Gwen Tennyson was always the smartest girl in her class. Whether it was academics or athletics, her overall parameters in every field were excellent. She was a talented girl, it was a proven fact from her list of achievements. She could hardly find any competition among her peers. Her parents were also happy with her well-mannered and studios nature. Something that cemented her belief over her skills.

Yet she was unsatisfied, or rather annoyed that it was not enough to make a reaction out of her cousin. Her cousin...

... Ben Tennyson.

From the very childhood, Ben had a calm and collected personality. Whether it was the family get-together or a friendly party. Ben never showed an ounce of reaction that could be considered normal. It was akin to a mature person. She had talked about this to her parents, and they thought that it was not something to be surprised about.

Some children would become mentally mature at a very young age. It was not something to be worried about.

But that didn't sit well with her. A part of her wanted to compete against Ben and to show him that Gwen, herself, could act level-headed too.

From thar day, Gwen got a rival to look upon.

Today, she had come to his home for celebrating Christmas party. Though the ''party" was not even a good word to do elaborate the situation around her.

Her mother was busy talking with Aunt Sandra for some TV serial story. It was their typical way of celebrating things. Her father and uncle were no different as well. Their topics about sports and politics were hard to follow. Gwen could only follow the famous names and their wins or loses so far, but after that... it all became incoherent.

And finally, the elders of the Tennyson family, they were doing not-so-elder things.

"You can do it Max. One more card and you will make a history!"

"Yes... I know that..."

Grandpa Max was making a castle of cards, and Grandma Verdona was cheering him. They were the only couple who enjoyed this day.

While Grandpa Max was pretty outgoing and easy to converse with, Grandma Verdona was entirely different than him.

She ate very few. And she spoke in a mysterious way like... like it was... kinda mystical. She could read minds, or that was what her parents told her. But Gwen was smart, she understood that it was not mind reading, just high level expertise in reading the body language. Grandma Verdona was capable of reading body language and that was kinda cool and creepy at the same time.

Her parents, or especially, her mother told her to not anger the Grandma. Yep, her mother was pretty active regarding the matters involving her Grandma. Not that was any different than her TV serials.

Well, aside from her little family, there was Ben.

The guy was still reading that thick encyclopedia with a gaze that screamed seriousness. That was one point where Gwen could defeat him. Though slow in academics, Ben was a very hard-working and studious. His memorizing power was far better than Gwen, but in terms of calculations, he was slower than hers. Atleast, he didn't laze around like her school friends.

She should atleast greet him.

"Hey Ben. What are you reading? Can I have a look?"

Gwen asked in her sweetest voice possible. No matter what, Ben was still her cousin. Whether she wanted to help him or make indebted to her, it didn't change the fact of their relationship.

"Oh Gwen, I am reading about human biology and osteology. It is kinda fun to read."

He showed her the encyclopedia which truly had the images regarding the human skeleton and various bones.

"And why are reading this? What's so fun about this?"

"Many things. If I know about human biology and it's skeletal framework, then I can cure many diseases and ailments with ease. Grandma says that it is first stage of making balance with one's body and mind. Only a better foundation can make a better body. Our body has a flow that needs to entwine with the mental aspects of one's inner reality and slowly, we can affect and break our physical mantle to unleash our true powers!"

"I-I see."

Gwen quirked her brows in confusion. Though it was nice to see that Ben was doing something productive in his empty time, it was also perplexing that he used metaphysical terms in it.

Come to think of it, her grandmother always used the metaphysical vocabulary in her stay. Words regarding "inner force", "mind over soul" and many other words with lot of magical connotations. It was a very intriguing thing about her.

"May be Grandma is into cosplay stuffs? Is this her other side that Mom often talks about?"

If that was the case, then it was understandable.

"Not exactly."

"Wah!?"

Her grandma's voice surprised her.

"Grandma! Don't surprise me like this!"

"What are you talking about? I was just hearing you from there for few minutes. If you want to know what Ben is doing then, I will tell you. But I can't protect you from the "wrath" of your mother. Even magic can't save you from your Mom~"

And here she started again with those "magic" things that her mother had warned about.

"Umm, no thanks. I am not even planning to learn about those stuffs. I will talk you later."

Gwen didn't waste any time and took a distance from her. She wasn't ready to hear the earful from her mother...again.

"Her spark is still dormant."

Verdona muttered to herself.

She was keeping a close eye on her grandchildren. Especially Ben and Gwen.

While Ben showed a great talent in terms of magic, his cousin, Gwen, was still ignoring her lessons. And Verdona admitted that it was her own fault.

Verdona was now living again with her family. It had been 9 years now. So far, her relationship with her children were similar to that of a slow moving turtle.

After all, leaving them on Max and not even giving them any attention later in their life, was her own fault.

Human relations were not similar to that of an Anodite. It had struggles, long-term trusts and on top of that, you must be honest with those, whom you called family.

So, it would take time. The time, which she always had. Until then, she would enjoy with her grandchildren.

So far, Ben had showed great skills in crafting, physical enhancements and mental boosts. He had started with a better framework than her. And despite not being a full-fledged Anodite, Ben had a tremendous speed of doing magic without chanting. Not to mention, his innate mana reserves were greater than a century old Anodite. And Verdona knew it very well, that her grandchild would become very strong in upcoming years.

His mother, Sandra, had no problems with Ben learning magic from her. On the other hand, she was very interested in it. If only her other daughter-in-law showed the same enthusiasm, then it would not be too hard to educate Gwen as well. Though Verdona could handle her sons without any problems. Yes, they knew her nature, and she was happy that they didn't abandon her. She deeply regretted her actions, but this time, she would fix this.

"By the way Ben, what do you think of your cousin?"

"If you are asking about Gwen, then she is a very clever and ambitious in completing any sort of task. Though she often ignore me and act too highly of herself."

That was a correct answer. Gwen was truly a competitive girl for her age. Whatever subject she felt interested into, her performance brought the excellent output in return. Verdona had high regards for her as well, but the promises were promises.

She would not teach magic to Gwen if she wasn't interested in it. Showing her own magical powers in front of her, was also impossible as long as her dear daughter-in-law was here. But that was not a big issue.

Verdona had plans for her dear granddaughter as well. She was just waiting for the correct timing.

Sorry for being late, but IRL is very harsh upon me. I am not a free guy and I will not ask money for my work. But still, I am one single being and there are many stuffs that need my attention. So be ready for delays.

As you have read, Verdon is now a part of the Tennyson family again and the plot will change very fast.

Yes, Omnitrix will fall upon earth, but I am letting you all decide its owner.

•Ben (Ainz)

•Gwen

•Max

•Verdona

•Your choice, you can choose any character to join them in their vacation.

With all that said, Happy Janmashtami to all~.