, mom grabbed my hand, and we teleported to the academy.
I had a spring in my step as I arrived at school, but soon after my arrival, I was stopped by Florence hugging me.
Ever since becoming my bishop, Florence had become more emotive with me. She was still very stoic, but she had begun to display more physical affection.
I'm not going to lie and say I didn't enjoy it, but it certainly confused me in the beginning.
"Hello, Florence. Did you miss me that much?"
She bonked me on the head.
"Idiot"
How sweet.
Her kuudere exterior was slowly melting into a tsundere interior.
Not what I would have expected, but it was precious nonetheless.
The two of us began to make our way to our lockers. Considering what was happening after school today, I thought it would be a good idea to let her know.
"Hey Florence, do you have anything planned for today?"
"Did you have something in mind?"
"That isn't an answer, y'know."
She looked at me like I was being silly.
Does she think that I'm going to take away her autonomy just because she's my servant?
"They'll be handing out homework today, but other than that, I have nothing planned."
Ah, perfect.
"Dad is teaching me the secret to making Phenex Tears, if you aren't busy we can do some further experiments."
I almost ran into her as she stopped in her tracks.
She slowly turned around and looked at me with an intense expression.
"I'm coming home with you."
"What?"
"The homework can wait, do you think your father will allow me to listen in?"
"Well, I don't think he'll mind, but I don't actually know."
"I see."
Without warning, she turned back around and briskly walked away.
Once my brain comprehended what had just happened, I jogged to make up the distance between us.
Settling into a pace beside her, I tried to get a read of her face.
She didn't seem upset, so I was relieved. She seemed more determined than anything.
Was she planning something to convince dad if he said no?
Entering the school, I noticed that whispers never seemed to stray far from us.
By now, people had learned of our connection and the school's rumor mill had begun to run on overtime.
A child of the Phenex Clan and the reincarnated hero he had as a servant.
It was a tale straight out of a storybook.
While Florence didn't normally pay attention to gossip, she was somehow paying even less attention today.
We arrived at the lockers and I pulled out my notebooks and a pen. I opened up my bag, and rested them all inside.
The two of us arrived at class with several minutes to spare. I made sure, however, to greet the few people who I got along with along the way.
I was opening up my notebook to the next blank page, when I caught a glance of Florence in the corner of my eye, already writing.
'How do I get Lucius's dad to accept me'
She wrote a numbered list from 1 to 3, and began to ponder.
I couldn't help but smile fondly at her.
I would have to keep an eye as the day went on, to see what she filled her list with.
I made a mental note to write a second set of notes, so she could look at them over the weekend.
About halfway through the class, Florence had caught me watching her, and had resorted to hiding the paper away from my sight. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of her bullet points before she hid it away.
She was still writing as the end of the school day came; she would also give me accusatory stares every once in a while.
Along with the end of the day came the deluge of homework we were being assigned. Two essays, five worksheets, and a dozen pages of pure math equations..
It was more work than I had ever been assigned during high school.
I could barely stop myself from letting out a large sigh.
Thankfully, it was the end of the week. I had the entire weekend to work on it.
I gathered up my second set of notes and walked over to Florence.
As soon as she noticed me, a look of panic crossed her face, and she quickly tore up the paper.
What a shame…
"I noticed that you weren't really focused today, so I took some notes for you."
A flush covered her face.
"Ah… Thank you."
She gently handled the notes, creasing, and putting them into her bag.
She rose from her seat and tugged me towards the door.
"Let's go meet your mom."
"Yesterday, it was dad who picked me up. I'd imagine he's going to do the same today as well."
I paused, a thought coming to mind.
"Don't you need to tell your mom you're coming over?"
She let go of my arm, pulled out her phone, and fired off a quick text message.
"Okay, let's go."
Taking hold of my arm once more, Florence led me outside towards the entrance of the academy.
It took a few minutes, but dad did arrive.
He raised an eyebrow at Florence, but before I could speak up, Florence took a step forward.
"Lucius told me you were going to teach him how to make Phenex Tears."
Dad glanced quickly at me, and I nodded to him.
"I see, you're coming over so you two can experiment with the tears."
Florence was almost vibrating. She took another step towards dad.
She dipped into a deep bow and proclaimed,
"Please let me sit in on your discussion!"
For a minute, dad didn't respond. Florence didn't move from her bow, either.
"Alright."
Hearing this, Florence stiffened for a second before launching herself at dad's leg.
Looking uncomfortable at Florence wrapped around his leg, he gave me a mischievous smile and then told her.
"If you should be thanking anyone, I would thank Lucius. After our last discussion, he asked me if it would be alright if you joined us."
I gave him a dirty look, and a few seconds later a pink comet smashed into me, sending me to the ground.
She was hugging me tight enough that I was having difficulties breathing.
I idly wondered if my regeneration would prevent me from suffocating to death.
Chuckling, dad picked up the both of us and teleported us back to the house.
15 minutes later, the three of us sat in dad's study.
I had scooched my chair a few feet away from Florences.
I enjoyed breathing a lot and I had a feeling from the way she couldn't stay still that I may be tackled once more.
Dad cleared his throat and then began to lecture the two of us.
"The first thing to note, is why you have not been able to produce any Phenex Tears."
He gave me a knowing look.
How exactly he knew, I had no idea. Maybe Ruval, but did Ruval even know I had tried to make them?
"A Phenex's first vial of tears is incredibly sentimental. However, you may wonder, how do we ensure that their first vial of tears is actually their first? Millennia ago, our ancestor, Riven, created a small ritual to disable a Phenex's ability to produce healing tears."
"For clarity's sake, I want to emphasize one thing. Riven did not create this ritual to stop disowned children from partaking in their legacy. It was even expressly forbidden to do so. You also won't hear about this ritual in any obscure book. If others knew that our ability could be suppressed, we would be in a far more precarious situation."
"Any questions thus far?"
I absolutely had questions.
"Is the first vial purely sentimental or is there another quality to it? Also, do you still have your first vial?"
"No, there isn't anything particularly special about it. They function just like any other tears. I no longer have my first vial, I gave it to your mother as an engagement gift. She no longer has it though, there was an unfortunate incident and she needed to use them."
I opened my mouth, prepared to ask why she needed to use them, but a quick look from dad stopped me.
"Now that I have given you the introduction, I'm now going to demonstrate to you, how the tears are made."
Dad pulls out a plain bottle and holds it up to his right eye. Seemingly on command, tears begin to pour out of his eye. The tears are strange, though, they have a strong glimmer to them, almost like they're sparkling.
In 15 seconds the bottle is full.
He passes the bottle to me to look at.
As I examine the bottle, I can feel an intense stare focused on me.
Knowing that I'd have plenty of opportunities to examine them, I handed the bottle to Florence.
She seems enraptured by the tears.
She slowly swishes the battle back and forth, watching as the light glimmers off the liquid.
Dad coughs, breaking Florence's trance.
We both turn back to dad and he continues speaking.
"Do you have any further questions before I break Lucius's seal?"
Florence speaks up this time.
"How does production of Phenex Tears affect the water in a Phenex's body? Is all liquid in your body capable of healing somebody? Does this have something to do with how you regenerate yourself?"
"Interesting questions, I don't think I've ever had someone question me on that. To answer your last two questions, no. I don't actually know the answer to the first question, it's not something I've ever really considered. If I had to guess though, I would say it has something to do with our eyes. Similar to how the Philosopher's Stone can transmute liquid into lifespan, our eyes convert the water into healing tears."
Hearing no further questions, dad walks out from behind the desk and crouches beside me. He places his hand on my temple, and a heat begins to rush out from my skull. It itches at my eyes and pulses down my spine.
My eyes begin to tear up and I struggle to see past the shine. Instead of speaking, dad pushes a vial into my hand and guides it up to my right eye.
"Go ahead, don't hold back."
With the go-ahead, I stop blinking back the tears and let them fall from my eye.
By the time I can see again, the vial has been filled.
Dad takes out a small cork from his breast pocket, and closes the container.
He gently pushes the container into my chest.
"Take good care of it, okay? In preparation for this, I had the staff set up a small safe in your room."
I nodded and held the vial close to me.
"Would you two like to head off?
Florence gets up from her seat, but I have some more questions.
"How exactly does our family's business work?
Dad raises an eyebrow at me.
"Well, what do you mean?"
I hesitate for a moment remembering that Florence wasn't here for what was said yesterday, but decide to continue speaking.
"You mentioned that most of our main branch died off in the last two wars. Also that our branch families were completed annhilated. What does that mean for our supplies of tears? Do I need to help to supply tears?
Dad stiffens and glances at Florence as I mention our family, but gradually loosens up by the time I'm finished speaking.
He lets out a low hum.
"I have a couple of questions for you. One, do you know who our main clients are? Two, how long do you think our tears can remain in storage for?
"The wealthy? As for how long they can keep for… I don't know."
"Neither do I. We have stocks of tears that have lasted millennia. Presumably, they never go bad. As for clientele, the wealthy is a vague term, but presumably you meant the other pillar clans. They do buy small stocks, but our major buyer are hospitals."
"I mentioned this to you before, but we are an incredibly long lived race, and also a very low fertility one. Every death that can be prevented is an incredible boon."
I did remember him saying that.
"Do hospitals really go through that many tears though?"
"More than you might believe. Doctors don't use them for very minor cases, but as soon as there is a risk of death, it is simply easier and quicker to dose them with tears. Hospitals also stock large quantities of tears. They don't order often, but when they do, it's very large quantities."
"I could certainly go into further detail, but please don't worry about it. I'll handle it, and in case I'm no longer around, it will be up to Ruval to manage things."
He gives me a hug.
Walking back around the desk, dad picks up a small container of bottles and hands them to Florence.
"Oh, and before I forget to mention Lucius. I finally got in contact with Sigmund. He's agreed to be your tutor for the next few years."
He gives me a sly glance.
"Maybe if you impress him, he may stick around longer."
He gives the two of us a jaunty wave and sends us on our way.
The two of us head towards my room.
Sure enough, beside my desk is a safe that wasn't there this morning.
A small note on the safe itself gives me the combination and I tuck the vial inside.
Instead of moving to one of the sitting rooms, we decided to stay in my room.
Florence pushes the container of vials into my arms and gives me an expectant look.
With a smile I begin to fill up the vials, eagerly awaiting whatever discoveries she may uncover.
AN: Sometimes I wonder if I'm moving too quickly. I do want to quickly get Lucius into his mid teens at the minimum, but sometimes I feel like I should go into a lot more detail. I also find It strange having young children doing martial arts, learning swordsmanship, or making snarky comments to people. Truthfully, I think that's why I struggled to get into Naruto.
I've cut this chapter like three quarters of the way through, so I already have a bit of an outline for the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take too long.
TooLazyToMakeAcc: I'm not quite sure how that slipped past me, but I did forget to consider if her mother would be a Nightingale. My working theory is that one of Florence's children married into the devil family, which is why Florence could reincarnate into a pure blooded devil. I'm unsure what last name to give her parents, but I've got quite a bit of time before I would have Lucius meet them.