CHAPTER ~30 THE DAY WHERE BONDS ARE CHOSEN

I opened my eyes early that morning.

The routine followed as usual morning exercise, controlled breathing, then breakfast in the dining hall.

No one talked much. Even the loudest students seemed restrained, as if the day itself demanded silence.

Afterward, we were guided toward the garden bordering the restricted forest.

The space had been cleared and prepared. Teachers stood positioned along the perimeter their expressions formal, alert.

Thirty students from Class A were already gathered, each standing where their name had been assigned.

And behind them

Families.

Parents. Guardians. Blood relatives and legal sponsors.

Just like the mana core ceremony, Familiar Contract Day wasn’t something meant to be witnessed alone.

It was a turning point.

A moment meant to be remembered.

The air felt heavier there, not with mana, but with expectation.

Among the gathered families stood the Asteron household.

Aria’s mother was easy to recognize.

The same blue hair deeper in shade, flowing freely down her back instead of neatly restrained.

The same maroon eyes, calm and penetrating, but tempered by years of experience rather than quiet curiosity.

If Aria was a blade still being forged, her mother was the finished steel.

For a fleeting moment, it felt like I was looking at Aria’s future.

Like aria's long hair and matured version

And to her left was her father

A broard shouldered man with a powerful, well built frame, the kind earned through years of discipline rather than vanity. His short beard was neatly kept, contrasting with a long, thick moustache that gave him a stern

At a single glance, I could tell.

He was the kind of father who would tear the world apart for his daughter and curse himself when he couldn’t protect her from it.

That wasn’t guesswork.

It was a skill I’d learned early, back at the orphanage. When you grow up surrounded by uncertainty, you learn to read people fast. Posture. Eyes. The way someone stands when they think no one is watching.

You had to.

there are other members of her family they were about a total of 20 people

Then

There is the Gray family unlike Asteron's

They were only seven people after all they were a fallen noble

They approached as

If Aria’s father was a knightrefined strength, disciplined and controlled then Lucan’s family was something else entirely.

His father walked like a living siege weapon.

Broad shoulders, arms thick as tree trunks, veins standing out even at rest.

Green hair cropped short, jaw set like it had never learned the meaning of restraint. He didn’t just look strong he looked like a body builder

A gorilla was the first comparison that came to mind.

A polite one.

And then there was his mother.

Just as muscular.

Maybe more.

Her posture was relaxed, almost casual, but every movement carried weight.

The kind of strength that didn’t need to prove itself because it already knew the outcome.

I glanced past them.

Grandparents. Siblings.

Every single one of them looked like they’d been carved out of iron and stubbornness. A family of bodybuilders masquerading as nobles.

I slowly looked back at Lucan.

…Suddenly, a lot of things made sense.

Lucan’s father stepped forward, each movement heavy and deliberate, like the ground itself was giving way out of respect. He stopped in front of Lucan and looked down at him.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Lucan replied, standing a little straighter than usual.

His father nodded once. “Did you miss any exercise?”

“No, Dad.”

“Good.” There was a brief pause. Then, calmly, “I heard you got beaten in the last elite match.”

Lucan clenched his jaw. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

For a moment, the air felt tense.

Then his father let out a low hum. “It’s fine. Failure is the first step toward victory.”

He placed a heavy hand on Lucan’s shoulder.

“But only if you learn from it,” he continued. “Never waste a good failure.”

Lucan nodded, eyes steady. “I won’t.”

Watching them, I realized something.

He trully loves his son

Then last but not least Aethelgard family of iris

Iris’s mother stepped forward, and the air itself seemed to straighten.

She was a truly elegant woman. Her hair, a deep crimson touched with darker shades, was styled neatly and fell just past her shoulders, every strand in perfect order.

She was the Head of the Aethelgard family.

I caught the absence almost immediately. No man stood beside her. No quiet figure lingering half a step behind, no shared glances, no subtle confirmations.

Iris’s father was gone.

He had died when she was still small long before she could remember his voice clearly, long before she could understand what it meant to lose someone meant to stay forever.

And so the burden had fallen on her mother alone.

Around her stood Iris’s siblings, older and younger, each carrying themselves with discipline that felt learned the hard way. They weren’t relaxed like Lucan’s family, nor overwhelming like living fortresses.

They were… alert.

Every one of them watched the surroundings with quiet awareness, hands relaxed but ready, eyes sharp.

Iris glanced back at them once

Her mother met her gaze and gave a single, small nod.

No words.

None were needed.

That was how House Aethelgard spoke.

And there were other families too.

Nobles in layered robes, merchants dressed just a little too well, military households standing with practiced posture.

Laughter rose here and there, polite and measured, the kind that belonged to people certain of their place in the world.

Parents rested hands on their children’s shoulders. Siblings whispered encouragement. Some faces held pride, others anxiety, a few thinly veiled ambition.

Everywhere I looked,

there were connections.

Blood ties. Expectations. Histories that stretched back generations.

And then there was the empty space beside me.

No family crest. No proud gaze searching the crowd. No one waiting to see what I would become.

Just me.

I didn’t feel bitter about it. Not really.

Everyone here had come with someone who had watched them grow.

I had come alone.

And yet… strangely, I wasn’t entirely by myself anymore.

Not with Lucan’s loud presence nearby.

Not with Iris’s fierce confidence a few steps ahead.

Not with Aria’s quiet awareness brushing against my thoughts.

Maybe family wasn’t always something you were born into.

Maybe sometimes… it was something you survived long enough to find.

A sharp whistle cut through the garden.

Conversations died instantly.

Students began gathering in front of the forest entrance, the loose clusters tightening into ordered lines.

Class A thirty of us stood facing the restricted forest, its towering trees casting long, restless shadows across the ground.

At the front waited Professor Selene, her expression calm and unreadable, and beside her stood Headmistress Eldra, her presence alone enough to silence lingering whispers.

Several other teachers flanked them, forming a quiet wall of authority.

Near the entrance lay pre prepared bags, one for each student.

Inside were the essentials rations, basic medical supplies, mana stabilizers, emergency flares. Everything deemed necessary.

Nothing deemed comfortable.

This wasn’t a short trial.

The Familiar Contract Ceremony would take the entire day.

From sunrise to dusk, we would step into the forest, face whatever answered our call, and return changed one way or another.

Then the Black Demon stepped forward.

The air itself seemed to recoil.

Her presence was heavy oppressive in a way that had nothing to do with mana. When he spoke, her voice carried without effort, deep and resonant, sinking straight into our chests.

“Today,” she said, “is a day you will remember for the rest of your lives.”

Silence followed. Absolute. Unmoving.

“This ceremony will decide your future,” she continued. “But understand this obtaining a powerful familiar is not enough.”

Her gaze swept across us, sharp and unyielding.

“Power without understanding is meaningless. Strength without trust is hollow.”

A pause. Deliberate.

“A familiar is not a weapon to be wielded. Not a tool to be discarded.”

Her voice hardened.

“It is family.”

The word landed heavier than any threat.

“Those who seek only dominance will be rejected. Those who believe fear equals loyalty will fail.”

For a brief moment, her eyes lingered too long on us.

“Treat your familiar as kin. Respect its will. Protect it as you would your own life.”

The forest behind her stirred, leaves whispering like they were listening.

“Fail to do so,” the Black Demon finished quietly,

“and today will become the day you regret forever.”

One by one, we began stepping into the portal.

It shimmered like liquid glass, its surface rippling with unstable mana. No two students were sent to the same place each of us would be scattered across a random region of the forest.

Alone.

Just before I entered, I felt it.

A stare.

I turned slightly and met Arthur’s eyes.

They were wide. Locked onto me with a kind of raw hostility, as if he wasn’t looking at a classmate, but at something far worse.

Like I was a demon lord wearing human skin.

For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just the two of us.

Then I looked away and stepped forward.

The moment my foot crossed the threshold, space twisted—

—and the world dissolved.

A familiar chime echoed in my head.

[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]